City Council Committee Agendas

Public Works/Library Committee Meeting October 9, 2019, 6:00 pm Attendees Present: Mayor Boudreau Council Members: Beaton, Brocksmith, Carías, Hudson, Hulst, Moberg, Molenaar Staff Members: Public Works – Bell, Bullock, Chesterfield; Library – Huffman; City Attorney – Rogerson; Project Development Manager – Donovan; Finance – Kinney, Robbins, Volesky; Mount Vernon Police – Booth, Cammock; Wastewater Treatment Plant – Duranceau 1. Approval of Public Works Committee Minutes: Councilmember Molenaar moved to approve the minutes from September 11, 2019; Seconded by Councilmember Beaton; Carried by all. 2. Library Committee – Isaac Huffman a) Latino Heritage Month Isaac provided information on the Latino Heritage month events.  September 24th – Carlos Gil, From Mexican to Mexican-American: A Humanities Washington Speaker  October 1st – Art Show featuring Cecilia Alvarez, Rene Julio, & Brenda Brito  October 8th – Ramon Mesa Ledesma, local author, Reading of “Migrant Sun” & “Magic Race Cars” The events were well attended with different Latino figures posted around the Library. b) Programming Firefighter storytime was held on October 8, 2019, where local firefighters read stories, did a uniform demonstration, talked about fire safety, and gave a tour of a fire truck while celebrating fire prevention week. Play and learn self-guided kindergarten readiness activities for caregivers and children to explore together are getting more and more popular on Friday and Saturday mornings from 10:00 am – 11:30 am. This is a free event and a library card is not required to participate. Licensed insurance agent Robert Nixon will help you understand Medicare and how it works during seminars in October and November. On October 29, 2019, in collaboration with Viva Farms, there will be a Meet, Greet and Eat with Nelida Martinez to hear her personal story and the story of her organic farm. She will also demonstrate how to make Pan De Muerto, a sweet bread that is made for Dia de los Muertos. October 9, 2019, Public Works/Library Committee Minutes Page 1 of 6  c) Space Isaac provided information on how the library space is changing with a more modern presentation which fosters a good environments. Patrons are no longer in carrel spaces and can spread out a bit and be more collaborative. It also helps for security with sight lines. This look is very common in libraries today. 3. Program Coordination Division – Blaine Chesterfield a) 2019-21 Ecology Stormwater Capacity Grant Staff will be asking Council for approval to execute an agreement with the State Department of Ecology in the amount of $95,000 of grant funds for implementation of the City’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit. The agreement would be effective July 1, 2019, and will expire March 31, 2021. Any eligible costs incurred since July 1, 2019, may be reimbursed to the City. b) South Skagit Bay Water Quality Update Fecal coliform has been an increasing concern in the South Skagit Bay for the shellfish beds. Ecology has been sampling water quality in the Big Ditch/Maddox Creek sub basin. There are no hot spots that require immediate action however there are two areas of concern that will need additional monitoring. c) 2019 Dry Weather Screening In August, the City performed water quality screening of Carpenter Creek including four known outfalls. This included screening an extensive area around Little Mountain Park and the Eaglemont Golf course for water quality issues. No significant water quality issues were found. 4. Project Updates – Esco Bell and Darin Christen a) College Way Widening Under I-5 Work to install the large stormwater pipe along Freeway Drive is complete and the road has been paved. Striping is expected to occur on Monday, October 14, 2019. Poles and signals are installed on College Way and the new signals are expected to be in use by October 24, 2019. Other work emphasis is on completing all curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and lane grade work on the south side under the freeway. The entire project is expected to be completed by February 2020. b) 4th St N / Riverside BNSF Railroad Crossing The BNSF mainline and spur line rails are installed while work continues on sidewalks, curb, and gutters. Pre-level of asphalt is complete. BNSF is expected to install concrete panels along spur line on October 21, 2019. Installation of the panels shouldn’t take long with possibly a one-day shut down or lane closures. Following installation of panels, the contractor can complete pavement and striping. c) College Way Riverside Drive Corridor Sign Improvement Sidewalk ramps on the College Way and Riverside Drive Corridor have been installed and work to install left turn flashing arrows will begin and be completed in November/December. October 9, 2019, Public Works/Library Committee Minutes Page 2 of 6  d) 2019 Sanitary and Storm Sewer Lining The annual sanitary and storm sewer lining started yesterday on Riverside Drive. They will be moving on to Roosevelt on Friday and will continue lining on Roosevelt over the weekend in an effort to accommodate the work schedule for Draper Valley Farms. All work should be completed by the end of the month. e) Cedardale Anderson Roundabout (2019 Street and Curb Ramp Improvements) The contractor is mobilizing this week to begin improvements to the center and splitter islands to the roundabout on Cedardale and Anderson Roads. Construction should begin next week. Work is expected to be complete by the end of November. 5. Public Works Director Comments – Esco Bell a) WWTP 2018 Outstanding Performance Award City staff will be presenting an award to the Wastewater Treatment Plant staff for Outstanding Performance during tonight’s Council meeting. b) Flood Awareness Week City staff will be participating in Flood Awareness Week activities that are hosted by the County and area Dike District’s next week in order to help prepare for flood season. 6. Traffic Safety Committee (TSC) Update – Esco Bell The last Traffic Safety Committee was on Tuesday, August 20, 2019. The next Traffic Safety Committee is on Tuesday, October 15, 2019. 