Bellingham City Council

Compiled by Boris Schleinkofer

Action Taken at September 26, 2016 Meeting

Shall the council:
155. Approve a request for sewer service at 3214 Locust Ave.? The single-family residence was constructed in 1934, the homeowner has been informed by the Whatcom County Health Department that the septic system serving the residence has failed. The property is located outside the city limits but in the urban growth area. City code allows the City Council to approve a hookup if necessary to protect public health and safety of the environment. (AB21366) Approved 7-0

156. Authorize the mayor to sign an agreement that dissolves the WRIA 1 joint board and establishes the Natural Resources Executive Board? The agreement is with the Lummi Nation, the Nooksack Indian Tribe, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Whatcom County, Public Utility District No. 1 of Whatcom County, and the cities of Blaine, Everson, Ferndale, Lynden, Nooksack and Sumas. It consolidates the Watershed Management Project Joint Board, the WRIA 1 Salmon Recovery Board and the Whatcom Local Integrating Organization (a component of the Puget Sound Partnership process) into a single board. This agreement retains the collaborative multi-jurisdictional decision-making process, including tribal participation, and increases the efficiency of operations and natural resource management. (AB21369) Approved 7-0

157. Continue the discussion of a proposed waterfront energy district? Harcourt Developments is currently in the process of redeveloping the Granary Building in anticipation of a July 2017 opening. As per the policies adopted in the Waterfront Sub-Area plan, the city has been evaluating the possibility of district-scale utilities such as district energy. The preferred delivery model, where a private partner would operate the utility, would require a significant investment from the city and port — $2 million (est.) for implementation, currently unfunded. This central heating and cooling system could go throughout all buildings in the district. (AB21372) Approved 7-0

158. Authorize negotiations for a hydropower system at the Waterfront District? Canyon Hydro, a hydropower operator, vetted the site and is seeking development of this system in the Waterfront District pursuant to a lease/operator agreement with the city. Once terms of agreement are reached, the proposed lease agreement will need to be approved by council at a future meeting. Canyon Hydro will lease building space at the waterfront to house the hydropower system adjacent to an existing city-owned pipeline that would serve the facility. Canyon Hydro will operate and maintain the system and have the power of sale agreement with Puget Sound Energy while leasing the building from the city. The city will construct the building, grid connection and exterior piping. Costs for the hydropower equipment will be covered by Canyon Hydro as their portion of the capital investment for the system development. (AB21373) Approved 7-0

159. Authorize receipt and spending of a $39,398 federal grant awarded for microfiche conversion and ballistic vests? (Public hearing held on 6/20/2016.) Bellingham Police Department’s allocation will be $23,752 with Whatcom County Sheriff’s office getting the remaining $15,646. The police department use the grant funds for microfiche image conversion, and the sheriff’s office will purchase the vests. (AB21377) Approved 7-0

160 Authorize the mayor to sign an agreement with Whatcom County to accept and disburse a $39,398 federal grant? The city of Bellingham receives $23,752 and Whatcom County sheriff’s office receives $15,646. See previous vote for details. (AB21378) Approved 7-0

161. Appropriate $3,153,913 for payroll checks issued from Aug. 26 through Sept. 9, 2016? (AB21381) Approved 7-0

162. Appropriate $3,274,091 for goods and services checks issued from Sept. 2 through Sept. 16, 2016? (AB21379/21380) Approved 7-0

163. Amend the latecomer chapters of the Bellingham Municipal Code? A recent change in state law authorizing municipalities to utilize the latecomer process whereby a private property owner or municipality may finance and install public street or utility system improvements and recover a portion of the cost from other property owners who later develop property in the vicinity and use the improvements. Similar authority already exists for city street improvements. Among other amendments, the acceptance of public comment will become mandatory. AB21330 (Ordinance 2016-09-034) Approved 7-0

Action Taken at October 10, 2016 Meeting

Shall the council:
164. Approve the AFSCME, Local 114, one-year collective bargaining agreement? The Bellingham Police Guild agreement contains the following general terms: wages will increase by 2 percent on 1/1/2017 and by 0.5 percent on 7/1/2017, and members may choose between the Regence $250 and Group Health $200 plans effective 1/1/2017. A high-deductible health plan with health savings account and the Group Health preferred provider option will also be offered. (Discussed in executive session.) Approved 6-0, Roxanne Murphy excused.

