City Council Committee Agendas

Public Safety Meeting March 4, 2020 Attendee: Richard Brocksmith, , Jill Boudreau, Gary Molenaar, Melissa Beaton, Erin Moberg, Mark Hulst, Iris Carias, Chris Phillips, Doug Volesky, Lt. Greg Booth, BC Steven Riggs. Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Beaton moved to approve the minutes, Commissioner Molenaar seconded the motion. Commissioner Brocksmith requested to strike the amount to change Snoqualmie St. Minutes were approved with requested change Development Services Director, Chris Phillips • Department received a memo from the Mount Vernon Schools in regards to the use of temporary classroom space at Lincoln Elementary through January 2021. • Director Phillips shared his response letter with Council outlining the City’s understanding of the use and request for additional clarification of the intent of use. The letter further outlines that changes may be required to bring the existing location (Lincoln Elementary) into compliance with the International Building Code (IBC) and the International Fire Code (IFC), and a formal permit process will be required to determine necessary changes. The next step in the process will be the pre-application process. • Council inquired on if the code speaks to the time a building is vacated to require a tenant to bring the building up to the current code? Director Phillips indicated there is no directly language in the code, however, in this case the change of use of the building from an educational (E occupancy) to an office space (B occupancy). The District is now requesting a change back to an E occupancy, thus the need to bring the building up to code. • Moving forward, all correspondence in regards to the use of the old Lincoln Elementary building will be in writing to ensure transparency of the process for everyone. The City will require a re- utilization plan of the building, identifying the School District’s desired changes. The city will continue to work collaboratively with the school on this project. Morgan Hendricks – Coronavirus • As of this evening, March 4, 2020, there are 119 reported cases in Washington State. It is expected to see the number increase as more locations are made available for testing. • Fire department will take normal precautions for any infectious control. The fire department will adjust the number of personnel responding to identified high risk locations, such as nursing homes, to limit the potential exposure of personnel. • Tomorrow at 11 am the County will conduct a meeting in conjunction with the Public Health department. Any changes or updates will sent out by the fire department. Fire Marshal Steven Riggs – Commercial Hoods • The Fire Marshal’s office, with the use of the Tegris system, has identified issues in the fire safety systems of Commercial Hoods. There are currently over 130 hood systems in the City. A joint investigation with Anacortes and Burlington has identified:  o Companies not certified to work on the systems. o Not following manufactures recommendations o Systems will not activate o Falsification of documentation o Charging for work not being completed. o Mixing and matching parts from different systems. • The investigation resulted in 24 inspections conducted in Mount Vernon, where 11 of the systems required a full system replacement. Currently the Fire Marshal is working with business owners to identify issues, establish timelines for compliance, issue required permits and certify results. Additionally the AHJ is educating business to enable them to successfully manage their systems in the future. This training includes the ability to identify certified technicians and certified cleaning services for their commercial hood systems. • The Attorney General’s office is working towards similar solutions at a State level. A rough draft of the law has been provided to the State Fire Marshals for feedback on a state licensing system of certified technicians and cleaning services. Looking for companies interested in safety versus revenue. Erin Von Fempe – Update • In November the Police Department received a grant for $6,000. Of this grant, $3,000 was earmarked for a mental health assessment and $3,000 for fixing cars. This grant period expires March 31, 2020. • Currently working on the development of social work interns. The goal is to have two interns working at all times for coverage. • Utilizing the Skagit Valley College automotive club to work on cars of individuals living in their cars. • Contingency management program is an intervention for people who use meth. It is a reward- based program in which rewards are given for changed behavior. Currently this is a pilot program with 5 people, with training at the end of March. The department will receive a grant to fund the rewards. This is a 12 week program with up to 60% success rate. Insurance doesn’t cover this type of intervention. • Housing first model is the most effective way to help people make better choices. Access to housing is still the most important aspect to better choices. Opportunities for tiny houses or temporary housing is still being looked at. Mayor Jill – Housing Commission • The Housing commission has decided to fully fund the tax credit allocations. • The next commission meeting in the end of March – will be fully funded. Breaking down possibly by this fall. Mayor Jill – Fire Ambulance infrastructure meeting • Council requested a second opinion of the costing, space allocation and value engineering models presented by MacKenzie in regards to the Fire Department infrastructure proposals. HPK Architects. Julie Blazek of HPK Architects conducted a peer review of MacKenzie’s updated proposal and made the following observations:  o It is important to compare apples to apples when analyzing these types of projects. There is a difference between construction cost and project cost. In the case of Fire Station infrastructure as it relates to the current proposal, Ms. Blazek’s comments will be based off of construction costs. o Mackenzie report projected 4% escalation. In Ms. Blazek’s professional opinion this escalation is founded, but conservative. o Historical customers could find a cost savings by building in the areas north of Seattle. This is no long the case. Costs are the same across all markets in Western Washington. o The space allocation for the design are standard within the industry and are built for growth of the department. Any scaling back of the floorplan would limit the department and City to the space restrictions of today which places limits on community spaces, ability to conduct work, and safety to the City’s employees. o All items in the base of design (structure, roof, etc.) are standard within the industry. The additional costs on this project are based on the downtown facility location. Items include, ground preparation, security, and design standards of the City as well as other items previously discussed by the consultant. • Ms. Blazek discussed the needs for a transparent and consistent message to the voters. It her experience it is important to listen to the numbers and not under promise results to the voters. The message to the community should be that all three stations are being taken care of and the voters need to understand where the additional funding sources are and how they will work. • Councilmember Hulst agrees that the project needs to move forward, but wants to remain as conservative with the numbers as possible. Library Commons – Jill • Looking for the support of Council to reopen the discussion with the County on the Library commons. Part of the collaboration with the county, providing them square footage needs on the shell development. • Public – Private partnerships. Bob Stowe is happy to come and speak to council in regards the needs for the City. Mayor Boudreau’s office will arrange this for the April meeting. Hospital – Jill • The hospital has approached the Mayor’s office with a plan for a day surgery center, and would like to use the money allocated for the surface parking to help fund this project. The Mayor sought feedback from Council and the opinion of the Council was to honor the original agreement with the Hospital. Good of the Order: • Councilmember Brocksmith received a call from DNR regarding climate resiliency and is looking for communities to partner on upcoming issues. Is Council interested in hearing more? Councilmember Brocksmith will bring forward more information as it becomes available. Adjourn: 8:20 pm