City Council

CITY OF MOUNT VERNON CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA October 28, 2020 6:00 p.m. (Virtual Meeting) The Mount Vernon City Councilmembers will be participating in this meeting via video/teleconference technology. To virtually attend the meeting, the public may: 1. Call the conference line: 1-888-924-9240; Access Code: 3366211 (please ‘mute’ your phone, if possible, to minimize distractions) 2. Watch the meeting live on TV10: Comcast/Xfinity Channel 10 3. Watch the meeting live, online: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUob_hcQUmd4S93YkletdrA I. OPENING CEREMONIES A. Call to Order B. Pledge of Allegiance C. Roll Call of Councilmembers II. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of October 7, 2020 Study Session Minutes B. Approval of October 14, 2020 City Council Meeting Minutes C. Approval of October 20, 2020 payroll checks numbered 110312 - 110333, direct deposit checks numbered 79146 – 79364 and wire transfers numbered 904 – 908 in the amount of $1,148,179.81 D. Approval of October 28, 2020 Claims numbered 10896 and 10920 - 11125 in the amount of $780,285.34 III. REPORTS A. Review of Emails from the Public (All public comments must be sent via email to council@mountvernonwa.gov. The comments will be read aloud into the record during the public comment portion of the agenda. All comments must be received by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28, 2020) B. Department Updates  Finance  Parks and Enrichment Services C. Councilmember Comments D. Mayor’s Report E. Council/Committee Agenda Requests III. NEW BUSINESS A. Public Hearing – 2021-2026 Capital Improvements Plan (This is an open record public hearing to consider adoption, by ordinance of the City of Mount Vernon, the 2021-2026 Capital Improvements Plan. Those wishing to participate in this hearing must contact the Mayor’s Office at 360-336-6211 or by email mvmayor@mountvernonwa.gov no later than 4PM on October 28th to receive the information needed to attend this virtual hearing.) (required action – ordinance) (staff contact – Peter Donovan) Mount Vernon City Council Agenda October 28, 2020 page 2 B. Public Hearing – Review Revenue Sources and Discuss Setting 2021 Property Taxes (This is a public hearing to review revenue estimates for the 2021 budget and to discuss with Council setting the 2021 property taxes for the City. Those wishing to participate in this hearing must contact the Mayor’s Office at 360-336-6211 or by email at mvmayor@mountvernonwa.gov no late than 4PM on October 28th to receive the information needed to attend this virtual hearing,) (required action – none) (staff contact – Doug Volesky) C. Mount Vernon Arts Commission Member Appointment (Staff is requesting that Council approve the appointment of Linda Brookings to the Mount Vernon Arts Commission.) (required action – motion) (staff contact – Jennifer Berner) D. Approval of Collective Bargaining Agreement (Staff is requesting that Council authorize the Mayor to sign the January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Police Services Guild Non-Commissioned Police employees.) (required action – motion) (staff contact – Erin Keator) E. Project Acceptance – Little Mountain Park Skills Center and Parking Lot (Staff is requesting that Council accept the work performed by P & P Excavating for the construction of the Little Mountain Park Skills Center and Parking Lot Project.) (required action – motion) (staff contact – William Bullock) F. Approval of Professional Services Agreement – Community Action of Skagit County (Staff is requesting that Council authorize the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Community Action of Skagit County for the purpose of administering a water utility bill assistance program using CARES Act Funding. The $40,000 contract includes a 10% administrative fee.) (required action – motion) (staff contact – Peter Donovan) G. Approval of Professional Services Agreement – EDASC (Staff is requesting that Council authorize the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Economic Development Alliance of Skagit for the purpose of administering a small business grant program using CARES Act Funding. The $300,000 contract includes a 10% administrative fee.) (required action – motion) (staff contact – Peter Donovan) H. Approval of Interlocal Agreement with Skagit County (Staff is requesting that Council authorize the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Skagit County for high resolution imagery/pictometry products. This is an every two year contract that was last entered into in 2018.) (required action – motion) (staff contact – Chris Phillips) I. For the Good of the Order:  COVID-19 pandemic response and discussion COMMITTEE MEETINGS Finance and Parks & Enrichment Services Cancelled Next Ordinance 3814 Next Resolution 985  AGENDA ITEM: A DATE: October 28, 2020 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Peter Donovan, Project Development Manager SUBJECT: OPEN RECORD PUBLIC HEARING FOR 2021-2026 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN (CIP) RECOMMENDED ACTION: Hold the required Open Record Public Hearing on the CIP for the period 2021-2026. Following the Public Hearing, staff recommends that Council move to approve, or modify, the Ordinance amending the Comprehensive Plan for the City by updating the Capital Improvements Plan