City Council

CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA February 9, 2023 Mayor Steve Sexton called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilmembers present: Bill Aslett, Keith Chaplin, Anna Chotzen, Joe DeGloria, Scott Green, James Stavig, and Jamie Weiss. Staff present: Brad Johnson, Leif Johnson, Mike Luvera, Marv Pulst, Travis Schwetz, Rob Toth, Sarah Ward, and Greg Young. A motion was made by Councilors Chaplin/DeGloria to change the order of items on the meeting agenda moving Agenda Item # 5, the Proposed Arts Commission discussion, to the beginning of the City Council Agenda as Item #1. All in favor; motion carried. MINUTES: A correction was suggested by Councilor Weiss to edit the previous minutes with changes made to edit the name of the report given by Councilor Aslett to the Public Safety Committee, not the Parks & Recreation Board as was recorded. With that correction noted, a motion was made by Councilors DeGloria/Aslett to approve the January 26, 2022 minutes. All in favor; motion carried. AUDIT OF BILLS: Councilor Scott Green updated Council regarding the Audit & Finance meeting. A few expenses of note include: $68K for restrooms, $9.5K for new planters, and a $53K payment to Friendship House. A motion was made by Councilors Green/Aslett to approve Accounts Payable invoices to be paid as of February 9, 2023, in the amount of $373,201.53 and Payroll Expenses for Pay Period ending January 31, 2023 in the amount of $491,100.49. All in favor; motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENTS: No Public Comments. 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. MAYOR’S UPDATE: No Mayor’s Update. COUNCIL COMMENTS: 1  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA February 9, 2023 Councilor Aslett shared about the process and time associated with graffiti clean-up, Councilor DeGloria thanked him for the repainting work, and Councilor Weiss offered to join Aslett on an outing to paint over graffiti in Burlington. COMMITTEE & BOARD REPORTS: No Committee & Board Reports. OFFICER’S REPORTS: No Officer’s Reports. PROCLAMATION: No Proclamation. PRESENTATION: No Presentations. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilors Aslett/Weiss to approve Consent Agenda Item #1 and #2 and authorize the Mayor’s signature on appropriate documents. NEW BUSINESS: Proposed Arts Commission City Attorney Leif Johnson opened a discussion for Council and community members, including speakers Sarah Wagstaff and Kim Sager, to discuss the model of commission to establish for the City of Burlington and explained that there are minimal legal requirements from the State of Washington that would affect the structure. A discussion was held wherein the make-up and role of a council, term conditions, funding model, and framework were considered. Councilors Chotzen and Chaplin proposed to have student representatives, Councilor DeGloria suggested funding mechanisms that could be a set amount for a couple of years until another source was identified, Councilor Aslett mentioned financing structures that could include lodging tax grant funding. There were some varied thoughts on students having voting rights, the level of Council oversight for the committee, and a suggestion from Streets Department Supervisor Travis Schwetz to consider the cost of maintaining City art. City Attorney Leif Johnson summarized the discussion outline to include a hybrid funding model, Council voting on changes, the inclusion of two voting Burlington-Edison student members, a Council appointed Committee, no term limits, 2  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA February 9, 2023 emphasis on art maintenance, steps for removal of a Committee member, and some type of a Council input, review process and/or guidelines. Revisions to Consolidated Fee Schedule Community Development Director Brad Johnson presented revisions to the Consolidated Fee Schedule for a second time to Council which due to significant changes to the fee schedule did not allow for an easy side by side comparison of fee changes. Instead two versions, the old and new, Fee Schedules were provided for Council review. Councilor Chaplin proposed an automated Fee Schedule annual increase, whereas Councilor DeGloria preferred a more specified review with the Department Director’s input, and a compromise was suggested to hold an in-depth Fee Schedule review process every 3 years with an automated formula applied annually. Councilor Weiss requested to see a version of the Fee Schedule based on a CPI for the Mount Vernon/Anacortes region. Library Director Sarah Ward noted a document correction regarding Public Library printing fees. Based on the range of edits made to the Fee Schedule Councilor Aslett proposed bringing the Agenda Item back at the following meeting for a final review. A motion was made by Councilors Green/Chotzen to postpone a vote on the Revisions to Consolidated Fee Schedule and to bring the Agenda Item back to Council for review as a Consent Agenda Item with edits completed per Council suggestions. All in favor; motion carried. Comprehensive Plan Update Community Development