City Council

Oak Harbor City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 18, 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 – Led by Pastor Josh Hubbard, Life Church . Pledge of Allegiance – Led by Councilmember Stucky ROLL CALL City Council Present: Staff Present/Videoconference Mayor Ronnie Wright City Administrator Sabrina Combs Mayor Pro Tem Tara Hizon Development Services Director David Kuhl Councilmember Jim Woessner Parks and Recreation Director Brian Smith Councilmember Bryan Stucky Parks and Recreation Supervisor Brandon Cable Councilmember Eric Marshall City Engineer Alex Warner Councilmember Christopher Wiegenstein Police Chief Tony Slowik Councilmember Barbara Armes Fire Chief Travis Anderson Councilmember James P. Marrow Central Services Manager Sandra Place Grants Administrator Wendy Horn 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 all members of the Council were present, with Coun- cilmember Woessner participating remotely. 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor Wright requested any changes to the agenda. Hearing none, the agenda was approved as pre- sented. 2. PRESENTATIONS a. Whidbey Royalty Presentation Whidbey Royalty Board President River Powers provided background information on the organization, which operates as a 501 C3 non-profit, providing scholarships and life changing experiences through Regular Meeting Minutes March 18, 2025 Page 1 of 8 pageantry. Oak Harbor Royalty Court members Allena Locklear, Max Gammache, Victoria Reyna, Adelle Keyes, Tyler Pookphant, and Elena Holton were in attendance and spoke about their annual activities and personal experiences in the Mr. Oak Harbor and Miss Oak Harbor Courts. Mayor Wright and the Council thanked the Court for their presentation and within the community. b. ICOM 911 Presentation Island County Emergency Services Communications Center (ICOM) Executive Director Sophia Koh- field provided the Council with an overview and update regarding the ICOM 911 operations and facili- ties. She explained ICOM 911 is the countywide 911 emergency communications and dispatch center, serving emergency responders, visitors and citizens. It is a separate public entity from Island County and is a special district, founded on an Interlocal Agreement amongst users. The ICOM 911 facility is located in Oak Harbor and serves all the cities, towns, police, fire districts, EMS and unincorporated areas within Island County, inclusive of Whidbey and Camano Islands. Participating agencies include North Whidbey Fire and Rescue, Oak Harbor Fire Department, South Whidbey Fire/EMS, Whidbey Health Emergency Medical Services, Central Whidbey Island Fire-Rescue, Camano Island Fire-Res- cue, Oak Harbor Police Department, Island County Sheriffs, and Langley Police. ICOM is governed by a Board of Directors made up of the following: • One member of the Board of Commissioners of Island County • The Mayor of the City of Oak Harbor • One elected official to represent participating Whidbey Island Fire Districts or a representative of a city fire dept • One elected official to represent the participating Camano Island Fire Districts • The Island County Sheriff • A Chief of Police who represents the Oak Harbor, Langley and Coupeville Police Departments • One Administrative Officer of the Hospital District ICOM 911 is funded primarily by user agency fees. Additional funding comes from phone line fees, a Washington State contract, and rental income. The agency also seeks grants and legislative assis- tance. ICOM 911 dispatchers are cross-trained as call-takers, fire and medical dispatchers, and law enforcement dispatchers. ICOM 911 is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and utilizes a fully in- tegrated suite of public safety software. Island County residents can now text 911 as well as call. In 2024, ICOM 911 received 33,232 emergency calls and 59,874 non-emergency calls, all of which are answered by ICOM 911 dispatchers, for a total of 93,106 calls. Call volumes have risen steadily, with the top five reasons being: Falls Mental Health Stroke Overdose Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation Executive Director Kohfield reported the current emergency dispatch system is four decades old and struggling to meet the increasing demands of the community. It is vulnerable to outages during weather events and disasters. Deception Pass is the most visited state park in Washington with 3.5 million visitors annually, yet there aren’t reliable radio signals in the park. Updated infrastructure is needed to strengthen connections along the water for Whidbey and Camano islands. A sales tax measure is pro- posed for the April 2025 ballot for a two tenths of a percent (.2%) sales tax increase to fund critical infrastructure upgrades. Regular Meeting Minutes March 18, 2025 Page 2 of 8 Mayor Pro Tem Hizon, and Councilmembers Marrow, Stucky, and Marshall provided their respective questions and comments. 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. Rebekah Baze of Oak Harbor regarding utility payments online. 2. Cynthia Mason of Oak Harbor regarding Councilmember Liaisons for City volunteer committees. 