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2024-04-02 Council MinutesEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL MEETING APPROVED MINUTES April 2, 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 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 7 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 Eck 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. PRESENTATION 1. ANNUAL REPORT FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Community, Culture & Economic Development Director Todd Tatum introduced EDC Chair Nicole Hughes and EDC Vice -Chair Kevin Harris. He explained the code requires the EDC to provide an annual update to the council. The International Economic Development Council defines economic development as improving the economic wellbeing of a community through efforts that entail job creation, job retention, tax base enhancements and quality of life. The powers and duties of the EDC in City code 10.75.030 state the EDC is empowered to advise and recommend to boards, commissions, council and mayor on matters related to strategies, programs or activities intended to generate economic development and subsequently increase jobs and municipal revenue. This last year has shown how vitally important these tasks are for the city and how far collectively this needs to go in the near future. The region, community and the city's Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 1 finances are in the midst of substantive change which will require effective prioritization, collaboration and communication. Boards and commissions are key partners in this effort, not a staff replacement, but as community connectors. The EDC, the council's appointees, have proven time and again their level of commitment, depth of experience and willingness to pitch in on tough problems. EDC Chair Hughes explained the packet includes the EDC Report to City Council and tonight's presentation will highlight narratives and themes of the work the EDC has been doing that center around, 1) neighborhood business districts & infrastructure, 2) engagement in City -led initiatives, and 3) collaboration with Edmonds leadership boards and commissions. The report also includes background on the driving values and principles for the EDC's work to illustrate their commitment to driving their work through a diverse set of thoughts, background, and experiences. She invited the council to think about ways the EDC can continue to engage and elevate that interaction between partners such as staff, city leaders, the public, boards and commissions. EDC Vice -Chair Harris provided examples of work the EDC has done in the past year to illustrate the EDC's engagement. First, a walkabout related to the Landmark project. This is a contentious neighborhood issue; the question was how to civilly engage residents, elected officials, staff and others to come together outside of city hall and walk together to engage and learn from each other. Approximately 35 people including councilmembers and councilmember-elects, residents, etc. participated in the walk. Natalie Seitz, who lives in the area and is very knowledgeable about the issues, led the walk which ended with a debrief in the parking lot of the Burlington site. After the walk, people reported how effective that different type of engagement was. Residents had an opportunity to speak, staff engaged in dialogue and answered questions. The EDC intends to use this type of creative concept to continue to deepen public engagement on issues the EDC is involved in. The Landmark is project based but the larger concept includes community renewal on Highway 99 which the EDC hopes to be big part of in whatever way that moves forward. Vice Chair Harris described a second example of the EDC's work, the Edmonds Business Booster Portal (http://edmondsbizbooster.com/). This effort began a couple years ago with the former Community Services/Economic Development Director Patrick Doherty and the Chamber of Commerce who developed a barebones skeleton of the website. The website is a one -stop resource, a navigation site for startups, existing businesses, entrepreneurs, etc. to provide a menu of options and business resources. He relayed the experience of a young Latino gentleman doing landscaping work and when someone directed him to the Business Booster, that was the first time he recognized he had a business. The EDC took the website through two different iterations to version 2.0 and it is probably ready to be transformed to version 3.0. With a little attention and love, the website can provide information to many. He envisioned high school and college students using the site to imagine themselves as future business leaders and realize help is available. Mr. Tatum expressed appreciation for the EDC's role and reaction to the issues surrounding the Landmark project with real curiosity. Their walking tour brought the community together in an open manner to discuss issues, problems, etc. The conversations at the walking tour provided a punctuation point in the conversations about the Highway 99 area that focused on people and reaching solutions. The comprehensive plan includes an economic development element, a key chapter that brings together a lot of things. With regard to the definition of economic development, some things were done well in the past year, but the mark was missed on others and south county is a different place than it was 10 years ago. An EDC subcommittee meets regularly to shape the economic development element and the entire EDC is involved in deep policy level discussions about job creation, tax base enhancements, and quality of life which will be presented to council mid -year. He relayed how impressed he was with the depth, professional capabilities, willingness and collegiality of the EDC to engage in the topic and with each other, even when there are sometimes chasms between their views on a subject. Chair Hughes commented on the EDC's collaboration, explaining coming out of the pandemic she and Vice -Chair Harris began thinking about how to get more deeply intrenched in the City's work and engage with other boards and commissions and began asking people to experience their meetings including Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 2 councilmembers, members of other boards and commissions, etc. The EDC appreciated the opportunity to participate in the council's budget retreat and remains committed to helping leadership with recommendations. The EDC collaborated with the planning board on economic development goals and policies in the comprehensive plan. An EDC member participates on the creative district advisory board and has had very innovative ideas about participating in tax assessments for cultural awareness programs at the city and county level. The EDC has also considered offering EDC liaisons to other boards/commissions/committees. Vice -Chair Harris explained Chair Hughes and he have worked hard in the last couple years to internally reorganize the EDC and build trusted relationships. The EDC plans to consider and expand its formal liaison and informal relationships with boards and commissions, service organizations and others to create systemic and operational value for the city. The EDC plans to continue communicating well, but recognizes there are opportunities to work with the council to create effective feedback loops and unlock the EDC's value for the city and better communicate with council. The EDC invites the council to engage them early; the more time the EDC has to work on issues that are important to Edmonds, the more meaningful their recommendations will be. Chair Hughes underscored the eagerness of EDC members' interest in having a positive impact on the city and this work via collaboration with council, the public, city staff and other boards and commissions. The EDC appreciates the professional staff they get to work with; Director Tatum's deep knowledge and constant assistance with helping the EDC learn about economic practices and things they need to look at to take the city into the future. She expressed appreciation for everything he and Megan Luttrell do to keep the EDC's work moving forward. She recognized several EDC members in the audience including incoming Chair Matt Cox and Vice -Chair Allen Townsend who will assume leadership of the EDC beginning with the EDC's April 17 meeting. All are welcome to attend EDC meetings which include an opportunity for public comment. Councilmember Nand commented the EDC is one of most activist boards in the city and she commended their level of outreach. Edmonds runs on its volunteers and due to the passion of boards like the EDC and Chamber of Commerce, every Saturday in Edmonds is a like Small Business Saturday. Considering the failure rate of small businesses, many small business owners consider Edmonds a place they can succeed, have longevity and earn a living wage. It is an incredible compliment to