Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Works July 8 2008WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL Public Works and Safety Committee July 8, 2008 Committee Chair Barbara Brenner called the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington. Present: Absent: Laurie Caskey- Schreiber L. Ward Nelson Also Present: Carl Weimer Bob Kelly COMMITTEE DISCUSSION 1. RESOLUTION APPROVING THE WHATCOM COUNTY SIX -YEAR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR THE YEARS 2009 THROUGH 2014 (AB2008 -262) Frank Abart, Public Works Director, submitted information updated from the Council packet (on file). He read from handout one of Attachment B4. The dollar amounts shown in the column entitled "Available for Capital Construction" are not cumulative. The numbers represent a $1.65 million reduction in the current year budget for maintenance and operation (M &O). It also reflects a $1.1 million reduction in the current year construction program primarily related to Lincoln Road and Yew Street. He suspended the acquisition of right -of -way and easements for those two projects. The revenue includes economic development funds for the Pole Road and Hannegan Road project. There is a zero reserve to use for any emergencies. They've been gradually eating into the road fund balance for the last several years, and now they are at the end of it. He submitted and read from handout two of Attachment B4, recommendations from the Public Works Department and administration regarding essential projects (on file). Brenner asked if postponing the Slater Road project would add to the ending balance. Abart stated they are committed to $750,000 in expenditures to reimburse grant monies for design and preliminary work. Brenner asked if they have to reimburse the funds if they delay the project instead of cancel the project. Abart stated there is a time limit. Joe Rutan, Public Works Department, stated the deadline for Slater Road is 2009. It requires about $6 million in local funds to complete the project. Brenner asked if they can still use the design work in the future. Rutan stated the design is done. It would be put on the shelf. Those designs decay rapidly given the permitting environment and changes to site conditions and State laws. Abart stated the staff will get creative and resourceful when considering projects. They've had preliminary discussions about Lincoln Road and Yew Street. They may, pursue real estate excise tax (REET) funds to help fund some of these projects. Public Works and Safety Committee, 7/8/2008, Page 1 Weimer stated things have gotten worse since they talked about this issue a month ago. Abart stated things are getting worse every time he looks at it, specifically regarding fuel costs and revenue. The tax collected per gallon of fuel is going down because consumption is going down. That will get worse for a year or two before it gets better. Brenner asked if the projects on the Preliminary Evaluation of 2009 Capital Projects handout are the highest priority. Abart stated they are the highest priority of the administration. However, he's reluctant to spend any of the $3 million because it leaves no reserve. He doesn't want to have to borrow money in 2009 just to meet payroll. He submitted and read from a handout of Budget Consideration Points for 2009 -2010 (on file). He would like to know how the Council feels about these recommendations. He would like to reintroduce something before the Council, given the massive changes of the financial picture. There are massive changes from what is in the Council packet. Caskey- Schreiber stated she wants to look at the big pending projects. She asked which projects will be affected if they decide not to use consulting services. She asked if they need a different approach. Abart stated they do. They have only $3 million to spend. That is all they have, including any kind of reserve. Caskey- Schreiber stated she prefers to not borrow funds. She asked if all of the Lincoln Road projects are off the table. Abart stated that without borrowing money or finding additional revenues, the work is at a dead stop. He needs direction to determine what to do differently and how to best use resources, preferably in- house. He's not sure they can get bonding, given today's financial information. Caskey- Schreiber stated she approves of the proposed projects for 2009. Weimer stated he would like to see the full list of projects. He asked if the project on Lincoln Road between Shintaffer Road and Harborview Road will be done. Rutan stated the project is designed. They've stopped purchasing right -of -way. It would take over $3 million in local funds to complete that project, as currently designed with roundabouts and a trail. They can do that project in smaller segments or redo the design. Abart stated that even if they were to move forward with the Lincoln Road and Yew Street projects, there would still be massive changes to the design to make it less expensive. Kelly asked if there is a list of projects that won't be finished. Abart stated that list would be everything else on the six -year road program, in the Council packet. Rutan read the projects listed beginning on Council packet page 346 and described the status of each project. Brenner stated the Birch Bay Road and Blaine Road intersection is a safety concern. She hopes they will consider funding that project with REET money. Rutan stated they have a preliminary design for a roundabout at that intersection. It is predicated upon income from developers. As development happens, the developers will participate in that cost. He hopes that transportation impact fees would generate money toward capital projects. It is a State intersection. There is an agreement for the State to pay for its prorated share, but that may not come to fruition. Public Works and Safety Committee, 7/8/2008, Page 2 1 Brenner asked at what point does the County file an action against the State for not 2 keeping up their roads. The County should consider filing action against the State. Rutan 3 stated they can discuss it in executive session. The agreement goes both ways. 4 5 Brenner stated she would like to have that executive session discussion and to 6 discuss the REET funds. 