The Mountlake Terrace City Council discussed modifications to interlocal agreements with the Edmonds School District and also reviewed city financial policies at its Sept. 16 work/study session.

Since 1988, the City of Mountlake Terrace and Edmonds School District have entered into a series of mutual lease agreements for shared use at various city-owned and district-owned facilities. Such exchanges originally involved the school district billing the city for use of the gymnasium and fields at Mountlake Terrace Junior High School, which is now Terrace Park Elementary. And then the city billing the school district for use of the Recreation Pavilion’s pool and racquetball courts.

Property names and specific agreements have changed over the years, such as an amendment made seven years ago to a previous pact between the two entities that covered the operation and maintenance for the gymnasium at Terrace Park Elementary. The city and school district agreed in 2014 to add additional district facilities that the city could then utilize to help balance the district’s use of city facilities. Those included Kids Krew Before and After School sites and the Mountlake Terrace High School theater.

A new recreational facilities and services agreement between the city and district in 2018 incorporated Terrace Park’s athletic fields, the Mountlake Terrace High School theater, both Kids Krew Before and After School sites, as well as the Recreation Pavilion’s swimming pool and racquetball courts. That covenant covered everything except the Terrace Park Elementary gymnasium agreement update from four years prior.

Both city and district staff have subsequently noticed since the 2018 agreement that it was difficult for them to rectify usage because Washington state requires cities to use a calendar year budget, whereas school districts must use a September-August budget calendar. One of the proposed amendments to the interlocal agreements would clarify that administrative issue.

It also became apparent after the recreational facilities and services agreement was created four years ago that some duplication existed between it and a prior pact from 2002. As a result, both currently include the Kids Krew Before and After School sites and use of the Mountlake Terrace High School theater. The second modification proposed would eliminate those redundancies in the covenants.

City staff recommended that the council approve both amendments to the interlocal agreements with the school district. Councilmembers will vote on the proposed changes as part of the consent calendar at their regular business meeting Monday night.

In preparation for the 2021-2022 mid-biennial budget modification, in other business the council reviewed city financial policies that help guide development of the biennial budget, in even-numbered years, and also when the budget is modified, in odd-numbered years, before its second year of operation. Mid-biennial budget modifications can incorporate changes in revenues and expenditures that could not be anticipated when the current budget was adopted. The current biennial budget was adopted in fall 2020.

The city’s financial policies cover its reserves, cost recovery, debt and the prioritization of municipal services. City services are considered priorities in the order of:

• Public life, health and safety: These include police, fire, and emergency medical services; building inspections; traffic control; along with water, sewer, and storm drainage service and infrastructure maintenance.
• Legal mandates: These cover accounting, auditing, and financial reporting; and land-use planning.
• City facilities and property: Including maintenance of park land, buildings, streets, right of way, and equipment.
• Recreational, athletic, aquatic and youth programs.
• Pursuing city council and community goals.

The policies provide the city council and staff with guidelines for use in making financial decisions including budgeting and forecasting. They  are meant to ensure that core services are maintained and that the council’s vision for the community can be achieved.

The guidelines also help to ensure that residents’ tax dollars are being used in ways that are transparent and which help provide the city insulation from fiscal crisis and economic disruption. They affect municipal fund balances, cost recovery charges and fees for services or programs, utility rates, cash management and interest-bearing investments which allow for funds to accrue interest until they are later needed for operations, capital purchases or the repayment of city debt.

City Manager Scott Hugill recommended two items for the council to consider moving forward for “when we get out of the pandemic.” Those include possible changes to capital programs and purchases, and also having a future discussion about accrual-based budgeting versus cash-based budgeting. Regarding the latter topic, he noted: “That’s not a conversation that is easy to have in a remote environment” because it involves a series of calculations that can be complex and benefit from ample time for collaborative discussions and explanations.

The city is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of its facilities, parks, infrastructure and equipment. Current financial policies consider anything over $5,000 to be a capital project or purchase, which under Washington state law then requires those items to be accounted for separately. He recommended the council engage in a discussion about “increasing the threshold from the current $5,000 (to) much higher,” because of increasing costs.

For example, Hugill said that replacing five concrete sidewalk panels now costs more than that threshold and since it is then designated as a capital project or purchase, the state requires the city to track its depreciation in value over 30 years. That same capital improvement program standard also applies to maintenance work for roads and utilities. “We will be bringing to you a discussion on increasing that amount so that not every small project goes on the capital improvement program list,” he added. “It’ll still be tracked, but not necessarily in a report for the (state) auditor.”

In other business, a city council subcommittee recommended Rohit Mojumder be appointed to fill a vacant position on the Mountlake Terrace Diversity Equity and Inclusion Commission (DEIC).

Last month’s resignation of a commissioner who was moving out of the city created an interim vacancy for the position with a term that expires on June 30, 2023. Following recruitment efforts, four applicants were recently interviewed by the subcommittee.

Subcommittee member Erin Murray noted that Mojumder had previously been a strong candidate to be appointed to the commission when it was initially created last year. His latest interview really “solidified that our thoughts around him originally remained,” the councilmember said. “One of the things that stood out for us that ultimately led us to putting him forward for your consideration is that (in) his work as a program manager, he spoke a lot about his ability to work with multiple stakeholders to help them kind of solidify what their objectives are and to help move bodies of work forward.”

Both Murray and Mayor Kyoko Matsumoto Wright, who is also on the council subcommittee, said they felt fortunate that the city has so many residents who are willing to volunteer and encouraged those who weren’t selected at this time to continue their efforts to help serve the community.

Approval of the recommendation to appoint Mojumder to the DEIC for the remainder of the position’s term will be put to a council vote at Monday’s meeting.

In a discussion related to council voting and posting requirements, city staff recommended the city municipal code regarding board and commission information be updated.

Currently the code lists four posting sites for city council ordinances and notices. Information about Mountlake Terrace board and commission meetings are also required to be posted at those locations, which include City Hall, the Mountlake Terrace Library, Recreation Pavilion and Post Office.

However, the city has traditionally only posted the board and commission information about agendas and legal notices at the meeting site and online – rather than at the four locations identified in city code. Therefore, staff recommended that specific section of the code regarding notifications be amended to coincide with current practices for posting board and commission information.

The city council will hold its next regular business meeting Monday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. It will include an update from Snohomish Health District. See the agenda and information for watching/participating online here.

— By Nathan Blackwell