City Council Regular Meeting · Monday, March 7, 2022 · City Council Digest

7. CONSENT CALENDAR

Accounts: Payables and Payroll of March 7, 2022, $ 3,470,221.84 ID 0970

Approve · packet pp.7–39

Topics: Budget

▶ Watch from 20:44 Open packet at p.7 ↗

Washington State Dept. of Commerce Housing Action Plan and Implementation (HAPI) Grant AB 8262

Approve · packet pp.47–61

Topics: Housing

Previously discussed: City Council Regular Meeting · Oct 4, 2021

▶ Watch from 21:48 Open packet at p.47 ↗

Staff report:

The intent of this grant program is to encourage planning for and construction of additional affordable and market rate housing in a greater variety of housing types and at prices that are accessible to a greater variety of incomes. Activities eligible for funding include the development of new Housing Action Plans and implementation of strategies in adopted Housing Action Plans.

Senior Planner Position AB 8330

Authorize · packet pp.67–72

▶ Watch from 22:52 Open packet at p.67 ↗

Staff report:

The Senior Planner classification, attached as Exhibit A, is a current classification within the City's 2022 compensation plan (Ord. 2962).

Landscape Services Contract AB 8342

Authorize · packet pp.73–102

▶ Watch from 23:56 Open packet at p.73 ↗

Staff report:

B. Draft Agreement

Council Rules of Procedure Ad Hoc Committee Establish AB 8347

packet pp.103–104

Topics: Boards & Commissions

▶ Watch from 25:00 Open packet at p.103 ↗

Staff report:

At the Feb. 15 and March 1 Council Study Sessions, the City Council provided direction to make the following adjustments to the City Council structure: • Shift informational updates to primarily written updates to be provided under the Consent Calendar • Begin holding quarterly community listening sessions. Two or more annually will be held at other locations in the City and will include an area-specific agenda topic and informal social aspect • Shift to a committee structure composed of the 3 committees, as follows: o Mobility & Infrastructure Committee o Planning, Development & Environment Committee o A committee encompassing: Public Safety, Human Services, Parks, Economic Vitality & City Services

8. REGULAR BUSINESS

Human Services Strategic Plan AB 8309

Approve Resolution · packet pp.139–231

Topics: Equity

Previously discussed: Human Services Commission · Jul 28, 2021 Human Services Commission · Sep 22, 2021 Human Services Commission · Oct 27, 2021 Human Services Commission · Dec 15, 2021 Human Services Commission · Jan 19, 2022 Human Services Commission · Feb 9, 2022

▶ Watch from 26:04 Open packet at p.139 ↗

Staff report:

Origins of the Human Services Strategic Plan Issaquah’s first Human Services Strategic Plan (Exhibit A) is the result of a robust community informed process that was developed by the Human Services Division in collaboration with the City’s non-profit partners and community groups, such as health centers, faith-based communities, businesses, and residents most impacted by disparities in social service needs.

Rental Assistance Program Amendments AB 8345

Carried 7-0

Authorize · packet pp.233–244

Topics: Housing

▶ Watch from 27:25 Open packet at p.233 ↗

Staff report:

At the October 18, 2021, City Council Meeting, $500,000 was authorized to create an Issaquah Rental Assistance Program, utilizing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding (AB 8254). The purpose of the program was to help Issaquah households who have been impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic and fell behind on their rent. The goal was to fill in the gaps of the existing programs in place, such as the King County's Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Program (EPRAP), which covered rent arrearages for residents with incomes below 50% of Area Median Income (AMI).

Roll call:

Moved by WALSH · seconded by HALL

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Zach Hall, Victoria Hunt, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Chris Reh, Lindsey Walsh

Reallocation of American Rescue Plan Act Funding AB 8344

Carried 7-0

Authorize · packet pp.245–246

Topics: Public SafetyBudget

▶ Watch from 28:46 Open packet at p.245 ↗

Staff report:

On Oct. 18, 2021, the City Council approved the allocation of $300,000 for a City contribution to the State Small Business Flex Fund, along with $500,000 for a new Rent Relief Program, both of which were approved to utilize a portion of the City's ARPA disbursement (AB 8254). These funds were not expended by year end 2021 and will need City Council reauthorization to be expended in 2022. In addition, upon further evaluation of these programs, as well as additional guidance on authorized use of ARPA funds, the Administration no longer recommends the use of ARPA revenues to fully support these initiatives.

Roll call:

Moved by WALSH · seconded by HALL

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Zach Hall, Victoria Hunt, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Chris Reh, Lindsey Walsh

9. GOOD OF THE ORDER

Upcoming Council Meetings

▶ Watch from 2:40:50

3972 segments .txt ↗

0:00 ↗ [Music]

0:01 ↗ March 7th city council meeting with all

0:04 ↗ of our city council and staff together

0:06 ↗ again. This is great. The first item on

0:10 ↗ um the agenda this evening is I I'd like

0:13 ↗ to do a moment of silence. So I'd like

0:15 ↗ to read some comments out and have a

0:18 ↗ share a moment of silence.

0:21 ↗ This week marks two years since Isiqua's

0:23 ↗ emergency proclamation related to the

0:25 ↗ pandemic. and in that time we have lost

0:28 ↗ community members to this deadly virus.

0:31 ↗ In addition, this week we have seen

0:33 ↗ continued violence against Ukraine. We

0:36 ↗ stand in solidarity with Ukraine and we

0:38 ↗ acknowledge the ongoing impacts of both

0:40 ↗ the pandemic and war in Europe. Let us

0:43 ↗ now have a moment of silence for all

0:45 ↗ those who have been lost and for those

0:47 ↗ who mourn them.

1:04 ↗ Thank you all.

1:07 ↗ So, we are back and we are back in

1:09 ↗ chambers and we're going to be doing

1:10 ↗ hybrid meetings going forward. Tonight

1:12 ↗ is our second night back in the council

1:14 ↗ chambers since March of 2020. It is

1:18 ↗ wonderful to see you all in person

1:19 ↗ again. We will also continue to have a

1:22 ↗ remote aspect to our meetings. Both

1:25 ↗ staff and members of the public may be

1:27 ↗ participating in tonight's meeting

1:28 ↗ remotely via WebEx. All of us in this

1:31 ↗ room will be captured by the fixed

1:33 ↗ cameras and represented as one

1:34 ↗ participant in the virtual meeting.

1:37 ↗ Other remote participants and

1:38 ↗ presentations will be featured on the TV

1:40 ↗ screen and the council members

1:42 ↗ individual screens when they are

1:44 ↗ addressing the council. City Council

1:46 ↗ members, if you wish to speak at any

1:48 ↗ time during the meeting, simply raise

1:50 ↗ your mic. We will resume voice votes

1:52 ↗ unless a council member requests a roll

1:54 ↗ call vote. And the next item on the

1:57 ↗ agenda, and please join me since you

1:59 ↗ have not been able to join me for a long

2:01 ↗ time, in the pledge of allegiance.

2:06 ↗ I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

2:09 ↗ United States of America and to the

2:12 ↗ republic for which it stands. One nation

2:15 ↗ under God, indivisible, with liberty and

2:18 ↗ justice for all.

2:26 ↗ Next item on our agenda this evening is

2:28 ↗ special business ID 1039. This will be

2:32 ↗ the introduction and swearing in of

2:34 ↗ Isiqua Police Department new hires. And

2:37 ↗ tonight, it is my pleasure to welcome

2:39 ↗ and swear in two new corrections

2:41 ↗ officers with the Isiqua Police

2:43 ↗ Department, Julian Grace and Narjan

2:46 ↗ Salman. I'm going to head over to the

2:49 ↗ podium and we're going to kick this off

2:51 ↗ with interim police chief Paula Schwan

2:53 ↗ providing some introductions.

3:07 ↗ Everybody

3:10 ↗ having us like to do tonight is

3:13 ↗ introduce our staff

3:17 ↗ to be correction offic.

3:19 ↗ on

3:21 ↗ not on.

3:25 ↗ There we go.

3:27 ↗ We'll start over again. Good evening.

3:29 ↗ Thank you, Madame Mayor, council members

3:31 ↗ for having us tonight. Um, here to

3:33 ↗ introduce two of our newest members. Um,

3:36 ↗ Julian's actually been with us for a

3:37 ↗ couple months and Narjon also just a

3:40 ↗ little bit shorter time, but they're

3:41 ↗ full-on in their process and training.

3:43 ↗ But we wanted to make sure that you guys

3:44 ↗ had the opportunity to meet some of the

3:46 ↗ staff here and they are with us in the

3:48 ↗ corrections department. So, they're

3:49 ↗ working down in our jail. They both come

3:51 ↗ with um a large amount of experience um

3:54 ↗ both from King County at different

3:56 ↗ times. And so, I'm going to let them do

3:58 ↗ a little bit of introduction of

3:59 ↗ themselves. I'll start with Narjon.

4:01 ↗ Narjan, if you could introduce yourself,

4:03 ↗ where you came from, and maybe a little

4:05 ↗ bit about your history, what you like

4:08 ↗ about Isiqua, and why you joined us, and

4:10 ↗ then maybe a fun fact.

4:12 ↗ Okay, sure. Hi everybody. My name is

4:15 ↗ Arjan Salman. Um, I graduated Central

4:18 ↗ Washington with criminal justice and

4:20 ↗ psychology degree. After that, I worked

4:23 ↗ as a correctional officer with King

4:25 ↗ County Corrections. Um, I worked there

4:27 ↗ for about a year and after that I

4:29 ↗ decided to join the Washington State

4:31 ↗ Department of Health and Social Services

4:33 ↗ as a case manager and then from now on

4:36 ↗ I'm right now with the Isiqua Police

4:38 ↗ Department as a corrections officer. I

4:40 ↗ joined the um Esiqua Police Department

4:43 ↗ because I didn't like the departments um

4:46 ↗ how professional and respectful they are

4:49 ↗ and they're very involved with the

4:51 ↗ community and they just want to be out

4:53 ↗ there and help people and I just want to

4:55 ↗ be uh such honorable team

4:58 ↗ and I'm very grateful to be here today

5:00 ↗ and meeting with all of you. The fun

5:02 ↗ fact about me, uh, I am afraid of cats,

5:06 ↗ but I have a cat right now around me

5:08 ↗ walking around the house. So, that would

5:12 ↗ be all about me.

5:15 ↗ Awesome.

5:15 ↗ Thank you, Narjan.

5:17 ↗ And now we have Julian Grace, who also

5:20 ↗ came from um, King County. Julian.

5:26 ↗ Hello.

5:27 ↗ Uh, I'm Julian Grace. I was initially

5:32 ↗ born in Washington, but I lived most of

5:35 ↗ my life in New Orleans, Louisiana, where

5:37 ↗ I graduated from LSU,

5:40 ↗ at which point I moved back here and

5:44 ↗ began my law enforcement career in King

5:47 ↗ County and recently transferred here. I

5:51 ↗ chose a Siqua because

5:54 ↗ after spending so much time with King

5:57 ↗ County, I felt I needed to grow more and

5:59 ↗ expand more in my knowledge and

6:02 ↗ experience in my chosen career. And

6:05 ↗ after a lot of research and a lot of

6:07 ↗ planning and u digging, I found that the

6:12 ↗ best opportunity

6:14 ↗ was Isiqua. Um, and my overall goal is

6:19 ↗ to

6:21 ↗ grow and learn and experience as much as

6:23 ↗ I can and uh, put that back out into my

6:27 ↗ community.

6:29 ↗ Uh, fun fact about me, uh, I don't have

6:31 ↗ a cat, but I do have a dog. He's about a

6:35 ↗ year old now. His name is Russet, like

6:38 ↗ the potato.

6:40 ↗ That is

6:41 ↗ That is me.

6:42 ↗ Thank you.

6:45 ↗ Thank you, Julian. Okay. And now, mayor,

6:47 ↗ Madame Mayor, if you'll um do the

6:48 ↗ swearing in of Narjon first.

6:50 ↗ We'll do.

6:52 ↗ So, Nar Narjan, this is my first digital

6:55 ↗ swearing in, so we'll have to see how it

6:58 ↗ works. Um,

7:00 ↗ I'm gonna read some lines and just have

7:02 ↗ you repeat them after me. I state your

7:05 ↗ name.

7:07 ↗ I, Narjan Salman,

7:09 ↗ recognize this badge

7:11 ↗ recognize this badge

7:12 ↗ as a symbol of public faith.

7:15 ↗ as a symbol of public faith.

7:17 ↗ And I accept it as a public trust to be

7:19 ↗ held.

7:21 ↗ And I accept it as a public trust to be

7:23 ↗ held.

7:24 ↗ So long as I am true to the ethics of

7:26 ↗ this department.

7:28 ↗ As long as I am true to the um ethic of

7:30 ↗ this department. On my honor,

7:34 ↗ on my honor,

7:35 ↗ I will never betray our badge.

7:38 ↗ I will never betray our badge.

7:40 ↗ My integrity

7:42 ↗ my integrity

7:43 ↗ my character

7:45 ↗ my character

7:45 ↗ for the public trust

7:47 ↗ for public for the public trust.

7:49 ↗ I will always have the courage

7:52 ↗ I will always have the courage

7:53 ↗ to hold myself and others

7:56 ↗ to hold myself and others

7:57 ↗ accountable for our actions

8:00 ↗ accountable for our actions. I will

8:02 ↗ always uphold the constitution.

8:04 ↗ I will always uphold the constitution.

8:06 ↗ My community,

8:08 ↗ my community

8:09 ↗ and the Isiqua Police Department

8:11 ↗ and ESQA and the Isqua Police

8:13 ↗ Department.

8:14 ↗ Welcome and congratulations.

8:16 ↗ Thank you.

8:17 ↗ [Applause]

8:22 ↗ Now Julian.

8:25 ↗ Hi Julian.

8:26 ↗ Hello.

8:27 ↗ Just repeat after me. I state your name.

8:30 ↗ I, Julian Grace,

8:31 ↗ recognize this badge

8:33 ↗ recognize this badge

8:34 ↗ as a symbol of public faith.

8:36 ↗ as a symbol of public faith.

8:38 ↗ And I accept it as a public trust to be

8:40 ↗ held.

8:41 ↗ And I accept it as a public trust to be

8:43 ↗ held.

8:44 ↗ So long as I am true to the ethics of

8:45 ↗ this department.

8:46 ↗ So long as I am true to the ethics of

8:48 ↗ this department.

8:49 ↗ On my honor,

8:50 ↗ on my honor,

8:51 ↗ I will never betray our badge.

8:52 ↗ I will never betray our badge.

8:54 ↗ My integrity

8:55 ↗ my integrity.

8:56 ↗ My character

8:57 ↗ my character

8:57 ↗ or the public trust. or the public

8:59 ↗ trust.

9:00 ↗ I will always have the courage

9:02 ↗ I will always have the courage

9:03 ↗ to hold myself and others

9:05 ↗ to hold myself and others

9:06 ↗ accountable for our actions

9:08 ↗ accountable for our actions.

9:09 ↗ I will always uphold the constitution

9:11 ↗ I will always uphold the constitution

9:13 ↗ my community

9:14 ↗ my community

9:15 ↗ and the Isiqua Police Department

9:16 ↗ and the Isiqua Police Department.

9:17 ↗ Welcome and congratulations.

9:20 ↗ And I'm told this is going to get pinned

9:22 ↗ down later.

9:24 ↗ Thank you.

9:25 ↗ Is there some certificates for me to

9:27 ↗ sign? Not this evening. Okay. Thank you.

9:29 ↗ I want to thank our interim chief for

9:31 ↗ looking at the way we do some of our

9:33 ↗ work and proposing some new things for

9:35 ↗ being able to introduce our new hires to

9:37 ↗ the community. So, thank you very much,

9:39 ↗ inter chief swan, and welcome both of

9:40 ↗ you.

9:41 ↗ Thank you so much.

9:41 ↗ Thank you.

9:52 ↗ The next item on our agenda this evening

9:54 ↗ is audience comments. and members of the

9:57 ↗ public may address council at this time

9:59 ↗ in person or virtually. Those who have

10:02 ↗ signed up in advance to make comments

10:03 ↗ will be called on first. And if you are

10:05 ↗ joining us virtually and would like to

10:07 ↗ make comments, please raise your virtual

10:09 ↗ hand. If you're on the phone, you can

10:12 ↗ press star three. And if you have joined

10:14 ↗ by computer or smartphone, look for a

10:16 ↗ hand icon. This varies by device, and

10:19 ↗ one option may be to go to the

10:20 ↗ participant panel and choose the raise

10:22 ↗ hand icon in the lower right hand

10:24 ↗ corner. If you are in the room and did

10:26 ↗ not sign up, I will ask for others

10:28 ↗ before closing this portion of the

10:30 ↗ meeting. City clerk, has anyone signed

10:32 ↗ up to speak for general audience

10:33 ↗ comments or indicated a desire to speak

10:35 ↗ this evening?

10:36 ↗ Yes.

10:38 ↗ So, for those making comments, please

10:40 ↗ direct your comments to the whole

10:42 ↗ council and not individuals. While this

10:44 ↗ is not a question and answer session, we

10:46 ↗ will contact you to follow up if needed.

10:49 ↗ When recognized, please unmute your

10:51 ↗ microphone, state your name, address,

10:53 ↗ and relationship to the city. Speak

10:55 ↗ clearly and pause frequently, and limit

10:58 ↗ your comments to five minutes. Remute

11:00 ↗ your microphone when you're done. If you

11:03 ↗ do not respond after your name or phone

11:05 ↗ number is called, or if your connection

11:06 ↗ is lost unexpectedly, the meeting will

11:09 ↗ still need to proceed. You are

11:10 ↗ encouraged to rejoin the meeting if

11:12 ↗ able. Personal attacks, obscene

11:14 ↗ language, derogatory remarks, and

11:16 ↗ disruptive behavior will not be

11:18 ↗ permitted.

11:20 ↗ Citizen comments, written and verbal,

11:21 ↗ are important aspect of the public

11:23 ↗ process, and the city takes comments

11:25 ↗ seriously. We thank you for taking the

11:27 ↗ time to address us this evening. City

11:29 ↗ clerk, can you please identify the first

11:31 ↗ person who signed up to speak?

11:33 ↗ Yes. Our first speaker is a virtual

11:36 ↗ participant, Rome Morales. Rome, in just

11:39 ↗ a moment, I'll make you a panelist. You

11:41 ↗ should see the option to unmute and can

11:43 ↗ also choose to turn your video on.

11:55 ↗ Um, hello. My name is Rome Morales. Um,

11:58 ↗ I live in Belleview technically, but I

12:01 ↗ have been a student at Isaqua of the

12:03 ↗ Isqua School District all my life. I've

12:05 ↗ lived here my entire life. And today I

12:07 ↗ want to discuss the issues regarding

12:09 ↗ lighting at the Tippetsz Valley skate

12:11 ↗ park. Um, as many of you guys are aware,

12:14 ↗ Tippetsz Valley skate or the Tippetsz

12:17 ↗ Valley Park itself is almost entirely

12:19 ↗ covered with lights. All of the fields

12:22 ↗ are fully lit except for one specific

12:24 ↗ corner of the park and that would be the

12:26 ↗ skate park. And it's especially um it's

12:30 ↗ especially a problem during the winter

12:32 ↗ and right now as it gets dark really

12:34 ↗ early which poses safety issues not only

12:37 ↗ for the people skating there but for

12:41 ↗ anybody who uses the park during those

12:43 ↗ hours. Um, skating is a really

12:45 ↗ physically demanding sport, but also it

12:47 ↗ requires a large amount of awareness of

12:51 ↗ what's happening around you. And in the

12:52 ↗ dark, it creates really intense safety

12:56 ↗ issues for people skating. Um, and I

12:58 ↗ think that the park could do with some

13:01 ↗ lighting cuz as the rest of the park has

13:03 ↗ lighting um, and nobody uses the rest of

13:07 ↗ the park during the night. It's the

13:09 ↗ skate park's the only part that's being

13:10 ↗ used. Um that that's all I have to say.

13:13 ↗ Thank you for your time.

13:14 ↗ Thank you for coming tonight.

13:17 ↗ Clerk, who else is up to speak?

13:19 ↗ The next speaker is another virtual

13:21 ↗ participant, Nquille Hunter.

13:24 ↗ Nquille, in just a moment here, I'll

13:26 ↗ make you a panelist. You should see the

13:28 ↗ option to unmute and can choose to turn

13:30 ↗ your video on.

13:34 ↗ Uh hello everyone. Uh my name is Mill

13:37 ↗ Hunter. Um I am a student at Esqua as

13:40 ↗ well. Um, and my address, uh, do we need

13:43 ↗ to include our address?

13:45 ↗ Yes, you can.

13:47 ↗ Uh, my address is 9513rd A Northeast,

13:51 ↗ Isiqua, Washington. So, local to the

13:53 ↗ Esqua Highlands. Um, I was looking more

13:56 ↗ into the, uh, Isiqua City Council

13:58 ↗ website and um, I noticed uh, there

14:01 ↗ seems to be no statistical analysis and

14:04 ↗ direct numbers as to how like as

14:07 ↗ pertaining to issues in our community.

14:08 ↗ You know what I mean? like there there

14:10 ↗ seem to be no numbers and analysis on uh

14:13 ↗ homelessness on um there are a variety

14:17 ↗ of issues but like no direct numbers

14:19 ↗ that the public can easily get and

14:21 ↗ analyze themselves. Um and I guess

14:25 ↗ that's what I I wanted to ask uh the

14:27 ↗ members of the city council.

14:30 ↗ Will there be any numbers or is there

14:31 ↗ any way we could implement um such a

14:34 ↗ program?

14:36 ↗ That's a great question Nquille. Uh

14:38 ↗ during public comments, uh the council

14:40 ↗ is taking in your information but not

14:43 ↗ necessarily responding this evening.

14:45 ↗ Council president is sitting to my right

14:48 ↗ and so um between her and I, we will

14:51 ↗ make sure that we get back to you with

14:52 ↗ some answers. Thank you for coming.

14:54 ↗ Did you have anything else? Did you have

14:56 ↗ anything else you wanted to add?

14:58 ↗ Oh, yeah. I I uh I seem to have missed

14:59 ↗ the pretense and I apologize for that,

15:01 ↗ but uh thank you for having me.

15:03 ↗ Thanks, Nikil. Um, city clerk, is there

15:06 ↗ anyone else signed up to speak this

15:07 ↗ evening?

15:09 ↗ Yes, I see a few raised hands. Uh, Mark

15:12 ↗ Clemens is next on the list. Just a

15:15 ↗ moment here.

15:20 ↗ Looks like Mark has lowered his virtual

15:22 ↗ hand. So, oh, it's back. Okay, Mark, in

15:26 ↗ just a moment, I'll make you a panelist.

15:28 ↗ You'll see the option to unmute and

15:30 ↗ choose to turn your video on.

15:44 ↗ You have the floor. Mark.

15:51 ↗ Uh Mark Clemens. Uh 1515 Hillside Drive

15:55 ↗ Southeast. That's the Sycamore's

15:58 ↗ neighborhood. Uh, thank you, city

16:00 ↗ council and madame mayor. As previous

16:03 ↗ stated, my name is Mark Clemens. I am

16:06 ↗ the executive director of the downtown

16:07 ↗ Isiquar Association, and I'd like to

16:10 ↗ share with you some of our spring

16:11 ↗ programming, which is made possible by

16:13 ↗ art commission grants. The mission of

16:16 ↗ the downtown is association is to

16:18 ↗ cultivate a thriving old town that

16:20 ↗ builds community and celebrates our

16:22 ↗ charm. We kick off the busy spring with

16:26 ↗ a historic

16:27 ↗ historical preservation walking tour

16:31 ↗ March 24th.

16:33 ↗ Um, our farm farm fresh market at the

16:36 ↗ historic Shell Station uh kicks off on

16:39 ↗ Saturdays, March 26th through April 30th

16:43 ↗ from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Our Fresh

16:46 ↗ Flower Market, also at the historic

16:48 ↗ Shell Station, uh, kicks off on Sunday,

16:51 ↗ that's Easter Sunday, April 17th, and

16:54 ↗ Mother's Day, May 8th, from 9:00 a.m. to

16:57 ↗ 2:00 p.m. Uh we bring back the downtown

17:01 ↗ isqua wine and artwork on Friday, April

17:04 ↗ 15th from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

17:07 ↗ April 23rd is keep Isiqua beautiful day.

17:11 ↗ This is a citywide initiative and the

17:13 ↗ downtown isqua association um

17:16 ↗ participates in that from 9:00 a.m. to

17:19 ↗ noon. And also uh we're bringing back

17:22 ↗ Fenders on Front Street that returns

17:24 ↗ Father's Day, June 19th. Thank you for

17:27 ↗ your time.

17:28 ↗ Thank you, Mark. The clerk, is there

17:30 ↗ anyone else signed up to speak?

17:33 ↗ I see another virtual hand raised,

17:36 ↗ Alicia Spinner. Alicia, in just a moment

17:38 ↗ here, I'll move you up as a panelist.

17:40 ↗ You should see the option to unmute and

17:42 ↗ can choose to turn your video on.

17:53 ↗ Hold on just a moment. I'm having a

17:54 ↗ little technical difficulty.

18:00 ↗ Alicia, it doesn't look like I can give

18:01 ↗ you video privileges, but I'll go ahead

18:03 ↗ and unmute you now.

18:11 ↗ Hold on just a moment here. I'm having

18:13 ↗ some

18:16 ↗ issues.

18:42 ↗ Alicia, thanks for your patience.

18:56 ↗ It won't let you. Are you able to unmute

18:58 ↗ her a chance?

19:01 ↗ No.

19:04 ↗ All right. It appears um we are unable

19:07 ↗ to unmute or elevate Alicia um to give

19:10 ↗ her voice tonight, unfortunately.

19:15 ↗ So, Alicia, um we'd encourage you to

19:19 ↗ please email your comments to the city

19:21 ↗ council at city councilwa.gov.