for the Period 2021-20256 INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: -The draft CIP for 2021-2026 is proposed as our yearly update to the Capital Facilities Element of the Comprehensive Plan. -The CIP is a six-year plan of capital projects with estimated costs and proposed methods of financing that is updated annually. -The Washington State Growth Management Act requires jurisdictions fully planning under the GMA to include a capital facilities plan element in their comprehensive plans (RCW 36.70A.070(3)). The capital facilities element is required before a jurisdiction can impose GMA impact fees. -The process begins with Department Heads submitting their capital requests, and then the Mayor and her support staff meet with applicable Department Heads to review their requests in detail, and revise as necessary. The draft CIP is then assembled and a) sent to the Department of Commerce for a 60-day review prior to City Council Public Hearing, b) taken before the Planning Commission as a Public Hearing for review and recommended approval, and c) subsequently taken before City Council as a Public Hearing for review and recommended approval. -Planning Commission has reviewed the CIP in a public meeting, on October 6, 2020 -The Planning Commission approved and recommends the 2021-2026 CIP, after a public hearing on the October 6, 2020. -The City Council CIP Public Hearing is October 28, 2020. - Please note that we have again included a section in this year’s CIP titled, “Top Two Priority Projects from each Department that includes applicable pictures or visual aids. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: Staff has followed the extensive and collaborative process that is prescribed for updating the City’s CIP. The Mayor has approved the updates. The Mount Vernon Planning Commission has held a public hearing, prior to approving the draft, and finally recommending approval to City Council. RECOMMENDATION: Following a Public Hearing, Staff recommends approval of the 2021-2026 Capital Improvements Plan. ATTACHED: -Draft Ordinance  ORDINANCE NO. 3814 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON, WASHINGTON, AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR THE CITY BY AMENDING THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR THE PERIOD 2021-2026. WHEREAS Chapter 36.70A RCW, the Growth Management Act (“GMA”) mandates the City of Mount Vernon to develop and adopt a comprehensive plan consisting of several elements, including a capital facilities plan element that includes a six-year financing plan (RCW 36.70A.070(3)), and WHEREAS the GMA also mandates, in part, that “a City . . . shall perform its activities and make capital budget decisions in conformity with its Comprehensive Plan,” and WHEREAS any revision to the Comprehensive Plan must be consistent with and implement the Comprehensive Plan, and conform to the GMA, and WHEREAS, the Mount Vernon Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on October 6, 2020 after due notice thereof, at which hearing amendments to the City’s Comprehensive Plan in the form of a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), were considered and public comment was taken, and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission has recommended that the City Council approve the amended 2021-2026 CIP, and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission of the City of Mount Vernon, having made a review of the proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments, recommended the amendments to the City Council for approval and adoption, copies of which amendments are on file in the office of the City Clerk, and WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the amendments recommended by the Planning Commission and took testimony at a public hearing on October 28, 2020. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON, WASHINGTON, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That the Comprehensive Plan is hereby amended through the adoption of the 2021-2026 Capital Improvement Plan element as recommended by the Planning Commission, said amendments to be substantially in the form of the proposed amendments on file in the office of the City Clerk. Section 2. The Finance Director is hereby authorized and directed to transmit a complete copy of the final CIP, as adopted herein, to the appropriate governmental agencies. Copies of the CIP shall be made available for distribution to the general public through the Office of the Finance Director. Section 3. The total estimated expenditures/revenues set forth in the CIP for each major category and the aggregate total for all categories combined are summarized as follows: Fire Department $ 33,518,000 General Facilities 14,309,931 Information Services 60,000 Library Services 38,085,000 Parks 11,396,000 Police Department 250,000 Transportation 6,635,000 Surface Water Utility 69,762,240 Wastewater Utility 9,935,000 Total CIP $183,951,171 Section 4. The various parts, sections and clauses of this Ordinance are hereby declared to be severable. If any part, sentence, paragraph, section or clause is adjudged to be unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Ordinance shall not be affected thereby. Section 5. This Ordinance shall take effect five (5) days after publication, as required by law. PASSED and APPROVED this 28th day of October, 2020. DOUG VOLESKY, Finance Director SIGNED and APPROVED this ___ day of October, 2020. JILL BOUDREAU, Mayor Approved as to form: KEVIN ROGERSON, City Attorney Published  AGENDA ITEM: B DATE: October 28, 2020 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Doug Volesky, Finance Director SUBJECT: REVIEW REVENUE SOURCES AND DISCUSS SETTING 2021 PROPERTY TAXES RECOMMENDED ACTION: None. Informational only. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: A major part of the City’s budget process is establishing revenue estimates for the budgeted year. The City’s revenue policies include: 1. Current revenues will be sufficient to support current expenditures, 2. Calculated using an objective, analytical process, and will be neither overly optimistic nor overly conservative, 3. Estimates will be performed utilizing accepted analytical techniques, and shall access the full spectrum of resources available to finance City programs and services. Estimated total revenue included in the 2021 Preliminary Budget is $69,889,986. This is an increase of $808,733 or 1.17% from the City’s 2020 budgeted revenue amount. This increase is due mainly to new budgeted revenues of $1,577,500 from the WA State Ground Emergency Medical Transportation (GEMT) and also including the budget of managerial funds of $512,000. Total taxes are decreasing by $511,328 including a decrease in sales tax of $400,000 and also a decrease in Transportation Benefit District (TBD) funds of 200,000. Utility taxes are estimated to increase by $138,755 and Hotel/Motel taxes are decreasing by $145,000 from the budgeted 2020 revenue amounts due to the effect of COVID- 19 on travel and hotel occupancy. Per MRSC, “As part of the budget process, the taxing jurisdiction establishes the amount of property tax revenue needed to fund the budget. That amount needed to fund the budget is called the levy. It is the total amount to be collected from the taxpayers by a taxing district. In Washington, property tax increases are not based on the increasing value of properties. They are based on last year’s property tax levy, which is simply the amount of the property taxes that were assessed in the prior year. By November 30 of each year, the amount of taxes to be levied by taxing districts are certified to the county assessor in a dollar amount. In Mount Vernon, our tax levy amount in 2020 was $7,999,977. The county assessor calculates the levy rate necessary by dividing the total levy amount by the assessed value of taxable property in the district. By law, this number is expressed in terms of a dollar rate per $1,000 of valuation. For example, a rate of $0.00025 is expressed as 25¢ per $1,000 of assessed value. The formula for property tax collections is expressed as: Levy = Levy Rate x Assessed Value (AV)”. The City of Mount Vernon is required by law to hold a public hearing to review revenue sources for the coming year and also to set property taxes for the coming year. The City’s property tax increase is limited to the lesser of one percent (1%) or the implicit price deflator (IPD) for the year. Additionally, a City may capture 100% of all new construction and may take any “banked capacity” available to them. Some important facts to consider when setting the 2021 property tax include: 1. The IPD for the year is less than 1% so tax districts will be allowed to levy 0.602% more than they collected in 2020. A 0.602% adjustment to the property tax is $52,645. This amount is not included in the 2021 Preliminary Budget. 2. Banked Capacity. As a result of the City of Mount Vernon not taking the maximum regular tax which could lawfully be levied in past years, the City has accumulated banked levy capacity of $744,987. The amount of banked capacity changes each year because the highest lawful levy and the actual levy are recalculated. Having banked capacity for one year does not guarantee the city will have the same amount the following year. The City realized a loss of $2,189 in banked capacity from last year. There is no banked capacity included in the 2021 revenue budget. 3. New construction value per the County Assessor’s Office is $41.9M which will generate $88,288 of new revenue to the City in 2021. The new construction has been included in the 2021 Preliminary Budget. The City was also notified of an available refund levy totaling $21,902. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: No action is being requested of Council at this time; however, for future consideration, staff recommends that City Council: - Set the property taxes in 2021 at 100% of the 2020 revenue amount, - Take all new construction and available refunds allowed to the City. RECOMMENDATION: None. ATTACHED: None. AGENDA ITEM: C  AGENDA ITEM: D DATE: October 20, 2020 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Erin Keator, Human Resources Director SUBJECT: NON-COMMISSIONED POLICE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT RECOMMENDED ACTION: Staff recommends that Council authorize the Mayor to sign the Police Services Guild Non-Commissioned Police Collective Bargaining Agreement for January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: The Non-Commissioned Police Collective Bargaining Agreement expired December 31, 2019. The City and the Guild agreed to a one year roll over of the contract. The Guild ratified the Collective Bargaining Agreement on October 10, 2020. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: Details of the proposed contract include: 1 year contract – January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 2.5% Wage Increase 20 hours of furlough for full-time staff and 10 hours of furlough for part-time staff to be taken prior to December 31, 2020. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that Council authorize the Mayor to sign the Non-Commissioned Police collective bargaining agreement for January 1, 2020 through January 31, 2020. ATTACHED: Proposed Non-Commissioned Police Collective Bargaining Agreement.  AGENDA ITEM: E DATE: October 28, 2020 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: William Bullock, PE - City Engineer SUBJECT: PROJECT COMPLETION: LITTLE MOUNTAIN PARK SKILLS CENTER AND PARKING LOT RECOMMENDED ACTION: Staff recommends Council authorize the mayor to accept the work completed by P & P Excavating for the construction of the Little Mountain Park Skills Center and Parking Lot Project. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: The project was awarded on June 12, 2019, for $636,133.11. The project established a new enhanced access to the Little Mountain Park Skills Center through the construction of more than 50 new parking spaces including an access road, extensive rockery walls, and landscaping on a developed area of approximately 1.4 acres. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: Project completion was achieved on August 10, 2020, in accordance with the plans and specifications. The final adjusted contract amount was $633,113.50. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends accepting the work performed by P & P Excavating for the construction of the Little Mountain Park Skills Center and Parking Lot Project. ATTACHED: None  AGENDA ITEM: F DATE: October 28, 2020 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Peter Donovan, Project Development Manager SUBJECT: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH COMMUNITY ACTION RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: City Council has determined that a portion of CARES Funding, made available through the Washington State Department of Commerce, will be designated for water utility bill assistance, for customers within the city limits of Mount Vernon. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: Community Action of Skagit County is uniquely positioned to efficiently administer utility assistance grants through its Energy & Utility Assistance Program. Community Action will work cooperatively with Skagit Public Utility District to identify customers whose accounts have fallen behind as a result of financial impacts of the COVID-19 emergency. The $40,000 agreement provides $36,000 in grants, and up to $4,000 in administrative expenses. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of this professional services agreement with Community Action for water utility bill relief, for Mount Vernon residents. ATTACHED: Proposed Professional Services Agreement with Community Action of Skagit County  AGENDA ITEM: G DATE: October 28, 2020 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Peter Donovan, Project Development Manager SUBJECT: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH EDASC RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: City Council has determined that a portion of CARES Funding, made available through the Washington State Department of Commerce, will be designated for small business grants within the city limits of Mount Vernon. Council has approved the proposed criteria for the small business grants. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County (EDASC) is uniquely positioned to efficiently administer small business grants, and City Council has indicated an interest is subcontracting with EDASC to; a. benefit from EDASC’s expertise in this area, and b. keep the selection process free from any perception of favoritism. The $300,000 agreement provides $270,000 in grants, and up to $30,000 in administrative expenses. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of this professional services agreement with EDASC for grants to Mount Vernon’s small businesses. ATTACHED: Proposed Professional Services Agreement with EDASC  AGENDA ITEM: H DATE: October 28, 2020 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Chris Phillips, Development Services Director SUBJECT: INTERLOCAL DIGITAL IMAGERY AGREEMENT BETWEEN SKAGIT COUNTY AND THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON RECOMMENDED ACTION: City Staff recommends City Council approve the Interlocal Agreement and allow the Mayor to enter into agreement with Skagit County for Digital Imagery Agreement renewal. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: The Interlocal Agreement is a renewal from 2018 and provides Technical Imagery, Pictometry International services, Statewide High Resolution Imagery License services which contributes to strategic cooperative information sharing between the City of Mount Vernon and Skagit County GIS Divisions. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: N/A RECOMMENDATION: City Staff recommends City Council approve the Interlocal and allow the Mayor to enter into agreement with Skagit County. The cost for these services are $8,235.12 for 2021 and 20222; and have been included in the draft 2021 budget. ATTACHED: Interlocal Agreement.