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2024-03-26 Council MinutesEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL MEETING APPROVED MINUTES March 26, 2024 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Mike Rosen, Mayor Vivian Olson, Council President Chris Eck, Councilmember Will Chen, Councilmember Neil Tibbott, Councilmember Michelle Dotsch, Councilmember Susan Paine, Councilmember Jenna Nand, Councilmember 1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE STAFF PRESENT Michelle Bennett, Police Chief Angie Feser, Parks, Rec., & Human Serv. Dir. Todd Tatum, Comm., Culture & Econ. Dev. Dir. Jeff Taraday, City Attorney Scott Passey, City Clerk Jerrie Bevington, Camera Operator The Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 6:59 pm by Mayor Rosen in the Council Chambers, 250 5' Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. The meeting was opened with the flag salute. 2. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Councilmember Dotsch 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. ANNUAL REPORT — SOUTH COUNTY FIRE AND RESCUE Fire Chief Thad Hovis, South County Fire (SCF), advised this is his fifth and final annual report to the Edmonds City Council. In five days, Assistant Chief Eastman will take over as fire chief, the City will be in good hands. Chief Hovis reviewed: Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 1 South County Fire by the Numbers o Serves nearly 300,000 people across 53 square miles in south Snohomish County 0 15 neighborhood fire stations staffed 24/7, including three fire stations in Edmonds 0 350+ uniformed personnel 0 70 firefighters on duty during the day and 64 overnight 0 37,677 incidents in 2023, including 6,147 in Edmonds o Most calls are medical emergencies (86% in Edmonds) • Serving Our Residents o Fires o Medical emergencies o Motor vehicle collisions o Hazardous materials o Rescues `�' Mnvn NRepl.ke Mill '.. Creek SW.,FI.J_ KeNeYs --- Como Lynnwood /f Edmonds Mountlake j Terrace Brier o Marine / Water o Other hazards and emergency situations o Community health, safety and risk reduction Assistant Chief of Emergency Medical Services, Health & Safety Shaughn Maxwell reviewed: • Emergency Medical Services o This is our most requested service o All firefighters are emergency medical technicians or paramedics 0 86% of incidents in the City of Edmonds were dispatched as EMS in 2023 o South County Fire is the first agency in the county to carry whole blood to provide in -field blood transfusions for patients with life -threatening medical conditions or trauma injuries. o Cardiac arrest saves ■ South County Fire's cardiac arrest save rate across the RFA is consistently well above state and national averages o ACT Program ■ Focuses on three skills needed to save a life in the first few minutes of an emergency - Stop bleeding - CPR & AED training - Administering Narcan ■ Taught in three 15-minute modules ■ Have trained 20,000 people Captain Nicole Picknell reviewed: Community Resource Paramedics (CRP) o Supports people who are forgotten o Non -emergency service to help reduce 911 calls and hospital use o Serves older adults, behavioral health patients, disabled people, homeless and veterans o Breaks down barriers and creates access to care ➢ Case study ■ Elderly Edmonds woman, 54 calls to 911 in 3 months Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 2 - Often 2-3 calls/day to 911 - 9 calls over a 14-day period - Each call generated a response by an engine company, medic unit or both After enrollment in CRP program: - Housing with full-time care - 1 call to 911 in 3 years - Decrease in client call volume improve availability of Engine 17 & Medic 17 for emergency response in Edmonds Growth in Edmonds - 2022: 119 clients - 2023: 303 clients Community Outreach Manager Shawneri Guzman explained her team is responsible for providing education and resources to residents to help prevent tragedies like fire and other trauma and to help prepare them for major disasters, cardiac events, etc. They do that through: • Community Outreach o Free online classes ■ ACT First Aid & CPR ■ Disaster Preparedness ■ Child Car Seat Safety ■ Virtual Car Seat Checks ■ Home Fire Safety ■ Aging in Place ■ Child Safety & CPR o Free distribution of lifesaving devices (made available via grant funding) ■ Child car seats ■ Smoke alarms ■ CO alarms ■ Infant safe sleep sacks ■ Bike helmets ■ File of Life o Community events in Edmonds ■ More than 7,500 residents reached at events including Fire Camp, Fourth of July Parade and fire station open events in the city o Assisting groups with developing a community wide safety plan Fire Prevention Deputy Chief Todd Anderson reviewed: • Fire Prevention 0 2 personnel assigned to City of Edmonds to operate as fire code officials and work with building department o Increases in new construction permit inspections: ■ 4 times more than 2017, from 131 to 546 o Implementation of new maintenance inspection software to assist with conducting and tracking annual fire inspections o In 2023 ■ 379 plan reviews ■ 55 preconstruction meetings ■ 30 special event permits Training o Photo of twenty-one 2023 Academy Graduates Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 3 Chief Hovis reviewed: • Emergency Responses - 2023 by the numbers and contract -required metrics o How many calls? Total incidents in the City of Edmonds in 2023: 6,147 12.05% increase from 2019 2019 2020 2021 2022 &urce: Snohomish County 911 data What type of calls? i 2023 medical aid Source: Snohomish County 911 data o Response times ■ Looks at 8-minute response time in four categories ■ This measures Sno9l l's call receipt to arrival ■ Comparisons of data for 2019-2023 ■ Percentage of calls within 8 minutes or less — 2019: 73.45% — 2020:56.19% — 2021: 68.41% — 2022:79.58% — 2023:78.58% ■ Response time on 90% of calls — 2019: 09:42 — 2020: 10:40 — 2021: 09:59 — 2022: 09:16 — 2023:09:26 o Turnout Time Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 4 ■ Measures the time from when Sno9l l call is dispatched to the time the apparatus leaves the station ■ The reporting standard in the contract is different from the city's adopted standard in the 1756 compliance report: 2:15 (contract) vs. 2:45 (compliance report) ■ South County Fire nearly met the city adopted standard of 2:45 (89.05%) ■ Turnout time percentage at 2:15 - 2019: 82.34% - 2020:81.28% - 2021:77.66% - 2022:78.07% - 2023:75.03% ■ 90% Turnout Time - 2019: 2:34 - 2020: 2:34 - 2021: 2:42 - 2022: 2:43 - 2023: 2:48 Neighboring Unit Utilization Factor (NUUF) o What it