HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil June 3 2008WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Regular County Council
June 3, 2008
Council Chair Carl Weimer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council
Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
Present: Absent:
Barbara Brenner None
Bob Kelly
Sam Crawford
Seth Fleetwood
Laurie Caskey- Schreiber
L. Ward Nelson
FLAG SALUTE
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Weimer announced there was discussion with Senior Deputy Prosecutor Karen
Frakes regarding pending litigation (AB2008 -018) and discussion and negotiations
update on expired collective bargaining agreements and discussion on
unrepresented resolution (AB2008 -121) in executive session during the Committee of
the Whole meeting.
1. CONSIDERATION OF AN APPEAL OF THE HEARING EXAMINER'S DECISION
ON FILE NO. CUP2007 -0013, FILED BY PHILIP BURI, ATTORNEY FOR
STEVEN WOLFF, REGARDING APPLICATION FOR A ZONING CONDITIONAL
USE PERMIT FOR THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A WIRELESS
COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY AT A PROPERTY OWNED BY THE POINT
ROBERTS PARK AND RECREATION DISTRICT (AB2008 -152)
Crawford moved to uphold the Hearing Examiner's decision.
Brenner stated the Council is limited to overturning the Hearing Examiner's decision
based on an error in law. The Council doesn't have the discretion to overturn the decisions
for broader reasons.
Motion carried unanimously.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
1. COUNTY EXECUTIVE PETE KREMEN TO PRESENT THE "STATE OF THE
COUNTY" ADDRESS (AB2008 -223)
Pete Kremen, County Executive, read the State of the County address (on file).
Whatcom County Council, 6/3/2008, Page 1
1 MINUTES CONSENT
2
3 Caskey- Schreiber moved to approve the Minutes Consent items.
4
5 Motion carried unanimously.
6
7 1. SURFACE WATER WORK SESSION FOR MARCH 18, 2008
8
9 2. SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE (WHATCOM CHIEF) FOR APRIL 15,
10 2008
11
12 3. REGULAR COUNTY COUNCIL FOR MAY 6, 2008
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14
15 OPEN SESSION
16
17 The following people spoke:
18
19 Dennis ]ones, 1487 Sudden Valley, stated he appreciates the County government
20 and being able to live here. He feels like the officials really listen to him. He has expertise
21 with working in rural areas and is available to help.
22
23
24 PUBLIC HEARINGS
25
26 1. FINAL REPORT ON THE PUBLIC RECORDS PERFORMANCE AUDIT (AB2008-
27 215)
28
29 Nestor E. Newman, Washington State Auditor's Office Special Assistant, submitted
30 and read from the performance audit report on open public records practices (on file). As a
31 result of the I -900 legislation workshops with State citizens, it was clear that citizens
32 wanted accountability in government. Therefore, the State Auditor decided to do work on
33 public records compliance to address those concerns. Also, this audit is not the regular,
34 financial audit that has happened for years. This is a performance audit, and the results can
35 be affirmations of best practices and recommendations for improvements. The goal of
36 performance audits is to help things get better with recommendations, not to find fault.
37
38 Fleetwood asked how they put a financial estimate to the cost of public records
39 requests. Newman stated it's very difficult. A best practices recommendation is that
40 entities should consider a de minimis policy for small records requests. For any records
41 request of 28 pages or less, it's cheaper to provide the records for free rather than go
42 through a formal billing process. The only way to get a good estimate of the cost of this
43 process is to discreetly track the activity, time, and materials. Now, only the State
44 Department of Corrections is tracking those costs.
45
46 Brenner stated she gets a lot of complaints about public disclosure requests.
47 Whatcom County has a certain commission that has public meetings, but doesn't tape the
48 meetings. She asked if that is okay or not. Newman stated they should talk to the
49 County's Prosecuting Attorney for an interpretation of the Act.
50
51 Caskey- Schreiber stated the County Council staff is spending an increasing amount
52 of time on public requests. She asked if each County and City will have to have dedicated
53 staff due to I -900. Newman stated the rate of public records requests is increasing. That
Whatcom County Council, 6/3/2008, Page 2
activity has no relationship to I -900 other than the State Auditor's work. The report
addresses this trend. One State agency gets 10,000 requests per month. Agencies should
start tracking those costs to be aware of the impact of this activity. Open public records is a
fundamental government service to the public.
Caskey- Schreiber stated that tracking the time is a good idea. Once there are
associated costs, they can start including criteria or parameters on the requests.
Fleetwood stated the intent of the Act is laudable. He asked at what point, however,
someone goes over the line so the process is abusive. He asked when the County gets to
determine that requests would shut down County government. He asked if the State
Auditor would ever support frivolous requests. At some point, they have to be able to draw
a line. Newman stated the Auditor's Office heard those concerns from all 58 public records
officers and during each exit conference with public officials. If this becomes a significant
activity for an organization, the organization needs to begin tracking the activity and
accounting for it. Know the actual impacts.
Nelson stated government must be accountable to the public. There may be a
problem when there are a lot of people who disagree with decisions, such as with the State
Department of Corrections. This could be a good tool to measure the types of decisions the
County government makes.
Pete Kremen, County Executive, stated he commends the County staff person who
handles public disclosure requests, George Reid. Human Resources Manager Karen Goens
also puts in many hours on public disclosure requests that deal with personnel issues.
Brenner stated they should recognize Council Clerk Dana Brown -Davis and Deputy
Clerk Marina Engels for their work fulfilling public records requests.
Weimer opened the public hearing and the following person spoke:
Patrick Alesse, 4825 Alderson Road, stated he has never had trouble getting
information from the County. Having information on the County website really helps.
Hearing no one else, Weimer closed the public hearing.
