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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/31/2017 04 2016 Strategic Priorities Review xs .1 5 4 s n. BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. 4. For Meeting of: January 31, 2017 ITEM TITLE: Review 2016 Strategic Priorities SUBMITTED BY: Cliff Moore, City Manager SUMMARY EXPLANATION: ITEM BUDGETED: STRATEGIC PRIORITY: APPROVED FOR r SUBMITTAL: City Manager STAFF RECOMMENDATION: BOARD/COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: ATTACHMENTS: Description Upload Date Type D 2016 priority list 1/25/2017 Co r Memo D priority updates 1125!2017 Cow'Memo Council Goals - Management Action Plan Priority Goal Council Staff Lead Other Depts Cmte Engineering,Finance, 1 Downtown plaza Economic Dev Econ.Dev Info Systems,Public Works,Police,Com. Relations 2 School sidewalk grants NCBC Engineering Finance,Com.Dev., Public Works 3 Eastside pool and parks NCBC Public Works Finance,City Manager Police,Com.Dev., 4 Neighborhood outreach NCBC City Manager Finance,Public Works, Com.Relations Gang and at risk youth diversion and Police,Legal,Com. 5 Public Safety City Manager intervention Dev. 6 Youth commission Partnership City Manager Clerk,Police,Public Works,Com.Relations 7 Deliverables/reports for city grants Partnership Finance Clerk Legal,Finance,Econ. 8 Port district Economic Dev City Manager Dev.,Airport,Com. Relations 9 Wage theft enforcement options NCBC Legal 10 Homeless strategy and program options NCBC Com.Dev Public Works,Police, Legal 11 Business incubator Economic Dev Econ.Dev City Manager,Finance 12 Bike lanes NCBC Engineering Public Works,Com. Dev. 13 Cultural awareness Partnership Human ALL Resources 14 Multicultural center Partnership City Manager TBD 15 Cannabis regulations and zoning NCBC Com.Dev Legal 16 Historic district NCBC Com.Dev Econ.Dev.,Legal Legal,Public Works, 17 North First Street NCBC Engineering Com.Dev.,Finance, Econ.Dev. 18 Ethics Committee NCBC Legal Clerk,City Manager, Human Resources Update on 2016 Council Strategic Priorities (priority ranking order) 1. Downtown Plaza At the January 10, 2017 Yakima City Council meeting, the Council agreed to a December 31, 2017 timeline for $9,000,000 to be pledged and under contract with a 5-year payment timeframe by the private sector to complete the funding package for the project. The Council also appointed Council members Dulce Gutierrez, Carmen Mendez and Maureen Adkison as liaisons to the plaza funding committee. In first quarter 2017, City staff will complete the SEPA process for the project and finalize the coordination of the utility relocation work. 2. School Sidewalk Grants In 2015, the City was awarded two Safe Routes to School grants. The grants supply funds for the construction of sidewalks and other safety amenities near Garfield Elementary, Adams Elementary and Washington Middle School. These projects should be constructed this summer. Last fall, the City applied for Safe Routes to School grants around McClure Elementary and McKinley Elementary. The Engineering Division recently received notification that the City had secured those grants, therefore, design of these projects will be underway in the near future for potential construction in 2018. The City also received a $500,000 Complete Streets grant from the Transportation Improvement Board. The funds will be used to install sidewalks near five elementary schools. Four of the projects will tie into and lengthen the sidewalks constructed by the Safe Routes to School grants. The projects are: construct sidewalk on one side of Swan Avenue from McGuiness Park to Campbell Lane; construct sidewalk on both sides of Race Street, where missing, from 8th Street to Naches Avenue; construct sidewalk on the south side of Prasch Avenue from 20th Avenue to 16th Avenue; construct sidewalk on the south side of Viola Avenue from 10th Avenue to 4th Avenue; and, construct sidewalk on the west side of Powerhouse Road from Robertson Elementary to Englewood Avenue. Staff will continue to seek funding to build and improve sidewalks near schools. 3. Eastside pool and parks The possibility of building a public swimming pool on the eastside of Yakima P a n e 1 13 has been a point of discussion for Council and the community over the past few years. Early construction cost estimates for a high-quality multi- purpose outdoor pool is approximately $2.75 million. This is based on a 3,900 sq. ft. outdoor leisure pool built in 2005 in Lewisville, Texas consisting of: • Zero-depth entry • Double-looped waterslide • Recreational water amenities for children • Three spraygrounds, totaling 1,450 sq. ft., equipped with aquatic features such as drenching tumble buckets and raindrop water umbrellas • Aquatic playground with scaled-down slides The entire aquatic facility, including parking, sat on approximately 4.2 acres. This information was provided by Counsilman — Hunsaker, the swimming pool consultant that designed the Lewisville pool and recently evaluated the City of Yakima's Lions Pool. Staff estimates that if a similar outdoor pool