City Council

Oak Harbor City Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 18, 2022 Due to COVID-19, there was both a physical meeting location and a virtual meeting per WA Proclamation 20-28. Meeting was viewable live via YouTube at www,youtube.com/cityofoakharbor and on Cable Channel 10/HD 1090 CALL TO ORDER Councilmember Hizon, acting as Mayor Pro Tem, called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Invocation – Led by Pastor Kevin Scott, Seventh Day Adventist Church Pledge of Allegiance – Led by Councilmember Hizon ROLL CALL City Council Present: Staff Present: Videoconference Mayor Robert Severns - absent City Administrator Blaine Oborn Mayor Pro Tem Munns - absent Finance Director David Goldman Councilmember Tara Hizon Development Services Director David Kuhl Councilmember Dan Evans Interim Public Works Director Mick Monken Councilmember Shane Hoffmire Parks Operations Manager Don Crawford Councilmember Jim Woessner Fire Chief Ray Merrill Councilmember Bryan Stucky Police Chief Kevin Dresker Council Position No. 3 - Vacant Harbormaster Chris Sublet Senior Services Administrator Liz Lange Human Resources Director Emma House Finance & Performance Analyst Chas Webster Communications & IT Manager Sabrina Combs Executive Assistant Macalle Finkle City Clerk Julie Lindsey Also in attendance: City Interim Attorneys Hillary J. Evans and Robert Zeinemann of Kenyon Disend, PLLC Guests in attendance: Councilmember Hizon confirmed the presence of a quorum and called for a motion to excuse Mayor Pro Tem Munns and Councilmember Woessner. Motion by Councilmember Hoffmire, seconded by Councilmember Stucky and approved unanimously. 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Hizon called for any changes to the agenda. Hearing none, it was approved as pre- sented. Regular Meeting Minutes- January 18, 2022 Page 1 of 5 2. PRESENTATIONS a. Proclamations i. Arbor Day 2021 ii. Arbor Day 2022 Councilmember Hizon noted the City of Oak Harbor is an annual participant in Arbor Day activities and tree plantings and has earned Tree City USA recognition the past 18 years. In 2021, the City planted more than 24 trees throughout the community, however, due to the on-going pandemic, did not host a community gathering event and the issuance of the 2021 Arbor Day Procla- mation was inadvertently overlooked. Staff contacted the Tree City USA program and they agreed a proclamation prior to January 31, 2022 was acceptable to meeting its requirements. Councilmember Hizon requested Councilmember Stucky make the proclamations on behalf of Mayor Severns and the City Council. Councilmember Stucky made Arbor Day proclamations for both April 30, 2021 and for April 29, 2022. b. Honors & Recognitions None. c. Community Presentations i. Senior Services Report – Senior Services Administrator Lange was joined by Duncan Chalfant, President of the Oak Harbor Senior Center Foundation and Cheryn Weiser, Executive Director of Island Senior Resources in providing a report on senior services in Oak Harbor. Councilmembers Hoffmire and Hizon provided their respective questions and comments. ii. Oak Harbor Main Street Association – Annual Report Main Street Acting Executive Director Margaret Livermore provided the Association’s Annual Report. Councilmembers Hizon, Evans and Hoffmire provided their respective questions and comments. 3. CITIZEN COMMENT PERIOD Councilmember Hizon explained citizens could comment on subjects of interest. Public comment could be submitted via the online webform, electronically to the City Clerk at jlindsey@oakharbor.org or by calling 360-279-4571 after 5 p.m. on the Friday preceding the meeting and prior to the meeting. To ensure all comments are recorded properly, please state your name clearly when leaving a message. Pease limit comments to three minutes. The City Council received no employee comments and three new public comments since the January 4, 2022 meeting. These were provided to Council and displayed during the meeting. Regular Meeting Minutes- January 18, 2022 Page 2 of 5 Councilmember Hizon opened the floor for public comment from any audience member present. Hearing none, the public comment period was closed. Councilmember Woessner joined the meeting virtually for a few minutes at 6:48 p.m., then lost connec- tion for approximately twelve minutes before reconnecting at 7:00 p.m. 4. CONSENT AGENDA Consent Items a. Oak Harbor Senior Center Foundation Memorandum of Understanding b. Approval of Minutes of January 4, 2022 Council Meeting c. Approval of Payroll and Accounts Payable Vouchers d. Appointment of Christine Kelln to LodgingTax Advisory Committee, Recipient 2 Position Councilmember Hizon called for any changes to the consent agenda and hearing none, the consent agenda was approved as presented. 5. MAYOR, COUNCIL & STAFF COMMENTS a. Mayor - Councilmember Hizon provided comments and announcements on behalf of Mayor Severrns. Announcements and Upcoming Events – • Island Transit: After evaluating all aspects of the public transportation system, Island Transit has iden- tified where improvements can be made to create more accessible, convenient, safe, friendly, and sus- tainable bus services. To this end, they just launched “Island Transit Maximized” and will have a survey for public input coming soon to their website. Check out www.islandtransit.org/island-transit-maximized for more information. • Mayor’s Comment Box Online - is available on the City website via the search box or under "How Do I" under the second column labeled, "Contact the City." • We’re Hiring! Find out more about available positions on our website www.oakharbor.org We have a number of new hires this month, as well as two former employees who are returning to work in our Public Works division, and three employees who are being promoted: Congratulations to: Otto Haffner, promotion from Firefighter/EMT to Fire Lieutenant Jeremy Andreano, promotion from Officer to Sergeant Jonathan Valenzuela, promotion from Officer to Sergeant b. Councilmembers Councilmembers Hoffmire and Hizon provided their respective questions and comments. