City Council

Oak Harbor City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 13, 2021 Due to COVID-19, there was NO physical meeting location per WA Proclamation 20-28. Meeting was viewable live via YouTube and was telephonically available at (623)404-9000, Meeting ID: 149 766 1467 (NOTE: Audio only, No Comments). CALL TO ORDER Mayor Severns called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Invocation – Led by Pastor Ron Lawler, Family Bible Church Pledge of Allegiance – Led by Mayor Severns ROLL CALL City Council Present: Videoconference Staff Present: Videoconference Mayor Robert Severns City Administrator Blaine Oborn Mayor Pro Tem Beth Munns Finance Director David Goldman Councilmember Tara Hizon Development Services Director David Kuhl Councilmember Joel Servatius Operations Manager Steve Bebee Councilmember Erica Wasinger Central Services Supervisor Sandra Place Councilmember Jim Woessner Human Resources Manager Emma House Councilmember Jeff Mack Fire Chief Ray Merrill Councilmember Millie Goebel Police Chief Kevin Dresker Senior Services Administrator Liz Lange Communications & IT Manager Sabrina Combs Senior Assistant to City Administrator Lisa Felix City Clerk Julie Lindsey Also in attendance: City Attorney Grant Weed of Weed, Graafstra & Associates 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor Severns noted staff and legal counsel had one suggested change to the agenda to cancel the public hearing for Ordinance No. 1924: Amendment No. 1 to the 2021-2022 Biennial Budget and re- move that item from the agenda. Staff will endeavor to bring this item back for either the August 4th or August 17th Council Meeting and will re-notice this as required. Mayor Severns called for any addi- tional changes to the agenda. Hearing none, Councilmember Servatius moved to approve the agenda as amended. Mayor Pro Tem Munns seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. 2. PRESENTATIONS a. Proclamations None Regular Meeting Minutes- July 13, 2021 Page 1 of 7  b. Honors & Recognitions Mayor Severns noted the agenda included a recognition of Public Works Department Employee Brian Schneider for his ten years of employment with the City, but Mr. Schneider was unfortunately not available. Mayor Severns will do his recognition and fleece presentation at a later date. c. Community Presentations None. 3. CITIZEN COMMENT PERIOD Mayor Severns explained citizens could comment on subjects of interest. Public comment could be submitted electronically to the City Clerk at jlindsey@oakharbor.org or by calling 360-279-4539 after 5 p.m. on the Friday preceding the meeting and prior 5 p.m. on the day of the meeting. To ensure comments are recorded properly, state your name clearly when leaving a message and limit comments to three minutes. The City received two public comments since the last Council meeting. These comments were for- warded to Council and displayed for the meeting record. 4. CONSENT AGENDA Consent Items a. Approval of Payroll and Accounts Payable Vouchers b. Approval of Minutes of the June 1, 2021 Council Meeting, June 15, 2021 Special Council Meeting, and June 30, 2021 Special Workshop c. Appointment of Pamela Estes to the LTAC Committee d. Professional Services Agreement: KBA, Inc. for Clean Water Facility Management Assis- tance, Amendment 1 Mayor Severns called for any objections or changes to the consent agenda. Hearing none, the items were approved as presented. 5. MAYOR, COUNCIL & STAFF COMMENTS a. Mayor - Mayor Severns provided his respective comments and announcements. 4th of July Mayor Severns voiced appreciation for all events, including the parade and fireworks on July 4th. He thanked the Greater Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce and all the sponsors, community members, and volunteers for putting together such a wonderful celebration Whidbey Search and Rescue Search and Rescue teams from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island conducted five rescues this past weekend from the Olympic National Park Wilderness Area to east of Seattle and up into the northern Washington Cascades from July 9 to 12, 2021. Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Search and Rescue has conducted 24 missions this calendar year, which includes five MEDEVACs, sixteen rescues, and three searches. Regular Meeting Minutes- July 13, 2021 Page 2 of 7 The Navy SAR unit operates three MH-60S helicopters from NAS Whidbey Island as search and res- cue/medical evacuation platforms for the EA-18G aircraft as well as other squadrons and personnel assigned to the installation. We thank them for their service. Upcoming Events Mayor Severns reviewed upcoming events in Oak Harbor through September. b. Council Comments – Councilmembers Woessner, Servatius, Mack and Mayor Pro Tem Munns all thanked both the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary for the 4th of July events and provided their questions and comments regarding a future return to in-person meetings. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS & PUBLIC MEETINGS a. Ordinance No. 1924: Amendment No. 1 to the 2021-2022 Biennial Budget – This item was pulled from the agenda and will be rescheduled at a later date. b. Resolution 21-22: Amending the 2020 Island County Comprehensive Solid Waste and Moderate Risk Management Plan – Mayor Severns opened the Public Hearing and introduced City Operations Manager Bebee who pro- vided background information and reviewed the proposed Amendment to this six-year agreement. Due to the significant adverse impact of contamination on recycling systems, RCW 70A.205.045 (10) re- quires that local governments amend currently approved solid waste management plans to include a Contamination Reduction and Outreach Plan. The Island County Solid Waste Advisory Committee, made up of representatives from the City of Oak Harbor, the City of Langley, and the Town of Coupe- ville recommended the current Plan be amended to incorporate the Contamination Reduction and Outreach Plan template. Mayor Severns confirmed no public comments were received and closed the public hearing. Motion: Hearing no comments from the Council, Mayor Pro Tem Munns moved to adopt Resolution No. 21-22, amending the 2020 Island County Comprehensive Solid Waste and Moderate Risk Man- agement Plan, and authorizing the Mayor to sign the Agreement. The motion was seconded by Coun- cilmember Wasinger and passed unanimously. 7. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS a. Ordinance No. 1929: Adding OHMC Chapter 1.15 “Electronic Signature and Remote No- tarization Policy” – City Attorney Weed presented the item, which had been reviewed at the Council Workshop of June 30, 2021. The Ordinance would provide for the accepted use of electronic signatures both by those with signature authority on staff, but also by documents submitted to the City that are signed electron- ically or provided for electronic notarization. Mr. Weed reviewed the changes made since the proposed ordinance was reviewed in the June Workshop, including adding the Mayor and Councilmembers among those authorized to initiate and sign documents electronically, which were inadvertent omis- sions. He noted the benefits of the ordinance, providing a convenient and timesaving, secure way to approve documents with reasonable assurance of authenticity, reliability and repudiation. Other cities have adopted similar policies. Mayor Severns confirmed no public comments were received Regular Meeting Minutes- July 13, 2021 Page 3 of 7 Mayor Pro Tem Munns provided her respective questions and comments. Mr. Weed there is an addi- tional section of the policy for electronica notarization. No one is allowed to sign on behalf of someone else unless authorized. Motion: With discussion concluded, Councilmember Woessner moved to adopt Ordinance No. 1929, adding Chapter 1.15 “Electronic Signature and Remote Notarization Policy” to Title 1 of the Oak Harbor Municipal Code. Mayor Pro Tem Munns seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. b. Ordinance No. 1931: Bond Financing Finance Director Goldman reviewed the background and summary of the 2011 Bonds for Marina dredging and the direction given by Council to pursue refunding of these bonds in order to provide a savings to the City. The bonds were issued for $2.6 million with approximately $1.48 million remaining. He introduced Duncan Brown and Stacie Amasaki for additional input. At their meeting of May 4, 2021, the Council selected Foster Garvey PC as the City’s Bond Counsel. On May 18, 2021, the Council selected PFM Financial Advisors, LLC as the City’s Financial Advisor. On June 4, 2021, fifteen banks, including national and local banks, were contacted to request refinancing proposals that would include three options for the City: • Option A: Level Savings – 10 Years. This would reduce the amount of the annual payments to provide a yearly savings. • Option B: Consistent Payments – 10 Years. This would keep payments at the current level and shorten final maturity, realizing all savings in year ten. • Option C: Accelerated Payments – 5 Year. This would increase the payments for the first five years to pay off the debt in half the time, providing the greatest level of interest savings over the life of the loan. On June 25, 2021 the City received responses from seven banks. Director Goldman outlined the most competitive proposals. He reviewed the recommendation from the Marina Advisory Committee, which considered the options at their July 7th meeting, and voted to recommend Option C in order to pay off debt earlier and use the savings for the Marina Dredging Fund. Option C would increase the dredging fee by about 50% to an average of $2.16 per month. Director Goldman requested input on the direction and option preferred by Council. Mayor Severns confirmed no public comments were received Councilmembers Hizon, Servatius, Mack, Woessner, Goebel, Woessner, Wasinger and Mayor Pro Tem Munns provided their respective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Woessner moved to adopt Ordinance No.1931: Providing for the issuance of a limited tax general obligation refunding bond in the principal amount not to exceed $1,570,000 to provide funds to refund the City’s outstanding limited tax general obligation bonds, 2011, and to pay costs of issuing the bond; fixing or setting parameters with respect to certain terms and covenants of the bond; and appointing the City’s designated representative to approve the final terms of the bond. Councilmember Hixon seconded the motion. Councilmember Servatius, Munns, Wasinger, Woessner, Mack. Goebel and Hizon provided additional discussion and obtained input from City Attorney Weed. The result was the amending of the motion to include the words “upon City Council direction”. The amendment of the motion passed unanimously. The motion as amended passed unanimously. The vote on the final determination of which Option will come forward to the Council at the July 28, 2021 Workshop meeting. 