the startup culture in Edmonds that not a lot of small business owners feel the need to franchise and are willing to open their own business with the help of supportive organizations like the EDC and the economic development department. Councilmember Nand said she did not know about the Edmonds Business Booster portal, but found it pretty cool when she checked it out. That type of accelerator activity supported by the city and the taxpayers builds the city's tax base and instead of sending money to the private equity sphere and the 1%, that money is retained and supports the community and especially in the lean years, boosts the tax base and ensures the economy in Edmonds is viable. The Edmonds economy is very self-contained and includes a great restaurant scene, numerous nature opportunities, arts and culture which provides a cultural opportunity. She recalled when she first joined the council how active both Kevin Harris and Nicole Hughes were in reaching out to the council and advocating for the small business community and the city's economic vitality. Councilmember Nand asked if the Business Booster portal does referrals to service providers in Edmonds or just to larger entities. Vice -Chair Harris advised it is not a formalized referral service; it is a navigator point -to type service at this point. There has been discussion with service providers about doing analytics, checking metrics related to the number of hits the portal is getting, how service providers assist users of the Business Booster who contact them, etc. and that may be part of version 4.0. In creating the portal, he learned a lot about how support for small businesses at the national and state level has waxed and waned, primarily waned over time. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 3 Councilmember Nand commented on awareness and suggested connecting with the Foster Business School and/or business resources at Edmonds College, many of which have clinics that collaborate with small businesses and startups. Vice -Chair Harris advised he is faculty with both WSU and UW and knows people at the Foster School. The EDC wants their meetings to be a creative space for everyone including council. Councilmember Nand relayed she attended the walking tour, acknowledging the amount of work it requires to facilitate something like that. She found it incredibly enriching and thanked the EDC and staff for their work organizing it. She commented Edmonds has done remarkably well compared to cities in the area with regard to small businesses surviving the pandemic, especially in the Edmonds bowl/historic downtown business district where there are few empty business storefronts. She wondered if the comprehensive plan process includes ways to fill empty storefronts in the Highway 99 community and other neighborhood business districts that were negatively impacted without displacing existing small businesses and residents, especially in minority neighborhoods. Mr. Tatum answered yes, but there is a fair amount of work to do in the comprehensive plan with respect to displacement and equity. He recognized the importance of businesses in neighborhood hubs and centers thriving as they do downtown. The next couple months will include a deep dive into equity and displacement and focusing against those. Councilmember Nand expressed her appreciation for Chair Hughes, Vice -Chair Harris, Mr. Tatum and Ms. Luttrell for their incredible work to make the EDC a vital force in the community. Councilmember Eck, council liaison to the EDC, said she has been honored to get to know the members of the EDC. She agreed with the professionalism on the EDC, recalling after her first meeting remarking how well the EDC members get along, and treasure each other's ideas, skills and experiences in a collegial manner. She thanked Mr. Tatum for his input during tonight's presentation. She offered to assist with cross- pollination and reaching out to the DEIA community, recognizing the opportunity for collaboration. She congratulated incoming Chair Matt Cox and Vice -Chair Allen Townsend, expressing her excitement over what their new terms will bring. She also offered to assist with informing council and providing council feedback. She thanked Chair Hughes and Vice -Chair Harris for their commitment to the EDC. Councilmember Paine thanked Chair Hughes and Vice -Chair Harris and all the EDC members for their service. The EDC has consistently punched above the community's expectations including the walk and dialogue about the Landmark project and collecting ideas from councilmembers and community members. She agreed almost every day is a shop local day in Edmonds which is very fortunate. The fairy dust and magic in the downtown core needs to be spread further out to make the neighborhood commercial areas stronger and add economic diversity across the City. Highway 99 has a lot of interesting opportunities and the EDC has the right team to make that happen. Councilmember Chen agreed with the other councilmembers' comments, thanking Chair Hughes and Vice - Chair Harris and the entire EDC team for their hard work. The EDC has done a lot during the past year including involvement with the comprehensive plan, the Landmark project and other community engagement. He asked for an update on the relocation of city hall and police station. Chair Hughes answered the outcome of the EDC's work was a recommendation to think about buildings the city owns, not just city hall, but every plot of land the city owns and whether they are being used to the best and highest ability and whether they are serving the intended neighborhood. The EDC would love to pick that up again if there is an appetite for considering the location of services and property the city owns. There may be opportunities for development, bringing services to other areas of the city, etc. She summarized the EDC has not done any additional work on this topic, but could if there was interest in it. She recalled that memo was provided to council in 2019 or 2020; there may be new factors to consider post -pandemic. Councilmember Chen said although he did not speak for the entire council, it was not just an appetite, there was a need. There are public safety and economic development considerations in looking at relocation and realignment of city services. Councilmember Dotsch thanked Chair Hughes and Vice -Chair Harris for reaching out and gathering information as a part of their work. She congratulated incoming Chair Matt Cox and Vice -Chair Allen Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 4 Townsend and looked forward to the coming year. She was impressed by the EDC members' diverse backgrounds and willingness to discuss ideas. She also recognized Mr. Tatum's efforts. She looked forward to the EDC's engagement in the comprehensive plan process. She is passionate about the business cores in the city, relaying her experience in Shoreline where businesses were replaced by apartments. She wanted to be intentional with regard to small, family owned businesses that make Edmonds special and considering how to retain what makes Edmonds special while generating more revenue, jobs and opportunities. Mayor Rosen remarked economic development are two of his most favorite works. He thanked the EDC for their work and their report. 5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER. Councilmember Tibbott requested Item 8.5, Resolution Concerning Reestablishment Workplan of the Edmonds Downtown Business Improvement District, be removed from the Consent Agenda and moved to Council Business Item 9.3. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Darrol Haug, Edmonds, EDC member, commented he was appointed to the first EDC 15 years ago by former Councilmember Peggy Pritchard Olson. At the time, the commission consisted of 17 commissioners, 2 councilmembers and often all councilmembers and the mayor attended meetings. One of the key pieces of work done by that EDC was a two-year effort by the council, planning board, staff and the EDC to engage more than 2,500 people to produce 85 action items for the strategic action plan. Council first approved the strategic action plan in 2013 and reviewed and reapproved it in 2015. Page 62 of the strategic action plan includes an item entitled financial sustainability. Budgeting by priorities was the key item and rated by the public as high or very high with 79% of people supporting it. It was to be implemented in two years and would have been completed by 2015. Council has visited budgeting by priorities at most retreats since that time but has not yet approved implementation. Page 65 of the strategic action plan includes a chart from the 2009 budget with projections out to 2021 that show expenses exceeding revenues. Key to budgeting by priorities is citizen engagement to help council, staff and the city identify and prioritize essential and non- essential services. Implementing budgeting by priorities as approved by