City Council

Oak Harbor City Council Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 This was both a physical meeting location and a virtual meeting. Meeting was viewable live via YouTube at www,youtube.com/cityofoakharbor, on Facebook, and on Cable Channel 10/HD 1090 following the meeting CALL TO ORDER Mayor Severns called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Invocation – Pastor Matthew Erikson, Hope Church. Pledge of Allegiance – Led by Mayor Severns ROLL CALL City Council Present: Staff Present/Videoconference Mayor Robert Severns City Administrator Blaine Oborn Mayor Pro Tem Tara Hizon Finance Director David Goldman Councilmember Beth Munns Public Works Director Steve Schuller Councilmember Jim Woessner - absent Fire Chief Ray Merrill Councilmember Bryan Stucky Police Chief Kevin Dresker Councilmember Shane Hoffmire Police Captain Tony Slowik Councilmember Eric Marshall Humans Resources Director Emma House Councilmember Christopher Wiegenstein Economic Development Coordinator Steve McCaslin Executive Assistant Macalle Finkle City Clerk Julie Nester Also in attendance: City Attorney Hillary Evans of Kenyon Disend, PLLC EXCUSE ABSENT COUNCILMEMBERS Mayor Severns welcomed all in attendance. He noted Councilmember Woessner had asked to be ex- cused. Councilmember Munns moved to excuse Councilmember Woessner, seconded by Councilmember Mar- shall. The vote on the motion carried unanimously. 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor Severns called for any changes to the agenda. Hearing none, the agenda was approved as pre- sented. 2. PRESENTATIONS Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 Page 1 of 6  a. Proclamations – None b. Honors & Recognitions – None c. Community Presentations – None 3. CITIZEN COMMENT PERIOD Mayor Severns noted citizens may comment on Consent Agenda items or subjects of interest not listed on the agenda at this time and that citizens would have the opportunity to comment on the remaining Agenda items during the meeting as appropriate. Citizens can also visit the City’s website prior to meetings for methods to submit public comment, or contact the City Clerk, Julie Nester by phone or email. When submitting comments, please include your name and address. Public comments sent anonymously will be shared with the Mayor and Council but will not be displayed. The City received one public comment since the last regular meeting from Dennis Wahome, a visitor to Oak Harbor, who wrote to commend Officer Herrera for her assistance at the Hydros for Heroes event. The comment was displayed. Mayor Severns opened the floor for public comment from any other audience member present. Hearing no one with a desire to address the Council, the public comment period was closed. 4. CONSENT AGENDA Consent Items a. Approval of Minutes of the September 5, 2023 Council Meeting b. Appointment: Marina Advisory Committee, Position 5 – Gabriel Hill c. Approval of Payroll and Accounts Payable Vouchers d. Approval of Letter of Commitment for the Department of Commerce Climate Resiliency Sub- Element Funding Mayor Severns called for any changes to the consent agenda. Hearing none, he noted the items were approved as presented. 5. MAYOR, COUNCIL & STAFF COMMENTS a. Mayor - Mayor Severns provided the following comments and updates: • City Receives Forestry Grant: The City of Oak Harbor received a $1.6 Million Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Grant from the Washington State Department of Agriculture. This grant will fund a forestry management plan for the City, several right of way landscaping improvements and tree restoration projects and additional Full-Time staffing to help implement those improvements over the next 5 years. Congratulations to staff and thank you to Senator Cantwell for her support of the City receiving this grant award. • Tour of Anacortes Water Treatment Plant: City Administrator Oborn and members of City staff recently toured the City of Anacortes’ new Water Treatment Plant on the Skagit River. The City of Oak Harbor, along with other communities, purchases its water from Anacortes. • Release of Seal Pups into Oak Harbor Bay: Sealife Rescue Rehabilitation and Research (SR3) proudly released two wild harbor seal pups back into our waters yesterday from Windjammer Park. The two Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 Page 2 of 6 pups, named Salt and Aioli, also known as 23-6 and 23-4, spent just over 80 days recovering at Sealife Rescue Center, after being reported as abandoned by local marine rescue groups. To learn more about SR3 visit their website at SR3.org • Island County Board of Health – Respiratory Illness Update: The Island County