SV City Council

Lodging tax grants awarded

Bill Gothmann

Current Contributor

Centerplace Roof to be Replaced

Following a consultant’s study of the numerous leaks in the Centerplace roof, staff recommended that it be replaced with a standing seam metal roof at a total project cost of $607,000. Centerplace opened in September of 2005. Leaks in the roof became significant in 2014 and repairs were made in 2015 and 2016. However, they continued to occur, so in 2019, Architects West was consulted. The problem is under the roof tiles. The original roof type was popular at the time, but it did not stand up to the area’s freeze-thaw cycles and is no longer used for new installations. The new roof would have long life, excellent weather tightness and require virtually no maintenance. Plans are to start construction in mid-April and to be completed by the end of May. Council consented for staff to replace the roof.

Split Decision Approval for Northwest Winterfest Grant

As discussed in last month’s The Current, the City has a 2% hotel/motel tax to generate funds for tourism. The Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) makes recommendations for grants to agencies for this purpose and sends these recommendations to Council. Council has the option of either approving or disapproving each recommendation or sending the entire package back to LTAC for reconsideration. The committee recommended setting aside $450,000 of the $795,000 budget for a “large sports venue or venues for tourism facilities that generate overnight guests.” The Committee decided the remainder would go for grants to Hub Sports Center ($55,020), JAKT – Crave NW ($18,600), JAKT – Farmers Market ($8,000), JAKT – Oktoberfest ($8,400), Northwest Winterfest ($48,000), Spokane Fair and Expo Center ($66,000), Spokane Sports Commission ($45,000), Valleyfest ($18,600), Valleyfest Cycle Celebration ($1,380), and Visit Spokane ($50,000). However, on Dec. 12, when Deputy Mayor Pam Haley made the motion for final approval of these recommendations, she assigned Winterfest zero funds, indicating “They cannot do what they said they were going to do with this amount of money. … They have promised it in the past and not delivered.” Council Member Ben Wick attended the Winterfest kickoff event, stating “I believe they have come on with some pretty large sponsorships. I know Avista has come on as the presenting sponsor.” Council Member Arne Woodard stated, “I’m going to vote for the zero for a lot of reasons. Initially they said they did not need money. They needed our park. Now they want lots of money in addition to that.” He called this a bait and switch. Council Member Brandi Peetz, who also attended the Winterfest kickoff event, noted they have sought other forms of support in addition to Avista. Additionally, the City of Spokane just awarded them a grant. Council member Wood, noting he chaired LTAC where it received a unanimous vote, supported the Committee’s recommendation. A motion by Wick to include the Winterfest grant passed by a 4:3 vote with Mayor Higgins, Deputy Mayor Haley, and Council member Woodard dissenting.

Council Opposes Local Income Tax

Seattle passed an income tax on high income citizens. However, on appeal, the court ruled that it was not constitutional because it did not apply equally to all citizens. Thus, a flat income tax might be acceptable. The State Supreme Court has yet to rule on the issue. The City of Spokane placed a proposition on the ballot prohibiting any local income tax and voters in every precinct approved the measure. Given the uncertainty of the issue in the courts and in the legislature, the Spokane Valley City Council unanimously passed a resolution voicing opposition to a City levied income tax. It should be noted that a future Council could weigh in with a different resolution. S

pokane Valley Arts Council (SVAC) to Donate Sculpture

In March, Council approved an agreement that reduced to writing the method by which SVAC can donate art to the City. In November, Staff brought forward a motion to accept a bronze sculpture, “The Assent” by Gary Lee Price from SVAC. This sculpture has been at the home of Dr. James Harken for some time and was appraised at $64,650. Recently, Dr. Harken decided to present it to SVAC so they could present it to the City and the City accepted the gift. It is expected to be placed in Balfour Park as part of the park’s development. In the meantime, it will be stored.

Homelessness Action Taken

Staff has been meeting with various agencies to learn more about homelessness, identify resources, and plan for City action. They met with 13 different agencies, both public and private, and have identified seven resources. The Frontier Behavioral and SNAP Outreach Team has requested additional funding through a $1.5M County Housing and Community Development Request for Proposal, allocating Homeless Housing Assistance Act (HHAA) dollars (of which Spokane Valley contributes approximately $550,000 per year), beginning January 1, 2020. The Sheriff’s Office and Frontier Behavioral received additional funding through the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and now have two mental health co-response teams that can be utilized to interact and manage homeless individuals struggling with mental illness. The City of Spokane Valley has budgeted $100,000 in 2020 to support this effort or similar services. Jewel’s Helping Hands has continued to provide relocation, transportation, laundry and shower services through private funding. Avista is utilizing dollars from their philanthropy program to fund programs for the homeless, such as the new warming shelter. The City will participate in community talks to make sure Spokane Valley is considered in how these funds are being utilized. The City could consider utilizing outside agency funding to support agencies that support City’s homelessness plan. The City could take advantage of affordable housing sales tax credit and consider other incentives to increase the stock of affordable housing.

