Shoreline City Manager report - week of 4-27-15

Weekly Update for Week of 4/27/15

From Debbie Tarry, Shoreline City Manager

Last Saturday night was the 2015 Aurora Theatre Company’s Gala. Scott Charles Francis (director of the Company) shared his vision to bring live theatre to Shoreline and eventually to have the Aurora Theatre Company be a professional theatrical company in Shoreline. Scott and his partner are Shoreline residents and they love being involved in their community. This year the Aurora Theatre Company will bring eight live presentations of Fiddler on the Roof to Shoreline – look for these community presentations on Friday and Saturday nights, July 31 through August 22. Presentations are free of charge and are held in the Courtyard at City Hall – under the stars!

There was no Council meeting this last Monday night, but we are back on schedule this next Monday!

Council Meetings

May 4

Shoreline Transportation Benefit District Meeting at 6:45 p.m.

City Council Business Meeting at 7 p.m.:

·         Adoption of Resolution No. 368 – 2016-2021 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP): Council held a public hearing on the 2016-2021 TIP on April 13. In accordance with state law, the City is required to prepare a six-year TIP. The TIP identifies projects to meet local transportation needs, as well as projects of regional significance. Projects in the TIP can be funded and unfunded and the TIP includes the transportation projects that will be included in the preliminary 2016-2021 Capital Improvement Plan. Including projects in the TIP improves the City’s eligibility to secure grant funding. During the Council discussion on April 13, a few questions were raised including:

·         Status of Westminster Way as a Truck Route from 155^th North to Aurora: Staff has previously worked with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) to declassify the truck route designation north of 155^th. This has been approved by WSDOT and FHWA and is no longer classified as a truck route.

·         Richmond Beach Corridor and Point Wells Transportation Corridor Study: The Richmond Beach Corridor is project #17 in the TIP. The TIP scope/narrative for this project makes several references to the status of the Transportation Corridor Study (TCS) and that the list is representative and will be updated when the TCS is completed. It says, “Preliminarily identified projects are listed below.” The 2015-2020, adopted by the City Council in 2014, also included these “preliminarily” identified projects. If, in the future, the Council accepts the TCS, the TMP should be amended, and the TIP should reflect those projects anticipated to be constructed in the ensuing six years.

·         Utilize Unused Rights-of-Way and Alleys to Construct a Bicycle System, Especially in Richmond Beach as an Alternative to Having Bicycles on Arterials: Shoreline has very few alleyways. In developing the TMP, staff inventoried and field-visited all of the undeveloped rights-of-way in the city and incorporated approximately 25 in the pedestrian system plan as neighborhood connections or shortcuts. The plan also states that prior to requests to vacate rights-of-way, that they be evaluated for connectivity potential. Currently there is not a project or program to systematically implement these connections, and staff suggests they be considered as a project addition to the CIP.

·         How were the sidewalks projects chosen?: The sidewalk projects identified in Project #11 were primarily pulled from the High Priority list in the Transportation Master Plan (TMP), and then filtered by potential grant funding, other partnering potentials, or a safety need.

·         What is the status of 3^rd and Richmond Beach Road intersection? In a month or so, crews will implement a split-phase signal at the intersection, which means the east movements will occur separately from the west movements, which should improve the safety of the intersection until a capital project can be funded/implemented.

·         Utility undergrounding: Staff will need to return to Council with a discussion of undergrounding challenges and approaches in order to receive direction on implementing a workable undergrounding policy/strategy.

·         Adoption of Ord. No. 715 - Amending SMC 360 Revenue Authority for the Transportation Benefit District: Council held a public hearing on this item on April 13. Ordinance No. 715 will amend Shoreline Municipal Code 3.60.030(B) to include tolling, as permitted by state law, as an additional method by which the Shoreline Transportation Benefit District may fund transportation improvements. This action does not authorize the implementation of tolling, recommend any specific type of tolling, or provide further study of tolling. To implement tolling, a number of requirements established by various state laws and the SMC must be met, including passage of a proposition at a general or special election by a simple majority of voters within the TBD.