Board of Health has established a Seasonal Respiratory Illness webpage to share data, resources and guidance with the community. See their website at www.islandcountywa.gov for more information. • There may be some noise : NAS Whidbey Island has informed the City they will conduct limited Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit demolition training at the Seaplane Base survival training area on Thursday, September 21st. This training is necessary as part of a certification exercise to assess the unit’s surface response capabilities. All actual demolition operations will occur during daylight hours. Safety precautions will be set to ensure ground operations pose no threat to neighboring property or persons. For questions or concerns, please call the Public Affairs Office at NAS Whidbey Island, (360) 257-2286. • Oak Harbor Garden Club Centennial: The Oak Harbor Garden Club is having it’s 100 Year Centennial Celebration on Saturday, September 30th. The Club began 100 years ago next month and we will be marking the event at our first Council meeting in October. • Upcoming Events: Additional upcoming events were displayed on screen. b. Councilmembers i. Council Calendar Update – Cancellation of November 21, 2023 Council Meeting and December 27, 2023 Council Workshop City Administrator Oborn noted the 2023 Council Calendar, adopted by the Council in December of 2022, included two meetings that were very closely adjacent to City holidays. Staff is requesting Council consideration to amend the Council calendar and cancel the November 21, 2023 Council meeting and the December 27, 2023 Council workshop. Mayor Severns confirmed there had been no input from the public on this item. He called upon the Council for comments. Motion: Mayor Pro Tem Hizon moved to amend the Council 2023 Calendar to cancel the November 21, 2023 Council meeting and the December 27, 2023 Council workshop, seconded by Councilmember Munns. Councilmember Wiegenstein inquired whether the cancellations would impact any upcoming items. City Administrator Oborn noted staff had waited to bring this request forward to ensure they would not have any adverse impact. Councilmember Munns noted the 2023 calendar included an adjustment for the November workshop to November 29th. There being no other discussion, the vote on the motion passed unanimously. Mayor Severns called upon the Council for any additional comments. Councilmember Munns thanked the community, the Council, and Mayor Severns for their attendance at the Military Appreciation Picnic, held at Windjammer Park on September 16. More than 2,000 people attended. The annual event began in 2003 and is a partnership between the Nayv League, the Chamber of Commerce and the City. Many service groups also participate. Mayor Severns thanked Councilmem- ber Munns, her husband Larry, and all involved. Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 Page 3 of 6 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS & MEETINGS a. Ordinance No. 1980: Amendment No. 3 to the 2023-2024 Biennial Budget Finance Director Goldman presented the ordinance, which included adjustments in 2023 and 2024 for salary updates for non-represented employees resulting from the recently completed Compensation & Classification Study by Cabot Dow & Associates, and an amendment for 2024 to implement the Coun- cil’s direction to approve the allocation of opioid funding for reclassification of a vacant budgeted Police Support Officer position to a Police Officer position. Adjustments for 2023 equal $20,500. Amendments for 2024 is $70,000. – Opioid funds Adjustments for 2024 equal $84,000. Director Goldman was joined by Human Resources Director House, who reviewed the outcome of the recently completed Compensation and Classification study performed by Cabot Dow & Associates. Up- dates to payroll will become effective October 1, 2023. She noted the approximate increase to payroll is 1% overall. Mayor Severns opened the Public Hearing. He confirmed the City had received no comments. Hearing no one with a desire to address the Council, the public hearing was closed. Mayor Severns called upon the Council for their comments. Councilmembers Munns and Stucky provided their respective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Hoffmire moved to adopt Ordinance No. 1980: Budget Amendment No. 3, amending the 2023-2024 Biennial Budget and adopt an updated wage and salary schedule and plan of classification, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Hizon. Councilmember Munns noted the study had used a 5% margin instead of a 2% margin as in past years. The vote on the motion carried unanimously. 7. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS None 8. CONTRACTS & AGREEMENTS a. Professional Services Agreement: Economic Development Council of Island County for County Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Project Economic Development Coordinator McCaslin reviewed the item and was joined by City Administrator Oborn in explaining what a CEDS is and how it is arrived at. The purpose of this Professional Services Agreement is to provide the City and Island County with a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). Those involved in the project include the City of Oak Harbor, Island County, and the towns of Coupeville and Langley. The CEDS was discussed at the April 2023 Council Workshop. In consultation with the Economic Development Council for Island County (EDC) and Island County, a consultant will manage the scheduling, planning, and stakeholder engagement process required by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to develop a CEDS document. The CEDS deliverable is tentatively scheduled to be completed and delivered in July 2024. The City would pay 28.24% of con- tracted cost, not to exceed, $24,000 under the terms of the agreement. Funding is available as appro- priated in the 2023-2024 adopted budget. Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 Page 4 of 6 Mayor Severns confirmed no public input had been received. He called upon the Council for their com- ments. Councilmembers Marshall, Hoffmire, Stucky, Wiegenstein, Munns and Mayor Pro Tem Hizon provided their respective questions and comments. Following discussion, the Council requested the item be brought back at a future meeting for further consideration. b. NE 7th Avenue Reconstruction – Local Agency Agreement, Supplement No. 1 Public Works Director Schuller presented the item, The NE 7th Ave Reconstruction Project is a grant and local funded project that will reconstruct the roadway, replace the existing waterline, and construct corridor improvements including continuous sidewalk on the north side of the road, various bicycle facil- ities, street lighting and storm drainage from N Oak Harbor Street to SR 20. The Local Agency Agree- ment Supplement No. 01 and updated Project Prospectus are required by WSDOT to obligate the con- struction funding and move this project to the Construction Phase. Director Schuller reviewed construction costs: The estimated construction cost is $2,319,221.00. Along with this there is significant daily inspections, tracking, and paperwork necessary as part of this federally funded project. This construction management support is estimated to cost $464,032.00. The construc- tion phase cost is therefore $2,783,253.00. The agency funds provided are $1,459,530.00, of which the State Transportation Improvement Board are providing $837,185.00. Therefore, the City’s responsibility is $622,345.00. These will be allocated to the street fund and water funds as appropriate. NE 7th Avenue Reconstruction is included in the City’s Transportation Plan and in the Comprehensive Plan. Mayor Severns confirmed no input was received from the public. Councilmembers Hoffmire, Wiegenstein, Munns, Marshall, Stucky, and Mayor Pro Tem Hizon provided their respective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Stucky moved to authorize the Mayor to sign the Local Agency Agreement Supplement for the NE 7th Avenue Reconstruction Project, seconded by Councilmember Munns. The vote on the motion passed unanimously. 9. OTHER ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION None 10. REPORTS & DISCUSSION ITEMS None 11. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Severns announced the Council would take a short break and then move into Executive Session Session to consider the minimum price at which real estate will be offered for sale or lease when public knowledge regarding such consideration would cause a likelihood of decreased price per RCW 42.30.110 (1) (c). The anticipated duration was 15 minutes. He noted action might or might not be taken upon return to the open session. Executive Sessions are not open to the public. The Council moved into Executive Session at 7:23 p.m. Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 Page 5 of 6 At 7:38 p.m. the Council came out of Executive Session and resumed the open session of the meeting. Mayor Severns noted no action would be taken on the matter discussed. Adjourn Motion: There being no further business, Councilmember Stucky moved to adjourn, seconded by Coun- cilmember Wiegenstein The motion was approved by a unanimous vote, therefore the meeting ad- journed at 7:39 p.m. Certified by Julie Nester, City Clerk Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 Page 6 of 6