City Council

Oak Harbor City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes June 30, 2021 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Severns called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. Due to COVID-19, per WA Proclamation 20-28. the physical meeting location was limited to City Council Members and certain members of staff. The meeting was viewable live via YouTube or Channel 10 and was telephonically available at (623)404-9000, Meeting ID: 149 766 1467 (NOTE: Audio only, No Comments. Public Comments are not normally included for Council Workshops). ROLL CALL City Council Present: Videoconference Staff Present: Videoconference Mayor Robert Severns City Administrator Blaine Oborn Mayor Pro Tem Munns Finance Director David Goldman Councilmember Tara Hizon Development Services Director David Kuhl Councilmember Jeff Mack Senior Planner Cac Kamak Councilmember Joel Servatius Senior Planner Dennis LeFevre Councilmember Erica Wasinger Archeologist Gideon Cauffman Councilmember Jim Woessner Operations Manager Steve Bebee Councilmember Millie Goebel Parks Operations Manager Don Crawford Central Services Supervisor Sandra Place Fire Chief Ray Merrill Senior Services Administrator Liz Lange Harbormaster Chris Sublet Assistant City Attorney Anna Thompson Administrative Assistant Sarah Heller Public Information Officer Sabrina Combs City Clerk Julie Lindsey Also in attendance: City Consulting Attorney Grant Weed of Weed, Graafstra & Associates and Consulting Attorney Graehm Wallace MAYOR Mayor Severns called the meeting to order. Noting that the council had items for action on the agenda, he requested City Clerk Lindsey to call the roll. With a quorum in place, Mayor Severns announced the first item on the agenda was an Executive Session. Workshop Meeting Minutes June 30, 2021 Page 1 of 11 EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Severns announced the Council would now move into Executive Session to consider acquisition of real estate by lease or purchase when public knowledge regarding such consideration would cause a likelihood of increased price per RCW 42.30.110 (1) (b) and to discuss with legal counsel, litigation or potential litigation per RCW 42.30.110 (1) (i) with possible action to follow upon return to the open session. He stated anticipated duration was 35 minutes and noted Executive Sessions are not open to the public. The Council entered into Executive Session at 2:05 p.m. The Council came out of Executive Session at 2:37 p.m. and resumed the open session. Mayor Severns turned to Council and legal counsel for a motion and discussion regarding the litigation matter discussed. City Attorney Weed explained that in connection with the close-out of the Clean Water Facility there were additional items to be worked out with the contractor Hoffman Construction, for which he recommended the proposed possible action. ACTION ITEM a. Settlement Agreement and Release with Hoffman Construction Company of Washington Motion: Hearing no additional discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Munns, in order to effectuate closeout of this project, moved to authorize the Mayor to sign the Settlement Agreement and Release with Hoffman Construction Company of Washington. Related to the Oak Harbor Clean Water Facility Project. Councilmember Servatius seconded the motion. The vote on the motion carried unanimously. CITIZEN COMMENT PERIOD Mayor Severns noted public comments are not usually taken at workshop meetings, but since the City received a number of comments, most of which were on one topic which was listed later on the agenda, staff included them for this meeting. The comments were displayed on-screen. Administrative Assistant Heller displayed the comments on screen as part of the meeting record. ACTION ITEM a. Public Hearing Continued from June 1, 2021: Resolution 21-16: Adopting Amendments to the Shoreline Master Program - Mayor Severns opened the continuation of the Public Hearing. He introduced Senior Planner Dennis LeFevre who presented the Resolution and reviewed the recommendations received from the Department of Ecology, which have been included in the Shoreline Master Program, and addressed questions posed by Council at their meeting of June 1, 2021. Mayor Severns confirmed that no public comment was received on this item. Councilmember Servatius provided his respective comments and questions. Motion: Councilmember Servatius moved to adopt Resolution 21-16 Adopting the Amendments to the City of Oak Harbor Shoreline Master Program. The motion was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Munns. The vote on the item carried unanimously. Workshop Meeting Minutes June 30, 2021 Page 2 of 11 MAYOR a. City Attorney Contract / Options – Mayor Severns explained he was pulling this item from the agenda due to recent communication the City received from City Attorney Grant Weed of Weed, Graafstra & Associates. Staff will bring this item back for City Council to consider at a future City Council meeting. DEVELOPMENT SERVICES a. Harbor Heights Sports Complex Overview – Senior Planner Kamak presented an overview