City Council

Oak Harbor City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 4, 2025 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 – The scheduled provider was unable to attend . 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 Public Works Director Steve Schuller Councilmember Bryan Stucky Parks and Recreation Director Brian Smith Councilmember Eric Marshall Human Resources Director Emma House Councilmember Christopher Wiegenstein City Engineer Alex Warner - absent Police Chief Tony Slowik Councilmember Barbara Armes Police Captain Kevin Barton Councilmember James P. Marrow Fire Chief Travis Anderson Fire Deputy Chief Mike Buxton Senior Administrative Assistant Angela Braunstein Communications Officer Magi Aguilar Executive Services Coordinator Macalle Finkle City Clerk Julie Nester Also in attendance: City Attorney Hillary Evans of Kenyon Disend, PLLC Also in attendance were members of the Oak Harbor Fire Department EXCUSE ABSENT COUNCILMEMBERS Mayor Wright greeted all in attendance. He noted Councilmember Wiegenstein had asked to please be excused and requested a motion. Councilmember Marrow moved to excuse Councilmember Wiegenstein. Mayor Pro Tem Hizon seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor Wright requested any changes to the agenda. Hearing none, the agenda was approved as pre- sented. Regular Meeting Minutes March 4, 2025 Page 1 of 6 2. PRESENTATIONS a. Firefighter Oaths of Office Fire Chief Anderson administered the Firefighter’s Oath to three new members of the Oak Harbor Fire Department: Timothy Davies, Dylon Hooper, and Jack Knighten. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD Mayor Wright noted members of the public could 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. Members of the public could also visit the City’s website prior to meetings for methods to submit public comments, 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. Mayor Wright noted com- ments on public hearing items are taken during the public hearings portion of the meeting. There were no public hearings for this evening. The City received several new public comments since the last regular meeting. Comments were re- ceived from: 1. Terry Sparks of Island County regarding the Oak Harbor Marina. 2. Shane Hoffmire of Pekin, Illinois regarding a recent investigation and conduct 3. Tyler Simington of Oak Harbor regarding downtown redevelopment and waterfront district plans and a need to deal with Spin Café and homelessness 4. Debbie O’Brien of Oak Harbor regarding the 21st Street dog park and aggressive dogs 5. Stephen Murphy of Oak Harbor regarding a need for sidewalks to connect the Redwing neigh- borhood to the rest of town 6. Mark Cullinan of Oak Harbor regarding meeting flyers and requesting information be sent out earlier for open houses, coffees and other community meetings 7. Robert Sweeton of Oak Harbor regarding concern for aging infrastructure, namely the Decep- tion Pass and Canoe Pass bridges and seismic analysis by the Washington State Department of Transportation 8. Josh Ray of Island County regarding the value of the Oak Harbor Marina to the community All comments were displayed. Mayor Wright asked if there were 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. Debbie O’Brien of Oak Harbor re-iterated her written comment already displayed to include additional details about owners of aggressive dogs who utilize the 21st Street dog park and noted she had been bitten once by such a dog. She requested signage be updated to the more extensive language and bullet points found on the Cloverleaf Park dog park site and that these rules be enforced. Hearing no one else with a desire to address the Council, the public comment period was closed. Regular Meeting Minutes March 4, 2025 Page 2 of 6 4. CONSENT AGENDA Consent Items a. Approval of Minutes: City Council Meeting of February 18, 2025 and City Council Workshop of February 25, 2025 b. Approval of Payroll and Accounts Payable Vouchers Mayor Wright called for any changes to the consent agenda. Hearing none he called for a motion for approval. Motion: Mayor Pro Tem Hizon moved to approve the consent agenda as presented. Councilmember Marrow seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. 5. MAYOR & COUNCIL COMMENTS a. Mayor’s Comments Mayor Wright provided the following comments: • The Wright Blend – Coffee and Conversation with the Mayor: Thank you to all who showed up to the February conversation. We discussed homelessness, crime, police tactics, upcoming events, and being recognized as a LGBTQ friendly community. Our next Wright Blend will be hosted by The Book Rack on Friday, March 21st at 10:00 a.m. I will be joined by Sophia Kohfield, Executive Director of I-COM 911. Come and share your ideas and questions. • Community Catch Up: Last month we hosted I-COM 911. Thank you to all the presenters. The next will be our second public workshop on the redevelopment of downtown and the waterfront district. Our first workshop this past Thursday was very well attended. The second public workshop will be held on Thursday, April 17th at 6:00 p.m. Location is to be announced. Please come and share your thoughts and provide feedback on the redevelopment of our City’s downtown and waterfront district. All are wel- come. Light snacks are planned. • Department of Ecology News Spotlight: Speaking of the downtown redevelopment… The Depart- ment of Ecology featured our brownfield grant for environmental cleanup in their February newsletter, noting the redevelopment project “will allow the community to replace decades old ageing infrastructure and transform the