165. Authorize the fire chief and mayor to sign a purchasing agreement with the Public Procurement Authority of Oregon? State law allows the council to procure a contract utilizing the competitive selection process in another state. The Public Procurement Authority is a public entity established to provide cooperative purchasing services to government and non-profit organizations nationwide. This contract will give the fire department access to publicly solicited contracts specific to the industry, similar to other governmental agencies utilizing a city of Bellingham purchasing process. (AB21382) Approved 6-0, Roxanne Murphy excused.

166. Approve a lease agreement with Chuckanut Center for the former Fairhaven rose garden caretaker’s house in Fairhaven Park? The Chuckanut Center, formerly known as the Center for Local Self-Reliance, is seeking to occupy the caretaker’s house. The center is proposing to provide public programs in lieu of rent; the council is required to approve leases at lower than market rate. In September 2008, the city granted the nonprofit Center for Local Self-Reliance permission to use the rose garden and caretaker’s house for community benefit. The permission required the center to restore the building, add new gardens, trails and fencing, build greenhouses and sheds, improve parking, etc. At the 12/14/2009 meeting, vote #273, the council approved the master site plan for the Fairhaven rose garden and caretaker’s house. (AB21383) Approved 6-0, Roxanne Murphy excused.

167. The mayor appointed Simone Sangster to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board? She will fill the the Bellingham School District’s position on the board. The board advises the City Council, mayor, director of Parks and Recreation, as well as other city departments concerning the formulations of policy and implementation, plans and programs calculated to carry out the duties of maintaining city parks and providing a program for the general welfare of the people of the city. Sangster is the assistant superintendent of finance and operations for Bellingham Public Schools. She lived in Bellingham for five years until moving to Custer in September 2016. (AB21389) This position does not require council confirmation.

168. Approve the mayor’s appointment of Janette Kaiser to the Greenway Advisory Committee? The committee provides recommendations to the City Council and the Parks and Recreation Department about Greenway levy expenditures, parkland acquisitions and parks/trails/open space development projects. Janette Kaiser is a retired national director for the U.S. Forest Service, serves on the Columbia neighborhood board and has over 32 years of federal service. This will be her first term, which will expire on 10/10/2019, at which time she may be reappointed. (AB21390) Approved 5-0-1, April Barker abstained, Roxanne Murphy excused.

169. Authorize the mayor to award the low bid of $70,393 to HD Fowler of Bellingham for water distribution accessories? The components are gate valves, tapping valves, check valves, tapping sleeves and tapping sleeves-ss that are used on water main connections and maintenance projects. The components were divided into five groups; bids were separate for each group. The city received four bids; HD Fowler of Bellingham was low bidder in all five groups. (AB21391) Approved 6-0, Roxanne Murphy excused.

170. Appropriate $2,982,781 for payroll checks issued from Sept. 10 through Sept. 23, 2016? (AB21392) Approved 6-0, Roxanne Murphy excused.

171. Appropriate $2,879,966 for goods and services checks issued from Sept. 17 through Sept. 30, 2016? (AB21393/21394) Approved 6-0, Roxanne Murphy excused.

172. Approve a flat rate for water service in 2017? In accordance with state law, the city is installing more than 15,000 water meters. Installation began in 2012 and will continue into early 2017. The change from flat to metered billing occurs January 1 following the meter installation. The current code does not include a flat-rate category for 2017. As there will be several hundred meters to install in the fall of 2016 and early 2017, a flat rate needs to be codified to provide a mechanism for billing in 2017. (AB21367) (Ordinance 2016-09-035) Approved 6-0, Roxanne Murphy excused.

