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2023-05-23 Special MeetingEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MINUTES May 23, 2023 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Mike Nelson, Mayor Neil Tibbott, Council President Vivian Olson, Councilmember Will Chen, Councilmember Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember Susan Paine, Councilmember Dave Teitzel, Councilmember Jenna Nand, Councilmember 1. CALL TO ORDER STAFF PRESENT Jeff Taraday, City Attorney Scott Passey, City Clerk Jerrie Bevington, Camera Operator The special Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 6:01 p.m. by Mayor Nelson in the Council Chambers, 250 5' Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. 2. COUNCIL BUSINESS 1. ANNUAL JOINT MEETING - SOUTH COUNTY FIRE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Fire Chief Thad Hovis, South County Fire (SCF), advised this annual joint meeting is required by the interlocal agreement between the RFA and the City to provide an opportunity for the SCF Board of Commissioners to discuss items of mutual interest with the mayor and council. He introduced the following: • SCF Board of Commissioners o Derek Daniels, Chair o Micah Rowland, Vice Chair o David Chan o Michael Fernehough o Jim Kenney • SCF Staff o Bob Eastman, Assistant Chief o Jason Isatalo, Assistant Chief o Shaughn Maxwell, Assistant Chief o Todd Anderson, Deputy Chief o John Chalfont, Deputy Chief o James Curtis, Deputy Chief o David Wells, Deputy Chief o Leslie Hynes, Communications Director Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 23, 2023 Page 1 Assistant Chief Eastman responded to questions posed by councilmember during the last presentation: • Call volume increase: Can we verify the percentage? o Typo in the presentation. There was an 8.7% increase in call volume between 2018 and 2022, not 9.7% 8.7% increase from 2018 2018 2022 Esperance and Annexation: If Esperance is ultimately annexed into Edmonds, what effect would that have on our contract with SCF? And will Fire Station 20 remain where it is? o Contract includes Esperance offset which takes the property tax the RFA collects inclusive of the benefit charge and uses that as an offset for the Edmonds cost, reduced from the total cost and used to calculate the cost for the City of Edmonds. If Esperance were to annex into the City of Edmonds, Edmonds' cost would go up according to the offset. The 2022 offset was $1.38 million. Chief Hovis reviewed happenings since SCF last met with Edmonds City Council: • Fire Academy Class 2023-1 o 13 recruits graduated May 19, 2023 • EMS Week Open House o May 20, Edmonds Downtown Fire Station 17 0 400 people attended • South County Fire Cardiac Survival Rate: 61.5% o SCF's cardiac save rate for 2022 was higher than the state (38.5%) and national (34.3%) averages • Additional 24-hour EMS Transport unit (approved by Edmonds City Council) went into service on March 1, 2022 o Addressed many of the items in NUUF and TBF differential o Additional unit returned staffing to 2016 level • SCF RFA formation o City of Lynnwood & Fire District 1 formed RFA in 2017 with voter approval o City of Mill Creek voters approved (75.4%) annexation into the RFA in April 2022 o Brier (77.8%) and Mountlake Terrace (92.1 %) voters overwhelmingly approved April special election annexation into SCF, effective August 1, 2023 ■ Leaves the City of Edmonds as the only remaining contract city o RFA covers 300,000 people and over 50 square miles • RFA fire stations, equipment, and personnel Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 23, 2023 Page 2 Councilmember Nand referred to the possibility of an EMS response on the waterfront side of the tracks when a train is passing. This issue is slated to be considered again in 2024 after the previous solution, the Waterfront Connector, raised a lot of emotional response in the community. Options that have been discussed include permanently positioning an EMS trained unit on the west side of the tracks with a defibrillator or other equipment to stabilizing someone while a train was passing or possibly reaching out to Washington State Ferries (WSF) or the Coast Guard to provide a boat. She asked SCF to comment on the perceived need for that. Chief Hovis responded Police Chief Bennett, Port of Edmonds Executive Director, and he have discussed whether a cache of equipment could be placed somewhere on the west side of the tracks so if a train stopped, it would be available to SCF personnel who crossed the tracks. There is not enough call demand to have a unit stationed on the west side of the tracks. With big events, SCF occasionally stages a 12 or 24 hour EMS transport unit on the west side. He agreed it was a difficult story problem, one the City has talked about for many years. Councilmember Nand asked about the possibility of someone associated with WSF or someone in a semi- official capacity going through volunteer training to use the equipment in the event a professional EMS was not able to get there in time. Chef Hovis answered he was unsure about WSF personnel's