council in 2013 would likely have found and fixed many of the problems the city is facing today. He urged the council to proceed as quickly as possible with the key portion of budgeting by priorities, deep citizen engagement. Sam Bryan, Edmonds, referred to a letter written by he and several other residents to express their opposition to 5 and 4 story apartments in the growth alternative and to communicate what they would prefer. While walking in the neighborhood, they gathered over 80 signature from other neighborhood residents who agreed with their opposition. That letter was emailed to all councilmembers yesterday. The letter expressed their opposition to both alternatives which include 5 and 4 story apartments in Five Corners. In talking with neighborhood residents, not a single person thought this was the right approach and that ultimately their presence would prevent current and future residents from enjoying an aspect that many people cherish about Five Corners. This aspect is easy to overlook when doing density exercises on paper and some may not realize it until they live in Five Corners. This characteristic has kept many residents in the neighborhood and if preserved will retain future residents. It was not the reason he moved to the neighborhood five years ago, but is one of the reasons he stays. The letter concluded with a request to limit building heights in Five Corners to a maximum of 3 stories if zoning is necessary as well as a call for more proactive engagement on this matter with the residents in Five Corners. Less than 5 of the 80+ people who signed the letter had heard about the proposal, worrisome because the parcels analyzed for upzoning will Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 5 soon be locked into a DEIS that cannot be changed. He worried if the DEIS ruled out enough parcels, the city would be cornered into 5 and 4 story apartments in Five Corners. He did not see the benefit of analyzing basically the same proposal twice in the DEIS and instead suggested having at least one proposal that includes some different parcels to provide an option to spread out the density which may allow lower building heights. He relayed the Five Corners residents' strong desire to keep building heights at 3 stories or less and asked that the city council and planning board ensure their feedback is incorporated into the proposals. He spoke with many neighborhood businesses in Five Corners who also had not heard about these proposals; they also had concerns and wrote letters to council. He hoped the council took time to read all the letters that were submitted. Erica Miner, Edmonds, added to Mr. Bryan's concerns for Five Corners. Five Corners is an example of what the city pledges to do to preserve the character and unique atmosphere of Edmonds. It is a very special, small, intimate place, a postage -stamp compared to other areas being considered for high density. With such a "pocket" neighborhood accessed by small, 2-lane roads, the infrastructure would be prohibitive for the proposed high density housing and cannot support high density in ways that other areas can such as the Highway 99 corridor. Five Corners also has two major schools and hospital within a mile; building up the small area of Five Corners and the increased traffic would be detrimental to children walking to/from school and people accessing the hospital. She was also concerned about the parking garage that would be required under any housing as no one knows what is underground. All these elements indicate that Five Corners is not the right area for high density housing. Mr. Kim, owner of 5 Corners Teriyaki, referred to information Mr. Bryan provided him last week regarding the city's development plans. As he does not understand the city's process, he has concern with the future of his business. He has not followed the city's project and has invested a lot of money in his business. He asked about the city's plan for him and others. 7. RECEIVED FOR FILING 1. CLAIM FOR DAMAGES FOR FILING 2. WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS 8. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS AMENDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items approved are as follows: 1. APPROVAL OF SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES MARCH 19, 2024 2. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MINUTES MARCH 19, 2024 3. APPROVAL OF SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES MARCH 26, 2024 4. COUNCIL CONFIRMATION OF TREE BOARD APPOINTMENT 9. COUNCIL BUSINESS 1. RESOLUTION PROVIDING DIRECTION FOR COMP PLAN DRAFT GROWTH ALTERNATIVES Council President Olson expected this to be a brief item as it was primarily housekeeping. She wanted the public and councilmembers to be aware that Tuesday, April 9, which is typically a committee night, will include a special meeting in council chambers beginning at 7:30 pm which will include an agenda item related to the comprehensive plan growth alternatives. A cost impact is anticipated if council chooses to delay beyond April 9; more information will be provided at the April 9 meeting. Assuming the council will move forward with council business that evening, a draft resolution needed to be prepared in advance that includes spaces for the draft alternatives the council chose. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 6 COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO DIRECT THE CITY ATTORNEY TO DRAFT A RESOLUTION THAT WOULD PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK FOR COUNCIL'S ANTICIPATED DIRECTION DURING THE APRIL 9TH SPECIAL MEETING REGARDING THE DRAFT GROWTH ALTERNATIVES. Council President Olson explained some councilmembers and members of the public were concerned with the council taking action that night. There will be a cost associated with delaying beyond April 9; the cost may be worthwhile and that information will be provided at that meeting or before so that the council can make that decision knowing the cost implications. The council may be ready to move forward at that meeting so having a draft resolution prepared would be helpful. Councilmember Nand expressed support for the motion for the reasons Council President Olson stated. This is not council action, it is only direction to have a draft resolution ready in case the council chooses as a body to take action on April 9. It is important to be prepared especially due to the cost impact of delaying. Councilmember Dotsch agreed the draft resolution was necessary, relayed her concern that the council usually has more than one touch on an item. She advocated for another touch at the regular council meeting the following week. This is a lot of information and it appears a lot of people haven't been engaged in the process and did not know about it and it is better to do a good job rather than a rushed job. Councilmember Paine requested the scope of the EIS also be provided with the contract. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Council President Olson explained the second motion is to limit audience comment to the subject of the comprehensive plan growth alternatives at the April 9 meeting because there is a lot of information to cover and it is important the council has time to delve deeply into the subject at that meeting. The council does not typically limit audience comment so she wanted the council to vote on aspect. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO LIMIT AUDIENCE COMMENTS AT THE APRIL 9 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING TO THE SUBJECT OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN GROWTH ALTERNATIVES. Councilmember Nand asked if such a restriction would be more appropriate for a public hearing versus general comments. City Clerk Scott Passey answered the council could call a public hearing, but that process requires 2-3 weeks advance notice. Conversely, the council can vote to have comment on a single subject, a de facto public hearing but not an official public hearing. Councilmember Nand said she understood the time constraints Council President Olson is attempting to address, but did not think the payoff of saving a few extra minutes if someone wants to make a general comment was enough to justify limiting general audience comments to a single subject. If a public hearing had been scheduled and audience comments was not included on the agenda, she would have been supportive of that. She reiterated limiting public comment and potentially shutting out someone who was passionate about something and that was the only meeting they could attend would not be enough of a payoff or time savings. Councilmember Paine asked about the meeting start time and end time. Council President Olson answered it would start at 7:30 pm and was scheduled to end at 9:30 pm. Councilmember Chen shared the concern about limiting public comments. This topic is very important to the city's future growth and development. If more time is needed, he was willing to schedule another special meeting. He did not support the motion. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 7 Council President Olson clarified this is typically a committee night that does not have any audience comments so limiting public comments at a special meeting for the purpose of dealing with the comprehensive plan draft growth alternatives is an appropriate step. Councilmember Eck expressed support for the motion. April 9 is not a regularly scheduled council meeting and is regarding a single subject on which public comment will be accepted. Councilmember Dotsch said while she understood the time constraints, she was unsure who determined whether a public comment was pertinent or not. Growth alternatives affect a lot of people and in different ways and she wanted everyone to be able to participate. UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION CARRIED (4-3) COUNCILMEMBERS ECK, TIBBOTT, AND PAINE AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN, DOTSCH, AND NAND VOTING NO. 2. STATE OF THE CITY RECAP, FINANCIAL RESILIENCY, AND NEXT STEPS Mike Bailey, Financial Consultant, explained it was not his intent to do a recap of the State of the City Address which was handled very capably by Mayor Rosen, but to use it as starting place for the discussion about the path forward. He presented a PowerPoint entitled City of Edmonds Fiscal Fist Aid Council Update and Check -In: • Current Status and Lessons Learned o Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) 12 step "Fiscal First Aid Methodology Stages of Financial Recovery Bridging Reform Transform 10 Recovery Leadership 1 Recogniz 11 Manage Recovery Program 2 7 R PI 9 Long -Tenn Financial Planning £ 3 mere 8 Longer -Term Therapies wl ReSHlencY mpinano 'al Detailed Financial Fiscal First Aid N m Bankruptcy. Receivership 13 Q Time♦ Decline Distress Stabilization Recovery Stages of Financial Condition o Discussions and Conclusions Thus Far 1. Recognize — Council recognized this issue last summer / fall a. Invoked a "fiscal emergency" per policy 2. Mobilize — Mayor mobilized a Blue -Ribbon Panel ❖ Mike Bailey, CPA ❖ Erin Monroe, CPA ❖ Troy Rector, CPA, CGMA ❖ Carl Zapora •'• Rick Canning •'• Scott James, CPA ❖ Darrol Haug 3. Generic Treatments — Mayor initiated numerous treatments 4. Initial Diagnosis — See following slides Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 8 5. Fiscal First Aid o External Impacts ■ Between 2020 and 2024 Consumer Price Index increased 20%. ■ State 1 % restriction. ■ State requirements. Decisions Impact (Millions) RFA Funding from ARPA $6.25 Contra -Account $3.20 Sub Total "Problem" $9.45 (20% of General Fund) Additional Unbud eted Impacts Examples include: Negotiated union contract, additional police cars and technology, replenishing deferred bldg. Maint. fund, library repairs, new financial software, staff additions, staff salaries. $3.05 Revised Sub Total "Problem" $12.5 Additional Unbud eted Impacts Using reserve funds $8.0 Total problem $20.5 Councilmember Nand recalled discussion during the 2022 budget about using ARPA funds for additional police vehicles. In 2023, the council heard from Public Works Director Antillon that there was difficulty filling those orders. She asked if those funds had been spent or committed at this point. Mr. Bailey answered he did not have personal knowledge about what money was spent for what purpose. He offered to find out whether ARPA funds were used to acquire additional police vehicles or if other money was used and the status of the acquisition and outfitting of police vehicles. Councilmember Nand explained the reason she asked is during the 2022 budget cycle, she proposed an amendment to fund the additional police vehicles by purchasing three per year over a three year period out of the General Fund rather than using ARPA funds. If the money hasn't been committed due to fulfillment issues, she would like to bring that forward again as a potential amendment in 2024. Mr. Bailey continued: o Internal Impacts ■ Revenues grew 27.8% over 4 years (7% annually) ■ Expenditures grew 44.9% (11.2% annually) - Inflation - New staff / higher compensation - New programs / increased level of service Total Employees by Year Igo 170 150 130 IIo go 70 so _c.. 2010 1011 1011 1013 2014 —Police —Non-Police o Fund Balance Amendment Effect Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 9 o Forecasted revenues missed target estimates in three out of the last four years ■ 2020 by -$1.6 million ■ 2022 by -$3.4 million ■ 2023 by -$2.6 million n Fiscal First Aid (fifth step) o Strategy ■ 2024 Reduce expenses to get through it ■ 2024 Develop strategy to replenish reserve funds ■ 2024 Develop strategy to bridge 2025 ■ 2024/2025 Budget by priorities / Zero based budgeting Continue to identify savings ■ 2024/2025 Resolve fire service costs and issues ■ 2025 Utilize new budget process to identify future needs and identify funding gaps ■ 2025/2026 Identify additional savings and any additional revenue requirements Develop strategy to bridge 2025 o Options: 1. Reduce expenses to balance subsequent budgets — 25% 2. Seek voter approval for tax increases a. Could be limited number of years (maybe 1) Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 10 b. Won't be the last request for a tax increase 3. Borrow (internally) for interim solution a. Take more time to develop a longer -term solution 4. A combination of the above options (e.g. reduce expenses less than 25%; include either 2 or 3 above) Councilmember Nand referred to option 2 above, commenting much of her hesitation was due to inflation and the vulnerable and marginal members of the community who are at a breaking point and if the city increases their taxes, it could result in their being priced out of the community and absorbing significant lifestyle impacts. She asked if there were any progressive tax options such as capital gains, recognizing some community members could shoulder a tax increase particularly if was limited to 1-2 years to help bridge the city's financial issues. She referred to information provided by Snohomish County Assessor Linda Hjelle regarding property tax exemptions for seniors. Citing Washington's stubbornly flat tax model, Councilmember Nand asked whether any of the tax increases, especially the temporary ones, were more progressive and less burdensome to low income community members. Mr. Bailey answered no, there were not. Washington is a very progressive state but has a very regressive tax structure. Property taxes impact not only home owners' economics but also renters' economics. Taxes remain flat due to Washington's constitutional mandate and there is no income bracket tax type concept available. Councilmember Eck commented she found the information provided very helpful and expressed her gratitude for Mr. Bailey and the entire blue ribbon panel's work. Coming from a nonprofit, many of the concepts are similar such as zero based budgeting, budgeting based on priorities, not including items in the budget that do not have funding, etc. She asked about the impact to expenditures as a result of the pandemic in 2021 and 2022. The city was not in a budget deficit and expenses were not reduced which she assumed was due to the pandemic. Mr. Bailey answered the pandemic certainly impacted governments. He was at Municipal Research Services Center at the time which provided a number of webinars for cities, counties and special districts about that topic and many of the anticipated impacts ended up being different such as increased sales taxes, significant impacts to hotel/motel tax and the tourism industry, etc. What the city is dealing with since that time is due to inflationary pressures, compensation, ability of governments to retain staff, etc. He recognized Edmonds had done studies related to compensation in recent years, but issues related to filling positions and remaining competitive may or may not be remnants of the pandemic. It is not feasible to roll back some of the costs due to the economy and competing with neighboring jurisdictions for talent and good and services. Councilmember Eck referred to options for bridging 2025 and Mayor Rosen's request for the blue ribbon panel to develop a recommendation. She asked the target for providing that recommendation. Mr. Bailey answered this check -in is to determine whether this strategy going forward makes sense and if it does, the blue ribbon panel proposes to continue to keep these questions open and bridge 2025 rather than try to solve the problem in 2025 to provide time to communicate with the community and build a budget for the future that would be a new foundation for moving forward rather than trying to fix last year's budget. That is the strategy the panel is recommending. Councilmember Eck appreciated that as well as Mr. Bailey's comments around transparency. Her recommendation for explaining this to the residents is what the city may have