City Council

Oak Harbor City Council Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024 This was both a physical meeting location and a virtual meeting. Meeting was viewable via YouTube at www.youtube.com/cityofoakharbor, on Facebook, and on Cable Channel 10/HD 1090 following the meeting. CALL TO ORDER Call To Order and Native Lands Acknowledgement - Mayor Wright called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. He included the acknowledgement that the meeting was being held on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish people and paid respect to those past and present. Invocation – Pastor Kevin Scott, Seventh Day Adventist Church. Pledge of Allegiance – Led by Mayor Wright ROLL CALL City Council Present: Staff Present/Videoconference Mayor Ronnie Wright City Administrator Sabrina Combs Mayor Pro Tem Tara Hizon Deputy City Administrator David Goldman Councilmember Jim Woessner Development Services Director David Kuhl Councilmember Bryan Stucky Public Works Director Steve Schuller Councilmember Shane Hoffmire City Engineer Alex Warner Councilmember Eric Marshall Police Sargeant Matthew Krysinski Councilmember Christopher Wiegenstein Fire Chief Travis Anderson Councilmember Barbara Armes Central Services Manager Sandra Place Grants Administrator Wendy Horn Economic Development Coordinator Steve McCaslin Communications Officer Magi Aguilar Executive Services Coordinator Macalle Finkle City Clerk Julie Nester Also in attendance: City Attorney Hillary Evans of Kenyon Disend, PLLC EXCUSE ABSENT COUNCILMEMBERS Mayor Wright greeted all in attendance. He noted Mayor Pro Tem Hizon was participating remotely. 1. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Wright announced the Council would now enter executive session per RCW 42.30.110 (1) (b) to consider the acquisition of real estate by either lease or purchase as pertains to price. The anticipated duration of the executive session is twenty minutes. Executive sessions are not open to the public. Action may or may not be taken upon return to the open session of the meeting. The Council entered executive session at 5:34 p.m. Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024 Page 1 of 10 At 5:54 p.m. the Council came out of executive session and resumed the open session of the meeting. Mayor Wright noted no action would be taken at this time regarding the real estate matter discussed. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor Wright noted staff had requested that we move agenda item 9.a. Professional Services Agree- ment with the Economic Development Council of Island County to follow item 5. Consent Agenda. Mayor Wright called for any objections. He also requested any other changes to the agenda. Motion: Hearing no other changes, Councilmember Wiegenstein moved to approve the agenda as amended, seconded by Councilmember Marshall. The vote on the motion passed unanimously. 3. PRESENTATIONS a. Kristina Hines - Executive Director of the Economic Development Council of Island County Executive Director Hines provided a presentation outlining the functions of the Economic Development Council (EDC). The EDC is a 501c (6) non-profit association promoting economic development. Exec- utive Director Hines reviewed the mission and goals of the EDC, and its support of equitable business ownership and wealth creation in Island County by ensuring all who want to open and grow a business have access to support services, expert advice, and education to solidify success. The EDC assist in business retention and expansion of existing businesses, and provides education for business readi- ness, capacity building, and related support. 4. CITIZEN COMMENT PERIOD Mayor Wright 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 or from a non-verifiable address will be shared with the Mayor and Council but will not be displayed. Comments on public hearing items will be taken during the public hearings portion of the meeting. The City received one new public comment since the last regular meeting, from Susan Hosmer of Island County regarding homelessness and trespassing. Her comment was displayed. Mayor Wright asked if there were any members of the public present who wished to speak to any other items not listed on the agenda or on the consent agenda. He noted the Clerk would call on speakers in the order in which they signed in to speak. Mayor Wright asked speakers to please step forward to the microphone and state their name and address, and to please limit comments to three minutes. 1. Destry McKenzie of Oak Harbor addressed the Council to object to the height of the Mayor’s fence, which was more than six feet in height. 2. Melissa York of Island County addressed the Council to speak in support of the Economic De- velopment Council, noting she had received beneficial business information after attending a meeting with them ten years ago. 3. Ozell Jackson of Island County addressed the Council as a board member of the Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024 Page 2 of 10  Economic Development Council. He spoke to the importance of the work of Executive Director Hines to coordinate efforts of the EDC and provide opportunity for businesses and business owners. Hearing no one else with a desire to address the Council, the public comment period was closed. 