2023-02-14 PSPHSP CommitteeMinutes
PUBLIC SAFETY, PLANNING, HUMAN SERVICES & PERSONNEL
COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING
February 14, 2023
Elected Officials Present Staff Present
Councilmember Vivian Olson (Chair) Michelle Bennett, Police Chief (no audio)
Councilmember Jenna Nand Jessica Neill Hoyson, HR Director
Council President Neil Tibbott (ex-officio) Todd Tatum, Comm. Serv./Econ. Dev. Director
Whitney Rivera, Municipal Court Judge
Uneek Maylor, Court Administrator
Angie Feser, Parks, Rec. & Human Serv. Dir.
Shannon Burley, Deputy Parks, Rec. & Human Serv. Dir.
Jeff Taraday, City Attorney (left mtg. 3:50)
Alexandra Ehlert, Police Executive Assistant (no audio)
Scott Passey, City Clerk
Guests
Elaine Helm, Diversity Commission Chair
Jessie Owen, Diversity Commission Member
1. CALL TO ORDER
The Edmonds City Council virtual online PSPHSP Committee meeting was called to order virtually and
in the City Council Conference Room, 212 – 5th Avenue North, Edmonds, at 3:30 p.m. by
Councilmember Olson.
2. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
1. Draft Ordinance mending ECC 10.01 Boards and Commissions
Mr. Taraday recalled when this came to council in January, there was a lengthy discussion regarding
public outreach and whether the ordinance should be amended to identify specific types of public
notification in various newspapers, in foreign languages, etc. As motions were made and the discussion
became more complicated, the council directed the matter to staff. He assumed the council president
determined it would be better to have it come to committee first.
Councilmember Nand referred to Section 10.01.030 Content of notice, relaying Councilmember Chen
and she reached out to Kelsey Foster and Mayor Nelson’s administration who indicated without further
direction from council they will voluntarily seek ways to advertise board and commission positions in the
local media and try to incorporate a multilingual component. That will address her and Councilmember
Chen’s concerns. The administration does not need any further direction from council than what is
included in Section 10.01.030.
Questions and discussion followed regarding Council President Tibbott working with staff on how the
administration would be notified of openings or renewals and having Mr. Taraday incorporate that into
the proposed ordinance, input provided by former Planning Board Member Roger Pence, a suggestion
for three committee members to review proposed amendments before forwarded them to Mr. Taraday
for inclusion in the ordinance, simplifying the code versus addressing situations such as the difference
between unexpected vacancies versus end of term vacancies, a suggestion that incumbents continue
to serve (if they are willing) until they are replaced, emphasizing that the selection process is
nonpartisan, interviewing all applicants that meet the code requirements, and establishing a process for
filling vacancies if not done by the administration within a period of time.
2/14/23 PSPHSP Committee Minutes, Page 2
Committee recommendation: Full council.
2. PSPHSP Committee Meeting Proposed Time Change
Mr. Taraday explained the ordinance in the packet changes the regular start time of the PSPHSP
committee from 4:30 to 3:30 and lengthens the meeting time from one hour to two hours.
Discussion followed regarding a suggestion not to hold meetings prior to 3:00 p.m. to avoid impeding
into the work day for interested members of public, ability for the public to watch the video following the
meeting, no opportunity for audience participation at committee meetings, and whether the change
would be effective for the March meeting.
Committee recommendation: February 21 Consent Agenda
Discussion followed regarding the protocol for submitting questions to the city attorney and having
questions that apply to council business go through the council president. Councilmember Nand
advised she would discuss that further with the city attorney assessment subcommittee.
3. Committee Update Format for New Standing Agenda Item
Council President Tibbott explained the intent was to have a format for receiving updates from staff
during committee meetings. Instead of multiple councilmembers requesting updates from staff, he
requested committee members confer regarding update topics and submit update requests to the
council office by the first Monday of the month. Updates will either be short, 2-10 minutes, which would
require little staff preparation, or long, 10-20 minutes, which would require some staff preparation and
may be scheduled as an agenda item at a future meeting. He suggested scheduling updates at the
beginning of the agenda.
Questions and discussion followed regarding support for updates at committee meetings and for
scheduling updates at the beginning of the meeting, ability for councilmembers to still ask questions of
staff, and committee updates providing an opportunity for the public to hear information from directors.
Committee recommendation: Information.
