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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSigned Minutes 5-26-20i Minutes of the Arlington City Council Zoom Workshop Council Chambers 110 East Third Street May 26, 2020 Councilmembers Present: Mike Hopson, Marilyn Oertle, Debora Nelson, Don Vanney, Jan Schuette, Jesica Stickles and Michele Blythe. Council Members Absent: None. Staff Present: Mayor Barb Tolbert, Paul Ellis, James Trefry, Marty Wray, Lorene Robinson, Kristin Garcia, Jonathan Ventura, Jim Kelly, Sarah Lopez, Dave Kraski, City Attorney Steve Peiffle, and Ashleigh Scott. Also Known to be Present: 64 YouTube Viewers. Mayor Barb Tolbert called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm, and the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call followed. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Mayor Pro Tem Jesica Stickles moved to approve the agenda as presented. Councilmember Marilyn Oertle seconded the motion, which passed with a unanimous vote. INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS None. WORKSHOP ITEMS _ NO FINAL ACTION WAS TAKEN Coronavirus Relief Fund Grant for Local Governments City Administrator Paul Ellis stated that the City was awarded the CARES Act Grant in the amount of $592,000. This grant is to cover eligible expenses from the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant is funded entirely through the federal stimulus funding under the CARES Act provided by the U.S. Department of Treasury to the Governor. The Coronavirus Relief Funds may only be used for costs incurred by local governments in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency during the period of March 1, 2020 thru October 31, 2020. There are six primary eligible cost categories. These cost categories and their eligible cost sub -categories are as follows: Medical expenses, public health expenses, payroll expenses, expenses of actions to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 related public health measures, expenses associated with the provision of economic support and any other COVID-19 related expenses reasonably necessary to the function of government that satisfy the Fund's eligibility criteria. Discussion followed with Mr. Ellis answering Council questions. Page 1 of 6 Minutes of the City of Arlington City Council Workshop May 26, 2020 Draft Business Rent Relief Grant Program City Administrator Paul Ellis stated that the City of Arlington is expected to receive approximately $592,000 of CARES Act funds distributed by WA State Department of Commerce. The City will use $200,000 of the funds to support small businesses with Arlington's Business Rent Relief Grant Program. COVID-19 is causing a catastrophic economic impact nationwide, and Arlington small businesses are no exception. The City recognizes the role of our small businesses in providing jobs to our residents and through sales tax collections to fund the services that are critical to our public. The Business Rent Relief Grant is a piece to the overall recovery. The maximum award per Arlington business is $3,500. The business must meet criteria, including: have a physical location inside city limits, have a current city business license, and have a business sustainability plan. Draft application was presented to council for review. Scoring criteria includes: business sales tax generator, business survival outlook, how business ban be affected by COVID-19 closure, if grant will allow business to re -open, retain/rehire employees, which phase business is allowed to fully open, how many years in business and a business recovery plan. Mr. Ellis is asking for the draft application to be approved, so that when funds become available, and are approved by City Council, the grant application can be released as soon as possible. Discussion followed with Mr. Ellis answering Council questions. Apparent Low Bid for 2020 Airport Project Airport Director/Operations Manager Marty Wray and Airport Operations Specialist Lorene Robinson discussed the bid results, recommendation to award and the construction contract for the 2020 Airport Improvement Project. The 2020 Airport Improvement Projects were approved as part of the airport's bi-annual budget, and involved the following; design, construction, and construction management services for the Runway 16/34 Lighting Project, Taxiway Bravo Lighting Project, and Taxiway Bravo Overlay Project. The City advertised the projects in the Builder's Exchange and Daily Journal on May 5, 2020 with a bid due date of May 19, 2020. Lakeside Industries, Inc. came in as the lowest bidder for construction at $2,708,598.44. Staff contacted references for the contractor and the references were complimentary of their work. Staff is requesting that City Council authorize the Mayor to sign the contract with Lakeside Industries, Inc. in the amount of $2,708,598.44. Staff is also requesting the City Council authorize the Mayor and City Attorney to sign the WSDOT Airport Aid Grant Offer and FAA Grant offer subject to grant award for the 2020 Airport Improvements Project. If awarded, we expect to receive both grant awards in the coming weeks. Apparent Low Bid for 204th/77th Roundabout City Administrator Paul Ellis discussed the bid results, recommendation