STUDY SESSION. 7:00 p.m. Mountlake Terrace, WA

MINUTES MOUNTLAKE TERRACE CITY COUNCIL WORK/STUDY SESSION March 12, 2015 7:00 p.m. Mountlake Terrace City Hall Mountlake Terrace, WA COUNCILMEMBERS ...
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MINUTES MOUNTLAKE TERRACE CITY COUNCIL WORK/STUDY SESSION March 12, 2015 7:00 p.m.

Mountlake Terrace City Hall Mountlake Terrace, WA

COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Councilmember McCardle Councilmember Matsumoto Wright Councilmember Richards Mayor Smith Mayor Pro Tem Sonmore Councilmember Wahl COUNCILMEMBERS ABSENT: Councilmember Ryan (Excused) STAFFMEMBERS PRESENT: Arlene Fisher, City Manager Gregory G. Schrag, City Attorney Virginia V. Olsen, City Clerk/Community Relations Director Scott Hugill, Assistant City Manager Steve Osguthorpe, Community & Economic Development Director Chad Schulhauser, Public Works Director Jeff Betz, Recreation, Parks and Facilities Director Ken Courtmanch, Parks and Property Management Superintendent Edith Duttlinger, Senior Planner Janet Hall, Traffic Engineer CALL TO ORDER Mayor Smith called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MOTION Councilmember McCardle Councilmember Matsumoto Wright

Move to excuse Councilmember Ryan.

Motion carried 6-0 Review of 2015 Recreation and Parks Advisory Commission Workplan Recreation and Parks Advisory Commission (RPAC) Chair Linda Rogers explained the Commission’s vision and mission. She stated the Commission’s workplan aligns with the City Council’s adopted goals. Chair Rogers said she and RPAC members Karen Van Haaften and Dustin DeKoekkoek would provide the presentation. Chair Rogers noted that other members included Keith Edholm, Dale Jeremiah and James Culver. Chair Rogers provided the mission

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statement and said the workplan is in alignment with the City Council’s goals. She also reviewed the roles and responsibilities of RPAC including reviewing and recommending fees, approving in-kind services, participating at special events, and providing program and budget recommendations to name a few. Commissioner Van Haaften read the name of the Neighborhood Parks Improvement Subcommittee (NPIS) members and spoke about their roles and responsibilities such as promoting the benefits of parks, taking inventory of neighborhood parks to determine needs, identifying park projects, 2014 Playful City USA recipient, and others. Commissioner Van Haaften noted that major park improvements started with community input meetings and took time to reach completion so many of the following park projects were initiated prior to 2014. She spoke about updates and improvements at Bicentennial Park, Firefighters Memorial Park, Terrace Ridge Park, Evergreen Playfield, and Ballinger Park. Chair Rogers provided an overview of input and suggestions provided during Ballinger Park master planning community meetings in June and July of 2013. She recapped the Earth Day and National Day of Service park clean up day events. Chair Rogers noted that there was a project conducted on the Ballinger Park master planning by four University of Washington planning students. Chair Rogers spoke about grant projects totaling $218,000 for new park equipment and the therapy pool. She recognized the efforts of several volunteer organizations including the Garden Club, MLT DOG, Seattle Disc Golf and others. Chair Rogers stated that the 2015 RPAC work plan includes reviewing and recommending recreation and park fees, approving in-kind services, participating at special events, identifying wayfinding improvements, supporting grant applications for city projects, touring recreation and park facilities, expanding volunteer opportunities, and expanding community outreach. Commissioner DeKoekkoek reviewed some of the larger projects planned in 2015. He said the Recreation Park and Open Space (RPOS) Plan was last done in 2009 and an update is needed to plan for the next 10 years as well as being consistent with the 20-year planning horizon of the Comprehensive Plan. He noted that this work was being done in house. Commissioner DeKoekkoek explained that funding was secured to conduct the Ballinger Park Master Plan in 2015. He stated the schedule is to finish the plan by September and it will be referenced in the Recreation and Parks Open Space Plan. Mr. DeKoekkoek said RPAC has explored alternative funding sources including partnerships, grant funds and possibly creating a Metropolitan Park District. He stated that communication and community outreach will be enhanced in conjunction with update of the city’s website. Chair Rogers said the workplan is ambitious and focused on supporting volunteer activities, grants and other resources to achieve continued improvements and enhance accessibility, 2

