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City Council Planning, Development & Environment Committee Auto captions

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

6:30 PM · 43m 52s · Council Chambers, 135 E. Sunset Way, Issaquah WA
Topic tracked across meetings:
Capital Improvement Plan COM 0124 2/2
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
3a
Minutes of April 1, 2025
packet pp.5–6
Staff report:
APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) 04-01-25 City Council Planning, Development & Page (1) Environment Committee Minutes CITY OF ISSAQUAH City Council Planning, Development & Environment Committee 6:30 PM Council Chambers, 135 E. April 1, 2025 MINUTES Sunset Way, Issaquah WA
4. AGENDA ITEMS
4a
Capital Improvement Plan COM 0124
60 min · Andrea Snyder, Deputy City Administrator · packet pp.7–207
0:00 Yeah. Uh, I'll get started when I see
0:02 the red on air
0:08 light. All right. Welcome everyone. I'm
0:10 Council Member Zach Hall and I'm calling
0:12 the May 6, 2025 City Council Planning,
0:15 Development, and Environment Committee
0:16 to order at 6:30 p.m. I'm joined by
0:19 Council President Walsh and Council
0:20 Member Jen. Uh, really quickly to run
0:23 through the agenda, we have public
0:24 comment and approval of minutes. And
0:26 then our only agenda item is COM 0124,
0:29 the capital improvement plan. Um, so the
0:33 first item on our agenda is public
0:35 comment. I don't see any members of the
0:37 public in the audience here in the room
0:39 with us, but I'll check in with the
0:40 clerk to see if there's any members of
0:42 the public online.
0:44 Chair Hall, uh, no one has signed up
0:46 prior to the meeting to speak, and there
0:47 are no members of the public online.
0:51 All right. um then we will move on past
0:54 public comment, but we do have another
0:56 opportunity for public comment after the
0:58 presentation from staff and council
1:00 question and answer. So, if you're
1:02 tuning in on YouTube and and can't wait
1:04 to join us later in the meeting, we will
1:06 have another opportunity for you to
1:08 comment. Um the next item on our agenda
1:11 is approval of the April 1st, 2025
1:14 meeting minutes, which were distributed
1:15 in advance. Um I did have a correction
1:18 to the minutes. I'm not sure if um
1:20 committee committee members saw this,
1:21 but I would wanted to propose the
1:23 following changes to add um that the
1:26 committee agreed with staff and PPC
1:28 recommendations uh to remove the word
1:30 temporary from exempt frontage
1:32 improvements for middle housing
1:33 temporarily and change match existing
1:36 frontage use for future infill to
1:38 consider matching existing frontage use
1:41 for future infill as council discusses
1:43 street standards updates. And I just
1:45 thought that meant uh that captured our
1:47 conversation a bit more. Any objections
1:48 to making those
1:50 changes? Okay. Uh any objections to
1:53 approving by unanimous consent to the
1:56 minutes? All right. Then um hearing
1:58 none, the April 1st, 2025 meeting
2:00 minutes are approved as
2:02 corrected. Um the next item on our
2:05 agenda is column 0124, the capital
2:07 improvement plan. Um brought to us by
2:10 our very own deputy city administrator,
2:12 Andrea Snyder. So Andrea, take it away.
2:16 Thank you, Council Member Hall. I am
2:19 Andrea Snyder and with me I have a whole
2:23 team of people who have helped shape uh
2:27 the storm water section of the CIP and a
2:30 few other sections as well. They are
2:33 here to help present and answer any
2:35 questions that you might have.
2:37 Um so um
2:41 uh I wanted to first talk about the
2:44 capital improvement plan and the years
2:46 and the changes of the years. So 2027
2:48 through 2032. It is only 2025 right now.
2:52 Um the reason why we have shifted the
2:54 capital improvement plan years to uh and
2:57 to really skip 2026 in this instance is
3:01 because we wanted to better align it
3:02 with the budget years. So moving from an
3:06 annual budget to a bianial budget,
3:08 council just adopted the 25 2025 to 2026
3:13 budget. Um, so we wanted to better align
3:15 the capital improvement plan with the
3:18 budget cycle and not have a capital
3:20 improvement plan that only captured half
3:22 of the budget cycle. It's a bit awkward
3:24 and also redundant since those budget
3:26 decisions were already made by council.
3:28 So that's why we shifted it back a year
3:30 to cover 2027 through 2032. What that
3:33 means is we're looking farther into the
3:36 time horizon than what we have typically
3:38 done in a CIP. Um but in the future uh
3:42 this will um just make more sense as
3:45 it's better aligned with our banial
3:49 budget. So the purpose of this evening
3:51 is to review our two-year update to the
3:55 CIP specifically on storm water. That's
3:58 what the task of this committee is.
4:00 We've talked a little bit about what
4:02 that budget process or I'm sorry the
4:04 capital improvement plan process is
4:05 going to be. Tonight we're focused on
4:07 storm water. Next week is uh mobility
4:09 and infrastructure looking at
4:11 transportation and other utilities. Um
4:14 and uh then safety services and parks
4:17 will cover parks, facilities, and IT.
