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Home My WebLink AboutSigned Minutes 01-06-25Minutes of the Arlington City Council Meeting Council Chambers 110 East 3rd Street Monday, January 6, 2025 Councilmembers Present: Heather Logan, Rob Toyer, Debora Nelson, Michele Blythe Yvonne Gallardo-Van Ornam, Leisha Nobach, and Jan Schuette. Council Members Absent: None. Staff Present: Mayor Don Vanney, Paul Ellis, Sarah Lopez, Shawn Friang, Seth Kinney, Devon Benner, Rory Bolter, Jonathan Ventura, City Attorney Oskar Rey, Bryan Terry, and Wendy Van Der Meersche. Also Known to be Present: Kathy Vanney, Randy Nobach, Nathan Senff, Holly Sloan - Buchanan, Steve Maisch, Mary Levesque, Nicole Watts, Dave Kraski, Al Schreiber, Julie Boyer, Sid Logan, Tim Abrahamson, Drew Bono, and Steve Peiffle. Mayor Don Vanney called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., and the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call followed. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Mayor Pro Tem Michele Blythe moved to approve the agenda as presented. Councilmember Heather seconded the motion, which passed with a unanimous vote. INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL QUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS Mayor Don Vanney presented former City Attorney Steve Peiffle with an award of appreciation marking 35+ years of service to the citizens and City of Arlington. PROCLAMATIONS PUBLIC COMMENT Mary Levesque, Arlington, provided comments regarding the Post Middle School Levy. Nicole Watts, Arlington, provided comments regarding the Post Middle School Levy. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Pro Tem Michele Blythe moved, and Councilmember Debora Nelson seconded the motion to approve the Consent Agenda that was unanimously carried: 1. Minutes of the December 16, 2024 Council meeting. 2. Accounts Payable: Approval of Petty Cash Check #2042; EFT Payments and Claims Checks #112281 through #112391 dated December 3 through December 16 for $2,046,580.32. PUBLIC HEARING None. Page 1 of 4 Minutes of the City of Arlington City Council Meetine lanuary 6. 2025 EXECUTIVE SESSION City Attorney Oskar Rey announced the need for an Executive Session to review collective bargaining negotiations, grievances, or discussions regarding the interpretation or application of a labor agreement [RCW 42.30.140(4)]. Mr. Rey stated that the Executive Session would last 10 minutes. Mayor Vanney dismissed City Council at 6:08 p.m. RECONVENE City Council returned and Mayor Vanney called the meeting to order at 6:18 p.m. NEW BUSINESS Contract Approval with Arlington Police Officers Association (APOA) Human Resources Director Shawn Friang requested Council approve the contract with Arlington Police Officers Association. The City and the Arlington Police Officers Association negotiated a successor collective bargaining agreement to be effective January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2026. Changes to Collective Bargaining Agreement includes some housekeeping and language updates, in addition to a market adjustment to salaries and benefits. The final version of the collective bargaining agreement was distributed with an executive summary prior to the meeting January 6. Negotiations started in April 2024 and concluded in December 2024. Meetings and discussions were collaborative and fruitful. The teams met monthly working through issues and progressing through the contract requests from both sides. The latest Collective Bargaining Agreement expired December 31, 2024, and the proposed agreement took effect January 1, 2025. Councilmember Yvonne Gallardo-Van Ornam moved, and Councilmember Debora Nelson seconded the motion to approve Arlington Police Officers' Association 2025-2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement and authorized the Mayor to sign the agreement. The motion passed unanimously. Professional Services Agreement with Pacific Northwest Support Services City Administrator Paul Ellis requested Council approve the professional services agreement with Pacific Northwest Support Services. Pacific Northwest Support Services (PNWSS) offers emotional and spiritual support to officers, their families, and the community during crises, fostering well-being and resilience. Additionally, they provide peer support, confidential assistance, and guidance to officers, leveraging shared experiences to address stress, mental health, and personal challenges and promoting a healthy work environment. The City of Arlington has maintained a chaplain program since 2005 and a partnership with Pacific Northwest Support Services since 2024. Councilmember Leisha Nobach moved, and Councilmember Michele Blythe seconded the motion to approve the Professional Services Agreement with Pacific Northwest Support Services, and authorized the Mayor to sign it, pending legal review. The motion passed unanimously. Page 2 of 4 Minutes of the City of Arlington City Council Meetine January 6. 