Joint Council and Planning Commission Work Session & Council Work Session

TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 1 CONVENE: 6:00 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Debbie Sullivan and Councilmembers Peter Agabi, Michael Althauser, Joan Cathey, Angela Jefferson, Eileen Swarthout, and Kelly Von Holtz. Planning Commission: Chair Elizabeth Robbins and Commissioners Grace Edwards, Terry Kirkpatrick, Brandon Staff, and Michael Tobias. Excused: Councilmember Leatta Dahlhoff and Commissioner Anthony Varela. Staff: City Administrator Lisa Parks, City Attorney Karen Kirkpatrick, Finance Director Troy Niemeyer Fire Chief Brian Hurley, Water Resources and Sustainability Director Dan Smith, Sustainability Coordinator Alyssa Jones Wood, Planning Manager Brad Medrud, and Housing and Land Use Planner Erika Smith- Erickson. 2025 COMPREHENSIVE Coordinator Jones Wood briefed the Council on the City’s proposed PLAN PERIODIC UPDATE approach to address recent state requirements to add a Climate – CLIMATE ELEMENT: Element to the Comprehensive Plan as part of the periodic update. New requirements for the Climate Element include two subcomponents: a Climate Mitigation Sub-Element to address actions to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and vehicle miles traveled and a Climate Resilience Sub-Element to address climate adaptation. Additionally, jurisdictions are required to consider environmental justice to avoid worsening environmental health disparities. The Climate Mitigation Sub-Element addresses GHG through actions to eliminate the emission of GHG to reduce the rate and extent of climate change damage. Greenhouse gas emissions include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, HFCs, and any other gas or gasses designated by Washington State. New requirements for the sub-element include adding goals and strategies for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 consistent with Washington’s statewide target. The requirements are above the current GHG reduction goals included in the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan (TCMP) accepted by the City Council in 2021. The TCMP will be incorporated within the Climate Mitigation Sub- Element. Additional goals and strategies will be added to bridge the gap between TCMP goals and the state’s net-zero 2050 goal. TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 2 The Department of Commerce developed guidance for development of the Climate Change Element. The guidance document outlines pathways of the requirements and options for jurisdictions. The City plans to pursue a mix of Pathway 1 and Pathway 3. The Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative (TCMC) completed a 2022 GHG inventory. The Department of Commerce is also in the process of producing GHG inventories for 2022 for 11 of the most populated counties in the state, including Thurston County. The City will use the Department of Commerce Greenhouse Gas Inventory in addition to staff creating a GHG inventory estimate for the City of Tumwater. According to the TCMC GHG inventory, the 2022 Thurston County GHG inventory reflects an increase of 6.2% over the 2015 baseline. Most emissions are from the building and energy sectors (residential, commercial, and industrial buildings). The second largest emission of GHG is from the transportation sector. Other contributors include agriculture and solid waste and wastewater. Similar to the Climate Mitigation Sub-Element, the Climate Resilience Sub-Element includes steps and pathways prescribed by the Department of Commerce. The first step is exploring climate impacts utilizing a University of Washington climate impact tool to assess different climate hazards countywide. The second step is an audit of the plan and policies. Step three assesses vulnerability with step four pursuing the three pathways. The Thurston Hazards Mitigation Plan, adopted by the City Council in 2024, is in substantial conformance with state guidance. Additionally, the Thurston Climate Adaption Plan will be updated and incorporated in the sub-element. Using the Department of Commerce Climate Element Workbook, staff and the consultants will investigate and address any gaps between state requirements and content from the Thurston Hazards Mitigation Plan. Additionally, it will be important that all information in the sub- element is consistent throughout the entire Comprehensive Plan. Within the sub-element all 11 sectors must have one goal. The 11 sectors include agriculture & food systems, building & energy, cultural resources, economic development, emergency management, health & well-being, ecosystems, transportation, waste management, water resources, and zoning and development. The third component within the Climate Element is environmental justice, which will include prioritizing greenhouse gas emission TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 3 reductions in overburdened communities and prioritizing climate resilience in communities that will disproportionately suffer from compounding environmental impacts. A series of different maps will be used to identify overburdened areas. Progress to date includes contracting with EXP as the consultant, completing a Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative Community Advisory Workgroup Visioning and Values exercise, drafting a Community Engagement Strategy, establishment of a Policy Advisory Team, and scheduling of an open house. EXP is a multidisciplinary planning, design, and engineering firm. Keren Bolter, PhD, is the Project Manager, and Louis Spanias serves as the Sustainability Lead. The Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative (TCMC) is responsible for implementation of