update to Council on the Harbor Heights Sports Complex, including history of the project and the steps taken in a linear fashion to result in the Master Plan Concept in 2021. The project status is in Phase 1. He noted that Concept 2 was the chosen design preferred by the Parks Board and by Council. Council has also voiced a preferred access via Gun Club Road, development of which was not part of the original contract with the consultant. Staff is meeting with the consultant regarding the design scope, including contract amendments, and with Island County to discuss permitting and requirements. Senior Planner Kamak also reviewed deadlines for receipt of grant dollars towards the project and responded to questions from the Council. Mayor Pro Tem Munns, and Councilmembers Woessner, Servatius, and Mack provided their respective comments and questions. Staff will provide additional updates after the conclusion of meetings with Island County and as the project progresses. FINANCE a. American Rescue Plan Funds Update – Finance Director Goldman provided an update on the American Rescue Plan Funds guidelines for distribution and uses. He noted the interim final rules had been released on May 10, 2021 with five general areas for eligible uses: 1. Revenue Loss Calculations 2. Public Health Response to COVID-19 – similar to CARES Act funding 3. a. Responding to Negative Economic Impacts – Individuals b. Responding to Negative Economic Impacts – Small Businesses c. Rehiring Local Government staff to pre-pandemic levels 4. Premium pay supplement for essential workers 5. Investments to infrastructure: Water, Sewer, Broadband Director Goldman cited the ICMA webinar advice to take time to review and implement. Funds do not have to be obligated until December 31, 2024 and can be placed in an interest-bearing account. Funding would be allocated in two phases with phase one occurring 2021-mid-2022 for effective management and immediate response and phase 2 occurring mid 2022-2024 for resilience, innovation and optimization. He reviewed a proposed timeline for phase one, beginning in July with prosed ideas, discussion and direction, costing and direction in August, and budget amendments and economic implementation in September. Funds must be spent by the end of 2026. Workshop Meeting Minutes June 30, 2021 Page 3 of 11 Councilmembers Woessner, Servatius, Mack, and Mayor Pro Tem Munns provided their respective comments and questions. LEGAL DEPARTMENT a. Ordinance No. 1929: Electronic Signature Policy City Attorney Weed reviewed the proposed Ordinance No. 1929. He provided the history of the adoption of ESSB 6028 – the Uniform Electronics Transactions Act, which mirrors a federal law for electronic signature policy at the federal level. He explained it is necessary for the City to adopt a policy for the approved use of electronic signatures for the course of City business, including the signing of Contracts and Agreements and other legal documents. Since the adoption of by the legislature, this type of policy has been widely adopted and is a secure option for signatures using current technology. As this would be a policy, an ordinance would be required to be passed to instate it. Adoption would put into place reasonable assurances of integrity, authenticity, and non- repudiation, considered as valid as a wet signature. Mayor Pro Tem Munns provided her respective comments and questions. The Ordinance will be finalized to bring to Council on the July 13, 2021 meeting. PUBLIC WORKS a. Sewer Line Repair Construction Agreement Update - Operations Manager Bebee provided the update regarding the emergency sewer main line repair recently completed on N.E. 8th. He provided video footage of the damaged eight-inch line and repairs made. Manager Bebee noted staff would be coming to Council in the next several months for additional repairs needed to the lift station at the end of N.E. 9th and slip lining on N.E. 8th, 9th, and 10th. The cost of the emergency repair was $27,166.37. b. Rowing On Whidbey Facility Use Agreement – Parks Operations Manager Crawford reviewed the request from the Rowing On Whidbey Group for the use of City facilities at Windjammer Park. The request was first considered by the Parks Commission and recommended to Council for consideration, with their preferred location being one that has been discussed for potential placement of the Angel de la Creatividad sculpture. Manager Crawford noted staff was not making a recommendation to Council at this meeting but was providing an opportunity to discuss their program and review potential locations they could utilize. CeCe Aguda and Padraic McGovern from Rowing on Whidbey provided a PowerPoint presentation. Councilmembers Servatius, Wasinger, and Mayor Pro Tem Munns provided their respective comments and questions. ENGINEERING a. Angel de la Creatividad Sculpture Update - Workshop Meeting Minutes June 30, 2021 Page 4 of 11 Mayor Severns thanked the Arts Commission, Park Board, City staff, our legal consultants, City Council, and the community for their considerable input. As requested by Councilmember Mack at the May 18, 2021 