CONSENT AGENDA
Crawford reported for the Finance and Administrative Services Committee and
moved to approve Consent Agenda items one through five.
Motion to approve Consent Agenda items one through five carried
unanimously.
1. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND THE UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO PROVIDE FUNDS FOR A DEPUTY
TO PATROL THE MT. BAKER - SNOQUALMIE NATIONAL FOREST, IN THE
AMOUNT OF $64,500 (AB2008 -218)
2. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO AN
INTERLOCAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF LYNDEN AND
Whatcom County Council, 6/3/2008, Page 3
WHATCOM COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION TO LEASE THE LYNDEN
COMMUNITY CENTER AND DESIGNATED PARKING AREAS FOR USE AS A
SATELLITE SENIOR CITIZEN ACTIVITY CENTER (AB2008 -219)
3. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO AN
AGREEMENT FOR GRANT FUNDING BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND
WASHINGTON STATE SALMON RECOVERY FUNDING BOARD TO RESTORE
SALMON HABITAT FOR ESA - LISTED EARLY CHINOOK AND OTHER SALMON
ALONG THE SOUTH FORK NOOKSACK RIVER, EAST OF ACME, IN THE
AMOUNT OF $838,240 (AB2008 -220)
4. REQUEST APPROVAL FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO AWARD BID #08 -38 TO LOW
BIDDER CONTECH SERVICES, INC. FOR REPAIRS TO THE BASEMENT OF THE
CIVIC CENTER BUILDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $66,005.84 (AB2008 -221)
5. REQUEST APPROVAL FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT
BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND THE WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT
OF COMMUNITY, TRADE & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR GRANT FUNDING
FOR THE INITIAL CONSTRUCTION PHASE OF THE EAST WHATCOM
REGIONAL RESOURCE CENTER PROJECT, IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,000,000
(AB2008 -222)
OTHER ITEMS
1. COUNTY EXECUTIVE PETE KREMEN REQUESTS CONFIRMATION OF HIS
REAPPOINTMENT OF GIL THURSTON AND ALAN FRIEDLOB TO THE
NORTHWEST SENIOR SERVICES BOARD (AB2008 -224)
Nelson moved to confirm the reappointments.
Motion carried unanimously.
2. COUNTY EXECUTIVE PETE KREMEN REQUESTS CONFIRMATION OF HIS
APPOINTMENT OF ROGER AXELSON TO THE COUNTY APPEALS BOARD
(AB2008 -225)
Brenner moved to confirm the appointment.
Motion carried unanimously.
OTHER BUSINESS
Weimer reported for the Natural Resources Committee on its discussion regarding
petition for dissolution of the Whatcom County Water Conservancy Board
requested by Washington State Department of Ecology (AB2008 -199) and stated
the committee recommends to the full Council that the Council go forward with dissolving
the Whatcom County Water Conservancy Board. The Council staff will bring forward an
ordinance.
Whatcom County Council, 6/3/2008, Page 4
1 INTRODUCTION ITEMS
2
3 1. ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2008 WHATCOM COUNTY BUDGET, SEVENTH
4 REQUEST, IN THE AMOUNT OF $252,010 (AB2008 -226)
5
6 Nelson moved to accept the Introduction Item.
7
8 Motion carried unanimously.
9
10
11 REPORTS AND OTHER ITEMS FROM COUNCILMEMBERS
12
13 Brenner stated the Council has not voted to approve the reconveyance of 8,400
14 acres in the Lake Whatcom watershed, as mentioned in the State of the County Address.
15
16 (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side A.)
17
18 Nelson stated he attended a Community Connects meeting in Seattle, which is why
19 he missed the Finance Committee meeting today.
20
21 Caskey- Schreiber reported for the Special Committee of the Whole regarding the
22 Washington State Department of Transportation presentation on recommendations
23 for long -term improvements to the I -5 corridor from Fairhaven to Slater (AB2008-
24 216). During the presentation, they talked about improvements to Interstate 5 and light
25 rail. Todd Carlson said the County Council could send a letter to Governor Gregoire
26 requesting that they begin working on the light rail option.
27
28 Nelson stated they should begin looking at light rail options sooner rather than later.
29
30 Caskey- Schreiber stated she liked what Executive Kremen had to say in his State of
31 the County address. She likes that Executive Kremen is working on the reconveyance. Wait
32 for those results, and the Council can have an official vote. It's the best option.
33
34 She also likes that Executive Kremen recognized the higher cost of housing and
35 higher cost of living in the area and the resulting stress on the community. It no longer
36 makes sense to live outside the city of Bellingham, given the high fuel costs. She hopes a
37 result of the Housing Task Force is that the County can work with the City on facilitating
38 better infill. She also advocates for good cost of living adjustments for County employees
39 because she wants to make sure that good people can afford to live here.
40
41 Crawford reported for the Finance and Administrative Services Committee and stated
42 there was discussion with the Administration regarding 2009 -2010 budget
43 preparation (AB2008 -227) on the draft agenda for the June 10 budget meeting. He
44 suggested that councilmembers come prepared to address policy issues.
45
46 Kremen stated that the County successfully negotiated an initial agreement with the
47 State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to convey approximately 8,400 acres of DNR
48 land to the County. That initial agreement was with the DNR. It was not a County Council
49 action.
50
51
52
Whatcom County Council, 6/3/2008, Page 5
1. ADJOURN
2
3 T meeting adjourned at 8:04 p.m.
4
5
6 �
7 Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
8
9 The Council approved these minutes on June 17 , 2008.
10
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17 Dana BrowP'rD'gvis, Council Elerk
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Carl Weimer, Council Chair
Whatcom County Council, 6/3/2008, Page 6