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2024-07-23 Council Special Minutes Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes July 23, 2024 Page 1 EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING DRAFT MINUTES July 23, 2024 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Mike Rosen, Mayor Vivian Olson, Council President Chris Eck, Councilmember (arrived 5: 42 pm) Will Chen, Councilmember Neil Tibbott, Councilmember Michelle Dotsch, Councilmember Susan Paine, Councilmember (arrived 5:35 pm) Jenna Nand, Councilmember STAFF PRESENT Rob English, Acting Public Works Director Emily Wagener, Human Resources Analyst Bertrand Hauss, Transportation Engineer Jeff Taraday, City Attorney Scott Passey, City Clerk Jerrie Bevington, Camera Operator 1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE The Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 5:29 pm by Mayor Rosen in the Council Chambers, 250 5th Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. The meeting was opened with the flag salute. 2. COUNCIL BUSINESS 1. REPORT ON CONSTRUCTION BIDS FOR THE MAIN STREET OVERLAY PROJECT Acting Public Works Director Rob English explained this is the portion of the Main Street overlay project between 6th Avenue and 8th Avenue. Bids were opened on July 9; the City received two bids, Taylor’s Excavators and Road Construction NW. He reviewed: • Scope of Work o Full width grind/pavement overlay o 8 new ADA compliant pedestrian ramps o Bulb-outs at intersections with 7th and 8th o EB Bike Lane o Pavement Striping • Bid Results Contractor Bid Results Amount Taylor’s Excavators* $1,331,275 Road Construction Northwest $1,583,842 Engineer’s Estimate $1,202,550 o Taylor’s Excavators committed at bid time to using 4 DBE subcontractors o Taylor’s discovered after bid opening that one of these subcontractors no longer met DBE requirements and submitted a new form with this subcontractor no longer listed o WSDOT determined Taylor’s to be non-responsive due to the incorrect information submitted with the bid Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes July 23, 2024 Page 2 • Staff Recommendation o Reject all bids and readvertise the project (Councilmember Paine arrived during this agenda item.) COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO ACCEPT STAFF RECOMMENDATION TO REJECT BIDS AND READVERTISE THE PROJECT. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. (Councilmember Eck was not present for the vote.) 2. APPROVAL OF SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH SCJ FOR HWY 99 REVITALIZATION STAGE 3 Transportation Engineer Bertrand Hauss reviewed: • Project limits o Stage 3: 244th to ~ 400’ north 238th • Scope of work o Sidewalks o Separated bike lanes o Landscape buffers o Stormwater treatment o Street / pedestrian light poles o Capacity improvements at signalized intersections (238th and 220th) o SR-104 Interchange Active Transportation Safety Improvements o Art opportunities o Distinct districts o Possible conversion to underground utilities (pending council approval  Comcast, PUD, Ziply and Wave  Received WSDOT confirmation that State funds can be used for this conversion • Elements of Supplemental Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes July 23, 2024 Page 3 o Additional roadway and stormwater design work along 238th St. SW from Hwy 99 to 84th Ave. W, south of interchange, and Complete Streets along the entire corridor (recent scope of work additions) o Additional survey to complete this work o Stormwater design changes based on DRAFT 2024 Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington (Stormwater Analysis and Drainage Memo) o Cost Estimating comparison between project with Complete Streets and Original Scope of Work (to be used for future Interlocal Agreement with WSDOT) o Cultural Resources (not in original agreement) • Cost Original Contract Supplemental New Total Amount $3,217,453 $388,571 $3,606,024 • Funding Source o Connecting Washington State Transportation Funds • Stage 3 Milestones and Schedule COUNCILMEMBER NAND MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO APPROVE THE SUPPLEMENT AGREEMENT. (Councilmember Eck arrived 5:42 pm.) Councilmember Nand said she was excited to hear funds were allocated for undergrounding utilities on this project. She recalled the council allocated $400,000 for undergrounding on Highway 99 and asked if that had been used for a different stage. Mr. Hauss responded he did not recall that. This was presented to committee a couple months ago and staff was awaiting confirmation from WSDOT that the funds could be used for undergrounding. Councilmember Nand said she would research it, acknowledging it may have been for a previous stage. Councilmember