2023-06-27 Special MeetingEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL
MEETING APPROVED MINUTES
June 27, 2023
ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT
Neil Tibbott, Council President
Vivian Olson, Councilmember
Will Chen, Councilmember
Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember (arrived 7:04 p.m.)
Dave Teitzel, Councilmember
Jenna Nand, Councilmember
ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT
Mike Nelson, Mayor
Susan Paine, Councilmember
1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE
STAFF PRESENT
Angie Feser, Parks, Rec., & Human Serv. Dir.
Thom Sullivan, Facilities Manager
Beckie Peterson, Council Executive Assistant
Scott Passey, City Clerk
The special Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Council President Tibbott
in the Brackett Room, 121 5' Ave N, City Hall — 3' Floor, Edmonds, and virtually.
2. ROLL CALL
3. WORKSHOP BUSINESS — COUNCIL
A. OPENING REMARKS — COUNCIL PRESIDENT
Council President Tibbott reviewed the agenda items. He encouraged councilmembers as they reviewed the
data to highlight potential budget requests/ideas for the brainstorming agenda item and the creation of a list
to be included in the resolution.
B. STAFF INSIGHT — "HOW TO FRAME YOUR REQUEST TO GET THE BEST RESULTS"
— PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR ANGIE FESER
Parks, Recreation and Human Services Director Angie Feser thanked the council for giving her seat at the
table to provide staff s perspective of the process. Looking back on last year's process, most would agree
that could have been done better. Last year's budget process was frustrating for the administration and the
council and likely the public. This year, the process is starting earlier, the council has done some great
community outreach, and the council has been working its priorities including the April retreat and today's
workshop. That helps staff understand the council's priorities and how to bring projects/programs forward
to support those priorities.
Ms. Feser explained simple capital projects take about two years; design and permitting the first year and
construction the second year. With operating, programs take a while to get in place and functioning. Staff s
plates are full and resources are already allocated which makes it challenging to make a change mid -stream.
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June 27, 2023
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If council, mayor and/or the public want to make a change in 2024, now is the time to begin discussing it.
Capital plans are 6 and 20 years because planning, identifying funding, etc. often takes years. Capital
projects and programming are based on planning documents developed with public input such as the PROS
Plan. When something new is added mid -stream, something else has to come off staff s plate which is why
it is important for staff to know the council's priorities.
Another improvement this year is having review of the capital and operating budget earlier in schedule
which provides more time for discussion, working through the numbers, etc. It will also be helpful moving
forward for councilmembers to spent time with staff researching ideas and concepts to determine the goal,
intent, costs, etc. She recommended staff share their annual work plans so council is aware of what
departments are working on and to help the council understand the priorities staff is implementing. She also
suggested departments submit quarterly updates to show how they are tracking on their work plan.
With regard to budget proposals, she suggested councilmembers provide staff their goal or vision instead
of a small project that may not meet that goal. For example, Councilmember Nand's proposal last year for
beautification outside the downtown area to include trash and recycling bins, flower baskets, and benches
on all four corners of major intersections. Although she was able to put rough cost estimates together, she
knew some of it wasn't feasible but did not have time for further research. Once she had more time and
understood the intent, she was able to develop a more viable, feasible project to fulfill the goal/intent. She
suggested council propose the "what," and staff determine the "how."
Ms. Feser provided another example, a decision package from Councilmembers Chen and Teitzel for a
dock at a street right-of-way on Lake Ballinger. She understood the intent was to increase access to Lake
Ballinger, but a better idea was an ILA with Mountlake Terrace in their current project which would
leverage much more opportunity and cost much less. Councilmember Chen commented that was a separate
budget item. Ms. Feser summarized, a councilmember could suggest providing more access for Edmonds
residents to Lake Ballinger and staff could develop more cost effective ways.
Ms. Feser provided a third example, Councilmember Olson's proposal to replace gas powered hand tools
with electric. Although very well intended and a great opportunity for many reasons, it got lost in the weeds
because council got involved in the details of how to make it happen instead of allowing staff to figure that
out. A better way would be to ask what are 2-3 things that could be done to encourage people to replace
gas powered hand tools with electric and allow staff to develop ideas. She suggested decision packages
would be more successful if councilmembers shared their idea, goal, and/or intent and allow staff to propose
ideas to support it.
Discussion followed regarding the perception that council is directing staff, councilmembers doing research
to move their goals forward via the budget process, staff potentially not being able to fulfill every request,
and allowing staff to help councilmembers reach their objectives.
Councilmembers practiced phrasing potential decision packages as a question for staff to respond to:
Original Question
More Broad Request
Can we hire 10 new police officers?
How can we improve public safety?
Can we do an ILA with Esperance for the dog
How can we leverage City resources in an
ark?
existing amenity that provides additional access?
Can we provide a child friendly sculpture park at
How can the City provide additional art on the
the Burlington Coat Facto site?
Highway 99 corridor?
How can we harness the volunteer capability of
What can we do to have a more robust, more
this amazingly willing community in all aspects
assessable volunteer program throughout the
of City life?
city?
