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20191022 City CouncilEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL APPROVED MINUTES October 22, 2019 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Dave Earling, Mayor Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Council President Michael Nelson, Councilmember Kristiana Johnson, Councilmember Thomas Mesaros, Councilmember Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember Dave Teitzel, Councilmember Neil Tibbott, Councilmember ALSO PRESENT Zach Bauder, Student Representative 1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE STAFF PRESENT Al Compaan, Police Chief Phil Williams, Public Works Director Rob English, City Engineer Zach Richardson, Senior Stormwater 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. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Councilmember Nelson read the City Council Land Acknowledge Statement: "We acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Sdohobsh (Snohomish) people and their successors the Tulalip Tribes, who since time immemorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands. We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water." 3. ROLL CALL City Clerk Scott Passey called the roll. All elected officials were present. 4. 5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY- MONILLAS, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. PRESENTATION 1. SNOHOMISH HEALTH DISTRICT UPDATE Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 1 Shawn Frederick, Interim Administrator, Snohomish Health District, thanked the Council for their continued support, not just monetarily but action, effort and collaboration that help make communities as safe and healthy as possible. He reviewed: • Working Together for Edmonds o Simpler y Faster Response Times — From 2018 to 2019, reduced the number of days to process a refund from 26 to 18 days • New learning options — We began offering online classes for childcare workers in February 2019 — Nearly 1,100 courses have been completed through the new system Customer feedback - We gather customer comments with in-person and online comment cards o Safer • Suicide prevention — Suicide is an increasing concern. Our injury prevention specialist has trained about 500 community members on how to prevent suicide — 100 people have been trained in the last six months — Graph of students who seriously considered attempting suicide (6th, 8t", 10"' and 12tn grade) ■ Food safety — Last year, the Health District: Completed 4,510 inspections • Received 472 food illness complaints • Processed 1,217 permits for temporary food establishments • Reviewed 235 plans for food businesses ■ Needle clean-up — Distributed 1,293 free needle clean-up kits — At the Health District, we've collected roughly 7,600 needles • Safe walking routes — Worked with multiple cities throughout the county to bring in more than $1.3 million in grant money for Complete Streets — The Health District nominated Edmonds for funding and the city received $250,000 o Healthier ■ Cancer prevention — Presented to about 200 dental providers on cancers of the mouth and throat, and shared how to prevent these cancers through HPV vaccination • Healthy starts — Last year, 1,090 babies had help getting a healthy start through our WIC Nutrition Program — Provided weekly summer programs for groups of elementary students in July and August Mr. Frederick provided Health District Program Highlights; • Who We Are o Public Health Nurses o Disease Investigators o Outreach Workers o Health Educators o Epidemiologists o Finance & IT Support o Emergency Preparedness Specialists Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 2 o Nutritionists o Behavioral Health Specialists o Environmental Health Specialists o Policy & Government Affairs o Customer Service o Healthy Communities Specialists ■ Rebuilding the Agency o Online service delivery o IT infrastructure o Transparency and accountability ■ Environmental Health Division 0 4,500+ inspections on restaurants, grocery stores, espresso stands, caterers and mobile food vehicles 0 1,000+ complaints addressed (food, pools, septic and solid waste) o —500 permits for pools and spas that we routinely inspect 0 200+ public and private schools with kitchen permits and required safety inspections ■ Prevention Services Division o Provided services to 36 families with Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs or children with high lead levels o Provided health screenings for 27 refugees who live in the Edmonds area o Provided WIC services to 220 people in August o Investigated 32 cases of communicable diseases and 106 cases of sexually transmitted diseases o Conducted 5 vaccines for children compliance visits • Prevention & Outbreak o Ideal Prevention & Outbreak Response — balanced o Focus could be on Health Communities ■ Obesity Prevention (HEAL) ■ Tobacco & Vaping ■ Suicide Prevention ■ VPD Outreach • Child Death Review ■ Opioids • Youth Marijuana Prevention STD/HIV Outreach ■ Built Environment o Reality — outbreaks exceed prevention Recent outbreak responses - Confirmed cases of hepatitis A closes Lynnwood restaurant - First Snohomish County measles case is Bothell -area student • 2019-2021 State Budget Priorities o Communicable Disease Response o Environmental health Response o Assessment o $100M/biennium ask 4 $22M appropriated Ways You Can Help o Spread the word out about what public health does o Connect us with other partners in the community o Get involved in policy planning or workgroups o Advocate for sustainable public health funding and key issues Keep in Touch o Sign up for our blog, newsletters, alerts and more atwww.snohd.org/NotJfyMe Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 3 o Find us at local events o Request the Health District at your event: wwwStIotid.org/EventRequest o Follow us on Facebook, Twitter YouTube or Instagram Councilmember Teitzel recalled in past years the Health District spoke about the opioid epidemic as Snohomish County is one of the leading counties in opioid -related overdoses and deaths. He asked if that was still true. Mr. Frederick said it was still true at the time of the last data collection. The most recent point -in -time study done earlier this year reflected an increase. Councilmember Teitzel pointed out the presentation did not include strategies/plans in 2020 to combat that crisis. Mr. Fredrick said in addition to the needle cleanup kits, the Health District is an active participant in the Multi Agency Coordination (MAC) group, routinely seeks out grant opportunity and partnerships to bolster those efforts, and takes advantage of collaborations as they present themselves. There will not be any single strategy that will solve the opioid epidemic, it will require increased collaboration throughout the community. Councilmember Buckshnis referred to the difference in the "ask" to the legislature and the funds provided noting the Health District's financials support the need for cash. Mr. Frederick responded the Health District is going through its budget process now. Budgets in public health are always challenging; more and more local public health jurisdictions are forced to look at required programs versus needed programs. That is one of the things that makes opportunities to speak to city councils so important. Councilmember Buckshnis suggested next year's presentation include more about the Health District's financials. Councilmember Tibbott asked if the number of food safety inspections was going up or down particularly with funding challenges. Mr. Frederick answered they were increasing; as land is developed, initially a lot of the regulatory work is wells, septic systems and construction applications. As land is developed and more developments tend to be on sewer, work shifts toward the food program as more restaurants are built. He expected the number of inspections and plan reviews to increase as well as the approval process for restaurants being built and annual permitting and inspections based on the complexity of food establishment. Councilmember Tibbott asked if that was a source of revenue for the Health District. Mr. Frederick said it was. Councilmember Tibbott said he used to work with a non-profit that needed a food serving permit. They were not fully in compliance, but instead of shutting them down, the Health District showed them how to be in compliance. He would hate to see that service go away when it helps non -profits. Mr. Frederick said the Health District recently started working on permitting times; permitting times for food establishments have consistently been 4-6 weeks for the past year. Permitting times for septic applications and construction clearance have been reduced by 40% in the past month and the District continues to work on those times. Councilmember Nelson referred to the context of the data overall. For example, suicide prevention, the presentation mentions 500 people were trained in the last 6 months and the graph of 2010-2018 shows a steady increase in the number of youth who seriously considered committing suicide. He asked how the number of people trained this year compared to previous years. Mr. Frederick said the 500 reflects the current year; suicide and thoughts of suicide are a very real concern in the community. The cause is not something he is not well equipped to talk about and could be related to improved reporting. Councilmember Nelson provided another example, the District collected 7,600 needles; he asked whether that a large or low amount, how it compares to the number of needles distributed, whether that been tracked in the past, etc. Mr. Frederick said the District started distribution of the needle clean-up kits in 2017. He offered to provide whether that was a sum total or an annual total. Councilmember Nelson said he was interested in data comparison to previous years to evaluate trends. