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2011 State of the City Address

 


2011 State of the City Address

 

Mayor Pro-Tem Jeff Wagner:

I am honored to be here today to report on the state of our city.

At a time when cities across the state and nation are still wrestling with some of the most difficult economic times and uncertainties, the City of Covington has remained strong and optimistic and we are still planning enthusiastically for our future.

As we look back over the past year, we will also look forward. We will look at our accomplishments and we will look at our future and where we are going.

So, what is the state of our city? Well, we’ve learned to do more with less. We’ve forged new partnerships that will undoubtedly have lasting, positive impacts. And, we’ve retained a tremendous staff that is helping Covington to maintain resilience in these tough times.

This past year, your city council:

  • Passed a one-year moratorium on medical marijuana gardens and dispensaries

  • Directed creation of a multi-year public engagement process

  • Modified existing city codes to reduce restrictions on temporary banners and re-roofing at the request of citizens and business owners

  • Initiated the Destination Covington Event, an event aimed at fostering economic development relationships and identifying development opportunities

Now, I welcome Derek Matheson, Covington’s City Manager, to tell you more about our recent accomplishments, current issues and projects, and future challenges.

 

City Manager Derek Matheson:

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem Wagner, and thank you for having us.

When we were here a year ago, we talked about the struggling economy and its impact on the city’s resources. Well, the economy hasn’t gotten any better.  In fact, economic growth has slowed significantly this year. But, despite the economy, and despite the chaos at higher levels of government, we’ve made progress and we’re on the lookout for new opportunities.

 

Partnerships

The city council and staff have placed a heavy emphasis on strengthening existing and forging new partnerships. Here are a few examples of our efforts and successes this past year:

  • We’ve entered into what are called Interlocal Cooperation Agreements with Black Diamond and Maple Valley
    • The Black Diamond agreement provides Building Official and Code Enforcement Services to BD, which allows us to increase staff hours and allows Black Diamond to bridge the gap between now and when that city hires staff to manage its coming master planned developments

    • Our agreement with Maple Valley -- and hopefully BD joins it soon -- provides for shared Public Works maintenance services. For example, our maintenance crew provided asphalt patching services throughout Maple Valley and their crews provided slope mowing services throughout Covington this summer.  The cities have cooperatively bid street sweeping and storm sewer cleaning services, as well.
  • We signed a sublease with the King County Sheriff’s Office
    • Later this fall, the Sheriff’s office will relocate its East Precinct Command Center from Maple Valley to Sammamish and open a SE Satellite Facility in Covington’s City Hall

    • This sublease agreement will double the number of police officers based out of Covington

    • And KC will pay us $32K annually for the privilege

  • We initiated joint meetings with our utilities.
    • The City Council met with the Covington Water District Board of Commissioners and the Soos Creek Water and Sewer District Board this past March

    • The purpose was to brief the utilities on the city’s Town Center vision, and for the utilities to brief the city on their plans to provide infrastructure to support the vision

    • One positive outcome of the meeting is that staff from the city and Water District formed a work group that is looking at ways the city and district can work together better

  • We’ve also partnered with volunteers, which has allowed us to, among other things:
    • Reopen the lower meadow at Jenkins Creek Park

    • Clean-up graffiti around the city
      • On a side note, we even put one of our most prolific taggers behind bars this year

One of the most important partnerships that cannot be overlooked is with our residents and businesses. Already in the planning stages, the city is developing a Public Engagement Process that will center on an advisory committee consisting of residents, businesses and youth. The goal of the PEP is to identify the city’s capital and operating budget priorities and decide whether to approach voters about funding the highest unmet priorities.  You can expect to hear a lot more about the PEP in the coming weeks.

 

Legislation

We did surprisingly well during this past legislative session. With the State’s drastic budget cuts, obtaining new funding was off the table and retaining existing funding seemed impossible. But, with the help of outstanding state legislators, we managed to keep $2.3 million in state money that was very much at risk.

  • We protected $1 million to design our Highway 516, Jenkins Creek to 185th, improvements

  • We protected our $700,000 earmark to build Covington Community Park, and

  • We protected the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program and our $500,000 WWRP grant for the park

  • We also dodged two major bullets right before the legislative session when two liquor privatization initiatives failed, which allowed the city to retain about $200k a year in liquor profits and taxes

 

Internal/Staff

Though our staffing levels have shrunk in recent years, we’ve manage to retain high quality employees who care about Covington and are taking us to the next level.