evaluates: Response of units across jurisdictional boundaries. o What the numbers mean: ■ 100% = an equal balance of cross jurisdictional response ■ Contract considers 90%-110% to be within balance range ■ Over 100% = units from neighboring jurisdictions are responding into Edmonds more than Edmonds units are responding outside the city o Why does this matter? ■ We have a regional emergency delivery system ■ This evaluates if level of service decisions in one jurisdiction negatively impact a neighboring jurisdiction o Neighboring Unit Utilization Added aid unit, March 2022 W_ 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 ■ Mountlake Terrace ■ Lynnwood a RFA A Unit Hour Utilization Factor (UHUF) o What it evaluates: Percentage of time a fire unit is on a call o What the numbers mean: The higher the number, the busier the unit is ■ Unit Hour Utilization Factor is up for Edmonds stations, but within compliance with contract standards ■ This number is up at two of three Edmonds fire station ■ 20% is the trigger to start looking at deployment options and additional resources o Unit Hour Utilization Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 5 ■ Station 16 ■ Station 17 • Station 20 al 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 • Transport Balancing Factor (TBF) o Looks at the balance between: ■ Edmonds --> Outside City - The number of times Edmonds -based units are doing transports outside the city ■ Outside City 4Edmonds - The number of times South County Fire units based outside the city are doing transports in Edmonds o In 2023, the factor was under 1.0 - Outside city units transporting in Edmonds less than Edmonds units transporting outside city - A factor of 1.0 means = in balance ■ Transnorts 2021 2022 2023 RFA transports in the City 575 595 430 Edmonds transports not in the City 460 794 713 Transport Balancing Factor (TBF) 1.250 0.749 0.603 • Other required metrics o Transport fees billed and collected in Edmonds and Esnerance Edmonds Billed Edmonds Collected Es erance Billed Es erance Collected 2019 $2,310,729 $973,880 $118,595 $48,838 2020 $2,164,260 $896,643 $85,807 $34,927 2021 $2,314,119 $870,562 $68,059 $27,601 2022 $2,500,700 $995,040 $79,605 $33,188 2023 $2,689,951 $1,154,454 $71,805 $31,865 o Shoreline units into Edmonds (measured in incident responses) ■ 2019: 119 ■ 2020: 56 ■ 2021: 97 ■ 2022: 16 ■ 2023: 48 o Edmonds unit into Woodway (measured in seconds) ■ 2019: 5,288 ■ 2020: 5,544 ■ 2021: 4,713 ■ 2022 287 ■ 2023 13,205 • Standards of Cover Compliance (1756 Report) I Standard 1 2021 1 2022 1 2023 1 Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 6 Turnout Time in Standard of Cover 2:45 2:42 2:43 2:48 Turnout time in contract 2:15 2:34 2:48 First arriving engine company to a fire 6:30 6:38 6:39 6:58 Full first alarm assignment at residential fire 7:45 8:15 10:55 10:41 Full first alarm assignment at commercial fire 9:00 12:35 9:16 13:29 BLS response 5:15 6:33 6:25 6:33 ALS response 6:45 6:13 6:20 6:14 • House Fire Response A minimum of 22 firefighters are dispatched to a house fire p�p�t rl rl rl 1 Technical Rescue Truck �n A A A 0.`.peoi 11 Iat 0 0 Tr .I .I 4 II II II Mrs- gi Z U-6:61 AAA I,_®_e 1 Ladder Truck 'n 1 Medical Services Officer r70"""WC; 11 11 � II 2 EMS Units 2 Battalion Chiefs Councilmember Eck said she has always had a high level of respect for the work SCF does and in her view, they are all heroes. She was happy to hear about the availability of whole blood in the field. With regard to the case study about the woman who called 911 a lot whom Community Resource Paramedics were able to assist, she asked what percentage of people utilizing that service were 65 or older. Captain Picknell said she did not have an exact percentage, but when she asked team members to provide significant calls in Edmonds, of the 10 cases provided, every one of them was over the age of 70. She could obtain the percentage if Councilmember Eck wished. Councilmember Tibbott referred to the graphic of equipment that responds to a house fire, and asked whether the amount and location of equipment would change as taller, more dense structures are built in Edmonds. Chief Hovis acknowledged Operations Chief Isotalo seated in the audience, anticipating his answer would be a commercial response to a taller building would include another ladder truck, another engine and another transport unit. Ladders are only so tall, so the problem has to be attacked with more people and resources. As communities continue to grow vertically, that is a consideration for SCF. SCF has only two ladder trucks on duty 24/7; consideration will need to be given to adding another in the future. Councilmember Tibbott observed there is one in Edmonds. Chief Hovis answered there is one at Station 14 in Blue Ridge (Lynnwood) next to Station 16. Councilmember Nand thanked SCF for the heroic work they are doing in Snohomish County. She recalled a question during last year's presentation about SFC's ideas for what Edmonds could do with its portion of the opioid settlement and how those funds could be used to save lives in the community. Assistant Chief Maxwell answered that is an exciting question; Captain Picknell is extremely passionate about that and likely could provide many ideas. Something he was hopeful could be implemented soon was getting out into the streets and helping people with addiction. There are medications that can be therapeutic to those with addiction problems. That funding can help SCF to actively engage with people instead of waiting until they overdose and need Narcan. Captain Picknell is working on robust plans to do that hopefully in the next year. Council President Olson thanked SCF for the data analytics, commenting it was helpful to compare year to year; her perception was Edmonds was in good place with regard to the contract. She also thanked them for the good work they do; truly public servants that the community relies on. With regard to the availability Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 7 of whole blood, she reminded the community that before SCF can do their good work, blood has to be donated. There is a donation center in Lynnwood at Highway 99 & 196t' and pop-up donation sites at the Waterfront Center; the next one is April 29 and 30. She encouraged the community to max out donors at that pop-up. Councilmember Paine thanked SCF for their service, saving lives every day. She was very glad to see the numbers come down which indicates the contract changes made in 2022 were appropriate. She asked what prevention work has been most effective such