Director Brad Johnson shared with Council a huge piece of updated policy that the Planning Department and Planning Commission have been working on for years. Councilor Aslett recognized the hours of labor this document represented and invited the Planning Commission to meet with the City Council at a future meeting, in which Brad Johnson suggested a workshop setting could be even more productive. Council commented on the Comprehensive Plan wherein Councilor Stavig observed population data and asked about ADU percentages, and Councilor DeGloria had detailed questions pertaining to legibility of some document maps, discovered discrepancies with some included data, sought clarification on the Urban Growth Area (UGA) zone information, and highlighted the value of the parks in the City of Burlington that could have been represented differently in the Comp Plan data. Councilor Chotzen hoped to see affordable housing efforts, downtown historic preservation, and walkability/bikeability measures reflected in the Comp Plan. Councilor Weiss inquired about the overlap or intersection of other City Comprehensive Plans such as for sewer and City Administrator Greg Young added that Comp Plans can be updated every 12 months. Mayor 3  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA February 9, 2023 Sexton commented on the exceptional work of Community Development Director Brad Johnson, the Planning Department, and the Planning Commission and also shared that Johnson did a complete rewrite of the Burlington Municipal Code during his years at the City of Burlington. Grant Funding Distribution Request – Partnership between the City of Burlington and the Burlington-Edison School District Police Chief Mike Luvera updated Council on grant application and award for a grant that the City of Burlington received with Burlington-Edison School District as a partner. Councilor Aslett thanked Chief Luvera for the proactive safety efforts in B-E schools. Councilor Chaplin requested a meeting with the Burlington Edison School Board, the City of Burlington, and City Council members. Councilors Chaplin/Green made a motion to allow for the distribution to the Burlington-Edison School District, up to $138,750 dollars, as awarded through the grant. All in favor; motion carried. Blake Reimbursement Agreement with AOC City Attorney Leif Johnson updated Council on an agreement that would help reimburse any fees associated with a retroactive law enacted by the State of Washington that would affect local municipalities. Councilors Aslett/Weiss moved to approve the Interagency Reimbursement Agreement between Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts and the City of Burlington, and authorize the Mayor’s signature. All in favor; motion carried. Council Committee Assignments Discussion City Attorney Leif Johnson shared the current city code that outlines the standing City of Burlington Committees and their selection process and included materials for Council review on a variety of alternatives that exist and are in compliance within the State of Washington. Johnson shared that the current process in place for the CoB is legal and does not require changes, but Council was invited to propose alterations to revise the city code if desired. A discussion ensued wherein Councilor Green suggested a specified timeframe designated for the completion of the Committee Assignment Application with the applications collected from all Councilmembers at the same time, Councilor Aslett asked for term limits or rotations specified, and Councilor Stavig requested a similar appointment process but that would allow for a final 4  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA February 9, 2023 vote approved by Council. There was some debate on how different voting methods might involve bias or not allow for all voices to be represented. City Administrator Greg Young advised on a review and comparison of the Council Rules of Procedure and City Code to be certain those align. A motion was made by Councilors Stavig/Chaplin for the Mayor to appoint Committee Members that require a vote from the Council to assign them. Councilor Chaplin was interested in rescinding his second to the motion. A vote was held with all other Councilmembers opposed; motion failed. Mayor Sexton summarized that city administration could start the assignment process earlier, bringing the application forms to Council in October or November with feedback collected before a final review of the Committees at the first meeting in December. WALK ON AGENDA ITEM: Repair of Streets Department Vactor Truck Public Works Director Marv Pulst introduced a contract for a vactor truck vehicle repair service that would cost $55K. Pulst had previously explained to Council the value of the vactor truck in the equipment fleet for the City of Burlington. Councilors Aslett/Stavig moved to approve repair of the vactor truck as quoted by Owen Equipment. All in favor; motion carried. ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Sexton adjourned the meeting at 10:03 p.m. ________________ _________________ Joseph Stewart Steve Sexton Finance Director Mayor 5