the TCMP and oversees the jurisdictions, Executive Committee, Community Advisory Workgroup (community members), and the staff team (Thurston County, Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater). Each body has different roles and responsibilities. An interlocal agreement and a guidance document established the structure. During a meeting of the TCMC Community Advisory Workgroup, members participated in a visioning exercise for the entire region offering input on the following: • Their values • Their wants • What should be preserved • Hopes on what the Thurston region will be in the future • What should be improved, enhanced, or created that does not currently exist today Coordinator Jones Wood summarized responses from the participants. The Community Engagement Strategy includes 10 goals: 1. Understand why and how residents think services and processes need to change and develop to increase GHG reduction and climate resilience 2. Engage the broader community, ensuring sufficient representation from diverse groups through in-person, virtual, or hybrid outreach and both digital and printed resources 3. Meet people where they are and ensure all engagement efforts are accessible and equitable – This means not TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 4 excluding anyone with certain health, physical, or working conditions, and it requires that needs around language, mobility, or family care are thoughtfully addressed 4. Keep the energy positive and focus on success stories, while also stressing the need for action and potential risks 5. Support clear and consistent messaging to current and potential stakeholders communicating the importance of the Climate Element 6. Be responsive to community insights and allow for shared influence between communities and the organizations that serve them 7. Focus on reducing inequalities and fostering greater community ownership of the Climate Element which will lead to equitable outcomes to benefit frontline communities 8. Seek how best to intentionally allocate resources to overcome the cumulative impacts of institutional racism on historically underserved and under-represented people 9. Articulate Tumwater’s role as a climate leader, aligning with county and state priorities and harnessing local experience and expertise 10. Position Tumwater City staff and residents to make better- informed decisions, driving smarter investments so the City develops safely in a healthier environment, even with growing climate impacts A number of different strategies to be employed include: • Community-wide surveys • Open houses and public workshops • Small-group workshops or community dialogues • Pop-up events and door-knocking • Passive engagement The intent of the different strategies is to achieve accessibility and inclusion, engage in relationship building, ensure alignment with stakeholders and policy, achieve representation and equity, and ensure robustness and wholeness of the community engagement process. Engagement themes and topics include: • Characterization/Background: Every fraction of a degree of warming matters; net-zero by 2050, and regulatory drivers • Planning Process: Internal group activities and priorities (City departments, elected officials, staff, etc.); community-wide activities, priorities, and advisory (Climate Policy Advisory Team, open houses, etc.) • Fact Base/Analysis: Climate change (e.g. human activities, TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 5 local and global impacts); GHG; climate vulnerability, risk, adaptation, and resilience • Equity: Identifying, understanding, and addressing existing disparities and gaps across demographics, socioeconomic status, race, ethnic, and gender identity, and ability, etc. • Goals: Short – and Long-term goals; and climate resilience and adaptation • Policies: Governance and leadership; communication, education, and outreach; land use, zoning, development, food and agriculture systems; urban forests, watersheds, ecosystems, transportation and mobility; buildings and energy; consumption and solid waste, water supply, wastewater, and stormwater; health, hazard mitigation, and emergency management with focus on wildfire, extreme heat, and flooding, etc. • Implementation: Roles and responsibilities; interorganizational coordination; prioritization (criteria); feasibility; and monitoring and evaluation Coordinator Jones Wood reviewed engagement phases and the schedule. Based on guidance by the Department of Commerce, the City established a Climate Policy Advisory Team (CPAT) comprised of members from government, affected populations, community members, and areas of expertise. Coordinator Jones Wood identified the members of the CPAT. Initial feedback from the CPAT at its first meeting included: • The open house needs to feel welcoming - advertise that food will be provided for attendees and hold the open house at a location other than an official City building. • Engagement needs to be more than one open house – Examples: table at parks, table at the Department of Social and Health Services, and/or door-knock in neighborhoods that are more disadvantaged and/or overburdened. • Focus more on the urban forests of Tumwater as part of both mitigation and adaptation to climate change and include youth • Distribute a save the date flyer that clearly communicates how people will be expected to participate and how the City will be accountable to what they hear. • Provide space for both table activities and a large group listening session – Provide options for people to engage who TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 6 may be less likely to speak. A Climate Element Open House is scheduled on August 14, 2024 