Mayor asks City Manager to research what can be done to give additional options for paying water bills and for Economic Development department to give an update on the gig economy in Bellevue & impacts on gig workers in the city.
Conversation
Transportation staff now telling Council how they received the 2022 National Transportation Project of the Year award for this portion of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trail, which travels over a freeway off-ramp and Factoria Blvd.
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CMs listing their nominees for boards & commissions, and I honestly don't like the extensive focus on professional qualifications like degrees. We shouldn't predicate board membership on being a high-skilled professional - anybody, regardless of background, should be able to join
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On her interim tree code, Mayor Robinson says her proposal will help improve safety by standardizing removal requirements for property owners and help the city inventory the number of trees that are coming down.
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Staff saying they modeled this proposal on Edmonds and, if Council so direct them, they could return with the ordinance next week for it to take effect June 21st.
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Responding to CM Zahn, staff confirm that a homeowner could still get the permit if they attest they're removing the tree themselves. She asks the followup of how the city is confirming that the homeowner has the skills to remove the tree themselves.
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Zahn supports further info being made available on city website around the ordinance so that homeowners don't accidentally break the rules.
Responding to CM Robertson, staff confirm the permit would cost $464 for 2 or fewer trees, $857 for 3 or more.
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Robertson says those costs are pretty small compared to what she estimates the cost of a tree removal at ($5000).
City attorney will have to get back to CM Stokes on his question on if the city would face liability if homeowner cuts a tree down after obtaining a permit.
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CM Barksdale asks if staff have an outreach plan for this proposal. They do not, but could develop one w/ Council direction.
CM Lee supports the ordinance and likes the data it would provide.
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DM Nieuwenhuis wants to ensure detailed data are being collected on what neighborhoods trees are cut down and for what reasons.
Motion to direct staff to bring back an ordinance at a future meeting passes unanimously.
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Onto the Smart Mobility discussion. In addition to the transit signal priority capability I mentioned earlier, staff say that improved software will help the management of signalling for at-grade rail crossings in BelRed.
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Staff will also unveil some data dashboards that will have trends in traffic incidents and bicycle & roadway volumes so they "can focus their attention and prioritize our city investments where they're most needed."
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Consultant on AVs: "There are some very immediate testing desires and a push for AV, but it will be a long time before AVs are widely used, owned, and operated to the point where that they displace human-driven vehicles."
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Staff would come back with a policy roadmap in Q4, examining short-term, mid-term, and long-term impacts compared with a do nothing alternative.
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DM Nieuwenhuis is excited about AVs. "This is exactly what we should be doing. Bellevue is already set up to be a leader in this space." Wants to make sure staff reach out to T-Mobile and incorporate 5G investments.
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Responding to his question on what types of pilot programs would be good for Bellevue, consultant says that low-speed shuttles complementing transit could be good. DM would support autonomous employee shuttles.
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CM Zahn emphasizing safety & mobility for all. Appreciates staff's relationships w/ AV companies over the last several years. Likes transit signal priority, asks if that could be integrated w/ school buses b/c of significant congestion when school lets out.
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Also asks if Visit Bellevue, who has apparently been interested in a fixed shuttle service around the city, would be a good partner for an AV pilot. Staff are indeed looking at proposals around DT circulator routes and seeing if it fits in with AV work.
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Re: her school bus question, staff say it would require outfitting the vehicles with tech they don't currently have, but that they're looking at sharing post-school time traffic data with school district.
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CM Lee emphasizes the importance of working w/ companies that will help the city achieve its goals. Would support a pilot program in the city.
CM Robertson wants emphasis on security & reliability, and suggests using the MyBellevue app to communicate traffic cameras & data.
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Now onto the Parks Levy. There's gonna be a lot more on this over the next month or so, so I'm curious just how much each discussion is actually going to advance the proposal. Exact property tax rate discussion to come at end of June, July will have draft ballot language
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Trails are overwhelmingly the most used type of parks facility. Staff also say they're using an equity lens in looking at park investments, looking at historically underresourced neighborhoods and populations.
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After their feedback process, Parks Board came back with the following recommendations. They also recommended prioritized investments in land acquisitions and urged the Council to move "with haste" given the city's growth.
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The meat of the discussion tonight will be on these project categories, which will be the buckets in which individual projects (still TBD) will be held.
Responding to CM Barksdale, staff note the categories provide flexibility & specificity "so voters know what they're buying."
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CM Stokes wants to make sure staff are being intentional in defining equity b/c that framework and project selection will define how voters view the levy. Responding on validity of data, staff feel confident in their statistically-valid survey.
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CM Robertson supports the categories and wants staff to look into getting maintenance & operations back at the level before COVID cuts, separate from this levy.
CM Lee is concerned Cross-Cultural Center isn't being given enough consideration, Mayor points out it's on the slide.
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CM Zahn will want to know how firmly the levy money will tied to each category, wants the public to be able to comment on project list. Wants to add a category for "green building green fleets" that would help environmental stewardship implementation.
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Staff are saying that it doesn't need to be its own category, that green priorities are in all of the categories. CM Zahn clarifies that she's talking about retrofitting of old buildings & separating those investments from new investments.
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DM Nieuwenhuis supports the categories as is. Mayor Robinson seems to support adding a category for Equity & Sustainability. CM Barksdale likes the idea and would appreciate details on the equity analysis that staff conducts.
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CM Stokes notes that Council's looking at project categories, and that it's hard to incorporate policies & "how we do them" into a project category.
CM Robertson agrees & says the parks levy "doesn't have to be all things for all people."
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CM Lee & DM Nieuwenhuis agree with previous concerns, latter says it might cloud the understanding of what the levy is about, is happy w/ staff saying they incorporate universal design & sustainability in what they do.
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CM Zahn counters that community has been speaking about the importance of sustainability & says she doesn't see green retrofits in the CIP. Staff respond that retrofits can often be more than just green components, which is why language is vague, but it's something they consider.
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Responding to Mayor, staff note that they do already have some funds allocated for (some) asset replacement. Zahn says this is the crux of her comment, on how this levy could be used to fund things that aren't.
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Stokes says Council need to have a discussion on the policies around greening fleets & buildings but doesn't think this is the time. Robertson agrees and calls out Zahn for "throwing shade" by implying CMs don't care about sustainability.
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CM Zahn withdraws her motion after it's pointed out by Mayor that there's not a majority of support on the Council. Categories as presented by staff pass unanimously.
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Now onto the first annual presentation on implementation of Council priorities. Staff are happy with the progress of implementation so far, noting how they've started 96% of the actions across the 3-year plan.
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Staff are looking to more readily share implementation of the Council priorities with the community, including quarterly data dumps and a dashboard where residents can track progress.
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General comments of support for the report & dashboard from each CM, Zahn in particular recommends more detail on where which actions that have been completed fall in terms of category.
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Because of the Council retreat this weekend, there'll be no Council meeting on Monday, so next meeting will be Tuesday, June 21st (since Monday the 20th will be the observed holiday for Juneteenth).
With that reminder, meeting's adjourned. Thanks for reading!
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