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Cmd81622 Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 1 EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL MEETING APPROVED MINUTES August 16, 2022 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Mike Nelson, Mayor Vivian Olson, Council President Will Chen, Councilmember Neil Tibbott, Councilmember Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember Susan Paine, Councilmember Laura Johnson, Councilmember STAFF PRESENT Dave Turley, Administrative Services Director Rob English, Interim Public Works Director Jeff Taraday, City Attorney Scott Passey, City Clerk Jerrie Bevington, Camera Operator 1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE The Edmonds City Council hybrid meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Nelson in the Council Chambers, 250 5th Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. The meeting was opened with the flag salute. 2. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Councilmember Tibbott read the City Council Land Acknowledge Statement: “We acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Sdohobsh (Snohomish) people and their successors the Tulalip Tribes, who since time immemorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands. We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water.” 3. ROLL CALL City Clerk Scott Passey called the roll. All elected officials were present. 4. PRESENTATIONS 1. PROCLAMATION PUGET SOUND STARTS HERE MONTH Mayor Nelson read a proclamation proclaiming September 2022 as Puget Sound Starts Here Month in Edmonds and urged residents to support clean water and healthy habitat by joining him in this special observance and discovering how they can make a difference and be part of the solution. 5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER. Mayor Nelson relayed staff requested Items 9.1, Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) Update, and Item 9.2, Code Update to Chapter 6.60 ECC Disaster Preparation, Emergency Coordination and Civil Emergencies, be removed from the agenda as they needed an additional week. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 2 COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO ADD A REQUEST FOR A 5-YEAR REVIEW OF HIGHWAY 99 IN 5 YEARS AS AGENDA ITEM 9.1. Council President Olson relayed she was unable to confirm today that there will be another review in five years. She believed five years was a prudent timeframe to have a review of the project. COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO HAVE A YEARLY REVIEW. Councilmember Buckshnis commented on the master planning of Highway 99 and recognized the administration FOR the work being done on Highway 99. She did not feel a review in five years would be sufficient considering the amount of work being done and the oversight that council should have. It would be more prudent to do a yearly review; following a yearly review, it may be determined that a five year review is sufficient. A yearly review would also inform citizens what is happening. She recalled the City received a substantial amount, approximately $22 million, in state or federal funding. Councilmember Paine said she was not necessarily in support of this precise motion. The council has a regular CIP/CFP review which includes all large projects. Highway 99 is no different than any other large project, and the council does not ask for yearly review of other projects. Council President Olson raised a point of order, advising the motion was simply to add this to the agenda for discussion. COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS WITHDREW THE AMENDMENT WITH THE AGREEMENT OF THE SECOND. AMENDMENT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO MOVE ITEM 9.5, JUNE 2022 QUARTERLY REPORT TO THE FIRST ITEM UNDER COUNCIL BUSINESS. AMENDMENT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Mayor Nelson described procedures for in-person audience comments. Jay Grant, Port of Edmonds Commissioner, referred to the City’s emergency plan. He worked professionally on security and incident management for the last 20 years, including serving on the National FEMA Law Enforcement Taskforce for Emergency Management. He commended the City’s efforts to update the comprehensive emergency management plan (CEMP). The Port is working with several agencies including meeting with the Coast Guard, the City of Edmonds, and the police department regarding the new marine unit. King County received a FEMA grant for emergency management related to earthquakes and tsunami Cascadia plans from Alaska and the Washington Coast which Edmonds is participating in. The Port is also forming a stakeholder group on the waterfront for emergency management. He is chairing a taskforce with the Washing Public Ports on information sharing and cyber security. The CEMP is a good foundation, but in 20 years working with real incidents especially beginning in 2013, CEMPs are often lacking. He suggested the City consider when there is a crisis in a mass people environment, 911 often goes down. He encouraged the administration to review the CEMP annually and bring updates to the council as needed. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 3 Leslie Brown, Edmonds, provided input on the agenda item, Resolution Related to Council Resolutions, with regard to changes that have occurred in the lives of every individual in the nation in the last year. In reviewing the Sterns County Guidelines for Requested Resolutions and Proclamations, she suggested the council consider the following: the guidelines are based on an article written by Michael Williams, PhD, from Minnesota, Keeping Political Partisanship out of Local Government. She was disturbed with Dr. Williams’ perspective that he is an expert and this is the way things should be done. Dr. Williams is not directly impacted by the Supreme Court’s recent earth-shattering decision restricting the freedom of women to have autonomy over their own choices in their lives, a reality that no one can look away from. She thanked the council for the resolution in favor of protecting the rights of women and girls in Edmonds. She was concerned about the Resolution Regarding Resolutions because it does not honor the council’s stated purpose of maintaining democratic and fair processes. She disagreed with Dr. Williams’ statements that democratic and republican residents see very little difference on local issues and wholeheartedly agreed with his statement that local governments rely on relationships. She highlighted and elevated the idea that elected officials represent the values of the community. With regard to the proposed guidelines for requesting resolutions, she suggested the council work together to revise the wording and intent rather than follow Dr. Williams’ guidance. The last paragraph of the resolution states the council president and his/her designee would decide actions on a resolution which she found autocratic. Edmonds voters elect councilmembers and want every councilmember to have equal power and say over deciding what happens with proposed resolutions. Mary Kimball raised a concern regarding the job description for the PIO that was revised at the last meeting. She noticed a concerning pattern of revisions to job descriptions that make it harder for the City to hire. She recalled odd changes made to the DEI position several months ago and worried that adding focus on accountability would box someone in instead of having an honest discussion with communication, HR, and the mayor about the line between a personal statement and information put out by elected officials. She urged the council to reconsider that and take more time and careful attention when crafting job descriptions for City positions to avoid putting people in impossible situations. Next, she voiced her opposition to the guidelines regarding resolutions, echoing the previous speaker’s comments. If the council president were an elected position, funneling the responsibility for determining what resolutions the council takes up might make more sense; however, this is an extremely important part of the democratic process that adds a lot of value to elected officials and the City’s voice and funneling that through someone appointed by the city council does not seem democratic and the guidelines regarding what is supposedly nonpartisan and noncontroversial box in the council. As the previous speaker said, these are strange times and she did not want to kneecap the City and prevent the council from taking actions that will have significant positive impact. Cassie Friedle, Edmonds, recalled over a month ago she spoke to the council dressed as a handmaiden regarding the ludicrous situation the Supreme Court placed on the nation. She was unprepared to speak, having only heard about this 15 minutes ago and raced to the meeting. It was her understanding the new guideline would place the council in line with dictatorships. If elected officials cannot reach agreement, the decision will be made by someone who vividly opposed the July 5th resolution. She requested the council remain democratic and allow votes to count. If the council did not, she would do whatever she could to remove them from office during the next election. Ken Reidy, Edmonds, pointed out Resolution 1498 and 1381 are incompatible and hoped council would address that. Tonight’s agenda packet claims the City has been in compliance with having a CEMP because there is a contract with Snohomish County for emergency management services and have been legally operating under Snohomish County’s CEMP which was last updated in December 2019. He asked whether this was true and if it was, why the City was expending resources drafting its own CEMP. The WAC states each political subdivision shall maintain a current plan of operations and the plan shall be reviewed and updated at least every two calendar years. He asked whether Edmonds was a political subdivision. He referred to an email from a state employee informing former Safety and Disaster Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 4 Coordinator Craig Cottrell that the last CEMP the state received from Edmonds was in 2015 so a new one was due in 2020. He felt the state employee was wrong, but either way, it is now late 2022. He provided a copy of the email for councilmembers. On March 23, 2020, he informed council that clicking on the link to ESCA on the City’s website takes users to a Texas webpage. He asked why it had taken so long to fix the references to ESCA, added to the City code in 2020, years after ESCA disbanded in 2015. With regard to the code update pertaining to the city attorney, Mr. Reidy supported reviewing what the council must do after a city attorney provides false or