19:26 ↗ And I apologize for the issues,

19:28 ↗ technical issues tonight. I'm monitoring

19:30 ↗ to see if we have anyone else from the

19:32 ↗ public who wishes to make comments

19:34 ↗ tonight. If so, please raise your

19:36 ↗ virtual hand or send the host a message.

19:39 ↗ I'll just monitor this real quickly.

19:50 ↗ All right. I don't see anyone else is

19:51 ↗ wishing to speak.

19:53 ↗ Thank you, city clerk. Alicia, if you

19:55 ↗ are able to email tonight, I would be

19:57 ↗ able to read your comments so that the

19:59 ↗ council can hear. Sorry for the

20:00 ↗ inconvenience. We had several speakers

20:02 ↗ tonight during public comments talking

20:05 ↗ about lighting for the skate park at

20:07 ↗ Tibbitz Valley. Uh an interest in

20:09 ↗ additional data or statistics or

20:12 ↗ analysis that can be presented on the

20:14 ↗ city's website and heard from the

20:17 ↗ executive director DIA with a very

20:19 ↗ exciting lineup of spring events. So,

20:21 ↗ thank you very much all for coming

20:23 ↗ today. As a reminder, you can always

20:25 ↗ submit your comments anytime to city

20:27 ↗ council at isiquawah.gov.

20:29 ↗ And I'm going to turn it over now to C

20:31 ↗ council president Walsh to see if there

20:33 ↗ were any email comments uh on tonight's

20:36 ↗ topics that you might like to summarize.

20:39 ↗ Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um we did have

20:41 ↗ several comments um on starting with the

20:44 ↗ consent calendar for AB8330

20:49 ↗ uh proposing a new senior planner

20:50 ↗ position. There were concerns about it

20:52 ↗ being outside of the budget session. Um,

20:55 ↗ that person also disagreed with AB8342,

20:59 ↗ the landscape services contract. On

21:02 ↗ AB8332,

21:04 ↗ the capital finance community task force

21:06 ↗ recommendations report. We said had one

21:09 ↗ commenter who doesn't support the

21:11 ↗ conclusions of the report, believing

21:12 ↗ that the discussion was only focused on

21:15 ↗ new funding sources rather than cutting

21:17 ↗ existing services. Two commenters noted

21:20 ↗ that we cannot build our way out of

21:22 ↗ congestion and two commenters disagreed

21:25 ↗ with the park district com concept but

21:28 ↗ for different reasons. Uh one stated

21:30 ↗ that we have more parks than residents

21:32 ↗ need and one believed that the funding

21:34 ↗ model would degrade our parks. On AB8309

21:38 ↗ the human services strategic plan. One

21:41 ↗ commenter was against adoption,

21:43 ↗ conveying a preference that the list of

21:44 ↗ goals should be trimmed to our funding

21:47 ↗ capabilities. And for AB8345,

21:51 ↗ the rental assistance program

21:52 ↗ amendments, uh, one commenter raised

21:55 ↗ concerns about the funding for imagine

21:57 ↗ housing and whether there's transparency

21:59 ↗ to ensure the funds benefit residents

22:01 ↗ directly. And one commenter preferred

22:03 ↗ funding at 60% AMI rather than 80% AMI.

22:07 ↗ Thank you, Council President. We're

22:09 ↗ going to move on to committee and

22:10 ↗ regional reports and we'll start with

22:12 ↗ Council Member Joe.

22:15 ↗ Thank you, Madame Mayor. Just a couple

22:17 ↗ quick notes. Um Eltech has his first

22:20 ↗ meeting on March 9th. We'll be kicking

22:23 ↗ that off after having some um initial

22:27 ↗ meetings with each of the members

22:28 ↗ individually to kind of get them

22:30 ↗ orientated toward the business of

22:32 ↗ Eltech. The CWA Finance and Management

22:35 ↗ Committee will be meeting March 5th. And

22:38 ↗ um that concludes my report. Thank you.

22:40 ↗ Thank you, Council Member Joe. Council

22:42 ↗ member D. Michelle.

22:43 ↗ Uh thank you, Mayor Paulie. Uh on March

22:46 ↗ 3rd, I attended the Healthier Here

22:48 ↗ governing Board meeting. We heard

22:50 ↗ reports from three organizations who are

22:52 ↗ funded by Healthier Here and

22:54 ↗ participating in clinical practice

22:55 ↗ transformation pilot programs. Um and

22:59 ↗ then uh on uh Thursday of this week

23:02 ↗ there will be an eastside human services

23:03 ↗ forum meeting and on Friday there will

23:06 ↗ be an eastside transportation

23:07 ↗ partnership meeting. And that concludes

23:09 ↗ my report.

23:10 ↗ Thank you council member D. Michelle.

23:11 ↗ Council member Hun.

23:12 ↗ Thank you Madame Mayor. I have two

23:14 ↗ upcoming meetings to announce and one

23:16 ↗ report. for the upcoming meetings. On

23:18 ↗ March 17th, there will be a meeting of

23:21 ↗ the Salmon Recovery Council of Hayra 8,

23:23 ↗ which is the technical name for our

23:25 ↗ wershed and the agenda is not yet set.

23:28 ↗ And then on March 16th, there will be a

23:30 ↗ meeting of the King uh conservation

23:33 ↗ district advisory committee and this

23:35 ↗ will be a subcommittee that will review

23:37 ↗ the member jurisdiction grant program.

23:40 ↗ Um so the agenda is around setting up

23:42 ↗ that committee as it will be the first

23:45 ↗ uh first meeting of that subcommittee.

23:47 ↗ And then um I attended the March 2nd

23:51 ↗ regional water quality committee

23:53 ↗ meeting. And at this meeting we took

23:55 ↗ action to adopt our 2022 work plan for

23:58 ↗ the regional water quality committee.

24:00 ↗ And we also had a sewer rate briefing.

24:02 ↗ This was from the King County Wastewater

24:04 ↗ Treatment Division. And uh this this

24:08 ↗ particularformational

24:10 ↗ this presentation was informational but

24:12 ↗ we will also be anticipated to have

24:15 ↗ additional meetings on this topic. This

24:19 ↗ information was about how the rates were

24:21 ↗ set and the sewer rate is expected to be

24:23 ↗ transmitted in April and then come back

24:26 ↗ to the committee for review at the May

24:27 ↗ meeting. I wanted to note that so far

24:30 ↗ the materials that have been presented

24:32 ↗ indicate that it is expected to be an

24:34 ↗ increase over the version that was voted

24:36 ↗ on last year in 2021 by the sound cities

24:40 ↗ association pick. Um, so this is

24:42 ↗ something that I will be keeping track

24:44 ↗ of because it recently was considered by

24:47 ↗ the um the

24:51 ↗ uh public issues committee for a sound

24:52 ↗ cities association and therefore it

24:54 ↗ seems important to keep track of this

24:56 ↗ new proposal. Major anticipated drivers

24:59 ↗ of the rate increase are the West Point

25:01 ↗ project costs, conveyance system

25:03 ↗ improvements, and similar needs. and um

25:06 ↗ I will be tracking this and reporting

25:08 ↗ back to the council uh with any more

25:10 ↗ information as it comes forward. The

25:13 ↗ next meeting will be April 6th. Thank

25:15 ↗ you.

25:16 ↗ Thank you, Council Member H. Council

25:18 ↗ Member Ray.

25:19 ↗ Thank you, Mayor Paulie. The King County

25:21 ↗ Growth Management Planning Planning

25:23 ↗ Council met on March 2nd in a virtual

25:25 ↗ format. The GMPC looked at the work plan

25:29 ↗ for 2022, received a briefing on

25:32 ↗ affordable housing on the affordable

25:33 ↗ housing committee, including an

25:35 ↗ introduction of the new affordable

25:36 ↗ housing committee members, including our

25:38 ↗ very own Lindsay Walsh. Um, and we

25:41 ↗ received a briefing on the the uh on the

25:44 ↗ urban growth area expansion policies and

25:46 ↗ the 4:1 program.

25:48 ↗ Also, on March 10th, the East Side Fire

25:51 ↗ and Rescue Board of Directors will meet

25:53 ↗ in a virtual format at 4:00 pm. Um the

25:56 ↗ agenda includes a briefing from the fire

25:58 ↗ chief including an update on CO 19

26:01 ↗ update on POS

26:04 ↗ and regular business will include a

26:06 ↗ review of the core connect quarterly

26:09 ↗ report and the core connect funding

26:10 ↗ outlooks and an update on our training

26:13 ↗ consortium. And that concludes my report

26:16 ↗ this evening.

26:17 ↗ Thank you council member Ray. Council

26:18 ↗ member Mertz I'm going to ask if it's

26:20 ↗ okay with you. Uh Lysa is available by

26:22 ↗ phone. Do you mind if we step back and

26:24 ↗ let her do some public comment before?

26:25 ↗ Certainly.

26:26 ↗ Great. Thanks, city clerk.

26:30 ↗ Alicia, I believe you've joined us by

26:32 ↗ phone, so I'm going to attempt unmuting

26:35 ↗ you again.

26:38 ↗ Thank you.

26:39 ↗ All right. And we can hear you now.

26:40 ↗ Thank you so much.

26:42 ↗ Okay, great. Thank you so much for your

26:44 ↗ help. Hello everyone, and thank you for

26:46 ↗ allowing me to share with you tonight.

26:49 ↗ I'm Alicia Spinner, coordinator of the

26:51 ↗ Isawqua Cultural Circle, formerly known

26:54 ↗ as the Latino Club of Isaqua. I'm

26:57 ↗ working together with Marisol Bizer and

27:00 ↗ other Isakqua neighbors. We have been

27:02 ↗ helping for more than 10 years the

27:04 ↗ Latino community of Isaqua, giving them

27:08 ↗ a space to celebrate their culture with

27:10 ↗ events at the Day of the Death and

27:12 ↗ offering volunteer opportunities that

27:14 ↗ make diverse families to feel included

27:17 ↗ and active members of our communities.

27:20 ↗ Through the years, we have worked and

27:22 ↗ collaborate with many other members of

27:24 ↗ cultural groups. And thanks to that, we

27:27 ↗ really understand the need for an

27:29 ↗ organization that will represent not

27:31 ↗ only the Latino community, but all the

27:34 ↗ diverse population.

27:36 ↗ This year, we were the recipients of a

27:38 ↗ grassroots grant, and I'm here to tell

27:41 ↗ you how much this has helped our

27:44 ↗ organization.

27:45 ↗ Thanks to this grant, we were able to

27:47 ↗ offer very special events for many

27:50 ↗ families and many seniors in our city

27:53 ↗ and became a nonprofit organization.

27:57 ↗ We especially want to thank Monica

27:58 ↗ Negrila and Hannah Roberts from your

28:01 ↗ human services department for all their

28:03 ↗ wonderful support. And we are growing

28:06 ↗ the isqua cultural circle or the circle

28:09 ↗ as we want to call our organization.

28:11 ↗ We're planning to not only help with

28:13 ↗ events, but we want to con formally

28:16 ↗ connect youth and families to existing

28:18 ↗ and new services to help them navigate

28:21 ↗ the experience of living in Isiqua.

28:24 ↗ Thank you for the opportunity to talk

28:26 ↗ today,

28:27 ↗ Alicia. Thank you for sharing all of

28:29 ↗ that. We'll go back to committee and

28:31 ↗ regional reports and we'll start again

28:32 ↗ with Council Member Mart.

28:34 ↗ Thank you, Madame Mayor. This is Council

28:35 ↗ Member Mart. The Puget Sound Regional

28:38 ↗ Council Growth Management Policy Board

28:40 ↗ met on Thursday, March 3rd from 10 till

28:43 ↗ noon. We recommended certification of

28:46 ↗ the Frederickson manufacturing and

28:48 ↗ industrial

28:50 ↗ uh center complex sub area plan. Uh we

28:53 ↗ had a discussion on regional housing

28:56 ↗ strategy update where uh I conveyed and

28:59 ↗ got some answers to some questions um

29:02 ↗ from the city and there was a discussion

29:05 ↗ on outreach and support for the 2024

29:07 ↗ comprehensive plan updates. Uh the PSRC

29:11 ↗ has a bunch of resources available to

29:13 ↗ help cities as they are doing their

29:15 ↗ plans. We are blessed to have a strong

29:17 ↗ planning organization, but uh I did

29:20 ↗ convey the concern that for small cities

29:22 ↗ that don't have um significant planning

29:24 ↗ organizations, uh this can be a heavy

29:26 ↗ lift. Um then Sound Cities Association

29:30 ↗ Public Issues Committee is this

29:32 ↗ Wednesday, February 9th from 7 till 9:00

29:34 ↗ p.m. And there's going to be a

29:36 ↗ discussion on the legislative session

29:39 ↗ update uh with lots of information there

29:41 ↗ and a discussion on the American Rescue

29:43 ↗ Plan uh rescue plan act uh but there is

29:47 ↗ not intent there is no uh intention to

29:49 ↗ have any action items coming out of that

29:51 ↗ meeting. This concludes my report.

29:53 ↗ Thank you, Council Member MZ. Deputy

29:54 ↗ Council President Hall. Thank you very

29:56 ↗ much, Mayor Paulolly. No report this

29:58 ↗ evening.

29:58 ↗ Thank you, Council President Walsh.

30:01 ↗ Also, no report this evening.

30:02 ↗ Wow.

30:04 ↗ So, the mayor does have a report. Uh

30:07 ↗ there will be no executive session this

30:09 ↗ evening.

30:11 ↗ Um also wanted to do a few more words

30:14 ↗ about Ukraine and about our solidarity

30:16 ↗ with Ukraine. So, the city of Isqua

30:18 ↗ stands in solidarity with the people of

30:20 ↗ Ukraine. We condemn Russian President

30:23 ↗ Vladimir Putin's unprovoked and

30:25 ↗ unjustified invasion of Ukraine. We join

30:28 ↗ jurisdictions throughout the world in

30:30 ↗ calling for an end to the violence, a

30:32 ↗ return to peace in Europe, and the prot

30:35 ↗ protection of Ukraine sovereignty. We

30:37 ↗ are proud to fly the Ukrainian flag at

30:39 ↗ our Isiqua City Hall.

30:42 ↗ This week, we mark the 2-year

30:43 ↗ anniversary of Isiqua's emergency

30:45 ↗ declaration regarding the pandemic. And

30:47 ↗ in this time, more than 6 million people

30:49 ↗ globally have died from CO 19. We

30:52 ↗ acknowledge the heartbreaking toll this

30:54 ↗ pandemic has uh taken, even as we hope

30:57 ↗ for a brighter and healthier future.

30:59 ↗ Today, I signed a proclamation making

31:01 ↗ March 7th, 2022 CO 19 Memorial Day. We

31:06 ↗ recognize and honor those who have died

31:08 ↗ as a result of this deadly virus. I am

31:10 ↗ thankful for our community's resilience

31:13 ↗ in combating this pandemic and I look

31:15 ↗ forward to brighter days ahead. The 2021

31:19 ↗ community awards are coming up. Isiqua

31:22 ↗ will soon present its honored hall of

31:24 ↗ fame award. Each year, the mayor and

31:26 ↗ council president select a person to

31:28 ↗ induct into the Isiqua Hall of Fame for

31:30 ↗ their exemplary record of inspiration,

31:32 ↗ leadership, and service. So, please join

31:35 ↗ us as we honor the recipient at the

31:37 ↗ Chamber of Commerce annual Isiqua

31:39 ↗ Community Awards event on March 31st.

31:42 ↗ It's a free event to attend, but

31:44 ↗ registration is requested and you can

31:47 ↗ learn more about it on the Isiqua

31:48 ↗ Chamber of Commerce website. And we have

31:51 ↗ some upcoming events. There is an open

31:53 ↗ house on Title 18 in the natural

31:55 ↗ environment. The city is hosting a

31:57 ↗ virtual openhouse to answer the public's

31:59 ↗ questions on the final natural

32:01 ↗ environment discussion draft. The

32:03 ↗ virtual house will be house will be on

32:06 ↗ March 8th at 4 p.m. and is free to

32:08 ↗ attend. To register and receive a

32:10 ↗ meeting link, please visit the city's

32:12 ↗ website. And the state park is having

32:15 ↗ free pass day. Wednesday, March 9th is a

32:18 ↗ free day to attend Washington State

32:19 ↗ Parks without a discover pass. March 9th

32:22 ↗ is a designated free day in honor of

32:25 ↗ Billy Frank Jr's birthday.

32:27 ↗ And there is a Cascade Gardener spring

32:29 ↗ series coming up on sustainable

32:31 ↗ gardening. Cascade Water Alliance is

32:33 ↗ sponsoring a free webinar on March 19th

32:35 ↗ at 10:00 a.m. Participate participants

32:38 ↗ will learn cultivating techniques that

32:40 ↗ are more sustainable for the environment

32:42 ↗ and enjoyable for the gardener.

32:44 ↗ Registration is required through brown

32:45 ↗ paper tickets. And last but not least,

32:48 ↗ City Hall is opening to the public. We

32:51 ↗ will be extending our hours beginning

32:53 ↗ Monday, March 14th. City Hall will be

32:56 ↗ open Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m.

32:58 ↗ to 400 p.m. And it's anticipated that

33:00 ↗ open hours will resume a Monday through

33:02 ↗ Friday schedule beginning on April 11th.

33:05 ↗ And that's pretty exciting news.

33:11 ↗ The next item of business tonight is the

33:13 ↗ consent calendar. And the consent

33:14 ↗ calendar was distributed to council in

33:16 ↗ advance. If authorized, the items on the

33:19 ↗ consent calendar will be considered

33:20 ↗ together and approved by one motion.

33:23 ↗ Have the payables and payroll been

33:24 ↗ reviewed?

33:26 ↗ Have.

33:28 ↗ Thank you. Does any council member

33:29 ↗ desire to remove any item from the

33:31 ↗ consent calendar and consider it under

33:33 ↗ regular business?

33:38 ↗ Can I get a motion?

33:40 ↗ I would like to move to approve the

33:42 ↗ consent calendar as included in the

33:44 ↗ packet.

33:44 ↗ Is there a second?

33:45 ↗ Second.

33:46 ↗ Thank you. It's been moved and seconded

33:48 ↗ to

33:50 ↗ um approve the consent calendar as

33:52 ↗ submitted. Um it says, "Clirker, please

33:55 ↗ call the role."

33:57 ↗ And that is actually not necessary

33:58 ↗ today.

33:59 ↗ I didn't think it was.

34:00 ↗ And I got highlighted sections in here

34:02 ↗ that are going to have to come out.

34:04 ↗ So, uh it had asked if council members

34:08 ↗ want to identify themselves to speak,

34:10 ↗ they would raise the microphone. If

34:11 ↗ we're taking a vote, they just we're

34:13 ↗ just doing a voice vote. All those in

34:15 ↗ favor say I. All those in favor say I.

34:17 ↗ I

34:18 ↗ opposed.

34:20 ↗ That passes unanimously. A little bit

34:21 ↗ faster than a roll call vote.

34:24 ↗ Okay. The next item of business is under

34:26 ↗ regular business. This is AB8332

34:29 ↗ capital Finance Community Task Force

34:31 ↗ Recommendation Report. And the action

34:34 ↗ tonight is for the council to receive

34:36 ↗ this report. So you will receive a

34:38 ↗ report from the task force. In 2019,

34:41 ↗ Nope. In 2021,

34:45 ↗ I appointed the task force. I'm just

34:47 ↗ checking on dates. Okay, 2021, I

34:50 ↗ appointed the task force to provide a

34:51 ↗ recommendation on the city's capital

34:53 ↗ spending priorities.

34:55 ↗ And I'd like to welcome members of that

34:57 ↗ task force who are with us tonight and

34:59 ↗ thank them for their thoughtful work

35:00 ↗ over the past six years. So, um, we have

35:05 ↗ also had the service of some of our

35:07 ↗ council members on this task force as

35:09 ↗ well. So, I'd like to thank council

35:10 ↗ member Martz and council member Hall for

35:12 ↗ serving on that and former council

35:13 ↗ member Goodman. And I'd like to invite

35:16 ↗ Deputy City Administrator Andrea Snder

35:18 ↗ to introduce this item. Andrea.

35:22 ↗ Thank you so much, Madame Mayor. I'm

35:24 ↗ Andrea Snyder, the deputy city

35:26 ↗ administrator, and had the pleasure of

35:28 ↗ staffing this task force. Um with me

35:31 ↗ today are uh Cynthia Craft who was the

35:35 ↗ chair and also Jamie Finch the vice

35:38 ↗ chair of the task force. Uh there's a

35:40 ↗ number of other uh task force members as

35:43 ↗ you noted mayor that are attending this

35:45 ↗ evening in addition to the uh council

35:46 ↗ members who are on the deis today.

35:49 ↗ There's also uh former council member

35:50 ↗ Stacy Goodman as well as task force

35:53 ↗ member Susan Leonelli and also Jason

35:56 ↗ Voice. And we will talk a little bit

35:58 ↗ more about the task force membership uh

36:01 ↗ later this evening. Oh, also excuse me,

36:02 ↗ Brad Book is with us as well. Um we'll

36:05 ↗ talk a little bit more about the

36:06 ↗ membership later this evening, but

36:08 ↗ certainly wanted to thank those task

36:09 ↗ force members uh for attending and for

36:12 ↗ all of their hard work throughout this

36:13 ↗ process. Uh we have some slides for you

36:16 ↗ this evening. So uh Jean, if you could

36:18 ↗ pull up those slides, thank you very

36:20 ↗ much. Um

36:23 ↗ uh next slide, please.

36:26 ↗ Thank you. So, uh, as Mayor Paulie said,

36:30 ↗ uh, the purpose of this task force is

36:32 ↗ really, well, the purpose tonight is to

36:34 ↗ provide a summary of the recommendations

36:36 ↗ from the capital.

36:38 ↗ This is Tisha. I think you may have laid

36:41 ↗ something near your microphone. It's a

36:42 ↗ little hard to hear you now. Or that

36:45 ↗ might have been on our end actually.

36:48 ↗ Tim, can we get

36:49 ↗ Hold on just Tim, can we get the audio

36:51 ↗ up a little bit more?

36:54 ↗ We're working on getting our audio sweet

36:56 ↗ spot in here.

37:06 ↗ I would go ahead Andrea. We'll let you

37:07 ↗ know if we have any other issues.

37:10 ↗ Okay. All right. Um hopefully this is

37:12 ↗ better. Sorry about that. Any uh

37:14 ↗ difficulties in hearing earlier. So the

37:16 ↗ purpose tonight is to provide a summary

37:19 ↗ of the recommendations of the capital

37:21 ↗ finance community task force report

37:23 ↗ that's in the agenda packet for this

37:25 ↗ evening. Um and we are also requesting

37:29 ↗ as the mayor noted city council action

37:31 ↗ to receive the report. We'll talk about

37:33 ↗ next steps uh at the end of the

37:35 ↗ presentation. Um the uh next slide

37:40 ↗ please.

37:43 ↗ Great. So, the purpose of the task force

37:46 ↗ itself, uh, Mayor Paulie appointed the

37:49 ↗ task force really, um, following the the

37:54 ↗ drafting of the CIP, the capital

37:56 ↗ improvement plan in July of 2021. Both

38:00 ↗ city council and mayor Paulie noted that

38:02 ↗ Isiqua has a number of um unfunded

38:06 ↗ infrastructure needs that have been

38:08 ↗ identified and uh the mayor wanted to

38:11 ↗ create a task force that would uh draft

38:14 ↗ criteria and ultimately recommend

38:16 ↗ capital spending priorities among the

38:19 ↗ major categories of capital needs as

38:21 ↗ defined in the CIP. These are um parks

38:24 ↗ and trails, transportation,

38:27 ↗ um utilities and um and facilities as

38:32 ↗ well as equipment. And so those are kind

38:34 ↗ of the categories within the capital

38:36 ↗ improvement plan. And that's what the uh

38:39 ↗ task force really worked from was the

38:41 ↗ CIP and the categories defined within

38:43 ↗ there. The other purpose um and task for

38:46 ↗ this task force was to provide

38:48 ↗ recommendations on how to fund the

38:50 ↗ city's outstanding capital needs. So,

38:52 ↗ we'll get into that in a little bit. Um

38:54 ↗ one thing that I really wanted to note

38:56 ↗ was that it was not um a charge for this

39:00 ↗ task force to come up with uh specific

39:04 ↗ projects that needed to be moved

39:05 ↗ forward. It was not for this task force

39:08 ↗ to prioritize among the projects

39:10 ↗ mentioned in the CIP. It was really to

39:13 ↗ take a look at across these categories

39:15 ↗ staying very high level uh like I said

39:18 ↗ parks and trails utilities

39:19 ↗ transportation facilities etc. um across

39:22 ↗ those categories knowing that each

39:24 ↗ category has a lot of unfunded needs

39:27 ↗ where where should the priorities um lie

39:30 ↗ where should the city's focus be we try

39:33 ↗ to implement some of those projects so

39:34 ↗ that um just wanted to make sure that

39:36 ↗ that was clear about what that um charge

39:39 ↗ of the task force was. And next slide,

39:42 ↗ please.

39:45 ↗ At this point, I would like to turn it

39:47 ↗ over to Cynthia and Jamie to continue

39:49 ↗ the presentation and talk a little bit

39:51 ↗ more about the membership.

39:55 ↗ Thank you so much. Um, thank you, Deputy

39:58 ↗ M, Deputy City Administrator Snider.

40:00 ↗ Good evening, Mayor Paulie, council

40:02 ↗ members. My name is Cynthia Crass and

40:04 ↗ along with Jamie Finch, we've been

40:05 ↗ chairing this task force that's been

40:07 ↗ going for six months. Might have felt

40:10 ↗ like six years, but um I don't know if

40:13 ↗ you caught that, but

40:16 ↗ uh before reviewing membership, I just

40:18 ↗ want to say a couple of opening remarks.

