Everett City Council

April 22, 2020 President Touhy announced that the City is still abiding by COVID- 19 shelter- in- place and physical distancing orders, and as a result, City Council meetings will continue to be held remotely. She stated that effective today, meetings will continue to be held on Wednesdays; however, the first Council meeting of the month will be held at 6: 30 p. m. and all other weekly meetings will be held at 12: 30 p. m. President Tuohy stated that meetings may be viewed live on Comcast Channel 21, Frontier Channel 29, onand the City website at ww. everettwa. gov/ council. Individuals may call in to listen on 1- 425- 616- 3920, C- onference ID 724887726#. President Tuohy encouraged citizens to submit comments and concerns in writing to council@everettwa. gov prior to the meeting or to call the Council office at 425- 257- 8703. The regular meeting of the Everett City Council was called to order at 12: 30 p. m., April 22, 2020, President Tuohy presiding. Upon roll call, it was found that Mayor Franklin and Council Members Roberts; Moore, Murphy, Vogeli, Bader, Stonecipher, and Tuohy were present. The minutes of the April 15, 2020, City Council meeting were approved as printed. MAYOR Mayor Franklin provided an update on the Stay Home, Stay Healthy Order that has been in effect for one month. She stated that Everett and Snohomish County are leading the State for flattening the curve. She stated that while progress has been made, transmission rates and the number of new cases has not been reduced enough to safely allow the removal of all restrictions. Mayor Franklin stated she had received communication from retailers who continue to experience a shortage of paper bags, and she requested a 30- day extension to the civil order relating to reusable bags. Moved by Council Member Bader, seconded by Council Member Moore, to approve a 30- day extension to the Civil Emergency Order Exempting Retail Establishments from Chapter 8. 21 EMC. 118  April 22, 2020 Roll was called with all council members voting yes. Motion carried. The Mayor spoke about the serious financial impacts to the City as a result of COVID- 19, and the steps that have been taken since early January. She stated that she would be bringing forward a budget amendment that outlines emergency budget reductions, which are the next step in addressing what is likely to continue to evolve in the future. COUNCIL Council Member Bader inquired about recent police activity relating to the release of inmates from Washington State Department of Corrections. Police Chief Templeman stated the police department has been and will continue to monitor the list of inmates released. Council Member Stonecipher asked if businesses approved for the Everett CARES program are precluded from receiving funding through federal programs. Deputy Mayor Nick Harper stated he would report back to Council. Council Member Murphy provided a liaison report on the COVID- 19 impacts to the Public Facilities District. Council Member Roberts spoke about the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the climate change impacts from COVID- 19, and the need to address building a greener and more resilient economy. President Tuohy reminded the public that the Council meeting schedule change is temporary with the first Council meeting of the month to be held at 6: 30 p. m. and all other weekly meetings to start at 12: 30 p. m. 119  April 22, 2020 ADMINISTRATION UPDATE Deputy Mayor Nick Harper had no comments. CITY ATTORNEY City Attorney David Hall had no comment. PUBLIC COMMENTS Deb Williams, Council, read the names of individuals who provided public comments this week. Howard Hoffman, Everett Debby Wise ( two comments), Everett Dorian Leigh, Everett CONSENT ITEMS: Moved by Council Member Vogeli, seconded by Council Member Roberts, to approve the following consent items: RESOLUTION — CLAIMS To adopt Resolution No. 7502 authorizing claims against the City of Everett in the amount of $2, 696, 639. 84 for the period of April 4, 2020, through April 10, 2020. RESOLUTION — PAYROLL CLAIMS To adopt Resolution No. 7503 authorizing payroll claims against the City of Everett in the amount of$ 4, 179, 185. 25 for the period ending March 28, 2020. 120  April 22, 2020 RESOLUTION — ELECTRONIC TRANSFERS To adopt Resolution No. 7504 authorizing electronic transfers against the City of Everett in the amount of $ 7, 979, 301. 23 for the period of February 1, 2020, through February 29, 2020. AGREEMENT— FIBER SERVICES To authorize the Mayor to sign Dark Fiber Order with WAVE Business Solutions, LLC in the amount of$ 153, 900 for fiber services. Roll was called with all council members voting yes. Motion carried. ACTION ITEMS: COUNCIL BILL 2003- 16 THIRD AND FINAL READING: AN ORDINANCE approving the appropriations of the 2020 City of Everett Budget and amending Ordinance No. 3707- 19 Nick Harper and Lori Cummings, Administration, and Susy Haugen, Finance, presented the third reading of Budget Amendment# 1. Lori Cummings stated that most of the items were briefed during the first reading at the March 18 City Council meeting and an additional series of amendments were added to address the impact from the COVID- 19 response on City revenues. Susy Haugen provided a brief re- orientation of the items that had been previously discussed. A review of the new proposed amendments in more detail, including General Government and Non- General Government, was also presented. 