·         North King County Mobility Coalition Presentation: Deputy Mayor Eggen and Councilmember Roberts have sponsored this Community Group presentation. Robin McClelland, a Shoreline resident, and Cameron Duncan, Mobility Coordinator, will represent the North King County Mobility Coalition. They will present the results of the Coalition's recent "Mobility Listening Sessions."

·         Discussion of the 2014 Police Service Report: The 2014 Police Service Report (PSR) is an annual police report presented by Shoreline Police command staff to the City Council. The report contains information on crime statistics, police data, and cost comparisons to other police agencies in the region.

·         City Council Goal #5 Update - Safe Neighborhoods/Safe Community: This item updates the City Council on work done in 2014 in response to Council Goal #5: "Promote and enhance the City’s safe community and neighborhood programs and initiatives." At the City Council's Annual Strategic Planning Workshop, staff provided a high-level summary of action taken on work plan items relating to this goal. This update provides additional detail and takes a special focus on activities that build and strengthen connection between the City and the Shoreline community.

Legislative Update

Last week ESSB 5048 (water-sewer assumption bill) passed and was sent to the Governor for signature. The primary provisions of the bill include:

·         Makes resolutions/ordinances adopted by city legislative bodies to assume jurisdiction of all or part of a water-sewer district subject to referendum by the voters in the area subject to the assumption. (There is no retroactive application in the adopted version of the bill.)

·         Established requirements and provisions related to the referendum process.

·         Exempts full or partial assumptions from being subject to a referendum if the assumption occurs through a contract or an interlocal agreement between the city and the district.

·         Provides that resolutions and ordinances adopted by city legislative bodies to assume jurisdiction of all or part of a district may not take effect until 90 or more days after their adoption.

SB 5052 (bill regulating medical marijuana) was also sent to the Governor for signature. The primary provisions include:

·         Liquor Control Board is renamed to the Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB).

·         Medical use of marijuana is regulated through the structure provided in Initiative 502.

·         A medical marijuana authorization database (database) is created. Qualifying patients and designated providers who do not sign up to the database may grow marijuana for their medical use but are limited to four plants and 6 ounces of useable marijuana and are provided an affirmative defense to charges of violating the law on medical use of marijuana. Qualifying patients and designated providers who do sign up to the database may grow up to 15 plants for their medical use, are provided arrest protection, and may possess three times the amount of marijuana than what is permitted for the recreational user.

·         LCB can issue a medical marijuana endorsement to a marijuana retail license. LCB may issue the endorsement concurrently with the retail license and medical marijuana–endorsed stores must carry products identified by DOH as beneficial to medical marijuana patients. DOH must also adopt safe handling requirements for all marijuana products to be sold by endorsed stores and must adopt training requirements for retail employees.

·         LCB must reopen the license period for retail stores and allow for additional licenses to be issued to address the needs of the medical market. LCB must establish a merit based system for issuing retail licenses. First priority must be given to applicants that have applied for a marijuana retailer license before July 1, 2014, and who have operated or been employed by a collective garden before November 6, 2012. Second priority goes to applicants who were operating or employed by a collective garden before November 6, 2012 but who have not previously applied for a marijuana license.

This and That

·         Council candidate orientation. Assistant City Manager John Norris and I will host a Council Candidate orientation on Thursday, June 4 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at City Hall. We will be contacting all Council Candidate’s to reserve this time. The orientation is to share information regarding major City projects, general City operations, campaign sign regulations and to respond to candidate questions.

·         The Washington Finance Officers Association has awarded the City's Administrative Services Department up to $5,000 to go towards hiring a college intern. The intern will assist in documenting policies and procedures along with a variety of other tasks related to the 2016 budget process and the 2014 financial audit.

·         Seashore Enterprises dba as 365 Recreational Cannabis at 17517 15^th Ave NE Suite 202 has received approval from the Liquor Control Board (soon to be named the Liquor and Cannabis Board) for a marijuana retailer license.

·         New business licenses issued in March. A total of 152 new licenses issued with 73 physically located in Shoreline.

Calendar Items

·         Million Step Challenge Kick-Off, Paramount School Park, Saturday, May 2 at 9:00 a.m.

·         Shoreline Historical Museum's new exhibit: "Shoreline: City with a Past, City with a Future." The opening will take place on Saturday, May 2 at 1:00 pm