City Council Meeting, staff acknowledged they would create a survey of public opinion and specifically ask for residency of those responding. He noted that based on the number of responses the City received to the survey about the sculpture, the community has a strong interest in this project. Mayor Severns explained he was aware there has been some frustration with staff for what some viewed as a negative perspective on this sculpture. However, he wished to take a moment to explain that this sculpture did not follow the normal process we use for considering public art. He noted there were other sculptures, already approved by City Council, that staff and the Arts Commission were focused on installing before this sculpture. Due to the urgency expressed by members of the Arts Commission when the sculpture was initially introduced, staff expedited the process. The City does not have an Art Department or staff specifically assigned to the Arts Commission, which is an advisory body, but rather has staff providing support in addition to other responsibilities at the City. Mayor Severns voiced his appreciation for staff taking the time to carefully evaluate this sculpture and review the pros and cons, placement locations, legal concerns to protect the City, and impacts to the community. Mayor Severns introduced City Archeologist Cauffman to present the survey findings. He explained that due to the concern over the process, he would request that the City Council provide clear direction to staff about how they wished to proceed with this project. City Archeologist Cauffman, who serves as staff liaison to the Arts Commission, provided an update regarding the Angel de la Creatividad sculpture and the results of a survey to assess the public’s opinion of the sculpture, whether the City should accept it and if so, where is should be placed on City property. Mr. Cauffman reviewed the history of the sculpture with the City, from its initial offering to the City of Bellingham, to the recommendation of the Arts Commission, to the research by staff and the six-question public survey requested by Councilmember Mack. About 7% of the voting population, based on recent election data, took the survey. Just under 16,000 people reacted on social media. Windjammer Park Phase 2 is still to come, and concerns were voiced over impacts to the Parks and Recreation Open Space Plan. Mayor Severns thanked Mr. Cauffman and opened the discussion to City Council, noting he would request they provide the following details to clarify next steps for staff: 1. Do you want the City to proceed with receiving the sculpture as a gift? Yes or No 2. If yes, where do you prefer the sculpture be installed in the City based on past discussions and site tours of potential locations? 3. What color do you want the sculpture painted? 4. Since Art placement is an element of the Windjammer Phase Two discussions and the estate wants the sculpture placed at Windjammer Park, would you prefer for staff to wait and include this project in the Windjammer Phase Two process or prioritize it above other projects staff is working on? Based on responses, staff will bring a resolution for approval to an upcoming Council meeting. Councilmembers Servatius, Hizon, Wasinger, Mack and Mayor Pro Tem Munns provided their respective comments and questions. Councilmembers Goebel and Woessner had to leave the meeting prior to this item’s discussion. Workshop Meeting Minutes June 30, 2021 Page 5 of 11 Motion: Following discussion, Councilmember Servatius moved to “instruct staff to place on our July 13, 2021 Council agenda, an item to discuss final placement of the ADLC (Angel de la Creatividad) and finalize any documents needed to accept the gift.” The motion was seconded by Councilmember Hizon. Mayor Severns requested confirmation from City Attorney Weed that the Council could take action to vote on the motion. Mr. Weed confirmed that a vote could be taken. Following further discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Munns offered a friendly amendment to the motion to change the date to the August 4,2021 Council agenda. Councilmember Hizon seconded the amendment. Mr. Weed noted the Council should first vote on the amendment to the motion and then on the motion. The vote on the amendment passed 4-1 with Mayor Pro Tem Munns, Councilmember Servatius, Councilmember Hizon, and Councilmember Mack voting in favor of the amendment and Councilmember Wasinger voting against. The vote on the now amended motion passed 3-2 with Mayor Pro Tem Munns, Councilmember Servatius and Councilmember Hizon voting in favor and Councilmember Mack and Councilmember Wasinger voting against. The item will be placed on the August 4, 2021 Council agenda. CITY COUNCIL Mayor Severns asked all to please be safe over the holiday weekend and to be aware of the dry conditions and have hoses at the ready. There were no additional remarks from Council. ADJOURN There being no further reports or discussions, Mayor Severns adjourned the special workshop meeting at 6:11 p.m. Certified by Julie Lindsey, City Clerk Workshop Meeting Minutes June 30, 2021 Page 6 of 11