training or if they could build on their training. He encouraged anyone that lives locally and works for the WSF to apply for the volunteer firefighter support program that closes on May 30 at 4 p.m. Councilmember Teitzel referred to Section 6.7 of the Revised and Restated Interlocal Agreement for Fire and Emergency Services that refers to the Public Safety Boat, Marine 16, that has firefighting capability and Section 6.7.5 that states the Edmonds Police Department is authorized to use the vessel in an emergency. He asked if consideration had been given to including in the ILA allowing Port personnel access to the vessel to respond in an emergency when a train was blocking the tracks. Chief Hovis said he talked with Chief Bennett about that; there are two police personnel trained on Marine 16 as well as trained divers and Chief Bennett was interested in exploring an increase in the capacity to have Edmonds Police Department personnel serve as deckhands to increase personnel capacity on the vessel since incidents can blend law enforcement and fire/EMS. Councilmember Teitzel referred to Station 20 located in unincorporated Esperance and asked since the City owns and maintains that station, if there is an aid response out of that station to a call in Esperance, how is the transport balancing factor (TBF) and NUUF calculated, as a within Edmonds response or out - of -Edmonds response. Assistant Chief Eastman answered that calculation takes into account that the Esperance area is part of the RFA and not part of the City. Councilmember Teitzel observed a dispatch out of Station 20 into Esperance is not counted against Edmonds for either the TBF or the NUUF. Assistant Chief Eastman answered Station 20 provides service in Esperance and the RFA pays that Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 23, 2023 Page 3 component, so the calculation separates Esperance from the City of Edmonds. In other words, the calls within the City limits do not include the unincorporated island of Esperance. Councilmember Teitzel pointed out the City of Edmonds owns Station 20 and the apparatus to respond to an Esperance call would come from that Edmonds -owned station so it would seem to be an Edmonds response rather than an Esperance response. He asked if the calculations took that into account. Assistant Chief Eastman said not in the TBF because the transports that happen within Esperance aren't remanded back to Edmonds; only transports within the City are remanded to the City. The calculations within the contract have been looked at independently since the contract update in 2017. Councilmember Buckshnis referred to Section 3 regarding how the objectives from 2006 responses were calculated and the continued use of the 2006 adopted standards. She recalled conversations about changing those, but they have not been changed in 17 years. She asked if establishing a taskforce would be helpful to develop new numbers, noting the numbers may or may not be outdated. She advised the council included funds in the 2021 budget for police divers. With regard to the Esperance offset, Item K in the ILA, she questioned why the 2017 Esperance assessed value was set as the baseline. Assistant Chief Eastman explained the assessed value from the parcel database for Esperance is used to calculate the tax revenue based on the tax rate. Councilmember Buckshnis said she understood the calculation; her question was why 2017 was used. Assistant Chief Eastman advised it is updated every year; 2017 is referenced in the ILA because that is when the ILA was revised, but it is readjusted every year. The original agreement states the offset will not go below $117,150, but it does go up. Councilmember Chen asked if the $1.5 million investment for a 24-hour team decreased response time. Chief Hovis answered yes, it did decrease response time, referring to slide 19 of the April presentation, a comparison of response times 2018-2022. Having a dedicated transport unit when the majority of calls in Edmonds are EMS based definitely helps put the station back in service more quickly. Staffing levels at each station were established in the 2010 agreement and revised in the 2017 agreement; there are 3 cross staffed firefighters at each station who either take the fire engine or the paramedic unit depending on the call. The station sits empty once they are dispatched to a call. SCF Commissioner Chan commented he participated in negotiations with the previous mayor. He referred to the NUUF comparison in the April presentation that indicates Mountlake Terrace and RFA units are responding into Edmonds less although Lynnwood units are still responding into Edmonds more. Councilmember Chen referred to the potential development of a fire station on the Value Village site and asked whether that would change the three stations located in Edmonds. Assistant Chief Eastman advised SCF has been working with Ecology for the past 1'/2 years regarding the Value Village site, recently finishing a third phase which he was hopeful would allow moving forward with acquiring the property for a future RFA