were to be built here, it could generate close to $60,000 in revenue per year to help offset approximately $150,000 in annual operational costs. Maintenance costs would also need to be factored into the total annual cost to operate and maintain the proposed outdoor pool. The revenue source for both the construction cost of the proposed outdoor pool and its annual operational and maintenance cost would need to be determined. Sufficient parking will also need to be addressed as part of this proposed project. Once funding sources are identified, it is then recommended that if the City is to proceed forward with this project, a Public Advisory Committee be formed to gather valuable input from city residents to best determine the desired amenities and the location of the proposed outdoor pool. In the meanwhile, the City is continuing to pursue what has become a lengthy "conversion process" from the Recreation & Conservation Office of the State of Washington (RCO) that would allow for the construction of the YMCA aquatic/fitness center on 7.5 acres at Chesterley Park and the construction of a new 31 acre public City park next to the SOZO Sports Complex. The City is tentatively scheduled to attend the RCO Board meeting in May to determine the outcome and final decision from RCO. In accordance with the contract between the City and the YMCA, if the RCO conversion is successful, the City is to bond for $4.5 million for the construction of the City's share of the proposed new YMCA aquatic facility. In addition, the City would still need to identify approximately P an e 2 13 $300,000 for the City's share of the pool's annual operational expenditures beginning in the second half of 2019 or in early 2020. However, should the RCO conversion prove to be unsuccessful, the YMCA aquatic/fitness center project would not proceed forward and the current contract with the YMCA would expire. Should that happen, Council could determine whether funding for the construction of an eastside pool would be available or not. 4. Neighborhood Outreach Aside from efforts being undertaken by the Council's Neighborhood and Community Building Committee, the Neighborhood Outreach strategic initiative established by the City Council in 2016 could be further considered and developed by the Community Integration Exploratory Committee during the committee's one-year process that will occur during 2017. The committee could explore potential, tangible goals that could assist in meeting the Council's Neighborhood Outreach strategic initiative objective. The committee could focus on policies, programs, events, services, partnerships, etc. that could serve to help bridge real and perceived divides in the community and help foster greater cooperation, understanding, and unity within the community. Council may wish to consider the involvement of the Community Integration Exploratory Committee in implementing the Council's Neighborhood Outreach strategic initiative. Yakima Police Department reaches out to the community through a variety of events and activities including: National Night Out, annual open house, citizen academy in both English and Spanish for adults and youth, and through involvement with the schools. 5. Gang and at risk youth diversion and intervention For all intents and purposes, the contract with the Yakima Police Activities League (YPAL) serves as the primary city effort at engaging at risk youth with a view to reducing gang activities. At Council's request, the contract with YPAL for 2017 was reviewed and modified to bring a broader array of services to be delivered by the agency at the Washington Fruit Community Center at Miller Park. The revised contract will engage approximately 200 youth in evidence-based prevention and intervention services designed to mitigate the effects of the environmental influences that inhibit the ability to thrive in school or home environment. Project strategies include: outreach, targeting 200 chronically truant youth and their families, life skills training, academic support and instruction aimed at improving school success, and positive youth development programs including increased P an e 3 13 mentoring opportunities, culinary arts, wrestling, and boxing for up to 60 youth. Case management including home visits, referrals, and family advocacy services will also be provided for up to 20 of the highest risk youth and their families. YPAL utilizes a Youth Services Coordinator (YSC) to conduct targeted outreach and provide service coordination. The YSC works collaboratively with school district representatives, law enforcement and other community-based organizations to identify potential program participants, construct Individualized Service Plans (ISP) for each participant and coordinate the implementation of the ISP over the project period. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaire, along with other diagnostic and screening tools administered by the partners will facilitate the case management candidate's identification. The YSC to conducts outreach and coordination activities which are both prevention and intervention in nature. The focus of the outreach services is to increase awareness of the project, youth problem behaviors, and how to avoid them. Screening is intended to link participants to appropriate prevention/intervention services both internal and throughout our partnership network. Targeted outreach will be established to identify highest risk youth. The YSC will collect vital information necessary for the development of Individualized Service Plans (ISP) for each of the 30 participants and will perform the following routine tasks: • Identify participant needs and goals to aid in the development of a comprehensive intervention plan-ISP. • Coach and provide role models/mentors for each participant. • Coordinate appropriate crisis responses to participants following episodes of violence. • Provide assistance to families in distress, ranging from accessing alcohol/drug/mental health services to helping resolve family conflicts with appropriate referrals. • Visit participants who become incarcerated during the project period and helping to reconnect them to services when they are released from custody. • Resolve conflicts and/or mediating between participant, families, peers, and/or agencies. • Act as a liaison between participant and service providers/schools to facilitate participant access to services. • Work with clients who are seeking employment; from helping develop resumes to identifying their skills and qualifications to helping participants apply for jobs or work with workforce services programs. The Positive Youth Development (PYD) program opportunities (mentoring and culinary arts) will begin on or around the first week of February, 2017. P e 4 13 The culinary arts program follows an 11 week lesson plan with lessons occurring twice weekly for 60 to 90 minutes each. Culinary arts are further augmented by nutritional education and healthy lifestyle food choices provided by a Nutrition Education Assistant with WSU extension staff. PYD classes are led by skilled instructors with experience teaching content to children and youth. Classes will consist of no more than 10 participants per cohort. The culinary program will capitalize on the past involvement with Junior League, featuring their healthy cookbooks and curriculum designed to educate children and parents on making healthy living choices. Once a month, on a Thursday evening, a local chef will be chosen to "cook" with the combined cohorts, demonstrating healthy food preparation. This activity will be ongoing every month. A mentoring program will be phased in as volunteers and participant numbers increase. Traditional YPAL programs, such as wrestling and boxing, will continue on a seasonal basis, offering activities for a period of 22 consecutive weeks and made available to a minimum of 60 project participants. Certified volunteer coaches will provide basic [developmentally appropriate] instruction in each sport. Both sports opportunities will emphasize the importance of sportsmanship both in and outside the "ring." The project will provide all the necessary safety equipment at no cost to the participant. While in season, "practice" will take place at least twice weekly for a period of 50 minutes. Life skills classes will continue throughout the school year. Each class will consist of no less than 5 and no more than 10 participants with priority given to youth receiving case management. Life skills is curriculum-based with eleven (11) 45-50 minute sessions that will be offered at each school and at YPAL in 2017. The life skills curriculum, the Violence Prevention Project (VPP), is a prevention program whose aim is to prevent violence by enhancing the conflict-resolution skills of both male and female middle and high school students aged 12 to 16. This is accomplished primarily by working on participant communication and relationship-building skills. VPP's other goals are to address the social setting in which violence occurs and to improve academic performance. Participants' tolerance for aggression and violence is lowered by targeting the environment and teaching students about group dynamics. Academic performance is improved by building students' self-concept and working on goal setting. Academic Support [Tutoring] is an intervention providing academic and nonacademic development for the 30 high risk participants in support of P a n e 5 13 their school reintegration and completion needs. Daily tutoring sessions will be available each day of operation throughout the academic year. Positive Youth Development (PYD) activities, which can be both prevention and intervention in nature but also aim to provide high risk participants with alternatives to what they seek through antisocial behavior. 6. Youth Commission In 2011, the City Council added two youth positions to the Parks & Recreation Commission. These are two-year terms and require applicants to be between 16 and 22 years of age at the time of appointment. Staff is seeking Council direction on additional efforts to encourage the involvement of youth in City government. 