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 4 Councilmember Mesaros said one of the hallmarks of the country is public health; looking at how Washington State funds public health, there is a sense they do not value it. The U.S. has been fortunate to have quality public health and the facts provided speak well for the leadership of the organization. He hoped the audience noted this and the next time they had an opportunity to talk to their state legislators or county councilmembers, they would remind them of the importance of public health because the current funding method of asking each city to contribute is not a sustainable method. It is unfortunately many do not value public health when it has provided a quality of life across the country and in Snohomish County and it is important to maintain it into the future. Council President Fraley-Monillas commented she has served on the Snohomish Health District for nine years and is the current chair of the budget committee. Without funding, the Health District will have to begin reducing programs that are not considered the foundation of public health mandates by law, things like suicide prevention, food training, opioids, healthy communities, etc. Every year the Health District loses financing requires making really hard decisions on the services the District provides. She appreciated the City of Edmonds including a per capita contribution to the Health District in its preliminary budget. The Health District provides a very valid and important service to the citizens of Snohomish County and without funding, programs have been eliminated every year. All five of the Snohomish County Council are on the Health District Board. Everyone is feeling the effect of cuts on a nationwide level. She encouraged citizens to talk to legislators who handle funding for public health so the District can continue to provide services in Snohomish County. 6. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Mayor Earling recognized a group of scouts in the audience. David Richman, Edmonds, said he moved to Edmonds in October 2015 from New Mexico where he was a professor at a university and curator of the arthropod museum. His background has primarily been in field ecology particularly biological pest control and the study of ecology, mostly terrestrial, but he also taught a class on aquatic entomology. With regard to the Willow Creek daylighting, he said the efforts to daylight Willow Creek have been stalled awaiting a final resolution on the clean-up of the old Unocal site. The Shannon & Wilson report was constrained by the now apparently defunct move of the ferry terminal south of its current location. The report includes a channel along the railroad tracks as the only available alternative which is subject to recompence by WSDOT once they assume ownership. Unfortunately, the plan does not take the actual necessary structure of a true salmon stream into account. It is unlikely that juvenile Chinook would benefit from or utilize a restricted channel next to the railroad tracks. Since Chinook are the preferred food of the local resident orcas, it would seem a more meandering stream across the old Unocal site would be a preferable plan, especially since it would allow for vegetation that protects salmon moving through the system and also connects with the efforts to save both the salmon and the orcas and help restore Puget Sound. In the interest of the long term health of Puget Sound, a way should be found to accomplish the daylighting that will secure the environmental stability and enhancement that follow from environmental practices and will be in the community's long term best interest. Mike Shaw, Edmonds, said the Shannon & Wilson report, while well intentioned, is flawed in several aspects. Shannon & Wilson admit their report is limited by the constraints and desires of WSDOT. This built-in limitation produces poor salmon channels and it would be advisable to have a more optimal design for better channels through the marsh for Chinook salmon. Several of the Willow Creek daylighting alternatives describe a salmon channel that borders the BNSF railroad with an average buffer on the northwest side of 10 feet. This lack of necessary buffer exposes the juvenile salmon to excessive gradation, excessive sun, as well as the unknown highly toxic pesticide sprays BNSF periodically applies to their tracks. In light of the above, any grant funds expected from the Salmon Recovery Board will be immediately denied due to an extremely poor environment for juvenile salmon, a salmon channel not fit for Chinook salmon and grant funds expected from other organizations will also be denied for the same reason. Given Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 5 the obvious nature of the poor advisably of a channel next to BNSF tracks one wonders how a successful restoration project can be derived in this report. He questioned whether an ecologist was part of the Shannon & Wilson research team and if not, why not and wasn't that discipline essential to analyzing the current state of the Edmonds Marsh and how best to daylight Willow Creek for juvenile salmon runs? Don't we need to consider how fish interact with wildlife and vegetation and fully understand and encourage how to move forward with the marsh? Joe Scordino, Edmonds, thanked the Council and the Mayor for their support of the Students Saving Salmon Club at Edmonds-Woodway High School, commenting the students were excited to see Coho salmon in the streams during surveys this week. He read from Shannon & Wilson's report, "We understand that the City staff and City Council are interested in expanding the Daylight channel and riparian buffer footprint to the fullest extent possible. In this study, the Daylight Project footprint is constrained by the assumption that WSDOT Ferries will use the site for the future Edmonds Crossing." He pointed out it is now known that the site will not be used for a future Edmonds Crossing so all the constraints on this study are gone which raises the question of what would the alternatives channels look like without those constraints and what would be optimal for juvenile salmon and for restoring the marsh. If the City proceeds with this study as a basis for final design, that design may not be the best as it does not take into account all the factors. He recommended stepping back and looking at appropriate places for the channel. He acknowledged there will need to be discussion with WSDOT but those discussion are important because a channel next to the railroad tracks is not the best for salmon. He suggested the Council form a group that looks at appropriate alternatives and designs and have them analyzed. Another aspect that needs to be analyzed is cost effectiveness and benefits followed by a rational decision on the final design, not constrained by what WSDOT wanted when they were considering moving the ferry terminal. Madelie Selin, Edmonds, said when crossing the 5"' Avenue South at 9:30 p.m., she was struck by a car that was driving too fast. She was not badly hurt; she fell and hit her head but had no lasting injuries. She asked the Council to consider adding lighted speed limit signs. She distributed information with examples, commenting lighted signs would help drivers know when they are driving too fast. Ray White, Edmonds, a stream ecologist, said he submitted comments today on the Shannon & Wilson report. He summarize his comments on three of the many issues, 1) course alignment of the daylighted/rerouted stream channel, 2) habitat characteristics of the channel and stream banks, and 3) the need for involving stream geomorphologists and ecologists who have up-to-date expertise. The City Council should not settle for a daylighted channel that embodies aspects that are counter-productive for salmon and a health ecosystem. A stream consists of not just a channel with water flow and sediments, but the riparian area and supplies of groundwater and surface water as well as appropriate plants and animals, a system in which proper natural physical and biological process prevail. He recommended the following: first, insist on a channel alignment as far as possible from the railway and its flood wall. An example will be shown in Slide 6 of Shannon & Wilson's presentation, which illustrates a possible better alignment. Second, ensure the project minimizes artificial components and has diverse and complex natural features that compose suitable habitat for salmon. Third, get a diversity of science -based advice. Because of the salmon crisis, experts exist in great abundance at universities and institutions in the Pacific NW than in any other region of the other continent and the University of Washington is one source as well as other nearby federal agencies. Marjie Fields, Edmonds, expressed concern with the Shannon & Wilson plan and urged the City not to waste more money on non-productive plans for the Edmonds Marsh. The $700,000 in the proposed 2020 budget should not be wasted on a design that was not good for salmon. The City needs scientists, marine biologists and fisheries biologists, not engineers to plan for reentry of salmon. The Shannon & Wilson firm is primarily civil engineers and therefore not qualified for this project. If the goal was simply to increase the flow of saltwater to the marsh, the focus could be on the tide gates. Somehow the goal of bringing back Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 6 salmon has gotten lost. The plans proposed by Shannon & Wilson do not fully address the needs of salmon, yet salmon restoration is what will attract grant funding. There are so many reason that a channel along the railroad tracks will not attract and support salmon including the insufficient buffer, exposure to railroad herbicides, no protective vegetation, a straight rather than meandering channel, etc. The marsh restoration project has attracted a lot of attention including a request today from Maria Cantwell to the Sierra Club for information on the Edmonds Marsh. She urged the City to do it right and not rush to a hasty conclusion. 7. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS COUNCILMEMBER MESAROS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items approved are as follows: 1. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBER 15, 2019 2. APPROVAL OF CLAIM, PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND WIRE PAYMENTS 8. STUDY ITEMS 1. PRESENTATION OF THE FINAL EXPANDED MARSH CONCEPT DESIGN AND HYDRAULIC MODELING REPORT: WILLOW CREEK DAYLIGHT PROJECT Public Works Director Phil Williams introduced Paul Schlenger, Fish Biologist, Environmental Science Associates; Dave Cline, Vice President, Shannon & Wilson; Keely O'Connell, who has worked on the project the entire time and has great relationships with granting agencies to generate interest in funding the project; Senior Stormwater Engineer Zach Richardson; and City Engineer Rob English. Former Parks & Recreation Director Carrie Hite was also actively involved in many of the marsh issues. He thanked the Council for the opportunity to make this presentation and he was hopefully the team would be able to address all the concerns and questions that have been expressed. Mr. Williams explained this work has had three major parts; the initial phase in 2013-2015 was the early feasibility that sought fatal or near -fatal hydrological flaws in the concept, whether a channel could be built to support juvenile Chinook salmon entering and exiting the Edmonds Marsh. The next phase was a final feasibility analysis. The project was done that way because granting agencies want to do the work in phases. The remainder of the funding was used to explore alternatives for the daylighting of Willow Creek. The project, however, is more than daylighting Willow Creek; it includes work interior to the marsh to improve the flow of water from Shellabarger and Willow Creeks across the marsh to make it a more natural system and connect with the daylighted channel. The third part of the project is the future reshaping/reworking of Marina Beach Park where this channel will cross to reach Puget Sound. All that is included in this presentation and the final preliminary budget for the project. David Cline, Engineer, Shannon & Wilson, explained Shannon & Wilson was hired by People for Puget Sound and the City in 2012 and have been working as a team on this project. The team is comprised of engineers, hydraulic engineers, fish biologists, geomorphologists, geotechnical engineers, geologists, contaminated soils people, natural resource specialists, etc. Although the City and the public see him most of the time because he is the project manager, but there is a broad team working on the project. In response to statements made tonight, he explained his personal experience in habitat restoration currently includes over 1000 acres of tidal marsh estuary restoration; he is very proud of these projects, all of which are multidisciplinary and complex project that have various stakeholder involvement including the Fisher Slough Marsh restoration project for the Nature Conservancy, the Fir Island Farm Estuary Restoration project for the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, the Smith Island Estuary Restoration project Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 7 for Snohomish County and the Duwamish Gardens Restoration project for the City of Tukwila. Those project are most similar to this project because they are tidal marshes with similar tidal characteristics, geomorphology and fish habitat use characteristics. He summarized the team's qualifications are appropriate and include feasible study, design, permitting, construction, post -construction monitoring and adaptive management. Paul Schlenger, Fish Biologist, Environmental Science Associates, said he has been part of the team since 2012. He has been involved in environmental consulting and Puget Sound nearshore restoration since the 1990s. Throughout that time he has been involved with Puget Sound regional investigation by the Corps of Engineers that looked at all the opportunities for large scale restoration of Puget Sound; five years managing a team that added to the science of smart restoration throughout the region. He also serves on the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) for technical review, who makes recommendations on technical merits and suitability for projects to receive public funding. He serves on the Estuary Salmon & Restoration Program (ESRP), where public funds are used for restoration in Puget Sound estuaries. He summarized these demonstrate his qualifications related to fish use and ecology in the nearshore and what is important to think about when designing nearshore restoration to receive state funding. The presentation will address the difference between tidal and stream environments, an area that Washington State Fish & Wildlife is trying to gain information about and developing new guidance, including a study that looks at coastal environments such as the Edmonds Marsh to help inform the sizing of tidal channels that connect the marshes. Mr. Cline reviewed: • Willow Creek Daylighting - Previous Studies by Shannon & Wilson Inc. o Early Feasibility (2013) o Cultural Resources Review (2014) o Geotechnical Assessment (2014) o Contaminated Soils Review (2015) o Topographic Survey Marsh, Marina Beach Park, Unocal, BNSF (2015) o Marina Beach Park Master Plan Support (2015) o Final Feasibility (2015) o Harbor Square Outfall Design (2015) o Harbor Square and Shellabarger Marsh Wetland Delineations (2015) • 2017 — 2019 Expanded Alternatives Analysis Tasks o Evaluate Daylight Alignment Alternatives o Evaluate Improving Daylight In -Channel Fish Habitat Conditions o Evaluate Extreme Tides, Storm Surge and Sea Level Rise Flooding o Perform Marsh Water & Sediment Quality Sampling ■ Map of Existing Conditions • Map of Existing Conditions and site constraints 1. BNSF railway and ROW 2. Port of Edmonds property: Marina and Harbor Square 3. SR 104 ROW 4. City of Edmonds ownership 5. Stormwater infrastructure in and around the Marsh 6. Private property constraints 7. Unocal site • Daylighting Alignment — Alt. 1 o Original alignment shown in EIS and feasibility study o Significant limitations o No buffer on the north • Daylighting Alignment — Alt. 2 Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 8 o Meandering and sinuous o Reconnects to historical tidal channel o Average 80-90' buffers on both sides of channel • Daylighting Alignment - Alt. 3 o 200' buffer on south and 75' on north • Daylighting Alignment - Alt. 4 o Similar alignment to Alt 2, avoids cleanup area o Alt. 2 and 4 are similar, Alt. 2 has more buffer on the north, tradeoff is uncertainty and risk associated with contamination soil and clean-up • Original cross section cross sections - improve habitat o Modeled Alt. 1 & Alt. 4 • Shallow Depths < 0.5ft • High Velocity> lfps ■ Flood Elevations Near BNSF ■ Minor Differences in hydraulics between alignments • Alt. 4, 5, 6 and 7 Modified Cross Sections - Buffers o Differences between Alt. 5, 6 and 7 K Alt. 5 is Alt. 4 with more habitat complexity in the channel but no flood mitigation measures ■ Alt. 6 has a flood wall ■ Alt. 7 has a tidegate o Modified Cross Section Elements • Buffer Widths ■ Riparian Forest/Shrub Vegetation ■ @ MHHW About 3Oft Wide and 2ft - 4ft deep ■ Over -excavation for liner • Large wood habitat • Estuarian marsh benches • Low flow channel • Liner (contingency) IN Flood wall Contaminated Soils - Liners, Mixing, Soil Management o Liner is a Contingency Item for Contaminated Soils / Groundwater • Used to Isolate Stream Flow from Contamination ■ HDPE and Clay Liner Applications in Restoration Settings • Examples - Horse Creek - Bothell WA - Blue River - Breckenridge CO o Soil Management, Mixing, Capping, Off Site Disposal o Examples ■ Duwamish Gardens - Tukwila WA ■ Smith Island - Snohomish County WA Habitat Spring Tides, King Tides & Storm Surge o Habitat Spring Tides and Stream Flows o King Tides with Base Stream Flows o Storm Surge w/ 2007 Flood Flows Daylight Alignment - Alt. 5 (Channel Only - no flood mitigation) • Alts. 5, 6, and 7 - Daylight Channel Only o Habitat - Late Spring/Early Summer ■ Existing Conditions ■ Alt. 5, 6 and 7 Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 9 o Habitat -Late Spring/Early Summer w/SLR 2100 ■ Existing Conditions ■ Alt. 5, 6 and 7 • Updated Cross Section Cross Sections - Improve Fish Habitat o Depths > 1.Oft o Velocities < 1.5fps o Meet Juvenile Chinook Fish Passage Criteria Alt. 5 - Daylight Channel Only o Storm Surge & 2007 Flood Flows • Existing Conditions - BNSF Q-5cfs - Shellabarger Q-15cfs • Alternative 5 Daylight Channel Only - BNSF Q-15cfs - Shellabarger Q-25cfs Alt. 5 - Daylight Channel Only o King Tides & SLR 2100 ■ Existing Conditions - Seawall Flooding Q-40cfs ■ Alt.5 - Seawall improved - BNSF Q-40cfs - Shellabarger Q-5cfs Diagram of Daylight Alignment - Alt. 6 (Channel w/ Flood Wall or Berm) Alt. 6 - Daylight Channel w/ Flood Berms o Storm Surge & 2007 Flood Flows • Existing Conditions • Alt.6 Additional Questions o Sinuosity / Planform / Dendritic and Braided Channels ■ Point Heyer (Vashon Island) - Sinuosity = 1.17 - Marsh Area = 4.lac • Talagwa Lagoon (Camano Island) - Sinuosity= 1.29 - Marsh Area = 7.6ac • Maylor Point (Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island) - Sinuosity = 1.23 - Marsh Area = 57.2ac • North Lagoon (Whidbey Island) - Sinuosity = 1.08 - Marsh Area = 4.9ac ■ Race Lagoon (Whidbey Island) - Sinuosity = 1.37 - Marsh Area = 22.7ac • Edmonds Marsh (Willow Creek Proposed) - Sinuosity= 1.29 - Marsh Area = 26.6ac Mr. Schlenger expressed appreciation for the public comments, assuring their interests as a team