HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommittee of the Whole January 15 20081 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
2 Committee Of The Whole
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4 January 15, 2008
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7 Councilmember Carl Weimer called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Council
8 Conference Room, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
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10 Present: Absent:
11 Barbara Brenner None
12 Bob Kelly
13 Sam Crawford
14 Seth Fleetwood
15 Laurie Caskey- Schreiber
16 L. Ward Nelson
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19 CLOSED SESSION
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21 Nelson moved to go into executive session to discuss the three agenda items.
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23 Motion carried 6 -0 with Brenner out of the room.
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25 1. DISCUSSION AND NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE ON EXPIRED COLLECTIVE
26 BARGAINING AGREEMENTS, UNREPRESENTED EMPLOYEES, AND PENDING
27 LABOR RELATIONS MATTERS (AB2008 -018)
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29 2. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION ON APL07-
30 0011, FILED ON BEHALF OF VICTORIA LUHRS, REGARDING APPLICATION
31 FOR A STATEMENT OF SHORELINE EXEMPTION (AB2007 -325)
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33 3. CONSIDERATION OF HEARING EXAMINER'S DECISION ON REMAND
34 REGARDING APPEAL FILED BY ROBERT MERHAUT, ON A ZONING
35 CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION BY FABER BROTHERS
36 CONSTRUCTION FOR SENSOR LINK (AB2007 -066)
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39 OPEN SESSION
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41 1. ANNUAL REORGANIZATION OF THE WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL (AB2008-
42 021)
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44 Caskey- Schreiber withdrew her request to be Council Vice -Chair and on the
45 Finance and Administrative Services Committee.
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47 Crawford withdrew his request to be Council Chair, Council Vice - Chair, and
48 Executive Pro - Tempore.
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50 Crawford nominated Carl Weimer for Council Chair, Seth Fleetwood for Council
51 Vice - Chair, and Laurie Caskey- Schreiber for Executive Pro - Tempore.
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53 Nomination carried unanimously.
Committee of the Whole, 1/15/2008, Page 1
Crawford nominated:
• Councilmembers Nelson, Kelly, and Crawford to the Finance and
Administrative Services Committee,
• Councilmembers Nelson, Caskey- Schreiber, and Brenner to the Health
Committee,
• Councilmembers Fleetwood, Weimer, and Caskey- Schreiber to the Planning
and Development Committee,
• Councilmembers Nelson, Caskey- Schreiber, and Brenner for the Public Works
and Safety Committee, and
• Councilmembers Fleetwood, Kelly, and Weimer to the Natural Resources
Committee
Nominations carried unanimously.
Crawford nominated:
• Brenner to the Bellingham International Airport Advisory Committee,
• Fleetwood and Crawford to the Council of Governments,
• Weimer to the Drayton Harbor Shellfish Protection District Advisory
Committee,
• Crawford to the Economic Development Council,
• Weimer to the Flood Zone Advisory Committee,
• Nelson to the Public Health Advisory Committee,
• Weimer to the Developmental Disabilities Board,
• Brenner to the Mental Health Advisory Board,
• Crawford to the Substance Abuse Advisory Board,
• Crawford to the LEOFF Board
• Crawford to the Local Emergency Planning Committee,
• Weimer to the Marine Resources Committee,
• Nelson to the North Sound Mental Health Administration,
• Caskey- Schreiber to the Northwest Clean Air Agency,
• Nelson to the Northwest Regional Council,
• Weimer to the Portage Bay Shellfish Protection District,
• Caskey- Schreiber to the Opportunity Council,
• Brenner to the Public Defense Advisory Committee,
• Brenner to the Solid Waste Advisory Committee,
• Crawford to the Urban County Caucus, and
• Fleetwood to the Whatcom Transit Authority
Weimer withdrew his request to be on the Local Emergency Planning Committee.
Caskey- Schreiber withdrew her request to be on the Intergovernmental Tribal
Relations Committee.
Nominations carried unanimously.
Fleetwood stated he's been on the Intergovernmental Tribal Relations Committee for
six years. The committee has never met in those six years.
Kelly asked if the committee would meet with the Tribes.
Fleetwood stated they would. He and Councilmember Caskey- Schreiber have talked
with the tribes a couple of time, but there have been no formal meetings.
Committee of the Whole, 1/15/2008, Page 2
Kelly asked what they envision the committee doing.
Fleetwood stated that in 2001, he was elected to replace former Councilmember
Marlene Dawson. At that time, the everyone anticipated a new era of cooperation among
the County, the Lummi Nation, and the Nooksack Tribe. That cooperation sort of exists, but
they never formalized it with a meeting.
Caskey- Schreiber nominated Fleetwood and Kelly to the Intergovernmental Tribal
Relations Committee.
Kelly stated they can do that if they want. It would be a good opportunity to get the
chairs together.
Nelson stated that when he was on the committee, before Councilmember Dawson
was on the Council, they tried to find ways resolve issues. A big problem is that the Tribes
have a concept of a separate entity that is similar to a federal agency with powers, and the
County is just the County. There isn't an equal face -to -face. There is a problem with the
County being at one level as a servant of the State and the tribes being at another level as
a guardian of the federal government.
Kelly stated the committee wouldn't be a vehicle to negotiate, but an opportunity to
communicate. It's a great opportunity for representatives of the Tribe to sit down with
members of the County to keep the County in the loop regarding their economic
development measures.
Nelson stated a better process would be to use those opportunities as they arise.
People expect results from something identified as an intergovernmental agency.
Crawford stated Councilmembers Fleetwood and Kelly would be a good team. This is
an opportunity they haven't experienced before. He supports the nomination.
Brenner stated both of those Councilmembers work for the Tribes. She would be a
separate voice. She always gets along with the Tribes.
Caskey- Schreiber stated she is willing to be nominated to be that separate voice.
Nominations carried unanimously.
Weimer stated that they will leave the Energy Facility Site Evaluation council ( EFSEC)
position open until a project comes up.
Crawford stated he suggests that they deal with the position when the County has an
interest in a potential EFSEC issue. There is no reason to deal with EFSEC as a standard,
standing committee assignment.
Fleetwood moved to go back into executive session to finish discussing the three
closed session agenda items.
Motion carried unanimously.
Committee of the Whole, 1/15/2008, Page 3
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OTHER BUSINESS
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ADJOURN
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The meeting adjourned at approximately
7:00 p.m.
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Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
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The Council approved these minutes on
February 12 , 2008.
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
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WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
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Carl Weimer, Council Chair
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Committee of the Whole, 1/15/2008, Page 4