City Manager’s Weekly Report
for week ending August 14, 2020

Comprehensive Plan Docket Public Hearing Scheduled. The annual City of Normandy Park Comprehensive Plan docketing process – like all Washington state cities planning under the state’s Growth Management Act – addresses public and/or private proposals approved by the City Council for discussion, potential amendment, and possible adoption.  Comprehensive Plan docket items are completed within the calendar year that items are docketed, or must be re-docketed in a subsequent year. The Planning Commission will hold its first public hearing on this year’s Comprehensive Plan Docket on Aug. 20th at 7p.m. The public hearing is only available through Zoom Webinar at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87933176039.

Public Comments for the Public Hearing will be taken prior to the meeting by email (the preferred method) and during the meeting, which will be held remotely, as provided under the Governor’s Emergency Proclamation. Any items may be discussed and acted upon at such Planning Commission, or subsequent Council meetings, per the Fifth Update of the Governor’s Proclamation (June 1), within the normal legislative limits for those appointed and elected bodies. See http://mrsc.org/getmedia/cd49d242-be52-4982-95ee-804ae74c7f16/w3agcoronaopma5ud.aspx. These provisions are now extended through September 1, and will almost certainly be extended beyond that date. See https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2020%20covid%20extension%20to%20sept%201%20REVISED.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Specifically, Attorney General’s Office guidance pertaining to the Governor’s Emergency Proclamation Fifth Update is as follows:

  1. In light of this COVID-19 event, what questions should an agency be asking itself if it has concerns about virus transmissions and a public meeting and before it proceeds with holding a current meeting or schedules a future meeting, when the meeting is required to be open to the public under the OPMA? In response to this question, the March 6, 2020 guidance had described several general considerations for agency meetings subject to the OPMA, prior to the issuance of a proclamation related to the OPMA and as COVID-19 events were just getting underway. Then, as events progressed, the March 26, 2020 OPMA guidance had revised the March 6, 2020 response and described that under the proclamation in effect at that time, agencies needed to specifically ask if the matter on which they were taking “action” in their remote meetings was (1) “necessary and routine,” or (2) “necessary to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak and current public health emergency.” Revision: The response to Question # 1 in the March 26, 2020 guidance is hereby revised. An agency governing body subject to the OPMA can meet for “action” as defined in the OPMA. Proclamation 20-28.4 no longer limits agency governing body’s “action” under the OPMA to only those matters that are “necessary and routine” or “necessary to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak and current public health emergency” as was the case in the prior proclamations. “Action” is defined in the OPMA as “the transaction of the official business of a public agency by a governing body including but not limited to receipt of public testimony, deliberations, discussions, considerations, reviews, evaluations, and final actions.” RCW 42.30.020(3). “Final action” means “a collective positive or negative decision, or an actual vote by a majority of the members of a governing body when sitting as a body or entity, upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order, or ordinance.” Id.

This issue has been legitimately confusing, but the current status is definitive.  Currently, the city can conduct its business without restriction remotely, as long as the city provides for public participation.

Donations for Playground Equipment at Nist Park.  Currently, the City of Normandy Park has administratively received over $8000 of community donations for playground equipment at Nist Park. Per the Normandy Park Municipal Code, any donation that exceeds $5000 will be reviewed by Council, but so far no donation has exceeded the threshold amount. Parks Director Amanda Leon is ordering swing set equipment first, and then, as donation allows, a long slide, just like the equipment described and pictured in the Parks Recreation and Open Space Plan adopted by the City Council in 2018. There seems to be a lot of energy around this grassroots donative effort. The equipment will likely be installed by city and manufacturer supervised volunteers. To review the PROS Plan pertaining to Nist Park, see pp.42-43 (small print at bottom of document pages) of the 2018 City of Normandy Park Parks Recreation and Open Space Plan: https://normandypark.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/37376?preview=39060

FEMA Heat Watch.  There is a FEMA excessive heat watch August 14 at 3:15AM PDT until August 16 at 9:00PM PDT. FEMA says to stay in an air conditioned room, stay out of the sun, check up on relatives and neighbors (by phone ?, my edit), do not leave young children and pets unattended in any vehicle (car interiors in this weather can reach “lethal” temperatures). Be prepared to drink plenty of fluids.

Have a nice weekend!

Mark E. Hoppen, City Manager
City of Normandy Park
801 SW 174th Street
Normandy Park, WA 98166
(206) 248-8246 (Direct Phone)