5. CONSENT AGENDA Consent Items a. Approval of Minutes: City Council Meeting of November 6, 2024 b. Approval of Payroll and Accounts Payable Vouchers c. Purchase Authorization: Panasonic Laptops for Oak Harbor Police Department - Revised Mayor Wright called for any changes to the consent agenda. Hearing none he called for a motion for approval. Councilmember Hoffmire moved to approve the consent agenda, seconded by Councilmember Wiegenstein. The vote on the motion passed unanimously. 9. CONTRACTS & AGREEMENTS a. Professional Services Agreement with the Economic Council of Island County This item was moved forward to this place in the agenda as noted. Economic Development Coordinator Steve McCaslin provided information to the Council regarding the Agreement. He explained the City had a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with the Economic Development Council (EDC) for Island County which expired on December 31, 2023. After discussions with the City, the EDC completed a review and has added additional services to the scope of work to provide more support for the City’s economic development initiatives. The additional services are: • Economic Development Project Support. - EDC will participate in key economic development projects as requested to support oppor- tunities in the local economy. • Business support services (Oak Harbor). - EDC will develop and implement programs to support local businesses, including training and education, facilitate connections between entrepreneurs and resources such as incubators, accelerators, and funding sources. - EDC will host specialized business educational workshops and community outreach activi- ties to be held in Oak Harbor (when available). - EDC will assist with activities related to attracting and assisting outside businesses inter- ested in moving to Oak Harbor. • Stakeholder Engagement. - EDC will offer training/presentations/workshops to build the knowledge and skills of local stakeholders in economic development practices when requested and participate in work- shops and focus groups to gather input/data. • Website. - EDC will maintain and update their website and its content which benefits Oak Harbor. • Annual Presentation - Present an annual update to City Council about activities, events, and services offered to Oak Harbor. Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024 Page 3 of 10 There is a small increase in the cost to reflect the additional scope of work and the increase in the labor cost to perform the work. The EDC will invoice the City quarterly. The City and the EDC wish to reestablish the two-year Professional Services Agreement in the amount of $25,000 beginning January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026. Mayor Wright confirmed no public comments had been received and requested any comments from those in attendance. Hearing none, he called on the Council for their comments. Councilmembers Woessner, Stucky, and Marshall provided their respective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Wiegenstein moved to approve the Professional Services Agreement with the Economic Council of Island County. Councilmember Hoffmire seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. 6. MAYOR & COUNCIL COMMENTS a. Mayor’s Comments Mayor Wright provided the following comments: State of the City – it will be my pleasure to share the progress of our City with the Greater Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce to provide the annual State of the City address, on Thursday of this week at The Center here in Oak Harbor. Spin Café – It Takes a Village – The City will host a public conversation about Spin Café on Wednesday, December 4th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm here in Council Chambers. My thanks to Chief of Police Tony Slowick for working with me to provide a forum to respond to community questions, provide transpar- ency, and encourage open discussion by inviting the public to be part of the process. Holiday Office Closure – City offices will be closed on Thursday, November 28, and Friday, November 29 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Thursday’s waste will be picked up on Friday. It’s the Time of Year for Winter Weather, Road Closures, Holiday events and Community Fun – The City invites you to visit our website for updates as they become available for weather advisories and closures. Here are some upcoming community events in our area. Oak Harbor High School Girl’s Varsity Soccer Wins District – Congratulations to the OHHS Girl’s Varsity Soccer team on being district champions! Last time they won districts was in 1994. We would also like to congratulate Addison Boyer a 4-year Varsity player for scoring over 100 goals in her career at Oak Harbor High School. She's heading to UC Davis, where she will continue playing soccer. Way to go Addison and the entire OHHS Varsity squad. Still Hiring: The City has openings for employment. See our website for a complete listing. b. Councilmembers Mayor Wright called upon members of the Council for their comments. Councilmember Hoffmire expressed that Oak Harbor was his hometown and