4:21 And then all of council will get
4:22 together at the committee of the whole
4:24 in the beginning of June to cover all
4:26 topics of um the CIP together. But
4:29 tonight, we're really just focused on
4:30 storm water. Uh we also want to ask for
4:33 feedback on what council's priorities in
4:35 storm water may
4:44 be. Direction needed tonight is whether
4:47 council has feedback on the proposed
4:49 storm water projects. And one of the
4:51 things we want to refer back to is we
4:53 had a previous conversation with council
4:56 at a previous committee of the whole
4:58 talking about the utility rate study and
5:01 storm water specifically. Um we have
5:03 been concerned about increasing utility
5:05 rates and the cost of living in the city
5:08 of Isiqua and how those utility rates
5:10 contribute to the cost of living for our
5:11 residents and businesses. And so, uh,
5:14 previous direction that we'd received
5:16 from council is, um, to try to smooth
5:18 out those utility rate increases, focus
5:21 on priorities of what are the urgent
5:23 things that we must do in order to, um,
5:26 properly provide for that storm water
5:29 utility, clean the storm water according
5:30 to state regulations, etc. Um, what that
5:33 means is some projects that maybe had
5:36 more of an emphasis on habitat
5:38 restoration related to storm water
5:40 projects, maybe those have been pushed
5:42 out, delayed, or scaled back in order to
5:44 make sure that we're keeping the rates
5:47 for our storm water
5:48 utility more reasonable. And so that's
5:52 direction that we had previously
5:53 received from council. What you're
5:55 seeing in this CIP reflects that
5:57 direction. Director Emily Moon in public
5:59 works is going to speak to that a little
6:01 bit more later, but um I wanted to make
6:03 sure that that was um upfront for your
6:05 awareness as we look at some of these
6:07 projects. Uh like I said, June 16th at
6:10 committee of the whole will consider all
6:11 the sections of the CIP together.
6:13 Tonight, we're just focusing on that
6:14 storm water
6:15 element. So, let's let's take a little
6:18 step back and talk about what a CIP is.
6:22 We have this conversation every time
6:23 because it's a really important
6:25 conversation. Uh the
6:27 CIP is a planning document. It is not a
6:32 budget. And so a planning document, it
6:35 helps outline for those six years of the
6:37 CIP, what are the projects that we plan
6:40 reasonably to be able to get done.
6:44 um we take components of our various
6:48 infrastructure plans and we the CIP is
6:51 where we plan on how we're going to put
6:52 all these projects together and
6:53 accomplish that entire capital um all
6:57 those capital investments in the next
6:58 six years. The CIP is also an element of
7:01 the city's comprehensive plan and it
7:04 includes the annual transportation
7:05 improvement program. State law requires
7:07 us to update the transportation
7:10 improvement program on an annual basis
7:12 and that is one component of the CIP.
7:15 The CIP also by state law must include
7:17 how projects uh may be funded. Our best
7:20 guesses at this point for what types of
7:22 revenues would be used um and how we
7:24 would fund these projects. And because
7:26 it is a planning document, we know that
7:28 it is subject to change. It's hard to
7:30 look out to
7:32 2032. Um it's in some areas it's hard to
7:36 know what type of funding will be there
7:38 in two years let alone in five or six.
7:42 So um it is subject to change as a
7:44 planning document. We do update it every
7:46 two years and um it is not a budget. So
7:51 what that means is a budget has to be
7:53 balanced between revenues and
7:54 expenditures. Uh the CIP does not have
7:57 to be balanced. In fact, it's our
8:00 typical uh practice that especially in
8:03 the later years of the CIP that we know
8:07 that we have some areas where we expect
8:09 expenditures to be greater than the
8:12 revenues we anticipate having available.
8:14 That's in part because forecasting that
8:16 far ahead is very difficult to forecast
8:19 our revenues several years in advance to
8:21 forecast exactly what a project's going
8:22 to look like. Um what other pressures
8:25 there may be on those revenue sources
8:28 like the general fund that we have to
8:29 balance out in those future years. It's
8:31 very difficult to do that. So what
8:33 you're going to see in this CIP is uh it
8:37 it is very much a planning document and
8:40 there are some things that are very
8:43 difficult to plan this year uh even more
8:46 than previous years with the
8:48 uncertainties of the economy with
8:50 uncertainties of some of our revenue
8:51 sources that we have and so it is not
8:55 meant to be exact in terms of how we
8:58 anticipate revenues will cover
8:59 expenditures. The budget is supposed to
9:02 be balanced and so that is the big
9:04 difference between the CIP and the
9:06 budget. What is unique about this CIP
9:09 compared to previous CIPs that we've
9:12 done is we know that we have some
9:15 imbalance even in the first two years of
9:17 the CIP. So, we know that there are some
9:21 projects and and that um with the
9:24 funding sources that we have now, if
9:26 they were to behave as we predict, um we
9:29 may not be able to fund or we could only
9:32 partially fund. That is a couple years
9:35 from now. And so, we have opportunities
9:38 to be able to correct that um as we look
9:41 at the next bianual budget process.
9:46 Um so this slide covers some of those
9:48 things that I mentioned. Uh overall some
9:51 of the themes with this CIP is that the
9:54 needs continue to outpace our revenues.