7 8 Caskey- Schreiber stated that the State should have paid its portion, but the County 9 received Economic Development Investment (EDI) funds for that project. That project must 10 go forward. 11 12 She would like to discuss the cumulative expense from ferry operations. She asked 13 if the County is not recovering 55 percent of operating costs. Abart stated they never have. 14 They won't know about the rate increase for another 60 days. 15 16 Caskey- Schreiber stated she would be in favor of revisiting that issue. They must 17 get to that level. Abart stated that any amount less than 55 percent must come from the 18 fund balance. 19 20 Weimer stated one solution may be to come up with a different percentage split. 21 22 Caskey- Schreiber stated she is in favor of the recommended list of the Preliminary 23 Evaluation of 2009 Capital Projects, attached to handout two of Attachment B4. 24 25 Brenner asked if EDI funds are available for the Birch Bay Lynden Road and Blaine 26 Road intersection. 27 28 Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, stated the administration will talk with the 29 Council about using the EDI funds at an upcoming Council meeting. The administration will 30 advocate transferring about $3 million out of a total $4 million for the Pole Road and 31 Hannegan Road signalization. The money is going fast. They've been spending it on a lot 32 of projects. After this $3 million allocation, it will take awhile to replenish the fund. The 33 fund collects about $90,000 per month for a variety of capital projects within County 34 government. They don't intend to take this $3 million before the EDI Board. They want the 35 EDI Board to focus on the loan and grant programs. This is separate. 36 37 Weimer asked if the money available for capital construction would stay stable and 38 not increase if they go forward with the five recommended project. He asked if there are 39 other things eating into that money. Abart stated there are, including the cost of goods, 40 services, fuel, and staff. It is everything that comes out of the road fund, including 41 maintenance and operations. 42 43 Weimer stated it seems that the revenues are stable. Abart stated they are. They 44 have been using up the fund balance the last several years. It's about gone. 45 46 Weimer asked if other expenses in the department will go down if they do fewer 47 capital projects. They won't need as many employees. He asked if that is built into these 48 numbers. Abart stated it is not. 49 50 Brenner stated that as a slow down happens, they would achieve fewer employees 51 by attrition. 52 Public Works and Safety Committee, 7/$/200$, Page 3 Weimer stated people could be assigned to things paid for out of other funds. Rutan stated the materials needed for road work is very oil- intensive. Expenditures are rising. They are being as efficient as possible, but there are some level of service decisions that will have to be made. When they do fewer capital construction projects, the cost of maintaining the existing investment goes up. Caskey- Schreiber asked if they will actually be able to collect traffic impact fees some day. Rutan stated transportation impact fees are not included in the calculations. An ordinance will be before the Council soon. However, the fees depend upon development occurring and can only be applied to capacity issues in terms of impacts of that new development. The fees can't be applied to address an existing problem. With gas prices going up, the number of miles driven is going down. Caskey- Schreiber stated that at some point, the economy will improve. She's leery of volunteer impact fee arrangements, given what happened with Mr. Bovencamp. However, there is some merit of the pay -as- you -go philosophy of the Growth Management Act (GMA). Don't lose sight of that. Brenner stated she hopes the economy turns around, but she's not optimistic. All the departments need to be prepared to deal with it for awhile. Kirk Vinish, Lummi Nation Assistant Planning Director, stated he wants to talk about the Slater Road project. The Tribal Council is interested in seeing the project through for health and safety issues. They are pursuing additional funding and working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Congressional delegation. The Congressional delegation is working to include this in future funding if possible. Don't send mixed messages to the Congressional delegation at this time. It was a challenge to secure those FEMA funds. Brenner stated that if the Lummi Nation can obtain funding from somewhere, they can move ahead. Now, they don't have the funding. There are other ways in and out of the area. Other projects are on bridges that are the only routes into and out of an area. They have to prioritize. Doralee Booth, Birch Bay Drive, stated there was money in previous years to do the Lincoln Road project, but it wasn't done. Pete Kremen gave her a promise document in 2005 of $5.5 million for the road to be built by 2008. Now the County is out of money. The assessed value in Birch Bay is $1.07 billion. They pay $1.52 per $1,000 of assessed value to the County. Their road tax is $1,626,400. They have 40 miles of road in the urban growth area (UGA). That makes the Birch Bay tax parcels pay $40,660 to the road fund per mile. They've had no new infrastructure since 1977. They have had minor improvements. No significant amount of money has been spent in Birch Bay. Desler stated the letter from the Executive in 2005 indicated the County had $5.5 million. The cost has grown due to rising costs of acquisition, permitting, and stormwater requirements. (Clerk's Note; End of tape one, side A.) Desler continued to state that the County is still working on that project. They are trying to come up with a way to pay for something that may not be as originally proposed, but is still an improvement. They will most likely use REET funds. The project isn't cancelled, but the scale is smaller. Public Works and Safety Committee, 7/8/2008, Page 4 Caskey- Schreiber stated Lincoln Road is number two on the road project. The County has made significant investments in that area. There has been progress, but they have been slow. Rutan stated the project is done and the County has spent over $1 million in right - of -way acquisition. They have spent several hundred thousand