3. Amy Malmkar of Oak Harbor regarding reconfiguration of Flintstone Park 4. Sara Hogarth of Oak Harbor regarding Flintstone Park Reconfiguration. All comments were displayed. Mayor Wright shared an example of the excellent response provided by City Finance Manager Chas Webster to the question posed about utility billing: “Thank you for your comment regarding the online utility bill payment portal. I use the portal myself and understand the frustration having to enter information twice. We do have exciting new changes on the horizon. We are implementing a new and improved way to make your payment online which includes a host of other features. It’s called Resident Access. It will have features like Puget Sound Energy and Cascade Natural Gas providing a sign-in option or pay as a guest feature. Via the 24/7 online dashboard, customers can: 1. Pay bills with a credit card or bank account 2. Set up and manage auto-pay 3. View their bill and utility usage 4. Access and control delivery method of their monthly statement 5. Make non-emergency service requests 6. Edit their mailing address. We do have some time before we go live with the new system. In the meantime, if you’d like, we can assist you with setting up auto-pay to avoid having to use the online portal. Our helpful cashiers are available Monday–Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 360-279-4530 or at utilities@oakharbor.org. You are also most welcome to stop by City Hall. Please contact us at your earliest convenience and we’ll be happy to assist!” Mayor Wright thanked Chaz and the utilities department for their excellent customer service and thanked all City staff who provide responses to the many questions and comments we receive. Regular Meeting Minutes March 18, 2025 Page 3 of 8 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. Roland Livingston of Oak Harbor noted he was a first-time attendee at a City Council meeting and was interested in how the City was preparing to deal with issues arising out of the federal government that would impact military veterans and others. Mayor Wright noted that representatives of the City had just come back from Washington, D.C. and were working directly with the state Attorney General on DEI policies and with state and federal legis- lators to work through these issues. Hearing no one else with a desire to address the Council, the public comment period was closed. 4. CONSENT AGENDA Consent Items a. Approval of Minutes: City Council Meeting of March 4, 2025 b. Approval of Payroll and Accounts Payable Vouchers c. Purchase Authorization – Truck Replacements d. Resolution 25-09: Authorization to Auction Vessels for non-payment of Marina charges e. Interlocal Agreement – Acceptance of Washington State Military Department Homeland Se- curity Grant (#E25-333) 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: • Putting forward our City’s priorities in Washington, D.C.: Last week I was joined by City Administrator Sabrina Combs, Deputy City Administrator David Goldman, and Grants Administrator Wendy Horn in presenting the City’s legislative priorities to our elected officials in Washington, D.C. and with repre- sentatives of the Whidbey Task Force at the Pentagon. Deputy City Administrator Goldman and Grants Administrator Horn also attended the National League of Cities Conference held in Washing- ton, D.C. annually. More details will be provided at the Council workshop. • Oak Harbor Fire Department Awards: The Oak Harbor Fire Department held an event on Monday, March 10th to celebrate and honor the Paid-On-Call Firefighters who were given Service Commen- dation certificates for their years of service. Those with 15+ years were awarded an Honorable Ser- vice medal. Also at that event, Chief Anderson presented three recognition awards: 1. 2024 Firefighter of the Year: Jake Tumblin (nominated and selected by all OHFD members) 2. 2024 Officer of the Year: Rich Rodgers (nominated and selected by all OHFD members) 3. 2024 Chief’s Award, for Exemplary Service: Mike Buxton (given at the Chief’s discretion, and can be awarded to anyone inside/outside department) Regular Meeting Minutes March 18, 2025 Page 4 of 8 • Saint Patrick’s Day Parade: Thank you to the Oak Harbor Main Street Association for putting on a wonderful parade yesterday. The sunshine was a plus! Our downtown merchants benefit from this active Association. Several Councilmembers, including Councilmember Stucky and his cat, Cosmo, also attended. • The Navy invites your comments: The Navy invites your comments on the Draft Amended Analysis to the Environmental Impact Statement for the EA-18G “Growler” Airfield Operations at NAS Whidbey Island from September 2018. They will hold two open houses: Tuesday, April 1st from 4:00-6:00 p.m.at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge, and on Wednesday, April 2nd from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the Whidbey Island Nordic Lodge. They will also hold a virtual public meeting online on Thursday, April 3rd. Please see their website for details. • News Spotlight – School Counselor of the Year Finalist: Oak Harbor Public Schools Counselor Chandra Mays is among the finalists for School Counselor of the Year by the Washington School Counselor Association. Congratulations on your nomination! • The Wright Blend: Join us for our next time for coffee and conversation this coming Friday, March 21st at 10:00 a.m. at The Book Rack, 551 NE Midway Blvd. We are having great conversations and seeing our numbers grow for this event and hope to see you there. • Community Town Halls: Representative Clyde Shavers will hold two upcoming Town Hall meetings on Saturday, March 22nd. The first will be at 12:00 p.m. at the Whidbey Island Nordic Hall in Coupe- ville. The second will start at 4:00 p.m. at the Civic Garden Club in La Conner. • Public Workshop - Save the Date: Our second public workshop for the