9:57 Uh particularly in the case of the
9:59 general fund and REIT during the budget
10:01 season. We talked a lot about the
10:02 pressures on the general fund, some of
10:04 the concerns we have with the revenues
10:06 going into the general fund. We use some
10:09 of the general fund to cover our capital
10:11 costs. And so as as there are increased
10:16 need from general fund revenues to cover
10:18 our operating costs um that's competing
10:21 for funds that can go into our capital
10:22 program as well. So more competition for
10:25 general fund revenues and also real
10:28 estate excise tax. That's what REIT
10:30 means on this slide. Uh we know that um
10:34 REIT is also very difficult to predict
10:36 in a city of our size. If a large
10:39 building gets sold, that's more revenue
10:41 than um what maybe we had predicted. And
10:45 so any one building sale or purchase
10:47 could really change the rate um revenues
10:50 that we receive. So we look at on
10:52 average how much do you receive over the
10:54 years? Um but those those amounts are
10:57 very much subject to
10:58 change. So we're looking at more
11:00 competition for general fund and REIT.
11:03 Those are the areas that are hard for us
11:04 to um to cover some of our capital costs
11:08 while also we're anticipating fewer
11:10 grants from the federal government and
11:12 possibly from the state government as
11:13 well. And that's something that again is
11:16 very hard to predict as we look out for
11:18 the next uh six years of the
11:21 CIP. That uncertain future as I've said
11:24 makes planning very difficult. Less
11:26 difficult though in the areas of
11:28 utilities. And since storm water is our
11:30 focus tonight, we have more
11:32 predictability in our utilities. We know
11:33 what our utility plans are in terms of
11:36 infrastructure. That's what we're
11:37 talking about tonight. We know how much
11:39 it costs to operate that utility. And we
11:42 control all the revenues for that
11:43 utility through our rates. So for storm
11:46 water, that process um uh is pretty
11:50 pretty predictable as we try to plan our
11:52 storm water needs compared to let's say
11:55 transportation or parks.
11:58 Also, this CIP we have really
12:00 prioritized maintenance. We've heard
12:02 direction from council in previous years
12:04 that the desire is to focus on
12:06 maintaining what we have um over
12:09 building something new and that that's
12:11 really important. So, as we looked at
12:13 these projects, weighed their criteria,
12:15 we really wanted to emphasize
12:17 maintenance um over new projects as we
12:21 try to identify funds to pay for all of
12:23 these
12:24 needs. in particular, facilities
12:27 maintenance. We're not going to be
12:28 talking about that tonight, but I think
12:30 it's important that council understands
12:32 that facility maintenance um continues
12:34 to be an urgent need. We have kicked the
12:36 can down the road for a long time on our
12:39 facilities. In the past few years, we've
12:41 worked really hard to get the right
12:42 staff um managing our facilities,
12:45 understanding what those needs are,
12:47 especially in maintenance, and then
12:49 trying to budget and plan accordingly
12:50 for that maintenance. We're continuing
12:53 on that path with this CIP. there's a
12:55 lot of urgent needs that we feel cannot
12:57 be delayed when it comes to our
12:59 facilities. Um and then um also another
13:03 theme for this CIP which we will be
13:05 talking about tonight. Uh we have
13:07 additions to this CIP. They capture the
13:10 latest in the utility rate study. That
13:12 utility rate study is happening on a
13:14 parallel process with council. So the
13:16 utility rate study, director Moon is
13:18 going to be presenting on that um at the
13:21 uh mobility and infrastructure meeting
13:22 next week. um but everything in the CIP
13:26 reflects what's within that utility rate
13:28 study. So we're having these
13:30 conversations um in parallel with each
13:32 other.
13:34 Can I ask a quick question on this
13:35 slide? Um so there were some changes at
13:39 the state legislature this year around
13:41 REIT between REIT one and REIT 2 and
13:44 kind of flexibility in terms of use and
13:46 ability to use on operations or
13:48 maintenance. Has that changed at all in
13:50 terms of how we're planning long-term in
13:52 the CIP for use? It didn't really change
13:55 this year um because we were putting
13:58 this all together while some of those
14:00 changes were being made at the state
14:01 level. Um it's great that there's more
14:04 flexibility in REIT. The more flexible
14:06 our funding sources are, fantastic,
14:08 because then we can be able to use them
14:10 according to what our needs are. Um, so
14:12 in some ways we could apply REIT more to
14:15 some of this maintenance, but we already
14:17 have so many significant needs for REIT
14:20 um, for uh, replacing certain types of
14:23 equipment or actually just doing the
14:26 construction and projects. So it hasn't
14:28 changed a lot for us with this CIP, but
14:30 it's something that we're going to be
14:32 looking for more in the
14:36 future. Great.
14:38 Um, next I would like to bring up
14:40 Jillian Stro, management analyst, who
14:43 did a lot of the work in pulling this
14:44 CIP
14:48 together. All right. So, as Andrea has
14:51 mentioned, um, needs outpace, uh, the
14:54 revenue sources we have available for
14:55 the first two years of the CIP. So, a
14:57 little bit different from our previous
14:59 practice of presenting a balanced CIP.
15:01 For the first two years, we have some
15:03 gaps and we'll talk specifically about
15:05 where those gaps are um in a few slides.