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usability, visibility safety and aesthetics in our parks. The Commissioners responded to questions and comments from the City Council about updating the plans, saving money doing work in house, Metropolitan Park District, connectivity, walkability, Earth Day plan, any ideas for Ballinger Park improvements, and the Earth Day event. Review of 2015 Arts Advisory Commission Workplan Recreation and Parks Director Jeff Betz introduced Arts Advisory Commissioners Bonnie Mercer, Annie Nygaard and Sally Buckingham. Commissioner Mercer explained that the Commission did a project with St. Pius School which helped them obtain a Hazel Miller grant in the amount of $11,000. Commissioner Mercer reviewed the Arts Advisory Commission mission and reviewed the Commission’s purpose and goals: 1) Collaborating with artists, businesses, government, educators, residents and guests; 2) Creating opportunities for artists including visual, performing and literary arts; 3) Encouraging public and private partnerships to help provide funding and support; 4) Positioning arts and cultural programs as an important community and economic building block; 5) Engaging the community to educate, inform and inspire; and 6) Promoting understanding of diverse cultures, ages and abilities through art programs, activities and events. Commissioner Nygaard said the Commission’s workplan is in alignment with City Council goals and she spoke about the Commission’s proposed work plan. Commissioner Buckingham spoke about the Commission’s 2014 accomplishments: 1) Obtaining new art panels through a $11,000 grant from the Hazel Miller Foundation; 2) Coordinated with Friends of the Arts on the 36th Annual Arts of the Terrace Juried Art Show; and 3) Continued community outreach efforts; 4) Served as the selection committee for the Manu Sood Scholarship Fund; 5) Hosted monthly art exhibits at the Mountlake Terrace Library; and 6) Participated in community events. Commissioner Mercer said the 2015 work plan continues to build upon the accomplishments achieved in 2014 and begins to address recommendations that emerged from the Arts and Cultural Strategic Plan. She added that the 2015 work plan is dependent upon the active involvement and leadership of the Commission along with continued support from Friends of the Arts, volunteers and partnerships. Commissioner Nygaard listed the work plan items for 2014 including monthly exhibits at the Library, inventory of the city’s art collection, develop a list of artists and art patrons in the city, apply for grant funding opportunities, identify partnership and sponsorship opportunities, encourage live entertainment in the city, support Friends of the Arts and the Arts of the Terrace Juried Art Show, participate in community events, community outreach and others. She announced the dates for upcoming events. Commissioner Mercer stated that they applied for and received a city lodging tax fund grant. Commissioner Mercer noted that the art show will run for 3

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two weeks this year. Commissioner Buckingham said other items on the workplan include creating opportunities for artists, including visual, performing and literary arts; expanding the volunteer base for art related programs and special events; community outreach; serve as the selection committee for the scholarship fund; and participate in community events. Commissioner Mercer spoke about the judges that were selected for this year’s juried art show. The City Council commended the Arts Advisory Commission on their volunteer work. The Commissioners responded to questions and comments from the City Council about the performing arts, performing arts theatre at the high school, how the arts can play into the Civic Center project, outdoor concerts, Manu Sood Scholarship Fund and City Council goals. Review of Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element Update Senior Planner Edith Duttlinger stated that this was the last major remaining element of the Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) to be reviewed with the City Council. Ms. Duttlinger said the purpose of this element is the guide the development of the city’s transportation system in a manner consistent with the city’s adopted goals and policies. She reviewed the Growth Management Act (GMA) goal. Ms. Duttlinger reviewed the structure and table of contents for this chapter. Ms. Duttlinger said the update will include reorganization for logical flow of topics, consolidation and clarifications of maps, current maps and technical information. Traffic Engineer Janet Hall said they took the traffic volume information and other data from things like the Main Street and Lakeview Trail projects and built a model to determine where we will experience growth through the year 2035. She noted that the most growth will occur near the Transit Center and some of the major arterials. Ms. Hall said the update will include a new list of intersections that are projected to fall below the city’s adopted level of service. She added that the sidewalk and bicycle lane status maps were updated as well as accident location data. Ms. Hall spoke about the sidewalk prioritization program and showed a map of completed sidewalks noting that there are many more feet of sidewalks than there was three years ago. She added that there are nearly eight miles of bike lanes in the city and two more miles will be added with Lakeview Trail (factoring both directions). Ms. Duttlinger said future roadway connection descriptions including Gateway Connector and 228th Edmonds connection will be updated into another section in the chapter. Ms. Duttlinger stated the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) will be replaced with the current TIP and there will be minor updates to the policies, no change in goals, and a new list of 4

