City Council Committee Agendas

Mount Vernon Finance Committee Parks & Enrichment Services Committee Minutes August 25, 2021 Councilmember Hudson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Present: Mayor Boudreau, Councilmembers Beaton, Brocksmith, Carías, Hudson, Hulst, and Morales 1. Meeting minutes from July 28, 2021, were approved. 2. Parks and Enrichment Services Update Parks and Enrichment Services Director Jennifer Berner gave an update on the following: a. Arts Commission Update: i. Some of the larger projects include updating the “Art on Display” brochure and preparing guidelines for a new Banner project in 2022 ii. Potential donation of 4 art sculptures – 4 cast bronze sculptors – 2 of beavers and 2 of otters to be placed in the Riverwalk Plaza area. b. Recreation Summer Wrap Up: i. Despite the pandemic, recreation pivoted and developed different recreation opportunities or modified recurring programs for the community this summer. Approximately 3,000 people participated in programs and events over the summer. c. Parks Crew Update: i. 25th Street Playground is fully installed – planning for grand opening in late September ii. Installed Camera poles at Edgewater Park iii. Bike Skills Course at Little Mountain is nearing completion with grand opening planned for September. iv. Kulshan trail has received a lot of work the past 3 weeks – opening the trail for improved visibility d. Staffing Update: i. Kim LeMay - New Recreation Coordinator ii. Michael Torres – Promoted to Weekend Foreman position iii. Recruiting for Weekend Park Maintenance Worker 3. Finance Update Finance Director Doug Volesky gave an update on the following: a. 2020 State Auditor’s Report i. Reviewed the results of the 2020 State Audit. These included the Accountability Audit, Financial Audit and Federal Grant Compliance Audit. He was pleased to report that the audit went very well, and the City received all “Unmodified Opinions” which is the best issuance they can give. b. 2021 Revenue Update i. Presentation on major revenues for the first six months of 2021. Overall revenue for the General Fund has come in $1.7M higher this year than it did in 2020. At this time, Mr. Volesky believes the City will meet or come in over the 2021 projected budget due mainly to higher sales tax collections then was anticipated. ii. All other major revenue like TDB, ambulance services, and REET are all coming in at or above budgeted numbers. c. Council 2022 Budget Discussion/Ideas i. It’s budget time again and the City’s fiscal policies, including revenue, expenditure, and reserve policies, were again reviewed. Council’s budget process should begin by re-affirming that the City’s fiscal policies are still adequate. The City is not recommending any changes to these policies this year. ii. Council was then asked to think about any budget ideas or topics that they would like to address that the City should consider before the 2022 preliminary budget is presented? 4. Miscellaneous, for the good of the order Mayor Boudreau led a discussion with Councilmembers whether Council should go back to ZOOM meetings due to the recent upturn in COVID cases. At this time, they decided to continue with meetings in the Council chamber. The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Submitted by: Doug Volesky Doug Volesky