redevelopment of downtown and the waterfront district will be Thursday, April 17th at 6:00 p.m. at the Oak Harbor Yacht Club, 1301 Catalina Drive. We hope to see you there. • Advisory Board Vacancies: We are collecting applications for review as we work to finish updates to all Board, Commission, and Committee Bylaws. Please see our website to apply. • We’re Hiring: Please see our website for information and job descriptions and apply to join our team! b. Councilmembers Councilmembers Woessner and Stucky provided their respective comments. Councilmember Woess- ner voiced appreciation for the work of the Whidbey Royalty in the community and praised the Board and all participants. Councilmember Stucky noted there are many in the community who “care loudly” on social media regarding Spin Café. He requested to meet with the Mayor, City Attorney, Communi- cations Officer Aguilar, and Chief Slowik to discuss frequently asked questions regarding Spin Café and responses. Mayor Wright noted the City is currently drafting this and will have a link on the City’s website once it has been reviewed by the City Attorney and Chief Slowik. Councilmember Stucky in- quired whether there were any ordinances that could be used. Chief Slowik noted there is a public nuisance ordinance, but a business cannot be held accountable for people coming or going from the business. Mayor Wright noted he and Chief Slowik are meeting with the board of Spin Café regularly. They find that a majority of those responsible for the complaints are not Spin Café clientele, but those individuals that prey upon them. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS & MEETINGS None 7. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS None Regular Meeting Minutes March 18, 2025 Page 5 of 8 8. CONTRACTS & AGREEMENTS None 9. OTHER ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION None 10. REPORTS & DISCUSSION ITEMS a. Flintstone Park Reconfiguration Parks and Recreation Director Smith explained that with the placement of the Angel of Creativity sculp- ture within the parkway, the roundabout needs to be reconfigured. Site plan options have been reviewed by the Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission (PRAC) and the Arts Commission. A recommendation on a layout was approved by both Commissions and recommended to the City Council. Staff presented the options and recommendations for the reconfiguration of the park for the Council's review. The Council indicated at the January Workshop that they would like to see two of the options brought back for further discussion and a potential motion for site plan and project approval. Funding for the improvements has been allotted in the budget for $26,700. There is also an additional $15,000 that can be reallocated for this project. Director Smith reviewed background information and the prior discussions on this item: March 15, 2023: Public Works met with Sculpture Northwest (SNW) to select the site for the installation of the Angel of Creativity at Flintstone Park. An installation committee comprised of members of the City Council, the Arts Commission, the Parks Commission, and city residents met shortly after on site to discuss location proposals and make a recommendation. June 6, 2023: Staff presented the location recommendation for the placement of the statue between the parkway and the trail adjacent to the Flintstone Dock. August 21, 2023: Members of the installation committee met on site to discuss the need to pull the location of the statue inland out of the high-water buffer zone into the parkway. August 21, 2023: The location and site plans were reviewed by the Hearing Examiner. The Public Comment period was also opened. March 4, 2024: Project Management for the Angel of Creativity Statue's installation was handed over to the Parks & Recreation Department. August 19, 2024: Considering the location of the statue to be placed within the parkway, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission (PRAC) made a motion for approval for the reconfiguration of the Park. August 28, 2024: The Parks & Playgrounds Sub-Committee of PRAC discussed the Park reconfigura- tion with Development Services and reviewed options with Staff to bring back to the PRAC. August 28, 2024: Staff presented to City Council at the August Workshop on the need to reconfigure the park with discussion on relocation of the Naval Flagstaff to Memorial Park. September 9, 2024: The PRAC discussed the Flintstone Park Reconfiguration and reviewed options. October 10, 2024: Angel of Creativity groundbreaking and on-site discussion of the reconfiguration of Regular Meeting Minutes March 18, 2025 Page 6 of 8 the Park with members of the Arts Commission and PRAC. November 4, 2024: The PRAC made a motion for approval of a layout design. MOTION: Commissioner Biggs moved to pass the subcommittee recommendation, seconded by Commissioner Jones. Vote: 3 in favor (Chair Stucky and Commissioners Jones and Biggs) – 2 against (Vice-Chair Dipzinski and Commissioner Cardon). Commissioners Rose and Huerta were absent. Motion carried. November 20, 2024: The Parks & Playgrounds Sub-Committee of PRAC reviewed public comment on the layout for the reconfiguration of the Park. Comments both for and against the removal of the round- about and the South parking area were received. December 9, 2024: The PRAC reviewed public comments on the layout for the reconfiguration of the Park. Comments both for and against the removal of the roundabout and the South parking area were received. January 