4. Diversity Commission Name Change and Annual Presentation
Mr. Tatum provided an introduction , explaining five of the nine Diversity Commission members are new
as of September. The U.S. is coming out of three years of serious cultural turmoil, introspection and
change and efforts in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility will be critical in keeping
focus on these topics and doing the hard work of moving from a place of understanding to action.
DC Chair Elaine Helm, explained there has been a lot of discussions over the past several months
about the commission’s focus as well as the commission name. The proposal is to change the name to
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA). Each of the elements are important and the order
is consistent with what has become standard in local, state and federal governments. The new name
reflects the needs of the community and the direction of the commission’s work. The City’s
demographics show the population differs in many meaningful ways such as age, gender, race,
disability, housing, income, etc. There are many interesting differences when talking about diversity and
those should be reflected in City government, programs and policies.
DC Member Jessie Owen said the City’s has made a genuine and authentic commitment to diversity,
such as revamping the decision-making process for planning and prioritizing projects and diversifying
efforts for recruiting new board and commission members. Beyond diversity, the City needs to work
2/14/23 PSPHSP Committee Minutes, Page 3
toward equitable outcomes, and expanding the commission’s scope to include equity, inclusion and
accessibility places emphasis on commitment to policies, procedures, and systems that better represent
people and are based in meritocracy. While a truly inclusive group is diverse, a diverse group does not
necessarily mean it’s inclusive or accessible.
Commissioner Helm explained the commission will continue outreach and visibility events such as the
diversity film series to maintain public conversations around issues, align more closely with work the
City is already doing, and keep DEIA a part of decision making so policies and systems support that
population. Edmonds’ Diversity Commission has become an example for other cities; other boards and
commissions have reached out to better understand how they operate and the work they have done
over the last several years. She thanked the City and previous Diversity Commission members for
setting the commission up to take this next step and evolve the way they work.
Discussion followed regarding concern with the length of the name; whether diversity implies equity,
inclusion and accessibility; DEI is a widely used acronym and DEIA is even better; whether “access”
could be used instead of “accessibility;” sometimes it takes more words to explain what you are doing;
the name reflecting work that touches on all elements of DEIA; Edmonds as an example to other cities;
confusion between the Disability Board and the DEIA Commission, importance of work being done
regarding DEIA issues; a suggestion to include a requirement that at least one member be under the
age of 24; a Youth Commission liaison that was assigned to the commission in the past; importance of
younger people’s perspective; difficulty recruiting that age group; importance of age diversity; the Youth
Commission’s focus on DEI; and ability for members of Youth Commission and Diversity Commission
to participate in each other’s meetings.
Committee recommendation: Diversity Commission Presentation and proposed code amendment at
March 7 meeting.
5. Intergovernmental Agreement Snohomish County Diversion Center
Ms. Burley explained this would be another tool in the toolbox. The Snohomish County Diversion Center,
funded by Snohomish County, provides cities an opportunity to transport individuals interested in
receiving more support for their behavioral health and/or substance abuse challenges. This
intergovernmental agreement would allow Edmonds to participate in the diversion center. The City was
not able to partner with the diversion center until it had a social worker working closely with the police
department and Snohomish County Fire could refer an individual on the City’s behalf into the diversion
center unless Edmonds participated in the diversion center. There is no cost to the City other than
transport to/from the diversion center.
Questions and discussion followed regarding transportation options, process for accessing services at
the diversion center, other jurisdictions/agencies that utilize the diversion center, incidental fees,
location of the diversion center, being clear in the narrative that this is separate from the county hotel
on Highway 99, and appreciation for the compassion shown by staff and making good decisions for
those needing help.
Committee recommendation: Consent Agenda
8. Salary Table Approval Request for Grant Funded Position
Judge Rivera explained this is a request to approve the NR-25 salary table for the community justice
support specialist which did not have a comparable job description in the City. When the legislature
passed the Blake fix in 2022, there was funding for grants for therapeutic courts and Edmonds received
an initial grant; addition funds were available for community support coordinators. This is a part-time
position fully funded by the grant and it’s possible additional funds will be approved in the 2023
legislative session. The sample job description was prepared by the Administrative Office of the Courts
2/14/23 PSPHSP Committee Minutes, Page 4
(AOC) and modified by Court Administrator Uneek Maylor. The NR-25 salary step was selected after
consultation with HR.