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at ASHHO Cultural Community Center. The event requires online registration for food preparation. A virtual/online open house is scheduled August 15 through September 30, 2024 24 hours a day with translation through Google translate in an online story map format. Coordinator Jones Wood reviewed the schedule for completion of the Climate Element: • Project Kickoff: Refine Workplan, Define Vision • Public Engagement Strategy Addendum and Targeted Outreach Plan (May 2024) • Implement the Equity-driven Addendum, Engagement Results (Summer 2024) • Refine Drafts, Update with Feedback, Support Transmittal (September – November 2024) • Consistency and Integration Memorandum (September 2024) • Document Review, Gap Analysis, Draft Sub-Elements (September 2024 • Finalization and Formal Approval Process (2025) All documents related to the periodic update are on the City’s periodic update webpage. Written comments or questions are welcome during the periodic update process and can be submitted by email at compplan@ci.tumwater.wa.us. Coordinator Jones Wood invited discussion and questions on the Council’s values and visions for the Climate Element and any missing elements from the engagement strategy that should be addressed. Commissioner Tobias inquired about the status of carbon capture technology. Coordinator Jones Wood responded that carbon capture through nature has been an effective tool for millinea. However, other forms of carbon capture, mostly technological, are now available but most shares of this technology have already been claimed. Coordinator Jones Wood shared that a tool created by MIT, Climate EN-ROADS, is a simulator that focuses on how changes in global GDP, energy efficiency, technological innovation, and carbon price influence carbon emissions, global temperature, and other factors. The tool is designed to provide a synthesis of the best available science on climate solutions, and shows that carbon capture does very little to reduce emissions globally TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 7 Councilmember Swarthout asked whether carbon capture would be part of the work in terms of developing policy suggestions. Coordinator Jones Wood said the MIT tool is a climate global model; however, the Department of Commerce is completing a wedge analysis of Thurston County reflecting trends in GHG and actions necessary to achieve the 2050 goal. Councilmember Swarthout asked about the format of tabling during community engagement events. Coordinator Jones Wood advised that no table exercises have been initiated at this time; however, she visits the food bank each quarter to recruit members for the Community Advisory Workgroup and to disseminate information on the City’s lifeline program and water incentives. Councilmember Cathey asked whether the efforts are specific to the City of Tumwater and whether actions would be completed by the City’s advisory committees and/or the Council. Her concern surrounds issues that have been part of ongoing conversations for many years that may or may not be included in the Climate Element. She asked about the areas of environmental justice as one example. Many of the suggestions offered by the Community Advisory Workgroup through its visioning exercise would likely create more emissions with less focus on carbon capture and nature’s role. She asked how to become involved other than through participating in community meetings. Coordinator Jones Wood responded that the information shared during the presentation is specific to the City of Tumwater. Except for the greenhouse gas inventory, all other information is specific to Tumwater with an inventory created for Tumwater emissions using the countywide inventory. Other participation opportunities exist through the online open house as well as providing feedback to the City Administrator, Mayor, or staff. The intent is involving the City Council and the Planning Commission through frequent check-ins and progress updates. Councilmember Cathey inquired as to the form of new goals and policies. Coordinator Jones Wood replied that many new policies will be necessary for development of the Climate Resilience Sub- Element not currently included in the Thurston Hazards Mitigation Plan and the Thurston Climate Adaptation Plan. Although the Council adopted the Thurston Hazards Mitigation Plan, the Council never adopted the Thurston Climate Adaptation Plan. To meet the requirements and cover all sectors, new policies will be required as well as additional actions to achieve net-zero goals outlined in the TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 8 TCMP and through other efforts by the City. Manager Medrud noted that as part of the policy updates for other elements of the Comprehensive Plan, staff is considering the connections between the elements. The work underway on the Climate Element will also inform the update of other elements of the Comprehensive Plan. Staff is striving to prepare all the draft elements concurrently to ensure consistency between the elements. Chair Robbins inquired about the staff and financial resources that will be necessary to complete the actions. Coordinator Jones Wood said the intent of the draft Climate Element is to ensure all actions are implementable and finically feasible by the City. In terms of climate actions, many less costly climate actions have been completed by the City. However, future actions will be more difficult and more costly. The City is expected to meet specific goals to achieve identified results. Commissioner Staff asked whether staff contacted other municipalities to obtain additional information on their respective efforts to draft a climate element. He has observed many more