City Council

Oak Harbor City Council Special Workshop Minutes – City Council Priorities May 15, 2024 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 Wright called the special workshop meeting for the City of Oak Harbor to order at 1:00 p.m. ROLL CALL City Council Present: City Staff Present Mayor Ronnie Wright Interim City Administrator Sabrina Combs Mayor Pro Tem Tara Hizon Deputy City Admin. & Finance Dir. David Goldman Councilmember Jim Woessner Development Services Director David Kuhl Councilmember Bryan Stucky Public Works Director Steve Schuller Councilmember Shane Hoffmire Parks and Recreation Director Brian Smith Councilmember Eric Marshall Human Resources Director Emma House Councilmember Christopher Wiegenstein City Engineer Alex Warner Councilmember Barbara Armes Police Chief Tony Slowik Interim Fire Chief Gordon Olson Finance Manager Chas Webster Grants Administrator Wendy Horn Executive Assistant Macalle Finkle City Clerk Julie Nester MAYOR Welcome and Introduction Mayor Wright welcomed the opportunity for the Council to engage with City staff in a productive discus- sion to review, modify, and provide staff with direction regarding citywide priorities. He announced the meeting was open to the public, but public comment would not be taken. Mayor Wright thanked City staff for their time in putting the workshop together. He noted that for this meeting the City was using a new technology tool, called an “Owl”. The Owl is a voice activated camera and microphone. It will film whoever is speaking. He noted that to get the optimal result out of this tech- nology, it was important that all not talk at once with no sidebar conversations, as these would be picked up by the microphone. Mayor Wright explained that following the Council’s retreat meeting, the Council requested more time as a group to discuss their priorities and provide input. Mayor Wright noted his belief that the concept of over-arching priorities was a good one as it groups related priorities and projects and aids in seeing not only the individual ideas, but also the bigger picture of how they fit together or overlap. Special Workshop Meeting Minutes May 15, 2024 Page 1 of 4 Mayor Wright noted the objective for the meeting was to achieve a clear and concise list of Council’s top priority projects and/or goals to aid staff in preparing the next 2025-2026 biennial budget and Capital Improvements Plan. He noted things to consider in setting priorities should include the immediacy of needs, budgetary restrictions (cost), staffing, and sequencing. Mayor Wright reviewed the agenda outline for the meeting. In reviewing the Council’s past input, staff had put together over-arching priority areas. He noted the Council would participate in an activity to prioritize the projects within each category. The categories were: Employees Infrastructure Facilities Central Development Area Quality of Life/Safety Other Mayor Wright introduced Interim City Administrator Sabrina Combs to provide instructions for the first activity. Interim City Administrator Sabrina Combs explained the Councilmembers would have 10 minutes per category to evaluate, score, and discard priorities. The list of priorities provided included Council’s past and current priorities, and she noted new priorities could be added. Cards were provided with these individual priorities and blank cards for each category. Council members reviewed the cards for each category within the timeframe and decided whether to either: • WRITE a priority number on the back of the description card. 1 being the first item they want staff to address. For example, 1 is the first priority, 2 is the second, etc. • DISCARD cards if they felt the item listed should not be considered a priority by the City. • WILDCARDS (blank cards) for adding up to three new projects to the overarching priorities. These are items the Councilmembers want included. When adding an item, it should be numbered within the list of priorities for that category. There were only three wildcards total for 6 categories. Interim City Administrator Combs explained that after each category discussion was complete, the cards would be tallied by the Executive Services Coordinator on a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet would be shared after the break. There were 35 items that had been identified. Category 1 – Employees –ten minutes to prioritize the grey-bordered Employee cards. Category 2 – Infrastructure - ten minutes to prioritize the orange-bordered Employee cards. Category 3 – Facilities - ten minutes to prioritize the purple-bordered Employee cards. Category 4 – Central Development Area (CDA) - ten minutes to prioritize the green-bordered Employee cards. Category 5 – Quality of Life/Safety - ten minutes to prioritize the yellow-bordered Employee cards. Category 6 – Other - you now have ten minutes to prioritize the red-bordered Employee cards. BREAK Review and Discuss Tallied Results to Finalize Priorities Interim City Administrator Combs provided the Council and staff with the spreadsheet of Council’s pri- ority rankings. She opened a discussion and noted staff was available to respond to questions and to ask questions or seek clarification from the Council. 