site. SCF identified that area as a need for an infill fire station during the process in 2018/2019. Unincorporated Edmonds, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood would all benefit from a fixed asset at that site. There are obviously costs with adding a new station and additional resources and there would need to be conversations between the RFA and the City of Edmonds. Councilmember Chen said he expected there would need to be more analysis, but a city Edmonds' size does not need four fire stations. Chief Hovis reminded that is one of the busiest grids in Edmonds due to the location of the hospital and surrounding clinics. The drive time from North Edmonds is the reason Station 16 was relocated from its original location in Five Corners and Stations 16 and 17 are a good distance away. It would make sense to have a future RFA station on the Value Village site, hopefully with Edmonds as a full partner in the RFA, serving not just grid 157, but because unincorporated Snohomish County, Mountlake Terrace, and Edmonds come together at that point, it is one of the best locations for a station, especially with the revitalization of Highway 99. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 23, 2023 Page 4 Councilmember Chen agreed it was an ideal location for Highway 99 due to the number of businesses and the amount of activity. He wondered if a station elsewhere in Edmonds could be closed or consolidated once a station on the Value Village site opened. Chief Hovis assumed Councilmember Chen meant the new 24-hour unit added last year at Station 16 could make up part of the staffing at a fire station on the Value Village site. Assistant Chief Eastman commented a challenge unique to Edmonds is the west side of the City is water so no support comes from that direction. The challenges are not related to a single unit EMS response because there are three stations within the City; the challenge is the weight of response when responding to a cardiac arrest with CPR where 11 personnel are dispatched or a fire that requires multiple personnel to respond. Edmonds does not get any support from the west versus other stations in the center of the RFA that have fire stations circling them. Some of that challenges is the fact that a third, fourth, fifth or six unit coming to a major fire in downtown Edmonds come from much further away because there is no response from the west. Assistant Chief Eastman continued, locating a fire station does not look at geopolitical boundaries but looks at the RFA as a whole and what fire response is necessary to provide service to everyone. At the end of the day, an infill station is needed at some point in time at Value Village but there wasn't an opportunity to reduce the number of stations in the City of Edmonds because it will result in smaller pockets of gaps and not truly solving the problem that the infill fire station provides. Adding a station and consolidating existing stations does not help when looking at the map, data and response criteria; much of that is due to no resource support from the west as well as the large population base near the water. Chief Hovis pointed out Edmonds also does not have a fire department to the south; the Town of Woodway contracts with Shoreline which is a great distance away. Units do not respond into Edmonds from the west or south; units come from either Lynnwood or Mountlake Terrace. Cardiac arrests takes 11 people, every person on duty right now in the City of Edmonds. A residential fire takes a minimum of 15 people, which is a minimum of 4 people coming from a different area. SCF Commissioner Chan commented he was involved in the original contract negotiations in 2010. South County Fire's capital facilities plan does not look at the city, but the entire region and how to align all the stations. Edmonds has the same problem as Mukilteo; he referred to slide 24 from the April presentation that illustrates Station 17 is the most under-utilized, Stations 6 and 20 have higher utilization. When designing a station, consideration is given to the circle that the station will serve; Station 17 does not serve a circle. When Edmonds started, downtown was the whole town\; with growth, stations need to be realigned. The same is true for Mukilteo, there is station downtown but it is not well utilized. He envisioned the area around Swedish Edmonds will eventually be like l't Hill in Seattle with a lot of residents and the hospital. He concluded that is why the RFA made a decision to acquire the Value Village property. Councilmember Chen agreed the Value Village site was an ideal location, but he suggested thinking about realignment of other stations. SCF Commissioner Chan suggested sharing the RFA's capital facility plan that includes fire station locations for the entire region. Councilmember Olson found it helpful to separate the first presentation from this agenda item and allowing councilmembers time to digest the information. She expressed appreciation for the responses to the councilmembers' questions. She congratulated the new recruits and asked how