solar panels in other jurisdictions and other forms of energy north of Tumwater. Coordinator Jones Wood encouraged Commissioners to visit the solar dashboard on the City’s website, which is updated monthly based on solar permit installations. The site includes a map of all solar permits issued over the years, which are increasing. The staff team as part of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaboration meet weekly to share information on the status of efforts and issues. Outside of the Thurston region, the City is a member of the Urban Sustainability Director’s Network, a peer network of other staff members throughout North American and Canada to share documents, policies, lessons learned, and failures. She also participates in other peer learning groups. Commissioner Staff asked about the largest lever that could be employed that would achieve the best results. Coordinator Jones Wood said reduction in fossil fuels would be the main action to assist in achieving goals. Commissioner Staff commented on the lack of electric vehicle charging stations in the City compared to other cities. He asked about the status of installing more stations. Coordinator Jones Wood said she is working on expanding the City’s municipal charging infrastructure for the City’s fleet, as well as providing public charging when possible. The City Council recently approved a pilot project for solar powered off-grid EV charging station at TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 9 Pioneer Park. Staff is exploring different innovative solutions and expanding EV charging stations by taking advantage of grants. However, federal grants impose some limitations for expanding EV charging. Private businesses install EV charging stations based on market analysis. Councilmember Swarthout asked whether installations of EV stations are through a coordinated effort rather than by piecemeal efforts. She recounted how her son was able travel and charge his EV from Mountlake Terrace to Canada. She asked whether installations by the City are in appropriate locations to afford charging opportunities for travelers. Coordinator Jones Wood replied that there are different approaches in terms of how the City deploys EV charging infrastructure for road trips along highways as well as in places that are more difficult to install EV stations, such as multifamily housing. With available funding, the City’s approach is based on properties owned by the City that could include installation of an EV charging station. PlugShare is an app that identifies EV charging stations. The number of charging stations in Tumwater continues to increase. Chair Robbins requested consideration of scheduling a demonstration of the wedge tool provided by the Department of Commerce as a way to understand the tool, the type of input data, and as a way to determine the confidence level of any proposed policy. Coordinator Jones Wood advised that the wedge tool is not an interactive tool for the public while the MIT EN-ROADS tool is an interactive tool. The City does not have access to the Department of Commerce website hosting the wedge tool. She provided additional information on the modeling elements of the wedge tool. Activity data are entered into ClearPath, a commonly used online software platform for completing greenhouse gas inventories, forecasts, climate action plans, and monitoring at the community- wide or government operations scale. Emission factors are entered as determined by Puget Sound Energy. The wedge tool calculates the amount of emissions based on reductions in kilowatt-hours through different changes in activity by mode (natural gas, electricity, vehicle miles traveled). She offered to contact the Department of Commerce to inquire about the possibility of scheduling a demonstration. Additionally, many of the actions will achieve some of the largest reductions, which is not necessarily dependent upon the wedge analysis as those actions are through the reduction of natural gas, electricity, and road travel by other modes of travel such as bikes, transit, and walking. Councilmember Swarthout noted that a new apartment complex near TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 10 the Safeway features EV charging stations. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION: FIRE DEPARTMENT Fire Chief Hurley reported the briefing covers the update of the STRATEGIC PLAN Tumwater Fire Department Five-Year Strategic Plan. The previous BRIEFING: plan expired in 2021 during efforts to establish a Regional Fire Authority (RFA). Throughout 2022, the fire department was involved in the planning of the RFA. Although the RFA was not approved by voters in 2023, the fire department budget included an update of the strategic plan. At the end of 2023, the fire department hired a consulting firm. The update commenced in January 2024. In February 2024, meetings were held with the consulting firm with City staff, Tumwater Fire Department staff, union leadership, external stakeholders, partners, and community members. The result was development of the Five-Year Strategic Plan and an agency evaluation as to the operation of the fire department compared to peers and national standards. Fire Chief Hurley introduced Richard Curtis, Project Manager with Emergency Services Consulting International. Mr. Curtis identified several other team members with extensive fire department experience. The City of Tumwater has a population of 27,000 individual and is 18 square miles in size. Households are comprised of 2.5 people. The process evaluated population density based on census blocks for the City. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard considers 1,000 people or more per square mile as urban area. The majority of the City is urban. The evaluation considered call data from the department from 2019 to 2023 totaling 15,744 incidents within the City of Tumwater. Other incidents occurred outside the City under the Medic One system. The evaluation focused on the City of Tumwater call volume. During that evaluation period, there were approximately 300 fire incidents with the greatest population density located between Station T1 and T2. There are several pockets of populations south of T2 and north of T2 of higher density near Interstate 5 and intersections where car fires likely occur. The evaluation also reviewed emergency medical service (EMS) incidents totaling 12,000 with 80% of all calls for emergency medical services. The evaluation considered distribution, the first response unit to begin taking actions, and whether the unit could TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 11 mitigate the incident. Typically, two standards are evaluated. The first is the NFPA four-minute travel time standard. Each fire station has a four-minute travel time boundary. The first unit expectation is arriving at the incident within the four minutes. The Washington Survey and Rating Bureau evaluates the City for insurance rates and has a different standard of 1.5 miles. The standards are nearly identical in terms of the four-minute response. Both stations in the City should cover most of the City. Another area evaluated was concentration whereby some incidents require more response than just the fire engine with three or four firefighters. All firefighters should respond to a residential or commercial structure fire to ensure simultaneous tasks are completed to mitigate the incident. Concentration uses an eight- minute travel time. The boundaries are larger from each station with some overlap. The concentration of firefighters is considered the effective response force. Concentration is also dependent upon the type of fire or incident, each with a certain number of tasks to be completed to mitigate the incident effectively. A table in NFPA 17.10 illustrates the number of firefighters needed in addition to the tasks required to complete based on the type of risk. Three different types of risk are identified. A community risk assessment standard identifies all the different types of risks a community could encounter and the level of each risk. The information is then correlated to develop a task analysis for each type of risk. For structural fires, approximately 16-17 firefighters are required for residential fires to meet all obligations of simultaneous tasks. The team evaluated the City’s two fire stations and the ISO or Washington Survey and Rating Bureau standard of 1.5 miles. The map reflects the distance of 1.5 miles from each fire facility with some overlap resulting in coverage of six square miles of the City totaling 12 square miles or 31% of the City’s area. Some portions of the City are not covered by either fire station for first response. The evaluation also considered four-minute travel, which is nearly identical. Another requirement by the Washington Survey and Rating Bureau is the number of buildings with three or more stories in height or large expansive buildings with a fire flow greater than 4,000 gallons per minute. The requirement is a ladder truck and staff available for response in the City. The City does not have a ladder truck; however, the City has an agreement with the Olympia Fire Department. The standard requires the equipment to be located within 2.5 miles of the risk. Olympia’s ladder truck coverage area is available to only 1% of the City. TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 12 The evaluation for measurement of concentration reflected on duty resources (9 firefighters) and utilization of local mutual aid from all departments to ascertain response within the time standard of eight minutes. Based on 17 firefighters, the response covers only 5% of the City. The outcome could include fires burning out or burning out of control, or some tasks accomplished while other task completion dependent upon additional resources. Essentially, the determination is the level of risk the community is willing to accept. Mr. Curtis congratulated the Fire Department for receiving a recent rating from 4 to 3. The rating report included several issues the Fire Department has control over. The report evaluated fire department, communications, water supply, and fire safety control (fire prevention and public education). Of the 38 categories evaluated, the four lowest rated categories were distribution of engine companies, number of company officers and qualifications, types of training and amount of training by the department, and reserve ladder and pumper companies. In terms of fire safety control, there are nine categories with the fire department marked low in four categories of fire inspector qualifications, inspection of existing structures, community education programs, and fire investigation qualifications. Councilmember Swarthout questioned the data documenting the need for a ladder truck. Fire Chief Hurley replied that any commercial structure fire in the City includes a ladder truck dispatch from the Olympia Fire Department. Ladder trucks are used for a variety of reasons, from fire rescue from a multistory building. Mr. Curtis added that ladder trucks provide ladder service that could include forcible entry, ventilation, laddering the building to relieve firefighters on the roof, and search and rescue. Mr. Curtis described the response performance of the fire department. A sequence of events contributed to the performance with some controlled and not controlled by the department. The first element is dispatch receiving