to award and the construction contract for the 204t" & 77th Roundabout project. Public Works Director Jim Kelly had technical difficulties, but shortly joined the meeting to finish the report. Page 2 of 6 Minutes of the City of Arlington City Council Workshop May 26, 2020 In 2018, City Staff applied for and received a grant for the Transportation Improvement Board to fund installation of a roundabout at the 204th and 771h intersection. The intersection at this location is very dangerous and has had multiple accidents and one fatality. Upgrading the intersection to a roundabout will provide needed safety and increase mobility at this very busy intersection. Design of the 204th roundabout was completed in April 2020 and the project was advertised for bid early May; bids were opened on May 21St. The preliminary bid list was provided to City Council and the lowest bidder came in from Reece Construction amounting in $2,488,904.00. Discussion followed with Mr. Kelly answering Council questions. Apparent Low Bid for 2020 Utility and Pavement Preservation Public Works Director Jim Kelly discussed the bid results, recommendation to award and the construction contract for the 2020 Utility Improvement and Pavement Preservation (UPP) Project. The City has planned capital improvement projects for the years 2018-2021 for the replacement of aged and failing water -sewer -storm infrastructure and to resurface roads in the same streets where utility improvements occur. The roads that get resurfaced are the ones listed in the TBD Pavement Preservation Plan. The capital improvements and pavement preservation for year 2020 were advertised for bid in early May and bids were opened on May 21, 2020. The preliminary bid list was given to City Council and the lowest bidder came in from J.B. Asphalt Paving amounting in $2,497,643.04. Discussion followed with Mr. Kelly stating there are concerns with bid completeness and possible bid protests. He will update with a Resolution before next Monday's City Council meeting, or the agenda item will be pulled. Construction Management Contract with KBA for 67th Rail/Trail Public Works Director Jim Kelly discussed the contract with KBA for construction management services for the BNSF Rail/Trail Project, which includes the scope of work and fee for KBA. The federally funded project is for $23,600 for the management services. In 2017 City staff applied for and received a grant from WSDOT/FHWA to fund safety improvements at 67th Avenue BNSF Railroad crossing on the Centennial Trail. The crossing at this trail location is very dangerous and is the location of numerous and severe accidents. The project will upgrade the railroad signal system to LED, install additional pedestrian lights and modify the railroad crossing approach to be more perpendicular to reduce accidents. The BNSF Rail Trail construction was bid and awarded to PNW Civil in April 2020. Due to federal funding requirements, the City is required to have an outside construction management firm manage the project. Staff advertised an RFP for CM services; three proposals were received and consultants interviews. The decision was unanimous to award the project to KBA Construction Management. Discussion followed with Mr. Kelly answering Council questions. Page 3 of 6 Minutes of the City of Arlington City Council Workshop May 26, 2020 Contract with FCS Group for EMS Fee Study Fire Chief Dave Kraski discussed a proposal and contract for an EMS Cost of Service study with FCS Group. Arlington Fire has provided EMS services to Fire Districts 19 (Silvana), 21 (Arlington Heights) and 25 (Oso) for decades. Beginning in 2019, the previous rate model was discontinued, and a cost for service model was established by the FCS Group. The current EMS contracts outline a fee study update in 2020 for the remaining two years of the contracts. The fee will be divided proportionately, based on usage, between all agencies, including Arlington. Discussion followed with Chief Kraski answering Council questions. Contract with Marysville Regional Fire Authority for Battalion Chief Services Fire Chief Dave Kraski discussed the contract renewal for Battalion Chief Services with the Marysville RFA. This request is for a renewal of services provided by the Marysville Regional Fire Authority for 24-hour Command and Control. Battalion #61 responds to Arlington to assist with larger scale incidents requiring a more complex and longer duration command presence. The original contract was initiated a year ago as a trial, and expires on June 30, 2020. The new contract is a mirror image with the exception of a slight increase in the hourly rate and duration. The new contract will continue through 2021. The rate shall be $154.50 for the remainder of the calendar year 2020 and $159.13 per hour for the calendar year 2021. Discussion followed with Chief Kraski answering Council questions. Interlocal Agreement with Snohomish County Fire District #21 for Emergent Shared Employee Fire Chief Dave Kraski discussed the emergent shared employee Interlocal agreement with Snohomish County Fire District #21. Snohomish Fire #21 recently hired its first full-time firefighters (five), and they have concern that in the event of an unexpected injury, illness, resignation, death, etc., they