15:08 Um however, in order to make it a
15:11 somewhat realistic and usable plan, we
15:13 have tried to reduce those gaps um and
15:16 uh and shift funding where possible. So,
15:19 departments have already looked at
15:20 reducing the scope of projects, phasing
15:22 them or moving them entirely to outy
15:23 years in the CIP. um moving to more
15:26 funding stable uh sources from those
15:29 that are overtapped um and prioritizing
15:31 maintenance over new assets um in order
15:35 to get closer to balanced in the in 27
15:38 and
15:39 28. So there are uh there are a few um
15:44 this chart includes most of the major
15:47 revenue sources in the CIP. Um, we'll
15:49 talk specifically about general fund and
15:51 REIT as some of those overtapped sources
15:53 in a moment, but I want to call out
15:55 mitigation funds, the utility funds, and
15:57 city hall IPD funding source here. So,
16:00 this CIP plans for mitigation funds um
16:02 most of them to be drawn down to zero as
16:05 is possible through the the the
16:06 projects. Um, so this will have ongoing
16:09 impacts on future CIPs and those funds
16:11 being uh less available in the future.
16:14 The utility funds, as Andrea mentioned,
16:17 um are are really derived through the
16:19 the utility rate process. Um and so
16:22 their capital support um is is synced up
16:25 there. Um and then the city hall IPD
16:28 funding source is noted here, but this
16:30 is also subject to a parallel process
16:32 with the with the mayor's task force,
16:34 which is determining scope, which will
16:36 inform the cost estimates and timing of
16:38 those projects. So, we've noted it here
16:40 um knowing that we have large needs, but
16:42 we haven't really identified what that
16:44 funding source is going to be at this
16:45 point, but we wanted to call it out um
16:47 in our in our planning
16:49 document. So, now to talk a little bit
16:52 about REIT and the general fund. So you
16:54 can see here um the first line in the
16:56 table for REIT displays the amount of
16:59 capital project support that was
17:00 requested even after reducing projects
17:03 pushing them out um and then compares
17:06 that to the to the ending fund balance.
17:09 Um and as you can see we're overtapped
17:10 and re at the very beginning of the CIP.
17:14 Um the general fund is a little bit
17:16 different. So the general fund
17:18 historically has contribute contributed
17:20 around
17:21 $900,000 um to capital projects with the
17:24 majority of expenses of its expenses
17:26 being operating. Um so we sought to
17:28 match that historical $900,000 of
17:31 capital support. Um but as you can see
17:33 we're we're still over requested or
17:35 overtapped compared to our our
17:36 historical average. Um and that'll be
17:40 addressed through uh through future
17:42 operating budgets. Um and there's that
17:44 push and pull with operating expenses
17:46 and capital project support that was
17:49 noted. Um so this displays the
17:52 distribution of projects across
17:53 different asset categories. You can see
17:55 that most projects are concentrated in
17:56 municipal facilities um and
17:58 transportation as is not surprising um
18:01 or different from previous years. Um
18:03 I'll also point out that um we totaled
18:06 the the cost of projects for 2027
18:08 through 2032 and compared that to where
18:10 we have identified funding sources. So
18:13 going back to that balancing question um
18:16 and over the course of the CIP we do
18:17 have some significant um unidentified
18:20 funding sources as you as you can see in
18:22 that last column or significant revenue
18:23 needs with that municipal facilities
18:26 number largely being driven by the city
18:28 hall IPD funding source um gap that we
18:31 talked about. Um, and with that, I'll
18:33 hand it over to Director Moon to talk a
18:35 little bit more about the storm water
18:37 projects in the C in the
18:43 CIP. Good evening, Emily Moon, public
18:46 works
18:47 director. I wanted to just summarize
18:51 what we talked about in the committee
18:52 the whole meeting and tell you where we
18:54 are now. I think it's a good picture. So
18:59 previously when we spoke to you about
19:01 the utility rate study and we described
19:04 the needs of each particular fund in
19:07 terms of operating expenses and revenues
19:11 and capital expenses and revenues. For
19:14 the storm water fund, we had a complex
19:18 picture, not entirely rosy picture where
19:21 we were not able to cover both the full
19:24 operating expenses nor the full capital
19:28 expenses. And at that time, our rate
19:31 projections were along these lines. Six
19:34 and a quarter to fund only the
19:36 operating, no capital projects, six 16
19:40 and 3/4 to fund the whole shebang, and
19:44 about um 10% at that time if we uh
19:48 scaled back the number of capital
19:51 projects that we were funding. And just
19:53 for shorthand, we call them critical
19:55 capital projects. But really what we did
19:58 is we looked at which projects had uh
20:01 defined revenue sources
20:04 anticipated could sort of count on
20:06 revenue sources which projects really
20:09 needed to be near-term. They were more
20:12 urgent which projects we could divide up
20:16 into uh more phases to spread them out
20:19 over time and therefore smooth the the
20:22 rate increase. And so after we did that
20:26 and after we corrected a couple of
20:28 things that we found um on the operating
20:31 side um and and on the capital side, we
20:35 were able to get the storm water fund
20:38 down to a 6 and a4% rate increase to
20:42 cover operating and that sort of reduced
20:45 capital list that we had discussed with
20:48 committee of the whole. So that's really
20:50 good news. not
20:51 10%. Six and a quarter. Uh the the
20:55 number of projects, the types of
20:57 projects, our uh pathway to that six and
21:00 a quarter percent doesn't really differ
21:02 from what we told you at committee the
21:04 whole. It's just that we were able to uh
21:07 refine some numbers and correct some
21:09 issues. So that's good news.
21:14 And as I just spoke about, the way that
21:16 we got our capital improvement pro
21:19 program in line with what we are uh
21:22 ultimately going to propose on the rate
21:24 structure is by rep prioritizing to a
21:27 certain extent uh repair and replacement
21:30 projects, those that had regulatory
21:33 requirements, those critical projects.