align quite well with the commenters. He has dedicated his career to meaningful coastal restoration projects. He was Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 10 disappointed that the information they provided and their ecological thinking has not shined through and led to the commenters' questions. He looked forward to an opportunity to explain their thinking. He reviewed ecological considerations in the restoration design: • Adding Context to the Opportunity o Young Salmon Stay in Puget Sound before swimming to ocean ■ Study in Edmonds and Seattle showed juvenile salmon from many river systems coming to this area to feed and grow o While in Puget Sound, young salmon use small stream estuaries and coastal embayments o Unfortunately, we have lost almost all of these habitats in this part of Puget Sound, including the Edmonds Marsh, and the last one is struggling badly • 15 out of 16 historic coastal embayments between Everett and Tacoma have been lost — Map of "lost" historic coastal embayments & remaining coastal embayment o Edmonds Marsh Restoration is Needed! o Project benefits all nearshore communities of Puget Sound o It's all connected! • Existing and Desired Conditions o Edmonds Marsh o Race Lagoon on Whidbey Island • Fundamental Design Considerations o Develop design appropriate for tidal setting; consider reference sites o Consider entire salt marsh community with focus on Chinook salmon (based on urgent need and funding availability) o Maximize accessibility of Edmonds Marsh for fish entering channel from Puget Sound o Make design "implementable" — well -aligned with grant funding sources and permits can be obtained Mr. Schlenger commented there was no conflict of interest with his serving on Salmon Recovery Board Technical Review Panel as he recuses himself from dialogue and deliberations about grants related to any projects he is working on. He continued his presentation: • Ecological Approach to Restoration of Edmonds Marsh o Fish access ■ For salmonids entering from Puget Sound ■ For salmonids to/from creeks o Quality habitats in entrance channel and main marsh area ■ Aquatic habitats • Riparian habitats ■ Water/sediment quality Fish Access from Puget Sound o Tidal cycles and stream flows determine the depth and water velocity conditions fish will experience in the designed channel and the main marsh o Access to coastal embayments is naturally intermittent o Photographs of low tide and high tide at Doe Kag Watts near Kingston Fish Access to Creeks o Restored tidal connection will improve fish access to interior portions of marsh o Proposed tidal channel connections to Shellabarger and Willow Creeks o Interior areas will transition from freshwater (cattails) to saltwater (some mud, some emergent vegetation) • Aquatic Habitats o Important, of course, because this is where the fish are o Habitat quality and quantity matter o Gentle slopes, substrates (sand, gravel), emergent vegetation Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 11 o Edge complexity; in -channel wood • Aquatic Habitats — Channel Alignment o Tidal channels forming outlet of coastal embayments are often fairly straight o Not uncommon for outlet channel to be pushed close to barrier berm o Alignment along railroad right-of-way is not ideal, but does not meaningfully reduce the benefits of the project ■ Riparian Habitats o Desire is for wide riparian buffer o Within available width, there is a tradeoff between aquatic and riparian habitat ■ Emphasis has been toward wider aquatic habitat ■ Emphasis on quality of riparian corridor; dense vegetation establishment o Of note, it is a common condition that salt marshes are not entirely surrounded by woody riparian vegetation ■ Sand/gravel berm between Puget Sound and embayment naturally too low and dynamic for woody vegetation • Water & Sediment Quality o Restored tidal exchange will improve water quality in Edmonds Marsh (e.g., water temperatures and dissolved oxygen) ■ Factors affecting water quality of creek and stormwater inflows should be addressed, as needed o Available sediment quality data indicate contamination near outfall along northern margin of marsh and near creek mouths, especially Willow Creek o Macroinvertebrate community classified as "poor" and "very poor" in samples ■ Factors affecting sediment quality in marsh will be necessary for the restoration to achieve goals Mr. Cline reviewed: ■ Water and Sediment Quality Monitoring o Sediment Quality ■ WC -03 (Harbor Square Outfall) - Semi -Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs) Exceedances (Significant) ■ WC -04, WC -05, WC -06 Showed lesser (minor) exceedances of SVOCs o Water Quality ■ Fecal Coliform exceedances — all stations, periodically, except none at WC -01 (Marina Beach Park) ■ Lead — One exceedance at WC -05 (Dec. 2016) ■ D.O & pH — Minor, periodic exceedances at WC -03 o City is working with Ecology to further characterize sediment contamination and next steps. o Tidal flushing will remove/reduce D.O. and pH (and likely FC) exceedances • Macroinvertebrate Sampling o Establishment of tidal flushing, appropriate substrate, vegetation and riparian and marsh functions will improve biotic intep-rity of the marsh and davliaht channel Station ID Station Name B -IBI Score B -IBI Rating WC -01 Puget Sound 18 Poor WC -02 Lower Willow Creek 14 Very Poor WC -03 Willow Creek Marsh 12 Very Poor WC -04 Willow Creek Marsh 16 Very Poor WC -05 Willow Creek Marsh 18 Poor WC -06 Upper Willow Creek 18 Poor WC -07 Upper Shellabar er Creek 14 Very Poor • Cost Estimate — Alternative 6B Floodwall Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 12 Item Description Cost ($s)(2018) 1 Mobilization / Demobilization / Misc. $ 150,000 2 Marina Beach Park Channel / Habitat $ 1,147,000 3 Daylight Channel Construction $ 3,541,000 4 1 Marsh Improvements / Tidal Channels / Reve etation $ 1,233,000 5 BNSF Floodwall $ 2,639,000 6 Shellabar er / Harbor Square Flood Berms $ 150,000 Construction Subtotal $ 8,860,000 Escalation to 2021/2022 (10%) $886,000 Taxes (10% $913,000 Bondin & Insurance 5%) $ 443,000 Contingency (25% ) $ 2,215,000 Construction Total $ 13,317,000 Other Project Costs Real Estate / Property Acquisition ? Engineering, Permits 15% of Construction $ 2,000,000 Construction Administration 10% of Construction $ 1,350,000 Construction Total $ 16,667,000 Councilmember Teitzel observed the Tribes are key stakeholders in this project; he asked to what extent the Tribes have been involved in developing the alternatives. Mr. Cline answered the team developed the designs and talked with the Tribes at different points during the feasible phase of design. The Tribes have not had a heavy hand in any of design layout alignments, but are aware of the daylighting design and configurations and benefits it might provide. They have also had face to face meetings with the Tulalip Tribe as well as off-line discussions with members of their staff regarding the project. With regard to the Tribes' involvement in the analysis and designing the alternatives, Ms. O'Connell said generally the Tribes are not involved in that effort unless they own the property or it is a Tribal restoration project. The Tribes do want to see the progress and what is being proposed and the Tulalip Tribe has been involved throughout that process including Todd Zackey, an Edmonds resident and a fisheries biologist for the Tulalip Tribes. The Tulalip Tribes has also provided letters of support for the three most recent grant applications. Information from the cultural resources review that is required by the state was provided to the four Tribes in the region that used this area as their usual and customary area. In view of the constraints due to WSDOT unknowns, Councilmember Teitzel asked if the Tribes supported Alternative 6 as the most reasonable daylighting option. Mr. Cline said he did not know the Tribes' option. Councilmember Mesaros referred to the slide illustrating site constraints, and asked if the drainage pond was a permanent fixture or could engineering be done to eliminate it and keep the area ecologically safe. Mr. Cline answered the current plan is to use that as a wetland lagoon as part of the restoration project. Its current function is to treat surface stormwater from the Unocal site. Councilmember Mesaros observed Alternative 2 went through that pond which seems like viable option. He commented a location further south would bypass the marsh to a certain extent. Mr. Cline agreed, moving the channel south would require consideration of how it would be connected. Other issues are low ground and drainage. The lowest ground in the marsh is currently on the far west side. Councilmember Mesaros relayed his understanding that the drainage pond would remain in some form. Mr. Cline said it has in their alternatives, another question is whether more could be done. Using the conceptual design, they have discussed the possibility of multiple breaches through the pond instead of a single breach. One of the benefits that the pond currently provides is riparian vegetation on the north side of the pond. The pond is part of the opportunity moving forward and it could be modified for a variety of habitats. In the Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 13 natural systems that Mr. Schlenger referenced, each have lagoons that provide a different habitat value such as slower water, slightly different temperatures, etc. Mr. Williams said no one on the team is resistant to Alternative 2 and the variances of it, it would function great. The biggest concern is not the property issue or WSDOT's preference necessarily, in fact, Alternative 2 takes only marginally more WSDOT property than Alternative 1. The issue is the alignment overlies active clean-up areas. The language in the Arcadis reports prepared for Unocal states the property is cleaned up if the cap remains in place. That means it met the