7. Deliverables/reports for city grants Council expressed a desire to receive more frequent, reliable, and consistent reporting from organizations that receive City funding either through operating agreements or professional services agreements. To provide this accountability information, the Economic Development Manager is contacting each organization the City contracts with and ask for the reporting guidelines outlined below. All newly written contracts will include this information in the agreements. For each operating agreement (Capitol Theatre, Yakima Valley Trolley, Convention Center) the City will ask that a representative from the organization make two annual 10 minute presentations to Council updating the Council on performance issues and items related to their respective operating agreement. For each organizational funding agreement (Yakima County Development Association, Rural Community Development Resources, Downtown Association of Yakima), the City will ask for bi-annual reports relating to the terms in the agreement. For each event funding agreement (4th of July, Cinco De Mayo, Downtown Summer Nights), the City will include language asking the organizer to give a written report to the Council within 30 days of the event including attendance and financial outcomes. The applicant would not be eligible for funding in the future if the report is not submitted on time. 8. Port District P a n e 6 13 Exploring the potential of a public authority district as a tool to support economic development and enhance Yakima's competitiveness to attract and retain businesses is included in the draft City of Yakima Economic Strategic Plan. The plan will be presented to the Yakima City Council for consideration at the February 7, 2017 council meeting. The core project team for this initiative will be led by the business community (represented by Yakima County Development Association, Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce, and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Yakima) and assisted by the City Manager, City Attorney, Economic Development Department and Yakima Air Terminal representatives. The plan includes a 4th quarter 2017 timeline for the completion of a document that will evaluate the process to establish a port district or other public authority district, an investigation of Washington State laws and an evaluation of pros and cons for establishing a district. 9. Wage Theft Enforcement Options The City Council appointed seven city residents to the Exploratory Committee on "Ethics and Equal Rights" in November, 2016. The Committee was directed to examine various community issues that affect fairness in the city and prepare a report at the end of the year with recommendations. One of the issues cited in the examples of community issues for examination was "wage theft". The Ethics and Equal Rights Committee meets monthly. In January and February they are meeting every two weeks to get the project started. They will make quarterly reports to the Council Neighborhood and Community Building Committee. 10. Homeless strategy and program options The City of Yakima has historically taken a long-term view on developing a strategy to improve housing opportunities for low income residents and those individuals who become homeless. Between 2005 and 2016, using HOME and CDBG funds, the city invested $12,032,571 in affordable housing projects in our community. That investment contributed to the creation of 1,303 affordable housing units in Yakima. In addition, many senior aged residents have been able to stay in their homes and delay entry into assisted care, thereby preserving their independence and saving the families the expense of advanced care facilities or becoming homeless seniors. Typically, city funds support projects that have a variety of funding sources and often, that city contribution is the final piece of the funding puzzle that enables a project to move forward. Many formerly homeless individuals are now residing, or have resided in the 1,303 units the city helped support. In concert with the city's long-term housing strategy, for more than a decade, Yakima County, through its Human Services division, was the P ane 7 13 lead agency in receiving local, state and federal funds to provide services for individuals who are described as "chronically homeless". Many of these individuals struggle with mental and physical health issues, chemical dependency and post-traumatic stress disorder. Through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process, the county provided funds to a variety of non- profit entities in the Yakima Valley to enable the provision of shelter, treatment, permanent supported housing and case management for the chronically homeless. As a general rule, this process was well understood by providers and the homeless community, and it functioned reasonably well. Annual Point In Time surveys of the homeless population suggest that over the past decade, the total number of unsheltered individuals has declined modestly, but there is no doubt that there are