City Council

City of Mount Vernon City Council Meeting Minutes April 22, 2020 7:00 p.m. (Virtual Meeting) The meeting was called to order by Mayor Boudreau at 7:00 PM. Present: Councilmembers Beaton, Brocksmith, Carías, Hudson, Hulst, Moberg and Molenaar Staff Present: City Attorney Rogerson, Project Development Manager Donovan, Finance Director Volesky, Fire Chief Brice, Police Chief Cammock, Public Works Director Bell and City Engineer Bullock Citizens Present: 0 CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of April 8, 2020 Regular Council Meeting Minutes B. Approval of April 20, 2020 payroll checks numbered 110003 - 110024 direct deposit checks numbered 76566 - 76810, and wire transfers numbered 844 - 848 in the amount of $1,196,178.92 C. Approval of April 22, 2020 Claims numbered 8661 - 8886 in the amount of $1,541,423.79 Councilmember Hulst moved to approve the Consent Agenda items A-C. Motion seconded by Councilmember Hudson. Motion carried 7-0. REPORTS A. Review of Emails from the Public  Public comments sent via email to council@mountvernonwa.gov were read aloud by Mayor Boudreau. o Carol Sullivan (Mount Vernon) – wanted Council to be aware of and to declare Thursday at 7:00pm “Let’s make 30 seconds of noise to thank all the corona virus workers”. o Kenneth Denning (Mount Vernon) – expressed his concern with the risks that are associated with 5G networks. o Okae Lee, Skagit Valley Inn & Convention Center (Mount Vernon) - requested that the City waive all lodging tax, transient room tax, hotel and motel tax and transient occupancy tax and possibly refund those funds back to his hotel from April through September due to the decrease in business because of the COVID- 19 Pandemic. UNFINISHED BUSINESS  None Mount Vernon City Council April 22, 2020 Page 2 of 3 NEW BUSINESS A. Project Acceptance – 2019 Street Improvements, TS-2019-001: Mr. Bullock requested that Council accept the work performed by Pelico Construction for the 2019 Street Improvements. Councilmember Molenaar moved to accept the work performed by Pelico Construction for the 2019 Street Improvements. Motion seconded by Councilmember Beaton. Motion carried 7-0. B. CDBG Agreement with Catholic Housing Services: Mr. Donovan requested that Council authorize the Mayor to enter into a CDBG sub recipient agreement with Catholic Housing Services for the purpose of land acquisition for a permanent supportive housing project. Councilmember Hudson moved to authorize the Mayor to enter into a CDBG sub recipient agreement with Catholic Housing Services for the purpose of land acquisition for a permanent supportive housing project. Motion seconded by Councilmember Carías. Motion carried 7-0. C. For the Good of the Order:  COVID-19 pandemic response and discussion: o Mr. Bell gave an update on current street projects including the near completion of the College Way & I-5 project and also reported that work has begun on the 30th & College Signal Project. o Police Chief Cammock reported that they have been seeing more activity out on the streets and wanted to remind everyone to remain safe. He also reported that there has been an increase in graffiti and vandalism. He also gave an update on department activities as well as acknowledging the work being done by the police volunteers. o Fire Chief Brice updated Council on the COVID-19 drive up testing site. They practiced the testing site with first responders this past week and will be opening up to the public next week. He also noted that COVID-19 cases were steadily increasing over the last week. He is also looking at options for grant revenues to cover COVID related expenses. o Mayor Boudreau shared emails that she received from Jennifer Johnson, Director of Public Health, and Sheriff Don McDermott thanking Chief Brice, Chief Cammock and Wastewater Manager Gary Duranceau for their great work and involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic. o Mr. Donovan informed Council that additional CDBG funding from the Federal CARES Act is available for COVID response to local CDBG eligible jurisdictions. HUD has allocated $225,849 to prevent, prepare for and respond to the corona virus. This funding will go toward micro enterprise assistance in the form of grants to small business’ and housing security for rental assistance. Mount Vernon City Council April 22, 2020 Page 3 of 3 o Mayor Boudreau and Mr. Volesky updated the Council on a staff report estimating the financial impact of COVID-19. Staff estimates a $5.1 million, or 15% reduction in overall General Fund revenues based on an initial analysis of the potential impacts of the pandemic. The Mayor explained what the City is currently doing to help offset the decrease in expected revenues. The Mayor then explained the plan for next steps which include: • Requesting a 3-member finance committee to begin meetings with the Mayor and staff the week of April 27th. Councilmembers Hulst, Hudson and Moberg volunteered to join the committee. • City staff will continue to monitor General Fund revenues, develop forecasts for non-General Fund revenues, watch for potential reimbursements and funds from State and Federal government. • Each Department is maintaining leadership in the provision of their services, communication with the public, safety with their staff, and focus on the City Mission of providing professional and efficient services. Meeting was adjourned at 8:16 PM. SUBMITTED BY: Chase Kinney, Recording Clerk ATTEST: Doug Volesky, Finance Director APPROVE: Jill Boudreau, Mayor