City Council

Oak Harbor City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes May 27, 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 following the meeting on Cable Channel 10/HD 1090 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Wright called the workshop meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. 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 Public Works Director Steve Schuller Councilmember Bryan Stucky Parks and Recreation Director Brian Smith Councilmember Eric Marshall - absent Police Chief Tony Slowik Councilmember Christopher Wiegenstein Fire Marshall Paul Schroer - absent Finance Manager Chas Webster Councilmember Barbara Armes Parks and Recreation Supervisor Brandon Cable Councilmember James P. Marrow Parks and Recreation Manager Liz Lange Executive Services Coordinator Macalle Finkle Communications Officer Magi Aguilar City Clerk Julie Nester Also in attendance: City Attorney Hillary Evans of Kenyon Disend, PLLC MAYOR Mayor Wright welcomed all in attendance. He observed public comments are not normally taken at workshop meetings, although the Council may allow or request public participation on action items. There was one action item on the agenda today. Mayor Wright shared a message regarding recent postings on social media: “Some of us we spent yesterday honoring those that sacrificed their lives in service to our country. Yet for others it was a day to harass and attempt to humiliate people, including me, for activities they chose in their personal lives. I believe in work/life balance, and I also believe that we are allowed to have a personal life. For me, that includes attending art shows, concerts, performances and Broadway shows. Heads up! Some of you who are interested may want to watch my feed because I am excited to go see Mama Mia at the Paramount in Seattle in a few weeks and there is nothing wrong with that. Workshop Meeting Minutes May 27, 2025 Page 1 of 6 In fact, I choose to support the arts in all forms, recently, this included inviting the students and teachers from Oak Harbor High School to share their artistic achievements with the community at a Council meeting. It is concerning that people are interested in my private time and what I do after hours and unfair to the hard work that my staff puts in everyday to make this community a wonderful place to live. I don’t condone bullying in any fashion and in fact I think we should all spend less time pointing fingers anonymously on social media platforms and spend more time sitting down to talk with each other. In fact, since January, my staff and I have attended approximately two events per month to sit and chat with people about what is important to them. One thing I never hear is a question about my personal life or the way I spend my time off the clock. Maybe we should all take a stand against this behavior and consider not participating or removing ourselves from quote/unquote community pages that focus on tearing us down as a community; instead of building us up and showcasing the fantastic people that live here. I love recognizing the community in a positive way. I also think that we are all entitled to our personal lives and should not fear attending events because of someone else taking video out of context to embarrass us or our friends and family. The person who took this video and shared it with others was also in attendance and enjoyed it so much they not only took pictures of it but a video too. This event was promoted locally as a fun event for adults. It was fun to see community members engage in fun together in a safe environment. I saw several faces of people I know in the community, but I do not feel it is my role as a community member to name names or share photos of them. At the end of the day, I want to focus on community without judgements. I know the national voice currently includes lots of hateful rhetoric that highlights fear. But, for me and my team we want to highlight accomplishing goals, making our City better, and sharing the positive stories of what this community does. I hope that the people or groups of people that don’t like Oak Harbor and all we stand for can find a way to be positive and enjoy this beautiful island the way most of us do instead of spending time trying to make us look bad. I look forward to continuing discussions about this City and our Communications Officer sharing positive stories. For example, as a Veteran, I appreciate the way our community holds a public gath- ering to honor those that sacrificed their lives and our staff that opened the Splash Park this weekend for the families enjoying the first long stretch of warm weather we have had in a while. This is Oak Harbor, and I am proud to live here and serve as your Mayor. Let’s get back to work.” JOINT MEETING WITH THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION Mayor Wright shared his vision for the City’s Parks and Recreation Department and opportunities: “It’s challenging to talk about vision because we all have so many awesome and wonderful plans for this community that we are discussing. These plans include things for today and items that we may not see come to completion because we are planning for the next 20 to 40 years. We are fortunate to live in a beautiful place called Whidbey Island. I appreciate the work our Parks Operations staff does every day to maintain and enhance our parks for all of us to recreate in on a Workshop Meeting Minutes May 27, 2025 Page 2 of 6 regular basis. I am also excited about the upcoming summer camps and new programs that our Recreation Division is working