121  April 22, 2020 Moved by Council Member Vogeli, seconded by Council Member Bader, that this is declared to be the third and final reading of Council Bill No. 2003- 16. Council Member Vogeli reiterated that these are unprecedented times, which require very hard decisions. The City is doing what has to be done, but it is very difficult. She reminded the public that they are not alone, and the Council looks forward to hearing from them. Council Member Bader echoed Council Member Vogeli' s comments, and he added that this is a very sad and disappointing time. Council Member Stonecipher stated the cuts and the loss of very valuable members of the City team will be felt deeply by everyone for a long time to come, and while the Mayor and administration team has to be on the front line delivering this news to the employees and citizens, the Council stands by them sharing equally in the responsibility. She stated that the public may have comments on the newly introduced cuts, and she would entertain an option to forego voting today to give citizens a week to react. Council Member Murphy echoed comments made by his colleagues. He reminded the public that the City must balance the budget and cannot run in the red like the federal government. He agreed with Council Member Stonecipher that the public has not had an opportunity to discuss the new impacts presented today that relate to COVID- 19. Council Member Murphy questioned the need to spend $ 400, 000 on body cameras in 2020 given the financial challenges the City is facing. He questioned whether the City should be spending$ 400, 000 on body cameras in the police department this year or rather eliminate the program and take the savings to help offset some of the $ 14 million revenue shortfall. Susy Haugen explained that the $ 400, 000 budgeted for police cameras is budgeted in the criminal justice fund, which is a restricted fund that is not part of general government, and it can only be used for public safety purposes in the Police Department and Prosecutor' s office. 122  April 22, 2020 Council Member Murphy asked if it was the position of the Mayor and Police Chief to move forward in spending this money in 2020, or if the city might be better off to bank this money for the time being. Police Chief Templeman reported that the police department will be wrapping up the pilot program and is in the process of discussing and completing an application to the federal government for a grant to offset the costs associated with the program. He said that there are ongoing discussions about the continuation of the program; however, after the COVID- 19 pandemic is over, there will still be a need for transparency and accountability, which is fostered by the use of body worn cameras. Council Member Murphy stated he would like to hear more about the details of the pilot program. Council Member Murphy inquired on what basis the Library cuts were made. He stated that he understood the execution would be implemented by the Library Board, but inquired if the cuts were made under the assumption the Library would be closed for the balance of the year, or if there would be some limited operations at both the Main Library and the South Everett branch. Mayor Franklin stated she is working with Library Director Abigail Cooley, and the Mayor confirmed it is assumed that there would be some change in the hours of operation that would allow Ms. Cooley to reduce the number of positions. Council Member Murphy expressed concern that many of the cuts would extend through 2021, and he would be reluctant to make a decision today with so many unknowns, including: 1) We don' t know whether some federal assistance may become available in the future to help small municipalities, and 2) It isn' t yet known if a vaccine may be developed that could allow gathering places to reopen sooner. Deputy Mayor Harper responded that nothing that is decided today would bind the Council or Administration through 2021, and that there would be a need to revisit these questions when the 2021 budget is adopted. He also stated that 123  April 22, 2020 federal funding that is currently available is limited to jurisdictions of 500, 000 or more and must be related to COVID- 19 related expenses. City Attorney Hall confirmed that actions taken today cannot legally bind decisions about next year' s budget. Moved by Council Member Murphy, seconded by Council Member Stonecipher, to table action on Council Bill 2003- 16 until April 29, 2020, to allow time for public input and additional questions and comment. Council Member Moore echoed other' s comments regarding the sadness and gravity of the decisions before the Council today. He urged council members not to delay action because many of the program activities won' t happen anyway this year due to COVID- 19 restrictions. Council Member Moore asked for a commitment to look for ways to bring these programs back in the future. Council Member Roberts inquired about the new COVID- 19 amendments and the discussion that occurred about the tradeoffs between the decision to look at an 18- month period of time rather than action for the remainder of 2020. He agreed with the need to take action sooner rather than later, that there will additional actions taken, and there will be time for ongoing dialogue with citizens and the broader community in the future. Nick Harper, Administration, stated that an action today simply relates to the remainder of 2020, and that any actual action impacting the 2021 budget will need to occur later this year. He added that Administration chose to present a recommendation for 18- months for the purpose of transparency, and it is believed that taking action only for the remainder of 2020 will not be adequate. Mayor Franklin added that the reason for the 18- month is not just for the immediate savings, but for the future savings in 2021, which will be needed to weather the storm. President Tuohy agreed that these are very challenging times. She stated the City needs to be dedicated to working on bringing these programs back in the future, 124  April 22, 2020 and that each of these cuts in the 2021 budget needs to be looked at very closely in the hope to reinstate some of these programs. The City Clerk was directed to call the roll for motion to table action on Council Bill 2003- 16 for one week. Roll was called with all members voting yes, except Council Members Vogeli, Bader, Moore, Roberts, and Tuohy who voted no. Motion failed. The City Clerk was directed to call the roll for the final disposition of the ordinance. AYES: Roberts, Moore, Murphy, Vogeli, Bader, Stonecipher, Tuohy NAYS: None EXCUSED: None Ordinance 3750- 20 adopted. Deb Williams, Council, stated the following individuals submitted public comments regarding Council Bill 2003- 16. Monica and Bill McLaughlin, Everett Nancy Gilmore, Everett Jennifer Campbell, Everett Laura Reed, Everett PROPOSED ACTION: COUNCIL BILL 2004- 25 FIRST READING: 125  April 22, 2020 AN ORDINANCE relating to Domestic Violence Definitions, amending Ordinance No. 1145- 85 as amended The City Council meeting was adjourned at 1: 55 p. m. City Clerk Read and approved as printed. Council Presid 071())— nt 126