incomplete information prior to a city council vote. On March 17, 2009, council approved an ordinance that was not complete. Right before the vote on March 17, 2009, former City Attorney Scott Snyder told the city council that the City will be utilizing the right-of-way construction process to balance the property owner’s interest and review construction mechanisms provided for bonding and insurance for constructing the wall as well as considering whether there are any options to removing a portion of Mr. Reidy’s shed. The true plan, discussed earlier that same day, was to issue a code enforcement order immediately requiring him to remove a portion of his shed. He provided a copy of the true plan for each councilmember. He questioned how the 2009 council would have voted if they had been told the true plan prior to their vote. He encouraged the council to form a taskforce to review the historical conduct of city attorneys and how the council should obtain and manage legal advice. Mayor Nelson described procedures for virtual audience comments. Ben Burkhalter, Edmonds, recalled speaking to the council on April 26th regarding a pedestrian accident involving two children at the corner of 220th Street Southwest and 80th Avenue West. The City took swift action and had City workers investigating the intersection to determine what was needed to make it safe including doing surveying and installing sensors to monitor the flow of traffic. He was overjoyed the day City crews parked in front of his house and unloaded equipment to begin installing crossing lights. He had originally hoped for a full traffic light due to issues with vehicle collision as well, but since installation of the crossing lights and the addition of radar speed limit sign, he has not recorded a single car accident in front of his house. This is the longest stretch of time he has experienced without a car accident at this intersection since moving to his house in 2017. He can now safely cross 220th with his 2- year old son. He uses the new crossing light daily, sees his neighbors using it and 30 minutes ago saw a group of children cross the intersection with traffic safely stopping for them. He thanked the council for their swift and decisive action. City government is a demanding job as witnessed by the earlier passionate comments and he recognized the council has many difficult choices to make. The decision to install pedestrian safety measures has saved lives and made the entire neighborhood immeasurably better. He thanked the council from his family and from the bottom of his heart. Linda Ferkingstad, Edmonds, asked whether councilmembers and citizens would be willing to pay tens of thousands in tree fees and permanently relinquish property rights to every tree and the ground beneath their canopy of their property in order to live in their current home? Whether their property had the equivalent of 23 significant trees on 1/3 acre? Had they permanently lost rights to remove those 23 trees or plant gardens or grass beneath them? Would they pay the City huge fees for the trees cut for their home and garden? As vacant landowners, they have to pay $107,000 in tree fees to the City even while retaining over 30%, 69 trees that will hover over their 3 future homes and it still may not be enough. All their property that does not contain a home or driveway will be covered by tree canopy that they will have no rights to and still have to pay the City huge fees. She questioned whether anyone retaining that many trees should have to pay any fees. They also must record on the property title with the county auditor that the City of Edmonds has permanently taken the rights to the retained 69 trees and the ground beneath them, devaluing their property. These are just two of the many expensive tree ordinance requirements to get permission to subdivide their property and build three homes. It is illegal and in violation of the 4th Amendment search and seizure to coerce and force owners to give up rights to their property in order to be issued a permit. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 5 Ms. Ferkingstad continued, it is in violation of the 5th Amendment prohibiting excessive fees and takings without compensation. Trees in critical areas do not count toward the 30% retention unless 50% are saved. This does not work on treed, sloped properties; a home cannot be build there. All property owners in Edmonds have more rights than vacant property owners and those who purchased newly built homes in Edmonds. The tree ordinance has permanently devalued all Edmonds vacant properties by taking the rights and control of every tree and the ground beneath them. Rights are returned only for the trees needing removal when owners purchase them back from the City, paying excessive fees. She asked whether the City would take responsibility for the damage that falling City-protected trees and branches cause to homes and people, noting many fall on their property each year. She asked whether the council would bravely correct the illegality of this tree ordinance before lawsuits begin or must vacant property owners go through the expense of lawsuits before the City will obey the law, wasting taxpayers’ money and causing more damage to landowners. The City has caused irreparable harm to her family in lost time they can never get back. She has pleaded for a year and half to respect the rights and needs of the people they represent. Maralyn Chase, Edmonds, commented resolutions are a means possessed by citizens and stakeholders to focus councilmember time and effort on stakeholder priorities and public policies and on good governance. Stakeholders are not simply partisan but citizens petitioning elected officials about an issue of concern. People who take the time to bring resolutions to the city council are sufficiently concerned that the city council is not paying close attention to their interests and seek to participate in attempting to achieve good governance. Making homeless stakeholders into criminals is an example of some stakeholders’ concerns not being considered. Public policy is about control over resources; resolutions ask that attention be given to stakeholders’ perspectives as an integral part of the activities across all programs. Stakeholder inclusion involves making stakeholder perspectives more central to all policy development, research, advocacy, economic development, implementation and monitoring of norms and standards, and planning, implementation and monitoring of projects. Simply dismissing stakeholder concerns as partisan violates the commitment to democracy, the process adopted in this country to secure a secular republic guaranteed in the constitution. Ms. Chase urged the council to listen to all stakeholders. The August 16th memo which references the July 5th meeting, asserts that some committee members have identified resolutions as one of the ways the council has not been nonpartisan. She did not believe any of the stakeholders at that meeting were there as democrats or republicans; they were there to speak and petition their government as is their right, guaranteed in the 1st Amendment to the constitution. In fact, most were present representing a church congregation as is also their right. She was present asserting her rights under the 1st Amendment, demanding the right to a strict separation of church and state. This is a secular government, not a religious government. The 1st Amendment also gives everyone the right to believe whatever they want and to organize their lives if they choose under freely chosen religious doctrines and directives, but do not have the right to insist that other people believe their religious doctrines and directives. She provided a handout to council. Joan Longstaff, Edmonds, thanked the council for everything they do. The council knows how she felt about passing the resolution and that the 43,580 people in Edmonds were not all on the same page. She was not on the same page as Maralyn Chase, and hoped the council would pass a resolution stating the council will no longer pass resolutions that do not represent all stakeholders. 7. RECEIVED FOR FILING 1. CLAIM FOR DAMAGES FROM MAME DIARRA AMINATA DIOP 2. WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 6 3. JUNE 2022 MONTHLY REPORT 4. HIGHWAY 99 PLANNED ACTION FIVE-YEAR REVIEW 8. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. Councilmember Chen requested Item 8.13, Clean Building Act Investment Grade Audit – Frances Anderson Center, be removed from the Consent Agenda and placed on the agenda under Council Business as Item 9.6 as this item needed to be studied in greater detail. He expressed concern with spending $93,000 for a report on a system that is already planned to be replaced. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items approved are as follows: 1. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 2, 2022 2. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL COMMITTEE MINUTES 3. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND WIRE PAYMENTS 4. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS AND WIRE PAYMENT 5. CONFIRM APPOINTMENT OF CANDIDATE TO A BOARD/COMMISSION 6. PRESCHOOL ASSISTANT POSITION REVISION 7. YOUTH COMMISSION COORDINATOR JOB DESCRIPTION 8. ORDINANCE ADDING A NEW CHAPTER ECC 2.03A PERTAINING TO STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE TO CITY COUNCIL 9. APPROVE 10-FT DEDICATION FOR 88TH AVE W RIGHT-OF-WAY ADJACENT TO 19508 88TH AVE W 10. APPROVE DISTRIBUTION EASEMENT TO PUD NO 1 OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY AT 310 6TH AVE N 11. APPROVE SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH CM DESIGN GROUP FOR THE 76TH AVE OVERLAY PROJECT 12. APPROVE PEDESTRIAN ACCESS EASEMENT ADJACENT TO 23352 EDMONDS WAY Council President Olson said she also wanted pull Item 8.8, Ordinance Adding a New Chapter ECC 2.03A Pertaining to Student Representative to City Council, off the Consent Agenda. Mr. Taraday said making another change to the Consent Agenda would require a motion for reconsideration of the Consent Agenda, pulling the item and then revoting on the Consent Agenda. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, FOR RECONSIDERATION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 7 Council President Olson requested Item 8.8 be removed from the Consent Agenda and placed on the agenda as Item 9.7. COUNCILMEMBER CHEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS AMENDED. Councilmember L. Johnson referred to item 7.4, an item under Received for Filing, and an email from a constituent who stated she was not given requested notice on something. She asked how the council considered items under Received for Filing, if they could be removed like Consent Agenda items. Mr. Taraday advised the items under Received for Filing are not part of the Consent Agenda; no council action is taken on those items, they are for information purposes only and are not intended to be discussed or voted on. Councilmember L. Johnson asked if there would be an opportunity going forward to discuss the constituent’s concerns. Mr. Taraday answered yes, subject to the council’s will to add it to the agenda. Councilmember Paine began to make a motion to put Item 7.4 on the agenda under Council Business 9.8. Mr. Taraday said that would be a motion to amend the agenda. There is a pending motion to approve the Consent Agenda without items 8.13 and 8.8. Once the council takes that vote, the council could decide whether it was in order to further amend the agenda. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items approved are as follows: 1. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 2, 2022 2. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL COMMITTEE MINUTES 3. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND WIRE PAYMENTS 4. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS AND WIRE PAYMENT 5. CONFIRM APPOINTMENT OF CANDIDATE TO A BOARD/COMMISSION 6. PRESCHOOL ASSISTANT POSITION REVISION 7. YOUTH COMMISSION COORDINATOR JOB DESCRIPTION 9. APPROVE 10-FT DEDICATION FOR 88TH AVE W RIGHT-OF-WAY ADJACENT TO 19508 88TH AVE W 10. APPROVE DISTRIBUTION EASEMENT TO PUD NO 1 OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY AT 310 6TH AVE N 11. APPROVE SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH CM DESIGN GROUP FOR THE 76TH AVE OVERLAY PROJECT 12. APPROVE PEDESTRIAN ACCESS EASEMENT ADJACENT TO 23352 EDMONDS WAY 9. COUNCIL BUSINESS 1. JUNE 2022 QUARTERLY REPORT Finance Director Dave Turley advised this is the 2nd quarter financial report. A monthly financial report is provided to the finance committee. He reviewed: • Preliminary results are in for last year: Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 8 o The General Fund ending fund balance at 12/31/2021 is $15,93,353, the City’s largest ever. o Graph 2015-2021 including expected dip in 2020. • General Fund Actual Results, Compared to Budget • General Fund Spending 6 months ended June 30: $2.5 million under budget • Sales Tax Revenues for 6 months ended June 30: $605,000 ahead of last year, and $730,000 ahead of budget o Sales Tax Revenue have increased steadily over the last decade, other than the expected dip in 2020. The trend line shows that 2021 is right on trend, and we expect 2022 to come in at close to $11 million (or $1 million ahead of budget). o Sales tax revenue projections remain strong, despite recent inflation, and leave no reason to suspect immediate budgetary uncertainty. • REET revenues for 6 months ended June 30: Under budget by $16,000 (99.16% of budget) o REET revenues have increased significantly over the last decade. The trend line shows that 2021 is right on trend, and we expect 2022 to come in at around budget or about $4.4 million. o REET projections remain strong, despite recent impacts like inflation and rising interest rates and leave no reason to suspect immediate budgetary uncertainty Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 9 • In accordance with the City’s Fund Balance Policy, at the end of the year, the City had $9,262,195 of Restricted General Fund fund Balance. On top of that we had an additional $8,438,022 in Unrestricted Fund Balance o The fund balance policy requires Council approval when budgeting to spend any of the Restrict Fund Balance. o The 2022 budget does not include any spending of Restricted money. It remains 100% intact. o The blue in the pie chart represents fund balance (20%) that is restricted. The orange represents unrestricted fund balance (17%). The full circle represents the General Fund expenditure budget. • City continues to be strong financially. • Bond ratings in our neighborhood o Edmonds AAA o Bothell Aa1 o Lynnwood AA+ o Shoreline AA+ o Everett AA+ o Mukilteo AA Councilmember L. Johnson thanked Mr. Turley for the presentation, commenting he had earned the right to brag about the City’s AAA rating. Councilmember Tibbott asked where the ARPA funds show up. Mr. Turley answered this presentation did not address ARPA funds; ARPA funds are in Fund 142, Special Revenue Fund. Most of this presentation was about the General Fund and REET. ARPA funds are grant dollars, a one-time thing that Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 10 neither affects the future nor is reflective of the past and frankly deserves its own presentation. Councilmember Tibbott looked forward to that presentation. He recalled there had been discussion about moving ARPA funds into the General Fund. Mr. Turley said about half the ARPA funds are programmed for infrastructure projects like Perrinville Creek. When that money is spent, it won’t be spent out of the General Fund, but out of the Utility funds or the Parks Construction fund. ARPA funds were not moved into the General Fund because the majority will not be spent out of the General Fund. The new community services/economic development director will make a presentation to the council on ARPA funds. Councilmember Tibbott observed HR expenses are considerably over budget and asked if that would continue and was it something that needed to be addressed. Mr. Turley said why it was overbudget and whether it would continue to increase were two different questions. The addition of a person to assist with recruiting is one reason spending has increased. If HR is overbudget, that will need to be addressed via a budget amendment during the third quarter. Councilmember Chen congratulated Mr. Turley on the AAA bond rating, commenting it reflects the great work he is doing and the City’s strong financial position. He referred to packet page 471 that states General Fund spending for 6 months ended June 30 is below budget and asked if that was attributable to staffing shortages. Mr. Turley said a fair amount is due to staff vacancies; for example, one director position has been vacant for eight months. There are also several police department vacancies and some expenditures in building maintenance planned for summer and fall have not yet occurred. He summarized it was a combination of things; staff vacancies is definitely a contributor. Councilmember Chen observed HR expenditures are over budget due to hiring more people to help hire staff so hopefully that will address the situation. Councilmember Buckshnis hoped the ARPA presentation would not be done next week as she is unable to attend that meeting. She recalled 40% of the ARPA funds were put into green infrastructure and council voted to remove some of those funds, the marsh was removed from stormwater and $750,000 set aside for it, and $400,000 for green streets was removed. She recommended rebalancing the ARPA funds. The City’s financials are looking good although there is a huge staffing issue. The two vacant director positions, especially the public works director, have impacted the financials. This is the third year the City has had a AAA rating; it is the result of a lot of work done by the late Councilmember K. Johnson, former Councilmember Dave Teitzel, herself, the former finance director, Mr. Turley and citizens on the long range financial planning committee to develop the fund balance policy. Councilmember Paine referred to the bond rating, and asked the difference between Edmonds and neighboring cities. Mr. Turley answered he occasionally watches other cities’ council meetings; Edmonds’ overall financial structure is more stable. For example with Lynwood, during the pandemic the doors to Alderwood Mall were literally locked which had a huge impact on Lynnwood’s revenues. When the economy does well, Lynnwood does very well which is evidenced by their much larger staff, twice as many in their financial department, but with almost an identical population, revenue and land area. The fact that Lynnwood’s revenues are more volatile puts them in a different financial situation. Other cities like Lake Forest Park and Mountlake Terrace have a property tax base but not a lot of sales tax base. Edmonds is similar to Mukilteo even though Mukilteo is about half Edmonds’ size, both cities have a mix of industrial, retail and stable property taxes. Every city has a different financial structure. Some cities have spent more money on infrastructure recently; most cities in the neighborhood have built new city halls and public works buildings within the last 15 years which drains General Fund balances; Edmonds has not done that. Edmonds has gotten by very lean with regard to buildings, infrastructure, vehicles and especially staff. Edmonds’ philosophy has been to operate more lean which has allowed the City to build significant reserves. 2. 5-YEAR REVIEW OF HIGHWAY 99 Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 11 Council President Olson found the report that was on the agenda under Received for Filing very interesting and encouraged residents to read it. Received for Filing is a new category on the agenda, something other cities have used previously. She would have preferred to have a presentation on the 5- Year Review of Highway 99 due to the interesting content that was new to her. Her request to add this to the agenda was not related to the report, but to have another report in 5-years. As other councilmembers mentioned, the City does other comprehensive planning, but this is such a critical commercial area and she wanted to ensure the council kept adequate tabs on it. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO HAVE 5-YEAR REVIEW AND REPORT ON THE HIGHWAY 99 SUBAREA PLAN IN FIVE YEARS. Councilmember Tibbott said he supported a 5-year review because the report in the council packet is significantly different than the annual CIP/CFP review. A 5-year look provides a big picture of what has been accomplished over that period of time. He also liked the ability to look at projections, recognizing it may be difficult to make projections on a one year basis. He concluded a 5-year review is a good timeframe for a project this large. Councilmember Paine said her original concern about having a review in five years was because the council reviews CIP/CFP projects. This is an EIS, a part of the SEPA review, which is very different. She preferred to have staff discuss what needs to happen with the EIS in a way that is in context. There are a lot of actions happening on Highway 99, and a couple constituents have asked for more information. She preferred to have the 5-year review come back to council at a future date to discuss whether a 5-year or a 1-year review is appropriate. Councilmember Buckshnis echoed Councilmember Paine’s comments in support of having a presentation made to full council and to decide if there should be a review every year or every five years. The council recently approved a stormwater update which has huge implications. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO BRING THIS BACK AS REGULAR BUSINESS. Councilmember Paine relayed her understanding the planning manager was on vacation until early September and requested this be brought back as soon as possible after his return. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. REPEALING ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO GROCERY WORKER HAZARD PAY City Attorney Jeff Taraday relayed Council President Olson requested he draft this ordinance and introduce it to council. In 2021 the city council adopted a hazard pay ordinance that required grocery store employers pay an additional $4/hour in hazard pay. The terms of that ordinance are still in effect because the while many of the Governor’s proclamations have been lifted, the State is still technically under a state of emergency and the hazard pay is still in effect. The proposed ordinance would repeal Ordinance No. 4219, which required the payment of hazard pay, in its entirety. Ordinance No. 4219 was always intended to be a temporary ordinance and has a built-in sunset clause where it would automatically repeal three years after the lifting of the state of emergency. The proposed ordinance would make that happen sooner. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO REPEAL THE GROCERY WORKER HAZARD PAY VIA THE ORDINANCE IN THE PACKET THAT IS IN EFFECT. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 12 Councilmember Chen commented it was reasonable to appeal Ordinance No. 4219 for the reasons stated. Business activity, including grocery stores, is back to normal and repealing this ordinance is appropriate due to bargained agreements with hourly increases over three years. Councilmember Paine commented her daughter works in a grocery store; she attended one of the union meetings where the contract was discussed. The hazard pay was critically important for a lot of families during and after the pandemic. Grocery store workers do not make a lot of money; the $4/hour increase averaged about $200/month, approximately a month of groceries for a single person. This hazard pay ordinances and others adopted around the Puget Sound area made a huge different and result in their receiving the biggest pay increase in the history of their contract. The pandemic still exists and there are still other hazards. The union meeting she attended included discussion about gun violence training due to the attack in Buffalo, New York. The people working in grocery stores are doing frontline work including the pandemic and the epidemic of gun violence. Grocery store workers asked for and will receive training on how to get customers out safely. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 4. RESOLUTION RELATED TO COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS Council President Olson commented two weeks ago the council renewed their commitment to the nonpartisan nature of their elected roles by passing new wording that expressly states that. This was a good step but councilmembers made it clear in that conversation that they did not know what it meant to be nonpartisan or how to be nonpartisan in the daily work. This agenda item was to start the work of clarifying that. No action is requested from council on the draft policy in the packet. She clarified this agenda item is forward looking only; some members of the public referenced a past resolution. There was no intent to revisit any resolutions that happened in the past. The issue of who would decide which resolutions go forward to the council agenda was included in the draft which is not what the council will be speaking to tonight. Council President Olson continued, some of the public comments said the person making the decision regarding what went forward would be acting as an autocrat. When council passes a policy, the council president should be acting in a servant mode of implementing the policy so whatever moved forward or did not move forward to the agenda would be reflective of what the council said based on the policy the council approved. Great points were made about the need for checks and balances so if a person was in charge of making the determination, a closer look should be given to how that was done and the checks and balances. Council President Olson suggested ignoring the proposed draft policy in the packet and start with a series of questions to determine if the draft policy is the right starting point. She looked forward to a noncontentious Q&A and conversation among colleagues gathered in service to discuss policy that will ultimately serve the community. She will read the questions, noting they were also emailed to councilmembers. She posed the first question: Is there value to having a policy that focuses on things that fit the nonpartisan role we’re elected to and/or on the things that directly impact the City, thus focusing councilmembers, staff and meeting time and our City resources which are not unlimited? She requested councilmembers answer yes or no and provide the reason for their answer. Councilmember L. Johnson commented this is a very unusual way to bring something forward. It feels like one councilmember directing other councilmembers regarding how to discuss an item and she objected. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 13 Council President Olson referred to the staff recommendation in the agenda memo, discuss the topic and weigh in with general agreement or disagreement with having policy guidelines on City resolutions. She was the staff lead on this agenda item. Councilmember Paine commented this was kind of bait and switch; putting something in the packet that everyone reviewed and the public commented on, and now there is a change to a Q&A during the meeting. She began to offer prepared remarks. Council President Olson raised a point of order, commenting this was out of order with the staff recommendation and how this item would be discussed. Mayor Nelson responded a councilmember wished to speak to the agenda item. He did not find that out of order and allowed Councilmember Paine to continue. Councilmember Paine advised the resolution exceeded the council president’s limited authority and she should not want to nor believe she had the power to control all the resolutions drafted by all councilmembers. If the council president did not like a draft resolution, she could vote no. The claims about this being nonpartisan are a bit of a red herring. The council president claims this a nonpartisan issue when the real reason is to control all messaging by council going forward and controlling the framing of what is important in the community. There are good examples of why resolutions are important. The council recently passed a reproductive freedom resolution and not more than ten days later, the local hospital, Swedish Edmonds, wanted to move their birth and pregnancy clinic to a religiously affiliated, very congested hospital about 20 miles away which is contrary to their agreement with the hospital district. Swedish Edmonds wanted to move essential OB-GYN care from the south Snohomish County community at the detriment of many people’s health. The hospital district advised Swedish Edmonds they could not change programming per their agreement. Councilmember Paine continued, in the past, Edmonds has had blatant examples of racism including a noose hung at a construction site where there were Black workers as well as racial epithets chalked on the street. This resulted in a resolution declaring Edmonds to be a safe and welcoming place for all residents. There are good reasons for resolutions that reflect the community’s values. This effort by the council president is really to control all messaging by the administration; two weeks ago the council president put forward a proposal to change the public information officer’s job duties, to control speech by and for the administration which is a policy decision. This resolution to end all resolutions is along the same path. It is not small-d democracy, it is authoritarianism or totalitarianism because it wants to control what is put out to the public. Two weeks ago the council approved a resolution to change the council’s webpage to acknowledge councilmembers are nonpartisan, which is true, the council is nonpartisan. There are a wide range of issues that the community does not regard as nonpartisan including the environment, gun safety, etc. This resolution and this discussion will hinder the community’s ability to seek redress in front of the council, have the ability to contact a councilmember and propose a good resolution that addresses an issue in the City. There’s needs to be a good way to address things that come up outside the City and on a national level. Councilmember Paine continued, two weeks ago she added “representative government” because the council is a representative government. Representative democracy includes democracy run by the people. Citizens have a say in how the government is run which is different than a monarchy or dictatorship where one person has all the power. The characteristics of representative government include equality of all citizens before the law and legitimacy of representative power of participation in public life and protection of minority rights and all human rights. She reiterated the council president’s claim about this being about nonpartisan is a red herring when the real reason is to control all messaging by the council and control the framing of what is important in the community. