City Council

Oak Harbor City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes September 22, 2021 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Severns called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. Due to COVID-19, There was both a physical meeting location and a virtual meeting per WA Proclamation 20-28. The meeting was viewable live via YouTube at www.youtube.com/cityofoakharbor or could be viewed on Channel 10. Public Comments are not normally included for Council Workshops). ROLL CALL City Council Present: Staff Present: Videoconference Mayor Robert Severns City Administrator Blaine Oborn Councilmember Tara Hizon Finance Director David Goldman Councilmember Jeff Mack Development Services Director David Kuhl Councilmember Joel Servatius Interim Public Works Director Mick Monken Councilmember Erica Wasinger Operations Manager Steve Bebee Councilmember Jim Woessner Streets Lead Rick Fakkema Mayor Pro Tem Munns - Absent Central Services Supervisor Sandra Place Councilmember Millie Goebel - Absent Fire Chief Ray Merrill Deputy Fire Chief Mike Buxton Police Chief Kevin Dresker Human Resources Director Emma House Assistant City Attorney Anna Thompson Senior Services Administrator Liz Lange City Administrator Assistant Lisa Felix Communications & IT Manager Sabrina Combs City Clerk Julie Lindsey Also in attendance: City Attorney Grant Weed of Weed, Graafstra & Associates MAYOR Mayor Severns noted as there were no items for action today, he would not call the role. Workshop Meeting Minutes September 22, 2021 DEVELOPMENT SERVICES a. Permitting System Update Development Services Director Kuhl provided the Council with an update on the City’s new permitting system. Staff has been working with system developer Davenport to identify our current processes for permits for building and land use and identifying users of the system for future case file routing, enduring all outside agencies are contacted automatically. Next steps will see Davenport develop a case packet for each type of land use and building permits, create test plans, and follow up with on- site training for staff. Kick-off of the live system is planned for February. Development Services staff will also participate in communications training with the State Auditors Office in October. Councilmembers Mack and Servatius provided their respective comments and questions. FINANCE a. Public Safety Level of Service Improvement Discussion Finance Director Goldman was joined by Chief Dresker in leading a discussion of service improvement levels following the presentation on this topic last month and questions from that presentation. Chief Dresker provided a brief history of the OHPD facility and a proposal to make some modifications to the jail and entrance area to maximize use. The cost estimate of an addition to the entrance, which would join two sections of the building is $350,000. The interior remodel to improve the jail area would cost an estimated $150,000. The operational equipment requests include a rescue vehicle, a Polario vehicle, a drone and a robot. These are becoming standard use for many departments. Chief Dresker explained the uses of each. Other operational costs are for the replacing of body worn cameras and bullet proof vests and for updated software. PD is also requesting funding for 2 police officers and an evidence technician. Lastly, staff is looking to replace SCORE for inmate housing. While happy with the services, staff would prefer a housing arrangement that was less of a distance away to reduce transportation times and costs. Councilmembers Mack and Woessner provided their respective comments and questions. COMMUNICATIONS/IT MANAGEMENT a. E-Signature Update Central Services Supervisor Place provided an update on the research for selecting an e-signature provider. Staff completed demonstrations of three different E-Signature solutions and reviewed the following: Intuitive signing experience across any device Elimination of manual tasks with configurable and automated workflows Mitigated risk with enterprise-grade security and compliance controls What sets each solution apart from the other Notarization viability Workshop Meeting Minutes September 22, 2021 Staff will now score the results, including costs, and discuss which service to recommend. Councilmember Servatius provided his respective comments and questions, noting the funding would be a good use of American Rescue Plan funds. b. Updates Regarding Website RFP’s and Zencity Contract Central Services Supervisor Place and Communications and IT Manager Combs provided the updates. Supervisor Place reviewed the website requests for proposals, which are being evaluated by staff. The current contract expires March 31, 2022. The City received a total of 9 proposals and will review a minimum of four vendors. In regards to Zencity, Manager Combs explained it had been a useful tool, but not a critical one at this time. Staff could utilize the ARPA funding and the money saved by not continuing this contract for website enhancements and other tools such as the electronic sign at Gateway. Councilmembers Servatius, Mack, Hizon, Woessner and Wasinger provided their respective comments and questions. LEGAL DEPARTMENT a. City Attorney Options Mayor Severns reported