City Council

CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA March 9, 2023 Following a Council Workshop from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mayor Steve Sexton called the City Council Meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilmembers present: Bill Aslett, Anna Chotzen, Joe DeGloria, Scott Green, James Stavig, and Jamie Weiss. Staff present: Geoff Hawes, Brad Johnson, Leif Johnson, Mike Luvera, Marv Pulst, Jim Rabenstein, Travis Schwetz, Joe Stewart, Rob Toth, Sarah Ward, and Greg Young. A motion was made by Councilors Chotzen/Aslett to excuse Councilor Keith Chaplin from the March 9, 2023 City Council Meeting. All in favor; motion carried. MINUTES: A motion was made by Councilors Aslett/Chotzen to approve the February 23, 2023 minutes. All in favor; motion carried. AUDIT OF BILLS: Councilor Scott Green updated Council regarding the Audit & Finance meeting with a few expenses of note: $64.5K for a Boom Cart and Hose Reel and $29K for the 2022 Overlay: Refund of Deposit. A motion was made by Councilors Green/Aslett to approve Accounts Payable invoices to be paid as of March 9, 2023, in the amount of $376.013.31 and Electronic Accounts Payable for December 2022 in the amount of $45,634.01 and Payroll Expenses for Pay Period ending February 28, 2023 in the amount of $580,425.37. 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: Mayor Sexton introduced the new Agenda format that relocated NEW BUSINESS ITEMS into two categories: INTRODUCTION/DISCUSSION and ACTION ITEMS. Items that impact the budget are planned to discussion before taking action. Councilor Aslett requested that any Agenda Items returning to Council would include a redline format so that changes are easy to identify. COUNCIL COMMENTS: 1  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA March 9, 2023 Councilor James Stavig reported on an article published in the Skagit Valley Herald about the First Steps Center and requested to see the financials of the organization along with quarterly updates or presentations from the First Steps Center. Councilors DeGloria and Stavig commented that they would like to receive City of Burlington newsworthy information from City staff and asked for improved communication to Councilmembers. Councilor Chotzen commented on the Burlington-Edison School District search for a Superintendent and corresponding community concerns about the inclusion and equity of the process. Chotzen added that she would be asking more questions of the community before making a statement. COMMITTEE & BOARD REPORTS: No Committee & Board Reports. OFFICER’S REPORTS: IT Director Geoff Hawes updated Council on changes in the IT Department with the departure of a long time employee and some technology products that are scheduled to become obsolete. Council could expect to see some large expenses in upcoming City budgets that reflect the need to purchase new software. Councilor DeGloria asked about the impacts of AI technology on IT Department and firewall products. Hawes noted that even with AI software there would still need to be some human oversight. Councilor Weiss requested an overview of the IT Department’s hardscape and technical debt and for an upcoming IT presentation to Council that would provide an overview of upcoming product terminations and the cost of replacement technology to minimize the sticker shock of those purchases on the City budget. PROCLAMATION: No Proclamation. PRESENTATION: Skagit County – North Star Project Skagit County Deputy Administrator Jennifer Johnson provided Council with an overview of the North Star Project outlining the identified themes of the project, the guiding principles, and factors of each individual’s vital conditions. Vital Conditions include: Reliable Transportation, Thriving Natural World, Basic Needs for Health & Safety, Humane Housing, Meaningful Work & Wealth, Lifelong Learning, and Belonging & Civic Muscle with an emphasis on building belonging and civic muscle to promote a thriving, healthy life for all. Johnson shared a new approach the 2  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA March 9, 2023 Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC) and how the essential ingredients needed to sustain recovery align with the identified Vital Conditions. The North Star Project’s priority populations are chronically homeless individuals that also suffer from a disabling condition. Based on the identified gaps in the ROSC, Jennifer Johnson explained the 3 Interdependent Tracks that the organization was pursuing: 1) Provide Integrated Support for Those Who are Suffering the Most, 2) Build Belonging & Civic Muscle, 3) Strengthen Vital Conditions for Everyone in Skagit County. Councilor Stavig asked how a member of Council or the public could learn more about the North Star Project and if there was the possibility to listen to or attend meetings. Johnson shared that there is currently a project page on the Skagit County website and that there will be upcoming opportunities for community engagement or advisory board participation. Councilor Stavig and Jennifer Johnson discussed the Skagit County Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) that is about a $1.5 million dollar pool of money but has received $4 million dollars of requests this year. This is a County fund and does not include the City’s 1406 or 1590 money. Skagit County – Martha’s Place VP of Catholic Community Services Will Rice presented to Council at length on the Martha’s Place Project introducing CCS/CHS Permanent Supportive Housing which has two branches: Property Management and Services. Rice gave a project overview, discussed the capital funding process, listed the development team, and shared some timeline images from the build. Councilor Chotzen inquired on the median rent for a unit and Councilor