on. Overall, my vision is to provide outlets for people of all ages to enjoy our community more, whether it is walking in the parks or taking a class to learn something new or connecting with friends and other members of our community. Or simply participating in an excursion or the new fun events that staff are working to create like Mermaids and Pirates or Chalkfest. These activities benefit the people participating but they also benefit our local economy. My vision for Parks and Recreation is to have programming and services that are inclusive, enter- taining, active, and aids in the overall health of this community. While doing this, I want the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission and staff in the Parks and Recreation Department to focus on the City’s fiscal health as well. We need to work together to focus on completing projects, communications that keep the community informed, and planning for future projects while continuing to complete existing ones. We don’t have to do everything right now and in fact I want to caution us that sometimes we need to do less to do things well before we move on to do too many things too fast. Let’s take the time to work together and plan for successful grant applications, drafting the project plan or details to make the project robust and ready for grant applications, and focus on the conver- sations with community members to confirm that we are seeing all the needs and opportunities avail- able for the future of this community. Let’s plan to work together to make our parks and recreation programs better. What makes this community great is our ability to work together as a team to accomplish things. This is also part of my vision for parks and recreation activities. Let’s resource our partners and team up not just on the playing field but at the planning table. It’s not just the City but our community partners and legislators that also want to see us succeed. Let’s continue to engage and include them as we look towards our future. I want to thank Parks and Recreation Director Brian Smith, the team in Parks and Recreation, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission, and all the staff they work with to accomplish their projects and goals. Working together, we can continue to provide our community with exemplary parks and recreation programs.” Mayor Wright introduced Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Carrie Stucky who was joined by Commissioner Vicki Biggs and Commission Vice-Chair Eric Dipzinski. Chair Stucky noted the Com- mission had no shortage of ideas and wanted to hone in on those items of top priority to the City Council. Chair Stucky requested Council input and feedback regarding the Commission’s top three priorities: 1. Windjammer Park (current projects including the creation of an inclusive playground, the Oak Harbor Rotary Club Windmill Project and discussion of other features that the council would like to prioritize for Windjammer). 2. Recreation Center Feasibility Study and discussion of what City Council’s vision is and any addi- tional feedback or ideas from their perspective. Workshop Meeting Minutes May 27, 2025 Page 3 of 6 3. Pickleball Courts (status of project, funding, etc.). Future outdoor recreation facilities priorities and feedback. Windjammer Park: Mayor Pro Tem Hizon, and Councilmembers Woessner, Stucky, Marrow, and Armes, and Mayor Wright provided their respective questions and comments. Parks and Recreation Director Smith, City Administrator Combs, Recreation Manager Lange, and Commissioners Stucky and Dipzinski responded to questions. Recreation Center Feasibility Study: Mayor Wright noted the City has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for this study and were looking into potential development of existing structures or potential properties. Councilmembers Woessner, Marrow, Stucky, Mayor Pro Tem Hizon, and Mayor Wright provided their respective questions and comments, City Administrator Combs, Parks and Recreation Director Smith, Parks and Recreation Supervisor Cable, and Commissioners Stucky, Dipzinski, and Biggs responded to questions and offered additional discussion. Pickleball Courts: Councilmembers Stucky, Woessner, Armes, Marrow, Mayor Pro Tem Hizon and Mayor Wright pro- vided their respective questions and comments. City Administrator Combs, Parks and Recreation Director Smith, Parks and Recreation Supervisor Cable, and Commissioners Stucky, Dipzinski, and Biggs responded to questions and offered additional discussion Councilmembers also inquired about the progress on the Freedom Park walking trails and disc golf course, with Parks and Recreation Director Smith, Parks and Recreation Supervisor Cable, and Commissioner Dipzinski responding. Commissioner Dupzinski also discussed the need for additional outdoor facilities and parking to pro- mote traffic flow and safety. He also cited drainage issues at Fort Nugent as well as a lack of lighting. Parks and Recreation Director Smith noted his staff all participated in safety training and working with youth. He noted they also worked closely with the Oak Harbor Police Department and stressed preparation and safety. Chair Stucky thanked the Council for the joint meeting. Mayor Wright called for a short break at 2:36 p.m. and resumed the workshop at 2:41 p.m. CITY COUNCIL Mayor Wright invited Councilmembers to provide any updates on the City’s boards, commissions or committees on which they serve as a Council liaison. Councilmembers Marrow, Armes, Woessner, Stucky and Mayor Pro Tem Hizon provided their re- spective comments and reports. Councilmember Marrow