20181009 City CouncilEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL APPROVED MINUTES
October 9, 2018
ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT
Dave Earling, Mayor
Michael Nelson, Council President
Kristiana Johnson, Councilmember
Thomas Mesaros, Councilmember
Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Councilmember
Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember
Dave Teitzel, Councilmember
Neil Tibbott, Councilmember
CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE
STAFF PRESENT
Jim Lawless, Assistant Police Chief
Phil Williams, Public Works Director
Carrie Hite, Parks, Rec. & Cult. Serv. Dir.
Patrick Doherty, Econ. Dev & Comm. Serv. Dir.
Shane Hope, Development Services Director
Scott James, Finance Director
Dave Turley, Assistant Finance Director
Rob English, City Engineer
Jeff Taraday, City Attorney
Scott Passey, City Clerk
Jerrie Bevington, Camera Operator
Jeannie Dines, Recorder
The Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Earling in the Council
Chambers, 250 5`" Avenue North, Edmonds. The meeting was opened with the flag salute.
2. ROLL CALL
City Clerk Scott Passey called the roll. All elected officials were present.
3. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO
APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
4. APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL, TO
APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items
approved are as follows:
1. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBER 2, 2018
2. APPROVAL OF CLAIM, PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND
WIRE PAYMENTS
3. ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF CLAIMS FOR DAMAGES TOTALING $2,081.08 AND
AN AMOUNT UNDETERMINED
5. PRESENTATIONS
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
October 9, 2018
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1. EMERGENCY NURSES WEEK PROCLAMATION
Mayor Earling said this proclamation was of personal interest to him; 13 years ago he was in the emergency
room and the hospital did a wonderful job. He read a proclamation proclaiming October 7-13, 2018
Emergency Nurses Week in the City of Edmonds and calling upon all citizens to recognize and honor the
great contributions of emergency nurses to our community and society. He presented the proclamation to
Mike Hastings, Manager, Swedish Edmonds Emergency Department.
Mr. Hastings said Swedish Edmonds Emergency Department, the largest and busiest emergency department
in the Swedish system, will serve about 53,000 patients this year. He recognized members of the emergency
nurse team in the audience and thanked the Council for honoring and recognizing the great care that the
emergency care team provides every day.
2. PRESENTATION OF THE PROPOSED 2019 CITY BUDGET
Mayor Earling presented the 2019 budget message.
Members of the Edmonds City Council, Staff and Citizens:
I am pleased to present the City of Edmonds 2019 Proposed Budget.
As most of us would acknowledge, we continue to have a strong economy across the nation, state and
region. We in Edmonds have also been obvious beneficiaries of the strong economy. Whether Downtown,
in Westgate, or along Highway 99, we have witnessed a sustained and growing energy in our community
these past several years. Younger families moving in, strong sales tax revenues, new construction
projects, and a growing and exciting business community.
Yet, we also know the economic "bump in the road" will show up at some point. Consider this: we are in
the 112th month of sustained economic growth. The record duration of an economic expansion is 120
months. With that in mind, prudence dictates that we begin to focus on that fact and not engage in
excessive spending. And I know I'm not alone among regional mayors in recognizing this reality.
Nevertheless, our current city economy is very strong. To be blunt, we have had another banner revenue
year; as an example, our sales tax has again set a record of over$8,000,000.
However, as I mentioned, we also know how important it is to pay very close attention to the trends in
local revenue generation. And to be equally blunt, amid the financial successes there are also sobering
signs that we need to, and will, seriously consider.
So also consider this: In the past few months, automobile sales, while still strong, have begun to slow.
And we have all heard the reports of real estate sales leveling off, with fewer properties receiving multiple
offers, and in some cases, price reductions. Also our building permit activity, while still good, has
similarly slowed. These are three important indicators we need to closely watch.
Are we now saying we are on the brink of a recession? No! We expect the economy to remain healthy in
2019. However, recent indications tell us to pay very close attention to shifting trends.
So the budget this year is a mix of new, one-time expenditures and some additions which require long-
term financial commitments. A few important examples to highlight:
While we have included limited staff additions in the 2019 budget, there are two additional Public Works
positions, a new Safety and Risk Management Coordinator position, a half-time position for the newly
created Youth Commission, and a School Resource Officer for Scriber Lake High School located at the
former Woodway High School. This last position is funded with the same -cost sharing arrangement we
have with the Edmonds School District at Edmonds-Woodway High School.
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October 9, 2018
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Council is aware that South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue has not yet settled their union agreement,
so we have set aside an additional $495,000 for its estimated impact on our budget.
We will continue to improve our street overlay program with an additional $1.5 million dollars. We are
still trying to catch-up in this area from previous years of neglect. We will also increase our building
repair and maintenance fund for city buildings from $400,000 to $700,000. Again catch-up from years of
lack of attention.
With the increasing growth in our city, we have included $75,000 for a needed downtown parking study,
as well as $2.5 M for City -Wide Pedestrian Safety Improvement projects.
We will also commit $4.3M to the beach rehabilitation and parking improvements associated with the
Waterfront Center in 2019. We have been setting aside our dollars and have also secured approximately
$1.125M in grants.
As Council knows, you gave the Administration a series of priorities you would like to include in the
budget. For many of these initiatives we are on the same page as they are also priorities for the
administration. Our rough calculation for your variety of requests is $1.88M. With that in mind, we
cannot fully fund all of your requested priorities; however, the list and amounts we have
included in the budget are:
1) Sidewalk improvements: $323,000. This includes the afore -mentioned 2 Public Works employees
2) ECA funding for operations: $75,000
3) Transitional Housing: $250,000 (It is hoped council would include an additional $250,000 from
their 2018 budget for a total of $500,000)
4) Waterfront Center: $250,000
5) Marsh enhancements: $100,000
6) Additional $1 per capita to the Health District above the existing $1 per capita commitment
Longer term, while our economy remains strong in the short term, our five-year projection shows some
economic softening, which would send us modestly into the red by the fifth year. We will continue to
monitor the trends, and over the next year, if that trend holds true, either we will need to have further
strengthened our tax base or we will need to consider other sources such as additional Transportation
Benefit District fees or raising EMS fees.
Council and citizens of Edmonds, we have a successful, energetic community with an exciting and quality
business community. We have every reason to expect that to continue. As I have mentioned before, we
continue to grow our reputation as a Puget Sound area daytime destination, drawing visitors from
throughout the region. We have a strong and growing health-care sector. More and more families are
moving to Edmonds, seeking quality schools and housing opportunities. Downtown has become a lively
destination for shopping, dining and entertainment. All of this has benefitted our local economy greatly
and will continue to be the cornerstones of our local economic strength.
In closing we need to thank staff, Directors and most of all our fine Finance Department for their patience
and hard work in assembling the 2019 City of Edmonds budget.
Finance Director Scott James James distributed 2019 budget books.
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October 9, 2018
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68. ADJOURN TO COMMITTEE MEETINGS
With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned to committee meetings at 7:16 p.m. (Parks &
Public Works Committee in Council Chambers, Finance Committee in the Jury Meeting Room and Public
Safety, Personnel & Planning Committee in the Police Training Room.)
CC. -.,
DAVID O. EARLING, MAYOR
PASSEY, C RK
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October 9, 2018
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