downtown waterfront into a mixed-use space with projected green space, public art, and recreation.” • Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Well City Distinction: The City has once again earned this designation, defined as making an outstanding commitment to employee health. Each 2025 Well City recipient receives a 2% premium discount on their AWC Employee Benefit Trust active medical premi- ums in 2026. While a 2% discount on medical premiums is significant, the rewards of a healthy work- place can be felt across the organization and have a positive impact on the community as well. A huge thanks to Human Resources and representatives from each City department who serve on the City’s Wellness Committee, helping to plan and promote healthy activities and events. • Congratulations to Oak Harbor High School Drama Students: 18 Oak Harbor High School (OHHS) drama students competed in 32 events of the International Thes- pian Excellence Awards. Nine students earned the prestigious "Superior" rating in eleven solo, duo, and group events, qualifying them to compete at the International Thespian Festival in June at Indiana University: 17 students received "Excellent" ratings, showcasing their exceptional talent across various categories. Students who achieved Superior or Excellent ratings will be recognized at the state festival. Regular Meeting Minutes March 4, 2025 Page 3 of 6 • National League of Cities (NLC) and Washington, D.C. trip: City Administrator Combs and I will travel to meet with our legislators in Washington, D.C. Deputy City Administrator Goldman and Grants Ad- ministrator Horn will be attending the NLC Conference. b. Councilmembers Councilmembers Stucky and Woessner provided their respective comments. Councilmember Stucky voiced his appreciation of those who contact the City through the proper chan- nels to report and address things, giving as an example a notification to the City of a pothole that needed to be filled. He noted the City website has a search tool, “How do I report a concern” that can lead people through the process, and that those who submitted comments about sidewalks and the dog park have or would be contacted by City staff. Councilmember Woessner noted he was excited to see a standing room only crowd gathered at last Thursday’s first public workshop on the redevelopment of downtown and the waterfront district and was pleased with the interactive tools used by the City’s consultant and opportunities to provide input. The next public workshop will be on April 17th. The City is looking for a larger venue for that meeting because of the great turnout last week. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS & MEETINGS - None 7. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS a. Resolution 25-06: A resolution of the City of Oak Harbor, State of Washington, declaring support for the preservation of Federal Tax Exemption of Municipal Bonds Deputy City Administrator and Finance Director Goldman reviewed the proposed resolution. He ex- plained that the National League of Cities (NLC) has identified the increasingly likely potential that the tax-exemption status of municipal bonds may get stripped away as a number one priority. NLC has partnered with the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) to develop a builtbybonds.com map to show Members of Congress what bonds fund in cities and towns throughout America. Congress is currently debating a tax bill that could extend the tax cuts provided in 2018. The tax exemption for municipal bonds can trace its roots back to the Supreme Court’s 1819 McCulloch vs. Maryland and 1871 Collector vs. Day decisions. The 16th Amendment to the US Constitution, which was adopted in 1913, permitted a federal income tax. In that same year, as part of the Revenue Act of 1913, municipal bond interest payments were made exempt from income taxes based on the logic of those previous Supreme Court decisions and have been so ever since. Deputy City Administrator Goldman provided examples of the impact that the removal of the exemption would have on a city. He noted if a city has a need to take out a $10 million bond for a hypothetical project with a 30-year lifespan, in order to match the life span of the project, they take out a 30-year bond. At today’s rates with the tax exemption in place, the yield on a 30-year municipal bond is approx- imately 3.89%. Bonds like these fund major projects such as roads and construction that would be more difficult for smaller cities to accomplish without them. These savings are in turn a benefit to the community. Deputy City Administrator Goldman explained that based on the GFOA Built by Bonds research report, the difference between taxable and tax-exempt municipal bonds is 210 basis points, which would place the yield at 5.99%. This means that an issuer of municipal debt (a city) saves on interest costs com- pared to a highly rated corporate issuer of taxable debt. In this scenario, the annual debt payments for a city would be $567,723 compared to $721,855 for a corporation. Over the life of the loan, the interest Regular Meeting Minutes March 4, 2025 Page 4 of 6 payments for that city would total $7,031,694 compared to $11,656,556 for the corporation; an increase of over 65%. To be able to make these debt payments, the city in the example would have to plan to raise more recurring annual revenue. This could mean higher taxes for general obligation debt or higher utility bills for utility revenue debt. Mayor Wright confirmed no public comments had been received on the proposed resolution and invited comments from those present. Hearing none, he called on the Council for their comments. Councilmember Stucky thanked Deputy City Administrator Goldman for keeping track of such issues Motion: Councilmember Stucky moved to approve Resolution 25-06, encouraging the Washington State Congressional Delegation to support the City of Oak Harbor, Washington by preserving, protect- ing, and ensuring the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. Councilmember Woessner seconded the motion. Mayor Pro Tem Hizon noted the letter of support was very comprehensive and thanked staff for putting it together. Hearing no other discussion, Mayor Wright called for a vote on the motion, which passed unanimously. 