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 14 COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED TO HAVE THIS TABLED. MOTION FAILED FOR LACK OF A SECOND. Councilmember L. Johnson said the agenda item is incorrect and incomplete. On August 2nd, the Edmonds city council supported featuring the nonpartisan characteristic of the updated roles statement with a 6-0 vote. That statement is incorrect, she was absent, the vote was 5-0 and for the record, she would not have voted in favor. The packet is also missing ECDC 1.02.031 regarding the council president’s duties as well as RCW 29A.52 regarding local primaries and elections as nonpartisan elections as well as 1st Amendment ramifications. The agenda memo also includes a staff recommendation; this item sponsored by and put on the agenda by, not by staff as indicated but by current Council President Vivian Olson. It states that requests for City of Edmonds’ action on a resolution will be processed by the council president and his/her designee. The council president will apply the guidelines herein and provide a reply to the requester. Councilmember L. Johnson said this is not simply the council president implementing a policy; this is the council president making policy. At its core, this proposal would give current and future council presidents the power to determine for the legislative body, the other six equally elected and the entire community, the values with which they may or may not speak or act on. It gives the council president the power to censor values. The council president was not elected to have this additional power. The legislative body determines what the council legislates on. Besides the legal ramification of this being outside the City’s code which defines the role of council president, this gives unchecked power to interpret and apply guidelines and inhibit council’s ability to respond to the needs and wants of the residents of Edmonds and limits the community’s voice. Not only is this possibly unconstitutional, think separation of state, the right of freedom of speech, the right to petition the government for redress of grievances, which is exactly what Councilmember Paine and she did when they drafted the resolution supporting reproductive freedom and choice. Councilmember L. Johnson continued, it is not feasible to truly legislate in a nonpartisan manner given the views and differing interpretations and/or motives of using the label partisan versus nonpartisan. A quick search of top partisan issues brings not only reproductive freedom and choice but also climate change, housing insecurity, LGBTQ rights, racism, gender equality and more, all of which some have labeled as too controversial and therefore partisan. Imagine in the past other civil and human rights and people saying they were too divisive or people were offended by them. Imagine human and civil rights such as slavery, segregation, the right to vote, interracial marriage, fair housing, etc. Human and civil rights are issues that impact residents on a daily basis. Additionally, the council’s oversight includes infrastructure, policing, and city services, but those are also rooted in values. Equity and equality, dismantling past discriminatory ordinances, exclusionary zoning practices or infrastructure choices that contribute to climate change; we make choices based on healthcare for City employees and support for local health care. Policing can get very political. Councilmember L. Johnson continued, with regard to human services, do we treat those struggling with homelessness with compassion and proven methods or do we simply demand they move on and not be visible to us? Those are all value judgments. Diversity, equity and inclusion based values regarding the equitable distribution of resources and services throughout the City. Partisan would likely include the City’s past resolution regarding Black History Month, Pride Month, condemning gun violence, standing against AAPI hate crimes, committing to the environmental goals of the Paris Accord and more. As one resident said in an email, the conflation of partisan values with the values people hold no matter where they might consider themselves politically would disallow the city council to represent its citizens. One political party does not believe in climate change; should the Edmonds city council try not to address climate change? One does not believe in marriage equality; should the Edmonds City Council tell the LGBTQ+ community members good luck? Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 15 Councilmember L. Johnson continued, irrespective of who is in the council president’s seat, this resolution vests unequal legislative power to one position. It is a chipping away at small-d democracy. The code of ethics states the council will be dedicated to the concepts of effective and democratic government. This is an affront to the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech, the right to petition the government, the separation of church and state and opens the door to possible lawsuits for possible violations of the 1st Amendment. It is also a misrepresentation of nonpartisan elections. Under the Washington State Constitution Article 4, Section 29 and RCW 29A.52.20, local primaries: all city and town primaries shall be nonpartisan. Elections for nonpartisan offices are conducted in a different manner than the nominating and election processes used for partisan offices. Councilmembers hold nonpartisan offices as determined by the state statute defining the nonpartisan nature of elections, but the statute does not prohibit a political party or committee from endorsing, supporting or opposing a candidate for nonpartisan office. That means there is no rule or guideline on the values with which to legislate in a nonpartisan position. Nonpartisan elections, used to describe elections in which the candidates do not run with partisan labels, are generally municipal, county, school, judicial. It says nothing about the values. Councilmember L. Johnson continued, some are purposely conflating the meaning, intent and purpose of the local, nonpartisan election process as defined by law. This also speaks to an argument against nonpartisan elections, that they tend to produce elected officials more representative of the upper socioeconomic strata than that of the general population and aggravates the class bias which is what we are seeing at play here. Councilmember Buckshnis appreciated Council President Olson bringing this forward. The issue is simple and even though she did not agree the council president should control what other councilmembers do, there have been controlling council presidents in the past so this should not be about shaming Council President Olson. Councilmember Buckshnis recalled being left out of the entire budget approval process last year because she attended a wedding on November 18th which the council president knew about. It is very difficult to determine what is partisan and what is not; for example, she did not view Roe v. Wade as a partisan issue; she viewed it as a human rights issue. She did not view climate change as a partisan issue. Councilmember Buckshnis continued, the intent is not to create a divisive dais or citizenry, it is an attempt to move things forward that are important to everyone. She appreciated Council President Olson bringing forward the resolution, but did not support the council president determining which resolutions will be processed. There have been council presidents in the past who did not put resolutions on the agenda. For example, the late Councilmember K. Johnson had a very difficult time getting resolutions on the agenda during the last couple years. She did not view the proposed resolution as a reason to attack the council president, but agreed the council needed to determine how resolutions are addressed in the future. Resolutions related to human rights and partisanship are few and far between. She suggested this go through a committee. She was uncertain how to define what resolutions were appropriate because she did not consider climate change, human right issues or gun safety partisan issues, but they are being defined that way. Councilmember Buckshnis continued, the literature provided supports taking partisan politics out of local government, but she was uncertain how that could be done. She reiterated there have been council president in the past 12 years who limited councilmembers’ voices. This is nothing more than moving forward with a resolution to show citizens that the council is attempting to be nonpartisan on important issues. Council President Olson said she eventually wants to get back to the questions, anticipating that would be more constructive toward developing a policy. Some specific issues were raised that support the need for doing this or not spending time on issues. The Verdant Commission’s involvement with the issue related to Swedish Edmonds was a perfect role for them and she did not believe the council’s passage of the Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 16 resolution impacted their taking that action. Climate change was also raised an issue; the council supported a commitment to climate change and keeping the degree of temperature rise to 2 degrees or less. The guidelines in the draft resolution included in the packet for discussion are to focus on things related to city policies, budget items, projects and programs. She suggested getting away from the concept of partisanship, and instead focus on how the council spends its time. In the military, people say that’s above my pay grade, meaning there is another level up that is dealing with something. The council has gotten into topics that are in the purview of other levels of government. If the council focuses on things appropriate to this level of government, they can do their jobs better and more completely. Council President Olson recalled during the week that the council was working on the reproductive rights resolution, which did not have local impact or ability for change, there were big graffiti and trash issues, things the council could have addressed in the community that would have had more impact on Edmonds residents. That is the basis for this conversation; with the limited resources and time, is it worth the time and money to make statements about things that do not have local impact when that time and money could be used in different ways. She looked forward to getting to the questions so instead of making political statements, the council could work together on policy as colleagues. Councilmember Paine pointed out Council President Olson’s first question was about how to spend time with fellow councilmembers, staff and meeting time. Tonight here are three items of City business that the council is not discussing to instead talk about something very council-specific and council-focused. From the July 5th meeting through the August 2nd meeting, there were 22 council business items, 11 of which were focused on the administration, some took only a small amount of time, and 6 council-focused items which were quite lengthy. Four items were moved off agendas due to lack of time. Tonight it appears the council is focused on something council-specific instead of the real business of the City such as the Clean Building Act audit, the council student rep, and the code update pertaining to the city attorney. This is a much better topic for the retreat rather than on the dais. She concluded she would like the council to get back to doing City business. Councilmember Tibbott commented the council was at place where it needed to have a discussion about how best to set an agenda for City business and organizing those objectives and that properly happens at a council retreat. He was hopeful the council could hold a retreat early in year to set an agenda and organize