Questions and discussion followed regarding whether it would be possible to hire someone for this part-
time position, and where the position will be advertised.
Committee recommendation: Consent Agenda
9. Recreation Staff Job Descriptions & Wage Range Update
Ms. Feser explained in preparation for hiring, staff discovered these five part-time hourly positions did
not have formal job descriptions and four of the five ranges were below the state minimum wage. It is
difficult to recruit for these positions even at minimum wage and employees often leave after a few
months for a higher paying job. HR plans to do a salary review of these positions in the coming year,
but the wage needs to be increased at this time to be competitive with other facilities and municipalities.
These are existing positions and a budget amendment is not required. She reviewed responsibilities of
the five positions.
• Facility attendant
• Front desk receptionist
• Day Camp assistant
• Gymnastic assistant
• Gymnastic instructor
Questions and discussion followed regarding difficulty recruiting for these positions, the amount of
essential functions and responsibilities, avoiding barriers to working for the City, a new phrase included
in City job descriptions (“or combination of education and experience that allows to perform the essential
functions of the job”), and the need for a salary survey of seasonal positions.
Committee recommendation: Full council
10. Parks & Recreation Staff Job Descriptions (Parks Maint and Rec Leader: Gymnastics)
Ms. Feser explained during the budget process, council approved a change from hiring eight seasonal
parks maintenance laborers to hiring six limited term employees (LTE) for nine months. In preparing for
recruitment, staff realized a job description was needed. The job description for the second position,
recreation leader – gymnastics also needed to be updated. This position in the AFSCME salary survey
changed to an NE-23 which is reflected in the new job description. Both positions are included in 2023
the budget; the request is to update the job descriptions in preparation for recruitment.
Questions and discussion followed regarding the hourly rate for the seasonal parks maintenance
laborer, whether the parks maintenance could be an internship with an education component, focus in
the 2023 budget on appropriately staffing the City, creating a structured intern program, parks not having
the capacity for an internship at this time, past park interns that worked with administrative staff,
potential union issues with an intern doing the same work as an LTE, and a suggestion to revise one of
the recreation leader–gymnastics essential functions and responsibilities to read, “Assists in gymnastics
shows and other special youth fitness events.
Committee recommendation: Full council.
11. Take Home Policy for City-Owned Vehicles
Ms. Neill Hoyson explained certain departments allow vehicles to be taken home. The lack of a policy
was identified in last year’s risk pool audit. Fleet Manager Carl Rugg drafted the policy and reviewed it
2/14/23 PSPHSP Committee Minutes, Page 5
with her as the risk manager. The policy creates a framework for how and when employees are allowed
to take City vehicles home. This is a housekeeping issue; employees are currently taking vehicles home.
A brief discussion followed regarding this being a well-drafted policy, the definition of occasional
overnight vehicle use, and the usage and taxable reporting requirements.
Committee recommendation: Consent Agenda
Councilmember Olson commented on the public’s confusion with the name of the Disability Board. Ms.
Neill Hoyson agreed the name was misleading as that board deals with post-retirement benefits for
LEOFF 1 police and fire personnel. She offered to research whether the RCW language specifies the
name of the board.
7. Ownership Transfer for K9 Hobbs
[Due to technical difficulties with audio, Chief Bennett and Ms. Ehlert were unable to participate in
Agenda Items 6 and 7.]
Councilmember Nand relayed PAWS CEO extended an invitation for K9 Hobbs or another active duty
K9 to be their spokesdog of the year at an annual parade.
Committee recommendation: Consent Agenda
6. Crime Analyst Job Description
Ms. Neill Hoyson responded to questions regarding where applicants obtain the required knowledge
related to federal, state and local automated information systems used in the collection, analysis and
report of information related to criminal activities; and specific requirements the police department
provided for this job description.
Ms. Neill Hoyson explained if the committee is satisfied with the job description, the next step is to
bargain the wage range with the union. The City is currently in bargaining with EPOA law support and
she was hopeful it could be settled as part of the contract. If not, the wage would come to council
separately.
Discussion followed regarding a suggestion to add to the job description under hazards that the person
may be exposed to disturbing content that may cause secondary trauma.
Committee recommendation: Ms. Neill Hoyson will bargain the wage with the union.
3. ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 5:14 p.m.
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SCOTT PASSEY, CITY CLERK