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS & PUBLIC MEETINGS None. 7. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS Regular Meeting Minutes- January 18, 2022 Page 3 of 5  a. Resolution 22-04: Encouraging State Legislators to review, discuss, and take action on the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) documents, titled “Improve Washington’s Law Enforcement Public Policy Reforms” and “Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs ‘Pre-Session Statement’.” Chief of Police Dresker reviewed the resolution for the Council. He noted in 2021 numerous changes went into effect in Washington State Law that created issues with public safety. Even sponsors of the bills that enacted those changes have acknowledged that addition changes and modifications need to be made. The two documents provided came from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and were provided in the meeting packet. Councilmember Hizon confirmed no public comment was received on this item. She acknowledged the presence of Councilmember Woessner in the meeting. Councilmembers Evans, Hoffmire and Hizon provided their respective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Hoffmire moved to approve Resolution 22-04: Encouraging our State Legisla- tors to review, discuss, and take action on the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) documents, titled “Improve Washington’s Law Enforcement Public Policy Reforms” and “Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs ‘Pre-Session Statement’.” The motion was seconded by Councilmember Evans and passed unanimously. 8. CONTRACTS & AGREEMENTS a. Professional Services Agreement: Oak Harbor Main Street Association for B&O Tax Reimbursement Finance and Performance Analyst Webster reviewed this item for the Council. She explained the City chose to participate in the Washington Main Street Tax Credit Program in order to provide funding for the Oak Harbor Main Street Association, with the approval of Resolution 15-44 on December 15, 2015. Similar to the 2021 contract, it is recommended the City pledge a maximum contribution of $95,000 in 2022. The City will receive a tax credit of 75% of the pledge to apply towards the following year’s taxes. If the maximum pledge is reached, the City will receive a maximum tax credit of $72,250. Analyst Web- ster reviewed the amounts pledged and received for the past several years. Councilmember Hizon thanked Main Street Acting Executive Director Livermore once again for her ear- lier presentation. She confirmed no public comment was received on this item. Councilmember Evans provided his respective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Hoffmire moved to recommend the City enter into a Professional Services Agreement with the Oak Harbor Main Street Association, consistent with Resolution 15-44. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Evans. Councilmember Hizon called for a vote on the motion, which passed unanimously. b. Extend Offer of Employment with Interim Public Works Director Mick Monken – Human Resources Director House reviewed this item and provided background information for Council consideration of an extension of the contract with Mr. Monken as Interim Public Works Director. Under Oak Harbor Municipal Code 2.34.040 (13) and the Employee Policy Manual, section 4.06, Interim / Out- of-Class Assignment – assignments are limited to ninety calendar days. Extensions require approval by Regular Meeting Minutes- January 18, 2022 Page 4 of 5 the Mayor or City Administrator. Interim department directors and other class appointments by the Mayor, are limited to two terms of ninety calendar days each. Extensions beyond two terms require confirmation by a majority vote of the Council. The City is in the preliminary stages of the recruitment and hiring process for this position. City Admin- istrator Oborn confirmed it is an at-will position, that is appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. He noted the intent to involve members of the Council in the interview process, as was done with the Development Services Director and Finance Director. Councilmember Hizon confirmed no public comment was received on this item. Councilmembers Stucky, Evans, Hizon and Woessner provided their respective questions and com- ments. Motion: Councilmember Stucky moved to authorize the Mayor to extend the offer of employment for Interim Public Works Director Mick Monken until such time as a permanent Public Works Director is hired, but no later than May 27, 2022. Councilmember Hoffmire seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. 9. OTHER ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION None. 10. REPORTS & DISCUSSION ITEMS None. 11. EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Hizon announced per RCW 42.30.110 (i) – The Council would take a short break and then enter into Executive Session to discuss with legal counsel litigation or potential litigation. She stated action might or might not be taken upon return to the open session. Anticipated duration was approxi- mately 45 minutes. Executive Sessions are not open to the public. The Council entered into Executive Session at 7:25 p.m. At 8:00 p.m. Councilmember Hizon announced the Executive Session would be extended for approximately 30 minutes until 8:30 p.m. At 8:01 p.m. the Council re-entered Executive Session. At 8:30 p.m. Councilmember Hizon announced the Executive Session would be extended for up to an additional 20 minutes until approximately 8:50 p.m. At 8:44 p.m. the Council came out of Executive Session and resumed the open session. Councilmember Hizon noted no action would be taken at this time regarding the matter discussed. No members of the public were present. ADJOURN Motion: Motion by Councilmember Hoffmire to adjourn, second by Councilmember Hizon. Motion was approved by a unanimous vote, therefore the meeting adjourned at 8:44 p.m. Certified by Julie Lindsey, City Clerk Regular Meeting Minutes- January 18, 2022 Page 5 of 5