standard in the consent decree for clean-up but digging, which would have to be done for that alignment, would open a pandoras box of issues and costs. That is the tradeoff that has been considered. Councilmember Mesaros referred to the cattails on the east side of the marsh and his assumption that they would die and wither away. He asked if that debris could remain to decay on site or would need to be removed. Mr. Cline some cattails can be salt tolerant resistant. There are different ways to manage cattails; on the Skagit estuary, the preferred method of some of the Tribes and the DFW is to mow cattails to get more saltwater inundation. When the Nisqually was opened, there was deep ponding across the freshwater cattails which resulted in rafts of cattails floating out into Puget Sound. There may be an organic debris management issue related to the cattails. They have talked about invasives management; there are many different techniques that would be considered in the final design and permitting. In other projects he has worked on, there was enough inundation where they could confidently say three feet of saltwater would eliminate them; the problem in this project is there is likely to be one foot of saltwater that touches the cattails and it is such a dense thicket that more proactive mechanical measures may be required. Councilmember Tibbott commented it appears the alignments going south to north connect best with the natural outflow from the creek system. Mr. Cline answered Alternative 2 shows where the tidal channels converge and the intent was to connect to that. Alternative 4 goes back to the west and follows the current outflow where there is low ground and the creek currently comes out. With increased tidal action, Councilmember Tibbott asked to what extent would the channel that would be constructed be wiped out and rearranged by other action upstream. Mr. Cline answered that is related to the energy and flux of the channel. The cross section looks at bioengineered measures such as coir logs and coir wrap with plantings because they do not want just fill it with plantings exposed to 300cfs because it will erode. The use of bioengineered materials provides a head -start to establishing vegetation so it emulates and looks similar to a natural system with a mudflat channel with elevations that are generally around the mean tide and from the mean tide and higher. There are different vegetation patterns which provide an interesting relationship between the tidal hydrologic analysis and the ecological analysis for developing design elevations. Mr. Cline explained in this system where there is a constrained channel with infrastructure concerns on either side, they would start with a bioengineering approach. Over time the vegetation will establish and take over and no one would know the coir log is there in 5-10 years. There have been comments about excavating natural channels and letting them develop on own; he has worked on projects like that but they are usually in rural areas where there is limited infrastructure. In this case the railroad is on one side and something else on the other that is not a favorite type of material, it is preferable to layer soft engineering such as formable banks that will move with tides and biodegrade and contribute to the system. He summarized a bioengineered system is the current plan. Councilmember Tibbott relayed his understanding the channel would be constructed as Mr. Cline described and over time it would remain. Mr. Cline responded it should remain generally in its location over time. Estuary tidal channels are not like streams that migrate at fairly fast rates; tidal channels are built over Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 14 hundreds of years and occasionally there will be a large storm that changes things. It is a different energy system; daily tides do not have nearly the velocity seen in stream or river systems. Councilmember Buckshnis commented this project has been called the Edmonds Marsh Nearshore Estuary Restoration because it is a system of tidal exchange. It started out as Willow Creek years ago and is now called Daylighting of Willow Creek. She asked if the team was allowed on the BNSF property, noting Windward was not. Mr. Cline said they were given access by BNSF and Unocal for a period of time, approximately three months; that information is in the final feasibility study that was presented in 2015. Mr. Richardson said the time they had access is documented in the final feasibility study done in 2015. Councilmember Buckshnis agreed anything is better than a 1600 foot pipe. She asked if the tidegate was open or closed during their water quality sampling. Mr. Cline said the tide gates are operated late October through early March. water quality sampling was four times during the year, September, January (tidegate closed), late March/early April and July. Councilmember Buckshnis said she will send questions to the team. Mr. Schlenger said a lot of the discussion and comments from the public has focused on the alignment. As often happens in feasibility studies, there are a range of alternatives. When it comes to selecting a preferred alignment, there is an opportunity to blend several alternatives. Councilmember Johnson said the goal is to make the Edmonds Marsh as healthy and productive as possible. There has been a lot of discussion in the past about sinuosity and the path that Mother Nature likes to take but there is nothing natural about Willow Creek flowing in a pipe and then across Marina Beach. Even if Willow Creek is daylighted, there is still nothing natural. The system naturally drained to Brackett's Landing and the area closer to where the pier is now. When the marina was built in the 1960s, it eliminated the sand estuary. SRI 04 was built in the 1970s and Harbor Square was built in the 1980s/90s. Over time there has been a lot of encroachment around the marsh. She asked if the team considered anything other than daylighting Willow Creek. The report includes a lot of hydrological solutions but none of them really help the marsh. She asked if a more expensive alignment that went under the railroad and Admiral Way was considered. Mr. Cline said one of the first tasks in the feasibility study was a screening analysis of the alignments: Brackett's Landing, the Port and Marina Beach Park and pros and cons of each including cost, land ownership and function. The southerly alignment was determined to be the best considering the existing infrastructure. If there could be substantial changes to the Port and to private property toward Brackett's Landing and Sunset Beach, that could be an alternative but it did not make the cut in the screening analysis due to costs (increasing a $16M project to a $50M project) and impacting private property. Councilmember Johnson asked if any of the alignments were screened out due to fish habitat. Mr. Cline answered daylighting through the Port into an area where there are marine vehicles, refueling, etc. was screened out as a nuisance impact to fish. This alignment was the best for habitat and cost. Councilmember Johnson commented it may have been the best related to cost but it is not a natural habitat as it will require dredging, building a new channel and a longer route. Mr. Cline responded a lot of infrastructure has been built since the 1800s; it will perform the desired function for restoration as illustrated by the hydrologic and fisheries studies. The excavation is excavating unnatural fill to bring the area to its natural grade. It will mitigate for historical action when the areas was filled for an industrial operation and bring it down to the natural grade. He agreed it was not following the historical spit location through the Port but that was determined not to be the best alignment due to habitat and cost. Councilmember Johnson asked if a buffer averaging technique was used. Mr. Cline said the buffer analysis in this study was limited as it was not one of the main item in the scope of the grant. Buffers came up as part of Shoreline Management Program (SMP). They reported buffer widths to inform the alternatives and their outreach efforts. Alternatives closer to BNSF have a narrower average buffer width and alternatives Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 15 further away have a wider width. They used buffer averaging; the area divided by the length of the riparian buffer area. Councilmember Johnson said the Department of Ecology (DOE) identified the marsh as part of the Shoreline Management Program after Shannon & Wilson began their work. Since that time DOE has published buffers for different environments. She asked why the edge of the buffer was on the west side of the railroad tracks. Mr. Cline answered it was on the east side and goes to the right-of-way. In a way, they are creating buffers where there are none now. When shoreline restoration is done that changes the shoreline, the state code allows an exemption to be offered to not provide the full buffer because the state and DOE want the daylighting and restoration, but do not want to impact the neighbors' ability to use their land. He agreed buffers should be maximized to the extent feasible as they provide valuable functions, but context matters in urban settings. The function of the buffers are physical habitat such as shade, detrital input, and habitat conditions and stormwater and water quality will be driven by what Puget Sound delivers. He summarized buffers were not the focus of their analysis. Councilmember Johnson referred to the cost estimate and asked who would pay for the seawall. Mr. Cline answered the analysis includes a generic statement that at some point in the future the Port and/or the City will need to repair or raise the seawall so sea level rise and storm surge do not inundate the waterfront. They did not look at that cost. They were trying to