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Can we reduce the number of consultants the
City hires?
What are the implications of reducing
consultants?
Tree board voted not to pursue a heritage tree
What are spending priorities related to the Urban
program and do not want it funded in the budget.
Forest Management Plan? How could a tree
voucher program be implemented?
How can we reduce speeding on 76t' Avenue
How can we address speeding in the City?
West?
I Prioritize 76t' Ave W.
C. BUDGET OUTREACH — REVIEW FEEDBACK
Council Executive Assistant Beckie Peterson reviewed data provided to council:
• Draft minutes June 12 budget workshop
• Draft minutes June 20 public hearing
• Draft minutes June 22 budget workshop
• Input from boards and commissions regarding budget priorities
• Online feedback form — SurveyMonkey report of responses
0 125 responses
■ All but 7 responses from unique IP addresses (duplicates may be from shared IP address)
o Survey outreach via media, City's website, QR codes and announced at council meetings
o Survey is not representative or statistically significant
o Survey questions
Q1. Are you an Edmonds resident
Q2. Where do you live in Edmonds? (general neighborhood/area)
Q3. What is your connection to Edmonds?
Q4. During our budget retreat, councilmembers identified several areas they would like to
see emphasized in upcoming years. Which do you think the City should prioritize?
(public safety, community spaces, city government, environment -watershed,
neighborhoods, human services)
Q5. To balance the 2024 Budget as required by law, the City of Edmonds has a number of
options to consider. Which option would you prefer the City use if needed to balance its
budget? (reduction in level of City services, reduce/eliminate services, increase user fees,
increase property taxes, other)
Q6. What are specific items that you would like to preserve funding for in the 2024 Budget?
Q7. What are specific items that you would like to reduce funding for in the 2024 Budget?
Q8. Are there new items that you think would be helpful to consider for the 2024 Budget?
Discussion followed regarding concern 125 responses was an insignificant percentage of the City's 43,000
residents, professional services that would be required to conduct a statistically significant survey, using
the information provided to guide a statistically significant survey, surveys done by the City of Kirkland,
building on data via repeat surveys, incorporating a survey into the City newsletter, and survey methods
(passive versus representative of the City's demographic).
D. "CAN WE?" BRAINSTORMING, CLARIFICATION AND PRIORITIZATION —
COUNCIL PRESIDENT
Councilmembers participated in a series of exercises:
• Review the information and identify themes that can be used to form questions.
• Develop a list of questions to address the themes such as, can we, how can we, what can we, etc.
• Councilmembers divided into two groups (Tibbott/Teitzel/Nand & Chen/Olson/Buckshnis).
Combine similar questions/intentions into one and put best questions/intentions on post -it notes to
share with the group and eventually refine for inclusion in the resolution.
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Ms. Feser anticipated these exercises could result in fewer council decision packages; last year there were
78.
Councilmembers shared the questions they developed:
1. How can we reduce property crime in our city?
2. How can we improve public safety in high crime areas?
3. How can we add a police substation to Highway 99?
4. How can we significantly improve response to medical/fire emergencies at the waterfront?
5. How do we improve walkability in all neighborhoods?
6. What are non -sidewalk safety methods to protect pedestrians and non -motorized traffic?
7. What can we do to reduce speeding on our streets?
S. How can we reduce speeding in key problem areas? 76t1i, Olympic View Drive, 9' Avenue, 190t''9.
9. How can we start leveraging our volunteers better?
10. Can we harness volunteer labor and knowledge for the benefit of our city/city budget?
11. How can we improve our organizational structure to deliver better outcomes?
12. How can we improve the accountability of staff outcomes? (REDI manager, Code rewrite, comp
plan)
13. How can we increase beautification in all business districts in Edmonds?
14. What can we do to increase direct human services to vulnerable populations in the city, especially
Hwy 99?
15. What city buildings need repair or replacement in the near future and how can we prioritize a list
to fix them?
16. How can we increase our public green spaces and preserve our mature tree canopy?
17. How can we provide watercraft access to Lake Ballinger for our residents?
18. How can we evaluate consultant/ contractor spending to ensure prudent choices?
19. How do we determine the best system for electing Councilmembers in Edmonds?
20. How can we collect relevant and statistically valid data for informing decision makers?
21. How do we work better with other south County regarding Ethics Boards?
22. How can we get trash collection service at SW County Park?
23. How do we deal with graffiti, trash and abandoned shopping cards around town?
24. How can we achieve a balanced budget without drawing down fund balances?
25. How can we have accuracy of questions and projections?
26. How can we prioritize ADA compliance throughout the city?
27. How can we accelerate street and sidewalk installation and maintenance?
28. How do we get positive environmental action on our waterways and creeks?
29. How can we fix the environmental issues in Perrinville?
E. COUNCIL RESOLUTION
Council President Tibbott advised councilmembers can submit additional questions/intentions for the next
week to the council office. The list will then be refined and put in the form of a resolution.
4. ADJOURN
With no further business, the special council meeting was adjourned at 6:32 p.m.
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SCOTT PASSE , CLERK
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
June 27, 2023
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