  • We promoted Richard Hart from Planning Manager to Community Development Director this spring and quickly saw the positive effects of that decision

  • Ross Junkin, who was a construction inspector, was promoted to Maintenance Supervisor – a core position in the Public Works Department

  • In addition, several of our staff members have been appointed to professional boards across the region where they lead their respective industries, and several staff have earned certification and accreditation in their fields


Financial Management

We continue to make great strides in managing the city’s finances.

I am happy to report that the city brought in more money in 2010 than we spent, and our credit rating improved -- at a time when even nations’ credit ratings are sinking.  This is due to exemplary financial management from top to bottom, from the City Council to our finance department to our department heads and to every staff member.

  • In fact, the State Auditor’s Office recently completed the city’s annual audit — an audit so perfect the auditor canceled the customary exit conference

  • In addition, the Finance Department earned an award for the city’s 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report from the Government Finance Officers Association

Some cost-saving measures we have implemented, in addition to those I’ve already mentioned, include:

  • We held the line on employee salaries

  • Moved to a less expensive employee medical benefits plan

  • Migrated our retirement system to a new company, which lowered fees substantially

  • Converted to a less expensive payroll system

  • We entered into a new contract with our city attorney, a contract that provides more services at less cost

  • Entered into a new jail services contract with the South Correctional Entity, or “SCORE” and its new regional jail in Des Moines - The contract reduces our current fees of more than $200 per inmate per day plus more than $300 per inmate per booking at King County’s jail facilities to just $125 per inmate per day, period, at SCORE

  • Developed a new city website, bringing content management services in-house, which has improved our communications efforts and saved about $5,000 annually

  • Began offering pet licensing services at City Hall, to help offset animal services costs

  • Increased cost recovery by 4 percent at the Aquatics Center

  • Established a reservation system for picnic shelters and tables in our parks

 

Development

City Hall isn’t the only place where great things are happening.  We are seeing some exciting development projects coming to life in Covington. Perhaps the most visible is MultiCare’s 24/7 Emergency Department (and, soon, hospital).  We’ve seen a new Airstream dealership next to Highway 18, a new Big Lots, and a new Big 5, as well.  And, thanks to the hard work of property managers, there is very little vacant commercial space in the city.

We’ve approved development plans for many new projects including: a dental clinic on Wax Road, a Firestone tire store near Walmart, a Pink Elephant Car Wash near Jack in the Box, a Fred Meyer Gas Station near – you guessed it – Fred Meyer, a new subdivision by Cedar Heights Middle School, and a new AT&T Wireless Store near city hall.

And, of course, we’re working with Valley Medical Center to bring their new 24/7 Emergency Department to life.

All of this activity, and the associated revenue, has allowed is to rehire some of staff we were forced to lay off in 2009.

Back at City Hall, we

  • Completed our Highway 516, Wax Road to Jenkins Creek project – entirely through grant funding – as part of our continuing effort to widen 516 from the west to east city limits

  • Completed 65% design of Covington Community Park.  We have the funds to build phase one next year if we can figure out how to pay for ongoing maintenance

  • Made improvements to sign code enforcement, including a new program aimed at illegal temporary signs, and created public information brochures with guidelines for real estate and political signs

  • Established an improved priority classification system for resolving code enforcement complaints city-wide

 

On The Horizon

So, how will we continue down this path of sustainability? We’ll continue to do what we’ve been doing.

  • We’ll pursue new development through this fall’s Destination Covington event, which will bring together property managers, developers, real estate agents and industry leaders to learn about why Covington is the place to be

  • We’ll proceed with design of the Highway 516, Jenkins Creek to 185th project

  • We’ll proceed with Covington Community Park

  • We’ll pursue grant funding wherever possible

  • We’ll make technology upgrades to increase the city’s efficiency

  • We’ll roll out the public engagement process I mentioned earlier to solidify our budget priorities

 

Conclusion

Covington, as a city, is young. We don’t have an extensive history to look back on. We don’t have a lot of benchmarks to compare our progress with. We are creating our history now and as we move forward.

We plan to seize opportunities that make sense. We plan to keep our neighborhoods safe, our streets repaired, and our grounds maintained. And, we plan to survive this economy. 

But, our plans require continued and increased community support. Just like I mentioned earlier…our most important partnership, above all others, is with you.