8. CONTRACTS & AGREEMENTS a. NE 7th Avenue Reconstruction – Spending Authority City Engineer Warner provided background information on the item. On May 7, 2024, the City Council approved the award of the contract for the NE 7th Ave Reconstruction Project to SRV Construction, Inc. in the amount of $2,011,565.77 and authorized a 20% contingency allowance of up to $402,313.15. Challenges and difficulties that had been overcome in the design phase with consulting firm TranTech Engineering resurfaced during the construction phase. Critical information including water main con- nections, water services, and roadway and curb grading was incomplete and required field adjustments and detailed change orders to rectify. City Engineer Warner noted TranTech Engineering was hired by the previous administration many years ago and is no longer a functioning engineering consulting firm. The location of the project presented additional challenges in construction. Wetlands surround the road- way which leads to uncertain subsurface conditions. Certain bid item quantities such as quarry spalls and crushed rock were much higher than estimated due to the depths of unsuitable materials "soft soils" discovered. Over-excavation and increased amounts of imported suitable material was necessary to ensure the expected life of the roadway and paved path. The Contractor identified these deficiencies in the project plans and City staff addressed them in a timely manner and to avoid costly project delays. Due to these changes, the end result is in-line with roadway life-expectancy and the reconstruction project and will serve the City for many years. Staff, with the assistance of the City’s consulting construction management firm, have reviewed the expected cost to complete for construction and determined that the remaining contract contingency is not suffi- cient to complete. Original contract amount - $2,011,565.77 Contingency (20%) - $402,313.15 Total spending authority - $2,413,878.92 Change Orders – $380,350.29 Bid Item Quantity Overrun (projected) - $134,742.35 Risk for unfinished Bit Items - $50,000.00 Total Projected Construction Cost (original contract + Change Orders + overrun + risk) = $2,576,658.41 Regular Meeting Minutes March 4, 2025 Page 5 of 6 City Engineer Warner observed at one time the project was estimated to cost $7.5 million with only $1.2 million funded. The scope was subsequently refined to roughly $2.5 million, while at the same time, City staff were able to successfully obtain an additional $1 million in federal and state grant funding to close the funding gap. Local street funding, cost savings via grants, transportation impact fees, and cost-sharing on recent projects such as the West Whidbey Avenue Paving State Grant award and the Fakkema Access Road has led to more local funds availability for this project. As the projected construction cost exceeds the authorized spending authority, staff requested the Council approve an increase in spending authority for this construction contract. City Engineer Warner noted with outstanding work items, some uncertainty and risk in final cost remains. Due to these factors staff requests the construction contingency be increased by an additional 10%. The additional funds will only be expended as necessary. Staff are also working with the Washington State Department of Transportation and Transportation Improvement Board to have the added costs covered by existing grant funding, excepting the local match. It is expected that the majority of cost increases will be covered by grant funding. The additional cost will be covered by local funds and possible grant funds to the highest extent feasible. This item will be included in a future budget amendment. Mayor Wright thanked City Engineer Warner for the presentation and noted he and Public Works Di- rector Schuller had also met a few times to discuss the project challenges and the good work by staff. He confirmed no public comments had been received and invited anyone present to speak. Hearing no one, he turned to the Council for their comments. Mayor Pro Tem Hizon and Councilmembers Stucky and Marrow provided their respective questions and comments. Motion: Councilmember Woessner moved to authorize the City Council to approve an additional 10% contingency for the NE 7th Avenue Reconstruction Project in the amount up to $201,156.58, increasing the total construction spending authority from $2,413,878.92 to $2,615,035.50. Councilmember Mar- shall seconded the motion which passed unanimously. 9. OTHER ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION None 10. REPORTS & DISCUSSION ITEMS None 11. EXECUTIVE SESSION ADJOURN There being no further business, Councilmember Marrow moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Hizon. The vote on the motion was unanimous, therefore the meeting was adjourned at 6:23 p.m. Certified by Julie Nester, City Clerk Regular Meeting Minutes March 4, 2025 Page 6 of 6