City Manager's report week of 12-8

From Debbie Tarry, Shoreline City Manager

The City Manager's reports are given to the City Council at their meetings and are posted on the City webpage under the City Manager's webpage.

Here’s what happened at the December 8 Council Meeting – Last Council Meeting for 2014  (The Shoreline City Council is on winter recess through the end of the month. The first Council meeting of the new year will be Monday January 5)

·         Dinner Meeting – Dinner with the Council of Neighborhoods.  There were many things to celebrate that the Council of Neighborhoods and individual neighborhood associations have been instrumental in supporting and making happen throughout the greater Shoreline community.

·         Regular Meeting

o   Adoption of Ordinance No. 700, 2014 Budget Amendment: Discussed by Council on November 24, the budget amendment totals $407,817, and increases both revenues and expenditures.

o   Adoption of Ordinance No. 698: Ordinance No. 675, which enacted a new chapter of the Shoreline Municipal Code (SMC), Chapter 9.30 - Chronic Nuisance Properties, includes an inconsistent reference to an appeal time period. Ordinance No. 698 corrects this inconsistency so as to ensure a single appeal period.

o   Contract Agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation to Obligate STP Grant Funds for the Meridian Avenue N Overlay Project: Council authorized the City Manager to execute a Local Agency Agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to obligate $674,560 of Surface Transportation Program (STP) grant funding for the Meridian Avenue N Overlay Project to be constructed in 2016. This funding source is through WSDOT and provides for 68% of eligible costs.

o   Motion to Authorize the City Manager to Enter into Interlocal Agreements and Cooperative Joint Purchasing Agreements:  Shoreline Municipal Code Section 2.60.080 authorizes the City of Shoreline to enter into interlocal and cooperative joint purchasing agreements. These agreements are ultimately authorized by RCW 39.34.030 in order to serve the best interests of the cities. Council authorized the City Manager to enter into interlocal agreements with several agencies to help address the City's purchasing needs.

o   Discussion of Transfer of Development Rights and the Landscape Conservation and Local Infrastructure Program: The Landscape Conservation and Local Infrastructure Program (LCLIP) was passed into State Law in 2011. LCLIP creates incentives for both land conservation in the county and funding for infrastructure improvements in the city. The City recently received a grant to study the feasibility of applying LCLIP in the 145th and 185th light rail station subareas, Town Center, and the Community Renewal Area (Aurora Square). Darren Greve from King County, Nick Bratton from Forterra, and Erik Rundell of ECONorthwest, participated in the presentation to Council. We anticipate that there will be another follow-up to this presentation during the first quarter of 2015, as the feasibility study moves forward.

o   Authorized the City Manager to execute a Settlement Agreement with Arabella Apartments LLC to settle current litigation as well as pending claims.  This action was authorized following an Executive Session.

Agenda Planner Items

·         Property Tax Exemption – This item has been moved to January 26, the same night Council will discuss the Affordable Housing proposals in the proposed light rail development regulations.

·         February 23 – The Regular Meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. In order to stay on schedule for adoption of the 145^th Light Rail Station Sub-Area Plan, Council must select the 145^th Light Rail Station Preferred Alternative on this date. This is the same night that Council is scheduled to adopt the 185^th Light Rail Station Sub-Area Plan.

Park Director Interviews

This week we will be interviewing five candidates for the Park Director position. I am hopeful that at the end of the week we should have narrowed this down to one to three top candidates. There were a total of 38 applicants for the position.

Financial Update

November Real Estate Excise Collections:

·         November 2014’s total sales amount was $29.4 million, which is 30.1%, or $6.8 million, more than November 2013. It is also $7.1 million, or 31.9% more than November 2012’s total sales amount. With one month left in 2014, the total sales amount is already 3.9%, or $12.6 million, more than the 2013 January-December YTD total sales amount.

·         In November 2014, the total tax collected was $146,940. That is $34,026, or 30.1%, more than November 2013. It is also $28,979 more than the projected amount for the month of November 2014. Like the total sales amount, with one month left in 2014, the total tax collected is already 3.9%, or $62,823, more than the 2013 January-December YTD total tax collected. To meet 2014 total year end projections, another $79,569 in tax will need to be collected in December. This equates to a need of roughly $15.9 million in total sales amount in December 2014 in order to meet projections. In 2012, the December total sales amount was $30.2 million. In 2013, the December total sales amount was $32.7 million.

WSDOT and TIB Funding Update

Just before Thanksgiving, the Transportation Improvement Board released their approved project selection list. Unfortunately, none of our 4 sidewalk project applications made the cut in the highly competitive Urban Sidewalk Program. As is customary, we will follow-up with TIB staff to review our scores and gather feedback.

Within the past few days, WSDOT released their 2015-2017 report to the state legislature that includes the proposed projects in the Pedestrian and Bicycle and Safe Routes to School funding programs. We applied for four Ped/Bike projects and one Safe Routes to Schools project - and are being recommended for the Echo Lake Elementary Safe Routes to Schools Project for $520,000. This project will construct new sidewalk on the south side of N 195th Street between Meridian Avenue and Wallingford Avenue, directly adjacent to Echo Lake Elementary School. The project will also include education and enforcement components with the assistance of the Shoreline School District and the Shoreline Police Department. Final approval of the project list is dependent on the passage of the 2015-2017 state budget.

  

This and That

·         City Property Damage Restitution Program: Recently a process improvement team led by Tuan Ho in our Public Works Department established a new adopted policy and procedure to improve on recouping funds to damaged City property. As a result the City’s collections have significantly improved and collections from old claims have been realized. To date $74,000 has been collected in 2014.

·         Councilmembers signed a letter to Governor Inslee regarding the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Marine & Rail Oil Transportation.

·         Dockside Cannabis has officially opened as the City’s first marijuana retailer. Address is 15001 Aurora Ave N, Suite 15029.