21:35 Um we looked at projects that perhaps we
21:39 could take a little bit more time with
21:40 when we delayed those or we looked at
21:43 the assumptions around grants and if
21:45 they weren't certain um we adjusted
21:48 timets for
21:49 those and then as I said we broke
21:52 projects up to some degree and uh were
21:55 able to smooth that rate increase. So,
21:57 with that, I'm going to ask Matt Ellis,
22:00 our utilities engineering manager, to
22:03 come up and he's going to get into
22:05 specific
22:09 projects. Bringing my bringing my notes,
22:12 forgive
22:14 me. Okay, so we did do a bit of
22:17 shuffling as Emily Moon and Andrea
22:20 mentioned. Um some new projects that we
22:23 added to the uh um CIP were mainly
22:26 bridge projects. Um that's uh an
22:29 analysis and permitting for the Tibbitz
22:32 Manor Bridge. Uh that project is mainly
22:35 to uh reduce flooding around the manor
22:39 and uh
22:41 uh repair or remove bridges that are out
22:45 of date. Um really the that project will
22:48 ultimately go to parks for construction
22:50 as they evaluate and uh complete the the
22:54 final design for Tippetsz Valley Park.
22:56 Um we're just supporting through the
22:58 permitting phases. Uh and then the other
23:01 one is more of a program and that's our
23:03 bridge scour repair. So, we've got a
23:05 number of bridges within the city
23:06 because we have a number of streams and
23:09 uh a lot of the smaller bridges have
23:11 some scour where the stream has moved
23:13 and impacted the abutments of the
23:15 bridge. We've got trees that are growing
23:17 underneath the bridge that need to be
23:19 removed. Things like that that need to
23:21 be an annual an annual program to to
23:24 remove or repair or or fix
23:28 infrastructure. So, that's that's the
23:29 main impact for new CIP projects. as we
23:34 looked at the CIP in alignment with our
23:37 utility rate study uh and uh just
23:41 looking at projects holistically of what
23:43 is needed. What are projects that may
23:46 not be as necessary uh after we've
23:49 looked at them for a number of years. We
23:51 cut a few projects. The Cabin Creek
23:53 tributary stabilization enhancement
23:55 that's been going on for 20 years and we
23:57 had a geotechnical expert go out and we
24:00 looked at it. Um the area is stable.
24:02 We'll continue to monitor it and we can
24:04 always put it back on the CIP in the
24:06 future, but uh under our current
24:09 evaluation, it's a a non-needed project
24:12 at the moment. Uh the Central Park bioil
24:15 similar uh we can utilize our storm
24:17 water reh rehabilitation project which
24:20 is our annual program for repair to to
24:22 fix that project if we deem it
24:24 necessary. But we do have higher needs
24:28 uh for repair uh in our city assets that
24:31 are degrading at a higher rate and we
24:34 didn't want to utilize funds towards
24:36 this project and take them away from
24:38 higher needed projects. And then the
24:40 West Village Creek sediment pond removal
24:42 and restoration project. That project is
24:45 tied to the wash the wash dot fish
24:48 passage work. And uh as they evaluated
24:51 their project, they had to eliminate
24:53 parts of their scope. And unfortunately,
24:56 this project is upstream of one of those
24:58 areas that they eliminated from their
25:00 scope. And we can't do this project
25:03 unless their portion that they were
25:05 supposed to do was completed first. So,
25:08 uh, if that goes on in the future, we
25:10 can always add the West Village Creek
25:12 sediment pond removal, but unless they
25:15 remove their portion, this project is,
25:17 uh, uh, not useful for a future CIP or
25:21 current CIP. Can I ask a quick question
25:24 about uh, so remove projects, how do we
25:26 track those whereas, you know, in the
25:29 future we might want to do it, but it
25:30 just doesn't fit um, right now. Is there
25:33 value in adding it to the future project
25:34 list in the back or do we have some sort
25:36 of internal system where we keep we have
25:38 an internal system. So we have we keep
25:40 track of all our old CIP projects. We
25:42 also have spreadsheet upon spreadsheet
25:44 of all our projects that we've gone for
25:46 years. So we we do keep track of those.