7. Miscellaneous / For the Good of the Order 2020 Budget – Mayor Boudreau/Doug Volesky a) Preliminary Budget 2020 i) Mission Driven ii) Follows Financial Policies iii) Follows and Funds Strategic Goals b) Budget Process i) Department Budget Development (1) Front Line Employee Input – we believe it takes a village to accomplish our goals and welcome input from all stakeholders (2) Zero based (3) Meet goals – We look at our goals, what the departments need to meet those goals, and what of those needs must be met to ensure success ii) Mayor and Directors (1) Detailed comprehensive conversations, innovative problem solving, 2020 goals, and mission driven iii) Mayor and Council (1) Mission & Goals driven (2) Public expectations met October 9, 2019, Public Works/Library Committee Minutes Page 3 of 6  (3) Adequate funding requests – we know we can’t fund everything so we must focus on our core goals first and expand from there c) Review of Discretionary vs non-Discretionary Items i) Non-Discretionary Budget Items (1) Salaries (2) Benefits (3) Other Services (a) Professional Services Contracts (b) Leasehold excise tax and drainage/dike tax (c) Equipment Rental Reserve – seems discretionary but should be fully funded like other non-discretionary budget items (d) Insurance & Public Utility services (e) Maintenance, Computer Hardware, and software contracts (4) Intergovernmental Services (a) Skagit Co District Court (b) Jail Sales Tax Pass Thru (c) Election and Voter Services (d) State Auditor Fees (e) Skagit County Emergency Services and 911 Center (5) Debt Service ii) Discretionary Budget Items (1) All estimated Overtime expenses (a) Overtime is technically a discretionary item, however Overtime for emergency medical staff should not be treated as discretionary as we have to maintain service levels despite being short staffed (2) Office Supplies and minor tools and equipment (3) Other Services including (a) Non-essential professional services (b) Communication expenses (c) Travel and training, including tuition, dues and registration fees (d) Equipment and vehicle repairs and maintenance (e) Laundry and printing (4) City contributions (5) Capital Outlays for new vehicles, equipment, and furniture d) Overview of Preliminary 2020 Budget i) Citywide Budget: $69,476,872 ii) Governmental Operating Budget: $36,218,297 iii) General Fund balance used to balance the budget: $934,194 e) Review of Governmental Operating Funds By Revenue Source: $34,824,297 i) Includes beginning fund balances but excludes the Public Safety Pass Thru for Jail funding October 9, 2019, Public Works/Library Committee Minutes Page 4 of 6 f) Presented Comparison of all Governmental Operating Funds by Function in the 2020 Budget: $36,218,297 g) Reviewed the Cities 2019-2021 Mission and Vision i) Infrastructure (current and upcoming projects) (1) Fire Stations (additional analysis) (2) Foundation design for Mount Vernon Library Commons (a) Additional parking will attract additional investment and development (3) Complete College Way widening (4) Signalization at N. 30th Street (5) Complete Little Mountain Parks project (6) Scaled back City Shop – add 2 bays to existing mechanics shop ii) Healthy Neighborhoods (1) Continued work around homelessness (2) Police deployment – data driven schedule (3) Refine EMS (4) Housing code work continues iii) Good Place for Investment (1) Waterfront development possible with MV Commons project moving forward (2) Alfco redevelopment begins (3) Opportunity Zone investments (a) Looking forward to working with like-minded developers (4) FTE: convert PT to FTE in police records (a) haven’t added an FTE in records in 20+ years (5) 3% COLA (a) We really need to keep up with CPI to attract quality talent (6) Mayors salary scale iv) Operations (1) Software support (2) Contractors to assist in volume – used to supplement FTEs when possible h) Director Volesky reviewed what items are included or not included in the budget i) Property tax estimates are still waiting on the assessments from the County ii) HB1406 was not included as it is still being discussed by council and once a decision has been reached a budget amendment can be made to address this funding i) Reviewed other Major Considerations for the 2020 budget process i) Fiscal Policy (1) meeting fund balance reserve goals – these goals have been met and we are expecting to have to carry these balances into 2020 (a) 15% general fund (b) 10% parks (c) 10% library (d) 10% streets October 9, 2019, Public Works/Library Committee Minutes Page 5 of 6  (i) We are planning to use some of the 2019 reserve to purchase Police radios instead of vehicles ii) Taxes Collected vs Total Salaries and Benefits (1) We don’t collect enough taxes to cover our salaries or benefits (2) The rest of our funding comes from fees and services iii) ER&R (1) Is not funded through the general fund but has its own fund dedicated to building a reserve each year which can be used to cover the replacement costs of an existing asset (a) We weren’t able to build additional reserve in 2020s budget (2) We will have to finance purchases in 2020 if no policy changes are made to address our funding issues (3) The City’s enterprise funds are fully funded iv) Challenges (1) Meeting current needs/growing needs of city operations with current revenues (2) Homelessness – reactive vs proactive (3) Healthcare cost increases (a) Currently negotiating healthcare cost and the initial increase estimated at 28% after negotiations the increase may be less than 10% (4) Non-reps salary survey (a) We don’t have funding for a salary survey and are hoping Erin can look into this in 2020 j) Property Tax Discussion i) Levy rate has been decreasing for the last 5 years ii) Banked capacity for the City of Mount Vernon is an estimated $767,648 iii) A 1% allowed adjustment in the Levy Rate is estimated at $85,784 k) Presented chart of Mount Vernon’s Historical low levy rates l) Presented chart of 2019 Levy for 2020 Tax m) Next Steps for the City Council budget review i) Review the budget binder given to the council members ii) Department reviews iii) Q&A – open session and one-on-ones iv) Property tax discussions The meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m. Submitted by: Public Works /Library Minutes 2020 Budget Minutes Michele Myers Chase Kinney Michele Myers Chase Kinney October 9, 2019, Public Works/Library Committee Minutes Page 6 of 6