 Action Taken at October 24, 2016 Meeting

Shall the council:
173. Authorize the mayor to award the low bid of $1,877,298 to Ram Construction of Bellingham for the 2016 water main replacement program? This project involves replacement of approximately 4,400 linear feet of water main piping on West Holly Street from Central Street to Broadway and E Street from Holly to Dupont. The city received nine bids; the high bid was $3,125,846. The engineer’s estimate was $2,347,341. (AB21396) Approved 7-0

174. Approve the 2017 legislative agenda? When the City Council adopted the objectives from the joint legislative agenda on 9/12/16 it retained the Council of Government’s 2016 prioritized transportation list and asked for a review of additional legislative agenda items. Since then, the Association of Washington Cities has adopted its legislative priorities. The 2017 legislative agenda includes Model Toxics Control Act account management, the implementation of infrastructure projects and improvements, aquatic invasive species control, fiscal sustainability and criminal justice and social services funding. (AB21355) Approved 7-0

175. Approve the Whatcom Waterway Park site plan? Design for the Whatcom Waterway Park, which is located adjacent to the Granary Building, began in 2014 with a public meeting and preparation of a basis of design report, and includes beach access, a playground, trail connections and public art. The cost for phase one of Whatcom Waterway Park will be $3.8 million, with funding to be sourced from real estate excise tax, park impact fees, Greenway 3, LIFT, federal and state grants. (AB21305) Approved 5-2, April Vargas and Dan Hammill opposed.

176. Accept the draft 2016 Comprehensive Plan? Council directed staff to bring back an ordinance adopting the 2016 Comprehensive Plan for the next Committee of the Whole work session. The 9/28/2016 version incorporates council’s recommendations from 5/16/2016 through 9/26/2016, as well as staff edits with no substantive changes. As of 9/28/2016, the public comment tracker included 197 public comments, starting with the Planning Commission’s review of the draft Comprehensive Plan in January. The revised plan is available for review at https://www.cob.org/services/planning/comprehensive/pages/2016-update.aspx. (AB21247) Approved 5-2. Terry Bornemann and Gene Knutson opposed.

177. The mayor appointed Maggi Kriger to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. The board advises the City Council, mayor, director of Parks and Recreation, as well as other city departments concerning the formulations of policy and implementation, plans and programs calculated to carry out the duties of maintaining city parks and providing a program for the general welfare of the people of the city. This will be a partial term for Maggi Kriger; it will expire on 2/11/2019, at which time she may be reappointed. She has been a local resident for the past 33 years, is a former member of the Greenway Advisory Committee (1991-1996), was a community health specialist with the Whatcom County Health Department, and is currently a private contractor for non-profit Washington Dental Service Foundation. (AB21403) This position does not require council confirmation.

178. Authorize the mayor to sign an agreement with the Whatcom Transportation Authority to provide a police presence at the downtown and Cordata transit station? The original agreement was signed by the mayor on 7/22/2013. The officer assists in controlling conduct in transit authority areas. The only modification is to increase the dollar amount to be paid by the Whatcom Transportation Authority for police services to $63,391. The agreements runs from 1/1/12017 through 12/31/2017. (AB21406) Approved 7-0

179. Authorize the mayor to sign an agreement with Whatcom County for the What-Comm Communication Center? This is a date modification only to the What-Comm Communications Center agreement with Whatcom County. This agreement, started in 1995, established the terms and conditions under which they would jointly operate an emergency communications center. Section II of the agreement is modified to extend the effective period from 12/31/2016 to 12/31/2019; all other terms and conditions remain unchanged. (AB21407) Approved 7-0

180. Appropriate $3,408,409 for goods and services checks issued from Oct. 1 through Oct. 14, 2016? (AB21408/21409) Approved 7-0