25:51 uh a few pro one project we did increase
25:54 and that was our storm grain rehab
25:56 project and again as I said um that is
25:59 mainly dealing with repairing degradated
26:02 assets. Uh we've got a lot of corrugated
26:05 metal pipes within the city which don't
26:07 last forever and a lot of them are
26:09 rusting out. So that that project is
26:11 really going to focus instead of on it
26:14 used to focus on small flooding issues
26:17 within the city. Um but we're really
26:19 going to start focusing on repairing and
26:20 replacing uh aging infrastructure with
26:23 that project. And so we've increased the
26:25 amount in the uh coming years so we can
26:28 really focus on that effort. Uh and then
26:31 uh as Emily and Andrea mentioned, we've
26:33 got some projects that have delayed,
26:35 pushed out, and broken into phases. the
26:38 East Lake Sam Parkway conveyance
26:41 project. Uh it's a rather large project
26:43 where we've got some small pipes uh that
26:46 go across East Lakes Parkway uh towards
26:49 a ditch um between 51st and the uh boat
26:53 ramp. Um and that project is just too
26:56 large as one project. It would really
26:57 hit our our reserves there. So we
27:00 decided to spread it out and put it out
27:02 into a longer period as we complete the
27:04 assets. the Laughing Jacobs Creek
27:07 channel enhancement project. Um that uh
27:10 is primarily funded through grants. We
27:12 actually have quite a bit of grant
27:13 funding to support that project at the
27:15 moment. Um so uh that was just pushed
27:18 out um due to permitting and to ensure
27:21 that we get grant funding for the
27:22 construction phase. Um Squawk Valley
27:25 Park that project actually we were going
27:27 to push out. However, we just received a
27:29 rather large grant for that. So that
27:32 might after we developed the CIP things
27:34 change very quickly with the planning
27:36 document and that one we did receive
27:38 some uh a good grant or at least a
27:41 commitment for a grant that u we might
27:44 push it forward because it's pretty
27:45 exciting project. Uh and then the water
27:48 quality low impact development pro
27:50 retrofits uh that has three elements to
27:53 it. We're still constructing two
27:54 elements uh within the city, but uh as
27:57 we developed the the grant for that
28:01 project, we didn't realize the amount of
28:04 infrastructure we needed to repair and
28:06 we didn't receive the funding we needed
28:08 to do all the projects that uh we had
28:10 identified. So, one of the the larger
28:13 retrofit areas we've pushed to the
28:15 outyear in the hopes that we can get and
28:17 secure additional
28:18 funding. Um and then the Isiqua
28:21 Highlands West 45 stormwater lift
28:23 station rehab project. We again we just
28:24 pushed that project out. Um it's it's a
28:27 needed project but not a high priority
28:30 compared to other needs within the city.
28:32 Uh the Sunrise Place Sycamore uh drive
28:36 emergency access stabilization and
28:38 covert replacement which is a mouthful.
28:41 That project we realize needs fish
28:43 passage. Um it is a needed project. Um
28:46 but it it is a useful project for
28:48 grants. So, that's one that we're really
28:49 focusing on grant funding to support us.
28:53 Um, we are still we're doing the design
28:55 right now. Uh, and we're also applying
28:57 for grants for it. And so, those that's
28:59 one of those projects where um as we go
29:02 through the the phases of evaluation,
29:06 design, and construction will go through
29:08 as we get the gr the grant funding to
29:11 support. And when we get to the end of
29:13 that, if we don't get grants, we can
29:14 table it until we get those grants. But
29:16 we'll continue to uh be proactive in
29:19 that grant uh uh applications. Uh the
29:23 Pickering Ditch flood control project is
29:25 a challenging project. Uh and that one
29:28 um is mainly dealing with beavers within
29:30 the city. Uh and we're still trying to
29:33 figure out that the permitting and what
29:35 we can really do. So that's a continued
29:36 project, but it's just been delayed due
29:38 to the challenges. Um and then the fish
29:41 passage corp replacement program.
29:44 uh that is a program we wanted to do
29:46 every five years to replace one covert
29:49 within the city. So it's not a
29:51 requirement or an obligation, but it's
29:52 something that we want to do um because
29:54 it is important to support fish habitat
29:58 and uh uh the environment. Um however,
30:02 we do have the Laughing Jacobs Creek
30:04 channel replacement, which is a covert
30:06 project already on the books, already
30:08 funded uh through design. So we decided
30:10 to push that out. So we stagger it and
30:12 then we can really focus on the grant
30:15 application when we get closer to that
30:18 design
30:20 timeline. That is our
30:23 projects. Is there any
30:27 questions? Yeah, I might ask um unless
30:31 anyone else has questions first. Um can
30:34 you walk us through again kind of the
30:36 the the logic around the fish covert
30:38 projects one? So, if we're
30:42 waiting, it's going to be for some of
30:45 them. You said they would be funded by
30:47 grants and they might even be strong
30:51 um applicants for for receiving grant
30:54 funding. Um if that's the case, why
30:56 wouldn't we necessarily plan for that
30:58 grant dollar in a certain year within
31:00 this time frame and keep it in the CIP?
31:03 So, can you walk us through why that's
31:04 removed again? So, it's still in the
31:06 CIP. We just pushed it out a few years.
31:08 Again, that's partly for as for um
31:10 That's my fault. I misread the it says
31:12 delayed. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
31:21 Thank you, Matt. Timing and next steps.
31:24 So, we have our committee meeting
31:25 tonight. This kicks off the CIP
31:27 discussions with city council. Next
31:29 week, we have mobility and
31:30 infrastructure, which is going to cover
31:32 transportation and the other two
31:34 utilities. and then uh safety services
31:37 and parks on May 20th that um they will
31:41 focus on of course parks uh facilities
31:44 and also IT capital
31:47 needs. Then, as I said before, we're
31:50 going to come together for the committee
31:51 of the whole on June 16th to talk about
31:54 all of these elements together and look
31:56 at all of those policy questions that
31:57 each committee um dove into on an
32:00 individual basis and with potential
32:03 adoption June
32:07 23rd. So, direction needed for this
32:10 evening is does council have any
32:12 feedback on the proposed storm water
32:14 projects?