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actions to take. Ms. Hall showed a map of 2035 projected level of service without improvements and showed recommended roadway improvements. Ms. Duttlinger spoke about key challenges and opportunities such as growth impacts, trends in travel, pedestrian mobility and orientation, roadway design standards, parking, funding capability, Transportation Master Plan, and intergovernmental coordination. Ms. Duttlinger said there was no need to update the current goals that were listed in the PowerPoint but some of the policies needed strengthening or adjusting. She and Ms. Hall reviewed the suggested updates in the policies. Ms. Duttlinger spoke about an update to the performance measure regarding construction of new sidewalks and proposed actions to take. She said those actions include: 1) Reviewing the city’s traffic impact fee program and other strategies for mitigating development projects that would generate peak hour trips; 2) Taking inventory of all existing sidewalks and curb ramps for ADA compliance; 3) Developing a list of prioritized list of sidewalk and curb ramp improvements for ADA compliance; 4) Updating the city’s Transportation Master Plan; 5) Reviewing and revising the city’s roadway classifications to meet federal standards as needed; 6) Developing a detailed street improvement plan that takes into account sidewalks and bicycle lanes and incorporates a high priority for maintain and improving mobility; 7) Reviewing the status of Commute Trip Reduction goals to date; and 8) Reviewing street standards at the time of any major updates to the Comp Plan or at least every ten years. Ms. Duttlinger reviewed the next steps and adopting the Comp Plan by June 30. Ms. Duttlinger and Ms. Hall responded to questions about the schedule for the Comp Plan, projected growth, purpose of the Comp Plan, actions to take, TIP, traffic modeling, vision of a walkable community, how accident data is compiled and reviewed, near misses, public education, vegetation at a certain intersection, and accident data from a certain intersection. Mayor Smith recessed the meeting at 8:52 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 8:57 p.m. Review of Development Activities Update Community and Economic Development Director Steve Osguthorpe provided an overview of the presentation. He introduced Senior Planner Edith Duttlinger. Ms. Duttlinger stated this update happens twice a year and she noted this presentation covers statistics for all of 2014. She said there are a variety of things happening in the city including several types of projects/actions such as accessory dwelling units, boundary line adjustments, townhomes, cottage housing, multi-family housing, townhomes, zoning text amendments and many more. Ms. Duttlinger showed the development activity map and noted that it is interactive and online for people to check the status of the project. 5

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Ms. Duttlinger reported that there were numerous completed projects in 2014 such as Brook Glen Fee Simple Townhomes, Accessory Dwelling Units, 218th Short Plat, Mountlake Terrace Elementary School Portable Conditional Use Permit (CUP), Terrace Heights Gardens, 55th Avenue Townhomes, Diamond Knot Brewpub @ MLT, and Grand Pere Bakery and Deli. Ms. Duttlinger spoke about projects underway in 2014 including Brighton Schools, Cedar Cottages, Rosser Short Plat, Kohary Warehouse, Atworth Commons, Three Holy Hierarchs, Vineyard Park, Mountlake Terrace Senior Living, Promenade at Town Square, and Gateway Boulevard. Ms. Duttlinger stated there are numerous tenant improvements over the past few years and she showed photos of them including interior remodeling and new roofing. Ms. Duttlinger noted that the value of the finalized permits in 2014 was nearly $10 million, compared to $30 million in 2013 because Arbor Village was a major project completed in 2013. Ms. Duttlinger briefed the Council about park and transportation impact fees collected over the past two years. Ms Duttlinger showed photos of some code compliance cases and noted that there were 56 opened in 2014 compared to 61 in 2013 with 22 and 46 cases closed respectively. Ms. Duttlinger spoke about regional activities and agencies such as Alliance for Housing Affordability, Community Transit, Growing Transit Communities, Puget Sound Regional Council, Regional Code Collaboration, Snohomish County Tomorrow, Sound Transit and Verdant. Ms. Duttlinger briefed the Council about all the actions the employees take to support development activities and create a positive experience for customers. Mr. Osguthorpe referred to a handout on 2014 development activity including revenues. Mr. Osguthorpe and Ms. Duttlinger responded to questions about anticipated revenues, estimated impact fees, specific projects on the list, questions about projects on hold, welcome signs, project fees and impact fees, and the document being available online. Review of Park and Transportation Impact Fees Mr. Osguthorpe said the impact fees were adopted in 2007 and included a 25% discount. He said the discount was raised to 50% in 2011 to encourage development and that was extended for three years. Mr. Osguthorpe spoke about the benefits of impact fees for the community. Mr. Osguthorpe noted that since then, there is more development activity and interest so he prepared information about rescinding the impact fees from a 50% discount to 25%. Mr. Osguthorpe showed a table of how the impact fees would look like and options including 6

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just reducing transportation impact fees, the timeline and he opened the topic for discussion. Mr. Osguthorpe and Public Works Director Chad Schulhauser responded to questions about traffic projects, being able to afford the impacts, tipping point, mitigating growth, not covering all the actual impacts, taking a holistic approach, formula for impact fees, and scope of project. The City Council stated they would like to continue discussing this topic and look into it more in depth. Review of City Council Subcommittee Recommendation for Interim Recreation and Parks Advisory Commission City Clerk Virginia Olsen said the City Council Subcommittee, consisting of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, recommended the City Council appoint Jim Ito to the Interim Recreation and Parks Advisory Commission position. Ms. Olsen stated that Mr. Ito helped the city open the Off Leash Dog Park as President of MLT DOG (Dog Owners Group). She stated the term expires on June 30, 2016. The Council moved the recommendation forward for formal consideration on March 16. Review of March 16, 2015 Agenda There were no questions. Council Comments Councilmember Matsumoto Wright stated she had a conflict with the March 16 meeting and would not be able to attend. Mayor Smith said he attended a meeting regarding emergency management that day and said a follow up meeting was scheduled to discuss the city’s plans to contract elsewhere for emergency management services. Public Comment There was none. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Smith adjourned the meeting at 10:10 p.m.

These minutes are subject to approval at the April 20 2015 City Council meeting.

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