objectives for the coming year. He expressed concern with some resolutions in the past that came as a surprise and the councilmembers bringing them forward have had time and expert help in preparing the resolution which makes it difficult for him to participate in the dialogue. In some cases the council needs a 2-3 touch rule so they know what resolutions are coming, possibly ways for councilmembers and citizens to state their views, and some resolutions might need a larger public process. Those take time away from council legislative business. He agreed this was an important topic for the council to discuss, but he found it difficult to do on the dais. COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, TO TABLE THIS TO ANOTHER OCCASION AND DO IT IN A COUNCIL RETREAT SETTING SO WE CAN DELIBERATE MORE DEEPLY ON THIS TOPIC. UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION CARRIED (6-0), COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN, TIBBOTT, BUCKSHNIS, PAINE, AND L. JOHNSON, AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING YES. 5. CODE UPDATE PERTAINING TO CHAPTER 2.05 ECC CITY ATTORNEY City Attorney Jeff Taraday said he first drafted this amendment about ten years ago. At that time there was no interest in moving it forward; the council president requested it be on tonight’s agenda. He recognized the code needs updating as several aspects of the code are out of date. He reviewed the proposed updates: Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 17 • In Section 2.05.010, remove “The city council shall utilize the consultant selection process established by Chapter 2.80 ECC provided that the mayor shall participate with the city council consultant selection committee in the selection of up to three candidates for presentation to the city council for its final approval.” This is proposed to be removed because the chapter it references, Chapter 2.80, has not existed in the City code for quite some time. Some portion of the sentence may be worth salvaging in a future draft of code. • In Section 2.05.010, change “approve” to “appoint” as appoint is a more appropriate word than approve • Change Section 2.050.020.A to read, “…approve review all ordinances as to form and indicate whether such ordinances are approved as to form.” He assumed the council wants the city attorney to be able to not approve something. Approval as to form does not mean the city attorney agrees with the content of the ordinance or is expressing opinion whether the ordinance is constitutional, only that it is in the form that an ordinance should be in. • Change Section 2.05.020.A to read, “He shall represent the city in all actions brought by or against city officials in their official capacities unless the city attorney’s contract with the city otherwise limits this scope or unless the city elects to contract with special counsel to represent the city in a particular matter.” The city attorney does not represent the city in all actions brought against the city; for example, the city has an insurance pool and in tort type actions, the insurance pool defends the city and appoints counsel to defend the city. • 2.05.020.B.1 – update “work meetings” to “committee meetings.” He suggested the council may wish to discuss whether the city attorney's office should continue attending committee meetings. • Delete 2.05.020.4, “Attend all sessions of the Edmonds Municipal Court.” This code was originally drafted in 1962 and he suspected in the 1960s one firm did both civil and criminal work. • In 2.05.030, delete “hourly” because not all firms charge on an hourly basis. For example, Lighthouse charges a flat fee. • Add a new Section 2.05.040 “City prosecutor. By separate professional services contract, the city council shall appoint an individual or firm to be designated as the city prosecutor. The city prosecutor shall prosecute criminal violations of the city’s code new section to describe City prosecutor and recognize that a separate contract.” Mr. Taraday advised this is for discussion only; there is no ordinance in the packet. Councilmember Tibbott expressed his appreciation for the code update, noting there were clear examples of the need for the update such as the language about attending municipal court. With regard to “as to form,” he asked whether the city attorney could be asked for an opinion regarding a contract the City is entering into. Mr. Taraday answered every contract the City enters into is reviewed by Lighthouse, most of the time by Sharon Cates. He was uncertain there was a signature block for the city attorney on every contract, but most do. City Clerk Scott Passey agreed they did. Mr. Taraday explained when the city attorney’s office signed a contract, it was not saying they agreed with the deal, just that it was a valid contract. Councilmember Tibbott asked if the city attorney would review a contract to ensure the City was not entering into unsuitable obligations. Mr. Taraday answered with regard to contracts and ordinances, the city attorney sees it as their solemn duty to ensure decision makers understand what they are about to do, whether it is the mayor before he executes a contract, the council before they approve a contract, or the council before they approve an ordinance. The signature does not connote that work; the signature indicates something much less than that. The approval as to form standard is a very low hurdle. The work Lighthouse does is at a much higher level than approval as to form. Councilmember Tibbott observed approval as to form is a very valuable service and he did not want to minimize that. He asked when the city attorney could be asked to render an opinion on a contract or Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 18 ordinance. Mr. Taraday answered that can be done at any point; they are always willing to answer questions to ensure the council is fully informed before decisions are made. It is always his goal to ensure the council, staff and mayor’s questions are answered to the best of their ability. He encouraged the council to feel free to ask what the city attorney’s office thinks about something. It is a fine line, he is not an elected official and it is not his role to express his personal policy preferences such as whether he thinks a policy is a good idea. He has to be careful about how he expresses himself to be sure he is expressing an opinion as an advisor and not his personal opinion. Councilmember Tibbott asked how the city attorney’s service as an advisor is expressed in the ordinance. Mr. Taraday referred to the first sentence of 2.05.020, “The city attorney shall advise the city authorities and officers on all legal matters to pertaining to the business of the city…” While the advisor role is not referenced in the ordinance, his touchstone for the work they do is the rules of professional conduct. He rarely looks at the code but relies on the rules of professional conduct which tell him and every other lawyer in Washington State their duties and how they do their work as a lawyer, an aspect his firm takes very seriously. He helps teach other municipal lawyers the rules of professional of conduct at attorney conferences; it is something he sees as an important part of what he does. He offered to include reference to that in the code. Councilmember Tibbott agreed. Councilmember Tibbott suggested work meetings could be a general term that covers retreats, conferences, and committee meetings. Councilmember Buckshnis said the city attorney did not attend committee meetings when they were in- person unless there was a specific topic on the agenda. Zoom has changed things and she was unsure whether the city attorney needed to attend committee meetings due to OPMA. Mr. Taraday answered it was not an OPMA issue that caused the city attorney too attend committee meetings. He agreed when committee meetings were held concurrently, it was impossible for the city attorney to attend all the meetings. Recently, although it depends on what is on the committee’s agenda, more often than not questions are posed to the city attorney during committee meetings so he felt there was value to the city attorney attending, but there was no legal or OPMA requirement. In fact, there is no legal requirement to have at the city attorney attend city council meetings although he liked to think they added value. Councilmember Buckshnis commented OPMA is also not addressed in this section of code. She recalled there were a couple OPMA challenges last year and the city attorney also conducts OPMA training. She asked why that was not part of the duties was not listed in the code. Mr. Taraday answered training on OPMA and other topics absolutely could be added to the duties in Section 2.05.020. Councilmember Buckshnis pointed out the council is required to have annual OPMA training and new councilmember go to AWC training. OPMA is very important to many people and she believed it should be specified in the city attorney’s duties. Councilmember Buckshnis asked how citizens challenge OPMA issues such as during the budgetary approval process when citizens were not allowed to speak at a public hearing if they had spoken the week before. She anticipated it would be the city attorney’s responsibility to eliminate those trust issues. Mr. Taraday agreed trust is the single most important factor the city council should have in their attorney. He liked to think they have earned the city’s trust over the 11 years they have been city attorney and felt they had. One of things that is challenging in his role is he is not allowed under the rules of professional conduct to engage directly with citizens; he has to work through the elected officials and staff. That situation contributes to many of the misunderstandings that have occurred over the years where citizens have questions about his legal advice but he is not allowed to engage with them directly. The Council would have to expressly authorize him to do that which has never happen and he was not sure what the mechanics would look like. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 19 Mr. Taraday continued, if councilmembers feel there are questions about the legal advice provided or something related to OPMA, the best way to get those questions answered is to ask them in a public meeting where he can respond to the councilmember and indirectly respond to citizens who are wondering why he provided that advice or why a meeting was allowed to happen in a certain way. Asking questions is the best way to maintain or rebuild trust levels; he is always willing to be challenged on the advice he provides or to explain it in a way that makes more sense than the way it was explained the first time. Councilmember Buckshnis recalled in 2014 she and Mr. Taraday met with a citizen on regarding a street vacation so the city attorney has worked directly with citizens. Mr. Taraday clarified that with a councilmember present. Councilmember Buckshnis commented it was important to specify the OPMA training in the duties; that training is important and has become more paramount with Zoom meetings. With regard to the removal of the statement in Section 2.05.010 regarding the consultant selection process, Lighthouse’s contract is up this year and she suggested to Council President Olson that the City do an RFP to see what’s out there, basically kick the tires. The code should reflect the selection process unless the City moves to an inhouse city attorney which she was uncertain would ever be done. Mr. Taraday explained that sentence was removed because Chapter 2.80 no longer exists. With regard to an RFP, Mr. Taraday challenged the notion that the city council should be required by its code to do an RFP every time it renews the city attorney contract. Councilmember Buckshnis agreed. Mr. Taraday commented some councilmembers and citizens may not understand that the only thing a 3-4 year contract does is lock in the rates they can charge the City; it does not lock the City into using them. Even at the beginning of a 4-year contract, the council can terminate the contract if it becomes dissatisfied with the city attorney’s services for any reason. The question becomes when is an RFP appropriate. In his opinion, the only time an RFP is done is if the City is dissatisfied with the city attorney. That is customary in the industry; other cities do not do RFPs to check market data because the market data is publicly available for review. As soon as they learn the City is dissatisfied, they will start looking for another client and the City can start look for another attorney. He reiterated it seemed problematic to have a requirement in the code that an RFP is required whenever the city attorney’s contract is renewed. Councilmember Buckshnis commented she and Mr. Taraday have had this discussion previously and she believed it was appropriate to check what was out there. She was not saying Lighthouse was doing a bad job, she just wanted to see what was available which may include an inhouse attorney. The code should include language about the consultant selection process. Just because the City may do an RFP process did not mean the city attorney was doing a bad job. The code also does not reference the city attorney evaluation which helps Lighthouse understand how their performance is viewed. She recalled the City changed the prosecuting attorney a couple years ago. As citizens were unable to contact the city attorney, she invited them to contact her. Councilmember Paine referred to an email she sent the council and copied Mr. Taraday and Mayor Nelson, asking that this item be pulled from the agenda. She has worked with city attorneys for decades, probably 30 different attorneys. She suggested it would be helpful as a primer to review the city attorney’s duties and other ways the City is represented, noting in addition to being represented by the insurance pool’s attorneys, the City has bond counsel. Most councilmembers have not participated in hiring a new city attorney. The code is certainly outdated, includes gendered language, etc. and needs to be updated. She requested and received the minutes from the 2019 discussion about inhouse city attorney versus contract. Councilmember Paine observed the code language is directed toward council; the city attorney also provides advice to staff and the administration. Mr. Taraday referred to the first sentence of 2.050.020, “The city attorney shall advise the city authorities and officers on all legal matters to pertaining to the business of the city…”, pointing out city authorities and officers includes the administration, directors, Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 20 staff, etc. He referred to the second sentence of 2.050.030, “…the mayor and city council may assign the duties set forth in the preceding section accordingly.” He summarized this was intended as a starting point for discussion; this code has not been updated in eons. Language clarifying the city attorney’s role regarding the administration could certainly be incorporated. Councilmember Paine asked if the council could benefit from an overview of what city attorneys are responsible for and how that interaction occurs. Mr. Taraday said in the city attorney’s annual report on next week’s agenda he will cover some of what they do on a day-to-day, year-to-year basis, how they spend their time, etc. He invited councilmembers to let him know if there were specific things they wanted covered in his report. He wants the council and the public to understand what the city attorney does and does not do. Council President Olson commented sometimes in the pursuit of perfection or ensuring every possible change is anticipated, the council does not move forward with code updates. She learned it is quite inexpensive to update the code so she recommended the council clean this up and move forward with a code update. She was hopeful the council would choose to proceed next week with updating this code because literally every time the prosecuting attorney goes to the municipal court instead of the city attorney, they are violating the code. It is time to address the core problems with the code and additional changes can be made in the future. She looked forward to the code coming back to council next week. Mr. Taraday asked if Council President Olson wanted an ordinance drafted that adopted these changes or should he do his best to improve upon what was proposed tonight. Council President Olson said she was not speaking on behalf of the full council, but she supported him returning with updates based on what the council discussed today; the council could tweak them next week and then approve them. Mr. Taraday said he will make additional revisions that make sense based on tonight’s discussion and the council can amend it next week. Mayor Nelson declared a brief recess. 6. CLEAN BUILDING ACT INVESTMENT GRADE AUDIT - FRANCES ANDERSON CENTER (Previously Consent Agenda Item 13) Councilmember Chen explained he pulled this from the Consent Agenda because he wanted to clarify the cost structure and what McKinstry will do. Acting Public Works Director Rob English answered Facilities Manager Thom Sullivan was not available tonight. He recommended councilmembers submit their questions and schedule this item on next week’s agenda. For Council President Olson, Mr. English advised a week’s delay was not an issue. Councilmember Buckshnis commented this came before two committees last week. The Frances Anderson Center is the oldest building in City. McKinstry doing has been doing a great job and it is a good idea to do the audit. If councilmembers needed further information, she suggested watching the finance committee and/or PPW committee meetings. 8. ORDINANCE ADDING A NEW CHAPTER ECC 2.03A PERTAINING TO STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE TO CITY COUNCIL (Previously Consent Agenda Item 8) COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO CHANGE THE CODE TO BE HIGH SCHOOL ONLY. Council President Olson commented there was no code for the council student representative so the code for other boards and commission’s student representatives was used as a guideline. Other boards and commissions in the City are interest-based versus exposure to civic government. An 18-year old could run Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 21 for city council and participate in city government. She assumed at the time a youth representative was imagined, it was an opportunity to get a view that otherwise would not be available. She suggested keeping it simple and straightforward by allowing only high school students which would include running start students. That also eliminates the possibility of age discrimination; including college students could be someone of any age. Councilmember L. Johnson expressed concern with limiting the position to high school students because although the council had an excellent student rep, he was the representative for two years due to a lack of candidates. It would be beneficial to define the purpose of the student representative, whether it was to hear the voice of youth or give young adults an opportunity for civic engagement. Before a decision is made to limit the student rep to high school students, the council may want to have further discussion. She recalled someone mentioning last week that this is an opportunity for students to use this on their college applications, but she was uncertain that was the reason for the student rep position. She recognized that minors do not vote and that there is value in hearing the voice of young adults. The issue of age discrimination also needs to be addressed. Due to the small pool of candidates in the last couple years, she did not want to limit who could serve as student rep. Councilmember Tibbott found the amendment appropriate. A big part of the student rep is exposure and for a high school student learn about the topics the council is deliberating on and take it back to the student body or youth commission as well as share their point of view. Some high school students are 18 and hopefully are voting. He was supportive of limiting the council student rep to high school students. Councilmember Buckshnis expressed support for limiting the council’s student rep to high school students. The youth commission does not include college students and she was unaware of any other boards or commissions whose student rep was a college student. It is important to stick with high school students who are learning and are communicating with the youth commission. She did not recall problems in the past with finding student representatives and was unsure it had been advertised well enough. She supported the amendment and recruiting from local schools. Councilmember Paine was opposed to removing “college” and prefer to have it age based, such as under the age of 24 at the time of application. The council’s last student rep was in running start which is a college program. The student rep can learn from council but it is also important to hear the voice of young people to ensure the council is aiming toward the future. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER L. JOHNSON, TO AMEND TO REPLACE “COLLEGE STUDENT” WITH “OR COMMUNITY RESIDENT AT THE AGE OF APPLICATION OF 24 OR LESS.” Councilmember Chen expressed support for including college students as there are high school students taking college classes. There is also a community college in this community; some of those students may not be traditional students but are eager to learn and participate just the same as high school students. At times there are not enough high school candidates, so it would be beneficial to expand the pool of applicants. Council President Olson assured a good job will be done on advertising and outreach. She did not have strong feelings either way, she just like the simplicity of the high school age or younger. Councilmember L. Johnson referred to concerns about age bias and asked whether designating an age would be an issue. City Attorney Jeff Mr. Taraday said it might be helpful to have a better understanding of the purpose of the age cutoff; the rational basis test is the first test that any ordinance has to clear. That means the council needs to be able to articulate a reason why the code says what it says. If the council has Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 22 an age cutoff of 24 years, the council needs to articulate why and what policy objective is served by the age cutoff. Councilmember L. Johnson asked if it would be sufficient to say the council wants to avail themselves of a youth perspective as well as expose this age group to civic engagement. Some councilmembers are of the opinion that learning does not end at 18, sometimes it happens when they are older. There are also young people in the community who given their high school schedule, maturity or whatever, weren’t ready to be a council student rep in high school but could benefit from it while in college. She sees value in those voices, but wanted to keep it to a younger demographic which is why 24 was selected. Mr. Taraday advised if the idea was the student rep position was a way to provide council access to a youth perspective and youth access to experiencing what it’s like to act like a legislator, the whereas clauses could be updated to reflect that and justify the age limit on that basis. He suspected that would survive rational basis scrutiny, but said he had not done the research. Councilmember L. Johnson suggested moving this to a future meeting and giving Mr. Taraday opportunity for further research. She asked whether the council should vote tonight to put it on consent where it could be pulled if there was an issue or whether it would be better to continue the discussion next week. Mr. Taraday answered if the amendment passes, he would welcome the opportunity to conduct further research before final adoption of the ordinance. Council President Olson suggested the council consider changing “student rep” to “youth rep” and add an age limit. She noted this would accommodate youth in trade school or in an internship program. She expressed support for the amendment. Councilmember Buckshnis said 24 year olds do not consider themselves youths. She anticipated there were sufficient high school students who would apply; Students Saving Salmon had 87 members this year. She recommended sending this back to committee and rewriting the entire thing. If the intent is to include people who can vote and/or run for council, a different term than “youth” needs to be used. She was not aware of any other boards or commissions with student reps who are not in high school. If people of voting age were allowed to serve as a student rep, she could see someone interested in running for council applying for the student rep position. If the council student rep is codified, it needs to be defined and ensure the terminology is correct. She did not support the amendment as 24 year olds were not youths. Councilmember L. Johnson clarified the position is a student representative. The term “youth representative” came up as a potential amendment. She did not support the term “youth” because that is prior to adulthood which would also exclude high school seniors who may be 18. She pointed out people attending trade school are still students. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO EXTEND TO 10:15. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Council President Olson did not support the amendment and urged the council to stay with the original simple high school motion. The intent is to get the word out and get a student rep for the upcoming school year. The council can revisit this in the future and make more extensive revisions in the future. UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION FAILED (3-3), COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN, PAINE AND L. JOHNSON VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS TIBBOTT AND BUCKSHNIS AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING NO. Council President Olson restated the motion: TO CHANGE THE CODE TO BE HIGH SCHOOL ONLY. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 23 Mr. Taraday explained the ordinance in the packet states, “appoint a high school or college student.” Council President Olson said the reason she removed this from the Consent Agenda was to remove reference to college and have it be high school only. UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION FAILED (3-3), YES; COUNCILMEMBERS TIBBOTT AND BUCKSHNIS AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN, PAINE AND L. JOHNSON VOTING NO. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO APPROVE THE ORDINANCE IN THE PACKET. Councilmember Tibbott said the ordinance needs further work. A college student could be in their 90s. The goals of having a student rep need to be defined and a decision made on whether to have an age limit. He preferred the age be younger than 24 or a status such as a high school student. He did not support the motion. COUNCILMEMBER L. JOHNSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO AMEND TO ADD AGE OF 21 AT TIME OF APPLICATION OR YOUNGER. AMENDMENT CARRIED (5-1), COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS VOTING NO. Mr. Taraday relayed his understanding of the motion was the first sentence of 2.03A.010 would read, “The city council may appoint a high school or college student 21 years of age or under at the time of application to participate as a nonvoting member.” Councilmember L. Johnson wanted to ensure the language about physically residing in the City of Edmonds during their term was included. Mr. Taraday advised that was in Section 2.03A.020. Councilmember Buckshnis did not support the amendment. The code language does not describe who appoints the student representative. She agreed the ordinance needed to go back to committee. Mayor Nelson advised the amendment already passed. Mr. Taraday explained he was simply clarifying before a final vote was taken on the ordinance. Councilmember L. Johnson relayed her understanding that the council president makes the selection and council confirms. Mr. Taraday clarified the code states the city council may appoint. Historically the council president has made a recommendation, it requires a council vote. Council President Olson recalled doing interviews for the student rep and voting as a body. She referred to 2.03A.040 which states the vote happens at an open public meeting. The only reference to the council president is related to preparing an application form. Councilmember Paine referred to the last sentence in 2.03A.030, “After the applications have been considered, nominations shall be voted on by the city council in an open public meeting.” UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION CARRIED (4-2), COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN, TIBBOTT, PAINE AND COUNCILMEMBER L. JOHNSON VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS BUCKSHNIS AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING NO. 10. MAYOR'S COMMENTS Mayor Nelson advised the Taste of Edmonds is this Friday through Sunday at the Frances Anderson Center. Additional information is available at TasteofEmdonds.com. This is the Chamber of Commerce’s primary fundraiser for other Chamber events including 4th of July, Halloween, etc. He encouraged the public to participate. 11. COUNCIL COMMENTS Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes August 16, 2022 Page 24 COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO EXTEND TO 10:25. MOTION CARRIED (5-1) COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT NO. Councilmember Buckshnis hoped everyone would have fun at Taste of Edmonds. She will not be able to attend the Taste or next Tuesday’s council meeting due to logistics. Councilmember Chen reminded the public that the deadline to apply for council position #1 is August 17th. He encouraged anyone interested in serving the city to step forward. Council President Olson advised the deadline for applications for the council vacancy in position #1 is tomorrow, Wednesday, August 17th at 4 p.m. She encouraged the public to read the 5-year Update to the Highway 99 Action Plan although it will now be on a future agenda. She gave a shout out to the Edmonds School District; she was excited to learn about the dual language programs at Chase Lake and Cedar Valley where incoming kindergarteners and 1st graders will start with 90% of their education taught in Spanish and 10% in English and transitioning to 50/50 by the 4th grade. This immersion approach is absolutely the right way to learn language. Some transfers are being accepted so parents who want their child to have that opportunity may want contact the schools. She hoped to see that program in more schools. Councilmember Tibbott relayed he has been in communication with Kristiana Johnson’s family regarding a memorial service and confirmed today that her memorial service will be on August 29th at 3 p.m. at City Park. This will be a public event sponsored by the city council, an opportunity to pay respects and honor the life of someone who served the City faithfully and lovingly. Further details will be forthcoming. Councilmember Paine looked forward to the Taste of Edmonds. She hoped everyone had an opportunity to notice the beautiful glass art on the corner of 6th & Bell that the council approved last year; it makes the whole building sparkle. She asked the council president to have agenda items more City-focused rather than council sort of stuff that belongs at a retreat. Councilmember L. Johnson commented across the country we are seeing an affront to democracy with the striping of rights and freedom of speech, including censorship such as in Florida and Texas. She was shocked to see the content of tonight’s proposed resolution about council resolutions. She was thankful at least for tonight censorship in Edmonds has been tabled but she was afraid it would not go away. She thanked everyone who contacted the council, pointing out every single email she received was opposed. She urged the public to keep paying attention; the ability for the council to represent them depends on it. 12. ADJOURN With no further business, the council meeting was adjourned at 10:16 p.m.