32:19 Great. Well, thank you all for being
32:20 here with us and walking us through that
32:23 and clearly the very intentional work
32:24 that went into this before or since the
32:26 last committee of the whole. Um any
32:29 questions from the committee for
32:33 staff? Okay. Um maybe a couple uh kind
32:38 of highlevel ones. So
32:42 um the ethos behind this as defined by
32:45 our council conversation for the at the
32:46 committee the whole was delaying some
32:49 things focusing on critical
32:50 infrastructure and operations um to help
32:54 smooth out rates and and being mindful
32:56 of all that. Should we just assume
32:59 that I mean this is an intentional
33:02 policy decision. Should we assume that
33:04 one of the long-term consequences are
33:06 going to be that these projects are
33:07 going to cost more in the future? Is
33:09 that kind of a one of the things that we
33:12 have to acknowledge as as making this
33:15 short-term important um decision that we
33:19 need to Sorry. Go ahead. Yeah. Typically
33:23 project costs only increase as the years
33:26 go on. That said, who knows what the
33:29 future like looks like, right? You've
33:31 already heard that we were successful in
33:34 getting a grant since the time that we
33:35 started drafting the CIP. um what feels
33:38 like a few short weeks ago. So it it's
33:42 through the next six years or beyond
33:44 what grants become available, what
33:46 grants don't become available, we're
33:48 always going to be on the lookout for
33:49 those grants. So if there are projects
33:51 that qualify well for grants that um we
33:54 have the staffing capacity to do, um
33:57 we're going to pursue those projects and
33:58 some projects may be prioritized and
34:00 bumped up ahead because we're able to
34:02 get funding for those projects. So I
34:04 think you know the other thing that we
34:07 like to do is look for opportunities
34:09 where we can coordinate projects. So if
34:12 there is an opportunity we're doing one
34:14 type of of work maybe we can fold in
34:17 some additional bank stabilization or
34:20 whatever that looks like. I'm just
34:21 throwing out examples there. So we
34:23 always look for these opportunities um
34:25 to achieve the projects as um
34:27 efficiently as we can with the public
34:29 dollar. Thank you very much. Um, and
34:33 then last question is just a fun one and
34:35 I promise only pictures. Why are there
34:38 no pictures this year in the
34:40 CIP really helps visualize what exactly
34:44 is this pipe that we're investing in?
34:46 Yeah, thank you. Yes, this has been a
34:49 paired down CIP and the reason for that
34:52 is we have uh been down staff. So, as
34:57 you um may recall, we don't have an
34:59 official finance director yet. We are
35:02 working on that. Um, so we have our
35:04 deputy finance director pulling double
35:06 duty. Um, we also don't have a budget
35:09 analyst right now. We're in recruitment
35:10 for that position. So it has been just
35:13 Susie and we she is allowed to go on
35:16 vacation sometimes. Um so so
35:20 um it was really a staffing capacity
35:23 issue of just trying to make sure that
35:25 we still deliver on the CIP but what
35:27 parts can we cut out given that um we
35:30 are in a staffing shortage especially in
35:32 finance. Makes perfect sense. I'll get a
35:34 hold of myself. Um all right if there
35:36 aren't any other qu Oh go ahead.
35:40 Um so given that this CIP is 2027 to32
35:44 is the goal to approve that now and then
35:46 you know as things change even next year
35:48 would we come up with a new version of
35:49 the 27 to32 CIP? So um a portion of that
35:54 CIP which is the transportation
35:56 improvement program we uh update on an
35:59 annual basis. So for that portion yes we
36:01 would be able to make updates next year.
36:03 Otherwise typically we're on a two-year
36:06 schedule. So, we wouldn't look at this
36:08 um it's 2025 now. We wouldn't look at it
36:11 again until 2027 for those updates. And
36:15 at that point, we should have better
36:17 information about budget and revenues,
36:20 etc. Okay, that makes sense. I guess it
36:23 just does feel a little bit weird to be,
36:25 you know, going that far out for like a
36:28 six-year plan, right? Cuz we still have,
36:30 you know, over a year and a half until
36:32 the start of this plan. And especially
36:33 as things are changing, I wonder I mean
36:36 maybe it doesn't make sense to do this
36:37 at this point, but in the future maybe
36:39 you know if we're doing a plan for 2027
36:42 to 32, would it make sense to go over
36:44 that in detail in 2026 so we have a
36:46 clear picture of the budget
36:48 or we Yes. So we will be better synced
36:51 up in future years. This is one of those
36:53 odd years where we're trying to get on a
36:55 better schedule to have our budget and
36:57 our CIP better um in alignment with the
37:00 timeline. Um the other thing to note is
37:02 that um we still adopt budgets and we
37:06 make adjustments to those budgets on an
37:08 annual basis or sometimes more than
37:10 annual basis. And so if these
37:12 opportunities arise like accepting a
37:15 grant for a project, we can make those
37:16 adjustments to the budget to
37:18 operationalize the plan. And so it is
37:21 just a plan, plans change, budget is a
37:24 little bit more nimble and and certainly
37:27 that's where the implementation happens.
37:29 So we still have that flexibility if
37:31 these opportunities arise.
37:37 All right. Well, thank you very much.
37:39 Those are our questions. So now we'll
37:41 move on to uh public comment. Um there
37:45 are still no members of the public in
37:46 the audience with us today. I'll check
37:48 in with the clerk to see if there are
37:49 any members of the public online.