that being elected to and serving on the Council had been a great honor in his life. He praised the current Council and thanked Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024 Page 4 of 10 them for their service. Councilmember Hoffmire explained that he and his family were pursuing other opportunities and were moving away the end of this month of November. He stated he would resign his Council position effective November 30, 2024. Councilmember Hoffmire voiced his hope that many people would apply for the Council vacancy this would create, noting Oak Harbor’s best years are ahead and moving in the right direction. He stated that a ton of progress had been made over the last three years, none of which would have been possible without the amazing City staff here and at the Public Works department. a. Process for filling City Council Vacancies City Administrator Combs presented the item with assistance from City Attorney Hillary Evans She explained that Councilmember Hoffmire announcing his intent to resign from Council Position No. 5, effective November 30, 2024, this will create a vacancy in that position on the Council. The City Council has responded to several vacancies created by resignations in recent years. The most recent was the resignation of Councilmember Dan Evans who held Position No. 4. Councilmember Evans resigned on April 5, 2023 with the announcement that he was moving away and would no longer reside within the Oak Harbor city limits. Current residency for one year or more within the city limits of Oak Harbor is a requirement for serving on the City Council, as is the requirement to be a registered voter in Island County with residency listed as inside the Oak Harbor city limits. City Administrator Combs reviewed the requirements for holding a Council position, and the procedures required to fill the Council vacancy per the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 35A.12.050 Vacancies, RCW 42.12.010 Causes of vacancy, and RCW 42.12.070 Filling nonpartisan vacancies. She outlined a potential schedule for the Council to use in filling the vacancy, as well as the most recent application used for those seeking to be appointed to the position. She noted staff had three suggested motion options for the Council: 1. Motion to approve the proposed application and schedule for filling the Oak Harbor City Council Position No. 5 vacancy. 2. Motion to approve the proposed application with a revised schedule for filling the Oak Harbor City Council Position No. 5 vacancy. 3. Motion to direct staff to bring a revised schedule for filling the Oak Harbor City Council Position No. 5 vacancy to the December 3, 2024 Council Meeting. Councilmembers Stucky, Woessner, Armes, Wiegenstein, and Mayor Pro Tem Hizon provided their respective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Marshall moved to approve the proposed application and schedule for filling the Oak Harbor City Council Position No. 5 vacancy. Councilmember Wiegenstein seconded the mo- tion. Councilmember Hoffmire inquiry of City Attorney Evans whether he could vote on this item. City Attorney Evans clarified that Councilmember Hoffmire could vote on all items except to approve the person taking his place on the Council. Hearing no other discussion, the vote on the motion passed unanimously. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS & MEETINGS a. Public Hearing – Ordinance No. 2011: Adopting the 2025-2026 Biennial Budget and Wage and Salary Schedule and Plan of Classification Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024 Page 5 of 10 Deputy City Administrator Goldman provided the Council with an overview of the proposed ordinance for adoption of the 2025-2026 Biennial Budget. At the September 25, 2024 City Council Workshop, Deputy City Administrator / Finance Director Gold- man presented the Mayor’s Proposed Preliminary 2025-26 biennial budget to the City Council, which shall set forth the financial program of the City for the ensuing fiscal biennium. At the October 23, 2024 City Council Workshop, Deputy City Administrator / Finance Director Goldman presented the Mayor’s Proposed 2025-26 biennial budget to the City Council, which shall set forth the financial program of the City for the ensuing fiscal biennium. Per RCW 35.34.090, prior to the final hearing on the budget (scheduled for November 19, 2024), the City Council shall hold public hearings on the budget or parts thereof. Longstanding opinion by the Municipal Resources Services Center (MRSC), which Oak Harbor has followed, concludes that the budget and revenues Public Hearing held at the October 7, 2024 City Council meeting and the Novem- ber 6, 2024 Public Hearing held on the proposed biennial budget satisfies this obligation. Per City Council direction from the November 6, 2024 budget public hearing, Parks & Recreation deci- sion packages and personnel requests, as presented at the October 23, 2024 Council Workshop and again at the November 6, 2024 City Council meeting, were included in the final version of the budget included in the packet for this meeting. Deputy City Administrator Goldman provided an overview of all segments of the budget including the Mayor’s Message, Budget Calendar, and increases