expected in the way of basic needs/services 20, 40, 50 years ago may be different from what people think of as basic needs now. For example, what does it mean to keep up the parks and making it clear that these are choices, there could be some very difficult choices and how does that impact residents' expectations. She suggested the city do its best to solicit feedback from across the city at public meetings to ensure the best possible input on priorities. Mr. Bailey acknowledged that was always a challenge. Councilmember Paine referred to Mr. Bailey's comment that the street fund needed some attention. Although the focus was on the General Fund, she asked if the blue ribbon panel was looking at the health of other funds. Mr. Bailey answered to a limited degree. An option is to incorporate the street fund as part Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 11 of the general funds; many cities have combined the two because the street fund relies on the general fund due to the types of revenues dedicated to maintaining roads are not sufficient. For example in Redmond, the street fund was incorporated into the general fund to recognize it is a general government obligation that cannot stand on its own. The panel continues to hear from citizens about concerns with utility rates and other services the city provides that put pressure on financial resources. For example, the state puts mandates on providing for the environment, and that puts a lot of pressure on cities to maintain those services at a level the state requires, but the city must turn to citizens for resources to do that. To the degree that is part of the discussion, the impact on citizens has been part of the panel's scope of work. Councilmember Paine commented it would be helpful to learn what the entire universe looks like with a special focus on the general fund. She recognized the attention to the street fund, noting it will be helpful for the council to know about concerns related to other funds. Councilmember Dotsch referred to the slide that reports revenues grew 27% over 4 years and expenditures grew 44.9%, commenting that was a bottom line for her. She recalled the city did pretty well during covid and was unsure if projections for post-covid years were accurate. The city needs to take a hard look at expenditures first, anticipating that asking residents to tighten their belts would not be successful if the city did not tighten its belt. She asked about contingency reserve funds. Mr. Bailey assured panel members have expressed the same sentiment, the city needs to demonstrate it has tightened its belt and done everything possible to provide services with the dollars provided before asking citizens for more. With regard to reserve funds, Mr. Bailey explained the city maintains two reserve funds, 1) a 16% target which has been utilized and ended the year with approximately $2 million, and 2) a 4% contingency that remains intact at the end of 2023. With regard to discussions about how fund balances have been represented in reports and whether the budget needs to be amended to recognize they are different than anticipated, in his advice to Mayor Rosen based on his experience, a budget amendment does not change fund balance; fund balance is a consequence not something the council sets via the budget. Monthly reports should be very clear about the fund balance and if the beginning fund balance differs from the ending fund balance of the previous month, an explanation should be included in the report. He recognized fund balance was a concern; the council budget authorized use of the 16% fund balance down to about the $2 million target in the budget and the 4% contingency reserve remains intact. Councilmember Dotsch referred to the cash flow analysis for 2024 which for a private business shows whether bills are being paid and where money is coming from. She wanted to be sure things were on track because according to the cash flow analysis, the city may be dipping into the contingency reserve. She noted replenishing the reserves has to be part of financial recovery. She asked if replenishing reserves was included in the plan. Mr. Bailey answered the $20.5 million target anticipates replenishing the reserve fund to the degree it was used over the last year. The $12.5 million target focuses on revenue sufficient to provide for expenditures. The $8 million reserve fund replenishment would occur over a longer period of time through natural efficiencies such as conservative forecasting of revenues and underspending appropriated budgets. That is traditionally how reserves are rebuilt; there has not been discussions about doing something outside the norm to rebuild reserves. Councilmember Chen thanked Mr. Bailey and the blue ribbon panel for their expertise and hard work to help the city identify its imbalance and opportunities to turn the ship around going forward. He referred to the Fund Balance Amendment Effect graph and asked if the costs were expenditures that did not yield the results the city was hoping for. As a small business owner, if he purchases equipment that is not effective, it is a sunk cost/waste and he learns not to do that again in the future. He asked if those opportunities were identified. Mr. Bailey answered there has been some discussion about the nature of costs that occurred over the last 2-3 years. A significant part of any city budget is personnel compensation, the city is a service business that hires a lot of people who provide a lot of services. To remain competitive in the market, compensation has to increase to attract qualified people. There has been an increase in staff providing Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 12 service to the community. All the costs have provided service to the community and helped add to what people enjoy. Mr. Bailey continued, unlike the experience he has had in other communities where he's been asked to help, it is not like the dollars collected by the city have been used for purposes other than providing benefit and service to the community. The funds collected have all been directed toward providing community benefit. Since compensation is such a significant part of the budget, adding personnel, costs that continue into the future, and providing market rate compensation has been the largest driver in the city's expenditures. There have also been significant increases in professional services and contract services which the panel has looked at. Some on the panel have indicated interest in looking at that more closely. He does not recommend dwelling on that as those funds were expended and provided benefit. He recommends looking forward, considering what the city should be doing moving forward and how to pay for those. Councilmember Chen agreed with Councilmember Dotsch's comment about looking at both cost reduction opportunities as well as eventually asking residents for more money. Council President Olson referred to the $12.5 million target noting the $12.5 million includes investment in deferred building maintenance and the $20.5 target includes replenishing the reserve fund. She asked about the gap in the fire contract, commenting in 2025 there is still the option of remaining under contract with the current provider. The target slide does not reflect the $6 million to cover that. Mr. Bailey referred to $6.25 million RFA funding from ARPA which is included in the $12.5 million target which recognizes the city was unable to fund the entire fire contract from the general fund. He recognized there will be an increase in the contract which would be a normal budgetary increase that the city would budget for. Council President Olson observed capital investment in the Landmark property or other properties was not shown in the targeted amounts. Mr. Bailey agreed that was correct. The panel is also interested in addressing deficiencies related to funding street improvements. Council President Olson observed that deficiency is also not included in the $12.5 million target. Mr. Bailey agreed that was correct. Councilmember Nand referred to the list of options, and recommended pursuing option 4, a combination of options. She was interested in points of flexibility to reduce expenses to bridge to 2025 without lopping off limbs, getting rid of extremely valuable public assets such as publicly owned real estate as well as the value in the city's long term workforce. One lesson from the private sector is Elon Musk taking over Twitter and thinking he could slash and burn his way to profitability, dumping an extremely valuable workforce and destroying an institution. Some of the things that were discussed at the end of 2023 were renegotiating professional services contracts and possibly deferring planned maintenance and capital projects/improvements to avoid making extremely painful permanent choices due to a temporary situation. Mr. Bailey continued: • Budget by priorities/Zero based budgeting o Don't "cut" this budget — build the right budget — zero based o Engage firm to provide budget software and facilitate o ResourceX — a subsidiary of Tyler Technologies (our software vender) ■ Mr. Bailey disclosed he is affiliated with this company o Inform City budget priorities with community meetings o Develop 2025-26 biennial budget based on: ■ Council priorities informed by community meetings ■ Zero -based budget by priorities ■ Decisions regarding fire service provision (i.e. RFA) ■ Revised revenue targets and potential community vote • Questions we will be asking the community: o What services do WE want from government? o What are our service priorities? Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 13 o What metrics we will use? o How do we ensure equity? o What amenities do we need? o What assumptions do we use to anticipate the future? Mr. Bailey advised the packet includes a financial planning schedule and acknowledged Council President Olson's comment that the schedule is very aggressive. Councilmember Tibbott referred to a calendar related to the budget and asked if there were recommendations related to how to fit in the decision about the fire contract. If the council decides to go to a vote in November, a decision needs to be made in June. He asked about sequencing of that in light of other budget discussions. Mr. Bailey said the schedule leaves space for that. For example, if the community votes in November to join the RFA, that could take effect in 2025 or a vote could take effect in 2026 when the contract ends. The panel has not presumed any council decisions, other than being in a position to respond effectively based on the council's decision. Councilmember Tibbott asked how those discussions were sequenced with other budget discussions. Mr. Bailey said the budget would need to presume something; at this point it likely would presume the contract would continue through 2025 which will be interesting because 2025-2026 will be a biennial budget. At the end of the day, it depends on what the voters decide to the extent there is an ask of the voters with respect to fire service or something else. Council President Olson referred to the general fund beginning fund balance and the carryforward from last year, and asked when council could expect the carryforward amendments to be provided. Mr. Bailey responded he recommended to Mayor Rosen that council not amend the budget due to fund balance; fund balance is what it is. Instead, the monthly financial reports should make it very clear what the beginning fund balance is and how that compares with what was anticipated in the budget and the consequences. Beginning fund balance ended up being a bit less was anticipated in the 2024 budget; in his experience, he provide that information to council with an explanation of why that occurred and the consequences, but he would not recommend a budget amendment. Council President Olson asked if council would see it in the monthly reports. Mr. Bailey answered that would be his recommendation. Regarding the emergency contingency reserve, Council President Olson said the city has paid its bills without using those funds yet. Mr. Bailey recommended the council consider clarifying the policy regarding use of monies from one fund to pay bills in another fund. For example, the street fund ended last year in a fund balance deficit so money is already being borrowed from one fund to pay bills in a different fund. What is missing is council policy around that issue, something Councilmember Chen, City Attorney Jeff Taraday and he have discussed. It provides an opportunity for council to clarify how they want staff to handle that circumstance. As it was explained to him, staff is currently using monies from other funds to provide for cash flow deficits at month end when they occur in the street fund and general fund. As a finance director, he would be more comfortable if council was clear how to handle that administratively; at this point it is handled administratively on the council's behalf, but in a way that is consistent with the policy he would recommend. In other words, funds that are using monies from other funds are paying interest to the other fund and the monies from funds with surpluses are gaining interest so the mechanics are being handled correctly. It would be better if there was clarity that the council has expressed that that is a permissible practice and the council's expectations with regard to being advised when that is occurring, where it's occurring and for how long. Council President Olson asked Mr. Bailey, as a municipal financial professional, what he would recommend regarding using monies from other funds versus using the contingency reserve funds, why the council would make that choice. Mr. Bailey answered it was more about the nature of cash in cities. There are not separate cash accounts for each fund; there is one common pooled cash account and all the funds share that cash account and staff figures out what fund has which part of that cash account at the end of each month when Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 14 determining incoming revenues and outgoing expenses to reach a bottom line each month for each fund. The pooled cash fund is essentially fungible so when cash is needed for one account, it is naturally available or pulled from another account. Which account it is pulled from can be specified or just fungible where accounts pay interest or receive interest. Unless the council stated they want to know where the money is coming from, it is not something that happens in the course of day-to-day bookkeeping. He summarized if a fund had a deficit, it paid interest, if a fund had a surplus, it earned interest. Council President Olson said she would need time to mull on that. It seemed to her one of the reasons for separating operating and emergency reserve funds was to be aware when balances are entering a danger zone. The practice he described, instead of using the emergency fund, could let people fool themselves about reality. Mr. Bailey commented when monies are used from a reserve account it is because the use has been appropriated or authorized; the council has not authorized any funds from the 4% reserve account to be used by city staff so they are not using the 4% reserve for any purpose. Council President Olson appreciated that, but there have been conversations on numerous occasions whether council needs to grant that authority. Mr. Bailey said from his standpoint the answer was no at this point. With regard to the proposed software purchase, Council President Olson said some financially savvy residents asked why the purchase was necessary instead of using a spreadsheet, a valid question when the city is trying not to spend money it can avoid spending. Mr. Bailey answered the City of Redmond had a very sophisticated financial staff and in using spreadsheets. incurred a significant amount of risk to help pivot the perspective on the budget from line items in departments and divisions and funds to services, outcomes and programs. He did not recommend using spreadsheets due to the degree of risk involved. If the council feels there is a lack of clarity in the city's finances, adding spreadsheets plus implementing a new financial system and biennial budget, he recommended a plug -and -play approach versus spreadsheets. Councilmember Dotsch asked the cost of the software. Mr. Bailey answered $75,000-$80,000/year for the hosted software, a subscription similar to OpenGov. Councilmember Dotsch asked whether the city had purchased financial software that had not been used yet. Mr. Bailey answered yes, relaying his understanding that the fundamental financial system, Munis, that replaces the old Eden system, pays the bills, does all the bookkeeping, produces reports, processes payroll, etc. In addition a couple years ago the city paid for a two-year subscription for the OpenGov budgeting system which has yet to be implemented. The reasons it has not been implemented were described to the panel and at this point he recommended to Mayor Rosen that it not be implemented or that the city continue to invest in it. Councilmember Dotsch recalled transparency was an issue. She referred to the wastewater treatment plant, noting the need to lay bare the realities instead of siloing issues. She was hopeful that would be part of the broader conversation. She commented the public process in Edmonds has been very poor for quite some time. If the city plans to engage the public as partners in this process, surveys in the past have not been statistically significant and there has been very little follow up. Bellevue does a good job engaging their residents and doing follow up. She recommended something more robust to engage residents in a way that provides guidance and follow up to provide a partnership with the community. Mr. Bailey agreed Bellevue is known nationally for that. Redmond did an biannual citizen survey to inform