City Council

CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA December 9, 2021 Mayor Steve Sexton called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Council members present: Bill Aslett, Keith Chaplin, Joe DeGloria, Rick DeGloria, Scott Green, and James Stavig. Staff present: Janice Burwash, Don Erikson, Geoff Hawes, Leif Johnson, Sandra Kottke, Mike Luvera, Kristen Morrison, Marv Pulst, Jim Rabenstein, Travis Schwetz, Joseph Stewart, Robert Toth Sarah Ward, and Greg Young. A motion was made by Councilors Chaplin/Green to excuse Councilor Loving from the meeting. All in favor; motion carried. MINUTES: A motion was made by Councilors R. DeGloria/Green to approve the minutes of the November 23, 2021 City Council meeting. All in favor; motion carried. AUDIT OF BILLS: Councilor Green discussed City bills which included a $22,000 bill from Tuttle Engineering for the east-west connector, and stated that all other expenses were within the realm of normal. A motion was made by Councilors Green/Chaplin to approve Accounts Payable invoices to be paid as of December 9, 2021, in the amount of $383,625.40 and Payroll Expenses for Pay Period ending November 30, 2021, in the amount of $539,569.87. All in favor; motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENTS: No public comments were submitted. City Attorney Leif Johnson stated that members of the public may submit comments or questions by mail to City Hall at 833 S. Spruce Street, ATTN: Greg Young, or by email to badministration@burlingtonwa.gov. Contact information for all the City Departments is available at www.burlingtonwa.gov. COUNCIL COMMENTS: Councilor Chaplin discussed the meeting being Councilor Loving’s last meeting, and thanked him for his many years of service as a Councilmember; Councilor Aslett also expressed gratitude toward Councilor Loving. A discussion was held on the years of service given by Councilor Loving. A favorable discussion was held on the Christmas tree lighting and decorations downtown. Councilor Aslett requested the City reinstate the informal Council tours of City facilities; he expressed the helpfulness of said tours for keeping Councilmembers up-to-date on departments and facilities. MAYOR’S UPDATE: Mayor Sexton discussed how downtown looks really nice with the holiday decorations. Mayor Sexton discussed the Children’s Museum Winter Wonderland Festival event, and 1  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA December 9, 2021 how it was very well-attended and is a community-driven event. Mayor Sexton advised Councilmembers of the upcoming requirement to be sworn-in for their new terms. Mayor Sexton praised City staff for their efforts in adding lights and seasonal decorations to the downtown area. PRESENTATION: No Presentation. PROCLAMATION: No Proclamation. COMMITTEE & BOARD REPORTS: No Committee & Board Reports. OFFICERS REPORTS: No Officers Reports. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: No Unfinished Business. CONSENT AGENDA Resolution Designating a Legal Publisher for all Legal Notices in 2022: Skagit Publishing A motion was made by Councilors J. DeGloria/Green to Motion to approve Consent Agenda item #1 and authorize the Mayor’s signature on appropriate documents and resolution. All in favor; motion carried. NEW BUSINESS: Furlough Reimbursement Resolution City Administrator Greg Young summarized the furlough of staff, and the resulting 10% pay reduction for non-represented, FLSA exempt staff, as a result of early COVID impact mitigation efforts. Young detailed how funds the City has received from ARPA could be used to reimburse those exempt staff who had their pay reduced in the year 2020. Discussion was held on how many people this pay reduction affected, and how much it would cost to give the reimbursement. Councilor Stavig indicated that he was initially not in favor of the reimbursement, but now supports it. Councilor Aslett requested the reimbursement be done via a separate payroll, and paid by ARPA funds. Councilor J. DeGloria requested dollar amount for the reimbursement; Young stated that he believes the amount to be less than $90,000, but would update Council and give them a specific amount. A motion was made by Councilors Stavig/Green to approve the resolution authorizing the Mayor, City Administrator, or Designee to implement reimbursement of the 2020 10% wage furlough, which resulted in a temporary salary reduction for some City employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All in favor; motion carried. 2  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA December 9, 2021 2% Water Utility Tax City Administrator Greg Young reviewed details of the City’s collection of various taxes from utility provider in the City, and how, historically, Councils have annually decided to suspend the collection of the 2% water utility tax. Councilor Stavig requested the water utility not be brought to Council on an annual basis. Councilors Chaplin and Aslett spoke in favor of reviewing the tax annually. A motion was made by Councilors Stavig/J. DeGloria to suspend the Water Utility Tax until December 31, 2022 and authorize the Mayor to sign the associated Ordinance. All in favor; motion carried. Adoption of the 2022 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) City Administrator Greg Young reviewed aspects of the Capital Improvement Plan, and described it as a planning document to be used, in-part for when the City seeks grant funding for projects named within. A motion was made by Councilors Aslett/Green to approve the Final 2022 Capital Improvement Plan. All in favor; motion carried. 2022 Council Committee Assignments and Election of Mayor Pro Tem and Investment Chair Mayor Sexton asked Council whether they preferred to make any modifications to the Committee assignments for the year 2022. Councilors J. DeGloria and Stavig requested to “swap” assignments so that Councilor Stavig will be on the Public Works committee, J. DeGloria will be on the Audit and Finance Committee, J. DeGloria will be assigned to the Downtown Burlington Association and Councilmember-elect Jamie Weiss moved to regular member of that board. Additionally, Councilmember-elect Weiss is to be moved from alternate to regular member of the Parks & Cemetery Board, and Green, to be moved to alternate status. A motion was made by Councilors J. DeGloria/Green to approve the Mayor’s 2022 Council Committee Assignment with changes as discussed. All in favor; motion carried. A motion was made by Councilors Stavig/R. DeGloria to elect Councilor J. DeGloria as Mayor Pro Tem. All in favor; motion carried. A motion was made by Councilors Stavig/Green to elect Councilor Aslett as Investment Chair. All in favor; motion carried. Proposed Cancellation of second Council meeting in December City Administrator Greg Young discussed the Christmas holiday observation in relation to the day of the next regularly-scheduled Council meeting on December 23. 3  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA December 9, 2021 A motion was made by Councilors Green/Stavig to cancel the second regularly- scheduled Council meeting in December, which was to be held on December 23, 2021. All in favor; motion carried. EXECUTIVE SESSION: No Executive Session. ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Sexton adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m. ________________ _________________ Joseph Stewart Steve Sexton Finance Director Mayor 4