8. CONTRACTS & AGREEMENTS Regular Meeting Minutes- July 13, 2021 Page 4 of 7  a. Professional Services Agreement: Davenport Group, USA, Ltd. for Permitting Software – Development Services Director Kuhl reviewed the background information for the Council. The City issued a Request for Proposal for a land-use and permitting software system in March with a submittal deadline of May 3, 2021. The City received 13 proposals that were reviewed by seventeen members of City staff. Staff provided updates to Council at their May 26, 2021 Workshop and June 1, 2021 Council meeting. Four firms were selected for virtual; presentations and two final firms performed fol- low-up presentations on June 8, 2021. Firms were ranked with Davenport Group USA, Ltd. being the selected firm. The 2021-2022 Biennial budget included $100,000for these services. The Davenport proposal includes $69,612 in one-time costs and the first year of the annual recurring maintenance cost of $29,580, for a total of $99,192. Director Kuhl explained that if approved, the start date with the new software would be January 23, 2022. Mayor Severns confirmed no public comments were received Councilmembers Woessner and Servatius provided their respective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Servatius moved to approve the contract between the City of Oak Harbor and Davenport Group USA, Ltd. for Permitting Software and Professional Implementation Services. Councilmember Woessner seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. b. Professional Services Agreement: BHC Consultants Contract for Building Official Services, Amendment 1 Development Services Director Kuhl explained the Development Services Department wishes to ex- tend the contract with BHC. The original contract was signed on March 2, 2021. With the hiring of the City’s new Building Official, it was decided to wait and evaluate the building operations before going out to hire the position of replacement Building Inspector/Plans Examiner. That position is to be filled by August 1st. BHC would continue to be available as necessary during any the transition. Mayor Severns confirmed no public comments were received Mayor Pro Tem Munns and Councilmember Hizon provided their respective questions and com- ments. Motion: Councilmember Hizon moved to approve the contract amendment with BHC Consultants for Building Official Services. Mayor Pro Tem Munns seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. c. Professional Services Agreement: Gateway Controls for Security Camera and Implemen- tation Authorization – Central Services Supervisor Place reviewed the item for the Council and options A or B, both of which arrive at the same dollar amount, not to exceed $258,000 with two different funding sources. Option A would use additional identified funding. Option B would decrease the number of cameras and loca- tions for the General Fund/Parks and the Shop Facility. Reviewed were numbers of cameras and camera locations. She noted Council had requested staff look at adding security cameras in June of last year, with eight security camera projects included in the 2021-2022 Biennial Budget. A Request for Proposals for 13 designated sites was submitted on March 13, 2021 with four proposals received. These were evaluated on May 18, 2021 with all being more than budgeted. Gateway was the respon- sive and responsible contractor. Regular Meeting Minutes- July 13, 2021 Page 5 of 7 Mayor Severns confirmed no public comments were received Councilmembers Servatius, Woessner, Goebel, Hizon and Mayor Pro Tem Munns provided their re- spective questions and comments. Police Chief Dresker provided input as well. Motion: Councilmember Hizon moved to approve Option A, authorizing staff to contract with Gate- way Controls to supply and install a security camera system not to exceed $258,000 using the addi- tional identified funding. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Goebel The vote on the mo- tion carried unanimously. 9. OTHER ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION a. American Rescue Plan Act Subcommittee – Finance Director David Goldman provided background information and an overview of the funding rules and restrictions presented at the June 30, 2021 Council workshop. Feedback received at the workshop included the suggestion to create a subcommittee to work through details of the funding and develop a list of spending proposals and initiatives to take back to the Council for deliberations. He reviewed the phasing of the ARPA funds and a suggested timeline. Director Goldman requested further input for staff as to what direction the Council desires to go regarding the subcommittee and which members of Council would care to be included. Mayor Severns confirmed no public comments were received for this item. Councilmembers Hizon, Servatius, Wasinger, Woessner, Mack and Mayor Pro Tem Munns provided their respective questions and comments. The determination of the Council was for three Councilmem- bers to participate on the subcommittee, selecting Councilmembers Wasinger, Woessner and Hizon. City Attorney Weed provided guidance that no motion or vote was needed on which members of Council would serve. 10. REPORTS & ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION a. 2021 Mid-Year Financial Review - Finance Director Goldman provided a mid-year update as requested by Council during the 2021-2022 budget process in order to help better inform the provision of a potential cost of living increase for employees. This was an informational item only. Councilmembers Servatius and Hizon provided their respective questions and comments b. Public Works Director Vacancy & Staffing Options – Human Resources Manager House provided a summary for the Council. On June 15, 2021 the Public Works Director position became vacant. Per Oak Harbor Municipal Code OHMC 2.34.055, the Public Works Director is an appointed position, subject to the direction and supervision of the Mayor and City Administrator. This is an “at will” position. The Mayor is considering an Interim Public Works Director while staff prepares information for filling the vacancy. Code is being reviewed by Attorney Weed. Regular Meeting Minutes- July 13, 2021 Page 6 of 7 Mayor Severns expressed his thanks to Administrator Oborn and staff for taking care of business and getting work done and done well in the interim. Councilmembers Hizon, Woessner and Mayor Pro Tem Munns provided their respective questions and comments. ADJOURN Motion: Motion by Councilmember Woessner to adjourn the regular Council meeting, second by Councilmember Servatius. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote, therefore the meeting adjourned at 8:47 p.m. Certified by Julie Lindsey, City Clerk Regular Meeting Minutes- July 13, 2021 Page 7 of 7