40:19 ↗ Um I want to thank Mayor Polly for

40:21 ↗ convening this task force. Uh and I

40:23 ↗ really want to recognize the

40:25 ↗ contribution of staff. Quite simply,

40:27 ↗ Andrea and her team were excellent. I

40:30 ↗ know that Andrea had a lot of support

40:32 ↗ behind her as she performed the delicate

40:34 ↗ business of helping us figure out what

40:36 ↗ we think without steering us towards or

40:39 ↗ away from any particular direction. The

40:42 ↗ report truly reflects the thinking of

40:44 ↗ the task force and I just want to remind

40:47 ↗ us all that this kind of um excellence

40:49 ↗ from staffs makes volunteering for

40:51 ↗ advisory roles a worthwhile endeavor

40:54 ↗ makes it productive and for me

40:56 ↗ personally it's a very satisfying

40:58 ↗ endeavor. So I want to thank the team

41:00 ↗ for that and that I don't want it to be

41:02 ↗ taken for granted. Uh membership I wish

41:05 ↗ to make a couple of points about

41:06 ↗ membership. Um first of all I want to

41:09 ↗ commend the currently two but previously

41:12 ↗ three council members who served on this

41:13 ↗ task force. I haven't done anything like

41:15 ↗ this before exactly and I will admit to

41:18 ↗ having been quite intimidated by having

41:20 ↗ them at the uh having their presence at

41:22 ↗ the outset or at the outset being

41:24 ↗ intimidated but um it actually worked

41:27 ↗ really really well. They did a lot of

41:30 ↗ listening uh and they weighed in always

41:32 ↗ just at the right moments with some uh

41:35 ↗ practical information occasionally to

41:37 ↗ keep us on track. I found it very

41:38 ↗ productive and it didn't take long

41:40 ↗ before I was no longer intimidated. So,

41:42 ↗ thank you for that. Um the makeup of the

41:45 ↗ group was very useful. Many of us chair

41:48 ↗ specific boards, some were serving at

41:49 ↗ large. Each of us was able to bring some

41:52 ↗ depth uh from our own area of expertise,

41:55 ↗ we also had a lot of time to listen to

41:57 ↗ each other, to argue, to exchange ideas

41:59 ↗ and to attempt to persuade one another

42:01 ↗ um which we did in many cases. Um and as

42:04 ↗ a point of clarity, while each of us

42:05 ↗ made use of our knowledge from our

42:07 ↗ regular boards, we were tasked with

42:09 ↗ representing only ourselves in this

42:11 ↗ exercise. Uh so um it doesn't represent

42:14 ↗ those boards that we served on in a

42:16 ↗ formal way. Um I also just finally want

42:19 ↗ to remark that the this was a very very

42:21 ↗ engaged group. People showed up every

42:24 ↗ time and came very well prepared. I

42:27 ↗ personally was very impressed.

42:31 ↗ Next slide please.

42:36 ↗ So I'm going to talk a little bit about

42:38 ↗ process and then we'll talk a little bit

42:40 ↗ about the framing of the recommendations

42:42 ↗ and then we'll talk specifically about

42:44 ↗ the recommendations. Um the best thing

42:46 ↗ about the committee is that we were able

42:48 ↗ to take a deep dive. We met 10 times in

42:51 ↗ about 5 months and that included the

42:52 ↗ winter holiday break. Staff prepared

42:55 ↗ important background information up

42:56 ↗ front but the bulk of the meeting the

42:58 ↗ meeting time was used for discussion

43:01 ↗ among the task force members. Um I would

43:03 ↗ also want to say that the group very

43:05 ↗ dutifully adhered to the exercise of

43:07 ↗ defining the criteria before selecting

43:10 ↗ any particular priority. We honed the

43:13 ↗ list to five or six criteria and only

43:15 ↗ after that did we score the buckets. Um

43:17 ↗ we were very deliberate about this. I do

43:20 ↗ want to note that there the community

43:22 ↗ survey was one of the criteria but there

43:25 ↗ were several other criteria and they can

43:27 ↗ be found on page six of the report.

43:30 ↗ And while it may not have been unanimous

43:32 ↗ 100% there was clear consensus about our

43:35 ↗ top priority um there was an opportunity

43:39 ↗ to revisit that finding but that

43:41 ↗ consensus never wavered.

43:46 ↗ Next slide please.

43:51 ↗ Okay, before uh framing the

43:54 ↗ recommendations, I just want to make a

43:56 ↗ note um and you may have picked up on a

43:58 ↗ discrepancy between the slides and the

44:00 ↗ report and that um there's kind of a

44:03 ↗ higher level recommendation. I think in

44:05 ↗ the report it's number two. It's not in

44:06 ↗ the slide deck this evening. So, you may

44:08 ↗ have noticed that the numbers from 3

44:11 ↗ through 8 uh are different. And that's

44:14 ↗ because we um felt like it was such a

44:18 ↗ high level comment that we sometimes it

44:21 ↗ got a little squishy in our mind whether

44:22 ↗ it was an outright recommendation or an

44:24 ↗ overarching theme. And that's that the

44:26 ↗ task force does recommend that the city

44:28 ↗ pursue additional funding for capital

44:30 ↗ projects. Um the needs are simply too

44:32 ↗ great to simply rely on, you know, a

44:34 ↗ tightening your belt strategy. Um fiscal

44:37 ↗ prudence of course is always warranted

44:40 ↗ but we do not expect cost cutting

44:41 ↗ measures um would really meet this the

44:44 ↗ city's needs that the gap is simply too

44:47 ↗ great.

44:49 ↗ Um in addition to that um I want to say

44:52 ↗ generally these um slides these

44:54 ↗ recommendations are somewhat arranged in

44:57 ↗ order of the level of consensus. They're

44:59 ↗ also arranged to some extent in the

45:01 ↗ order of the of the task force work. It

45:04 ↗ basically starts with the most general u

45:06 ↗ parts of the assignment and works

45:08 ↗ towards more specificity.

45:10 ↗ Um I'll take the first two

45:11 ↗ recommendations and Jamie will do all

45:12 ↗ the heavy lifting by taking the next

45:14 ↗ five. Um we certainly invite questions

45:16 ↗ along the way um or at the end whatever

45:19 ↗ works for you.

45:23 ↗ Next slide please.

45:29 ↗ So, as it says right here in very simple

45:32 ↗ language, of all of the unfunded capital

45:34 ↗ needs, the task force recommends the

45:36 ↗ city focus on transportation as the top

45:38 ↗ priority. Quite simply, it scored

45:41 ↗ highest by far on the criteria that we

45:43 ↗ set out. Return on investment, life

45:45 ↗ safety, ambitious and visionary,

45:47 ↗ addressing a pain point, um as well as

45:49 ↗ satisfaction and importance um from the

45:52 ↗ community survey. Um it's important to

45:55 ↗ note that while it was beyond the scope

45:57 ↗ of the assignment to define exactly what

46:00 ↗ we all meant when we said transportation

46:03 ↗ um it was it was not just a pie in the

46:07 ↗ sky group uh list of um transportation

46:10 ↗ projects that we could imagine in our

46:12 ↗ own heads. It was the capital um the

46:16 ↗ capital improvement plan. Um but we did

46:19 ↗ not define what we meant when we said

46:21 ↗ transportation kind of generally. I

46:23 ↗ think in some ways we um uh I think the

46:27 ↗ important note here is we we did not

46:29 ↗ simply mean reduction of vehicular

46:32 ↗ congestion. So we want to make sure that

46:35 ↗ transportation is not somehow confused

46:37 ↗ with congestion or traffic uh

46:40 ↗ exclusively. Um trans transparency and

46:44 ↗ what can and cannot be done for

46:46 ↗ congestion relief is paramount. We all

46:47 ↗ agreed on that and as is making sure

46:49 ↗ that the benefits of investing in

46:51 ↗ transportation are clearly articulated.

46:57 ↗ Uh next slide please.

47:00 ↗ Now if you're following along in the

47:02 ↗ report this would recommendation number

47:04 ↗ two would be that general statement I

47:05 ↗ made about investing in um additional

47:08 ↗ funding sources. Um so how do we

47:10 ↗ recommend funding uh the priority number

47:13 ↗ one? Will the task force reach consensus

47:15 ↗ that a transportation benefit district

47:17 ↗ sales tax should be used to fund

47:19 ↗ transportated transportation related

47:21 ↗ capital projects? Using sales tax to

47:24 ↗ close the gap in transportation funding

47:26 ↗ does shift some of the burden to those

47:28 ↗ who benefit from the infrastructure,

47:30 ↗ those who shop in Isiqua of you know

47:34 ↗ both from Isiqua and from the region.

47:37 ↗ Uh, we did recognize that there is um

47:42 ↗ uh a uh

47:45 ↗ uh I'm

47:48 ↗ progressive. Thank you. Regressive. Um I

47:50 ↗ didn't write this in my notes, but I did

47:52 ↗ want to say that we recognize that sales

47:54 ↗ tax was is tends to be regressive.

47:58 ↗ However, the regional equity kind of won

48:01 ↗ the day there and then that is balanced

48:04 ↗ with a much of the general fund funding

48:06 ↗ that is um a bit more progressive. Um we

48:09 ↗ also reached consensus on the timing um

48:14 ↗ of implementation 4 to 6 years. We had a

48:17 ↗ really robust discussion on every aspect

48:19 ↗ of our ro of our recommendation

48:20 ↗ sometimes reaching resolution and

48:22 ↗ sometimes agreeing to disagree. The

48:24 ↗ funny thing is is that task force

48:25 ↗ members agreed on four to six years, but

48:27 ↗ the rationale for that timing um we had

48:31 ↗ varying opinions on why we should do

48:33 ↗ that, but we didn't feel it was worth

48:34 ↗ inhaling that all the way down. So we we

48:36 ↗ settled on four to six years and then

48:38 ↗ moved along. Um

48:41 ↗ so next slide please.

48:44 ↗ Do you mind if I just quickly pop in?

48:46 ↗ I do think one thing to be clear on is

48:48 ↗ when we were talking about time periods,

48:50 ↗ that was the time period for when the

48:52 ↗ funds would actually start flowing, not

48:54 ↗ when we would start the process. So, I

48:56 ↗ do think that was just one important

48:58 ↗ distinction to point out.

49:01 ↗ Yes, thank you, Jamie. Um, so I think

49:04 ↗ we're ready for recommendation number

49:05 ↗ three. Next slide, please. And I'm going

49:07 ↗ to um now pitch it off to Jamie to cover

49:10 ↗ the next several recommendations.

49:12 ↗ Thank you.

49:13 ↗ Thank you, Cynthia. and plus one to

49:16 ↗ everything that you said about um

49:17 ↗ working with um with Andrea and the rest

49:20 ↗ of the team as well as the task force.

49:22 ↗ Um so my next uh next recommendation

49:26 ↗ that I'll be taking you through is is

49:28 ↗ number three here on the slide number

49:30 ↗ four in your packet um or in the

49:32 ↗ recommendation report and this is that

49:35 ↗ um the task force reached um strong

49:37 ↗ consensus that the city should pursue um

49:40 ↗ a parks district on a longer time frame.

49:42 ↗ Um, we felt that the parks district was

49:45 ↗ an equitable tool to address the

49:46 ↗ unfunded parks projects and would

49:49 ↗ provide ongoing revenues for an

49:50 ↗ important part of what makes Isqua a

49:53 ↗ unique community. Um, we also referenced

49:55 ↗ that there was a strong precedent of

49:57 ↗ community support for investment in

49:58 ↗ parks. Um, one of the parts of our

50:02 ↗ recommendation that was not quite as uh

50:04 ↗ at least it didn't have unanimous con um

50:06 ↗ consensus was uh the timing. Uh

50:10 ↗ generally all but one of us felt that um

50:13 ↗ the longer term um really focused on

50:16 ↗ trying to make sure that our top

50:17 ↗ priority of transportation um that that

50:20 ↗ was funded and that we had that before

50:21 ↗ we we really um went out to the voters

50:24 ↗ with anything related to parks. That

50:26 ↗ other task force member did feel that it

50:28 ↗ was um uh important to start that

50:32 ↗ investment and the process towards a

50:34 ↗ parks district earlier. Um but the rest

50:37 ↗ of the task force the real focus was

50:39 ↗ ensuring that that top priority was

50:40 ↗ addressed first then the specific year.

50:43 ↗ So that was that was really the focus

50:44 ↗ though was to ensure that we had um

50:46 ↗ closed out that top priority. Uh, a

50:49 ↗ couple other items that were discussed

50:51 ↗ but but really didn't have consensus or

50:53 ↗ or reach a final decision was some felt

50:57 ↗ that you could consider extending the

50:59 ↗ boundaries beyond the city limits of

51:00 ↗ Isiqua but others felt that this could

51:03 ↗ impact the ability to get it passed or

51:04 ↗ the amount that would be feasible to go

51:06 ↗ out with. Um, and then one of the things

51:09 ↗ that uh the task force did have

51:11 ↗ consensus on was as with all of our

51:12 ↗ funding tools, um, the city should have

51:15 ↗ complete transparency on the expected

51:17 ↗ impact of the funds and how they will be

51:19 ↗ spent relative to general fund dollars.

51:24 ↗ All right, we can move to the next

51:25 ↗ slide.

51:29 ↗ The next recommendation was that uh the

51:32 ↗ task force felt that uh a levy lid lift

51:35 ↗ was a tool that should be explored by

51:36 ↗ the city, but we didn't reach consensus

51:39 ↗ on how it would be best utilized. Um the

51:42 ↗ main reasons the task force was

51:44 ↗ interested in the levy lilift tool was

51:46 ↗ that it provides flexibility for how the

51:47 ↗ funds can be used and is progressive in

51:50 ↗ nature. Um the use and timing of this

51:54 ↗ tool did not receive the same level of

51:55 ↗ consensus as the previous tools we

51:57 ↗ discussed but there was general interest

51:59 ↗ in evaluating as an option as the city

52:01 ↗ better understands it needs its needs.

52:04 ↗ The two primary options for use

52:06 ↗ discussed were as addition to TBD sales

52:10 ↗ tax if transportation needs are

52:11 ↗ determined to exceed the ability of TBD

52:13 ↗ sales tax to cover and a mix of projects

52:16 ↗ across the buckets that we discussed

52:18 ↗ primarily the facilities transportation

52:20 ↗ and parks buckets of projects.

52:24 ↗ All right, we can go to the next slide.

52:29 ↗ The task force um had consensus around

52:32 ↗ encouraging the city to explore reducing

52:34 ↗ the general fund ending balance closer

52:36 ↗ to 15% to increase spending on

52:38 ↗ infrastructure. Um with that being said,

52:40 ↗ fiscal responsibility was stressed as

52:42 ↗ the top priority that should guide any

52:44 ↗ actions, but the majority of the task

52:46 ↗ force felt it was worth considering

52:47 ↗ given the city's conservative past

52:49 ↗ policies related to the ending fund

52:51 ↗ balance. Uh the task force did not

52:53 ↗ provide a specific use of funds that

52:55 ↗ would be freed up through this approach,

52:56 ↗ but the task force felt it would be

52:58 ↗ appropriate to not only consider

52:59 ↗ one-time capital costs, but also ongoing

53:02 ↗ or operating costs to further support

53:04 ↗ infrastructure, such as a grant writer

53:06 ↗ position. Um there was a minority of

53:09 ↗ task force members who did not feel the

53:11 ↗ city needed to make changes to the

53:13 ↗ current approach to the the ending fund

53:16 ↗ balance um or should set a more

53:18 ↗ conservative figure. Um but in general

53:21 ↗ uh the majority of of task force members

53:24 ↗ did feel that this was something that

53:25 ↗ should be explored.

53:28 ↗ All right. And then next slide.

53:33 ↗ The task force felt that the city should

53:35 ↗ prioritize immediate infrastructure

53:37 ↗ investments with uh American Rescue Plan

53:40 ↗ Act funds, ARPA funds. Um we did reach

53:43 ↗ consensus on the guidance for the use of

53:44 ↗ the funds but these were oh sorry we did

53:48 ↗ not reach consensus on guidance for the

53:50 ↗ use of funds but these were the primary

53:52 ↗ suggested areas of focus. Um facilities

53:55 ↗ improvements to improve connectivity

53:57 ↗ cyber security and to help implement the

53:59 ↗ climate action plan transportation

54:02 ↗ particularly if it helped um basically

54:05 ↗ prepare for future investments. Uh while

54:07 ↗ we did not reach consensus on this

54:09 ↗ specific guidance of the projects or

54:11 ↗ focus um this was primarily because we

54:14 ↗ we really weren't at the project level

54:15 ↗ to identify where kind of shovel ready

54:18 ↗ projects might and with with um not only

54:22 ↗ the the timelines and requirements that

54:24 ↗ that ARPA would require. So that was

54:28 ↗ that was part of the reason we didn't

54:29 ↗ get to uh to a lower level or more

54:32 ↗ specificity around that.

54:35 ↗ And then I believe that is the final

54:38 ↗ recommendation I will be taking us

54:40 ↗ through and I'll be actually no sorry

54:44 ↗ I'm taking on this one. Um this was

54:46 ↗ another item. Um this is maybe the one

54:49 ↗ out of this list of recommendations that

54:52 ↗ um we did actually have uh a lot of

54:54 ↗ consensus despite it having a high

54:56 ↗ number on the recommendation. Uh so this

55:00 ↗ was around bonding and and the task

55:02 ↗ force did have consensus that um this

55:04 ↗ was kind of in line with some of the

55:06 ↗ overall comments around wanting for

55:08 ↗ wanting us to go big as well as

55:10 ↗ encourage uh generational equity along

55:12 ↗ with the projects that that would be

55:14 ↗ funded that we should look at a um at

55:17 ↗ bonding as opposed to a pay as you go

55:19 ↗ approach. Um there was interest in in

55:22 ↗ looking at how some of the revenue tools

55:24 ↗ we've we've discussed might be put

55:26 ↗ against council bonds or some other

55:29 ↗ approach um to to ensure that uh we can

55:33 ↗ go out and and fund the projects that um

55:35 ↗ and on the scope that uh that we felt

55:38 ↗ was necessary to to really drive

55:40 ↗ impactful change.

55:43 ↗ And I think the next slide is where I

55:46 ↗ will be handing it back. I keep on

55:48 ↗ surprising myself. No, I am taking this

55:50 ↗ slide. Um, this is just a summary of all

55:53 ↗ of those

55:55 ↗ um all of what we've discussed. Uh, as

55:58 ↗ we mentioned throughout this process, we

56:00 ↗ have put general timelines to our

56:03 ↗ recommendations and when we should

56:04 ↗ approach these. As I also mentioned,

56:06 ↗ these timelines are when we would expect

56:08 ↗ those funds to start flowing. So, we

56:12 ↗ should be making sure that we're

56:13 ↗ building back from all of these

56:15 ↗ timelines with all of the necessary

56:17 ↗ preparations to get to that point. Um, I

56:20 ↗ don't think there's probably too much

56:22 ↗ else to call out on this slide. Um,

56:26 ↗ so I I will hand it back to Cynthia.

56:32 ↗ Thank you, Jamie.

56:34 ↗ Uh so we uh had some recommendations for

56:39 ↗ next steps and this first one has a lot

56:42 ↗ to do with the fact that um we really

56:45 ↗ wrestled with not getting into the

56:47 ↗ project level. We we just kept having

56:50 ↗ trouble staying at the bucket level. Um,

56:53 ↗ and one of the things that soothed some

56:55 ↗ of us at least was this idea that, um,

56:59 ↗ while we're able to select a priority

57:01 ↗ area, um, and let go of that for this

57:03 ↗ exercise, it's obviously a very

57:05 ↗ important thing to do. Um, and so we are

57:09 ↗ recommending that a robust community

57:10 ↗ process happen. And we think we'd like

57:14 ↗ to suggest that potentially even a a

57:17 ↗ task force of similar composition. I

57:19 ↗ think most of us agreed um that this

57:22 ↗ group being brought together across not

57:25 ↗ really disciplines but across subject

57:27 ↗ areas was very powerful that diversity

57:30 ↗ was an asset. Um so I think um we think

57:34 ↗ that this kind of task force might be

57:35 ↗ useful when you're tackling these large

57:37 ↗ complex challenges.

57:40 ↗ Um the the second thing I wanted to say

57:42 ↗ we we wanted to say is that um this is

57:46 ↗ really important because we this is now

57:47 ↗ the third time in our presentation we've

57:48 ↗ hit on it and that's that the timing

57:51 ↗ refers to when the money would be

57:53 ↗ flowing and we do recognize there was

57:55 ↗ considerable heartburn around the notion

57:57 ↗ that these activities have long lead

57:58 ↗ times. So we want to be sure that you

58:01 ↗ understand that our recommendation is

58:02 ↗ that those timelines are for when the

58:04 ↗ revenue would be flowing and that

58:06 ↗ certainly quite a bit of preparation

58:08 ↗ would need to be u done in advance and

58:10 ↗ we all I think spread it a little bit

58:12 ↗ make sure that um the appropriate

58:14 ↗ advanced you know preparation would

58:17 ↗ start on a timely basis. Um finally I'll

58:21 ↗ just mention that um red light cameras

58:24 ↗ we think that this should be used for

58:26 ↗ improving well we think the existing

58:29 ↗ program should be expanded um and we

58:32 ↗ think that it could be a good we sort of

58:34 ↗ we pull it off of the revenue um tools

58:37 ↗ and just um really characterize it as a

58:41 ↗ um a specific tactic that we think is is

58:45 ↗ it's sort of its own animal. um and we

58:48 ↗ didn't see any reason that that should

58:50 ↗ wait. Um think it's a good idea and it

58:52 ↗ should be used to um fund uh improving

58:55 ↗ public safety and transportation.

58:58 ↗ So that concludes Jamie's and my

59:00 ↗ prepared remarks. Um we're happy to take

59:02 ↗ your questions now. I think um Deputy

59:05 ↗ City Administrator Snider, that's such a

59:07 ↗ mouthful. Um I had some concluding

59:09 ↗ remarks um and so we can let her talk

59:11 ↗ and you can ask any questions you like.

59:13 ↗ We can certainly remain on hand. Thank

59:15 ↗ you for this opportunity.

59:20 ↗ That's that's great. Thank you so much,

59:22 ↗ Cynthia. Uh Jean, can you get us to the

59:24 ↗ next slide, please? Just want to talk

59:26 ↗ about next steps. Uh so again the action

59:30 ↗ that the administration is requesting of

59:32 ↗ council this evening is to receive the

59:35 ↗ report and then uh we will be returning

59:38 ↗ next week at March 15th the study

59:41 ↗ session on March 15th to discuss

59:44 ↗ implementation and hear more from the

59:46 ↗ council about uh these um uh your

59:52 ↗ perspective on these recommendations and

59:55 ↗ which um of these recommendations you

59:57 ↗ would like us to move forward and how we

59:59 ↗ should do that. So that's really the

1:00:01 ↗ discussion for next week. At this point

1:00:03 ↗ in time, I would like to open it up for

1:00:05 ↗ any questions you may have. Thank you.

1:00:09 ↗ Thank you very much, Andrea and Cynthia

1:00:11 ↗ and Jamie. Great presentation. Council,

1:00:14 ↗ any questions? This was a six-monthlong

1:00:17 ↗ progress. Many, many long meetings, many

1:00:20 ↗ complicated topics. So, and thank you

1:00:23 ↗ council president for indicating you're

1:00:26 ↗ the first one to ask.

1:00:27 ↗ Indeed. Thank you. Um, so I'll stick to

1:00:32 ↗ kind of questions about what the, you

1:00:36 ↗ know, since we have the task force

1:00:37 ↗ members here. I I have tons of questions

1:00:39 ↗ about the details, but um, I'm wondering

1:00:42 ↗ how the task force came to the ARPA

1:00:45 ↗ dollar amount of 9 million when they

1:00:48 ↗ didn't look at projects specifically.

1:00:55 ↗ Thank you.

1:00:56 ↗ Andrew, you want to take that? Mhm.

1:00:58 ↗ I was just going to say we didn't it was

1:01:01 ↗ that that was not an item that we

1:01:03 ↗ specifically discussed

1:01:05 ↗ that number

1:01:07 ↗ as like that being the right amount.

1:01:09 ↗ That wasn't a decision that our task

1:01:11 ↗ force made and maybe Andrea could expand

1:01:12 ↗ upon why that that is is uh included in

1:01:16 ↗ the recommendation.

1:01:17 ↗ Sure. Uh the city received $1 million in

1:01:21 ↗ ARPA funds. We knew that some had

1:01:24 ↗ already been spent and that um there uh

1:01:28 ↗ there may have been um opportunities to

1:01:32 ↗ spend a little bit more of it. So we

1:01:33 ↗ kind of took 9 million as a round number

1:01:35 ↗ of ARPA funds that would be available to

1:01:38 ↗ be spent on infrastructure. And then we

1:01:41 ↗ took that 9 million number to the task

1:01:43 ↗ force and said, is this do you want to

1:01:45 ↗ use 9 million of ARPA funds uh to invest

1:01:49 ↗ in infrastructure, you know, or or would

1:01:51 ↗ you rather that go somewhere else? We

1:01:53 ↗ talked about what types of expenditures

1:01:55 ↗ are eligible with ARPA funds. Um and

1:01:57 ↗ ultimately the task force said, "Yeah,

1:01:59 ↗ we think that um spending this on

1:02:01 ↗ infrastructure

1:02:03 ↗ uh is a good way to expend the $9

1:02:05 ↗ million of ARPA funds the city has.

1:02:10 ↗ Can I continue with questions?"

1:02:12 ↗ Straight ahead. Okay, fantastic. Um

1:02:16 ↗ so

1:02:18 ↗ let's see. Um, so debt was mentioned as

1:02:22 ↗ a possible um, usage, but I didn't

1:02:25 ↗ notice in the kind of summary and

1:02:27 ↗ timeline chart where debt was considered

1:02:32 ↗ as far as when that revenue the task

1:02:34 ↗ force thought would be most useful. So,

1:02:36 ↗ was there any indication that that was a

1:02:38 ↗ short, mid, or long term?