37:53 We do have a member of the public in
37:54 attendance, chair, but I don't see any
37:56 virtual hands raised at this time. Well,
37:59 and um now that I know a member of the
38:01 public is on, I didn't read some of the
38:04 intro comments before, so I'll do that
38:05 now just in case they'd like to raise
38:07 their hands. So um uh there were
38:10 multiple public comment opportunities at
38:12 tonight's meeting. Right now, we're
38:13 taking public comment on this particular
38:15 um item. Um, so, um, if you are joining
38:19 us virtually, which you must be because
38:22 there's no one in here, uh, and you're
38:23 on your phone, press star three. Or if
38:25 you're on your computer or smartphone,
38:26 look for the hand icon. And that varies
38:29 by device, but one option may be to go
38:30 to the participant panel and choose the
38:32 raise hand icon in the lower right hand
38:34 corner. Um, and I'm just going to wait a
38:37 moment now um to see if you have any
38:39 interest in um, providing any public
38:41 comment for us tonight.
38:51 All right. Well, thank you very much for
38:53 being with us, though. And of course, um
38:55 you can write council um whenever you'd
38:57 like at city council isol.gov. We read
39:00 emails and get back to people and um
39:02 take that feedback very seriously. So,
39:03 again, thank you for being with us. Um
39:06 all right, with that, we're going to go
39:07 into deliberation by the committee. So
39:09 any feedback um on u proposed storm
39:13 water projects? Yeah.
39:16 So thank you for this. I know this is a
39:19 very odd year. I know we are looking at
39:21 lots of revenue situations, lots of
39:24 staffing situations as you mentioned um
39:27 and concerns about grants and um capital
39:31 projects. So that's definitely on my
39:33 mind. I can see how you've been
39:35 responsive to that and so I appreciate
39:37 that. Um, I think in particular when
39:40 we're talking about the storm water
39:42 projects, this was particularly
39:44 responsive to the committee of the whole
39:46 feedback. And so I could see that very
39:48 clearly that came across. Um, Matt, I
39:52 really appreciate your explanations
39:54 during this meeting about why projects
39:57 were delayed or um not uh or eliminated
40:02 from that. I had come into this with a
40:04 little bit of concern going, hey, why
40:06 are we eliminating projects? maybe just
40:08 push them to the outy years. Um, but
40:10 that particularly clears it up on, hey,
40:13 these are either things that we no
40:15 longer find are needed because we've
40:18 figured out that it's already um been
40:20 handled or we might look at it in a
40:24 future year, but we have um projects
40:26 listed. Um, I think I very much agree
40:30 with the approach of focusing on and
40:32 increasing our maintenance of our
40:35 assets. And so across the board, I see
40:39 that here um in the stormwater section,
40:42 I particularly like seeing the bridge
40:44 maintenance and the scouring. So I
40:46 appreciate that that has been added and
40:49 a willing add to the list. Um the only
40:54 other area of feedback um highlighting
40:56 kind of one of the questions that
40:58 council member Hall brought up earlier
41:01 is I understand in these cases why
41:03 things were eliminated.
41:06 um in other situations and I haven't
41:08 looked over the whole CIP for things
41:10 that were eliminated, but if they are
41:13 and it makes sense that it's still
41:15 project we would want to do, I want to
41:16 make sure that that gets into the
41:18 appendex or the future years so that we
41:20 as council can keep track of it, not
41:22 just a um staff listing um somewhere
41:26 there. But in these cases on storm
41:28 water, I understand why they wouldn't be
41:30 added to that list. So I have no
41:32 concerns there. So, thank
41:36 you. Um, yeah, I just wanted to say, you
41:39 know, thanks. I know it's a lot of work
41:40 to put this together, especially given
41:42 all the uncertainty going on. Um, I was
41:44 very happy to see that the storm water,
41:47 um, you know, given the update update in
41:49 the rate forecast, we don't have to go
41:51 to 10% increase per year to get, you
41:54 know, the critical capital and operating
41:56 improvement. So, that's super exciting
41:58 um for us to see. And generally I really
42:01 agree with the emphasis on you know
42:02 maintaining what we do have just because
42:04 if you don't maintain what you have then
42:06 it could you know blow up and be 10
42:09 times more expensive in 20 years. So
42:11 definitely um agree with you know past
42:13 councils that have proposed that
42:14 approach. Um and yeah thanks for putting
42:17 this together. Um I agree um that you
42:21 know this seems like the right
42:22 prioritization and it seems like even
42:24 though you know we are emphasizing
42:26 maintenance there are you know still a
42:28 number of new projects and restorations
42:29 that we're undertaking um which is also
42:31 you know always exciting. So thank you.
42:36 Well, this is the fantastic um thing
42:38 about being a chair to a wonderful
42:40 committee is um nothing else additional
42:42 ad that was captured very well um except
42:45 um just really a deep appreciation to
42:47 staff for turning 10% into six and a
42:49 quarter. That is huge right for working
42:52 families here who are stretching every
42:53 dollar they earn over the next year. So
42:55 really big thank you for that and I
42:58 think you've listened to our feedback
42:59 very well and I look forward to seeing
43:01 what the future committees think of the
43:02 CIP. Have you got everything you need?
43:06 We do. Thank you so much.
43:09 Fantastic. Uh, great. Then the next item
43:12 on the agenda is announcements. Are
43:14 there any announcements by the
43:16 committee? Anyone on
43:18 staff? Um, then I will just say that our
43:20 next meeting is scheduled for June 10th
43:22 and the preliminary agenda includes
43:24 column 018 2025 title 18 policy
43:27 amendments and column 01 09 the title 18
43:31 tree code update. So, it is title 18
43:34 night next month. Uh, there being no
43:36 further business, we are adjourned at
43:38 7:13