the budget which is available on their website. One of the recommendations is some way for council to evaluate the services provided by staff to the community so performance management should be part of the council's decision -making. With regard to the treatment plant, he recommend a significant mid -year financial check -in because it is easy to get siloed and overlook things. Councilmember Nand acknowledged members of the blue ribbon panel in the audience and thanked them and Mr. Bailey for their service, noting this discussion has been extremely helpful for the council and administration. The past few budget cycles have been very unpleasant. Americans in general do not have a lot of financial education and municipal finances are very different than enterprise financing which some councilmembers are familiar with in the private sector versus household economics. She hoped this process would result in long term fiscal strategies and resiliency that was not impacted by politics and current events Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 15 and the council, administration and public could work together in a productive manner in a way that there were less hurt feelings. She thanked Mayor Rosen for convening the panel. Councilmember Chen echoed Councilmember Nand's appreciation for this open, candid conversation about facing challenges and finding solutions and the environment Mayor Rosen is creating where the council's questions are no longer ignored. He referred to annual versus biannual budget, recognizing the council passed a resolution to develop a biennial budget for 2025-2026. Considering the city's current situation, he asked if it would be more straightforward to have an annual budget or biennial budget, particularly with the uncertainty regarding the fire contract. Mr. Bailey answered a biannual budget certainly adds an interesting twist. He is a huge advocate for biannual budgeting as it helps the council lift the horizon and look longer term/bigger picture and that still applies. He anticipated a biannual budget for 2025-2026 would look at each year differently because the budget mechanics would be different in 2025 than 2026. They can be knit together at the end into a biannual budget which will provide more flexibility working toward fiscal resiliency moving forward. He anticipated the council would be looking at two very different years and talking about bridging 2025 and getting into 2026 with the right glide path. He anticipated by 2026 the council could anticipate being comfortable about being on solid footing and going in the right direction. Councilmember Chen said when the council made a decision to do a biannual budget the push was to hurry up to implement OpenGov, a software tool that would provide transparency. Now that OpenGov is no longer in the works, and given the current situation, he wondered if the council should reconsider a biannual budget, possibly delay it until 2027-2028. Mr. Bailey said as a practical matter, the council could do that even if at the end of the day it adopted an ordinance with a 2025-2026 budget and dealt with it annually. Councilmember Chen said a biannual budget adds complexity and the council can always repeal the resolution. Mr. Bailey said he looks at dozens of OpenGov budgets as part of his work doing peer review of budgets and it does a great job. Whether that is the right tool for the city at this time is his concern. Councilmember Chen said in comparing ResourceX to OpenGov, he was very impressed by what he saw, but he wondered whether OpenGov, ResourceX or something else was appropriate for the city. If the city switches service providers, the consultant may be different, but Edmonds has the same dedicated financial professionals. After investing $80,000/year in OpenGov with no results, he asked how he could be confident that investing $80,000 in ResourceX would provide results. Mr. Bailey was certain a lot of due diligence was invested in the OpenGov decision and it was not his place to second guess that, but circumstances have changed. In addition to the city's capable staff, including one who has experience with a priority budgeting approach, the implementation team from ResourceX would be onsite and are part of the parent company, Munis, that provides the city's financial systems which would provide some continuity. Eden was acquired by Tyler in the early 2000, Munis was a Tyler product prior to that, Tyler recently acquired ResourceX and is working to integrate that as well which would address some of the challenges with implementing OpenGov which was not as compatible with the city's other financial systems. He hoped that would alleviate some concern with investing in resources and not seeing benefits; the council should get ongoing updates regarding how ResourceX was going and whether it was meeting the city's needs. Councilmember Chen recalled when implementing OpenGov, council was kept out of the process. He recognized council was a policy -making body and not entering data and making schedules. He requested in the future a council representative be included as part of the team educated on ResourceX so the council was not kept in the dark. Councilmember Paine expressed appreciation to Mr. Bailey for guiding the council. With regard to a bridge for 2025, it seemed to imply borrowing from utility funds to provide a bridge and building a stronger program for 2026. Mr. Bailey affirmed her understanding and distinguished that from the day-to-day cash flow borrowing that he described earlier where cash is in a pool and is fungible. If council were to adopt a 2025 budget that anticipated resources from another fund in order to meet the needs of the general fund in 2025, he recommended the council formally identify the parameters of that loan, the maximum amount, how long it could last, etc. Councilmember Paine agreed, recognizing the utility fund is a ratepayer fund. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 16 It was her understanding that ratepayer funds are treated differently. Mr. Bailey answered they are in the same cash pool, but ratepayer funds are used to provide the services they are associated with — water, wastewater, surface water. Councilmember Paine asked the hazards of zero based budgeting. Mr. Bailey answered he is doing a workshop for another city in eastern Washington on zero based budgeting; he is recommending they not do that to solve their budget dilemma and instead use priority based budgeting. He offered to provide a white paper prepared by Jeff Way a couple years ago regarding this issue. Zero based budgeting was introduced in the 1960-1970s and President Carter brought it from the State of Georgia to balance the federal budget which didn't work. It is an overwhelming target to start with literally a blank sheet of paper and begin to determine what services need to be provided. Zero based budgeting is a great deal of work for everyone including councilmembers who have to review the work generated by staff and not all that work represents value. Priority based budgeting is meeting in the middle. Councilmember Paine recalled her public finance courses in grad school said zero based budgeting means everything has gone down the toilet and she was glad to hear that priority based budgeting was a modification of zero based budgeting. She thanked Mr. Bailey for his comments about spreadsheets, relaying she has worked in organizations that used spreadsheets. Her favorite story was a $5 million typo that was easy to find, but it is almost impossible to find a $50 typo. Better technology is cleaner and adds better vision than spreadsheets. Councilmember Paine said the schedule was as she expected. It was not necessarily aggressive but necessary. Mr. Bailey acknowledged it was aggressive but doable. Council President Olson referred to the options, pointing out the option of seeking voter approval of tax increases is off the table for this year after May; a council decision would be required by May. Due to the preference for council to have two touches, if that is an option council wants to pursue, there is very little time for decision -making and getting it on agendas. Mr. Bailey advised MRSC provides great information about other municipalities' experience with various ballot measures; he will share a synopsis at the Snohomish County Cities meeting. The secret to success is good communication with the community which takes time. That is why the panel feels bridging 2025 is in the city's best interest to allow time for a rich conversation with the community and make better decisions. 