as the recent building codes revisions and what SCF would like to have implemented with regard to emergency medical and fire prevention. Deputy Chief Anderson answered the most useful related to prevention would be life safety measure codes in the 2023 edition which the council is in the process of adopting. Councilmember Paine relayed her belief those had been adopted. Deputy Chief Anderson advised there is a lot of new language that clarifies apparatus access, fire department connections and the ability to regulate those on inspection regarding gallons per minute they pump. For SCF to do their best work, it will be necessary to add more people. The contract has been in place since 2011 with no changes related to prevention. With regard to the codes, most of the changes to the 2018 version are minor. Councilmember Paine asked what was most useful related to emergency medical. Assistant Chief Maxwell answered the healthcare system is under extreme strain; nursing homes and rehab facilities are full which pushes into the hospital, into the emergency department and out to SCF. When people have no one else to call, whether it's social, behavioral, addition, etc., they call SCF. The incredible work Captain Picknell and her team do with opioids, behavior health and social services needs to be addressed upstream because it bogs down the entire system when emergency providers are dealing with them via the most expensive and inefficient approaches. There need to be investments in that upstream work which will help take the pressure off downstream. Councilmember Paine asked how long it takes to provide Narcan training to a group. Community Relations Manager Guzman answered the training takes less than an hour and can be adapted to all types of groups including workplaces, senior centers, etc. Two generous Verdant grants last year allowed SCF to distribute 400 Narcan kits (800 doses) during the holidays when they saw an uptick in overdoses. The training gets Narcan into the hands of those who need it as well as educating them about how to spot an overdose or signs of someone in addiction. She is on the Child Death Review Team for Snohomish County which is seeing teens 13-15 years of age who are overdosing and often those families have never been introduced to Narcan. Education and Narcan needs to be provided to middle schools, high schools, and parent groups as well as older adults who also experience addiction. Councilmember Chen added his appreciation to SCF and the great work they do every day to save lives and help with addictions and challenges, even providing education and community outreach events to seniors who do not speak English. The statistics in the presentation were very helpful, but there is no data related to the cost of running programs. From his rough calculation, Edmonds pays about $12 million for contract services, dividing that by 6,147 calls in 2023 is about $1,952/call. He wondered if there was any data available that compared the cost of SCF services to other fire agencies. He recognized cost was on SCF's mind as well and doing their job in the most cost-effective way. He suggested providing that information in the future if that data is available. Councilmember Dotsch thanked SCF for what they do for the community and the various services they provide. She was excited to hear SCF was top in the country in cardiac saves. She is a dentist and recalled having SCF provide training in their office. As Snohomish County is growing, including four times more new construction permit inspections and projections of 30% more people, she asked if SCF coordinates with state and county regarding the need for increased services as the population grows. Assistant Chief Eastman answered SCF has a comprehensive 25-30 year facility plan prepared by Berk and Associates, Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 8 TCA and other consultants. Berk and Associates prepared the Snohomish County comprehensive plan update so they have good knowledge of what was happening countywide. SCF is also working with Hospital District 2 on the Value Village property as a potential future site. A new station is needed as a result of growth occurring around Alderwood Mall Parkway, south of Fred Meyer and near Lake Stickney. SCF also has a property at Manor south of Gibson. SCF has looked at where fixed sites need to be located and once those infill fire stations are built and operating, SCF will have sticks and mortar where they are needed. As development increases vertically and becomes denser and call loads increase, resources at stations will need to be added. For example, instead of one fire engine, there may be two or a fire engine and two medic units. Once the fixed sites are operational, there will be efforts to double or triple house a station to address growth happening in South Snohomish County. Councilmember Dotsch asked how long that takes. Assistant Chief Eastman answered land acquisition sometimes takes a while and funding is something the board will need to discuss to increase fixed facilities; the real cost long term is the cost of personnel and equipment to operate those facilities. SCF is working on that, and he was hopeful that could be completed in the next 10-15 years. In addition to new fire stations, there are stations in the RFA such as Station 10 that need to be torn down/rebuilt. That will take 15-20 years to complete. The facility plan has been done, the rest of the planning, which includes funding and staff, is underway. Councilmember Dotsch commented on current response time versus with additional growth. She relayed her experience with her mom who lives at Edmonds Landing who went to Swedish -Edmonds in an ambulance and people were waiting to get into the ER. That illustrates the need to plan where people go; Swedish -Edmonds is one of the only hospitals in the area. She recognized the stress that puts on the fire department. Assistant Chief Eastman agreed infrastructure needs to be in place, there are only so many ER and hospital beds, adult family care homes and rehab centers and the community is woefully short on infrastructure for behavioral health challenges. The fire department and the city council need to talk to Olympia about the infrastructure challenges in Washington which has the fewest beds per population anywhere in the country. The problem isn't going away and will become more challenging. The RFA does its best to stay ahead of it and has been ahead of the hospital wall time issues for the last 2'/z years and are well connected with hospital leadership to maintain communication to ensure resources are available. Long term, there needs to be more infrastructure and that will require everyone working together. That work hasn't started yet and is not something SCF or the City can do alone, they will have to work together with help from Olympia and potentially Washington DC. Mayor Rosen thanked Chief Hovis for his service and for spending his career in South Snohomish County. He wished him well in his new chapter and was honored to have him as a resident of Edmonds. Mayor Rosen congratulated soon to be Fire Chief Eastman. 