1:02:44 ↗ I can take that one. I think we

1:02:46 ↗ generally felt that as a tactic it could

1:02:48 ↗ be applied against the revenue tools

1:02:50 ↗ that we were evaluating, but we didn't

1:02:53 ↗ specifically tie it to a source. It was

1:02:55 ↗ more so a general

1:02:57 ↗ uh openness to the idea of of bonding

1:03:01 ↗ versus a specific timing of when that

1:03:03 ↗ would occur because we didn't get to the

1:03:05 ↗ project level. Again, I think that was

1:03:06 ↗ beyond I think the scope of where where

1:03:09 ↗ we discussed that item.

1:03:12 ↗ Okay. And then um you know I know there

1:03:16 ↗ was a consideration for a transportation

1:03:19 ↗ benefit district as a um kind of shorter

1:03:23 ↗ term timeline given the priority of

1:03:26 ↗ those projects. I'm wondering if there

1:03:28 ↗ was any consideration of moving the

1:03:32 ↗ parks district

1:03:34 ↗ forward considering the community

1:03:37 ↗ support for parks as a way to free up

1:03:41 ↗ general funds that could then be used

1:03:43 ↗ for those higher priority projects of

1:03:45 ↗ transportation. So was there discussion

1:03:47 ↗ about the freeing up of general funds

1:03:50 ↗ and what that could be used for?

1:03:55 ↗ Yes, again I can take this question.

1:03:57 ↗ This was an area that we did have

1:03:59 ↗ discussion around. I think it was a

1:04:01 ↗ topic that uh we didn't have consensus

1:04:04 ↗ on. We had a split on how that kind of

1:04:08 ↗ approach could be used. Um and we

1:04:10 ↗ ultimately felt that it we just we

1:04:13 ↗ weren't going to be able to to reach a a

1:04:15 ↗ a consensus that I think would uh

1:04:19 ↗ justify a recommendation in this report

1:04:21 ↗ around. So something discussed but we

1:04:22 ↗ didn't have resolution or clear

1:04:24 ↗ resolution on it.

1:04:27 ↗ Excellent. Those are Oh, yeah.

1:04:29 ↗ This is Cynthia. If I may just add, I

1:04:31 ↗ think there was a little bit of um

1:04:33 ↗ heartburn around the concept that um

1:04:37 ↗ that that could be a valid strategy. It

1:04:39 ↗ was a strategy that we talked about, but

1:04:41 ↗ there was a bit of heartburn around the

1:04:43 ↗ idea um that the parks district that

1:04:45 ↗ would then just replace general funds as

1:04:47 ↗ opposed to adding it. And that just it

1:04:49 ↗ as we talked through it, it started to

1:04:51 ↗ feel um it didn't it didn't feel

1:04:57 ↗ it didn't feel comfortable to have a new

1:04:59 ↗ funding source without actually

1:05:02 ↗ increasing funding. And that's how as we

1:05:05 ↗ talked it through it, we couldn't shake

1:05:07 ↗ that sense. Um so I don't know if that

1:05:12 ↗ is helpful or not, but that that just it

1:05:14 ↗ felt kind of problematic as we talked it

1:05:16 ↗ through. um to just shift funding to a

1:05:20 ↗ parks district. Um and it felt more uh

1:05:24 ↗ responsible to think of parks districts

1:05:25 ↗ as a way as a reliable source of

1:05:27 ↗ long-term funding. And we decided, as

1:05:29 ↗ Jamie said, to not reach consensus or

1:05:32 ↗ not try to reach resolution on how much

1:05:34 ↗ of the general fund should remain over

1:05:35 ↗ time. I don't know if that's helpful,

1:05:38 ↗ but it did cause a lot of heartburn.

1:05:41 ↗ Fantastic. Because those are my

1:05:43 ↗ questions, so I appreciate and

1:05:44 ↗ no followup.

1:05:45 ↗ No, that's great. Thanks. Uh, Council

1:05:48 ↗ Member Hunt,

1:05:56 ↗ you're on mute, I believe.

1:05:59 ↗ Very quiet.

1:06:07 ↗ Lights on.

1:06:08 ↗ My still on mute.

1:06:15 ↗ It's a special microphone.

1:06:25 ↗ Okay. Yeah, that one city clerk.

1:06:27 ↗ All right, I'll start again. Thank you

1:06:29 ↗ for being here and um presenting this

1:06:31 ↗ tonight. My question was on the timing

1:06:34 ↗ and I understand that you were working

1:06:37 ↗ over the last many months during which

1:06:39 ↗ the pandemic was the situation with the

1:06:41 ↗ pandemic was also changing and in the

1:06:45 ↗ recommendation regarding timing it does

1:06:47 ↗ discuss needing clarity about the

1:06:50 ↗ effects from the pandemic on on the

1:06:53 ↗ economy. And so I wondered if there was

1:06:55 ↗ change in that recommendation over time

1:06:58 ↗ or if if there was discussion about how

1:07:00 ↗ best to monitor the recovery of the

1:07:04 ↗ economy to um continue to track this

1:07:07 ↗ time frame issue.

1:07:12 ↗ This is Cynthia. Go ahead and take that.

1:07:14 ↗ Thank you for your question. um uh that

1:07:16 ↗ uh I would I would not say and uh others

1:07:18 ↗ can correct me if I'm wrong that that

1:07:19 ↗ our position evolved in as the 6 months

1:07:23 ↗ of the pandemic you know that's

1:07:25 ↗ obviously a full 25% of the pandemic

1:07:28 ↗ period um but I will say that

1:07:32 ↗ we found ourselves having a different uh

1:07:36 ↗ point of view about what may or may not

1:07:38 ↗ be happening economically in the

1:07:40 ↗ community and it was the uncertainty and

1:07:42 ↗ the lack of clarity on that We did not

1:07:45 ↗ discuss any way to resolve that lack of

1:07:47 ↗ clarity. But we first some some people

1:07:51 ↗ were actually very concerned and didn't

1:07:52 ↗ want to introduce anything because they

1:07:54 ↗ were concerned about economic um you

1:07:58 ↗ know um negative economic impacts. But

1:08:02 ↗ we decided that we it was too premature

1:08:04 ↗ to conclude that all community members

1:08:06 ↗ were feeling

1:08:08 ↗ u pessimistic about the economy and

1:08:10 ↗ recognizing that some were hurting when

1:08:12 ↗ some might not be and not really having

1:08:14 ↗ enough clarity on that to make a

1:08:15 ↗ recommendation and it was really the

1:08:16 ↗ uncertainty that drove that and we left

1:08:18 ↗ it at that.

1:08:20 ↗ Okay. Thank you. I think one other one

1:08:22 ↗ other thing I would just add on to that

1:08:23 ↗ was uh I think there were some members

1:08:26 ↗ that that had concerns around um the

1:08:29 ↗ current economic climate and there were

1:08:31 ↗ others that just felt like the process

1:08:33 ↗ to getting to that um to to the first

1:08:36 ↗ funding source of that TBD sales tax

1:08:38 ↗ that realistically the timelines were

1:08:40 ↗ going to be close to that 4-year mark

1:08:42 ↗ anyways uh even if we start now. So, I

1:08:45 ↗ think there was some that felt it was

1:08:47 ↗ kind of don't don't jam the gas pedal

1:08:50 ↗ and others that just felt that that was

1:08:51 ↗ realistically how long it was going to

1:08:53 ↗ take anyways, especially when we were

1:08:55 ↗ looking at it from funds flowing that

1:08:57 ↗ that would probably be um given it has

1:08:59 ↗ to go to the voters a fairly realistic

1:09:01 ↗ timeline.

1:09:03 ↗ Great. Thank you.

1:09:04 ↗ Thank you. Council member D. Michelle,

1:09:06 ↗ do you have some questions?

1:09:07 ↗ I do. Uh can you hear me? Okay,

1:09:10 ↗ I can.

1:09:11 ↗ Okay. Um, we have this big area of

1:09:15 ↗ transportation

1:09:17 ↗ and I heard you say that you you did not

1:09:19 ↗ want to focus on just congestion or just

1:09:22 ↗ traffic, but I am wondering uh what the

1:09:25 ↗ conversation was around uh the mix of uh

1:09:30 ↗ investments in transit, you know, versus

1:09:33 ↗ roads versus bicycle paths. Was there

1:09:36 ↗ that kind of discussion or were you just

1:09:39 ↗ looking at this big

1:09:42 ↗ area thing called transportation?

1:09:46 ↗ So, I mean, I'd just be really

1:09:48 ↗ interested to know what the conversation

1:09:50 ↗ was like.

1:09:54 ↗ Yeah, thank you for the question. Um, I

1:09:56 ↗ think one of the areas that we did talk

1:09:58 ↗ about this was when we originally went

1:10:00 ↗ through the community survey. Um there

1:10:03 ↗ was definitely mention of congestion,

1:10:05 ↗ but there's also a lot of the items that

1:10:07 ↗ were identified as low satisfaction or

1:10:09 ↗ high low satisfaction, high importance

1:10:12 ↗ and and therefore like ranked highly um

1:10:15 ↗ were in other aspects of mobility. Um

1:10:17 ↗ and so that was a part of us our

1:10:19 ↗ discussion around um it being more than

1:10:22 ↗ just a congestion that the community was

1:10:24 ↗ saying they had frustration around.

1:10:26 ↗ beyond that because we weren't at the

1:10:28 ↗ project level. We were very explicitly

1:10:30 ↗ forbidden from looking at the project

1:10:32 ↗ level. So, uh we we really didn't know

1:10:38 ↗ like it would have been really difficult

1:10:39 ↗ for us to have more specific

1:10:41 ↗ conversations. I mean, I think that's

1:10:43 ↗ where we feel like the next steps that's

1:10:45 ↗ that's really where there will be the

1:10:47 ↗ level of detail necessary to uh to

1:10:50 ↗ determine that and and make sure that it

1:10:52 ↗ aligns with with what community would

1:10:54 ↗ support.

1:10:55 ↗ I can just follow up. I think it's um

1:10:58 ↗ it's sometimes difficult when we're

1:11:00 ↗ talking about capital investments be in

1:11:02 ↗ in transit because

1:11:04 ↗ um what kind of capital investments are

1:11:07 ↗ you going to make when it's another

1:11:09 ↗ organization

1:11:10 ↗ i.e. Metro Sound Transit that actually

1:11:13 ↗ controls the service that's being

1:11:14 ↗ rendered. So, um it's a you know I

1:11:18 ↗ struggle with that question a lot. Um,

1:11:20 ↗ so and I'm sure it'll be something that

1:11:22 ↗ uh I'll bring up again, but uh I I

1:11:25 ↗ appreciate your response. Thank you very

1:11:27 ↗ much.

1:11:28 ↗ Thank you, Council Member D. Michelle.

1:11:30 ↗ That's a very very good point. We have

1:11:31 ↗ the levers we can operate and the others

1:11:33 ↗ that we can't and they all contribute to

1:11:36 ↗ solving transportation issues. So, thank

1:11:38 ↗ you for bringing that up.

1:11:39 ↗ Uh, Council Member Ray. Oh,

1:11:42 ↗ thank you, Mayor Paulie. Um, first,

1:11:44 ↗ thank you for the report and I really

1:11:46 ↗ appreciated the thoughtfulness and the

1:11:49 ↗ nature of the recommendations, but I

1:11:51 ↗ have one question because I'm really

1:11:52 ↗ curious because it stands out as a

1:11:54 ↗ little bit different, which is your very

1:11:55 ↗ last recommendation on the last page,

1:11:57 ↗ which is around um, uh, automated camera

1:12:00 ↗ enforcement of traffic violations, which

1:12:02 ↗ seems like a very distinct um, policy

1:12:05 ↗ question and not preluding policy

1:12:07 ↗ questions, but um, but you also said it

1:12:10 ↗ wasn't necessarily about revenue. you

1:12:12 ↗ and so it seemed a little bit out of

1:12:14 ↗ scope and so I just kind of curious why

1:12:16 ↗ you put it in and and what was what were

1:12:19 ↗ you driving to

1:12:21 ↗ and and you were driving very legally as

1:12:23 ↗ you drove there of course but where were

1:12:24 ↗ you driving?

1:12:27 ↗ So, I this is Cynthia. I I'm wondering

1:12:30 ↗ if might be appropriate for um former

1:12:33 ↗ council member Goodman to take this

1:12:34 ↗ question because and it actually I

1:12:37 ↗ commented on how excellent the um

1:12:38 ↗ attendance was and I did watch the

1:12:40 ↗ meeting, but that actually was I saw

1:12:43 ↗ that meeting on live. Jamie pitched uh

1:12:46 ↗ led that one. So, um I'm going to Is she

1:12:50 ↗ promoted to panelist? I know we were

1:12:52 ↗ going to just answer questions, but she

1:12:54 ↗ had a lot to say on that. Um,

1:12:57 ↗ is that possible?

1:12:59 ↗ And is she available to answer that?

1:13:02 ↗ Thank you.

1:13:03 ↗ Tisha, has she been promoted? There she

1:13:05 ↗ is.

1:13:06 ↗ Good evening.

1:13:08 ↗ Good evening. Um, Stacy Goodman here.

1:13:11 ↗ Um, so it was um raised by me um a

1:13:17 ↗ couple of times as an opportunity for a

1:13:20 ↗ couple of reasons. one um

1:13:23 ↗ we've just we've addressed it in the in

1:13:26 ↗ several years ago and it really didn't

1:13:28 ↗ go anywhere. Um there's an opportunity

1:13:30 ↗ to put traffic cameras in for safety

1:13:32 ↗ reasons and it does uh generate some

1:13:36 ↗ revenue for the city. um but it wasn't

1:13:39 ↗ intended to

1:13:42 ↗ revenue generator and I think the um

1:13:45 ↗ task force felt as though they wanted to

1:13:48 ↗ recommend that the council strongly

1:13:50 ↗ consider it um as um I guess part of the

1:13:55 ↗ overall transportation bucket safety

1:13:59 ↗ considerations um but not think of it as

1:14:03 ↗ a revenue generator.

1:14:07 ↗ Maybe that answers questions.

1:14:09 ↗ Thank you, Council Member Ray. I think

1:14:11 ↗ uh one of the other parts about our city

1:14:13 ↗ is that you are in the unique position

1:14:15 ↗ of directly taking that revenue over

1:14:19 ↗ expenses and allocating it um to

1:14:22 ↗ something that is got a nexus that's not

1:14:25 ↗ typical in many cities, but it's not

1:14:27 ↗ really a revenue stream.

1:14:29 ↗ Yeah. Yeah. No, I I get that it it it

1:14:31 ↗ the scope of the task force was around

1:14:34 ↗ finance and and this is not a finance

1:14:36 ↗ and so I'm I'm not opposed or in favor

1:14:39 ↗ of I just think it's odd. Yeah.

1:14:40 ↗ And that's why I was trying to

1:14:41 ↗ understand wherever from. Yeah.

1:14:44 ↗ So So thank you.

1:14:46 ↗ Uh Council Member Joe.

1:14:49 ↗ Thank you, Madame Mayor. Russell Joe.

1:14:52 ↗ First off, I'd like to thank the

1:14:54 ↗ committee for their hard work and

1:14:55 ↗ dedication to this. It's a it's a great

1:14:57 ↗ report that we're going to be able to uh

1:14:59 ↗ use going forward. I had a question

1:15:01 ↗ about the ending fund balance discussion

1:15:03 ↗ that you had. There was some discussion

1:15:05 ↗ whether it should be you know 15% or

1:15:08 ↗ 20%. And um what kind of discussion was

1:15:13 ↗ was behind that and and if you could

1:15:15 ↗ fill that in a little bit more that'd be

1:15:17 ↗ helpful.

1:15:19 ↗ Yeah thank you for the question. This is

1:15:20 ↗ Jamie speak Jamie Finch speaking. I

1:15:22 ↗ think there was a couple elements that I

1:15:24 ↗ would highlight from that one was just

1:15:26 ↗ we we were given some uh reference

1:15:29 ↗ points for nearby cities and and kind of

1:15:31 ↗ what what was typical for cities to use.

1:15:35 ↗ Um I think the other piece of uh context

1:15:38 ↗ was that we were often ending the year

1:15:41 ↗ significantly above that whatever we had

1:15:44 ↗ set we ended up significantly above and

1:15:46 ↗ I think a lot of our discussion was just

1:15:48 ↗ around I mean it wasn't necessarily 15

1:15:51 ↗ versus 20 it was how could we get are

1:15:54 ↗ there funds that are are are not being

1:15:56 ↗ used or that could could be put to use

1:15:59 ↗ on infrastructure projects. Um, so that

1:16:02 ↗ was that was really the discussion.

1:16:04 ↗ Those were the two main items I can

1:16:05 ↗ remember, but if Cynthia uh or anyone

1:16:07 ↗ else remembers any other items,

1:16:12 ↗ I'll just add that we wanted to there

1:16:14 ↗ was a comment to make sure it didn't

1:16:15 ↗ affect our bond rating, but they seem to

1:16:17 ↗ be a lot of confidence that that

1:16:18 ↗ wouldn't be problematic. But I think

1:16:20 ↗ Jamie captured it. Thank you.

1:16:22 ↗ Great. Thank you. And just um one

1:16:25 ↗ comment on the the red light camera

1:16:27 ↗ revenue. Um, I know that uh Scott

1:16:31 ↗ Stewart, our our municipal court judge,

1:16:34 ↗ does go through those and I have seen

1:16:37 ↗ the tickets uh back there in his office.

1:16:40 ↗ Um, could the administration at least um

1:16:43 ↗ consult with Scott Stewart, Judge

1:16:45 ↗ Stewart, to see if we do go to, you

1:16:48 ↗ know, six lights with red light cameras,

1:16:50 ↗ how does that change his workload, he's

1:16:52 ↗ not full-time, whether that would bump

1:16:55 ↗ him up to a full FTE or whether we need

1:16:57 ↗ to have additional prom judges come in

1:16:59 ↗ and perhaps do some of that work.

1:17:01 ↗ That's a great point. Thank you. Um, I

1:17:02 ↗ think when it was discussed four or five

1:17:05 ↗ years ago, the court costs were also

1:17:07 ↗ included in our costing model. So, want

1:17:09 ↗ to make sure that we're not overwhelming

1:17:11 ↗ our judge. That is for sure.

1:17:13 ↗ Any other questions?

1:17:18 ↗ Okay. If not, is somebody prepared to

1:17:20 ↗ make a motion?

1:17:23 ↗ Let's see.

1:17:25 ↗ Yes.

1:17:27 ↗ I would move to receive the capital

1:17:29 ↗ Finance Community Task Force

1:17:31 ↗ recommendation report.

1:17:33 ↗ [Music]

1:17:35 ↗ I'll second that motion.

1:17:37 ↗ It's been moved and seconded. Is there

1:17:39 ↗ any discussion

1:17:44 ↗ Marks?

1:17:45 ↗ Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just uh want

1:17:47 ↗ to thank all the folks that uh did spend

1:17:50 ↗ 6 months on it. you know, we have so

1:17:52 ↗ much talent at the commission level and

1:17:56 ↗ uh we just had it was a it was a very uh

1:18:00 ↗ detailed but also heartfelt series of

1:18:03 ↗ conversations where uh we found

1:18:06 ↗ consensus where we could and documented

1:18:08 ↗ uh uh different ideas when we didn't

1:18:10 ↗ have consensus. So I just I thought that

1:18:13 ↗ uh this the citizen involvement was

1:18:15 ↗ great and whatever goes on next um if

1:18:19 ↗ there is a um if there is further

1:18:22 ↗ citizen input I think the the the the

1:18:25 ↗ citizens who were part of that you know

1:18:27 ↗ maybe different council members next

1:18:29 ↗ time around but a lot of those folks uh

1:18:31 ↗ really did an amazing job and I would

1:18:33 ↗ love to see some throughine for at least

1:18:35 ↗ some of those folks uh on the next round

1:18:37 ↗ of of community engagement. Thank you.

1:18:39 ↗ That's great. Thank you. Others for

1:18:42 ↗ comments,

1:18:45 ↗ Council Member Hunt.

1:18:47 ↗ Um, thank you. I wanted to um also thank

1:18:50 ↗ the committee for all of your hard work

1:18:53 ↗ and a few other comments. I do think

1:18:55 ↗ it's very important the acknowledgement

1:18:57 ↗ that we um can't build our way out of

1:19:00 ↗ congestion and that there's only so much

1:19:02 ↗ we can do. So when this comes back um

1:19:06 ↗ for our further consideration, I think

1:19:08 ↗ one thing that will be important for for

1:19:10 ↗ us and also for the community engagement

1:19:12 ↗ is really this concept of induced demand

1:19:16 ↗ where you can spend quite a lot of money

1:19:19 ↗ on infrastructure that then in a region

1:19:21 ↗ that's growing as quickly as ours um

1:19:24 ↗ cars can can just come and take up that

1:19:26 ↗ space and it can very quickly be uh not

1:19:30 ↗ efficient use of that funds. So, I think

1:19:32 ↗ that's an important concept for us to

1:19:34 ↗ consider and I appreciated that you on

1:19:37 ↗ the task force um pointed out that that

1:19:40 ↗ you had considered it in your in your

1:19:42 ↗ discussions and I think it's important

1:19:44 ↗ that we continue to consider it in our

1:19:46 ↗ discussions. Um, one other

1:19:51 ↗ comment that I wanted to make is also on

1:19:52 ↗ the uh red light cameras and I agree

1:19:57 ↗ with council member Ray. I think it um

1:19:59 ↗ because it's in a conversation about

1:20:01 ↗ revenue for the most part, I want to

1:20:03 ↗ make it very clear that I think it

1:20:05 ↗ shouldn't be considered a tool for

1:20:07 ↗ revenue. And so I would be interested in

1:20:10 ↗ considering it at a policy level,

1:20:12 ↗ especially if we have safety compelling

1:20:14 ↗ safety information about how it could

1:20:16 ↗ potentially reduce accidents and make

1:20:18 ↗ our intersections safe safer and things

1:20:22 ↗ of that nature. But I would need to have

1:20:24 ↗ that compelling evidence. Um, and I also

1:20:27 ↗ would want to potentially use this as

1:20:29 ↗ one of our first equity lens policy

1:20:32 ↗ discussions because, uh, traffic

1:20:34 ↗ cameras, depending on where they are,

1:20:36 ↗ they can affect different people

1:20:38 ↗ differently. And so, um, that's been an

1:20:40 ↗ issue with some cities that have put in

1:20:42 ↗ red light cameras, and I would want to

1:20:44 ↗ make sure that we, um, really achieve

1:20:46 ↗ our goals of improving safety if we were

1:20:48 ↗ to go that route. Thank you.

1:20:52 ↗ Thank you. Other comments?

1:20:56 ↗ Okay.

1:20:58 ↗ So, it has been moved and seconded to

1:21:00 ↗ receive the capital Finance Community

1:21:02 ↗ Task Force recommendation report. And if

1:21:05 ↗ there's no further discussion, all those

1:21:08 ↗ in favor signify by saying I

1:21:09 ↗ I

1:21:11 ↗ those opposed.

1:21:13 ↗ That passes unanimously. I'm still

1:21:14 ↗ getting used to this whole voting thing.

1:21:16 ↗ It's really cool to do it this

1:21:19 ↗ oldfashioned way. Um, I just wanted to

1:21:21 ↗ sum up with a few little words as well.

1:21:24 ↗ Um, first for Council Member Hunt, I do

1:21:26 ↗ believe the administration completely

1:21:28 ↗ supports a separate policy discussion on

1:21:30 ↗ the red light cameras. Wanted to make

1:21:32 ↗ sure they were able to discuss it

1:21:34 ↗ tonight because it did come up and it is

1:21:36 ↗ a kind of unique and different way of

1:21:39 ↗ funding some safety projects. But yes,

1:21:41 ↗ it should be a separate policy. That

1:21:43 ↗ that totally makes sense and thank you

1:21:45 ↗ for the equity comment. I really wanted

1:21:47 ↗ to thank the council members that served

1:21:49 ↗ and all the members of the task force

1:21:51 ↗ for this significant body of work. Um,

1:21:54 ↗ in case those that are tuning in tonight

1:21:56 ↗ and not knowing, we've never done this

1:21:58 ↗ before. We have talked about our long

1:22:00 ↗ list of unfunded projects. We have

1:22:02 ↗ wondered if we have funding tools that

1:22:05 ↗ we're not using. And you just got six

1:22:07 ↗ months of fabulous conversation to unear

1:22:09 ↗ all of that. And honestly, it is like

1:22:11 ↗ going back to school. They know a lot

1:22:14 ↗ more about municipal financing than they

1:22:16 ↗ probably ever wanted to know and so they

1:22:18 ↗ have become our local experts and

1:22:21 ↗ fabulous cross-section of community

1:22:22 ↗ voices like council member Mertz said

1:22:25 ↗ and a very very difficult task. Um they

1:22:28 ↗ are crafting a draft capital financing

1:22:31 ↗ strategy something we've never done as a

1:22:33 ↗ body before because it's not something

1:22:34 ↗ you can kind of whip up during a budget

1:22:36 ↗ session. So appreciate all the hard work

1:22:38 ↗ that went into it. Looking forward to

1:22:40 ↗ future phases and conversations and

1:22:42 ↗ completely agree with council member

1:22:44 ↗ Mars on how can we continue to use this

1:22:46 ↗ wonderful resource that we have in a

1:22:48 ↗ future phase. So thank you all very much

1:22:51 ↗ and thank you to the task force. Great

1:22:53 ↗ job. Great job. Well done.

1:22:56 ↗ The next item of business on our agenda

1:22:59 ↗ this evening is AB8309,

1:23:01 ↗ the human services strategic plan. And

1:23:04 ↗ the action item before council this

1:23:06 ↗ evening is to approve the resolution.