reported on the Oak Harbor Police Department and Island Transit working together on bicycle training costs for both entities. Workshop Meeting Minutes May 27, 2025 Page 4 of 6 Councilmember Armes reported on the Marina Advisory Commission which has an open position. She and Mayor Wright also praised the work of newly named Harbormaster Alyce Henry at the Anacortes Boat Show. Councilmember Woessner reported the Planning Commission has been working with staff on the 2025 Comprehensive Plan. The Commission has several open positions and is valued for providing input on long-range planning for the City. He encouraged applications. Mayor Pro Tem Hizon reported that the Northwest Clean Air Agency recently issued grant funding for regional projects. She noted that San Juan County has returned to membership with the agency, realizing the resource it provides for monitoring equipment and information. Councilmember Stucky reported he was continuing to work with the mayors of Coupeville, Langley and Commissioner Johnson on redoing the interlocal agreement for Embrace Whidbey, noting it may be under a completely different structure in six months. Councilmember Stucky noted the Lodging Tourism Advisory Committee (LTAC) would be starting to meet again soon. He praised the recent Whidbey Renaissance Faire, which had an estimated 12,000 attendees. Mayor Pro Tem Hizon noted that regarding the promotion of Alyce Henry to Harbormaster, Marina staff had all expressed their support and appreciated being included in meeting and touring the can- didates. Councilmember Marrow observed his positive impression of this administration’s hiring processes. CITY ADMINISTRATOR a. Monthly Departmental Reports City Administrator Combs reported staff would be bringing confirmations for several open advisory positions in July, utilizing the new process approved by the Council. Staff is continuing to update bylaws and ordinances for Advisory Boards as an ongoing project. City Administrator Combs provided details on the following monthly report items: • Public Works reporting • The addition of Public Records Requests reporting and the number that are not picked up • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software Training • Internet Technology and Cybersecurity • Parks Review, including project updates Mayor Wright noted he and City Administrator Combs would be attending emergency management training from Oak Harbor Fire Chief Anderson in August along with the County Commissioners and other officials and thanked Chief Anderson for providing this valuable training. Councilmembers are scheduled to attend the training on another date. Mayor Pro Tem Hizon and Councilmember Marrow provided their respective questions and com- ments regarding public records. Mayor Wright noted that Councilmember Stucky had asked about the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) regarding homelessness that staff has been developing. With Chief Slowik’s return, he and Communications Officer Aguilar will work to finalize the FAQ and provide it to the Council and to the community. Workshop Meeting Minutes May 27, 2025 Page 5 of 6 DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT a. Action Item: Amendment No. 6 to BHC Professional Services Agreement for Building Official Services Development Services Director Kuhl reviewed the proposed amendment. He explained BHC has been performing on-call building services for the City since a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) was established on March 2, 2021. The PSA with scope of services includes plans examining, Inspections, and Building Official services. BHC provides a back-up plan for the City if staffing needs emerge to prevent gaps in plan review and inspection services. Amendment No. 6 adds $30,000 to the current PSA with BHC. Staff will evaluate the City’s needs when the Agreement next expires in March of 2027. Mayor Wright confirmed no comments had been received on this action item. There were no comments from the Council. Motion: Councilmember Marrow moved to approve the Professional Services Agreement Amend- ment with BHC for Building Official Services. Mayor Pro Tem Hizon seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Presentation: Mayor Wright noted this workshop marked Development Services Director Kuhl’s last meeting with the City Council as he is retiring. He thanked Director Kuhl and noted it had been an honor to work with him over the past year and a half. Director Kuhl thanked the Mayor and Council. He noted the Development Services Department has made great strides in the last five years with continuous improvement and progress working with other departments within the City. For things coming on the horizon, he cited the Economic Devel- opment and Strategy Action Plan, the Waterfront Redevelopment Program, the Multi-Family Tax Exemption Program, and the Comprehensive Plan which is currently underway, and affordable hous- ing projects near target areas for services as the major projects facing the City. He described his time at the City as “a great run” and having worked in other places, noted how great the City of Oak Harbor was to work for. Mayor Pro Tem Hizon observed how the Development Services Department had grown and pro- gressed under Director Kuhl’s leadership. She presented him with a plaque made from wood sal- vaged from the fallen Garry Oak tree, stating the City’s sincere appreciation for his service. ADJOURN There being no further business, Mayor Wright adjourned the workshop at 3:09 p.m. Certified by Julie Nester, City Clerk Workshop Meeting Minutes May 27, 2025 Page 6 of 6