isolate the flooding from the City seawall near the senior center from what might occur with the restoration project. They only calculated the cost of the flood wall along the railroad along the daylighted channel and the two berms, one near Harbor Square and one near Shellabarger/SR104. Councilmember Johnson commented since the study, the City authorized a pump station for Dayton Street so the berm for Harbor Square may not be needed. Mr. Cline said the firm that did the Dayton Street pump station study and design shared information with their team; it was his understanding the Dayton system is designed to handle the Dayton stormwater and not for storm surges or sea level rise flows. Councilmember Johnson summarized the berm will still be needed. Mr. Richardson said to the point Shellabarger floods Dayton, that is an unnatural condition so the flood walls will push it back to the way it should have been. With regard to funding partners due to multiple beneficiaries, Mr. Williams agreed the Port property will benefit from the flood walls which are estimated to cost $2.96M and possibly BNSF would contribute some funding if they benefit from the flood walls. This is a presentation of the costs; the availability of grant funds, partners, matching funds will be part of a future process. Councilmember Buckshnis asked if WSDOT has said they plan to put in a parking lot below Pt. Edwards. Mr. Williams responded one of overlays on the diagram shows parking, but that was WSDOT's most recent 2D image of what Edmonds Crossing would look like. WSDOT had intended to have a significant amount of parking on the Unocal property and WSDOT will be the future owners of that property. There is not a big difference in the amount of property that is consumed in Alternatives 2 and 4. Councilmember Buckshnis pointed out Edmonds Crossing has gone away. Mr. Williams said there is still a sliver of a gray area; in all the conversations with WSDOT and all their printed literature, Edmonds Crossing is not part of their 2030 funding plan; however, declaring it dead/useless is premature. Councilmember Buckshnis said the image shows the Edmonds Crossing parking lot. Mr. Williams said they have had more recent conversations with WSDOT where they have looked at other uses for the property and WSDOT postulated a couple ideas including satellite loading for the current ferry location. When WSDOT becomes the property owner, there will be some interesting conversations. Councilmember Buckshnis recalled Unocal gave the marsh to the City of Edmonds. She recalled Mr. Williams cautioned against the City purchasing any of the Unocal property because of the contamination. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 16 Mr. Williams said his personal opinion was that would need to be done with eyes wide open. He has been the project manager on a few superfund cleanups; the thought of taking fee title ownership on a property that has been subject to a large clean-up project and where standards regarding clean-up levels change over time, he would want clauses in the purchase and sale agreement that had a contingent pledge from the state about funding future clean-up. Councilmember Buckshnis said the Unocal property is zoned commercial and residential so it would need to be clean enough for humans. Mr. Williams reiterated the language in the Arcadis document that it is cleaned up to residential standards as long as you do not dig through the cap. Councilmember Buckshnis commented she has seen many parks and recreation projects funded that range $14-38M in the 9 years she has been on WRIA. For example, the $14M Wayne Golf Course in Bothell was funded in two years. She summarized it can happen and recommended involving parks and recreation, not just stormwater. Mr. Williams summarized this is the complete story to date. This is final report but there are several options and there could be variances to any of the options to meet the need. From a fish perspective there is not that much difference in the performance of the channels to supportjuvenile Chinook rearing in the marsh. There are subtle differences but they are small compared to what exists now and any daylighted channel. That plus the existing contamination on the site were big parts of their thinking. Mayor Earling thanked the presenters for the thorough report, commenting it was good for the Council and the public to have a refresher. Mayor Earling declared a brief recess. PROSECUTING ATTORNEY SERVICES REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF RESPONSES TO RFP FOR PROSECUTING ATTORNEY SERVICES Mayor Earling introduced Marilynne Beard, MMB Consulting, and thanked her for her leadership in this process. COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY-MONILLAS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL, TO EXTEND THE MEETING TO 11 P.M. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Ms. Beard introduced Angela Tinker, Lighthouse Law Group, and Police Chief Al Compaan who assisted with the process. Patricia Taraday, Lighthouse Law, who was not present, also participated in the process. Ms. Beard reviewed: * Background o Edmonds Justice System ■ Edmonds Municipal Court — Elected Judge — Court Administrator and Probation Staff o Contracted Prosecution and Public Defense Services ■ Zachor & Thomas Edmonds Prosecutor since 1997 OF Snohomish County Public Defenders 2017 o Edmonds Case Load 2016-2019 Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 17 2016 2017 2018 Traffic Infractions 3,825 3,971 4,477 Non -Traffic Infractions 53 35 29 Misdemeanor DUUPh sical Control 90 99 145 Misdemeanor Other Traffic 331 1 304 328 Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 17 Misdemeanor Non -Traffic 502 437 466 Civil 3 8 9 Parkin 1,293 2,113 4,487 Prosecution Request for Proposal o RFP Issued May 2019 o Proposals due June 2019 o Two proposals received ■ Zachor & Thomas ■ John L Rodabaugh 11 o Screening Committee formed July 2019 Committee screening proposal o Reviewed proposals and developed interview questions o Interviewed the Municipal Court Judge and Court Administrator o Conducted initial round of interviews o Requested additional information from proposers o Conducted second round of interviews o Conducted reference checks o Requested final clarifications from proposers • Factors considered in evaluation o Experience o Capacity o Cost o Relationship with Police Department o Impacts of possible transition Summary of proposals o Both firms are qualified to provide prosecution services for Edmonds o Both fee proposals are within the approved 2019 prosecution budget o Both firms can provide all prosecution services needed by Edmonds Comparison of Proposals o Experience and capacity Zachor & Thomas ■ Legal firm with multiple attorneys and support staff Familiar with the Edmonds Court and Police Department ■ Contracted prosecutor for nine jurisdictions including Edmonds o Cost Zachor & Thomas ■ Base fee of $255,000 - Includes basic services with capped number of special services included in base fee - Hourly or fixed charges for special services in excess of minimums included in base - 3%/year COLA o Estimate of Cost Compared to Budget John Rodabaugh • Sole practitioner with agreements for subcontracted back-up ■ Prosecutor for City of Fife for over 20 years. Experienced in multiple Puget Sound Courts of Limited Jurisdiction ■ Currently back-up prosecutor for multiple jurisdictions - Edmonds would his only client John Rodabaugh ■ Base fee of $240,000 - All services included within the base fee - 3%/year COLA beginning after the third year Zachor & Thomas I John Rodabaugh I Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 18 2019 Approved Prosecution Budget $286,440 $286,440 2020 Proposed Prosecution Base Fee $255,000 $240,000 Amount Over/(Under) Approved Budget $(31,440 $(46,440) 2020 Total Estimated Prosecution Costs — Base Fee $255,000 $240,000 — Estimated Hourly Charges* $13,750 2020 Estimated Prosecution Costs $286,750 $240,000 -Total Amount Over/ Under Approved Budget $(17,690) $(46,440) Transition Considerations o Police Chief considers both proposers qualified o Additional changes in Edmonds' justice system may cause some disruption o The Police Chief supports continuing contract with Zachor & Thomas ■ To maintain stability ■ In consideration of past changes made by Zachor & Thomas to meet the City's expectations for consistency and reliability Examples of Contract Considerations o Length of contract ■ 3 years with option for extensions up to 2 years 0 1 year with option for extension up to 4 years o Fees ■ Clarification of fees on items such as calendar changes ■ Provision to negotiate contract if exceed an identified threshold o Contract monitoring ■ Regularly scheduled meetings ■ Routine reports to City Council Direction Requested o Policy Options for Next Steps ■ Renew Zachor & Thomas' contract pending final approval by Council Request additional information about one or both proposers ■ Conduct interview with one or both proposers Councilmember Teitzel asked about input from Judge Coburn. Ms. Beard said they talked with Judge Coburn and the Court Administrator, but they could only go so far because the Council appoints the prosecutor and the public defender and the Judge would not want to appear to influence that. They asked the Judge and the Court Administrator about any operational issues with Zachor & Thomas. Council President Fraley-Monillas said this was the second or third time since she has been on the Council that the City has looked for a prosecutor. She recalled former HR Director Hardie speaking to the Council about the Police Department and the Court's concerns with the current prosecutor which is why the City went out for an RFP. Council President Fraley-Monillas asked about the fee Zachor & Thomas charges for extras. Ms. Beard answered there is a lengthy list, some of which are things that occur infrequently, for example extreme protection orders, but the most likely things that will arise are appeals. There are currently outstanding appeals and their ability to pursue them in a given year is limited because all the parties have to be ready and there are time limits as well as continuances. Forfeitures are another example of extra fees. There was a backlog prior to 2019 but Zachor & Thomas has caught up on them. Forfeitures can result in resources to the Police Department. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 19 Council President Fraley-Monillas asked if extra fees were paid in the Zachor & Thomas's last contract and if so, the amount. Ms. Beard answered in reviewing invoices from Zachor & Thomas over the last two years, they only charged the fees a couple of times. As the activity of the court increase, it is possible the fees will be charged more often. The fees have always existed, the only addition was the extreme protection order and calendar changes. There may be a way to include something in the contract to provide assurance. Council President Fraley-Monillas asked whether Mr. Rodabaugh charged extra fees. Ms. Beard answered he did not. Council President Fraley-Monillas referred to an email about being charged more for Zachor & Thomas to appear on a different day of the week. Ms. Beard said both Mr. Rodabaugh and Mr. Zachor are here to answer questions. She recalled the was not related to moving a calendar from one day to the next but the type of calendar or additional work the prosecutor was asked to do. She suggested that could be clarified in the contract. With regard to concerns with changes in the Municipal Court in recent years, Council President Fraley- Monillas said Judge Coburn has been in the Edmonds Municipal Court for three years and the defense team has been in place two years. Chief Compaan agreed. Council President Fraley-Monillas asked if there are currently any conflicts occurring that would support not hiring a new prosecutor. Chief Compaan said at the present time things are going the smoothest they have gone in the last three years. Council President Fraley-Monillas asked if references were checked on both. Ms. Beard said references were checked for both; there were not necessarily the same number of references for both. There was nothing in the reference checks that would change the recommendation. Mr. Rodabaugh's clients and colleagues spoke highly of him. The City has its own experience with Zachor & Thomas and the team spoke with one other jurisdiction. Zachor & Thomas brought back an attorney who worked with the firm in the past, went to work for Seattle Municipal Court and has returned to Zachor & Thomas as a partner. She is a seasoned attorney and will be one of the supervising attorney for Edmonds. The concern was expressed to Zachor & Thomas that stability and experience were important and they have tried to address that. For Council President Fraley -Monilias, Ms. Beard advised Edmonds is one of nine cities Zachor & Thomas represents. Council President Fraley-Monillas recalled the team only called one other city for a reference. Ms. Tinker answered she called several cities for references and talked to the police department in several other cities who were generally favorable. One city expressed interest in having more clarity related to the assigned prosecutor. She also checked all Mr. Rodabaugh's references, approximately seven, which included a couple judges, a prosecutor, a couple court administrators, and a police officer who were overwhelmingly positive and had no negative feedback. Councilmember Johnson observed there were only two responses to the RFP and asked if re -advertising was considered. Ms. Beard said she came into the process after the City received the proposals. Councilmember Johnson asked the role of MMB Consulting. Ms. Beard said she facilitated the interview process and formed the selection group. She was brought in because the person who would otherwise have managed the process had left when the proposals were submitted. Councilmember Johnson commented when the City Council considers applicants for department heads, the rule is to have three applicants. She asked who decided not to reissue the RFP. Mayor Earling said staff was satisfied with two applicants; there is no requirement for a certain number of respondents to the RFP. Mr. Rodabaugh is local and is a fine candidate and Zachor & Thomas has been the City's prosecutor for a fair amount of time. Ms. Beard said unlike a job posting, a contract like this would not have as many applicants. Councilmember Johnson asked the role of MMB Consulting. Ms. Beard said her firm is MMB; she did what the HR Director would have done such as bringing the selection committee together, gathering and Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 20 summarizing notes, preparing the staff report, communicating with the respondents, setting up meetings, etc. Council President Fraley-Monillas said personally, if Mr. Rodabaugh's firm is less expensive and is a one size fits all at least for the next three years, it would advantageous for the City to hire a prosecutor that does not cost more than the base fee. She was aware of concerns with Zachor & Thomas over the past years. With regard to ongoing concerns with Zachor & Thomas, Mayor Earling said he has been fastidious about keeping track of what is going on in the court simply because it is the third body of government. There was some inconsistency in the level of representation and several meeting were held with both the defense and the prosecutors to try to get them working as a unit. It took some doing, the defense attorney put together a consistent pattern which has been pretty good during the last 18 months. During the last year there was at least one situation where he did not think Zachor & Thomas was providing a consistent level of attorneys in the courtroom. That was addressed and based on what he is hearing now, Zachor & Thomas is doing a fine job again. As mentioned, they brought back an attorney who was with the firm previously and Mr. Zachor, Jr. has taken more of a leadership role in the firm. With regard to the responses to the RFP, Chief Compaan said he could be comfortable with either firm. Zachor & Thomas has taken demonstrable, proactive steps to improve their level of service including restructuring the firm so there will be three partners, and two of the three will supervise the prosecutors for Edmonds. Edmonds demands quality from its vendors including Zachor & Thomas. He was comfortable with his recommendation to renew the contract with Zachor & Thomas, and if Council awards the contract to Zachor & Thomas, he will continue to monitor their performance. The same is done with the public defender. It is important that the criminal justice system operates smoothly and over the last 1'/z -2 years there has been good stability. It is important not to add a degree of instability to a system that he and his officers feel is working well and he felt the judge and public defender would agree. Council President Fraley-Monillas recalled the defense attorney firm was changed a couple years ago due to similar issues and bumps in the road with them have been smoothed out. From a strictly financial point of view, the cost of Mr. Rodabaugh services would be fixed for the next three years. COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY-MONILLAS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER MESAROS, TO HIRE JOHN RODABAUGH. Councilmember Tibbott said he was general in favor of the motion. He assumed there would be more consistency if Edmonds were the prosecutor's sole client and that seemed favorable to him. Ms. Beard responded there are pros and cons to having one person. He can't be everywhere so clearly there would be some other attorneys that would assist and Mr. Rodabaugh has subcontracts for that service. She agreed there would be more consistency. With Zachor & Thomas, the City asked to have an attorney assigned to Edmonds Municipal Court; they agreed to assign two supervising attorneys supplemented by other attorneys as sometimes it is good to have two attorneys in the courtroom. Zachor & Thomas has the depth to provide that and a backup attorney. With a sole practitioner, if something happened to him, the City would be in a pickle. Mr. Rodabaugh has assured he has backup and that one of his colleagues would take over the contract if he was unable to perform. Councilmember Buckshnis said she was undecided, commenting she also looks at the stability aspect. The City will have a new mayor with a new administrative direction as well as new councilmembers, a significant change that will impact directors. Chief Compaan agreed stability is important; this is more than just the sticker price. If Council decided to stay the course with Zachor & Thomas for another year, their service could be evaluated at the end year with feedback from staff. Councilmember Buckshnis suggested limiting the contract to one year and then reevaluating. She was interested in stability due to changes next year, noting the importance of the police department and judge's relationship with the existing team. Chief Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 21 Compaan agreed there has been a long working relationship with Zachor & Thomas. Prior to the issues that were experienced in the recent past, there were a number of years with very good stability and strong support from that firm; that relationship is still worth a lot. Councilmember Teitzel commented the current prosecuting attorney has a deep bench of attorneys who are familiar with Edmonds. Mr. Rodabaugh is a one-man show who would contract with attorneys who are not a known quantity, which results in uncertainty and some risk. He was reluctant to make a decision based solely on cost when the costs are not that