Shoreline City Manager report week of 9/15/204

Update for Week of 9/15/2014

September 15 Council Meeting

·         No Dinner Meeting

·         Regular Meeting:

o   2014 Pavement Repair Project: Council authorized City Manager to enter into a contract with Watson Asphalt Paving in the amount $580,447 for 2014 Pavement Repair Project.

o   Ordinance No. 694 – Property Tax Exemption: Council discussed an amendment to Chapter 3.27 of the Shoreline Municipal Code for Technical Corrections to the Property Tax Exemption Program.

o   145^th Light Rail Station Subarea Zoning Scenarios

o   Second Quarter Financial Report

September 22 Council Meeting

·         Dinner Meeting:  Ron Vine of ETC Institute will attend to discuss the 2014 Citizen Satisfaction Survey results.

·         Regular Meeting:

o   Proclamation of Mayor’s Day of Concern for the Hungry: Kevin Osborne, Director, and Debra Grant, Client Services Director, of Hopelink will be present at the Council meeting to accept the proclamation.

o   2014 Citizen Satisfaction Survey:  This will be a complete presentation of the outcomes from the 2014 Citizen Satisfaction Survey.

o   Discussion of Preliminary 2015 Budget: This is a discussion on how the 2015 Proposed Budget is starting to look and recommendations that I may include in that budget. From a big-picture perspective, the 2015 budget projections are better than what was projected earlier this year in the 10 Year Financial Sustainability Plan, as we have continued to see improvement in our primary revenue sources and expenditure growth in some areas has been less than originally anticipated. Based on current projections the 2015 budget will be balanced without using any funds from the Property Tax Equalization Fund (funds that were reserved in prior years from the 2010 property tax levy lid lift). 

o   Executive Session – Potential Litigation

Other Council Meeting Items

·         October 6: Council meeting has been cancelled as the agenda items were moved to other meeting times and there was no pressing business for this night.

145^th Tour Follow-Up

We received positive feedback from WSDOT regarding the tour. Secretary Peterson's office let us know that there is strong support for better access and partners are at the table. However, all parties will need to agree on the stated goals and stick to them to make it work. On October 13 Council will be authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract with CH2MHill for the Route Development Plan. As part of the Route Development Plan process, staff will be coming back to Council in late November to discuss project goals, funding scenarios, and the Plan timeline and process. Ultimately the Route Development Plan will help us identify project alternatives that can be considered to meet the goals and will most likely include not only capital improvements, but other operational or project alternatives that could be considered to meet the corridor goals.

Finance Update – Real Estate Excise Tax

Highlights for August 2014 include:

·         There were 108 transactions in August 2014, which is 19 more than the previous month and 15 more than August 2013. January-August 2014 has a total transaction amount of 607. With September still remaining, 2014 only needs 24 more transactions to meet the January-September 2013 amount of 631.

·         August 2014’s total sales amount was $43.7 million, which is 12.4%, or $4.8 million, more than August 2013. The sales amount is also up from July 2014’s $35.6 million.

·         In August 2014, the total tax collected was $218,626. That is $24,077 more than last year, and $42,506 above 2014 projections for August. August’s performance makes up for the May, June, and July’s below projections results. Projections for January- August 2014 was $1,204,428 with actual tax collection coming in at $1,228,803.

·         There were four Single Family Residences (SFR) that sold for over $1 million in August. Please note that one of the transactions for $2.4 million was for three parcels of undeveloped land in a single-family zoned area. The Shoreline Motel was the only commercial property to sell for over $1 million at $1.2 million.

·         The Categories of Transactions for August 2014 include:

Category	# of Transactions	Value	AVG Transaction Value	Tax
SFR	89	$35.3 Million	$396,255	$176,333
MFR	14	$3.4 Million	$245,607	$17,193
Mobile Home	0	$0.0 Million	$0	$0
Commercial	1	$1.2 Million	$1,200,000	$6,000
Undeveloped Land	4	$3.8 Million	$955,000	$19,100

Please note: the SFR undeveloped parcels in the chart above are listed under the “Undeveloped Land” row.

Library Board

We are recruiting for a Youth Library Board member. Individuals interested in applying can visit shorelinewa.gov/libraryboard.

This and That

·         Briarcrest BST: At a recent Briarcrest Neighborhood Association Meeting staff heard comments that some residents have found that the BST treatment has made it difficult to walk because the road is sticky and uneven – and it is particularly challenging for people walking with wheels, such as with a walker or stroller. The feedback noted that the absence of sidewalks makes it very challenging. There is interest from those in attendance to ask the City to change the priority of a sidewalk on 27^th Ave NE. Public Works’ staff will review the 3/8 inch chip for residential streets and determine if the 1/4 inch chip is better to address the roughness issue. If the stickiness issue was immediately after placement, then that, unfortunately, is part of the process challenge; but if we find that the neighborhood is still experiencing an issue, then we may have to follow up with sand to blot the excess.

·         Metro/Sound Transit System Integration: This week you may have seen the press release (http://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/constantine/News/executive-news/metro-sound-transit-report.aspx) from Executive Constantine regarding his June Executive Order for integration between Metro and Sound Transit. Senior Transportation Planner Alicia McIntire has been working with Metro and Sound Transit staff to see if our Transit Service Integration Plan can be part of this effort.

·         Community Mobility Contracts (Cost model and cost summary): We will continue to review the potential for metro service buy-back, but as I have previously shared, I recommend that the City wait until after the outcomes of Seattle’s Proposition 1 (November ballot) and King County’s budget process.

·         Into the Woods Recap: In the five performances held in August over 1,600 patrons attended. The Aurora Theatre Company was very grateful for the City’s participation and we plan to host another similar event in 2015. We will be exploring opportunities to help enhance the experience for the Theatre Company and the patrons who attend and hopefully 2015 will bring the same great weather we had this year!