the 911 call, processing the call, and notifying the department. The standard for dispatch processing time is one minute under the NFPA 12.25 national standard. The next element is the department’s receipt of the page. The department must prepare for response to the unit within one minute of an EMS call and 1 minute and 20 seconds for a fire call because of the need to outfit personnel with fire protection equipment and gear. The standard for the first unit to arrive on scene is four minutes. Based on data, the fire department’s performance is 9 TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 13 minutes and 42 seconds. The department is working on several areas to address response time related to dispatch and station configuration issues. Councilmember Swarthout questioned whether departments typically meet the benchmarks. Mr. Curtis replied that some but not all departments meet the benchmarks. However, the time is the recommended standard and is considered the best practice with a goal of achieving best practice to the extent possible. In terms of code enforcement, the evaluation included the department’s history for code enforcement. Currently, the department has one Fire Prevention Officer, who recently retired. The department experienced a shortage of annual fire inspections based on the number of buildings (1,200 occupancies). The best practices standard is an inspection of each occupied building each year. For high hazard occupancy, the inspection standard is twice annually. The department has not achieved the standard based on various reasons, such as the COVID pandemic. Publicly available data on building structures of different categories identified 352 industrial buildings, 415 commercial buildings, and 274 government, educational, or utility structures throughout the City. The Fire Prevention Officer is also responsible for community risk reduction through public education. COVID contributed to the decline in public education with more emphasis in code enforcement and public education required. The strategic planning process included internal and external stakeholder feedback. The process included a fire department internal survey with good participation of 79%. A two-day work session was held with 20 individuals completing a number of different exercises. Themes were narrowed to develop strategies around the major themes. Mission, vision, and value statements were updated for the fire department. Six strategic goals were identified in alignment with City goals and with community expectations to provide safe, timely, and effective response, improve services to strengthen cooperative services, enhance the training program, implement a communications strategy both internally and externally to ensure sustainability of the department’s culture, ensure effective recruitment and retention of personnel, maintain a high standard, and improve employee wellness. Based on projections from Thurston Regional Planning Council, the City is projected to grow 1.5% each year over the next 20 years. Over the next 10 years, the City will grow by another 5,000 TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 14 residents resulting in more impacts to emergency services and fire. Based on current call volume, the City would experience an increase of 1,200 incidents over the next 10 years. Recommendations include improving the effective response time by adding more personnel per shift to meet the 16-firefighter standard for residential fires. The recommendation is adding a fourth firefighter to each shift at each station, and adding two new EMS positions for the Medic Unit at Station T2 to increase the effective response force from nine to thirteen. Alternatively, instead of adding the fourth position on the engine company, another option is adding a two-person aid unit at Station T1. Another recommendation is expanding the footprint of both stations for the size of the City by adding a third fire station. Further analysis would be necessary to determine the best location of the third station. Additionally, the recommendation includes a position of Fire Marshal for moving the program forward for community risk reduction. The recommendation is establishment of an Assistant Chief position of Fire Marshal to draw expertise and experience from outside the organization to establish and develop a new community risk reduction program. Additionally, as the Fire Chief is managing the fire department, it is not possible for the Chief to manage emergency management adequately. Many choices include hiring an emergency manager either full or part-time, contract for service from a private provider, or negotiate an interlocal agreement with a local agency to focus on efforts to build the program to meet the City’s needs for a major disaster to enable the Chief to build and manage the organization effectively. Finally, partnerships are important through consolidation of training programs by considering the Olympia Fire Department as it offers a training facility. Councilmember Von Holtz asked whether the Port of Olympia has its own fire department should a catastrophe event occur during the air show. Fire Chief Hurley advised that the Tumwater Fire Department provides services to the Port of Olympia as it lacks a fire department. The air show is required to have an aircraft rescue fire fighting unit on scene during the air show. The department provides that service with the Port of Olympia covering the overtime costs. Today, the department does not have a response agreement with the Port of Olympia although there have been discussions about the need to develop an agreement. In previous years, the Port paid for training and provided a vehicle to the department. TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 15 INTERGOVERNMENTAL City Administrator Parks reported the Confederated Tribes of the AGREEMENT BETWEEN Chehalis Reservation is purchasing property from the Kaufman THE CITY OF TUMWATER Group located off 93rd Avenue near the I-5 interchange. The tribe’s AND THE Flying J facility is located south of 93rd Avenue. The property was CONFEDERATED TRIBES platted by Kaufman for business purposes; however, the tribe has OF THE CHEHALIS indicated interest in purchasing the property in its entirety. The tribe RESERVATION: contacted the City several months ago about its plans and potential agreement if the tribe moves forward with plans to purchase the property. The agreement outlines different responsibilities and agreements negotiated between the two parties for the project and the City’s role to help facilitate the project moving forward. The tribe is interested in vacating the plat and a designated public road. The City agreed with the vacation of the public road if the tribe owns the entire property. The tribe would own the road and would be responsible for maintaining the road. Until the property is transferred to the trust, the tribe’s application to the City might entail some problems with lot lines. The tribe is considering a plat vacation process with provisions in the agreement for the City to review and assist in facilitating the process of vacating the plat to convert the property to its original form as a single parcel. As the road is currently construction, the tribe might need to move the road and any utilities, the City would agree to collaborate and review the proposals and provide feedback and information on next steps. The City received funding to complete an interchange study for the interchange. The City is including the tribe as stakeholders in the process to provide input on any changes to the interchange that would help serve its project. Based on existing stormwater maintenance agreements, once the tribe assumes ownership of the property, the maintenance agreements would no longer be required with the City considering the modification or extinguishing the stormwater maintenance agreements in the future if necessary. The tribe’s responsibilities include initiating the plat vacation process, acknowledgement of ownership and maintenance of the road, acknowledgment of the need or desire to relocate roads and utilities, the tribe would be financially responsible and collaborate with the City and any other state agencies, acknowledgement of existing easements in place by ensuring maintenance or replacement if necessary. Vacation of road right-of-way in the state, the City jurisdiction owning the right-of-way is required to receive half of the appraised value in some form of compensation. During conversations with the tribe, staff has acknowledged that there may be a need for right-of-way dedication for the future interchange project, which is recognized in the agreement resulting in a potential TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 16 exchange of dedications of property to increase the right-of-way profile necessary for any outcomes from the Interchange Study. The tribe also acknowledges that the Kaufman plat contained a certain level of development capacity and would address any additional road safety and concurrency issues related to its future development. Staff requests the Council place the intergovernmental agreement between the City of Tumwater and the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation on the Council’s consent calendar with a recommendation to approve and authorize the Mayor to sign before the end of July to enable the tribe to finalize the sale. The Council agreed to move the request to the consent calendar on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. MAYOR/CITY City Administrator Parks reported on the success of the City’s ADMINISTRATOR’S activities during the July 4th holiday. The parade included 86 entries REPORT: and 12,000 people attended the festival. She conveyed her sincere thanks and appreciation to City employees for their efforts and support to ensure all 4th of July events were successful. Water Resources and Sustainability received notification of three grant rewards from the Department of Ecology totaling $857,000 for nutrient reduction and enhanced plans improvements of $170,000 for stormwater, Pioneer Park riparian restoration phase 2 construction dollars of $500,000, and Beehive Industrial Area stormwater retrofit design for $187,000. Increased summer temperatures resulted in a significant increase in water usage. On Monday, July 8, 2024, customers used six million gallons of water in one day or 2.5 times more consumption than on an average winter day. The General Government Committee scheduled a special meeting on July 17, 2024 at 8 a.m. On the Council’s July 16, 2024 meeting, the agenda include several construction-oriented projects that were not reviewed by a committee or during a Council work session. She asked Councilmembers to forward any questions about any of the projects prior to the meeting. Mayor Sullivan thanked staff for ensuring the City’s huge event on the 4th of July was such a success. City employees who were working on the 4th of July forfeited their holiday to ensure a successful day of events. She expressed appreciation for their hard TUMWATER JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION & COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF HYBRID MEETING July 9, 2024 Page 17 work. ADJOURNMENT: With there being no further business, Mayor Sullivan adjourned the meeting at 8:02 p.m. Prepared by Valerie L. Gow, Recording Secretary/President Puget Sound Meeting Services, psmsoly@earthlink.net