3. RESOLUTION CONCERNING REESTABLISHMENT WORKPLAN OF THE EDMONDS DOWNTOWN BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT Councilmember Tibbott proposed an amendment to the resolution in the packet. COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO REVISE THE LAST WHEREAS IN THE RESOLUTION TO READ, "WHEREAS, THIS WORK PLAN IS LIKELY TO INCLUDE A VARIETY OF PROCEDURAL STEPS AVAILABLE TO REESTABLISH THE BID, INCLUDING A FIXED TERM OF DURATION, METHOD OF MEMBERSHIP RATIFICATION, APPLICABLE FEE STRUCTURE, ETC.; AND NOW THEREFORE," Councilmember Tibbott said the whereas clause addressed procedural steps and he wanted to add additional steps that would be explicitly considered. Councilmember Nand asked if outlining these specific steps in this whereas clause would limit the flexibility of the BID in how they seek their reestablishment. City Attorney Jeff Taraday said this was the first time he heard the amendment and had not had an opportunity to consider the language, but it was drafted purposefully open ended so as to not prescribe too much specificity about the exact procedural steps to recognize a general work plan would come forward. It is purposefully open ended but the council could amend it. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 17 Councilmember Tibbott reread the amendment, advising he felt the word "reestablish" was too vague and does not provide enough specificity about what the BID has in mind. Councilmember Nand asked if this amendment would be in accordance with the consultant's scope of work. BID President Jen Lawson answered the BID is in the very beginning stages with the consultant so nothing has been solidified. Mr. Taraday said the statutes use the word establish and when one establishes a BID, all the details Councilmember Tibbott recited would necessarily be part of any reestablished BID. By incorporating reestablish, the council is essentially moving into the resolution by reference all the state law - required components of what is necessary to establish a BID. He was not saying the amendment was flawed, but using the word establish in this context was doing all the things the statute requires. Community, Culture & Economic Development Director Todd Tatum said the work plan will get into more specific details of what is described in the Whereas clause. He was not concerned with amended language. Councilmember Nand said her concern was it might commit the BID to more than they intended but that does not sound like the case so she will support the amendment. Councilmember Paine expressed support for the amendment to make it clearer for the council. She recognized the BID has an idea about the work plan. She was hopeful there will be a combination of the different methodologies described in the statutes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO ADD A NEW SECTION 1 AND MOVE THE EXISTING SECTION 1 TO SECTION 2. THE NEW SECTION 1 WILL READ, "THE CITY COUNCIL REQUESTS THAT THE BID ADVISORY COMMITTEE PROVIDE AN OUTLINE OF THEIR WORKPLAN BY JULY 2024 WHICH INCLUDES A PROCESS FOR DETERMINING THE PROCEDURAL STEPS AND THEIR INTENDED METHOD FOR OBTAINING RATIFICATION OF THE PLAN OF THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE BID. Councilmember Tibbott said this relates to the reestablishment of the plan. In conversation with Mr. Tatum, they discussed that the BID would like enough time to work with a consultant, determine a process and develop a plan to present to the council. He accepted the BID will need time to develop a plan and procedure, but Mr. Tatum suggested a July 2024 date would focus the BID and the consultant on providing an outline to the council so the council understands the direction they are taking. One of the reasons this is so important is he did not want to get to spring 2025 and see a plan and then reject it because it did not adequately address his questions. Councilmember Nand agreed with requesting the BID provide the council a plan as long as it did not limit the consultant or their process. Ms. Lawson said the BID is excited to continue working with the council and providing next steps once additional information is available from the consultant. Councilmember Paine answered this will be interesting work and will provide better visibility into the intent and the workplan. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION AS AMENDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 10. MAYOR'S COMMENTS 11. COUNCIL COMMENTS Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 18 Councilmember Nand explained this is a very celebratory time of year; on March 24 Jewish neighbors celebrated the Festival of Purim, on March 25 Hindu neighbors which includes her and her family celebrated Holi, on March 31 Catholic and Christian neighbors celebrated Easter and the LGBTQ+ community celebrated Transgender Day of Visibility, and on April 9 Muslim neighbors will celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan. She highlighted these celebrations as she prides herself on being part of a multicultural, acceptive and inclusive community. Councilmember Paine remarked all those celebrations sound like a great time. She reported the Orange Swift Line is now open, providing service from Edmonds College to Mill Creek with 10-minute headways, one of the new east -west lines established by Community Transit after a decade of planning. Implementation of the service is on time and under budget. The Orange Line will stop at the Lynnwood Transit Center where light -rail will be available beginning in September/October 2024. She attended the ribbon cutting on Saturday which included three federal representatives, the federal transit administrator, four state representatives, one state senator, and several Edmonds College trustees and other dignitaries including former Mayor Dave Earling. The opening included food trucks at Edmonds College, facepainting and henna. She was hopeful the Orange Swift line would eventually come into Edmonds. Community Transit is doing a lot to ensure there are clean, on -time, well -staffed buses. She was also interested in having the Community Transit Zip shuttle come to Edmonds. Zip shuttle can be used for short trips via an app and costs the same as the bus, $2.50. Council President Olson commented today was a great deal of visibility for volunteers. She gave a shoutout to the amazing job done by the blue ribbon panel and the economic development commission for their unique and interesting approach to public engagement, a great model for all, and the Edmonds downtown BID volunteers who do a lot of work on a regular basis for no money to keep that well-oiled machine running well. Council is conducting a town hall on Thursday, April 18 at the public works building, an opportunity to be face-to-face with councilmembers in a location more convenient for residents of the Highway 99 corridor. She reported Earth Day sign-ups are available; she was the first to sign up for the Pine Ridge Park event. Councilmember Tibbott relayed his appreciation to Councilmember Chen who raised the alarm about the budget and financial difficulties mid -year. In meetings with the administration, he was focused, not angry, brought the numbers and the reality to bear, which contributed to the council announcing a fiscal emergency. He was glad Councilmember Chen was on the finance committee and serving the city well as the council moves through a packed budget schedule. Councilmember Tibbott reported he is unable to attend the town hall on April 18 as he will be at the Snohomish County Cities meeting which includes councilmembers and mayors from 18 Snohomish County cities. He invited Mr. Bailey to speak at that meeting regarding city budgeting and financing. He looks forward to hearing about the town hall as well as sharing what he and others learn from Mr. Bailey's presentation at Snohomish County Cities. Councilmember Chen expressed his appreciation for the council's realization that the city is facing financial challenges and looking for solutions rather than diminish the reality. He commented on differences between the financial outlook in the proposed 2024 budget and the adopted budget. He was confident the blue ribbon panel, councilmembers, and community members will find a solution that works for the city and a more sustainable future. Councilmember Eck described her conversation with three community members who applied for positions on the tree board. They all brought value and the choice was very difficult. She honored their desire to contribute to the community and she hoped the residents not selected would continue to look for ways to serve on boards and commissions. She described the applicant she appointed, Ray White, semi -retired, in the field for decades, professor of fishery science at Montana State University, ecological restoration consultant, member of many organizations such as Wildlife Society Nature Conservancy, Ornithology Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 19 Society, Pilchuck Audubon Society, etc. and a 30-year Edmonds resident. She was excited to have his scientific knowledge, experience and passion for woodlands on the tree board. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 9:54 pm. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes April 2, 2024 Page 20