Nand relayed she was also excited to hear about grant funds for cultural resources and asked if there was any additional information such as the parameters for using those funds and whether it would be handled by the economic development department or public works. Acting Public Works Director Rob English answered cultural resources is work the consultant team will do, a study required during the environment review process to evaluate whether there are potentially buried artifacts and other impacts related to construction. Councilmember Dotsch, a member of the PPW Committee where this information was presented previously, she thanked staff for pursuing approval from WSDOT to use funds for undergrounding. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES BENEFIT TRUST (MEBT) UPDATES Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes July 23, 2024 Page 4 Senior Human Resources Analyst Emily Wagener explained the purpose of this agenda item is to provide an update on MEBT and address a couple council action items. She explained Municipal Employee Benefit Trust (MEBT) is a retirement savings plan, a 401A, that employees participate in lieu of Social Security. Each MEBT plan has its own MEBT plan document; several cities are part of MEBT. Edmonds has a MEBT Committee consisting of four elected employees and two appointed positions that run the MEBT plan for Edmonds. Additional information regarding the MEBT committee and how the funds are managed is available in the attachments to the agenda item as well as in the June 18, 2024 PSPHSP Committee presentation. With regard to council action items, the MEBT Committee met in May and would like to propose changes to the MEBT plan. The first change is related to participation in MEBT; currently MEBT participation is limited to regular employees which is defined in the personnel policies as employees who work a minimum of 1,000 hours/year and city councilmembers. The MEBT Committee determined based on other MEBT plans to limited term employees who are expected to work more than five months upon hire the choice to enroll in MEBT. The committee is seeking council confirmation to make that benefit available to limited term employees upon hire. There is no additional cost to the City as funds currently contributed for any limited term employees goes into Social security; the equivalent amount would be contributed to MEBT as well as portions to provide for life insurance and long term disability that are part of the MEBT program. The second council action item is related to vesting. Currently the City has a seven year vesting period which is incremental based on number of months the employee has been with the City. In looking at other MEBT cities, the current employment market, and standard vesting periods, the MEBT Committee recommends reducing the City’s vesting period from seven years to three years. The City matches employee contributions to MEBT, those funds are sent to the recordkeeper where it is stored in MEBT accounts and when an employee leaves, their vesting amount is calculated and any remaining funds go into a forfeiture account that is distributed among remaining employees. There is no cost to the City although there may be an effect on forfeiture balances. Councilmember Paine observed MEBT is in lieu of Social Security contributions. She asked how distribution is handled in the case of death or layoff prior to vesting. Ms. Wagener answered if an employee is laid off or passes away while employed, they are 100% vested automatically. If an employee reaches their normal retirement age while working for the City, regardless of how long they have worked for the City, they are also 100% vested. COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO APPROVE THE TWO AMENDMENTS TO THE MEBT PLAN AS PRESENTED THIS EVENING. Councilmember Tibbott relayed this was presented in detail to PSPHSP Committee. He appreciated the information and agreed with recommendations. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. CONVENE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS PENDING OR POTENTIAL LITIGATION PER RCW 42.30.110(1)(I) At 5:50 pm, the Council convened in executive session to discuss pending or potential litigation per RCW 42.30.110(1)(i) for a period of 30 minutes. At 6:18 pm, Mayor Rosen announced the executive session would be extended to 6:40 pm. At 6:37 pm, Mayor Rosen announced the executive session would be extended to 6:50 pm. Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes July 23, 2024 Page 5 4. RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION The meeting reconvened at 6:49 p.m. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the special Council meeting was adjourned at 6:50 pm.