Administration will proceed with legal services recruitment using the two options of a City attorney consultant or hiring an in-house City attorney. He requested two Councilmembers participate in the process and asked interested Councilmembers to let Administration know as soon as possible.. ENGINEERING a. NE 7th Avenue Reconstruction Project Update Interim Public Works Director Monken provided the update, The NE 7th Avenue Reconstruction project is a grant and local funded project that will reconstruct the roadway and construct corridor improvements including continuous sidewalk, bicycle facilities, street lighting and enclosed storm drainage from N Oak Harbor Street to SR 20. TranTech Engineering began work in February 2021 with a data collection effort including wetland investigation, geotechnical investigation, surveying and ROW, and traffic data collection. The data collection phase of the project is complete, and work has progressed to a conceptual 30% design. Director Monken reviewed the conceptual options and associated costs and sought the Council’s opinion on which option was preferred. Councilmembers Servatius. Mack, Woessner, Hizon and Wasinger provided their respective comments and questions. The resulting discussion showed a preference for a modified sidewalk and bike lane option, utilizing a non-vegetative buffer, such as stamped concrete. Staff will work with the consultants on providing an updated concept. Workshop Meeting Minutes September 22, 2021 PUBLIC WORKS a. Chip Seal Broom Acquisition Central Services Supervisor Place provided the report on the proposed acquisition. She explained that included in the 2021-2022 biennial budget are funds to purchase a used Lee Boy 5300 paver for the purpose of doing asphalt work in-house. Due to the increase in the resurfacing of streets with chip seals versus overlays, the immediate need is for a chip seal broom. Staff sought Council’s opinion on this change of equipment before beginning the procurement process. In response to Council questions, Operations Manager Bebee noted the City alternates each year with paving and chip sealing, with 2022 having more chip sealing planned. He explained chip sealing prolongs the life of the roadway more than asphalt. The City can continue to do small paving projects in-house and contract out for larger projects. This was supported by the Council. Councilmembers Servatius and Mack provided their respective comments and questions. SENIOR SERVICES a. Senior Center Roof Update Central Services Supervisor Place provided the update. The City received three bids for the roof replacement, all higher than expected. More bids were solicited with similar results. Considering the present cost of materials which have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Staff proposes that the necessary repairs and cleaning of the current roof be performed at this time and going back out to bid on a roof replacement at a later date. There were no objections from the Council. Councilmembers Woessner and Mack provided their respective comments and questions. ADMINISTRATION a. City Administrator Report City Administrator Oborn provided his report and received no questions from Council. CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Wasinger requested clarification regarding the City Attorney options. City Attorney Weed noted both of the models for either an in-house attorney or a legal firm work well for a city the size of Oak Harbor. For outside counsel, he explained there were a small number of firms who specialized in all facets of municipal law. Use of an outside firm may have the advantage of more independence, keeping a pulse on what others are doing, and providing a greater depth of help. The disadvantage of hiring a firm is the cost may be more. Attorney Weed explained an in-house attorney should have ten years of solid municipal law experience, and now that the City will also be hiring an Assistant City Attorney, that person should have at least five years of municipal law experience. The advantage of an in-house attorney is greater availability and accessibility. The depth of help needed will sometimes still require hiring an outside counsel. Councilmember Servatius noted that in two days both the City Attorney and the Assistant City Workshop Meeting Minutes September 22, 2021 Attorney had resigned. Mayor Severns noted discussion of this topic should be in an executive session. City Attorney Weed observed the Council has the right to meet and discuss the performance of a public employee in executive session or in regular session. Motion: Councilmember Servatius moved to add an executive session to the October 5, 2021 Council meeting to discuss the performance of public employees, to be attended by Council only. Councilmember Wasinger seconded the motion. City Attorney Weed noted the Council can request for the executive session to be placed on a future agenda without a vote. Mayor Severns noted the executive session would be placed on the October 5, 2021 agenda. Councilmember Mack provided additional comments. ADJOURN There being no further reports or discussions, Mayor Severns adjourned the workshop meeting at 4:33 p.m. Certified by Julie Lindsey, City Clerk Workshop Meeting Minutes September 22, 2021