still a number of unsheltered individuals in the Valley. While previously homeless individuals have been helped to find a positive pathway forward, other members of our community have fallen into homelessness and they need support and services. In 2015, the county disbanded its Human Services division and handed the lead agency responsibility for the management of local, state and federal funds and the provision of homeless services to the Yakima Valley Conference of Governments (YVCOG). For reasons that are complex and varied, YVCOG has not been able to fully replicate and implement the program previously managed by the county and as a result, the issue of serving the unsheltered in the city of Yakima has become extremely problematic. Without mandate and without funding, the city did step in and authorize a homeless encampment on city property from July through mid- November 2016. That encampment closed as the winter cold-weather shelters opened in the community on November 15, 2016. Since that point, the city and the provider community have been diligently exploring options for services once the shelters close March 15. At Council direction, city staff have reviewed options presented in Council Member Dulce Gutierrez's 10 Point Plan to Serve the Homeless and provided Council with information about a number of possible locations for a homeless encampment. In addition, Council members and staff have worked behind the scenes to ensure that the YVCOG staff are aware of the urgent need to develop and implement the RFP process so that providers are able to receive funding as soon as possible. This process has been frustrating and at this writing, it appears that the RFP process will not open until mid-February. Given this time frame, it is unlikely that services, including day and overnight shelters, will be in place when the winter cold-weather shelters close on March 15. The Yakima City Council continues to wrestle with this P an e 8 13 issue and has created an ad-hoc committee, made up of the chairs of the Council's Public Safety, Neighborhood and Community Development and Economic Development Committees to continue studying the question. This ad-hoc committee met for the first time on January 17 and will continue to meet as needed and will be supported by staff. On a positive note, the YVCOG Executive Committee did approve a new Five Year Homeless Plan on January 18. While this plan focuses on a "Housing First" approach, it does include opportunities for providers and jurisdictions to seek funding through the RFP process for emergency, interim shelter options, which could include a tent encampment. In addition, the YVCOG Executive Committee has agreed to review a staff recommendation to set aside $800,000 in local funding for a cash reserve ($500,000), a shelter project ($200,000) and a demonstration project ($100,000), and perhaps make a portion of that funding available in the 2017 RFP cycle. City staff will continue to monitor the efforts of YVCOG in the weeks ahead and inform the Council of its actions. Finally, in addition to looking for ways to address the needs of individuals currently being served in the winter cold-weather shelters or who have been able to access motel vouchers, there are a number of long-term efforts underway. The Housing Authority recently received approval to convert the Yakima Armory on 16th Avenue to permanent supported housing units for veterans; Justice Housing Yakima is preparing a design and funding request for a "Tiny Home Village" project to build up to 30 small residential units around a community center building; and Yakima Neighborhood Health is close to completing an application for the conversion of Roy's Market to multi-unit efficiency housing designed to serve chronically homeless individuals. By agreement, this application would need to meet city code requirements for this zoning district in which the property is located. Once complete, the application will be presented to the hearing examiner for consideration. The public will have an opportunity to provide comments and testimony at the hearing. 11. Business incubator Establishing a high-quality, technical assistance incubator to boost effective business start-ups in Yakima is included in the draft City of Yakima Economic Strategic Plan. The plan will be presented to the Yakima City Council for consideration at the February 7, 2017 council meeting. The core project team for this initiative will be led by the City of Yakima Economic Development Department and assisted by Yakima City Manager, the Downtown Association of Yakima, the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Yakima and Rural Community Development Resources. The City is currently soliciting Request for Qualifications from firms to help complete a real P a n e 9 13 estate evaluation study of potential sites for the project. A contract approving the work will be submitted to the Yakima City Council at the March 7, 2017 council meeting. 