1:23:08 ↗ This item was last before city council

1:23:10 ↗ at the February 15th council study

1:23:12 ↗ session. And I'd like to invite human

1:23:15 ↗ services manager Monica Negrilla to make

1:23:17 ↗ a presentation. And I believe Susan

1:23:18 ↗ Leonelli from the commission is also

1:23:21 ↗ going to be joining her tonight. So

1:23:22 ↗ Monica,

1:23:26 ↗ good evening madame mayor and good

1:23:28 ↗ evening council members. Thank you very

1:23:30 ↗ much for having us back tonight. This is

1:23:32 ↗ Man Kang Gorilla Human Services here in

1:23:35 ↗ Isakqua. Uh it is so great to see you

1:23:38 ↗ all at the council chambers. Um and so

1:23:42 ↗ before I start um definitely I would

1:23:45 ↗ love to invite the chair of the human

1:23:47 ↗ services commission, Susan Leonelli, to

1:23:49 ↗ make a few remarks. Susan, thank you so

1:23:52 ↗ much for being with us tonight.

1:23:54 ↗ Yes, thank you. Um and uh appreciate an

1:23:57 ↗ opportunity just to uh provide a few

1:24:00 ↗ thoughts on behalf of the human services

1:24:02 ↗ commission and um our experiences in

1:24:05 ↗ working with Monica and Hannah and staff

1:24:08 ↗ um as they work to assemble the the uh

1:24:12 ↗ presentation and the the um strategy as

1:24:16 ↗ you um have been involved with us over

1:24:19 ↗ the last several months. Um this I have

1:24:22 ↗ been through two rounds of grant funding

1:24:26 ↗ deliberations and recommendations uh as

1:24:29 ↗ part of the human services commission

1:24:31 ↗ and it's always um a bit difficult to

1:24:35 ↗ make sure that you're doing the right

1:24:37 ↗ thing um that matches the city

1:24:39 ↗ priorities and spends the funds that we

1:24:42 ↗ have in in the most appropriate way

1:24:45 ↗ because there are so many needs and so

1:24:48 ↗ many considerations uh to take into

1:24:50 ↗ account. So the the work that the team

1:24:53 ↗ has put together is incredibly

1:24:55 ↗ informative for that work that the human

1:24:58 ↗ services commission will be going

1:24:59 ↗ through again in in the upcoming months

1:25:02 ↗ and it offers um a very critical context

1:25:05 ↗ and prioritization around what the

1:25:08 ↗ city's needs and priorities are. So it's

1:25:10 ↗ very helpful to us as we consider the

1:25:12 ↗ tradeoffs that um that need to be

1:25:14 ↗ considered. It also helps us organize

1:25:17 ↗ multiple bodies of work um that are

1:25:19 ↗ going on in the human services uh space

1:25:22 ↗ and ensures that we do have this

1:25:24 ↗ overarching view of all the jobs that

1:25:27 ↗ need to be done by the city and um how

1:25:31 ↗ the city can play a role and where they

1:25:33 ↗ can play a role and again where the

1:25:34 ↗ priorities and and interests lie. Um it

1:25:38 ↗ personally it was a very rewarding and

1:25:40 ↗ satisfying process to go through because

1:25:42 ↗ u Monica and Hannah and the team um

1:25:45 ↗ engaged the human services commission at

1:25:47 ↗ multiple points um along the way shared

1:25:50 ↗ with us what they were hearing u from

1:25:52 ↗ the multiple uh points of connection

1:25:54 ↗ with the community. We had a dialogue.

1:25:57 ↗ We learned from each other and um the

1:26:00 ↗ input from the human services commission

1:26:02 ↗ was um infused at at several points

1:26:04 ↗ along the way. And so finally, I just

1:26:07 ↗ wanted to extend um um on behalf of

1:26:10 ↗ myself and the human services commission

1:26:11 ↗ a big thanks to the team that did the

1:26:14 ↗ heavy lifting who you well know um

1:26:16 ↗ Hannah, Monica for their vision and um

1:26:19 ↗ the human services commission members

1:26:21 ↗ for the insight that they added and of

1:26:23 ↗ course to city leadership um and our

1:26:25 ↗ mayor and our city council for

1:26:27 ↗ prioritizing this very important effort.

1:26:29 ↗ So thank you for the opportunity to um

1:26:32 ↗ to speak tonight. Thank you. Back to

1:26:34 ↗ you Monica.

1:26:36 ↗ Thank you very much, Susan. We also

1:26:38 ↗ appreciate you. Thank you for being with

1:26:40 ↗ us. Um, council member, allow me just a

1:26:43 ↗ moment to share my screen so I can start

1:26:45 ↗ the presentation.

1:26:48 ↗ Uh,

1:26:49 ↗ and I hope I have two powerpoints on and

1:26:52 ↗ I hope it's the right one. I am lucky it

1:26:55 ↗ is the right one.

1:26:57 ↗ Um, give me just a moment

1:27:01 ↗ and

1:27:08 ↗ Okay. So, here we are. Um, so, uh, we

1:27:13 ↗ are returning to you tonight, uh, city

1:27:16 ↗ council for, uh, to seek approval of a

1:27:19 ↗ resolution that adopts the human

1:27:21 ↗ services strategic plan. This is first

1:27:24 ↗ human services strategic plan. So, we

1:27:27 ↗ are very excited and anxious at the same

1:27:29 ↗ time.

1:27:30 ↗ Um, as a brief reminder, our goal with

1:27:34 ↗ creating the strategic plan um was

1:27:36 ↗ really to uh provide information that

1:27:39 ↗ would help inform the community

1:27:40 ↗ priorities in human services for the

1:27:43 ↗ next 5 years. um and also to provide um

1:27:47 ↗ a road map if you wish for policy

1:27:50 ↗ decisions for investments um and

1:27:53 ↗ allocations of funds um but also for

1:27:55 ↗ advocacy and technical assistance needs.

1:27:59 ↗ A little bit about the background and

1:28:01 ↗ the timeline um and by the way since uh

1:28:04 ↗ this is um the third time this agenda

1:28:06 ↗ item is in front of you I will provide

1:28:08 ↗ just a highle brief overview. However,

1:28:11 ↗ I'm available for questions if I don't

1:28:14 ↗ go in enough details on any of the items

1:28:16 ↗ here. Uh, but in terms of a brief

1:28:18 ↗ background, the human services strategic

1:28:21 ↗ plan incorporates and builds upon prior

1:28:24 ↗ work conducted um on the community needs

1:28:27 ↗ assessment um but also on the healthy

1:28:29 ↗ community strategy. Um with work being

1:28:32 ↗ paused in 2020 due to the pandemic um

1:28:35 ↗ but also due to organizational

1:28:37 ↗ restructuring, uh we restarted this work

1:28:40 ↗ um in June of 2021. And um in the first

1:28:44 ↗ part between June and September, we um

1:28:47 ↗ conducted an updated needs assessment.

1:28:50 ↗ As you may recall in our previous

1:28:53 ↗ presentations, we had robust um

1:28:55 ↗ interviews and community engagement

1:28:57 ↗ process uh with a robust equity lens. Um

1:29:01 ↗ followed uh following the community

1:29:03 ↗ needs assessment uh in the fall between

1:29:06 ↗ October and December. We worked um

1:29:09 ↗ continued to work with the community and

1:29:10 ↗ with the human services commission uh to

1:29:13 ↗ develop the goals and the plan. Um and

1:29:16 ↗ then by uh the end of December uh we

1:29:19 ↗ drafted the first plan and then

1:29:21 ↗ continued to work with the community

1:29:23 ↗ with the human services commission and

1:29:24 ↗ with you city council making edits to

1:29:27 ↗ the draft plan.

1:29:30 ↗ Um here just a few highlights of the

1:29:32 ↗ plan development um from the plan

1:29:34 ↗ development I mean I'm sorry um while

1:29:37 ↗ doing this work um really it has been

1:29:40 ↗ important to us uh that we aligned the

1:29:43 ↗ work with other uh city plans um uh it

1:29:47 ↗ was also important that we really

1:29:49 ↗ conducted a robust and meaningful

1:29:51 ↗ community engagement uh from language

1:29:54 ↗ access to uh reaching out to those who

1:29:57 ↗ are uh low income um or individuals who

1:30:00 ↗ are homeless. Uh we really tried to to

1:30:03 ↗ reach far and wide. Um also we were very

1:30:06 ↗ intentional about applying an equity

1:30:08 ↗ lens and identifying communities most

1:30:12 ↗ disproportionately impacted by by needs

1:30:14 ↗ in the human services arena. Um as

1:30:18 ↗ mentioned we update the updated the

1:30:20 ↗ community needs. Um and we really the

1:30:23 ↗ the focus areas and goal development. it

1:30:25 ↗ was important for us that they directly

1:30:28 ↗ responded to the needs that we

1:30:30 ↗ identified in the community.

1:30:32 ↗ Um just a brief review here of the uh

1:30:36 ↗ strategic plan content areas. Um

1:30:40 ↗ um of highlight are perhaps the the area

1:30:43 ↗ the in beginning area where we talk

1:30:45 ↗ about who we are. Um I would like to

1:30:48 ↗ highlight that um among other things it

1:30:51 ↗ describes the human services roles and

1:30:53 ↗ functions as being a policy framer, a

1:30:57 ↗ funer, a connector, an advocate and a

1:31:00 ↗ supporter. Um the what we learned area

1:31:02 ↗ is one of the most extensive uh areas in

1:31:05 ↗ the plan. It includes really a really

1:31:08 ↗ comprehensive list of the existing

1:31:10 ↗ resources in Isiqua, but also uh

1:31:13 ↗ provides um compelling and heartbreaking

1:31:15 ↗ data at the same time on some of the

1:31:18 ↗ needs identified in the community.

1:31:22 ↗ I apologize. I heard an is that

1:31:26 ↗ oh there's some feedback.

1:31:29 ↗ Oh,

1:31:31 ↗ apologize.

1:31:35 ↗ Um, okay. I'm going to move forward. The

1:31:38 ↗ city clerks, please interrupt if I need

1:31:40 ↗ to do something.

1:31:43 ↗ Um, the where are we going section

1:31:47 ↗ um covers the goals and actions that

1:31:49 ↗ worked on with community.

1:31:54 ↗ Um moving on. Um the next this is a

1:31:58 ↗ brief summary of the edits um that um we

1:32:02 ↗ conducted during the first round of

1:32:04 ↗ edits. Uh we included and highlighted

1:32:07 ↗ some additional specific population

1:32:10 ↗ content areas in particular seniors,

1:32:13 ↗ low-income residents who are um working

1:32:16 ↗ at minimum wage jobs um community needs

1:32:20 ↗ by population. Uh we also identified

1:32:23 ↗ icons for uh different budget categories

1:32:27 ↗ and uh added additional visual elements.

1:32:30 ↗ Um made brief edits, grammatical

1:32:32 ↗ revisions and just general content

1:32:34 ↗ review. Um since the last council study

1:32:38 ↗ session uh the one on February 15

1:32:42 ↗ um we reviewed and edited performance

1:32:45 ↗ measures to include additional metrics

1:32:49 ↗ um and more um especially with a lot of

1:32:52 ↗ focus more focus on including more

1:32:54 ↗ outcome related metrics. Um here I want

1:32:57 ↗ to make a a brief note uh that some of

1:33:00 ↗ the outcome measures um you might have

1:33:03 ↗ seen there noted in exhibit C of your

1:33:06 ↗ agenda packet. Um we have a detailed

1:33:09 ↗ table uh that describes all the changes

1:33:12 ↗ that we had made. Um and I would like to

1:33:14 ↗ just add that um some of those measures

1:33:17 ↗ may be individual programmatic uh or

1:33:20 ↗ community level um metrics. However, uh

1:33:24 ↗ due to the limited role that we um have

1:33:28 ↗ in impacting community level measures,

1:33:31 ↗ um you will see more performance

1:33:33 ↗ measures focused on individual or

1:33:35 ↗ programmatic level rather than community

1:33:38 ↗ level measures.

1:33:41 ↗ And so with that, um our recommendation

1:33:44 ↗ of course is to approve the resolution

1:33:46 ↗ that adopts the ISO human services

1:33:48 ↗ strategic plan. Um in terms of next

1:33:52 ↗ steps um uh with adoption hopefully uh

1:33:56 ↗ following the adoption we would like to

1:33:58 ↗ use this document to help inform the

1:34:01 ↗ 2023 2024 human services grant cycle. Uh

1:34:05 ↗ we would also like to return to city

1:34:07 ↗ council for a more robust conversation

1:34:09 ↗ on the human services grant program. Um

1:34:12 ↗ and we would and we are very anxious and

1:34:15 ↗ excited to begin implementation of the

1:34:17 ↗ plan. And so with that before I um

1:34:20 ↗ available for questions with your

1:34:22 ↗ permission I would love to um just take

1:34:25 ↗ a moment to say a few thanks and

1:34:28 ↗ acknowledge some of the team members who

1:34:31 ↗ were part of this u process from the

1:34:34 ↗ very very beginning. Um definitely I

1:34:36 ↗ would love to start I would love to

1:34:38 ↗ start with the human services commission

1:34:40 ↗ um and um they've been instrumental in

1:34:43 ↗ helping us and guiding us through this

1:34:45 ↗ work uh but also um our nonprofit

1:34:48 ↗ partners many of whom were interviewed

1:34:51 ↗ more than once. They also participated

1:34:54 ↗ in community workshops. They were really

1:34:56 ↗ really um helpful and partners in this

1:34:58 ↗ work. Um and with that I also would love

1:35:01 ↗ to um acknowledge and thank to a few

1:35:04 ↗ internal staff. I would like to start

1:35:06 ↗ with uh Jeff Wattling the director of

1:35:09 ↗ community parks and um um community

1:35:12 ↗ services here at the city for his

1:35:14 ↗ guidance and continued support. We are

1:35:16 ↗ just so so grateful to have him. Um, and

1:35:19 ↗ then other city staff, Thomas Rush, our

1:35:21 ↗ community um, coordinator who took our

1:35:25 ↗ content and put it into this beautiful

1:35:28 ↗ um, um, piece of art if I may say. Um,

1:35:32 ↗ Dale Marquy Crimp u was instrumental in

1:35:35 ↗ helping us u create outcome measures and

1:35:38 ↗ performance measures. Um and last but

1:35:41 ↗ not least, the um human services staff u

1:35:44 ↗ Maris Soul and Amir um with helping us

1:35:48 ↗ um reach out to different community

1:35:51 ↗ members. Um and with that, I would

1:35:53 ↗ definitely would love a special shout

1:35:55 ↗ out to Hannah Roberts, our human

1:35:57 ↗ services coordinator, um who really from

1:36:00 ↗ day one um uh worked tirelessly um uh

1:36:04 ↗ alongside with me in in making this

1:36:07 ↗ project a reality. And so with that,

1:36:09 ↗ thank you very much, council members.

1:36:11 ↗ Um, I'm available for questions. Um,

1:36:16 ↗ thank you, Monica, and thank you for

1:36:18 ↗ getting this work done during this

1:36:20 ↗ strange time of CO. That was a big heavy

1:36:22 ↗ lift to do, and we we appreciate it very

1:36:24 ↗ much. Um, looking for council questions.

1:36:26 ↗ Oh, Council Member Mertz.

1:36:28 ↗ Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor. This

1:36:30 ↗ whole thing with working with a single

1:36:32 ↗ screen as opposed to having like three

1:36:33 ↗ screens is really I don't know how I'm

1:36:36 ↗ going to proceed. Um I have a question

1:36:38 ↗ about um timelines. So I look at one of

1:36:44 ↗ the one of the actions is convene and

1:36:48 ↗ facilitate a local community partnership

1:36:50 ↗ workg group to address homelessness

1:36:53 ↗ response in Isiqua. And I see a start

1:36:56 ↗ date of Q12022.

1:36:59 ↗ and I see a revision and target date of

1:37:02 ↗ December 2024,

1:37:04 ↗ which is um my math tells me a long ways

1:37:08 ↗ away. So, can you tell me a little bit

1:37:11 ↗ more? I'm assuming that uh it isn't the

1:37:14 ↗ goal to get something like that kicked

1:37:16 ↗ off by December 2024, uh that it would

1:37:20 ↗ be sooner than that, but tell me a

1:37:21 ↗ little bit. I see there's a lot of

1:37:23 ↗ December 2024s in here. So using this as

1:37:26 ↗ an example, can you tell me a little bit

1:37:27 ↗ about how these deadlines will kind of

1:37:31 ↗ relate to the timing of when you try to

1:37:33 ↗ get things done?

1:37:35 ↗ Yes, thank you so much for that

1:37:37 ↗ question. Since initially the goal of

1:37:39 ↗ the plan was to um create to really it

1:37:43 ↗ was a 5-year plan. Uh we felt that um

1:37:46 ↗ creating all those um action items for 5

1:37:49 ↗ years. It seemed too long. And so

1:37:51 ↗ typically then we chose about two dates.

1:37:54 ↗ Um one was 2023 and the other one was

1:37:57 ↗ 2024.

1:37:59 ↗ Um 2024 was used also um kind of as as

1:38:03 ↗ the end of this um funding cycle for

1:38:06 ↗ human services. So it was like a 2-year

1:38:08 ↗ mark if you wish. uh absolutely bay

1:38:11 ↗ intent with this particular goal that

1:38:12 ↗ you called out is not to begin um kind

1:38:16 ↗ of if I can convene a group but to

1:38:18 ↗ really see pause in two years and see

1:38:20 ↗ how far we've gone with with

1:38:22 ↗ coordinating homelessness in Isoka.

1:38:25 ↗ Okay. because I mean this one looks

1:38:26 ↗ really important and really good and

1:38:29 ↗ eager to see. I mean I'm sure there'll

1:38:31 ↗ need to be some interim steps like get

1:38:34 ↗ you know get the uh workg group formula

1:38:37 ↗ you know get a charter by a certain time

1:38:39 ↗ get it uh staffed by a certain time get

1:38:42 ↗ it uh constituted by a certain time. Uh

1:38:46 ↗ so anyhow good good luck on that. So, so

1:38:48 ↗ that December 2024 is really you want to

1:38:51 ↗ come back and you see want to see what

1:38:53 ↗ progress was made on this right is what

1:38:57 ↗ I'm hearing.

1:38:58 ↗ Yes, absolutely. And especially with

1:39:00 ↗ with a topic such as homelessness, there

1:39:03 ↗ are so many things that need to happen

1:39:04 ↗ in parallel and at the same time on one

1:39:07 ↗ end um we need intervention and we need

1:39:09 ↗ intervention now, right? and we started

1:39:11 ↗ that. But at the same time, there's

1:39:13 ↗ still the larger planning that needs to

1:39:15 ↗ happen locally, but also regionally. Um,

1:39:18 ↗ and so, um, again, there's just so many

1:39:21 ↗ things that need to happen in parallel.

1:39:22 ↗ But yes, absolutely. We would love to,

1:39:25 ↗ um, have different points in time when

1:39:28 ↗ we do checkins.

1:39:29 ↗ Thank you.

1:39:30 ↗ Thank you, Council Member. Any other

1:39:33 ↗ questions?

1:39:35 ↗ And if not, do I have somebody who wants

1:39:36 ↗ to make a motion?

1:39:40 ↗ See, I've got to find it here. Yes, I

1:39:43 ↗ would like to move to approve resolution

1:39:46 ↗ number 2022-06

1:39:50 ↗ adopting the Isiqua Human Services

1:39:52 ↗ Strategic Plan.

1:39:55 ↗ I'll second that motion.

1:39:57 ↗ It's been moved and seconded. Is there

1:39:59 ↗ any council discussion?

1:40:01 ↗ That's my remarks.

1:40:02 ↗ Yeah, I I really want to thank Monica

1:40:04 ↗ and the team. Looking at the metrics

1:40:07 ↗ here, you know, I had said focusing on

1:40:09 ↗ output, focusing on uh within focusing

1:40:13 ↗ on output, qualitative u quantitative is

1:40:16 ↗ good, quantitative output is good,

1:40:17 ↗ qualitative output is even better and I

1:40:20 ↗ really see a lot more of that in these

1:40:21 ↗ metrics. So, thank you for uh

1:40:24 ↗ strengthening that. I think it will

1:40:25 ↗ really allow us to talk more about how

1:40:27 ↗ much the needle has moved.

1:40:29 ↗ That's great. Any other comments or

1:40:32 ↗ discussion? Council President,

1:40:34 ↗ thank you. Um, I also want to thank the

1:40:39 ↗ staff and um, just the community that

1:40:43 ↗ has supported this effort. Um, Susan

1:40:45 ↗ Leelli, I really appreciate coming to

1:40:48 ↗ speak to us and talk about how this as a

1:40:51 ↗ tool not only gets used by the city, but

1:40:54 ↗ makes our human services grant uh

1:40:58 ↗ process more robust, more effective. Um,

1:41:03 ↗ and so seeing how the people that are

1:41:06 ↗ going to use this are already looking at

1:41:10 ↗ it as an effective tool, I think speaks

1:41:12 ↗ very highly to not just taking the time

1:41:16 ↗ to create a report, but really doing so

1:41:19 ↗ in-house with people who are involved in

1:41:23 ↗ the work and understand what the

1:41:25 ↗ community, not just the community needs

1:41:28 ↗ of our human services needs, but the the

1:41:31 ↗ staffing and the um volunteer members

1:41:36 ↗ needs in order to do the important work

1:41:38 ↗ that we've set out for them. So, I I

1:41:40 ↗ think this is just a a fantastic plan

1:41:44 ↗ that has a whole lot of thought to it

1:41:46 ↗ and I look forward to utilizing this as

1:41:49 ↗ our community moves forward.

1:41:51 ↗ Thank you, Council President. Council

1:41:52 ↗ member D Michelle.

1:41:55 ↗ Thank you, uh Mayor Paulie. Um

1:41:58 ↗ I think this is a um plan that we can be

1:42:03 ↗ so proud of. uh when I um am with my

1:42:07 ↗ fellow colleagues on the East Side Human

1:42:09 ↗ Services Forum. Uh and that is all of

1:42:12 ↗ the cities that are on the east side and

1:42:14 ↗ I and know that we are ahead of them in

1:42:18 ↗ so many ways in terms of planning um in

1:42:23 ↗ terms of uh defining the scope in terms

1:42:26 ↗ of putting forward possible solutions uh

1:42:29 ↗ in a coherent plan. Uh I am uh just so

1:42:33 ↗ proud of this uh body of work and thank

1:42:35 ↗ you Monica and Hannah and and everyone

1:42:38 ↗ who worked on it. Uh in

1:42:42 ↗ uh 2020 and 2021 we hit I guess the

1:42:47 ↗ perfect storm.

1:42:49 ↗ Uh but some of the problems that arrived

1:42:52 ↗ uh during that period uh have been

1:42:54 ↗ building for a long time before even uh

1:42:58 ↗ before COVID hit. But when COVID hit,

1:43:01 ↗ all of a sudden it was absolutely

1:43:04 ↗ apparent uh how important our human

1:43:06 ↗ services network and agencies and uh

1:43:10 ↗ efforts are uh in the moment of a

1:43:13 ↗ humanitarian crisis like the pandemic.

1:43:16 ↗ Um and for this body of work to come out

1:43:19 ↗ of that pandemic period is uh absolutely

1:43:22 ↗ commendable. We did receive a comment um

1:43:25 ↗ and I I appreciate the comment um

1:43:29 ↗ regarding the breadth and scope of the

1:43:31 ↗ problems that have been defined and um I

1:43:34 ↗ want to say that uh it is almost

1:43:36 ↗ overwhelming to read through not only

1:43:39 ↗ the at the broad level but the granular

1:43:42 ↗ level that you achieved which is

1:43:43 ↗ fabulous um and see how many things we

1:43:46 ↗ absolutely need to do soon.

1:43:50 ↗ Um but you know I am really glad to have

1:43:53 ↗ that big comprehensive view. Uh I think

1:43:56 ↗ it's always important for us to

1:43:58 ↗ understand the the depth uh and the

1:44:00 ↗ breadth of the problems that we're

1:44:01 ↗ facing and the challenges that we have.

1:44:04 ↗ So uh I'm sure as the dialogue continues

1:44:07 ↗ and as you come back to us, we're going

1:44:08 ↗ to uh be able to work our way through it

1:44:11 ↗ because we have laid in front of us this

1:44:14 ↗ really clear picture of all of the

1:44:17 ↗ things that we need to be doing. So,

1:44:19 ↗ thanks to staff. Uh, I will u in case

1:44:22 ↗ anybody's worried, I will be supporting

1:44:24 ↗ and voting for this plan.

1:44:27 ↗ Thank you, Monica.

1:44:28 ↗ Thank you, Council Member D. Michelle,

1:44:30 ↗ Deputy Council President Hall.

1:44:32 ↗ Uh, thank you very much, Mayor Paulie,

1:44:34 ↗ Council Member Hall. I guess I don't

1:44:36 ↗ have to repeat my name anymore.

1:44:38 ↗ So many new things to say.

1:44:39 ↗ Yeah. Wow. Um, you know, ju just real

1:44:43 ↗ quick before I get into some of my

1:44:44 ↗ comments to build off what Council

1:44:45 ↗ Member DM Michelle said, I completely

1:44:47 ↗ agree. absolutely that we cannot even

1:44:50 ↗ begin to problem solve in the human

1:44:52 ↗ surface space here in Isiqua unless we

1:44:54 ↗ have a comprehensive a complete

1:44:56 ↗ understanding of the needs that exist

1:44:58 ↗ out in our community. And what this what

1:45:00 ↗ I'm really happy about this plan because

1:45:02 ↗ what it does is it really clearly

1:45:05 ↗ demonstrates what the gaps and the needs

1:45:07 ↗ are and it clearly describes what our

1:45:09 ↗ role is as a connector, as a funer, as

1:45:11 ↗ an advocate, as a collaborator um that

1:45:14 ↗ was mentioned earlier and lays out

1:45:17 ↗ essentially an equation for us to begin

1:45:19 ↗ to start, not even just to begin, but to

1:45:22 ↗ begin to start solving the human service

1:45:24 ↗ needs and to begin to continue our

1:45:26 ↗ partnerships with our human service

1:45:28 ↗ organizations and other government

1:45:30 ↗ partners in the area. Um, couple other

1:45:32 ↗ things I just wanted to say about this.