dollars on the design of the Birch Bay Lynden Road and Portal Way intersection. They have spent $1.5 million on Drayton Harbor Road. In the past couple of years, those are the capital projects the County has done in addition to road maintenance. In 2005, the Lincoln Road project included a full two miles with a median. Last year, they reduced the project to a more standard section without a median, and used the money to fund the increased costs of the Pole Road and Hannegan Road intersection project. Caskey- Schreiber stated no one has said no to this project. They are just trying to come up with a funding source to continue the project. That's why they directed Mr. Abart to present a plan for using the REET or bonding if necessary. Rutan stated they will look at how they can improve transportation movement and delay amenities such as trails and the roundabout. Brenner asked what type of improvements they would do. Rutan stated they could do a more standard four -way intersection, stop the north -south traffic, and keep Lincoln Road without a stop. Staff would have to look at the traffic pattern. They could save the off -site trail for a different date. They build drainage projects while they widen a road. The amount of time necessary for permitting, right -of -way acquisition, and design is mostly due to drainage. The road is simple. Do things to cut down on drainage needs. Booth stated the price for the Lincoln Road project has gone up since 2000, and will continue to go. up. She asked if there are creative methods for getting rights -of -way from owners and developers now, during the development process, rather than later. Create options for people who aren't interested in development. Abart stated they could consider that option. However, most people want cash. Brenner stated the County was booming a year ago. Most people did not foresee the economic downturn. People have a right to be disappointed, but the County does things slowly. Claudia Hollod, Birch Bay Drive, stated she is very disappointed. Birch Bay gives a lot of money to the County, and the County has given Birch Bay a lot of residents. The road issue is a big deal. Promises have.been broken. Every year there is an excuse. This year, the excuse is the economy. She asked how many rights -of -way have been purchased on the Lincoln Road, between Shintaffer Road and Harborview Road. She doesn't believe they've worked on that. It was supposed to be done a year ago. Rutan stated they purchased the wetland mitigation site required for over $1 million. They have been in negotiations with several land owners, but they have not written any checks because they stopped the process to make sure they had money at the end of the year. Hollod stated that last year, they stopped purchasing rights -of -way because so many staff quit, and they didn't have enough staff. The County didn't want to hire consultants to do that. This has happened year- after -year. There is always some excuse. There are safety issues. If this is going to be delayed, the County better continue to pay for police Public Works and Safety Committee, 7/8/2008, Page 5 protection, because the road is a safety issue. There are many other dangerous issues. With increased population, there is increased trouble. They have also asked for speed bumps on certain sections, but it was turned down because it cost too much money. Brenner stated speed bumps were not turned down because they cost too much money. The County doesn't do speed bumps, but she hopes they begin to do so. She was told that speed bumps could cause a more dangerous situation. It wasn't about the cost. Hollod stated the fire district and sheriff have no problems with speed bump designs. Many cities are using them. Mr. Rutan told her it was an engineering issue and they don't have the money to pay for the engineering. There have been many broken promises. Rutan stated they proposed a way to get money for traffic calming measures on the six year road program. That is a new program he proposed. They would identify, prioritize, and construct the measures on 'a worst -first basis. Also, cities are using them on lower classified streets. They are not appropriate for arterial roads. He expects to identify and prioritize the measures in the more urban areas, but on the non - arterial roads. They are inappropriate for arterials for safety issues. There are other techniques to use on arterial roads. Now, they don't propose the traffic calming measures to move forward in 2009. Brenner asked the types of speed bumps. Some are on highways along the side of the road. Rutan stated those are rumble strips. They can and do use those. There are many different traffic calming techniques. Abart stated. a legal diversion of road fund monies is what they give to the Sheriff's Office for traffic operation, in excess of $700,000 per year. Brenner stated the project wasn't done in the timeframe promised, but they are making progress. It's not a broken promise. It's a promise the County hasn't yet kept. People in the community are struggling to keep their homes and have lost their jobs. The County has critical issues going on. She would like to be able to give everything to everyone, but the County can't do that. Caskey- Schreiber moved to recommend to the full Council to approve the Preliminary Evaluation of 2009 Capital Projects. Brenner stated she would like a stipulation that they are not canceling the other projects, and that those other projects will go forward as funding becomes available, including Birch Bay and Slater Road. Caskey- Schreiber stated she agrees with the stipulation. Abart stated he would withdraw the resolution with approval of the recommendations. He will resubmit a resolution in two weeks. Motion carried unanimously. OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business. Public Works and Safety Committee, 7/8/2008, Page 6 1 2 3 ADJOURN 4 5 The meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m. 7 8 9 Jill Nixon, IJinHtes Transcription 10 ``1`1`1 11 X\0111%1 .� G 0 V/v''��, 12 IT , ` ' 4 �1'�O�• oil- 14 - 000 C .r - 15 = 16 17 = ' 18 [3 na rp ls, mil Clerk -ice • � ... • `. `�� WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON Barbara Brenner, Committee Chair Public Works and Safety Committee, 7/8/2008, Page 7