may have problems staffing the department. They have requested in that event, an employee from other agency be utilized. All salary and employee benefits would be reimbursed by the requesting agency. If this is activated, it would likely be Snohomish Fire #21 requesting assistance, not Arlington. Discussion followed with Chief Kraski answering Council questions. Bond Ordinance to Fund New Fire Station #48 Finance Director Kristin Garcia discussed an Ordinance authorizing the issuance of long term general obligation bonds for the construction of a new fire station. The City is in the design phase for construction of a new fire station. The design costs are being paid from accumulated capital reserves that were set aside for this purpose. The construction costs will be paid from the issuance of long term general obligation bonds. City Council must adopt an Ordinance authorizing the issuance of bonds before the City can have Page 4 of 6 Minutes of the City of Arlington City Council Workshop May 26. 2020 access to the funds. Key points of the Ordinance include: maximum dollar amount authorized is $5,500,000; funds must be used for the construction of a fire station and any costs associated with issuance of the bonds; the bonds will be issues by Sterling Bank; the interest rate on the bonds is 2.35% is fixed for the life of the bonds and is locked until 7/1/2020; if the bonds close after 7/1/2020 the rate is subject to change; the maximum interest rate authorized in the Ordinance is 2.835% and Sterling Bank Is lower than this amount; the bonds mature 12/31/2040 and the expected principal and interest payment totals $343,000. The City went through an RFP process to seek financing options for the construction of a new fire station, Sterling Bank's proposal had the most favorable terms and on March 16, 2020, the City Council authorized staff to continue working with Sterling Bank to finance the construction of the new fire station. Discussion followed with Ms. Garcia answering Council questions. April Financial Report Finance Director Kristin Garcia discussed April 2020 financial report that included the general fund operating statement, revenue charts, public safety resourcing and other fund operating statements. Sales tax revenue is being tracked on a monthly basis and on a deeper level to see what industries are most impacted. The services industry has begun to slow down a little bit. Going forward, the decrease in revenue will speed up in retail and construction for June's reporting. The EMS fund did receive some CARES Act funding; $22,020 which is specific to EMS transporting of COVID patients. They did submit for a second round of funding, but not sure as of now what that will look like but should be similar. The bond refunding was done in April, but because of the rules, it will be brought to Council at the end of the year as a budget amendment. No huge concerns for Airport revenues. Utility revenues and water, sewer and storm funds have small changes, but no big concerns either, just slowing only about five percent (5%). Call volumes in May have normalized and transport revenues won't see a big decline. The only real concern is fuel and lodging taxes. People are now working from home and most will continue to do so, as a new way of performing business. Lodging taxes may see some impacts because there isn't a lot of travel for pleasure or business, and there will be a need to think about the budget for 2021, without funding for new projects. We've committed to fund the projects that are rolling over from 2020, but may not have the funds for anything new. Discussion followed with Ms. Garcia answering Council questions. ADMINISTRATOR AND STAFF REPORTS None. MAYOR'S REPORT None. Page 5 of 6 Minutes of the City of Arlington City Council Workshop May 26, 2020 COMMENTS FROM COUNCILMEMBERS Councilmember Don Vanney asked if there would be a reduction in expenses because of City events being cancelled. Mr. Ellis stated that is possible, but because of COVID-19, we utilize the Department of Corrections for vegetation control and M&O is struggling to find the man power to maintain it until we can get that resource back. Internal back fill or a hiring of short-term external resources have been implemented. They will be maintained to a safety level. Councilmember Don Vanney asked if there was an update on the temporary light project at the Highway 530 crossing. Mayor Tolbert stated she just had a quarterly meeting with the Stillaguamish Tribe and their funding has changed due to COVID-19 and the casino being closed. Mr. Kelley is moving forward with the CEPA planning, but the funding is to be determined. There is no long-term date set for this project. COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS None. PUBLIC COMMENT None. REVIEW OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING City Council discussed and agreed to place the following items on the Consent Agenda for the June 1, 2020 Council meeting: 3. Apparent Low Bid for 2020 Airport Project 4. Apparent Low Bid for 204th/77th Roundabout 6. Construction Management Contract with KBA for 67th Rail/Trail EXECUTIVE SESSION None. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 8:17 p.m. Barbara Tolbert, Mayor Page 6 of 6