12. Bike Lanes As opportunities arise staff does apply for funding to create and/or expand bike lanes. For example, the City recently applied for a Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) Set Aside grant to construct bike lanes on Powerhouse Road from the mobile home park to Cowiche Canyon Road. This section of Powerhouse Road has no paved shoulder and proves to be an unsafe portion of the "Naches Loop", the most popular recreational bike ride in the upper Yakima Valley. The City did not receive this grant, but continues to look for other opportunities to apply for grants. The Bike/Ped Committee has begun to look at the bicycle and pedestrian policies that will be included in the 2040 City of Yakima Transportation Plan and we expect the committee to continue to make recommendations for bike lane projects on a regular basis. 13. Cultural awareness In an effort to move the City forward, and to assist the executive leadership address the changing needs of the community, staff has researched options to provide cultural competency training to our staff. Staff met with Laura Armstrong, Executive Director of La Casa Hogar in Yakima, to discuss the training her team could provide. La Casa Hogar has over 21 years of experience working with Latina/o families in the Yakima Valley, offering them basic services and the education they need to pursue better lives for themselves and their families in our valley. La Casa Hogar utilizes their team of trainers and staff, all from Latin America, to create a training that is focused around the Latina/o (primarily Mexican) culture as it exists in the Yakima/USA context. In conversation with Laura, she indicated her team would research the barriers that could exist with regards to these community members and their beliefs about government entities in general and some of the specific services we, as the City, offer. This research would provide the foundation for a four hour training that would be developed specifically for the City of Yakima. Their training utilizes real life experiences from the families they have served, first hand testimonies and role playing with their staff, in an effort to work through some of the challenging situations that could arise. Staff also identified another possible opportunity for cultural awareness training when they attended a session given by Ms. Anindita Mitra at the Pa $2e 10 13 AWC Conference in June last year. Ms. Mitra is trained and practiced as an architect and is passionate about pursuing urban design and city planning. During her architectural training she was exposed to a variety of communities in India from villages and small towns to immigrant communities in metropolitan areas. This experience exposed her to the different communication and cultural norms that governed these communities. Also widely travelled, culture remains at the crux of her work that has taken her to diverse communities in Oakland, Hilo, Syracuse and Topeka among others. An immigrant herself, over the years she has developed tools that help her establish trusting relations with each of her client communities that vary greatly in their age, ethnicity, education, language and other factors. Ms. Mitra proposed to develop a presentation that will introduce social development terms for use in effective local governance and share insights from modern day sociological studies to illustrate the benefits of culturally intelligent governance and administration. Through several exercises participants will become aware of their cultural reference points and leave with tools to counter their personal blind spots for improved communications and management across cultures. Nora Liu also spoke at the AWC Conference last year about GARE a joint project comprised of the Center for Social Inclusion and the Haas Institute for a Fair and inclusive Society at UC Berkeley. Their work is built on the knowledge that we will not be able to advance racial equity without the transformation of government into an effective and inclusive democracy. GARE offers a variety of training and organizational development sessions, either in introductory workshops, specific topics or via an extended learning curriculum. Their training team focuses on the application of learning in the work place and utilizes strategies that are most effective for leveraging change. GARE's research team will work with City leadership to understand the context and background that we have in the Valley to ensure their content is relevant and focused. WSU Extension offers a 3-day course entitled Navigating the Difference which is geared toward professionals who interact with the public they serve. Over the three days they cover five competencies — Cultural Awareness, Cultural Understanding, Cultural Knowledge, Cultural Interaction, & Cultural Sensitivity. The first two modules of the curriculum focus on cultural awareness and understanding and emphasizes the wide variety of diversity dimensions each person brings into the workplace and how those identities affect interactions with others. The remaining three modules focus on methods of gaining cultural knowledge, communicating across cultural difference, and the concepts of privilege and power. Individuals must be aware of the Page 11 13 barriers to intercultural communications, as well as the range of communication styles and the functions of nonverbal communications, to truly cultivate the skills necessary to live in a global world. Costs range from $250 per person to $10,000 per class depending on the provider and program/sessions provided. Staff seeks Council guidance on this matter. Yakima Police Department requires its employees to attend a variety of training courses dealing with implicit bias, communications and relations, mental health issues, and several other areas of specific focus. 