2. CITIZEN'S TREE BOARD 2024 ANNUAL REPORT Parks, Recreation and Human Services Director Angie Feser introduced Tree Board Chair Wendy Kliment and recognized Tree Board Members Janelle Cass and Ross Dimmick in the audience. Chair Kliment reviewed: • Tree Board Members o Wendy Kliment (Chair) o Bill Phipps (Vice -Chair) o Janelle Cass o Ian Higgins o Ben Mark o Crane Stavig Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 9 o Ross Dimmick (Alternate) o Jenna Nand (City Council/Ex-Officio) Tree Board's Main Mission o The Citizens' Tree Board actively encourages the planting, protecting, and proper maintenance of trees for long-term community benefit. Year in Review - 2023 o Edmonds is now in its 13th year as a Tree City USA o Earth Day - The Tree Board is now supported by the Edmonds Parks & Recreation Department, creating more opportunities for partnership, such as: ■ Yost Park Tree Planting ■ Bark Chips at Pine Ridge Park o Partnered with Edmonds in Bloom on their Garden Tour (7th year) o Arbor Day Event in October ■ Booth at the Farmers Market ■ Education component about critical areas - GIS interactive map at the Farmers Market ■ Gave away 90 trees to Edmonds residents ■ Afternoon tree tour with Instructor, Horticulturalist and Certified Arborist, Bess Bronstein o Winter market - Gave away 60 conifers to Edmonds residents at the December winter market o Provided input on the tree code Photographs from Earth Day, Farmers Market, and Winter Market 2024 Plans in Summary o Educate and assist through various activities and events including: ■ Earth Day, April 2024 ■ Tree seedling potting and giveaway at Watershed Fun Fair, May 2024 ■ Downtown Edmonds - educational tree tags ■ Edmonds in Bloom garden tour - tree identification ■ Farmers Market o Partner with Edmonds Parks and Recreation Department and Sound Salmon Solutions at Edmonds Parks o Continue to provide input on the Tree Code Councilmember Nand explained the reason the City has the designation of Tree City USA is the work of the volunteer tree board in conjunction with the administration. The work, outreach and education they do in a community where so many people are passionate about trees is amazing. Tree nerds, as she affectionately referred to them, have the incredible capacity and ability to talk to and educate people about trees. She appreciated their efforts, noting the City runs on its volunteers. Councilmember Chen expressed appreciation for the work the tree board is doing and the logo, right tree right place. He referenced the comprehensive plan and increasing development and asked what the tree board sees as its role during this transition period in addition to the great work they are already doing. Chair Klement responded the tree board is an advisory board that makes recommendations. Many tree board members are professionals who work with trees in their day jobs. The tree board has done a lot of work on the tree code, giving their opinion to the planning board on the development code, the tree code and the residential tree code are taking a back seat at the moment awaiting the comprehensive plan update. Ms. Feser commented prior to this year, the Planning & Development department supported the tree board. City code is housed under that department, not Parks, Recreation & Human Services, so those departments are splitting the responsibilities. When there are items related to code, comprehensive plan, or requests for feedback/recommendations, Planning & Development will be present at tree board meetings. Planning & Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 10 Development will be in touch with the tree board when they want their input, feedback and recommendations; Parks, Recreation & Human Services just does the fun stuff. Councilmember Paine commented a lot of councilmembers have either been on the tree board or served as liaison. She was on the tree board in the past when comprehensive tree code was developed that failed spectacularly. She congratulated the tree board on 13 years as a Tree City USA; she was on the tree board when the first renewal application was submitted. The tree board is remarkable and its members are all very accomplished and passionate about trees. She was particularly proud of the work the tree board does and the thoughtfulness of their outreach. She loved the tree giveaways and encouraged everyone to plant 2-3 trees. Councilmember Eck said she has had the pleasure of serving on the tree board. She thanked Janelle Cass for her service as the former chair and congratulated Wendy Kliment on being selected as chair. She recalled the delight in people's eyes when the tree board hands out free trees. The education that tree board members provide the community is invaluable, the work they do matters, and she is grateful to them for serving. Councilmember Dotsch thanked the tree board for the work they do. She recalled a lot of work was done on the tree code last year and she hoped the tree board was able to provide input on the comprehensive plan. She was at the farmers market in October for the tree giveaway and the GIS map display. She was glad to see the GIS map that shows what Edmonds looks like in reality, an important educational component. She wondered if there was a way to alert new homeowners when they have a critical area on their property. Council President Olson expressed appreciation for the presentation and the recap of last year. She was especially happy about the reorganization under Parks. The tree board should be proud of their 2023 Arbor Day event, it was one of the best in her memory. She looked forward to joining the tree board for Earth Day in 2024. Chair Klement advised there will be Arbor Day events at Yost and at Pine Ridge Parks, ivy pulling and tree planting at Yost and ivy pulling at Pine Ridge. 