1:45:35 ↗ It's a very compelling story and it

1:45:39 ↗ paints a very clear picture, oftentimes

1:45:40 ↗ a very shocking picture of human

1:45:42 ↗ services needs that exist out in Isiqua.

1:45:45 ↗ Uh, and with tonight's adoption, we

1:45:47 ↗ renew both our commitment um, and affirm

1:45:51 ↗ a new strategy for meeting those needs.

1:45:53 ↗ So, uh, just like the others, I'd like

1:45:54 ↗ to thank Director Watley. I'd like to

1:45:57 ↗ thank Monica, Hannah, anyone else who

1:45:59 ↗ touched this work for your tireless

1:46:01 ↗ efforts and your passion, and I'll be

1:46:02 ↗ supporting this measure tonight, too.

1:46:04 ↗ Thank you, Deputy Council President, uh,

1:46:06 ↗ Council Member Joe.

1:46:08 ↗ Thank you, Madame Mayor.

1:46:10 ↗ I'd like to thank the, uh, Human

1:46:12 ↗ Services Commission for all the hard

1:46:14 ↗ work on this plan. Um, I would point out

1:46:18 ↗ that on page 32 under section 3.2, to I

1:46:22 ↗ like the way that the plan is

1:46:24 ↗ forward-looking in the sense that we

1:46:26 ↗ recognize that there will be people in

1:46:28 ↗ our community that we're serving right

1:46:30 ↗ now, but they'll be also be people from

1:46:33 ↗ uh places of distress such as Ukraine

1:46:35 ↗ that may be coming to our country. And

1:46:37 ↗ so lack of providers that are are

1:46:40 ↗ familiar with culture and language is

1:46:42 ↗ 3.2. And I appreciate that we recognize

1:46:44 ↗ that as one of our weaknesses and that

1:46:46 ↗ we may need to have someone that is

1:46:48 ↗ familiar with Ukrainian culture and

1:46:50 ↗ language uh coming up here in the near

1:46:52 ↗ future. Also 4.5 lack of awareness of

1:46:56 ↗ existing resources available. Um

1:46:58 ↗ certainly those uh individuals that may

1:47:00 ↗ be seeking shelter from war and distress

1:47:04 ↗ will also need to be informed and uh

1:47:08 ↗ familiar with the programs that are

1:47:09 ↗ here. I'm glad this program also does

1:47:11 ↗ that in a forward-looking way so that as

1:47:14 ↗ people uh come to Esiqua, they feel

1:47:17 ↗ welcome and they feel that we are

1:47:19 ↗ upholding our vision to be a welcoming,

1:47:22 ↗ inclusive and equitable community. Um so

1:47:24 ↗ I really appreciate this work. I hope

1:47:26 ↗ that we're cognizant of some of the

1:47:28 ↗ future uh residents that will become to

1:47:31 ↗ Isiqua with certainly somewhat unique

1:47:34 ↗ needs and I look forward to seeing how

1:47:36 ↗ we will fulfill our obligations in the

1:47:38 ↗ future. Thank you. Thank you, Council

1:47:40 ↗ Member Joe. Any other comments?

1:47:44 ↗ Thank you.

1:47:46 ↗ It has been moved and seconded to

1:47:48 ↗ approve resolution number

1:47:51 ↗ 2022-06.

1:47:54 ↗ 2022-06.

1:47:56 ↗ Thanks. Adopting the Isiqua Human

1:47:58 ↗ Services Strategic Plan. All those in

1:48:00 ↗ favor signify by saying I. I.

1:48:03 ↗ Those opposed.

1:48:05 ↗ That carries unanimously. Thank you. And

1:48:06 ↗ thank you very much, Monica and Susan,

1:48:08 ↗ for coming tonight.

1:48:10 ↗ The next

1:48:12 ↗ Oh, oh, thanks, Monica. The next item of

1:48:15 ↗ business is AB8345,

1:48:18 ↗ rental assistant program amendments. And

1:48:20 ↗ the task before the council this evening

1:48:22 ↗ or the request is to authorize. This is

1:48:24 ↗ the first time that this item is coming

1:48:26 ↗ before council. And I will keep Monica,

1:48:29 ↗ human services manager, up there to take

1:48:31 ↗ us through this one as well. Monica.

1:48:36 ↗ Hello again. Thank you very much, Madame

1:48:38 ↗ Mayor. Allow me to start sharing my

1:48:41 ↗ screen.

1:48:42 ↗ Um,

1:48:47 ↗ and while I do that, I wanted to mention

1:48:50 ↗ that um, along with me here tonight, we

1:48:53 ↗ have staff from Hope Link and also from

1:48:56 ↗ Imagine Housing who I'm going to um, um,

1:49:00 ↗ introduce to you in just a few moments.

1:49:05 ↗ And before that

1:49:07 ↗ I will start the presentation and just

1:49:10 ↗ make a brief introduction.

1:49:12 ↗ Uh so as madame mayor mentioned we are

1:49:15 ↗ seeking um your authorization uh tonight

1:49:19 ↗ to modify uh the issaqua rental

1:49:23 ↗ assistance program that was created back

1:49:25 ↗ in October of 2021.

1:49:29 ↗ Specifically,

1:49:30 ↗ uh we are seeking two uh things. On one

1:49:34 ↗ end, um we would like to um uh request

1:49:39 ↗ your approval to lift the 3mon limit on

1:49:43 ↗ rental assistance provided

1:49:45 ↗ um through this program to include all

1:49:48 ↗ rental uh rearages. Um, and second, uh,

1:49:54 ↗ we would like to request that we

1:49:55 ↗ redistribute the original allocation of

1:49:59 ↗ $500,000 for rental assistance, uh, to

1:50:02 ↗ include $350,000

1:50:05 ↗ to Hoplink. This would be a contract

1:50:07 ↗ amendment for us and then also um

1:50:11 ↗ allocate um up to $150,000

1:50:15 ↗ to Imagine Housing. And this would be us

1:50:18 ↗ entering into a new contract with our

1:50:20 ↗ nonprofit partner.

1:50:22 ↗ Um,

1:50:24 ↗ and so as we were talking earlier about

1:50:27 ↗ the human services strategic plan and

1:50:29 ↗ about the the role that our nonprofit

1:50:31 ↗ partners play uh in this, I would really

1:50:34 ↗ like to highlight as as it was also

1:50:36 ↗ highlighted in the strategic plan um the

1:50:40 ↗ difficult time uh that nonprofit

1:50:43 ↗ organizations go through especially

1:50:45 ↗ during this time. um they've been

1:50:47 ↗ tirelessly serving the community for two

1:50:50 ↗ years um and helping with the pandemic.

1:50:53 ↗ Um but um as all of the other as the

1:50:57 ↗ entire economy and all of the other

1:50:59 ↗ organizations, they're going through a

1:51:01 ↗ very very difficult time especially in

1:51:04 ↗ terms of um staffing. I know that that's

1:51:07 ↗ not new for anyone. Everyone um has a

1:51:10 ↗ lot of staffing issues. Um I believe

1:51:13 ↗ though that nonprofit organizations,

1:51:15 ↗ especially in a state like Washington,

1:51:18 ↗ especially in an area, um such as

1:51:20 ↗ greater Seattle, um with so much um

1:51:23 ↗ large um technical um organization,

1:51:28 ↗ technology organization,

1:51:30 ↗ um a nonprofit organizations um have a

1:51:34 ↗ really really hard time uh just as many

1:51:36 ↗ other agencies in addition to staffing

1:51:39 ↗ because of the pandemic. um and just

1:51:42 ↗ being tired because of the pandemic.

1:51:44 ↗ They also might have lost staffing

1:51:46 ↗ because of vaccination mandate. So they

1:51:48 ↗ are really really going through a rough

1:51:50 ↗ time.

1:51:52 ↗ Um but um I'm going to continue with my

1:51:55 ↗ presentation. Thank you for allowing me

1:51:57 ↗ to speak to that a little bit and you

1:51:59 ↗ may hear from our partners in just a few

1:52:00 ↗ minutes. I want to just provide a brief

1:52:03 ↗ background of the rental assistance

1:52:05 ↗ program. On October 18 of 2021, uh, city

1:52:10 ↗ council approved and authorized $500,000

1:52:13 ↗ to create the ASAP rental assistance

1:52:16 ↗ program. This was created utilizing

1:52:18 ↗ American Rescue Plan Act funds, um, also

1:52:22 ↗ known as ARPA.

1:52:24 ↗ Um, and so I'm going to just provide a a

1:52:28 ↗ brief summary of the program. Um the

1:52:30 ↗ rental assistance uh covers up to three

1:52:34 ↗ months of um overdue rent per household.

1:52:37 ↗ Um

1:52:39 ↗ um also um the program was really

1:52:42 ↗ created to fill the gaps of the existing

1:52:44 ↗ programs in place such as the King

1:52:46 ↗ County Eviction Prevention and Rental

1:52:48 ↗ Assistance Program, also known as EPRAP,

1:52:51 ↗ uh which covered uh rentages for

1:52:54 ↗ residents with incomes below 50% of uh

1:52:58 ↗ the area median income. This program in

1:53:01 ↗ particular uh was expanded to uh fill

1:53:05 ↗ the gaps and to cover um household um

1:53:10 ↗ uh rent assistance for um residents at

1:53:14 ↗ or below 80% of the area medium income.

1:53:18 ↗ Um also um residents um benefiting of

1:53:23 ↗ this program need to have a demonstrated

1:53:25 ↗ need of temporary financial assistance

1:53:28 ↗ because of the COVID impact. Um and so

1:53:33 ↗ with that our partner chosen partner um

1:53:37 ↗ for this program was hope um and with

1:53:41 ↗ that I'm going to pause here to

1:53:42 ↗ introduce two of the staff for from hope

1:53:44 ↗ link who are with us tonight. uh Megan

1:53:47 ↗ Altaltimore, vice president of community

1:53:49 ↗ services and operational excellence is

1:53:52 ↗ with us as well as Lucy Payatt uh

1:53:55 ↗ director of energy and financial

1:53:57 ↗ assistance program. And while they're

1:53:59 ↗ getting on the screen, I'm just going to

1:54:01 ↗ provide a brief update from Hoplink. As

1:54:04 ↗ of March 1st, uh Hoplink provided um

1:54:08 ↗ various services related to the program.

1:54:10 ↗ Uh they implemented the ARPA guidelines

1:54:13 ↗ and requirements including eligibility

1:54:15 ↗ and reporting forms um to comply with

1:54:18 ↗ the federal requirements. They hired and

1:54:21 ↗ trained staff. Uh they paid rent uh on

1:54:26 ↗ behalf of 13 households which is

1:54:28 ↗ approximately $45,000.

1:54:31 ↗ Um they approved an authorized payment

1:54:33 ↗ for additional 13 households which is

1:54:36 ↗ about $50,000 and they're currently in

1:54:39 ↗ the process of um making payments and

1:54:41 ↗ they're processing 45 uh requests for

1:54:45 ↗ house for 45 households which is an

1:54:48 ↗ estimated um dollar amount of about

1:54:51 ↗ $150,000.

1:54:52 ↗ I'm going to pause though here because I

1:54:54 ↗ would love to invite them and um uh to

1:54:58 ↗ to present uh a summary of their

1:55:00 ↗ highlights of the program and other

1:55:02 ↗ challenges that they might want to speak

1:55:04 ↗ to. Megan and Lucy. Welcome.

1:55:10 ↗ Thank you so much, Monica, and Mayor

1:55:12 ↗ Paulie and all of the council members

1:55:14 ↗ for having us here tonight. I'm excited

1:55:16 ↗ to be here as a Hopelink representative,

1:55:19 ↗ but also as a resident of Isqua. I don't

1:55:21 ↗ often get to speak to my own council.

1:55:23 ↗ So, thank you so much.

1:55:26 ↗ We're really honored um to have been

1:55:28 ↗ given the opportunity to uh to really

1:55:31 ↗ help the residents of Isiqua who are

1:55:33 ↗ living with the fear and the trauma of

1:55:35 ↗ losing their housing. And we understand

1:55:37 ↗ what a significant investment of dollars

1:55:39 ↗ this is. We are really proud to say that

1:55:42 ↗ over the last two years uh throughout

1:55:44 ↗ our service area of North and East King

1:55:46 ↗ County, we've distributed $3.5 million

1:55:48 ↗ of rental assistance. And that is um

1:55:52 ↗ seven times what we would have normally

1:55:54 ↗ distributed. So it really has been a

1:55:55 ↗ powerful period of time of both pain of

1:55:58 ↗ our community members as well as uh the

1:56:01 ↗ incredible generosity of of our

1:56:03 ↗ residents and certainly the um

1:56:06 ↗ partnership with our local cities and

1:56:08 ↗ other levels of government.

1:56:10 ↗ As Monica mentioned, we have had a bit

1:56:13 ↗ of a delay in getting this program off

1:56:15 ↗ the ground and we want to be fully

1:56:16 ↗ transparent with that. We have um

1:56:19 ↗ completed our ARPA grant with City of

1:56:20 ↗ Belleview. We have the partnerships with

1:56:22 ↗ other local cities and with the staffing

1:56:24 ↗ on this one, we would get someone hired

1:56:26 ↗ and lose them. And we are now completely

1:56:28 ↗ ready to go. Lucy Piatt, our director,

1:56:30 ↗ will be telling you the details of the

1:56:32 ↗ timing on that. Um, but I really do want

1:56:35 ↗ to thank the council for your trust and

1:56:36 ↗ I want to thank Monica for her

1:56:38 ↗ partnership because she has been working

1:56:41 ↗ so closely with our team to make sure

1:56:43 ↗ that this was ready to go and that all

1:56:45 ↗ um qualifications for the federal funds

1:56:47 ↗ would be met to support uh the city in

1:56:51 ↗ in the expending of these ARPA funds.

1:56:54 ↗ Most importantly, we're very honored and

1:56:56 ↗ grateful to the fact that both Heart

1:56:58 ↗ Link and the city have a shared mission

1:57:01 ↗ to make sure that we are serving the

1:57:03 ↗ residents of our city who are really

1:57:06 ↗ again dealing with that trauma of the

1:57:07 ↗ fear of losing their housing. So, I just

1:57:10 ↗ wanted to be here tonight to thank you,

1:57:12 ↗ to really uh reiterate our commitment to

1:57:15 ↗ this work um and to uh if necessary or

1:57:19 ↗ if needed or or just wanted to answer

1:57:21 ↗ any questions that you might have. So,

1:57:23 ↗ I'll turn it over to Lucy Piatt, our

1:57:24 ↗ director of energy and financial

1:57:26 ↗ assistance.

1:57:28 ↗ Hi, thank you Megan and Monica and uh

1:57:32 ↗ the city council and mayor for giving us

1:57:34 ↗ this space and time. Um it's good to see

1:57:36 ↗ some of you again. I know that we uh got

1:57:39 ↗ to discuss this back in I believe

1:57:42 ↗ September, October um as we were looking

1:57:44 ↗ at the program. Um, as Monica has

1:57:47 ↗ shared, uh, we, uh, have finally gotten

1:57:51 ↗ to the point where we feel like we're

1:57:53 ↗ operating at our capacity and and able

1:57:56 ↗ to move our requests for assistance with

1:57:58 ↗ this fund through quickly. We have had

1:58:01 ↗ since we launched the program 115

1:58:04 ↗ requests from ISIL residents for

1:58:06 ↗ financial assistance or rental

1:58:08 ↗ assistance. Um, of those we have cut the

1:58:12 ↗ checks for 13 households uh representing

1:58:15 ↗ over $50,000.

1:58:17 ↗ We have 19 uh households who are on the

1:58:21 ↗ verge of completing their uh their

1:58:24 ↗ application process with us and getting

1:58:26 ↗ that assistance out representing

1:58:28 ↗ $66,000.

1:58:30 ↗ And so 32 total households from the 115

1:58:34 ↗ are uh have been paid or on the verge of

1:58:36 ↗ being paid.

1:58:38 ↗ Like we said, uh we have a number of uh

1:58:41 ↗ outstanding payments that we anticipate

1:58:44 ↗ processing through about 45 households

1:58:46 ↗ in the coming weeks and then assigning

1:58:48 ↗ the remaining 26 households from our

1:58:51 ↗ weight list to uh be served hopefully by

1:58:54 ↗ the end of March. And so, uh, we really

1:58:58 ↗ saw a big initial drive and push, uh,

1:59:01 ↗ for requests from ISIL residents and

1:59:03 ↗ that has tapered to a more on a monthly

1:59:06 ↗ level, uh, smaller volume, giving us

1:59:09 ↗ time to kind of work through that

1:59:11 ↗ initial volume.

1:59:13 ↗ Um, we've also worked uh in exploring

1:59:16 ↗ the partnership options with Imagine

1:59:19 ↗ Housing and putting different processes

1:59:21 ↗ in place that adjusts to uh the various

1:59:24 ↗ needs of those residents as well. Um and

1:59:28 ↗ some of the highlights that we can share

1:59:30 ↗ uh for the households who we're

1:59:33 ↗ currently working with or have worked

1:59:35 ↗ with. It does show really the picture of

1:59:37 ↗ need that we continue to see across the

1:59:39 ↗ board of households who have exhausted

1:59:42 ↗ all savings options. Um who uh with the

1:59:47 ↗ omccron surge found themselves with

1:59:50 ↗ reduced hours or uh medical costs that

1:59:53 ↗ were unexpected

1:59:54 ↗ as well as those who were hit by Delta

1:59:57 ↗ at the end of uh 2021.

2:00:01 ↗ One household that we had was a family

2:00:04 ↗ with three children who had exhausted

2:00:06 ↗ short-term disability payments and were

2:00:09 ↗ trying to scrape by on long-term

2:00:10 ↗ disability at 60% of their income with

2:00:14 ↗ their housing cost taking up 50% of

2:00:18 ↗ their incoming income. We were able to

2:00:20 ↗ cover $5,200 in rent owed and connected

2:00:23 ↗ her to our food program as well. Uh we

2:00:26 ↗ also had a client who worked in

2:00:28 ↗ commercial real estate prior to the

2:00:30 ↗ COVID launch and um tried to get by with

2:00:34 ↗ gig jobs and uh driving throughout until

2:00:38 ↗ they found that the little bits of rent

2:00:41 ↗ that they weren't able to cover monthto

2:00:43 ↗ month added up to be about a full month

2:00:45 ↗ of rent that they just didn't see that

2:00:47 ↗ they would ever be able to cover. These

2:00:49 ↗ ISiqua funds allowed us to pay $2,000 uh

2:00:52 ↗ to get them caught up and also connected

2:00:55 ↗ them to our employment program to

2:00:58 ↗ explore work opportunities. And so we

2:01:01 ↗ are really proud of the work that we've

2:01:02 ↗ done this far and are especially excited

2:01:05 ↗ to see more results this coming month as

2:01:08 ↗ the work building the program and

2:01:10 ↗ supporting the program and and training

2:01:12 ↗ the staff to do the program uh starts

2:01:16 ↗ showing the results that that we uh have

2:01:19 ↗ have been looking for.

2:01:22 ↗ So thank you again. Monica has been just

2:01:24 ↗ an invaluable partner through all of

2:01:26 ↗ this um in making sure that we're all

2:01:29 ↗ clear on our requirements and that our

2:01:32 ↗ our files are meeting the standards uh

2:01:34 ↗ that we need to meet as well as uh being

2:01:39 ↗ a great touch point through the

2:01:41 ↗ adaptations we've made to address

2:01:44 ↗ staffing and programming along the way.

2:01:49 ↗ Thank you very much, Lucy and Megan, for

2:01:52 ↗ joining us tonight. So, so appreciating

2:01:54 ↗ you and um again, we so appreciate the

2:01:57 ↗ partnership with Hope Link um providing

2:02:00 ↗ so so many different services and not

2:02:02 ↗ just rental assistance.

2:02:05 ↗ So, thank you.

2:02:07 ↗ Um so, with that, council members, I'm

2:02:10 ↗ going to continue the presentation. Um,

2:02:13 ↗ next I would like to say a few words

2:02:17 ↗ about what is our goal with the proposed

2:02:20 ↗ changes and amendments to the program.

2:02:22 ↗ Really, as as Megan even mentioned, um

2:02:25 ↗ really our goal first and foremost is to

2:02:29 ↗ uh improve benefits for residents. Uh we

2:02:32 ↗ want to make sure that residents receive

2:02:34 ↗ the assistance that they need and and

2:02:37 ↗ they don't face evictions. Um next we

2:02:40 ↗ would like to also ease some of the

2:02:41 ↗ administrative burden. You're going to

2:02:43 ↗ hear a little bit u in a few minutes

2:02:45 ↗ about um the um ARPA funds versus

2:02:48 ↗ general funds. Um but also I think with

2:02:51 ↗ uh with this proposal we'd hope that we

2:02:53 ↗ can also ease the administrative burden

2:02:56 ↗ um especially with um

2:02:59 ↗ um staffing um difficulties for the last

2:03:03 ↗ few months. Um we hope that by taking on

2:03:06 ↗ a portion of the administration of the

2:03:08 ↗ fund uh hope link can focus on uh the

2:03:11 ↗ other apartment complexes and residents

2:03:14 ↗ who are currently in the process and

2:03:16 ↗ still need to be processed. Um and with

2:03:19 ↗ that we also hope to just increase

2:03:20 ↗ timeliness for dispersing for funds for

2:03:22 ↗ for everyone again with our main goal

2:03:24 ↗ being the residents of of Isaakqua and I

2:03:27 ↗ really really so appreciate uh both of

2:03:29 ↗ our nonprofit partners just working

2:03:31 ↗ together and we will continue to work

2:03:33 ↗ together uh to collaborate and find ways

2:03:36 ↗ to um uh to to uh help our residents our

2:03:41 ↗ shared goal.

2:03:43 ↗ And so with that, I'm just going to talk

2:03:45 ↗ a little bit in more detail about the

2:03:47 ↗ two um proposals for you tonight. Uh

2:03:50 ↗ regarding the the 3-month limit on

2:03:52 ↗ rental assistance, um would love to just

2:03:55 ↗ say that this will provide opportunities

2:03:57 ↗ for those who have rent a rear of more

2:04:00 ↗ than 3 months um to really be caught up

2:04:02 ↗ through this program uh and get a fresh

2:04:05 ↗ start. um uh we we thought that perhaps

2:04:08 ↗ this modification um could impact um the

2:04:13 ↗ total number of households and residents

2:04:16 ↗ uh eligible to receive funds. And while

2:04:18 ↗ this is true based on our um check-in

2:04:22 ↗ with both Hope and Imagine Housing, we

2:04:24 ↗ learned that perhaps the level of impact

2:04:27 ↗ might not be as big as we probably

2:04:29 ↗ thought. Of course, if we increase the

2:04:31 ↗ number of months that somebody can get

2:04:33 ↗ assistance with perhaps less number of

2:04:35 ↗ households get uh could get help. Um

2:04:38 ↗ however after checking with hoping and

2:04:40 ↗ with um Imagat housing it looks like

2:04:43 ↗ altogether from all the households that

2:04:46 ↗ um contacted um Hoplink and from all the

2:04:50 ↗ households who are behind in rent from

2:04:53 ↗ imagine housing we are only talking

2:04:55 ↗ about 30 households um who um have more

2:04:59 ↗ than 3 months or who are behind in rent

2:05:01 ↗ for more than 3 months. So perhaps

2:05:03 ↗ although there is an impact perhaps the

2:05:05 ↗ impact is not as big as as uh one might

2:05:08 ↗ think or as I want to honestly say I

2:05:10 ↗ originally thought. Um next regarding

2:05:14 ↗ the distribution of the uh allocation of

2:05:17 ↗ funds uh as we mentioned um we are

2:05:20 ↗ hoping to uh distribute up to $150,000

2:05:24 ↗ to Imagine Housing by entering into a

2:05:27 ↗ new direct contract with with them. And

2:05:30 ↗ I just want to say a few things um about

2:05:33 ↗ and highlight a few things about what uh

2:05:36 ↗ what does it mean to directly contract

2:05:38 ↗ with us as a city. Um so imagine housing

2:05:41 ↗ will have to meet the the city

2:05:43 ↗ contractual requirements which include

2:05:45 ↗ but they're not limited to insurance

2:05:47 ↗ requirements uh to providing copies of

2:05:49 ↗ the business licenses for the properties

2:05:51 ↗ in Isiqua for providing the audited

2:05:54 ↗ financial statements for for the

2:05:56 ↗ organization submitting to audits

2:05:59 ↗ inerson and online audits that we may

2:06:01 ↗ conduct as a city. Um, imagine housing

2:06:04 ↗ will also have to provide proof of the

2:06:07 ↗ uh um um rental uh assistance and um

2:06:12 ↗ needs but also proof that money will be

2:06:15 ↗ applied to the households who are behind

2:06:16 ↗ in rent in Isiqua. Um the organization

2:06:20 ↗ also uh will commit to not evicting

2:06:22 ↗ tenants with overdue rent uh for which

2:06:25 ↗ payments are made by the city. Um uh

2:06:28 ↗ Imagine Housing will also provide us

2:06:30 ↗ with basic demographic information uh

2:06:32 ↗ regarding the residents who will receive

2:06:34 ↗ assistance. Um and we'll also uh

2:06:37 ↗ maintain city's reporting and invoicing

2:06:39 ↗ requirements.

2:06:41 ↗ And so, uh, we will continue to work

2:06:43 ↗ with both Hope Link and Imagine Housing

2:06:45 ↗ to ensure that there's no duplication,

2:06:48 ↗ um, of services,

2:06:50 ↗ um, and then to coordinate, um, um, um,

2:06:54 ↗ those services in the upcoming month.