15 minutes was provided to discuss each category and review how the Council prioritized the projects. Special Workshop Meeting Minutes May 15, 2024 Page 2 of 4 Employees: Three Items: Morale, Staffing and Workloads, and Equity. The combined ratings of the Council ranked the three items provided as of nearly equal importance and agreed they should be combined and be considered one item. All wished to keep this as a high priority. Infrastructure: Five Items Alt Field Pump Station – It was the consensus of the Council that this item was an approved mid-high priority until next year. Freund Marsh – It was the consensus of the Council that this item need not be considered as infrastruc- ture. Roadway Projects – The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as a high priority item. Repair Utility Infrastructure – The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as a high priority item. Water Storage and Supply – The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as a high priority item. Facilities: Eleven Items Marina Development Plan – The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-high priority item. Replace Police Department – The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-high priority item. New Recreation Center – The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-level priority item. Replacement and Maintenance Funds – The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-level priority item City Hall Roof – The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-level priority item. Police Department Roof – The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-level priority item. Fire Station #81 Maintenance - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-level priority item. Replace City Hall - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-level priority item. City Shop Roof Repair - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as lower-level priority item that could potentially be combined with other repairs. Fire Station #82 - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as lower-level priority item as it is underway, funded and making good progress, Additional Generators – It was the consensus of the Council that this item be budgeted and did not need to be listed. Central Development Area: 10 Items Connecting Downtown and Marina - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as a high priority item. Moving Bus Barns – Although the combined ratings for this item ranked it as a mid-high priority, four of the seven council members determined it should be removed from the priorities list. Additional Restrooms - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-high priority item. Future Planning City Beach to SR 20 - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-high priority item. 1091 & 1081 Pioneer Way Property Development - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-level priority item. Buy Property – Although the combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-level priority item, all of the council members determined it should be removed from the priorities list. Multi-Family Tax Exemptions (MFTE) - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-level priority item. Food Truck Courts - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as lower-level priority item and it was the consensus of the council members that the issue had been addressed and it should be removed from the priorities list. Special Workshop Meeting Minutes May 15, 2024 Page 3 of 4 Parking Research Project - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as lower-level priority item and it was the consensus of the council members that it should be removed from the priorities list. Chimes Corner and Midway Node Renewal Program for more density - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as lower-level priority item and it was the consensus of the council members that it would be addressed in any potential changes to a form-based code and that it should be removed from the priorities list. Quality of Life/Safety: Three Items Increased Police Engagement - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as a high priority item. Park Maintenance - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as a high priority item. Recreation Programs - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as mid-high priority item. Other: Three Items Public Involvement - The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as a high priority item. Housing – The Council was of a consensus this item should be renamed as Promote/Implement Housing Action Plan (HAPI). The combined ratings of the Council ranked this as a high priority item. Form of Government - Although the combined ratings for this item ranked it as a mid-high priority, the consensus of the council members was to remove it from the priorities list as more of a discussion item. Top Priority Rankings Synopsis: Public Involvement Promote/Implement Housing Action Plan Increased Police Engagement Employee Morale/staffing and Workloads/Equity Roadway Projects Park Maintenance Repair Utility Infrastructure Water Storage and Supply Connecting Downtown and Marina Wrap up and Next Steps Interim City Administrator Combs explained the final list will be compiled into a “bingo card”. She ex- plained the categories on the card stood for: B is for Budget, I is for Inspired, N is for New, G is for Growth, and O is for Opportunities because when we check items off, the community wins. Interim City Administrator Combs noted as the City moves into the budget process, staff will using this card to insure that “We do what we fund.” When the City receives new ideas, staff will bring them to Council to see where they fit into Council’s priorities considering the budget. This will help staff manage projects and deliver measurable successes. Staff will finalize this list to bring back to the Council for approval at the June 4th regular meeting. Fol- lowing approval, the Council’s adopted priorities will be shared on the City website and social media. ADJOURN Mayor Wright thanked all for their attendance and adjourned the special workshop at 3:40 p.m. Certified by Julie Nester, City Clerk Special Workshop Meeting Minutes May 15, 2024 Page 4 of 4