202 Professional Services Agreement with Bridge Coordination Services City Administrator Paul Ellis requested Council approve the professional services agreement with Bridge Coordination Services. The professional services agreement is a renewal with Bridge Coordination Services, LLC, for Domestic Violence Coordinator Services provided through the assignment of a Domestic Violence Coordinator to the Arlington Police Department on a part-time basis. The Domestic Violence Coordinator is responsible for the coordination of violence related cases between the victim, the Police Department, the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and courts of jurisdiction. The City of Arlington has maintained a partnership Bridge Coordination Services, LLC for Domestic Violence Services since 2018. Councilmember Heather Logan moved, and Councilmember Michele Blythe seconded the motion to approve the Professional Services Agreement with Bridge Coordination Services, LLC, and authorized the Mayor to sign it, pending legal review. The motion passed unanimously. Interlocal Agreement with Snohomish County Regional Task Force City Administrator Paul Ellis requested Council approve the interlocal agreement with Snohomish County Regional Task Force. The Interlocal Agreement is a renewal agreement to participate in the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force for 2025. The Interlocal Agreement allows participating jurisdictions to jointly coordinate selected law enforcement activities, resources, and functions in order to disrupt illegal drug trafficking systems and to remove drug traffickers through a cooperative program of investigation, prosecution, and asset forfeiture. The City has been a longtime participant in the Task Force. Mayor Pro Tem Michele Blythe moved, and Councilmember Rob Toyer seconded the motion to approve the ILA with Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force and authorized the Mayor to sign it, pending legal review. The motion passed unanimously. Permit Fee Waiver Request for Event Canopy City Administrator Paul Ellis requested Council approve staff s request to waive $175 for a permit fee for the event canopy at the October 2024 Hispanic Heritage event. Historically, permit fees have been waived for City projects. Councilmember Debora Nelson moved, and Councilmember Heather Logan seconded the motion to waive the permitting fee for the event canopy. The motion passed unanimously. Policy Updates to Employee Handbook Human Resources Director Shawn Friang requested Council accept the employee handbook policy updates. Page 3 of 4 _Minutes of the City of Arlington City Council Meeting January 6 2025 This is an update of City policies as a part of a full review of the Employee Handbook. The updates for this approval pertain to: Policy 302 - Timesheets and Leave Requests Policy 303 - Overtime and Compensatory Time Policy 308 - Pay Procedures Policy 311- Longevity Policy 312 - Compensation upon Termination Policy 402 - Vehicle and Equipment Use Policy 502 - Dual Coverage "Opt Out" Policy 503 - Vacation Policy 702 - Absences - Sick leave and Bereavement Leave Policy 703 - Shared Leave Program The Employee Handbook was last updated in March of 2017. Throughout the last seven years, many practices and laws have changed surrounding these policies and updates have been put into place, but not formally adopted or updated in the Employee Handbook. A complete review and update to the Employee Handbook will be completed in 2025. Council will be brought sets of policy changes in phases throughout the year. Policy updates are process heavy and must be reviewed and approved by the City Administrator, City Attorney, Directors, Bargaining Units (where applicable) and then Council. Councilmember Rob Toyer moved, and Councilmember Debora Nelson seconded the motion to accept the modifications to policies 302,303,308,311,312,402,502,503,702, and 703 as a part of the updating process to the City of Arlington Employee Handbook. The motion passed unanimously. COMMENTS FROM CQUNCILMEKBERS Councilmember Jan Schuette provided information regarding Arlington's new Community Transit Zip shuttle. Councilmember Yvonne Gallardo-Van Ornam provided information regarding the Zip shuttle. ADMINISTRATOR & STAFF REPORTS City Administrator Paul Ellis provided comments regarding the Zip shuttle and thanked former City Attorney Steve Peiffle for his years of service and welcomed new City Attorney Oskar Rey. MAYOR'S REPORT Mayor Vanney provided comments regarding the Zip shuttle and wished everyone a Happy New Year. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to come before the Council, the m 'ng was adjourned at 6:31 p.m. Don E. Vanney, Mayor Page 4 of 4