2:06:57 ↗ And with that, I'm going to pause again

2:06:59 ↗ here for a moment because I would like

2:07:01 ↗ to invite uh Sean Heron, who is um the

2:07:05 ↗ CEO and president of Imagine Housing, is

2:07:08 ↗ the interim um CEO. And I would also

2:07:12 ↗ like to invite Molly Judge, who's the

2:07:14 ↗ director of fund development, uh to join

2:07:16 ↗ us and uh say a few words. Um, as Sean

2:07:20 ↗ has been uh interim CEO for now nearly I

2:07:24 ↗ believe a year or maybe even a little

2:07:26 ↗ bit over a year. Sean I can't remember

2:07:28 ↗ time is

2:07:30 ↗ u becoming fuzzy here. would love to

2:07:32 ↗ hear from you on um any of the changes,

2:07:35 ↗ any of the concerns, um any anything

2:07:38 ↗ that you would like to share about

2:07:40 ↗ imagine uh housing and um

2:07:44 ↗ this would like to

2:07:46 ↗ uh well, thank you very much, Monica. Uh

2:07:48 ↗ good evening, Mayor Polly and members of

2:07:50 ↗ the city council. Uh I am Sean Herren

2:07:52 ↗ and I'm the interim CEO president at

2:07:54 ↗ Imagine Housing and I've been with

2:07:56 ↗ Imagine Housing since January of last

2:07:58 ↗ year, so um a little over 12 months. Um,

2:08:02 ↗ so I, you know, I just first I want to

2:08:04 ↗ say I want to thank all of you on behalf

2:08:07 ↗ of our organization and the residents uh

2:08:09 ↗ in Isiqua who reside in Imagine Housing

2:08:11 ↗ Properties uh for your appreciation for

2:08:13 ↗ considering this item. And I want to

2:08:14 ↗ acknowledge uh Hope Link for their

2:08:17 ↗ flexibility and um it's not often that

2:08:20 ↗ nonprofits are willing to uh share a

2:08:23 ↗ portion of a previous allocation. So I

2:08:25 ↗ think that just speaks to our

2:08:26 ↗ partnership and collaboration. Uh,

2:08:28 ↗ imagine housing has four properties in

2:08:30 ↗ Isiqua. We have 131 units, including our

2:08:33 ↗ first property, Andrew's Arms on Front

2:08:35 ↗ Street. Um, and we have of those about

2:08:40 ↗ 44 households who are in delinquent or

2:08:42 ↗ rent. Uh, the report you have indicates

2:08:44 ↗ that we think it's around 140,000 would

2:08:48 ↗ get people um, covered through the month

2:08:51 ↗ of March. Uh, we don't know exactly

2:08:53 ↗ because it's still just a little too

2:08:55 ↗ early in the month to have firm numbers

2:08:56 ↗ there. Um, but I want to just share one

2:08:59 ↗ puzzle that all of us in the housing

2:09:01 ↗ business have struggled with, which is

2:09:03 ↗ that in order to assist residents with

2:09:05 ↗ gaining access to rental assistance

2:09:07 ↗ funds, and we of course wanted to make

2:09:11 ↗ sure that we did not get in the way of

2:09:13 ↗ any resident accessing those funds.

2:09:15 ↗ Those residents needed to be delinquent

2:09:18 ↗ in their rent payments. So, we needed to

2:09:21 ↗ allow them to become delinquent in order

2:09:23 ↗ for them to access those funds. And uh

2:09:26 ↗ the importance of the of expanding

2:09:28 ↗ beyond three months is this. The

2:09:30 ↗ county's EP prep program that Monica

2:09:32 ↗ spoke to uh a couple minutes ago uh paid

2:09:36 ↗ most of the people in our housing

2:09:39 ↗ programs through the month of October.

2:09:41 ↗ It forward paid 3 months uh that ended

2:09:44 ↗ in October. And many of the folks who

2:09:47 ↗ were delinquent more than 3 months are

2:09:50 ↗ delinquent back into November. And so uh

2:09:53 ↗ at this point obviously that's more than

2:09:55 ↗ 3 months and that's the importance of

2:09:56 ↗ getting everyone everyone kind of zeroed

2:09:58 ↗ out so that we can restart the process

2:10:01 ↗ of uh collecting rents. Um so now that

2:10:05 ↗ we believe at least the transmission of

2:10:07 ↗ the virus has started to wayne. I don't

2:10:09 ↗ want to speak to the impacts which are

2:10:10 ↗ still severe for many households. Um,

2:10:13 ↗ Imagine Housing is starting to work very

2:10:15 ↗ hard to zero out accounts across our

2:10:17 ↗ portfolio in all the east side cities

2:10:19 ↗ and getting people to get back into into

2:10:23 ↗ the habit of paying rent.

2:10:25 ↗ I think there's a little echo there. I'm

2:10:27 ↗ sorry. Um, and um

2:10:33 ↗ I I don't know Monaco or members of the

2:10:35 ↗ council. I know there were some um

2:10:38 ↗ public comments and I I'd like to

2:10:40 ↗ address those, but you can tell me

2:10:42 ↗ when's the best time to address those.

2:10:45 ↗ Go ahead right now. That would be fine,

2:10:46 ↗ Sean.

2:10:47 ↗ Well, okay. Thank you. Um so, one of the

2:10:51 ↗ comments raised was uh about returning

2:10:54 ↗ money to the county and to and to the

2:10:56 ↗ EPRAP program. Um we work with a third

2:10:58 ↗ party property management company,

2:11:00 ↗ Allied Residential. One of their

2:11:02 ↗ responsibilities is to ensure that all

2:11:04 ↗ funds received and applied to residents

2:11:06 ↗ accounts are done so according to the

2:11:09 ↗ various regulations. So whether those

2:11:11 ↗ are section 8 payments or payments from

2:11:13 ↗ other third parties or rental assistance

2:11:16 ↗ payments. And so we had one household in

2:11:19 ↗ uh Isiqua that was overpaid and so they

2:11:23 ↗ received more than 3 months forward a

2:11:26 ↗ forward rent. And so when that was uh

2:11:28 ↗ understood um and when that when the

2:11:32 ↗ property management company uh realized

2:11:34 ↗ that they had to make an adjustment and

2:11:36 ↗ actually and send a portion of that

2:11:38 ↗ payment back to the county. Of course,

2:11:40 ↗ we're very interested in making sure

2:11:43 ↗ that we're not sending money back, but

2:11:44 ↗ we also have to be uh following the

2:11:46 ↗ regulations. So I want to highlight that

2:11:48 ↗ one point. And of course that's

2:11:50 ↗ confusing sometimes, but that was the

2:11:52 ↗ situation in in that situation. Um we

2:11:56 ↗ also have um we have two individuals who

2:11:59 ↗ work for the third party property

2:12:01 ↗ management company and they are related

2:12:04 ↗ uh a mother and a daughter um they do

2:12:07 ↗ not work in the same property uh they do

2:12:10 ↗ work in different cities uh but we don't

2:12:12 ↗ have any property where we have all of

2:12:14 ↗ the staff uh in the same family we also

2:12:18 ↗ one of the things I set up early in my

2:12:20 ↗ tenure was a process by which residents

2:12:23 ↗ who weren't able to get their issues

2:12:26 ↗ resolved, their questions answered or

2:12:28 ↗ complaint complaints addressed at the

2:12:30 ↗ property level could directly

2:12:32 ↗ communicate with our Met central office.

2:12:34 ↗ And so we have a well publicized, well

2:12:37 ↗ advertised resident um comment line. It

2:12:40 ↗ can be done with a voicemail or an

2:12:42 ↗ email. We look at those every day. Um

2:12:45 ↗ and so that's a way for people to, as I

2:12:47 ↗ said, if they're not getting their issue

2:12:49 ↗ resolved at the property level. Um we we

2:12:51 ↗ do not get very many comments there. Uh

2:12:55 ↗ less than I think say two a month but I

2:12:57 ↗ want to just assure you that we have

2:12:59 ↗ that process. Um in terms of

2:13:02 ↗ transparency um Monica listed all the

2:13:05 ↗ various ways in which uh if you were to

2:13:07 ↗ approve this item and we get into

2:13:08 ↗ contract with the city of Isqua, there

2:13:10 ↗ is many mechanisms uh contractually and

2:13:13 ↗ just procedurally by which uh our books

2:13:15 ↗ are open. Uh the process is transparent.

2:13:19 ↗ uh we will of course communicate uh with

2:13:21 ↗ the city um all of the accounts which

2:13:25 ↗ are credited and uh how all those are

2:13:28 ↗ resolved. Um we have two um we we

2:13:32 ↗ processed about about $1.5 million of

2:13:36 ↗ EPRAP funds uh in two installments in

2:13:39 ↗ the uh in 2021. Uh we also have two

2:13:43 ↗ ongoing rental assistance programs that

2:13:46 ↗ we administer. uh one is with the

2:13:48 ↗ Washington Department of Commerce uh

2:13:50 ↗ that also applies uh to Isiqua

2:13:52 ↗ properties and we also have a rent

2:13:55 ↗ subsidy program with ongoing program

2:13:57 ↗ with King County for folks who come out

2:13:58 ↗ of the homeless system. So I think you

2:14:01 ↗ know that we operate in a in a space

2:14:03 ↗ where we're using lots of public money

2:14:05 ↗ and we operate under a very regulated

2:14:07 ↗ environment but we also have two ongoing

2:14:09 ↗ similar programs. Um,

2:14:12 ↗ so, um, I think finally, I think there

2:14:14 ↗ was one comment about wanting to target

2:14:16 ↗ the funding to a lower AMI. Um, all of

2:14:20 ↗ our properties cap out at 60% AMI. And

2:14:23 ↗ so, uh, of the 44,

2:14:26 ↗ um, I will say, um, we have 25 or 30 of

2:14:31 ↗ those households are under 50% AMI, but

2:14:34 ↗ the LA highest income is under 60. So, I

2:14:37 ↗ want to just assure you that in our

2:14:38 ↗ program, uh, the funds are targeted to

2:14:40 ↗ low-income families

2:14:44 ↗ and that and I'll and I'll stop there.

2:14:46 ↗ Thank you,

2:14:47 ↗ Sean. Thank you very much for your

2:14:49 ↗ comments and for joining us tonight.

2:14:52 ↗ Very very much appreciating you and your

2:14:54 ↗ team.

2:14:56 ↗ Um, council members,

2:14:59 ↗ um, I'm going to continue, uh, just for

2:15:03 ↗ a few moments here with, um, basically

2:15:06 ↗ summarizing that our recommendation from

2:15:08 ↗ the administration, uh, would be to

2:15:10 ↗ obtain your support in making the

2:15:12 ↗ amendments to the initial program by

2:15:15 ↗ lifting the 3-month limit on rental

2:15:18 ↗ assistance and by allowing us to

2:15:20 ↗ redistribute the original allocation of

2:15:23 ↗ um, the um, money for rental assistance.

2:15:26 ↗ distance. And so if you support this

2:15:29 ↗ recommendation,

2:15:30 ↗ um our next steps would be to move uh

2:15:33 ↗ into making a contract amendment with

2:15:36 ↗ hope and also entering into a new

2:15:39 ↗ contract with Imagine Housing. And so

2:15:42 ↗ this concludes my presentation and we

2:15:44 ↗ are available for questions.

2:15:46 ↗ Thank you, Monica. Council, if you have

2:15:49 ↗ any questions for Monica or any of our

2:15:51 ↗ panelists, now would be the time to

2:15:53 ↗ indicate. Council President, followed by

2:15:57 ↗ Council Member D. Michelle.

2:15:59 ↗ Thank you. Um Monica, our packet noted

2:16:03 ↗ that city staff contacted other

2:16:05 ↗ low-income apartment complexes, but the

2:16:08 ↗ packet doesn't really say what the

2:16:10 ↗ outcomes of those contacts were. So, I'm

2:16:13 ↗ wondering if there's a request from any

2:16:14 ↗ others for direct funding, and do we

2:16:18 ↗ understand the scope of the need outside

2:16:20 ↗ of Imagine Housing? And is the remaining

2:16:24 ↗ amount

2:16:25 ↗ left in the hope contract enough to

2:16:29 ↗ handle and I wouldn't say cover the

2:16:32 ↗ entire need but address a portion of the

2:16:35 ↗ need that we know of.

2:16:37 ↗ Um thank you very much council um um

2:16:40 ↗ president. Um that is a great question

2:16:42 ↗ and uh that is and the information I I

2:16:45 ↗ don't have the complete answer quite yet

2:16:47 ↗ as we were working last week on this

2:16:50 ↗ just last moment. Uh but um Hannah

2:16:52 ↗ Roberts, our human services coordinator,

2:16:54 ↗ was able to get in touch with nine um um

2:16:58 ↗ apartment complexes. Uh late last week,

2:17:01 ↗ we did not make it in time for the

2:17:03 ↗ packet to be published. Um we did

2:17:06 ↗ identify two of them that had higher um

2:17:10 ↗ rent um um

2:17:14 ↗ I apologize, I have a really hard time

2:17:16 ↗ with pronouncing that word. Um, so

2:17:19 ↗ without getting sidetracked, we

2:17:21 ↗ identified the YW.CA. Uh, they have

2:17:23 ↗ there behind a total with about $60,000

2:17:27 ↗ and we identified a plan with them in

2:17:29 ↗ connecting them directly with hope. Um,

2:17:32 ↗ a similar hope has some mechanisms in

2:17:34 ↗ place where they can speed up the

2:17:36 ↗ process by working directly with the Y.

2:17:38 ↗ Um and so there's another um uh

2:17:41 ↗ apartment complex that we identify that

2:17:43 ↗ they have a larger amount of rent uh for

2:17:45 ↗ which the residents are behind. We still

2:17:48 ↗ need to investigate a little bit in that

2:17:50 ↗ and we need to work with hope link

2:17:51 ↗ because we are not sure how many of the

2:17:54 ↗ residents already applied to hope link

2:17:56 ↗ and there might be in process and also

2:17:59 ↗ that apartment complex shared with us

2:18:00 ↗ that uh unfortunately some of their

2:18:03 ↗ residents are have incomes of over 100%

2:18:06 ↗ AMI which may not qualify anyway. So we

2:18:10 ↗ just need to do a little bit of more

2:18:11 ↗ investigation and as now we are going to

2:18:14 ↗ um set aside the the the contract for

2:18:19 ↗ imagine housing we are going to work

2:18:21 ↗ with hope to see um who are those um

2:18:26 ↗ residents that are currently on the wait

2:18:27 ↗ list and if we identify that money is

2:18:30 ↗ not enough we can come back uh with an

2:18:33 ↗ additional request but that's exactly

2:18:34 ↗ the the note that I expressed to them we

2:18:37 ↗ have a meeting later this week to

2:18:39 ↗ discuss because I was questioning like

2:18:41 ↗ do we have enough money. So based on the

2:18:44 ↗ information that we have, we believe

2:18:46 ↗ that we are right there where we have

2:18:48 ↗ enough money but we just don't have all

2:18:51 ↗ the all the details quite yet.

2:18:55 ↗ Thank you, Council Member D. Michelle.

2:18:58 ↗ Thank you. Um, well, I've been reading

2:19:01 ↗ uh this past week about the this

2:19:03 ↗ so-called uh final decision uh capital

2:19:06 ↗ F, capital D, uh on uh ARPA funding. And

2:19:10 ↗ so is part of what we're doing here

2:19:14 ↗ um making it easier both to get the

2:19:17 ↗ funds out and uh also comply with uh

2:19:20 ↗ ARPA funds regulations. Uh, and I'm not

2:19:23 ↗ asking for an explanation of the final

2:19:25 ↗ decision, but but really the impact of

2:19:28 ↗ that uh, and also did that just occur

2:19:33 ↗ recently because it's been a long wait

2:19:36 ↗ getting that decision out of the federal

2:19:38 ↗ government.

2:19:42 ↗ And I see our finance director just

2:19:45 ↗ turned the camera on. Uh, Robert, I'm

2:19:47 ↗ not sure if you would like to speak to

2:19:48 ↗ that, but I think my short answer is

2:19:50 ↗ that my understanding is that yes, the

2:19:52 ↗ final ruling just came out recently, uh,

2:19:55 ↗ which seems to be quite different from

2:19:57 ↗ the initial ruling, so that also has an

2:20:00 ↗ impact. Um, and you're going to hear a

2:20:02 ↗ little bit about that later tonight.

2:20:04 ↗ Okay,

2:20:04 ↗ Robert, would you like to add something

2:20:06 ↗ else?

2:20:08 ↗ Yeah, we have the separate budget

2:20:09 ↗ amendment, so we'll be council member D.

2:20:11 ↗ Michelle will be speaking a little more

2:20:13 ↗ about that, but that is correct. It took

2:20:15 ↗ about 3 weeks ago the final rule came

2:20:18 ↗ out but the interpretations of the final

2:20:20 ↗ rule and the explanations of the final

2:20:23 ↗ rule are still coming out and some of

2:20:25 ↗ our reporting requirements changed uh

2:20:28 ↗ per the final rule. Um we went from

2:20:30 ↗ annual reporting requirements to

2:20:32 ↗ quarterly reporting requirements. So

2:20:33 ↗ there's there are some certain dramatic

2:20:37 ↗ changes and also some changes to the

2:20:38 ↗ subreient relationship. And so, uh,

2:20:42 ↗ that's why you'll see the, uh, the

2:20:44 ↗ budget amend or the budget amendment,

2:20:46 ↗ uh, later tonight. But that was the

2:20:48 ↗ reason to try to get the money out the

2:20:49 ↗ door, but also make sure that, you know,

2:20:52 ↗ our subreients, if it's smaller, like a

2:20:54 ↗ magic housing that they're not hamstrung

2:20:56 ↗ by requirements they can't meet.

2:21:00 ↗ Thank you, Robert. Just to clarify, you

2:21:02 ↗ know, council member de Michelle's

2:21:04 ↗ question, we're we're still on the first

2:21:06 ↗ AB. So, um I wonder if I can just

2:21:10 ↗ rephrase something and you tell me if

2:21:11 ↗ this is correct. In the first AB,

2:21:14 ↗ imagine housing will be using general

2:21:16 ↗ funds to for rental assistance.

2:21:20 ↗ Hope link and hope link will be using a

2:21:23 ↗ lesser amount of the designated ARPA

2:21:26 ↗ funds, but they will be using ARPA

2:21:27 ↗ funds.

2:21:28 ↗ So,

2:21:29 ↗ that is correct. Okay.

2:21:30 ↗ Is that what you were trying to get at

2:21:32 ↗ is how were they going to meet the the

2:21:34 ↗ final decision?

2:21:35 ↗ Yeah. Yeah. Thank you,

2:21:38 ↗ uh, Council Member Ray.

2:21:39 ↗ Um, thank you, Mayor Paulie, and thank

2:21:41 ↗ you for that that clarification because

2:21:42 ↗ it it kind of um obvious need for one of

2:21:46 ↗ my questions, but is is there something

2:21:48 ↗ specifically that Imagine Housing can't

2:21:51 ↗ do to qualify for ARPA funding? I mean,

2:21:55 ↗ because Monica, you talked about all of

2:21:57 ↗ the things that we're expecting from

2:21:58 ↗ them in reporting. So there's definitely

2:22:00 ↗ an administrative overhead associated

2:22:01 ↗ with. So I'm kind of curious and I and

2:22:03 ↗ I'm kind of leaping ahead, but I think

2:22:05 ↗ it's important. Um what are the

2:22:07 ↗ administrative kind of activities that

2:22:10 ↗ um hope is doing that Imagine Housing

2:22:13 ↗ can't that's kind of driving us to this

2:22:16 ↗ general fund decision?

2:22:17 ↗ Yeah, big question.

2:22:20 ↗ uh there are more specific and more

2:22:22 ↗ detailed forms that go with the ARPA

2:22:25 ↗ funds which then uh create a slower

2:22:27 ↗ process and so our intent if the intent

2:22:30 ↗ was to speed up the process in which the

2:22:33 ↗ organization can receive the funds. Uh

2:22:35 ↗ that was the um the decision that that

2:22:38 ↗ we took that the the fastest way for

2:22:40 ↗ them to get access to the funds would be

2:22:42 ↗ to use um general fund dollars. And so

2:22:46 ↗ Hoplink, we checked in with them if it

2:22:48 ↗ would make a difference for them if we

2:22:49 ↗ switch everything to general fund

2:22:51 ↗ dollars. But because Hoplink already

2:22:53 ↗ spent 3 months in not only training

2:22:56 ↗ staff but also implementing all the

2:22:58 ↗ forms in place, uh they reported to us

2:23:00 ↗ that it really would not make a

2:23:02 ↗ difference for them at this point. So uh

2:23:04 ↗ and they also confirmed that they're

2:23:07 ↗ able to provide the reporting that we

2:23:09 ↗ need on time which is coming up here in

2:23:11 ↗ the next few weeks. So kind of like that

2:23:13 ↗ was our decision- making progress and

2:23:16 ↗ reasoning behind going with this option.

2:23:19 ↗ Yeah. A little a little bit of followup.

2:23:20 ↗ So in the event that we

2:23:23 ↗ um decide that we don't want to move the

2:23:25 ↗ $150,000 to general fund in the next

2:23:28 ↗ agenda bill, it's very difficult because

2:23:29 ↗ these are kind of two discrete

2:23:31 ↗ decisions.

2:23:32 ↗ Is imagine housing in a position where

2:23:34 ↗ they could step up and do the

2:23:36 ↗ administrative requirements to meet the

2:23:38 ↗ ARPA and be ARP ARPA compliant.

2:23:42 ↗ We would need to explore that with them.

2:23:44 ↗ We did not explore it. Uh, council

2:23:46 ↗ member Ray. Um, and they would need to

2:23:50 ↗ Yeah, the timing would be an issue. So,

2:23:51 ↗ we would need to explore that with

2:23:53 ↗ Imagine Housing.

2:23:56 ↗ These are great questions, Council

2:23:58 ↗ Member Ray, and these are very entwined

2:24:01 ↗ decisions that you'll be making. So, if

2:24:03 ↗ the council is in agreement, we could

2:24:04 ↗ have Robert go through his presentation

2:24:06 ↗ as well, so that you can have all of

2:24:08 ↗ this before you vote on the first one.

2:24:10 ↗ Um I I would I would like to have that

2:24:12 ↗ because I think that it's hard to make

2:24:14 ↗ this decision without that one or make

2:24:16 ↗ that one and then kind of blow this one

2:24:18 ↗ up.

2:24:19 ↗ Yeah. I wouldn't want you to blow it up.

2:24:20 ↗ Yeah.

2:24:21 ↗ Um and a second point is I might want to

2:24:23 ↗ invite imagine housing to come back

2:24:26 ↗ because of the difference in the way the

2:24:28 ↗ money is going out to tenants versus the

2:24:31 ↗ way the money would be going out to a

2:24:33 ↗ landlord with tenants. And that may be a

2:24:36 ↗ part of what is going on here as well.

2:24:38 ↗ So, Robert, if you would like to, why

2:24:40 ↗ don't we go through the second agenda

2:24:41 ↗ bill as well and then we can just kind

2:24:44 ↗ of combine the questions after that.

2:24:51 ↗ Sure. Thank you, Mayor Polly. Uh just to

2:24:53 ↗ summarize um what's in your agenda

2:24:56 ↗ packets um per the previous discussion

2:24:58 ↗ on the previous agenda bill, uh

2:25:02 ↗ administration is asking for a change in

2:25:05 ↗ the allocation.

2:25:07 ↗ um to general fund of 150,000 for

2:25:12 ↗ imagined housing as we discussed. Um the

2:25:15 ↗ other item that we are shifting from

2:25:17 ↗ ARPA funds to the general fund would be

2:25:20 ↗ $300,000 for the small business flex

2:25:22 ↗ fund. And again, in both of these cases,

2:25:24 ↗ it's to make sure that the money is

2:25:26 ↗ getting to the people that are needed.

2:25:28 ↗ And in terms of reporting requirements,

2:25:30 ↗ we've been working with the small

2:25:31 ↗ business flex fund for several months.

2:25:33 ↗ Um kudos to Benton in the economic

2:25:37 ↗ development department. He's been

2:25:38 ↗ working very very hard on this. Um but

2:25:40 ↗ at the end of the day u working with u

2:25:43 ↗ our legal council, city attorney at

2:25:46 ↗ Madrona Law, David Lyman, uh we were

2:25:49 ↗ having several meetings um with the

2:25:52 ↗ national development council which

2:25:54 ↗ oversees the flex fund. And what gets a

2:25:57 ↗ little technical

2:25:59 ↗ is terms of the final rule is the fact

2:26:01 ↗ that there is a lot of monitoring of

2:26:03 ↗ subreients. So if we grant to one agency

2:26:07 ↗ and for example the flex fund, they use

2:26:10 ↗ other banks and other nonprofit

2:26:11 ↗ subsidiaries to loan, we would need all

2:26:14 ↗ of them to report at some level and we

2:26:16 ↗ would need to be able to monitor on our

2:26:18 ↗ end every single level that they're

2:26:20 ↗ dealing. And that's where it got a bit

2:26:23 ↗ complicated for granting the funds to

2:26:26 ↗ these agencies. And when you have an

2:26:28 ↗ agency like imagine housing that's much

2:26:30 ↗ smaller than a hope link per se and

2:26:31 ↗ they're looking for an immediate need.

2:26:33 ↗ That's where the resources are difficult

2:26:36 ↗ with flex fund. Um this is different

2:26:40 ↗ than what happened with the car's act

2:26:41 ↗ funding because the state is actually

2:26:44 ↗ not granting to the flex fund. And so in

2:26:47 ↗ the third round of CARES Act, if you

2:26:49 ↗ recall, the state actually stepped in

2:26:51 ↗ and uh

2:26:53 ↗ assisted those businesses directly.