long the volunteer firefighter program is and the commitment for people who go through it. Chief Hovis answered he was in that program 29 years ago and the commitment is similar to when he was in the program, one Wednesday night per week. The initial training to get someone comfortable to drive the air unit and fill SCBA bottles is about three months. Councilmember Olson asked if the one Wednesday/week was the training or the commitment after training. Chief Hovis answered that was the commitment to be trained; the volunteer corps support Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 23, 2023 Page 5 personnel at major incidents. For example, when there is an incident within the RFA, volunteers are paged and they choose whether they can respond. The RFA operated with a skeleton crew of 4 volunteers for 24 spots during the pandemic. He encouraged the council to invite residents of the RFA to apply. Councilmember Olson said she was also interested in how the addition of a station at the Value Village site would affect existing stations and she liked the question Councilmember Teitzel asked about the out of area response. She acknowledged it was part of the weirdness and complication of having a wholly unincorporated area within the City's boundaries. She expressed appreciation for the RFA, advising the City has been very happy with their service and feel like they are the City's fire department. She recognized SCF was not super thrilled with Edmonds being the only remaining contract city. If the model is always based on assessed valuation (AV) and there is such a difference between the benefit charge for serving a household or building, that does not seem like a great deal for Edmonds. She asked whether that was statutorily required or was there any way to address the elephant in room that makes it difficult for Edmonds to want to become a full member. Chief Hovis responded that was something former contract cities Mountlake Terrace and Brier also grappled with as their AV increased as did the City of Lynnwood as well as Mill Creek whose character is similar to Edmonds, although not located by the water. When the RFA was formed, statutorily the fire levy could be $1.50 and up to a $0.50 EMS levy. At that time, FD 1 residents and Lynnwood residents had a tax of $2/$1,000 AV; the assessment now is $1.21 with the benefit charge that was passed in 2020. Some of uniqueness with the RFA funding model has changed; the fire levy can only be $1/$1,000 AV and up to $0.50 EMS levy plus the benefit charge. He agreed it is the elephant in room to figure out how that would look for the City of Edmonds. SCF could provide more information, including how it would affect City residents if that was something the City was interested in. Councilmember Olson said she could not speak for the City, but she was interested. SCF Commissioner Chan, speaking as an individual commission, said a back of the napkin calculation indicated the total levy rate would be lower. Assistant Chief Eastman did a study that indicates as each city joins, the rate is lower. Due to Edmonds' large population, the rate would drop significantly. He suggested sharing that information with the council. One of reasons for joining the RFA is Edmonds residents have a voice and can vote on representation by fire commissioners. The intent of a regional fire authority is to pull resources together and use them more efficiently rather than each city having its own stations, etc. He concluded the RFA is very good for the region. Councilmember Paine agreed with Councilmember Buckshnis that it was probably time to reevaluate the standards since the last evaluation was in 2006. There have been a lot of changes since 2006 including COVID, the community resource paramedic program that assists with reducing 911 calls, and other things that have changed the completion of communities like Edmonds that have a lot of BLS calls. It would be interesting to see what the cost would be if Edmonds were to join the RFA. It's interesting that the rate was originally $2/$1000 AV and now it is down to $1.21/$1000 AV. She recalled the contract increase was delayed a few years ago awaiting resolution of the union contract and asked when those contracts were up. Chief Hovis answered the bargaining agreement with Local 1828 runs through the end of 2025. The parties agreed to a five year 5 year agreement, something that had not been done before. Councilmember Paine asked how cost of living was addressed, particularly the significant increase in the past 12-18 months. Chief Hovis answered the contract used June -June CPI-W; there was mutual interest between the firefighters union and the RFA, and the union agreed in 2024 and 2025 to a floor of 0 and a maximum of 7 regardless of inflation and CPI-W. Council President Tibbott asked about replacement of vehicles and how those costs were borne throughout the RFA. He asked if there were vehicles that could respond to the taller buildings on Highway 99. Chief Hovis answered yes, noting Council President Tibbott was missed at the tiller ladder Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 