HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-04-15 City Council Minutes Approved Anacortes City Council Minutes - April 15, 2022
Call to Order
Mayor Matt Miller called to order the advertised special meeting of the Anacortes City Council at 8:08 a.m.
Councilmembers Jeremy Carter,Ryan Walters,Anthony Young,Christine Cleland-McGrath, Carolyn Moulton,
Bruce McDougall and Amanda Hubik were present. The retreat was facilitated by Kevin Meenaghan of
Wardroom Success Strategies. Planning Director Don Measamer, Administrative Services Director Emily
Schuh,Finance Director Steve Hoglund, Fire Chief Bill Harris,Police Chief Dave Floyd, Children's Librarian
Leslie Wilson,Parks Director Jonn Lunsford,Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer, City Attorney Darcy
Swetnam, and Museum Director Bret Lunsford also participated. Members of the public connected to the
meeting via Zoom at various points during the day. ["Charles""Cyndi Walters""Charles"]
Mr. Meenaghan reviewed the agenda for the day which included:
• Team development
• Governance and OPMA discussion
• Pre-retreat interview feedback
• Skill-building
• Budget priorities discussion
Team Development
Attendees participated in small group icebreaking and team building exercises introduced by Mr.
Meenaghan .
Governance and OPMA discussion
Mr. Meenaghan invited councilmembers to share their reasons for undertaking elected public service.
Mr. Meenaghan guided a discussion of legislative and administrative/executive roles, communication between
branches of government, and the mechanics of agenda setting. Several councilmembers requested that regular
look ahead agendas be made available to councilmembers and the public. City Attorney Darcy Swetnam briefly
reviewed the Open Public Meetings Act and recent legislative updates regarding OPMA.
Pre-retreat interview feedback
Mr. Meenaghan shared with the group the trends and observations that appeared in his one-on-one pre-retreat
interviews with each of the elected and staff participants.
Budget Update
Finance Director Steve Hoglund shared a slide deck summarizing 2021 budget performance,revenue trends and
the 2023 budget development.
The attendees broke for lunch from 12:10 to 12:55.
Skill-building
Mr. Meenaghan led the group through an active listening exercise.
Budget priorities discussion
Mr. Meenaghan asked each councilmember to share their top three focus areas. He then asked each
department head and then each councilmember to share their top three budget priorities for 2023.
Anacortes City Council Minutes -April 15, 2022 1
Amanda: housing, the environment and its impact on human health and wellness, and jobs
Carolyn: infrastructure including parks and trails, housing and social services, and local business
Anthony: economic development, local retail opportunities, and community diversity, and a
convention center
Bruce: municipal fiber, carbon neutrality, affordable housing, and economic diversity
Christine: pavement, housing, early childhood care, fiber, and setting realistic community budget
expectations, Guemes Channel Trail, and the city website
Ryan: housing and human services, building back better from COVID, capital project planning, and
governance through the municipal code
Jeremy: public safety, transportation infrastructure, economic development
Department Head budgetary priorities:
Don: fill open staff positions, create an economic development strategic plan, the next comprehensive
plan update, add one FTE for stormwater plans review and inspection
Emily: adequate resources for risk management, transitioning back to live court proceedings including
community court
Bill: additional FTEs at Station 1, a standards of coverage study, exploring partnerships with Fire
District 13, and construction of Fire Station 3
Dave: building officer staffing to at least the statewide level of 1.7 per 1000 residents, animal impound
planning, and staffing support for expanding court sessions including city prosecution services
Bret: re-establishing full staffing and full programming following COVID
Darcy: continuing support for all departments for contracting, records management including
Laserfiche, and legal representation, staff development, and prosecution services
Fred: stormwater, wastewater, specifically the incinerator, and water rights
Jonn: maintain staffing levels, and accommodating donor generosity for new facilities
Leslie: maintaining the supplies/book budget, maintaining the relationships with the foundations that
fund programs, and maintaining the training budget
Steve: maintain services without increasing costs, and implementing OpenGov efficiently
Councilmember budgetary priorities:
Ryan: fund pavement management at or beyond established level, fiber funding per plan
Bruce: ditto, and police and fire FTEs
Christine: pavement, fiber, staffing needs in other departments
Jeremy: community center,police and fire staffing and equipment, Guemes Island Trail
Carolyn: meet current commitments for pavement and fiber, keep parks and library and museum strong
Amanda: staffing levels, community center, fiber
Anthony: economic development
Ryan: what about looking at new revenue? Like a library district, and stormwater review fees...
Adjournment
There being no further business, at approximately 2:55 p.m. the Anacortes City Council meeting of April 15,
2022 was adjourned.
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