in the budget including increases in fees paid by the City and increases to the Parks and Recreation budget as approved by the Council. Deputy City Administrator Goldman provided an all funds comparison for 2025 and 2026, all revenue and expense trends by category, and an overview of each of the City’s funds, showing actual and budgeted amounts for 2023, budgeted amounts for 2024, and the projected budgets for 2025 and 2026. Mayor Wright opened the public hearing and invited comments from the public and confirmed no public comments had been received. Hearing no one with a desire to speak, the public hearing was closed. A power outage occurred at City Hall just as the Mayor called upon the Council for their questions and comments. The power was resumed after several minutes. Councilmembers Hoffmire, Woessner, Marshall, and Stucky provided their respective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Wiegenstein moved to adopt Ordinance No. 2011, Adopting the 2025-2026 Biennial Budget and Wage and Salary Schedule and Plan of Classification, providing for severability, and establishing an effective date, Councilmember Marshall seconded the motion, which passed unan- imously. 8. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS a. Resolution 24-22: Approving Lodging Tax/Tourism Promotion Grant Award Recommendations Grants Administrator Wendy Horn presented the item On August 20, 2024, the City Council approved the 2025 total funding of $450,000 for the Lodging Tax/Tourism Promotion grant program, $50,000 for Embrace Whidbey and Camano Islands and another $161,160 for multi-year grant awards. The Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024 Page 6 of 10 remaining $238,840 was to be made available for new single-year grant applications for the 2025 cal- endar year. On October 9, 2024, the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) met to review applications and hear presentations from applicants for the 2025 single-year Lodging Tax / Tourism Promotion grants. The Committee received 17 applications, 15 of which were eventually selected for funding. On October 16, 2024, the Committee met to discuss and deliberate and make recommendations to the City Council for the 2025 single-year awards. The Committee was presented with several options for funding. The Committee passed their recommendations with a 5 to1 vote to approve Funding Option Two. On October 30, 2024, the Committee held a special meeting to further discuss funding levels and grant awards. The Committee unanimously passed a motion to amend the action taken at the October 16, 2024 meeting. The Committee then unanimously passed a motion to recommend funding levels to the City Council listed below: OAK HARBOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Discover Oak Harbor Multi-Platform Marketing $52,500.00 & GOHCC Community Festivals OAK HARBOR MUSIC FESTIVAL $42,000.00 Oak Harbor Music Festival CITY OF OAK HARBOR $25,000.00 Whidbey Island Marathon WORKING ON WHIDBEY $18,000.00 Working on Whidbey Episodes OAK HARBOR MAIN STREET $17,500.00 Historic Downtown Marketing CITY OF OAK HARBOR PARKS & RECREATION $17,000.00 Chalk Fest OAK HARBOR BASKETBALL CLUB $12,500.00 Hoops at the Harbor Basketball Tournament WHIDBEY PLAYHOUSE $12,000.00 Marketing CITY OF OAK HARBOR $10,000.00 Operation Score & Explore MEERKERK GARDENS $7,500.00 Snowdrop Celebration & Peak Bloom Events ILLUSIONS CAR CLUB $7,340.00 Illusions Unbound Season Opener Event PBY MEMORIAL FOUNDATION $6,000.00 Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum CITY OF OAK HARBOR PARKS & RECREATION $5,000.00 Special Events Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024 Page 7 of 10  ISLAND COUNTY MASTER GARDENER $4,000.00 Whidbey Gardening Workshop WHIDBEY GOLF CLUB $2,500.00 Whidbey Golf Club Tournament Marketing Total $238,840.00 Per MRSC guidelines, the recommendations above are consistent with the limitations imposed on the use of these funds. City and county lodging tax revenues – including both the “basic” and “additional” lodging taxes–must generally be used for tourism promotion, acquisition of tourism-related facilities, or operation of tour- ism-related facilities (RCW 67.28.1815-.1816), including: • Tourism marketing; • Marketing and operations of special events and festivals designed to attract tourists; • Operations and capital expenditures of tourism-related facilities owned or operated by a mu- nicipality or a public facilities district, including repayment of general obligation bonds (RCW 67.28.150) or revenue bonds (RCW 67.28.160) for eligible capital projects; or • Operations of tourism-related facilities owned or operated by nonprofit organizations (but not capital expenditures). RCW 67.28 authorizes cities to levy and collect a special excise tax of up to four percent for the fur- nishing of lodging. This statute of the chapter also requires the City’s legislative body to refer changes in the use of the lodging revenues to the LTAC. In turn, the LTAC makes recommendations for the use of the revenue from the list of applicants applying for such funds. The legislative body may choose to make awards using the recommended amounts to all, some or none of the candidates on the list. Legislative