2:26:55 ↗ That's not the case this time. So with

2:26:57 ↗ the flex fund, we would enter in that

2:26:59 ↗ partnership which we have with them. But

2:27:02 ↗ in terms of the subreients in the terms

2:27:04 ↗ of what is pure COVID assistance,

2:27:08 ↗ can we demonstrate that every single

2:27:09 ↗ dime used by the businesses for COVID

2:27:11 ↗ relief? That's where the auditing gets

2:27:14 ↗ very complicated on the ARPA reporting

2:27:16 ↗ end. Uh it it would be, you know, harder

2:27:19 ↗ to monitor, harder to track. We need

2:27:21 ↗ extra resources to do it. It's much

2:27:23 ↗ simpler to use the general fund approach

2:27:25 ↗ for that flex fund to uh one make sure

2:27:28 ↗ we don't get in trouble with the

2:27:29 ↗ auditors of course make sure we're in

2:27:31 ↗ compliance with how we're spending our

2:27:33 ↗ ARPA funds but to uh having at least the

2:27:37 ↗ leeway to still grant those funds to

2:27:40 ↗ those agencies. And remember in both

2:27:43 ↗ cases the city is still receiving $10

2:27:46 ↗ million directly to offset general fund

2:27:50 ↗ losses during COVID. So there's $10

2:27:52 ↗ million that the city of the

2:27:54 ↗ approximately $11 million the city will

2:27:57 ↗ receive that goes directly to the city

2:27:59 ↗ to offset those losses. This is a new

2:28:02 ↗ option that also happened with the final

2:28:05 ↗ rule where it's almost like a standard

2:28:06 ↗ deduction with those 10 million. The

2:28:08 ↗ reporting requirements are less meaning

2:28:10 ↗ we have leeway to use general fund for

2:28:12 ↗ more purposes. We talk about capital. We

2:28:15 ↗ talk about these grant programs uh from

2:28:17 ↗ the $10 million. That's kind of the

2:28:20 ↗ general purpose to offset those revenue

2:28:22 ↗ losses that we receive. The remaining 1

2:28:25 ↗ million that's where there is more

2:28:28 ↗ reporting requirements um attached to

2:28:30 ↗ that. We believe again that hope link

2:28:33 ↗ can meet those requirements. But when

2:28:36 ↗ you talk about there's a difference

2:28:37 ↗ between

2:28:38 ↗ granting funding to a landlord versus

2:28:41 ↗ granting funding to a tenant as we met

2:28:45 ↗ as we discussed a little bit before

2:28:46 ↗ tonight. And that's where we believe

2:28:49 ↗ that, you know, Hope Link does have the

2:28:51 ↗ ability to do that. They have the

2:28:52 ↗ ability to have that subreient

2:28:54 ↗ monitoring. They're doing it for

2:28:55 ↗ multiple other cities. They have the

2:28:58 ↗ resources to do so. And the time frame

2:29:00 ↗ we believe they can meet those

2:29:01 ↗ requirements. Uh but like I said,

2:29:03 ↗ there's there's more hoops to jump

2:29:04 ↗ through, so to speak, when receiving

2:29:07 ↗ those ARPA funds directly rather than

2:29:09 ↗ the offset we have with the general fund

2:29:11 ↗ where it's a standard deduction. I hope

2:29:12 ↗ that makes sense.

2:29:15 ↗ Council member Ray. And would you like

2:29:17 ↗ Imagine Housing, Sean, to address your

2:29:19 ↗ question as well about why their

2:29:21 ↗ organization is so challenged to meet

2:29:24 ↗ ARPA or do you think you have all the

2:29:26 ↗ information?

2:29:26 ↗ No, I I think I' I've got it and and

2:29:28 ↗ that was really really really helpful

2:29:30 ↗ and I do have some some follow-up

2:29:32 ↗ questions, but I I'll uh I'll sit back

2:29:34 ↗ for a bit

2:29:36 ↗ and uh we haven't had a motion yet, so

2:29:38 ↗ we are in sort of question mode right

2:29:40 ↗ now. So questions on either of those

2:29:42 ↗ would be great. And if we don't have Oh,

2:29:46 ↗ you can go ahead with questions and then

2:29:47 ↗ we'll go to council member Zach and

2:29:49 ↗ council president council deputy council

2:29:51 ↗ president all council member Zach and

2:29:54 ↗ council president. So go ahead council

2:29:55 ↗ member.

2:29:55 ↗ Um so I'm trying to understand the

2:29:57 ↗ standard deduction approach to ARPA

2:29:58 ↗ funding and the kind of the re u filling

2:30:02 ↗ of the general fund to compensate for

2:30:04 ↗ general fund losses during the pandemic.

2:30:06 ↗ So, this is going to go into our general

2:30:09 ↗ fund as $9 million of excess fund

2:30:13 ↗ balance. Is that is that a fair

2:30:15 ↗ statement or is it restricted or what's

2:30:17 ↗ the thinking on how it hits general fund

2:30:19 ↗ balance?

2:30:22 ↗ So, again, we do receive uh two

2:30:24 ↗ different trunchons of of money. We've

2:30:26 ↗ received half approximately half of

2:30:28 ↗ those funds last year. We're expected to

2:30:31 ↗ receive the other half this year. with

2:30:34 ↗ the requirements of course we're we have

2:30:36 ↗ to spend the city has to spend those

2:30:38 ↗ money or at least program those money by

2:30:40 ↗ 2024.

2:30:42 ↗ Now they have to spend the money. So one

2:30:45 ↗ of the prohibited items is just

2:30:48 ↗ replenishing the fund balance and not

2:30:49 ↗ using it. Still has to be money that's

2:30:51 ↗ spent. So either way with the standard

2:30:53 ↗ deduction we're going to have to

2:30:54 ↗ identify where it was spent. Whether it

2:30:56 ↗ be on capital, whether it be programming

2:30:58 ↗ for outside grants like we're talking

2:31:00 ↗ about tonight. But it will have to be

2:31:02 ↗ demonstrated by 2024 that it's

2:31:04 ↗ programmed to be spent.

2:31:05 ↗ But it won't have the same reporting

2:31:07 ↗ requirements as that last million

2:31:10 ↗ dollars that you reli uh kind of so so

2:31:14 ↗ we are could in some ways using the

2:31:16 ↗ general fund as a pass through. And

2:31:18 ↗ maybe I'm I'm oversimplifying this and

2:31:20 ↗ the fungeibility of the dollars and it's

2:31:22 ↗ a good day when you get to use

2:31:23 ↗ fungeibility in a sentence. Um

2:31:27 ↗ um but the fungeability of the dollars

2:31:29 ↗ we really can't I mean it's it's the

2:31:30 ↗ same um there's it's a difference

2:31:33 ↗ without a distinction.

2:31:35 ↗ Great.

2:31:37 ↗ That is correct. Council member

2:31:39 ↗ Okay, great. Thank you.

2:31:41 ↗ You're good. Okay, let's go to council

2:31:42 ↗ president.

2:31:43 ↗ Um I guess my question is the small

2:31:46 ↗ business flex fund of 300,000. Can you

2:31:50 ↗ give me a sense

2:31:52 ↗ how much of that need has been

2:31:55 ↗ identified? You know, has any of that

2:31:59 ↗ money been spent or

2:32:03 ↗ there has there Yeah. What where is

2:32:06 ↗ that? What's the status?

2:32:10 ↗ We have not spent the money uh to this

2:32:13 ↗ point. Benson Coblins um is on the line

2:32:16 ↗ and he could talk a little bit more

2:32:18 ↗ because he's been working with the flex

2:32:19 ↗ fund now for several hours.

2:32:21 ↗ Yeah, thank you Robert. Um yeah, so we

2:32:23 ↗ have not made our investment yet um into

2:32:26 ↗ the fund. I think that's

2:32:28 ↗ Benton. This is Tisha is uh Can you try

2:32:31 ↗ speaking up a little bit? We'll also try

2:32:32 ↗ and increase our volume in here, but

2:32:34 ↗ it's a little hard to hear you.

2:32:35 ↗ Can you not hear me?

2:32:39 ↗ I will try to speak up. But can you hear

2:32:42 ↗ me? Okay. Okay, cool. Um, so yeah, the

2:32:45 ↗ first thing is we we have not spent uh

2:32:48 ↗ we have not made an investment into the

2:32:50 ↗ flex fund yet. Um, and so we haven't

2:32:53 ↗ spent any dollars. Um, the flex fund has

2:32:57 ↗ identified um by requesting applications

2:33:01 ↗ um over a million dollars worth of

2:33:04 ↗ possible uh loans that could be given

2:33:06 ↗ out um through other private lenders.

2:33:09 ↗ they've um been able to fulfill um by

2:33:13 ↗ about $500,000

2:33:16 ↗ uh worth of of loan applications here in

2:33:20 ↗ the city of Isiqua. Um so just right now

2:33:23 ↗ in unprocessed loan applications um

2:33:26 ↗ there's still $500,000 that remains. Um,

2:33:30 ↗ and we think that once we make this

2:33:32 ↗ investment, uh, the flex fund um, in

2:33:35 ↗ partnership with, um, our city

2:33:37 ↗ communications will work to, um, you

2:33:39 ↗ know, get the word out, um, to more

2:33:41 ↗ businesses in order to, um, uh, you

2:33:44 ↗ know, elevate the need in our community.

2:33:47 ↗ Um, and so we, we think there's well

2:33:49 ↗ over $500,000 worth of of need still out

2:33:53 ↗ there. Um, and so this investment would

2:33:55 ↗ be quite timely and well utilized by the

2:33:58 ↗ community. Any

2:34:02 ↗ other questions?

2:34:04 ↗ And if not, anyone care to make a

2:34:06 ↗ motion?

2:34:08 ↗ Which motion?

2:34:09 ↗ Um, just I'll double check with council

2:34:12 ↗ member Ray since he his questions seem

2:34:14 ↗ to cross over into both. Um, I would

2:34:16 ↗ suggest the rental assistant program.

2:34:18 ↗ I would take them in order.

2:34:19 ↗ Take them in order. Okay.

2:34:22 ↗ Then motion. Sure. Go ahead.

2:34:24 ↗ I would move to authorize modification

2:34:27 ↗ uh to the Isiqua rental assistance

2:34:30 ↗ program created in October 2021 as

2:34:32 ↗ follows. One, lift the three-month limit

2:34:35 ↗ on rental assistance provided through

2:34:37 ↗ this program to include all rental

2:34:39 ↗ aurages. And two, redistribute the the

2:34:43 ↗ original allocation of $500,000 in

2:34:46 ↗ rental assistance to include $350,000

2:34:50 ↗ to Hope Link. amend the existing

2:34:53 ↗ contract and up to $150,000

2:34:57 ↗ to Imagine Housing to enter into a new

2:34:59 ↗ contract.

2:35:01 ↗ Second.

2:35:02 ↗ It's been moved and seconded. Is there

2:35:03 ↗ council discussion?

2:35:12 ↗ Uh, sure. Thanks. Um, I guess first I

2:35:15 ↗ just want to thank uh city staff and

2:35:17 ↗ hope staff and imagine housing staff for

2:35:19 ↗ coming together to problem solve here.

2:35:21 ↗ really appreciate your work on this. Uh,

2:35:24 ↗ I'll be brief. This update seems to meet

2:35:26 ↗ the needs of Hope Link by acknowledging

2:35:28 ↗ the administrative burdens they brought

2:35:30 ↗ to our attention. Uh, meets the needs of

2:35:32 ↗ the city by ensuring rental assistance

2:35:34 ↗ is both timely and effective. And it

2:35:36 ↗ meets the needs of our residents

2:35:37 ↗ struggling to catch up on overdue rent

2:35:39 ↗ and to get that fresh start that was

2:35:41 ↗ described in our memo. Um, for all those

2:35:44 ↗ reasons, I'll be supporting this motion

2:35:45 ↗ tonight. Thanks.

2:35:46 ↗ Thank you. Any other comments,

2:35:49 ↗ President? Thank you. Um I I really

2:35:52 ↗ appreciate the city staff in hearing the

2:35:56 ↗ need and just being nimble to respond to

2:36:00 ↗ this need. I will note that I have some

2:36:05 ↗ concerns that the urgency of this need

2:36:08 ↗ is coming to us so late and that that

2:36:14 ↗ makes this a a more

2:36:18 ↗ urgent difficult situation that cannot

2:36:22 ↗ be addressed as well through the method

2:36:25 ↗ that we had decided which was the home

2:36:27 ↗ plague situation. And so I would ask

2:36:31 ↗ from all involved um including the

2:36:34 ↗ landlords and you know city staff and

2:36:38 ↗ everyone that we just have a little bit

2:36:39 ↗ of better communication with our

2:36:42 ↗ partners about what the need is so that

2:36:48 ↗ we can potentially help before the

2:36:50 ↗ situation becomes dire. So I I will

2:36:54 ↗ support this. Um, I have a little bit of

2:36:58 ↗ hesitancy for those reasons. Um, and I

2:37:02 ↗ just ask that this becomes a moment when

2:37:05 ↗ our partners can come closer together

2:37:08 ↗ with us and help us help residents um,

2:37:13 ↗ so that people don't have to go through

2:37:15 ↗ this trauma in such an extended period

2:37:18 ↗ of time. Thank you,

2:37:20 ↗ Council Member Ray.

2:37:21 ↗ Um, thank you, Mayor Paulie. just really

2:37:23 ↗ mostly an ask um as we move forward with

2:37:26 ↗ this and I think it's the right thing to

2:37:28 ↗ do and I think it was some creative

2:37:30 ↗ problem solving but since we are going

2:37:32 ↗ to be lifting the three-month cap I

2:37:35 ↗ would like to um get some feedback from

2:37:37 ↗ the administration as we start to uh

2:37:39 ↗ draw down on those funds so we have a

2:37:41 ↗ better sense of where we sit since we're

2:37:43 ↗ really expanding the scope of this

2:37:44 ↗ program.

2:37:45 ↗ So if you could provide that kind of on

2:37:47 ↗ an ongoing basis and we know when this

2:37:49 ↗ program kind of sunsets that would be

2:37:51 ↗ very helpful for me. That's great

2:37:53 ↗ comment. Thank you. Any other comments?

2:37:58 ↗ Okay, seeing none, I'll call for the

2:38:00 ↗ vote uh that was moved and seconded to

2:38:02 ↗ authorize the modification to the ESPA

2:38:04 ↗ rental assistant program created in

2:38:06 ↗ October 2021 as follows to lift the

2:38:08 ↗ three-month limit on rental assistance

2:38:10 ↗ provided through the program and include

2:38:12 ↗ all rental aures and redistribute the

2:38:15 ↗ original allocation of $500,000 in

2:38:17 ↗ rental assistance to include $350,000 to

2:38:20 ↗ Hope Link and up to 150,000 to Imagine

2:38:23 ↗ Housing. All those in favor signify by

2:38:26 ↗ saying I.

2:38:27 ↗ I.

2:38:27 ↗ Those opposed.

2:38:29 ↗ That passes unanimously. Um Monica and

2:38:33 ↗ all of our presenters tonight, I want to

2:38:35 ↗ thank you for providing all this

2:38:37 ↗ information. It is fantastic for our

2:38:40 ↗ council and our community to hear the

2:38:42 ↗ number of people you are helping in

2:38:43 ↗ isiqua. Hearing data really, really

2:38:46 ↗ fleshes out the story for us. And also

2:38:49 ↗ the ability to be flexible and pivot as

2:38:52 ↗ needed. I remember when Monica was asked

2:38:54 ↗ if she knew $500,000 was the right

2:38:56 ↗ number, and she said, "No, I don't know

2:38:58 ↗ that it's the right number." So, now

2:39:00 ↗ we're finding out how close to the mark

2:39:02 ↗ we are, but how we may have had to make

2:39:05 ↗ some changes in order to get that money

2:39:07 ↗ into the hands of people that really

2:39:08 ↗ needed it. So, these are strange times,

2:39:11 ↗ and I appreciate all that you are doing,

2:39:14 ↗ and really look forward to council

2:39:16 ↗ member Ray's request about finding out

2:39:18 ↗ where we are when it's all provided,

2:39:21 ↗ where we've landed. So that is great.

2:39:22 ↗ Thank you. Um Robert, did you have

2:39:25 ↗ anything you wanted to present more on

2:39:28 ↗ AB8344 the reallocation uh second bill?

2:39:35 ↗ Not not at this time unless there's any

2:39:37 ↗ further questions.

2:39:38 ↗ Okay, we'll look for questions on the

2:39:39 ↗ second bill. Any questions on the second

2:39:41 ↗ bill? AB8344.

2:39:45 ↗ There's no questions. Would someone care

2:39:46 ↗ to make a motion? Council President,

2:39:49 ↗ thank you. I would like to move to

2:39:51 ↗ reauthorize the remaining 2021 funds of

2:39:54 ↗ $300,000 for a city contribution to the

2:39:58 ↗ state small business flex fund and

2:40:01 ↗ $500,000 for a rent relief program to

2:40:04 ↗ the 2022 budget and reallocate the

2:40:08 ↗ $450,000

2:40:09 ↗ of funding for these two programs from

2:40:12 ↗ the American Rescue Plan Act funds to

2:40:14 ↗ the undesated general fund fund balance

2:40:18 ↗ and direct the chief finan financial

2:40:20 ↗ officer to incorporate these changes in

2:40:22 ↗ a subsequent 2022 budget amendment.

2:40:25 ↗ Second.

2:40:26 ↗ It's been moved and seconded. Is there

2:40:28 ↗ any additional council discussion or

2:40:30 ↗ comments?

2:40:33 ↗ Seeing none, I will call for the vote.

2:40:35 ↗ All those in favor signify by saying I.

2:40:38 ↗ I. Those opposed.

2:40:41 ↗ That passes unanimously. Thank you,

2:40:42 ↗ Robert. Thanks for the the good

2:40:44 ↗ information tonight and the good

2:40:46 ↗ explanations. That was really helpful.

2:40:48 ↗ Uh the next item on the agenda this

2:40:50 ↗ evening is good of the order and uh has

2:40:53 ↗ anybody Oh, we got a couple of things.

2:40:55 ↗ Let's start with council president then

2:40:56 ↗ deputy council president.

2:40:59 ↗ Um thank you. So for good in the order

2:41:01 ↗ um I know in the consent agenda earlier

2:41:05 ↗ we had approved the creation of the

2:41:07 ↗ council rules of procedure ad hoc

2:41:09 ↗ committee and so I just wanted to name

2:41:12 ↗ the three members who were interested in

2:41:14 ↗ serving on that committee and that will

2:41:16 ↗ be council member Martz, council member

2:41:18 ↗ Ray and council member Hunt. And so we

2:41:21 ↗ appreciate the team trio. Um and so the

2:41:27 ↗ group I guess will coordinate with the

2:41:29 ↗ administration and um I'm not quite sure

2:41:32 ↗ when they are expected to pull back um a

2:41:37 ↗ recommendation or the next point, but I

2:41:39 ↗ know there was a pretty quick

2:41:40 ↗ turnaround. So chop chop, get up to

2:41:43 ↗ work.

2:41:44 ↗ Okay. Thank you.

2:41:45 ↗ Thank you, Deputy Council President

2:41:46 ↗ Hall.

2:41:47 ↗ Uh thank you, Mayor Polly. Uh, a couple

2:41:49 ↗ things I just wanted to say now that

2:41:51 ↗ we're back in council chambers. Uh, I

2:41:54 ↗ was, uh, personally, I was sworn in a

2:41:56 ↗ little over two years ago on January

2:41:57 ↗ 6th, 2020. Uh, and I sat here in this

2:42:01 ↗ chamber where council member Joe sits

2:42:03 ↗ right now for only nine city council

2:42:05 ↗ meetings before our March 10th, 2020

2:42:08 ↗ study session was cancelled due to

2:42:09 ↗ something called COVID 19.

2:42:12 ↗ Uh, and then our first virtual meeting

2:42:14 ↗ then over Skype. Do you remember meeting

2:42:16 ↗ over Skype?

2:42:18 ↗ uh was on March 16th, 2020. And I did a

2:42:21 ↗ little digging through the archives to

2:42:22 ↗ find those dates. Uh since then, we've

2:42:25 ↗ only met a couple of times uh in person.

2:42:28 ↗ And all this to say that um you know,

2:42:30 ↗ including now, really only sat up here

2:42:32 ↗ 10 times since my oath of office. So, I

2:42:34 ↗ wanted to share this for for two

2:42:36 ↗ reasons. Uh, first and foremost, I want

2:42:38 ↗ to thank our dedicated city staff for

2:42:40 ↗ the tremendous amount of work they put

2:42:42 ↗ in to meet the needs of the Open Public

2:42:45 ↗ Meetings Act, to meet the needs of our

2:42:47 ↗ safety and our health, and to meet the

2:42:49 ↗ needs of an engaged city council and

2:42:50 ↗ community. Um, I think I speak for

2:42:53 ↗ everyone when I say there truly is not

2:42:55 ↗ enough gratitude in the world to

2:42:57 ↗ properly honor your commitment to those

2:42:59 ↗ needs and to this institution. So,

2:43:02 ↗ really quickly, I want to say thank you

2:43:04 ↗ to Tina, Tisha, and Chris with the

2:43:06 ↗ clerk's office. Thank you to Tim, Wes,

2:43:09 ↗ Olan, and Travis with ICTV. Uh, thank

2:43:13 ↗ you to John, Gus, and Tim with IT. Thank

2:43:16 ↗ you to Autumn and Thomas with

2:43:17 ↗ communications department. And thank

2:43:19 ↗ you, of course, to Wally, and Andrea

2:43:21 ↗ with the administration. And, uh, thank

2:43:23 ↗ you to many, many others. I'm sure I've

2:43:24 ↗ missed. We really, really appreciate

2:43:26 ↗ you. Um, then I'll get a little sappy

2:43:29 ↗ second. Um,

2:43:31 ↗ I think that this day marks the end of a

2:43:34 ↗ chapter or at least marks us approaching

2:43:36 ↗ the end of a chapter. A chapter full of

2:43:39 ↗ challenge, concern, tough decisions, and

2:43:42 ↗ tough odds, of opportunity, of lessons

2:43:45 ↗ learned.

2:43:47 ↗ Working up here with you all, whether it

2:43:49 ↗ be virtual or in person, is easily one

2:43:51 ↗ of the best things I get to do with

2:43:52 ↗ hours in my day. Sure. I'll miss seeing

2:43:56 ↗ uh your cats prominently marsh on the

2:43:58 ↗ front of your cameras during meetings.

2:44:01 ↗ I'll miss waiting for Mayor Paulie to

2:44:03 ↗ unmute herself. Um but I'm also looking

2:44:07 ↗ forward to many, many more fascinating

2:44:09 ↗ conversations, insightful viewpoints,

2:44:12 ↗ passionate community advocates, civil

2:44:15 ↗ disagreements,

2:44:16 ↗ that compelling point you hadn't thought

2:44:18 ↗ about yet. And I'm looking forward to

2:44:20 ↗ doing it all in person. So here's to

2:44:22 ↗ that.

2:44:24 ↗ That was awesome. Thank you.

2:44:27 ↗ Um, just a couple of things to add on to

2:44:29 ↗ that. We're never allowed to use the

2:44:31 ↗ word unprecedented again in anything

2:44:34 ↗ because it couldn't possibly ever be as

2:44:36 ↗ unprecedented as what we went through.

2:44:38 ↗ And also just a thank you to the

2:44:41 ↗ community and to the council. We now

2:44:43 ↗ have new hybrid meeting formats. You've

2:44:45 ↗ shown a lot of flexibility. The

2:44:47 ↗ community shown a lot of resiliency. and

2:44:49 ↗ I doubt council members coming on in the

2:44:52 ↗ next new round. We'll have to go through

2:44:53 ↗ what you all went through who got

2:44:54 ↗ elected two years ago. So things are

2:44:57 ↗ looking up. Thank you for that. Um there

2:44:59 ↗ are some upcoming council meetings.

2:45:01 ↗ March 15th, there's a city council study

2:45:03 ↗ session with potential agenda items,

2:45:05 ↗ including the capital finance community

2:45:07 ↗ task force recommendations report, and

2:45:09 ↗ the March 21st regular council meeting

2:45:11 ↗ with potential agenda items, including

2:45:13 ↗ the first 2022 budget amendment, 2021

2:45:16 ↗ 2022 budget reauthorizations and

2:45:20 ↗ property acquisitions. There's no

2:45:22 ↗ executive session this evening, and so

2:45:24 ↗ our first meeting back together uh is

2:45:28 ↗ adjourned at 9:46. Have a good night.

2:45:32 ↗ Oops. I get to do this.

Approved minutes

Extracted from the next meeting's packet, where this meeting's minutes were approved as a consent-calendar attachment.

Open PDF

Attendance

Council / Members (7)

Barbara de Michele

Zach Hall

Victoria Hunt

Russell Joe

Tola Marts

Chris Reh

Lindsey Walsh

Motions and votes (4)

Receive the Capital Finance Community Task Force Recommendation Report. . b)

Moved by WALSH · seconded by HALL

Carried 7-0

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Zach Hall, Victoria Hunt, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Chris Reh, Lindsey Walsh

Approve Resolution No. 2022-06, adopting the Issaquah Human Services Strategic Plan. . **AB 8345 and AB 8344 were presented jointly.** c)

Moved by WALSH · seconded by HALL

Carried 7-0

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Zach Hall, Victoria Hunt, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Chris Reh, Lindsey Walsh

Authorize modification to the Issaquah Rental Assistance Program created in October 2021 as follows: 1. Lift the three-month limit on rental assistance provided through this program to include all rental arrearages, and 2. Redistribute the original allocation of $500,000 in rental assistance to incl…

Moved by WALSH · seconded by HALL

Carried 7-0

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Zach Hall, Victoria Hunt, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Chris Reh, Lindsey Walsh

Reauthorize remaining 2021 funds of $300,000 for a City contribution to the State Small Business Flex Fund and $500,000 for a Rent Relief Program to the 2022 budget; and Reallocate the $450,000 of funding for these two programs from American Rescue Plan Act funds to the undesignated General Fund fun…

Moved by WALSH · seconded by HALL

Carried 7-0

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Zach Hall, Victoria Hunt, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Chris Reh, Lindsey Walsh