Currently, there are $1.1 million of Homeless Housing Assistance Act money being expended on programs within the County and 16 applications for $3.3 million in additional funds. There are 709 beds available throughout the County; 359 for adult men, 158 for adult women, 171 for families, and 21 for youth. The largest provider is Union Gospel Mission with 328 beds.

Councilman Sam Wood addresses the crowd at his farewell party Dec. 17, 2019. Mr. Wood held position 6 from 2015-2019.

Photo by Ben Wick

The County just approved taking $750,000 out of the funds built up from recording fees (including those from Spokane Valley) and using these to fund 18 months operation of a warming center, the location of which is yet undecided. The Center would not just provide warmth, but include addressing issues of the homeless individuals. Before passing the resolution to do this, Commissioners questioned Spokane Valley representatives to determine the City’s needs and concerns and addressed these issues.

The City has a goal to remove high-conflict homeless camps from City property such as Balfour Park by gaining the confidence of the homeless and providing the necessary services to move individuals out of these areas. The City is also planning to provide a summary of who the homeless actually are and discuss various options including cost benefit analysis and funding sources to address the problem.

Fees Increase for City Services

Council approved the following changes to fees the City charges: Planning Department: Add a small cell permit application with fees of $500 for up to five small cell sites, and an additional $100 for each site beyond five. Parks and Recreation: Increase swimming lessons from $35 to $40 and swim team fees from $45 to $60. Centerplace: add a rental fee for the Executive Conference Room of $156 for four hours or $416 per day; add a fee for west lawn Weddings of $1000 for two hours (Centerplace Reception); add a cleanup fee for groups bringing their own food on Sundays of $52 for groups under 30 in a small meeting room, $210 for groups under 150 in a large meeting room or lounge, $500 for groups over 150 in the Great Room; add a picnic shelter fee at Browns Park of $84 for five hours; add an undeveloped Balfour park rental/use fee of $500 per day; delete the horse arena fee; revise some damage deposits.

2019 Multifaceted Marketing Effort

The City has three key strategies within its five-year marketing plan: promote business recruitment, retention, and expansion; increase events and promote tourism; and build brand identity and engage the community. In 2019, the City used video, digital marketing, social media, point-of-service, website content, email marketing, and traditional media as part of implementing those strategies. Videos reached 80% of the Spokane TV market and 24% of the Seattle/ Tacoma TV market. Social media channels included Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Scope Changed for Grant to Spokane Valley Summer Theater (SVST)

SVST received a grant of $5000 to conduct a performing arts playin-a-week camp. However, Central Valley School District notified SVST that Central Valley High School’s theater is unavailable due to repairs. Thus, SVST is unable to conduct the camp. However, University High School is available and SVST wishes to offer three productions there. They applied to the City to permit them to use the funds for these productions and for programming expenses, since the change in venue will require considerable effort. Council approved.

State Legislative Lobbyist Selected

The City went out for bids on state lobbying services. Only one response was received, that from the City’s present lobbyist since 2007, Gordon Thomas Honeywell. Since staff and Council were pleased with their service, Council approved authorizing the City Manager to finalize a proposed agreement, costing $60,000 per year, an increase of 3% over last year’s contract. The initial contract was set at $90,900 for 18 months in order to move the expiration date to June 30, which better meets the needs of the City to prepare for the legislative session that occurs in the first quarter of the year. The contract would include up to four yearly renewals. Vactoring Services Extended In 2018, the City went out for bids for storm drain cleaning services. The $207,587.50 bid was awarded to AAA Sweeping and included up to four extensions if mutually agreed by both parties. Council agreed to renew the contract for 2020 and include a 1.8% increase in hourly rates. However, labor and materials costs are limited to the same as 2019. Thus, AAA Sweeping will be working less by 1.8% but receive the same pay as in 2019.

Procurement Code Changes Approved

Council approved an ordinance modifying the City’s procurement code to coincide with recent changes at the State level. Generally, State law requires the City to use formal competitive bidding for large public works projects, but allows use of bidders off a “small works roster” for small public works projects. Finally, the State Legislature has set limits for very small public works projects and does not require competitive bidding below those limits. The ordinance redefines the “lowest responsible bidder” as the lowest bidder or the second lowest bidder within 5% of the lowest bidder when determined that past performance of the lowest bidder has not been up to specifications on past projects. Contracts must be competitively bid if they are in excess of $350,000, up $50,000 from the previous limit. Under $350,000, the small works roster may be used. The lower threshold under which competitive bidding is encouraged but not required was raised from $65,000 to $116,155 where two or more crafts or trades are involved, and from $40,000 to $75,000 where only one craft or trade is involved. The ordinance also allows the City to contract with the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) to maintain its small works roster. The City Manager’s contract authority for “contracts, contract modifications, or change orders without city council” in aggregate is changed from $200,000 to $350,000.