body may not award funds to any recipient that was not recommended by LTAC. The legislative body may award amounts different from the LTAC's recommended amounts, but only after satisfying the procedural requirements of RCW 67.28.1817(2). This requires the municipality to submit its proposed change(s) to the LTAC for review and comment at least 45 days before final ac- tion is taken. FISCAL IMPACT The funding impact of this action will be to authorize the commitment of lodging tax revenues in the amount of $238,840 for 2025 single-year grant recipients. The estimated 2025 ending fund balance after implementing the recommendation will be approximately $622,042.32. Mayor Wright confirmed no public comments had been received and requested any comments from the public in attendance. Hearing none, he called on the Council. Councilmembers Armes, Woessner, Stucky, Marshall, and Mayor Pro Tem Hizon provided their re- spective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Hoffmire moved to adopt Resolution 24-22 approving the Lodging Tax Advi- sory Committee recommendations for single-year 2025 Lodging Tax/Tourism Promotion grants. Mayor Pro Tem Hizon seconded the motion. Councilmember Stucky inquired of City Attorney Evans whether his having a social membership at the Whidbey Island Golf Club presented any conflict of interest. City Attorney Evans responded that it did not. Hearing no other discussion, the vote on the motion passed Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024 Page 8 of 10 by a vote of four to three with Mayor Pro Tem Hizon, and Councilmembers Armes, Hoffmire and Stucky in favor, and Councilmembers Marshall, Wiegenstein and Woessner opposed. b. Resolution 24-23: Establishing 2025 Legislative Priorities City Administrator Combs reviewed the proposed 2025 Legislative Priorities. She explained the Mayor, herself, and Deputy City Administrator Goldman have gathered a list of 2025 Legislative Priorities after reviewing the 2024 Legislative Priorities, the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) City Legislative Priorities, and discussing Island County and municipalities legislative priorities within Island County at the Council of Governments (COG) meetings. The current list includes some priorities from previous years with modifications and some new priorities. City Administrator Combs noted the new draft 2025 Legislative Priorities includes priorities that connect with the City Council Priorities adopted earlier this year. • Emergency Services = Increased Police Engagement, including a regional training facility in Island County • Flexible Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) • Housing and Childcare Availability = Promote/Implement Housing Action Plan • Indigent Defense Costs = Employee Morale/Staffing and Workloads/Equity • Invest in Our Community = Roadway Projects, Repair Utility Infrastructure, Water Storage and Supply, and Connecting Downtown and Marina • Property Tax Cap – continuous discussion of raising the cap • Public Records Management = Employee Morale/Staffing and Workloads/Equity • Ratepayer Impacts - What we can do as a City to address these • Naval Air Station Whidbey Island = Public Involvement City Administrator Combs noted staff had drafted two versions of the Resolution to approve the 2025 Legislative Priorities, one with the proposal of raising the property tax cap, and one without it. After the draft 2025 Legislative Priorities are approved by Council. Staff will add them to the City website and distribute them to local legislators. Mayor Wright confirmed no public comments had been received and hearing from the audience, called upon the Council for their comments. Councilmembers Stucky, Hoffmire, Woessner, Armes, Marshall, and Mayor Pro Tem Hizon provided their respective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Hoffmire moved to approve Resolution 24-23: Establishing the City of Oak Harbor’s2025 Washington State Legislative Priorities with the Property Tax Cap. Councilmember Mar- shall seconded the motion. Mayor Pro Tem Hizon clarified that this was to approve the version which included the increase to the property tax cap. Councilmember Hoffmire affirmed this. The vote on the motion failed with Mayor Pro Tem Hizon and Councilmembers Marshall and Hoffmire in favor, and Councilmembers Armes, Wiegenstein, Woessner and Stucky opposed. A brief discussion ensued. Motion: Councilmember Hoffmire moved to approve Resolution 24-23: Establishing the City of Oak Harbor’s 2025 Washington State Legislative Priorities without the Property Tax Cap. Councilmember Stucky seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024 Page 9 of 10 9. CONTRACT & AGREEMENTS a. Professional Services Agreement – This item was moved tom earlier in the meeting 10. OTHER ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION - None 11. REPORTS & DISCUSSION ITEMS - None ADJOURN There being no further business, Councilmember Wiegenstein moved to adjourn the meeting, se- conded by Councilmember Woessner The vote on the motion was unanimous, therefore the meeting was adjourned at 7:53 p.m. Certified by Julie Nester, City Clerk Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024 Page 10 of 10