Stavig asked about who would be eligible to live in the Martha’s Place apartments which Rice responded would be based on Section 8 Voucher requirements not to exceed 30% of a person’s income and would prioritize anyone with some sort of disabilities. Councilor DeGloria inquired about the estimated possibility of housing trust funds coming from the state or federal government; Rice noted there was some likelihood of federal funding of the project. Commissioner Janicki spoke with council about the importance of Skagit County presenting a unified front to legislators at the State level and thanked Mayor Sexton for creating a path to quickly establish the First Steps Center in Burlington which she expressed has been pivotal for community efforts to Martha’s Place. Mayor Sexton observed that many audience members in attendance of the Council Meeting were interested in the Agenda Discussion Item for the Draft Interlocal RE: Burlington Contribution to Martha’s Place. 3  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA March 9, 2023 A motion was made by Councilors Aslett/Green to move Introduction/Discussion Item #2 Draft Interlocal RE: Burlington Contribution to Martha’s Place to be held prior to the 2nd presentations. All in favor; motion carried. INTRODUCTION/DISCUSSION: Draft Interlocal RE: Burlington Contribution to Martha’s Place Mayor Sexton introduced the proposed ordinance that would utilize 1590 funds during a 5-year term with annual contributions of $300K to Martha’s Place. A discussion was held wherein it was requested to see the overview of other municipality contributions and relevance to the overall operating budget of Martha’s Place and if the agreement would impact the funds for Community Action donations or the stability of the First Steps Center. Councilor Green requested to see the detox or other treatment plans associated with the program. Councilors Weiss, Chotzen, and Stavig all stated their support of the program and asked for more financial information to better inform their understanding of the project and agreement. PRESENTATION: 2022 Year in Review – Facilities Department Streets Supervisor Travis Schwetz provided Council with an update of the Facilities department’s duties, accomplishments, goals, department staff, the facilities and grounds that the team maintains, and some of their larger scale projects including: the Library beam support project, Community Center walk-in refrigerator roof, Public Safety building viable frequency drive and Phase 3 of the flooring replacement, Senior Center air conditioning & furnace upgrades, and the Dog Park bathroom & covered shelter build. 2022 Year in Review – Parks Department & Cemetery Parks Supervisor Jim Rabenstein gave an overview of the City park and cemetery facilities & equipment encompassing about 173 acres of grounds, the cemetery & equipment maintenance, tournaments and special events that the department hosts, and some 2022 accomplishments including: the Jack & Helen Doyle Dog Park, implementing new irrigation to the Skagit River Park, 7 new park entry signs built. The main challenges of the department are staffing, maintaining levels of service, future project funding and homelessness and future goals of the department are: implementing pop-up irrigation at the Baseball Fields, upgrading the Volleyball pits, adding a new exit road at Skagit River Park, cemetery upgrades plus adding a new urn garden. Councilor Chotzen acknowledged the Parks Department as being a priority for funding of new personnel positions in the 2024 budget review. 4  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA March 9, 2023 CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilors DeGloria/Aslett to approve Consent Agenda Items #1, #2, and #3 and authorize the Mayor’s signature on appropriate documents. All in favor; motion carried. Councilor Stavig welcomed Jennifer to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board. INTRODUCTION/DISCUSSION: Comprehensive Plan Update Volume 2 Community Development Director Brad Johnson introduced Volume 2 of the Comprehensive Plan update to Council adding that there will be two Public Hearings held to receive input from the community on both Volumes 1 & 2 of the Comp Plan, then the Planning Commission will present to Council their final Comprehensive Plan recommendation for approval at the April 27th Council Meeting. Councilor Stavig asked if questions could be emailed to Brad Johnson, to which all Councilmembers were invited to schedule a meeting or reach out to Brad with any questions. ACTION ITEMS: C-1 Moratorium Large Parcels Community Development Director Brad Johnson asked Council to consider issuing a temporary moratorium on large developmental parcels of land to provide time for the Planning Department staff to update the City’s current regulations to better manage large scale developments. Councilors DeGloria and Stavig asked who had been informed of the moratorium and it was noted that the City Council Meeting Agenda is always posted publicly. A brief discussion followed wherein the pros and cons of the proposed ordinance were weighed, the scope of the moratorium and what properties it might impact, and some examples were given by Brad Johnson of how the current code could fall short of the Planning Department’s needs to ensure process guidelines for a large scale project. A motion was made by Councilors Chotzen/Green to adopt the ordinance establishing a temporary moratorium on parcels of groups of parcels in the C-1 zone with a combined area of 25 acres or more. 5 in favor, DeGloria opposed; motion carried. ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Sexton adjourned the meeting at 10:17 p.m. 5  CITY OF BURLINGTON, WA March 9, 2023 ________________ _________________ Joseph Stewart Steve Sexton Finance Director Mayor 6