28, 2025: Staff presented the options for the reconfiguration of the parkway and the Arts Com- mission and PRAC recommendation for Option 1. The City Council indicated to staff that they would like to see two of the options brought back for further discussion and a motion for site plan and project approval. February 10, 2025: The PRAC brought back the two options indicated by City Council for discussion and a motion. MOTION: Commissioner Jones moved to stay with the Option 1 recommendation and have the flagstaff removed and installed at another location, seconded by Commissioner Biggs. Vote: 2–2 (three commissioners were absent). Motioned failed for lack of a majority vote. Commissioners voting against it felt that the City Council wanted to go with another option. MOTION: Commissioner Biggs moved to relocate the flagstaff to Veterans Memorial Park, seconded by Commissioner Jones. Motion carried unanimously. No recommendation on the configuration options for presentation to the City Council was provided. February 13, 2025: The Arts Commission brought back the five layout options indicated by City Council for discussion and a motion. MOTION: Vice-Chair Mason moved to recommend Option 3.5 - Phase 1 would be Option 3 (same as Option 1- removal of the East parkway roundabout and South Parking lot but leaving the west parkway road) to keep the pathway with Phase 2 to improve the shoreline walkway, seconded by Chari Russell. Motion carried unanimously. MOTION: Chair Russell moved to recom- mend relocating the flagpole, seconded by Commissioner Freund. Motion carried unanimously. Director Smith displayed map overviews of the Park and the positioning of the statue and flagpole, as well as the five options presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Arts Commission, and the two options selected to move forward for Council consideration. Option 1 – This option would remove the roundabout, expand the North entrance parking lot into the abandoned round about exit and leave a walking path along the West side. This option would remove 8,200 sq ft of asphalt, requiring a 300 ft saw cut, the work would be done in-house with our equipment. Removing the 8,200 sq ft of asphalt would be roughly 75 tons of material for disposal with truck 30 and the mini excavators. Demolition work would take approximately 2 days. The area would be replaced with topsoil and hydroseeded. It would require 150 yards, or 10 loads of topsoil delivered and would take staff two days to site preparation for the grass seed. The remaining 310 sq ft of asphalt along the West side of the park would be overlayed for a walking path to connect to the shoreline trail. Total cost $24,617. Option 2 – This option would remove the roundabout from the statue to the North parking lot and replace it with grass. Bollards would be installed in concrete, placed to protect the statue. Overlay of the asphalt Regular Meeting Minutes March 18, 2025 Page 7 of 8 from the adjacent condominium’s driveway to the shoreline South parking lot. This option does the same asphalt patching at the North parking lot of 310 square feet and saw cuts the asphalt from the end of the South Parking to the North Parking along the East drive, approximately 50’. The asphalt removal area would be approximately 25 tons. 45 yards or 3 truckloads of topsoil for the new grass area where the asphalt is removed would be installed. The overlay is approximately 7000 square feet of asphalt from the condominium driveway to the beach parking lot. Total cost $34,291. Director Smith noted staff deferred to the Council to make a motion on a configuration option and whether to relocate the Flagstaff to Veterans Memorial Park. Mayor Wright confirmed no additional comments other than those already shown had been received from the public. He opened the floor for comments from the public in attendance. 1. Kim Ford of Oak Harbor inquired how many spaces were expanded in the North parking area in Option 1. Director Smith noted two additional spaces, with the potential for a third space depending on the final alignment. 2. Jeff Ward of Oak Harbor noted he used the Park every day and preferred Option 1 with an actual foot path through the Park. Hearing no others, Mayor Wright turned to the Council for their comments. Councilmembers Armes, Stucky, Marrow, Woessner, Mayor Pro Tem Hizon, and Councilmembers Marshall and Wiegenstein provided their respective questions and comments. Director Smith and Su- pervisor Cable responded to questions. They noted the cost to remove, re-powder coat, and reinstall the flagpole was estimated at $16,000. All members of the Council preferred to leave the flagpole in place and leave the South lot in place for parking looking towards the water. Motion: Councilmember Stucky moved to approve configuration Option 2 – converting the east side parkway roundabout only to grass turf, leaving the south lot in place. Councilmember Wiegenstein seconded the motion. Councilmember Stucky thanked both the Arts Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission for their input and further noted that the Flintstone car would remain untouched. The vote on the motion passed unanimously. 11. EXECUTIVE SESSION None ADJOURN There being no further business, Councilmember Stucky moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Councilmember Wiegenstein. The vote on the motion was unanimous, therefore the meeting was ad- journed at 7:00 p.m. Certified by Julie Nester, City Clerk Regular Meeting Minutes March 18, 2025 Page 8 of 8