23, 2023 Page 6 truck push in at Station 10 about a month ago. Ladder trucks are important as vertical growth occurs. He thanked fire commissioners for authorizing another fire engine purchase at the last board meeting at a cost of $1.3 million. The REA has a comprehensive apparatus schedule that looks at everything from fire engines, pumpers, ladder trucks, etc., all the way down to the staff vehicles such as the Ford Taurus he drove to tonight's meeting. Council President Tibbott asked where Station 10 with the ladder truck is located. Chief Hovis answered Keeler's Corner, in Lynnwood's potential annexation area near the House of Clocks. There is also a ladder truck at Lynnwood Station 14 in the Blue Ridge neighborhood near Edmonds College. Councilmember Buckshnis asked if SCF planned to bond for the Value Village site, whether they would utilize the entire building, and if there could be a joint partnership with the police department on a floor or two. Assistant Chief Eastman answered all those options have been discussed with Ecology. Hospital District 2 (Verdant), the owner of the property, wants to sell the property to SCF. They have talked about the opportunity to construct a 5-story building with the SCF occupying part of it and providing needed services for the underprivileged, one of Verdant's missions. There have not been a lot of conversations with the board about that due to working with Ecology. If a larger station is built on the site, parking is a challenge, but all that is on the table. SCF will have not have definitive answers until the results of Ecology's report are out at the end of June. That site had a release reportable to Ecology so there will be some cleanup needed which will dictate some of what is constructed. A larger conversation will need to occur with the board about partnership opportunities. There have been some conceptual conversations from staff s perspective about opportunities that exist. Assistant Chief Eastman continued, the Snohomish County Sheriff has an office at Station 11 and there are benefits of having a law enforcement presence with firefighters. SCF is not quite to the place where those discussions can occur until the report is released. Councilmember Buckshnis asked if there is a complete EIS or SEPA. Assistant Chief Eastman advised there was a paint store on the property in the past; phase 1 included drilling a total of 18 holes. The process is not to the point of SEPA, but assessing the underground tank and associated issues. The rest of the analysis will occur once this piece is done. This work is being done to determine whether SCF can even purchase the site as a result of the releases. Councilmember Buckshnis asked if the owner was willing to pay for any of the cleanup costs. Assistant Chief Eastman answered SCF has been working closely with Hospital District 2 who own property. SCF has the ability to obtain funding from Ecology, receiving up to $270,000 to do the work that has been done. As the potential purchaser the RFA has access to those funds, Hospital District 2 does not. Everything that SCF has discovered has been disclosed to Hospital District 2. Councilmember Buckshnis encouraged SCF to keep the City in mind for a possible co -location of a satellite office on Highway 99. She remarked she was also on the 2010 task force regarding the City contracting with FD1. Councilmember Nand advised Edmonds recently opted into the AG's lawsuit and settlement with opioid producers and purveyors and will be receiving a small portion of the settlement, approximately .3%. The City has a great deal of flexibility in how those funds can be used to address the effects of the opioid epidemic. Her first instinct when she read the settlement was the City should give the money to Evergreen Detox in Lynnwood to fund more beds. From a first responder's perspective, she asked if there were any gaps the City could address with that funding such as more Narcan. Chief Hovis responded part of SCF's team is working with Snohomish County on that complicated issue. If there is funding available, SCF can use it; they have embedded providers, fire/aid personnel who administer Narcan, and they often help people who are unhoused. Washington is second in the nation for the number of opioid deaths. Mayor Nelson commented being the last contract city is telling. Looking at it objectively, with all the cities that have joined the RFA and the increase in staff at all the stations, the public safety benefits alone Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 23, 2023 Page 7 of joining the RFA are undeniable. Edmonds should have best fire service the City can afford and to that end, he has asked the City's finance director to look at what joining the RFA would look like. Chief Hovis commented that was a great way to end the meeting. He thanked the council and mayor for inviting them to tonight's meeting. 3. ADJOURN With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 6:52 p.m. SCOTT PASSEY, L CLERK Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 23, 2023 Page 8