HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Committee of the Whole December 2 20081 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
2 Special'Committee Of The Whole
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4 December 2, 2008
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7 Council Chair Carl Weimer called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. in the Courthouse
8 Conference Room #513, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
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10 Present: Absent:
11 Barbara Brenner Laurie Caskey- Schreiber
12 Bob Kelly
13 Sam Crawford
14 Seth Fleetwood
15 L. Ward Nelson
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17 1. DISCUSSION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION REGARDING SITING AND
18 CONSTRUCTION PLANNING FOR A NEW WHATCOM COUNTY JAIL AND
19 OTHER COUNTY CAPITAL FACILITIES (AB2008 -214A)
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21 Crawford moved to go into executive session to talk about land purchases.
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23 Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, stated the intent is to discuss site issues and
24 options. Any Council action will be done in a regular Council session.
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26 Randy Watts, Prosecutor's Office, stated they are in executive session to discuss site
27 specific. Discussion may include the price.
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29 Motion carried 4 -0 with Brenner and Fleetwood out of the room and Caskey-
30 Schreiber absent.
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32 (Clerk's Note: The Committee came out of executive session at 3 :00 p.m. and
33 moved to the Council Chambers, Councilmembers Fleetwood and Nelson left the meeting.)
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35 Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, submitted a binder of information (on file).
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37 David King, Stewart + King Architects, read from the presentation included in the
38 binder of information. They have been working on the East Whatcom Regional Resource
39 Center. They have worked with a citizens advisory committee and continue to talk with
40 various participants. The project is to provide public services to the citizens of eastern
41 Whatcom County. Many agencies would benefit from having facilities out there, including
42 senior services, Head Start, medical facilities, and youth activities. They are in the midst of
43 Balfour Village, but it's a stand -alone facility. The influence that Balfour Village should or
44 shouldn't have is a variable. The site is development - friendly. There are no wetlands or
45 other encumbrances to developing the site.
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47 They have filled out the LEED checklist, but their emphasis is on how sustainability
48 will benefit Whatcom County, not how many points they can collect. The main objective is
49 to provide easy maintenance, help the environment, and have a low impact on resources.
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51 They are considering three different routes to lay sewer lines from the water district.
52 Two of those routes are over private property, so they are talking with Balfour Village about
53 obtaining easements. At the same time, a lot line adjustment may benefit both Whatcom
Special Committee of the Whole - Jail Siting /Capital Facilities, 12/2/2008, Page 1
1 County and Balfour Village. After the beginning of the year, they could go out to bid to
2 bring water and sewer to the site.
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4 They are within two wellhead protection areas. The biggest concern is the type of
5 fertilizer that might be used on the grass. Other than that, there would be no groundwater
6 impacts. The sewer system would be a closed pipe system. He described the phased
7 development plans for the various agencies.
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9 Desler stated the County would own the building and lease the space out to the
10 tenants. The County can use the lease agreements and payments to justify borrowing
11 money to pay their building cost.
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13 Crawford asked if there will be space for a library. King stated the structure is in
14 place for that to happen.
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16 Kelly asked if the building is modular. King stated the facility would be constructed
17 onsite.
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19 This is not the final version of the design. It is a design that accommodates
20 everything. As the programs develop and become more specific, the design will evolve. He
21 described possible other configurations.
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23 Brenner stated the area is very rustic, and the design is futuristic. King stated the
24 public can provide input on the design. Now, the emphasis is on establishing the budget
25 and a project schedule. This design is a placeholder for a final design. It is an economic
26 design.
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28 Brenner asked if there is any chance to work with local builders in the area to see if
29 anyone is willing to donate time, and energy on this project. Desler stated the idea is worth
30 exploring. This is just a report on the progress so far.
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32 King stated that with the difficult economic times currently, it appears to be an
33 excellent time to bid a project. The County would benefit from catching the moment if they
34 can get a bid out relatively soon.
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36 They could conceivably go out to bid to put in the sewer line in about two months. If
37 it appears that the County will move ahead with a construction contract for the entire
38 building, it may be advisable to hold off on putting in the sewer line until it can be
39 incorporated into the larger building project.
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41 They don't yet know what the final project budget will be. A next step is to
42 determine that budget, and then have the architects put together a final design and put
43 together the bid documents. Allow about eight months for the design and ten months for
44 construction, depending on the extent of the final project. They are in the process of
45 reviewing easements and having discussions on lot line adjustments.
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47 Crawford asked the County's status on this financially. Desler stated the County has
48 about $4 million in grants and other resources. If they can get an arrangement with
49 Interfaith, they can justify the $5.25 million option. If the Council approves that, they can
50 go after some Economic Development Investment (EDI) money to pay for the next option.
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52 The medical facility is important, but the community is really calling for youth
53 services and recreation because there are so many children out there.
Special Committee of the Whole - Jail Siting /Capital Facilities, 12/2/2008, Page 2
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Brenner stated that a clinic is more important to her. Kids can't play if they're sick.
Crawford stated there are big employment problems in that area. He's concerned
about sustaining the momentum of this project. He would not like to move on to other
priorities once they have developed just the first phase. Desler stated they continue to seek
and capture new funds to continue this project.
(Clerk's Note: Councilmember Weimer left the meeting at 3:19 p.m. The Committee
lost its quorum. Discussion continued with Councilmembers Brenner, Kelly, and Crawford.
The rest of the meeting has been audiotaped.)
OTHER BUSINESS
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at approximately 3:19 p.m.
h`
Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcr tion
4hC3Divt %6pproved these minutes on May 26 , 2009.
5,0 C0 ' WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
OO Q COUNTY •� WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
na BYo - avis, Cuncil Clerk Carl Weimer Council Chair
Special Committee of the Whole - Jail Siting /Capital Facilities, 12/2/2008, Page 3