5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER ECK, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER. COUNCILMEMBER CHEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH, TO AMEND THE AGENDA TO PULL ITEM 7.2, JANUARY MONTHLY REPORT, FOR A BRIEF DISCUSSION. AMENDMENT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5A. JANUARY MONTHLY REPORT (Previously Received for Filing Item 7.2) Councilmember Chen referred to Fund Balances on packet page 112, observing General Fund 001 is not shown although it is typically most important fund. The City is under stress in the General Fund, but that fund is not shown in the monthly report. Councilmember Nand asked for clarification of Councilmember Chen's point. Councilmember Chen advised the list of fund balances on page 112 starts with Fund 009, followed by 011, 012, 014, etc., but although General Fund 001 is the most important, it is missing from this report. Councilmember Nand observed the report on page 112 is the General Fund Subfunds Overview. Councilmember Chen agreed, noting Fund 001 is most important subfund and is present in every other monthly report. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 11 Councilmember Tibbott commented the January Monthly Report has been in at least two and possibly three packets and the packet pages do not line up, but the information is correct. 6. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Roger Pence, Edmonds, former member and chair of the planning board, followed up on comments he made last week regarding data associated with the city's comprehensive planning process. Last week he expressed skepticism about the 13,000 projected population increase for the City of Edmonds over a period of 20 years which represents a 4.3 increase in the previous growth rate which did not seem probable. He attended the planning forum on Saturday in the Brackett Room hoping to find more evidence or documentation verifying that number, but it did not; the display board included the same numbers from previous PowerPoint presentations. He asked one of the consultants about the number, if we didn't have that 13,000 number floating around and the city just went about examining the history, data and evidence, would the city have come up with the projection of 13,000. The consultant said no, the city would not have come up with a number that large. Another equally incredulous number is the planned expansion of housing units, 9,068 new housing units to accommodate those 13,000 new people. Doing the math results in a unit occupancy of only 1.44 and he questioned the occupancy rate going from 2.25 people/unit to 1.44. He hoped someone would direct staff to make these numbers work because right now they are inexplicable and if they are the root of the city's comprehensive plan, they need to make sense. Anne Crawley, Edmonds, said she travels 100t1i and SR-104 very frequently. During the last three months, she noticed things happening on 100'/9t' related to the lane lines. Even more alarming was watching bicyclists coming from 100t' Avenue, crossing SR-104 and on 100t' where it intersects with 9t' and there is a big difference in the traffic 100' south of SR-104 where 100' becomes 9t''. She assumed the two white lines distinguish the bike lane from the parking. She has watched accidents almost happen when bicyclists cross SR-104 and proceed into this new bike lane. She anticipated that hazard increasing with more bicycles and electric bikes. Ken Reidy, Edmonds, expressed his support for the excellent comments made by Roger Pence and he hoped the council would listen carefully to what he said. He referred to the consent agenda item related to Council Rules of Procedures Section 3, commenting the proposed changes are not consistent with the Edmonds City Code. He recommended when adopting new Rules of Procedure that they be consistent with the City Code; the City Code clearly states the council president shall have the following responsibilities: formulate and prepare the agenda for city council meetings. If changes to the Rules of Procedure are not consistent with the City Code, the code needs to be revised first. He was disappointed the red light cameras presentation in tonight's agenda packet as he had hoped it would be removed. He referred to packet page 228, a comparison of City of Lynnwood Red Light Accident Reductions, advising that was not an accurate portrayal of the data as in 2017 Lynnwood made a major change to the way they calculate accidents. Two different data sets cannot be shown on one graph as if it is the same data point. He recommended asking who prepared that graph and not passing the resolution tonight which summarizes the data received and adopts the location analysis. With regard to the BID, he encouraged the council to listen to business owners who have been opposed to the BID for a long time; they have some great points, and it is likely time to let the BID sunset. 7. RECEIVED FOR FILING 1. CLAIM FOR DAMAGES FOR FILING 3. COUNCIL APPOINTMENT TO A BOARD/COMMISSION 4. OUTSIDE BOARDS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS 8. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 12 COUNCILMEMBER CHEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED (6-1) COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH VOTING NO. The agenda items approved are as follows: 1. APPROVAL OF COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES MARCH 12, 2024 2. APPROVAL OF SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES MARCH 12, 2024 3. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS AND WIRE PAYMENT 4. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND WIRE PAYMENTS 5. COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE SECTION 3 9. COUNCIL BUSINESS RESOLUTION ADOPTING TRAFFIC SAFETY CAMERA LOCATION ANALYSIS Council President Olson explained this resolution is strictly about the data on the intersections and whether the data is an analysis of what the council needs and plans to use to make a decision in the future whether to implement red light cameras at zero, some, or all of the intersections that were studied. She reiterated the resolution is strictly about the data on the intersections. The data point identified under Audience Comments is being reviewed. Because there is interest in this item and not everyone has followed all the meetings regarding red light cameras, every packet included all the information. The information highlighted by the resident is not related to this decision on the resolution which is an analysis of the City of Edmonds intersections; the graph that was referenced was about Lynnwood's accident history and is not germane to this item. Approving the resolution accepts the analysis as the basis for decision making. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION IN THE PACKET. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO AMEND THE TITLE OF RESOLUTION, TO STRIKE "SECOND" AND SUBSTITUTE WITH "INTERSECTION" SO THE TITLE READS, "... AN INTERSECTION SECOND TRAFFIC SAFETY CAMERA LOCATION ANALYSIS..." AMENDMENT CARRIED (6-1), COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH VOTING NO. Councilmember Paine said she also has concerns with some of the other whereas clauses but will wait for other councilmembers to speak. Councilmember Dotsch was concerned that the study of intersections did not come from full council. The data presented included a third party who has a financial interest in the installation of the cameras; it should have been provided by an outside party. The automated enforcement checklist she cited at a previous meeting which the police said they were using, stated this should be part of a citywide public safety plan. This is narrowly focused on the most highly trafficked intersections, 100' & SR-104, 220' & Highway 99, and 76th & 212th. The data is very generalized; in reviewing the actual numbers, at the three intersections identified as the most dangerous, there were five accidents caused by running red lights in 2023, zero bicyclist or pedestrians were struck and there were zero injuries. The narrative that these are the most dangerous intersections and that there are 500+ accidents in Edmonds raises the question of whether the data is being considered properly and whether citywide safety is being considered. Mayor Rosen clarified the motion is to accept the accuracy of the data and not the use of the data. Councilmember Dotsch reiterated the data is very generalized. If the issue is drivers running red lights, the council needs accident data related to drivers running red lights. She questioned issuing $130 citations for running a red light when in reality there may be other things that cause more bodily harm, and whether this Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 13 was the best place to invest police and court resources. This information was the result of a poor process last year and she still feels it is a poor process. Councilmember Nand thanked Council President Olson for her work and staff for their input. She expressed concern that this is supposed to be a neutral adoption of data for future consideration of whether to pursue red light cameras in Edmonds. COUNCILMEMBER NAND MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH, TO AMEND TO REMOVE THE 7TH WHEREAS CLAUSE THAT READS, "WHEREAS, THE CITY COUNCIL IS CONSIDERING WHETHER TO AUTHORIZE THE ADDITION OF TRAFFIC SAFETY CAMERAS AT UP TO NINE SPECIFIC SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION LOCATIONS." Councilmember Nand said include that statement in resolution is getting ahead of ourselves. Councilmember Paine preferred to retain that whereas clause to ensure the data that is adopted pertains to Edmonds. The greatest opportunities for determining where red light cameras need to be located will be those nine intersections. There is likely to be better behavior modification if cameras are installed at nine intersections because people will pay more attention if there are cameras at nine intersections instead of only three. Councilmember Nand relayed her preference to remove the whereas clause due to strong skepticism in the community last year when this was brought forward that it was a revenue generating strategy by the council and not specifically tied to safety. Presenting to the public that the council is considering going from zero red light cameras to nine, especially in a year where the City is experiencing a tight budget, casts a pall over the efficacy and purity of the council's motives. She preferred to remove the whereas clause and see if an argument can be presented to the community with a close nexus to public safety and not revenue generation. She was not comfortable with stating the council was considering nine red light cameras. Council President Olson said she was also in favor of retaining this whereas clause but for a very different reason. As someone involved in authoring the resolution, that clause is related to whether to authorize up to nine. There is no intent or commitment communicated in this clause to install nine cameras. The data for the nine intersections will be the basis for the decision whether to install zero, one or more red light cameras. Councilmember Eck also supported keeping this whereas clause to give the council wiggle room. The feedback from the public about being equitable and not concentrating on one neighborhood also needs to be factored in. Councilmember Chen also supported the whereas clause regarding nine locations because the data sources are all credible and provide a comparison of different intersections throughout the City in order to make equitable decisions to improve public safety versus just for revenue generation motives. Councilmember Dotsch recalled the council asked for police and court time and was provided limited data related to school zone cameras. The department is ten officers short, 40 hours in front of a screen. Councilmember Tibbott raised a point of order, stating Councilmember Dotsch's comments are not relative to the amendment. Mayor Rosen requested council comments relate to the amendment to strike the clause. AMENDMENT FAILED (2-5) COUNCILMEMBERS DOTSCH AND COUNCILMEMBER NAND VOTING YES. Councilmember Paine referred to the 9t1i whereas related to delaying the selection of any or all of the nine intersections to a subsequent council action and recommended leaving that to the administration. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 14 COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER ECK, TO STRIKE THE 9TH WHEREAS CLAUSE, "WHEREAS, ANY DECISION TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF TRAFFIC SAFETY CAMERAS FOR ANY OR ALL OF THESE NINE SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION LOCATIONS WILL OCCUR, NOT THROUGH THIS RESOLUTION, BUT THROUGH SUBSEQUENT COUNCIL ACTION." Councilmember Paine said this would allow the administration to choose the intersections based on the safety analysis. The administration will be administering the program, the City has a strong police force, and the council is supportive of public safety. This whereas clause is not synchronous with the rest of the resolution that references the nine locations. Councilmember Nand said she was strongly opposed to removing the 9t' whereas clause. This issue has received a high level of public scrutiny and due to the police department's prominent role in presenting this last year, they came under some harsh and unwarranted criticism. The decision to add red light cameras will be a political decision and should not implicate the independence, integrity or perception of the police department or court in any way. Council President Olson agreed with Councilmember Nand's comments, there is still a policy decision to be made regarding whether or not to have red light cameras. This resolution is not to usurp or get around that policy decision, simply to state that this data will be used as the basis for that decision. MOTION FAILED (2-5), COUNCILMEMBERS PAINE AND ECK VOTING YES. COUNCILMEMBER NAND MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH, TO AMEND WHEREAS 8 TO READ AS FOLLOWS, "WHEREAS, THE CITY COUNCIL, AFTER REVIEW AND DISCUSSION, HAS DETERMINED TTs�T TO ADOPT THE AUTOMATED TRAFFIC SAFETY CAMERA ANALYSIS OF THESE NINE SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION LOCATIONS PURSUANT TO RCW 46.63.170(1)(A). Councilmember Nand commented the resolution needs to be very neutral, there has already been high level of public scrutiny about Verra Mobility, who is potentially the City's contractor, providing this information free of charge, etc. This amendment will preserve the neutrality and stress that the council has not made any commitments, the data sources are legitimate, and the council will give this due deliberation before making this policy change. Councilmember Dotsch expressed support for the amendment because "interest" could be safety, financial or something else and the statement is very vague. Council President Olson pointed out the Verra Mobility data was not the only data provided; it was among the data provided for each of the intersections. It is in the City's best interest to adopt the basis for making future decisions. She was comfortable with wording as submitted. UPON ROLL CALL, AMENDMENT FAILED (2-5), COUNCILMEMBERS DOTSCH AND NAND VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS ECK, CHEN, TIBBOTT, AND PAINE AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING NO. MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED (5-2), COUNCILMEMBERS DOTSCH AND NAND VOTING NO. 2. RESOLUTION CONCERNING REESTABLISHMENT WORKPLAN OF THE EDMONDS DOWNTOWN BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 15 Council President Olson explained many Business Improvement Districts (BID) are formed with a ten year duration and after that time they cease to exist or are reinitiated. When the Edmonds BID was initiated 10+ years ago in 2013, there was no term of duration. It is time to reevaluate it and go through a reinitiation process even though formation of the BID did not include any term of duration. Having learned that that is a best practice and as a result of the BID leadership having conversations with consultants, it is something the BID leadership wants to do differently in the next iteration of the BID. While she initiated this agenda item, she was pleased to say there has been collaboration and cooperation with city administration and leadership of the Downtown Edmonds BID. BID President, Jen Lawson, Crow, and BID Advisory Board Member Kimberly Koenig, Rogue, who have been part of the BID since its inception, are present virtually to answer questions. Community, Culture & Economic Development Director Todd Tatum is also present. As council prefers to have two touches before decisions are made and this is the first time council has seen this, she made the following motion: COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, FOR COUNCIL TO DISCUSS THIS ITEM AND VOTE TO PLACE THE ATTACHED RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE EDMONDS DOWNTOWN BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT WORKPLAN ON A FUTURE CONSENT AGENDA. Councilmember Paine commented she was glad to see this come forward as it had been a source of discussion. Having a review of the BIDs bylaws after 10 years will be important and effective for the business community. Things change, perhaps this will be BID 2.0 and she looked looking forward to the analysis and discussion about how the BID would be reconstituted. If a decision were made to reinitiate the BID, she asked if it would be by petition or council action. Council President Olson said the workplan according to the resolution will come back to council for approval. Mr. Tatum said that is unknown right now; discussions are occurring with people who do this on routine basis. The intent is to develop a work plan to show council how that process will occur. BID Advisory Board Member Kimberly Koenig said BID leadership is just starting the process of exploration with a consultant; the work plan will identify the path forward. The intent is to ensure best practices are in place and the BID looks forward to future communication with council. Councilmember Paine asked if the information on Municipal Research Service Center (MRSC) is still accurate. Mr. Tatum answered yes, the law hasn't changed and MRSC's website reflects the most recent and accurate law. Councilmember Tibbott looked forward to the BID's work plan. One of the aspects he was interested in was an evaluation of the effectiveness of the funding model and whether there were other ways to assess businesses. There has been some difficulty collecting assessments in the past which raises the question of the effectiveness of that model. Ms. Koenig commented all BIDs across the country never have 100% payment; it is something all BIDs deal with. Councilmember Nand complimented the BID leadership, commenting this is a very democratic solution to questions that have been raised recently. She asked if the consultant fee would be funded by the BID and if there was any request for a contribution from the City. Mr. Tatum answered there has not been a contribution by the City. As a business owner who was previously located within the BID, Councilmember Nand looked forward to the BID leadership engaging and incorporating ideas and suggestions from member businesses to update the BID. She wished the BID good luck with the process and looked forward to the final outcome. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 10. COUNCIL COMMENTS Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 16 Councilmember Nand recalled in 2022 after her pet rabbit, who was rescued from a meat breeder, died, she wrote a letter to the editor which was published by My Edmonds News asking the community to support banning backyard breeding at the local, county, state and national level. Due to last year's budget issues, there wasn't a good time to bring that legislation forward. She plans to bring it forward soon and hoped to have support from the community, administration and councilmembers to eliminate this form of animal cruelty in Edmonds. Councilmember Paine commented last week was a big week in terms of public participation in the comprehensive plan and the waterfront plan and this week is another big week. A lot of information is coming out; the comprehensive plan has been discussed for the last year and a lot of things are gelling now and for the next 6 months. She encouraged the public to attend meetings and participate in tabletop discussions. Saturday's open house was very well attended, and she appreciated everyone's interest and participation in the discussion. Monday's design charette regarding the waterfront was also very lively and she thanked residents for their input. Councilmember Dotsch echoed Councilmember Paine's comments about the public's attendance at the two meetings. She encouraged the public to stay engaged and provide input and sign up for announcements regarding upcoming meetings and opportunities for input. Council President Olson commented the community may be noticing the city attorney is not attending all council meetings in person. As a cutting measure, each week the council president and mayor decide whether the city attorney needs to attend in person. When the answer is no, he attends virtually. She assured he is still providing great legal service virtually. Councilmember Tibbott commented on the comprehensive planning process and addressed questions about the numbers. The 13,000 or 30% increase in population is a number provided to the City via the GMA process that the City has been asked to plan for and not something the City would have generated on its own. It is apparent this area is in a crisis of success due to fantastic jobs, a high level of prosperity and Western Washington is a great place to live so people are moving here. That crisis of success also requires the City to accommodate additional population growth. Growth will change the way Edmonds looks and feels, but the best course of action is to design and plan well and be involved in the planning process. Councilmember Tibbott continued, another factor that put Edmonds in the spotlight is Edmonds is considered a high -capacity transit city due to the light rail station which requires increasing density in places that have access to high capacity transit. In his opinion, Edmonds was not served well by the planning process related to high -capacity transit; for example, the new orange line ends at Edmond College and will not come anywhere close to downtown Edmonds. He has been asking for improved east -west connections for the past 10 years, but that has not happened, and he does not see it happening in the future. Edmonds needs to speak up and insist state politicians and those planning light rail get real about what it will require for Edmonds to participate, especially if the City is considered a high -capacity transit city. He has real concerns about the comprehensive planning process but wants to ensure the City is designing well for the anticipated growth. With regard to the number of housing units, Councilmember Tibbott said he also did the math and came up with 6,000 instead of 9,000. He assumed planners are anticipating more smaller houses and due to Snohomish County's fair share goals, the City is supposed to have a high percentage of housing at 30% AMI or less. As a result, there would be more houses with fewer people living in them. Councilmember Chen announced and congratulated Carrie Mandak whom he appointed to the Economic Development Commission (EDC). She has a tremendous amount of diverse experience that will benefit the Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 17 EDC. When he interviewed her, she had fresh ideas about ways to bring economic development to the City overall through art and capturing the momentum of development on Highway 99 including an idea about a night market. He looked forward to the great work that she and the entire EDC do for the City. Councilmember Chen commented on citizens' involvement in the comprehensive plan process last Saturday. A lot of people attended the open house which shows residents do care. The City has many challenges ahead including finances, comprehensive plan, developments, etc. but regardless of the challenges, with strong support from residents, the council, administration and residents will pull together and overcome the difficulties and come out strong. He looked forward to working with everyone to get through whatever challenges lie ahead. Councilmember Eck commented the City has very strong resident engagement as shown by the attendance at Saturday's open house, last night's design charette regarding the waterfront and even new people who made public comment tonight. There are a lot of important transitions and requirements the City is tackling this year, and it is important to listen to everyone. Change is hard, including some of the things that the council discussed tonight. There is empowerment by learning about each other, learning what is required of the City and listening to what others need and putting yourself in others' shoes. She hoped everyone remembers that when having these difficult conversations. Councilmember Tibbott announced his appointment of Pete Spear to the EDC. He brings a wealth of experience in analytics and he looked forward to his participation on the EDC. 11. MAYOR'S COMMENTS Mayor Rosen thanked people who have participated at council meetings as well as other opportunities including the charette, online survey, and emails sent to councilmember and administration. That is how decisions are made and voices are heard. There have been several appointments during the past few weeks and he thanked everyone who volunteers including the recent appointees to the Historic Preservation, Arts, and Economic Development Commissions. The City has14 boards and commissions and a lot of great volunteers. Mayor Rosen advised his first State of the City on Thursday, March 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Waterfront Center will focus exclusively on the state of the City's finances. Everyone is welcome to attend and it will also be available on Channel 21, YouTube and Zoom. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the council meeting was adjourned at 8:58 pm. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes March 26, 2024 Page 18