14. Multicultural center Establishing a Latino cultural center (Centro de la Raza) to honor the diverse cultural assets of the Yakima community is included in the draft City of Yakima Economic Strategic Plan. The plan will be presented to the Yakima City Council for consideration at the February 7, 2017 council meeting. The core project team will be led by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and supported by the City of Yakima. The plan includes a first quarter 2018 timeline for completion of a business plan of how the project would work, be funded, and operated. 15. Cannabis regulations and zoning On July 5, 2016, the City Council adopted Ordinance 2016 -008 which authorized recreational marijuana producers, processors and retailer in certain zoning districts, subject to statutory buffer zones. That ordinance was effective August 7, 2016. Adjustments to the ordinance were implemented by the Council on September 20, 2016 to allow retail sales of recreational marijuana in the Small Convenience Center (SCC) zoning district and to modify the definition of day care centers to be consistent with state law. Those changes took effect on November 6, 2016. To date, three recreational marijuana businesses are in place (Happy Time, 1315 N 1st St; Sweet Relief, 1009 E Yakima Ave; and The M Store, 1503 E Nob Hill Blvd. One license is pending at 1606 Fruitvale Blvd. Yakima is entitled to a fifth retail business under state allocations. At this time, we are not reviewing other applications. In addition, there is one testing laboratory licensed in the City limits at 31 N First Avenue. Several producers and processors have been licensed in Yakima County. 16. Historic District A group of property owners and businesses initiated the concept of a National Register Historic District to recognize the North First Avenue collection of storage, packing, and distribution structures dating back to Pa $2e 12 13 the early 1900's known as "Fruit Row". The City Historic Preservation Commission voted August 24, 2016 to support the project. On August 10, 2016, a walking tour of the project was held with various groups attending. The property owners will be requesting approximately $25,000 from the state budget (via Sen Curtis King) to support this project as an economic development catalyst. A written estimate from Artifacts, Inc. was submitted estimating $15,000 to prepare the National Register Nomination. In addition, the group estimates $10,000 for signs, plaques and public outreach material. 17. North First Street Surface Transportation Program (STP) funding ($2,700,000) for the construction of Phase 1 of this project, which is from `N' Street to SR 12, should be available in 2018-2019. Design of the North 1st Street Revitalization, Phase 2 project, which is from MLK to `N' Street, is about 90% complete. The City has applied for a FASTLANE grant in the amount of $8,580,000 to provide the remainder of the funding needed for construction of this project. Also, if the City were to approve funding for the Transportation Benefit District, the North 1st Street Revitalization, Phase 2 project is one of the projects recommended for funding. The City had previously received a Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grant of $1,500,000 for this phase. If funding for this project is not secured soon, the TIB will take back the $1,500,000 grant. 18. Ethics Committee In November 2016, the Yakima City Council seated two Exploratory Committees for "Ethics and Equal Rights" and "Community Integration". Each committee has 7 residents of the City, with limited staff support conducting needs assessments and recommendations to the City Council on the issues related to fairness and inclusion in the City. Both committees were established for one year, with quarterly reports to the City Council Neighborhood and Community Building Committee (NCBC). One primary task will be to recommend whether or not the committee should be retained as a permanent committee and if so, what tasks should be covered by the committee. Both exploratory committees have had their initial committee orientation, received public meetings and record retention training (required), elected chair, assistant chair, and secretary. The Ethics Committee met January 5 and January 17. The Community Integration Committee will meet on January 25, 2017. Inclement weather has forced rescheduling of several meetings in January. P a $2 e 13 13