different. He was also reluctant to make a decision based on negatives he heard some time ago and may have been resolved without a formal evaluation to anchor those comments. He favored continuing with Zachor & Thomas and having a more formal evaluation process to learn about any concerns and whether they are insurmountable. He concluded it was premature to make a decision to change until that information was provided. Councilmember Johnson was opposed to the motion because it is being discussed at 10:45 p.m. and the Council has only been talking about this a short time. Any money that could be saved with changing to another prosecutor, $109,000, could be negotiated over a three-year period with the current prosecutor. She commented Chief Compaan and three members of Lighthouse Law Group were on the panel that reviewed the attorneys and reference checks found them both adequate. Before making an important decision to change prosecutors, she preferred interviews be conducted at a future time rather than make a decision tonight based only on the bottom line. Councilmember Nelson said he was leaning toward Zachor & Thomas but with a one year contract and then reevaluating. He appreciated the continuity although Zachor & Thomas still seemed reluctant to assign certain people to the Edmonds court. He did not support motion. Mayor Earling said regardless of which firm is selected, he favored a one year contract because as Councilmember Buckshnis indicated, there will be a lot of new electeds in 2020 and stability and getting to know each other will be important. He summarized a one year contract would be a good compromise. UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION FAILED (2-5), COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY-MONILLAS AND COUNCILMEMBER MESAROS VOTING YES; AND COUNCILMEMBERS JOHNSON, NELSON, BUCKSHNIS, TEITZEL AND TIBBOTT VOTING NO. Councilmember Johnson recalled the current prosecuting attorney was given a one year extension and it took the Council six months to review it. If the intent was a contract extension, she recommended it be for two years. COUNCILMEMBER NELSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, TO EXTEND A ONE YEAR CONTRACT FOR ZACHOR & THOMAS. MOTION CARRIED (5-2), COUNCILMEMBER JOHNSON AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY-MONILLAS VOTING NO. 3. CITY ATTORNEY EVALUATION Councilmember Mesaros distributed a corrected evaluation sheet on which the median score was corrected. He highlighted the scores including the median and average scores. After discussions with Councilmember Teitzel and Council President Fraley-Monillas about the process, they recommend extending the contract with Lighthouse for one year due to the time it will take to gather information in the comparative study. That process has begun, Councilmember Teitzel will contact five cities with external city attorney contracts and he will contract five cities with inhouse city attorneys. He has requested Mr. Taraday submit a contract to the City Council for review and action at the November 4 Council meeting. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 22 Council President Fraley-Monillas asked for clarification that the evaluation was complete and the evaluation and questions will be provided to Mr. Taraday. Councilmember Mesaros answered yes. He was hopeful Mr. Taraday would look at the scores and make a determination about how best to respond such as having individual conversations with directors and Councilmembers about the scores. The purpose of any evaluation process is to learn and grow. He was hopeful Lighthouse would look at the areas where they had done well and continue to do well in those and consider making improvements in areas where they did not score as well. He recommended the Council conduct an evaluation more often than right before the contract renewal. As with any staff person, it is important to evaluate performance and offer an opportunity for corrective action. Councilmember Johnson commented the value of any evaluation is what the questions and answers reveal. From an overview, it looks like there were many areas in which there were perfect 7s or the highest score possible and there are many 6-7 median scores. What needs to be addressed in the future are the lower scores; certain categories had 4-5 which indicate areas in need of improvement, not enough information, etc. Just looking at raw data does not reveal much but categorizing and grouping can provide information about where communication with Lighthouse needs to improve. 4. IZE V1Sl l) l4;STi0NNA111E FOR THE COMPARATIVE STUDY ON CITY ATTORNEY SERVICES Councilmember Teitzel explained the survey is identical to last week's version except he and Councilmember Mesaros had eliminated several questions to make it briefer. The goal is a two part process, 1) determining the quality of representation from the city attorney, and 2) determining the value the City is getting from the city attorney. To address the second part, he and Councilmember Mesaros intend to contact ten cities, five with inhouse attorneys and five with contract city attorney services and ask a series of questions that will provide Council information regarding the value Edmonds is getting compared to other cities. One of the most important things they hope to obtain is the total expenditure for attorney services as well as the total number of hours so a dollar per hour value can be determined that can be compared to what Lighthouse charges. He recalled last Tuesday Council President Fraley-Monillas asked Councilmembers to provide input to Councilmember Mesaros and he on changes to the questionnaire; none were provided so he assumed the question were acceptable. COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, THAT THE RANGE OF QUESTIONS BE APPROVED FOR A SURVEY OF CITIES AND AUTHORIZATION TO PROCEED WITH THOSE CONTACTS. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 9. MAYOR'S COMMENTS Mayor Earling reported Standard & Poor's has done an evaluation of the City and Edmonds is now one of two cities in Snohomish County to receive a AAA rating; the other city is Woodway. Mayor Earling reminded of the Edmonds Center for the Arts auction and dinner on Friday, October 25, a high point of the season. 10. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Mesaros announced a notice of proposed amendments to Sno9l l ILA. No action is required by City Council or member agencies as the Board can approve the amendments with a super - majority vote. The four proposed changes are, 1) update to police and fire TAC quorum requirements, 2) change the date of election of TAC officers to occur during the annual assembly, 3) update police and fire TAC chairmanship requirements to remove the requirement that the vice chair assume the role of chair, and Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 23 4) a change to the collection of delinquent fees. He will provide a copy of the ILA to City Clerk Scott Passey. Council President Fraley-Monillas reported she attended the Judge's work group on the community court, a pilot project that will start at Swedish Edmonds in January with a practice run through in December. On Saturday she attended the Diversity Commission's movie regarding inclusiveness and inclusion in the workplace and social situations. Council President Fraley-Monillas referred to Ms. Saline's comments about being hit by car when crossing 5' Avenue, noting another pedestrian, who she believed was in a crosswalk, was hit by a vehicle on Hwy 99. She reiterated Ms. Saline's message for drivers to pay attention, particularly at night. COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER MESAROS, TO EXTEND THE MEETING FOR THREE MINUTES. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COUNCILMEMBER MESAROS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY- MONILLAS, TO EXTEND THE MEETING FOR TEN MINUTES. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 11. CONVENE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION REGARDING PENDING OR POTENTIAL LITIGATION PER RCW 42.30.11 Of 1 Ni) At 11:00 p.m., Mayor Earling announced that the City Council would meet in executive session regarding pending or potential litigation per RCW 42.30.110(1)(i). He stated that the executive session was scheduled to last approximately 10 minutes and would be held in the Jury Meeting Room, located in the Public Safety Complex. Action may occur as a result of meeting in executive session. Elected officials present at the executive session were: Mayor Earling, and Councilmembers Johnson, Fraley-Monillas, Buckshnis, Teitzel, Tibbott, Mesaros and Nelson. Others present were City Attorney Jeff Taraday, Public Works Director Phil Williams, and City Engineer Rob English. The executive session concluded at 11:10 p.m. 12. RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION. POTENTIAL ACTION AS A RESULT OF MEETING IN EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Earling reconvened the regular City Council meeting at 11:10 p.m. COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY-MONILLAS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL, TO AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE A SETTLEMENT WITH MARSHBANK CONSTRUCTION, THE MATERIAL TERMS OF WHICH WOULD BE THAT THE CITY MAKE AN ADDITIONAL PAYMENT OF $36,243 TO MARSHBANK IN EXCHANGE FOR A FULL SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS THAT MARSHBANK COULD BRING AGAINST THE CITY IN RELATION TO THE 76TH AND 212TH PROJECT. I FURTHER AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO MAKE THE PAYMENT TO MARSHBANK IN THE AMOUNT OF $36,243. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 13. ADJOURN With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 11:11 p.m. Al A- A O. E LING, MAYOR S ASSEY, CITY CLE Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes October 22, 2019 Page 24