HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Council July 24 20071 Whatcom County Council
2 Special County Council Meeting
3
4 July 24, 2007
5
6 Council Chair Carl Weimer called the meeting to order at 9:12 a.m. in the Whatcom
7 County Courthouse, Fifth Floor Conference Room, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham,
8 Washington.
9
10
11 Present: Absent:
12 Barbara Brenner Sam Crawford
13 Dan McShane
14 Seth Fleetwood
15 Laurie Caskey - Schreiber
16 L. Ward Nelson
17
18
19
20 1. COUNCIL TO MEET WITH THE ADMINISTRATION TO DISCUSS WORK
21 ASSIGNMENTS, WORK BACKLOG, PRIORITIE=S, ESTABLISHMENT OF
22 MEASURABLE WORK PLANS WITH ACCOUNTABILITY BUILT IN, AND
23 POSSIBLE MEASURES NEEDED TO EXPEDITE THIS WORK IF NECESSARY
24 (AS2007 -281A)
25
26 Welcome Introductions Purpose of Council Meeting
27
28 Weimer stated the background of this issue and purpose of this meeting. This has
29 nothing to do with criticizing the Planning staff, who does a wonderful job.
30
31 Introduction of Lona Range Planning Staff
32
33 Sam Ryan, Planning and Development Services Department Interim Director,
34 submitted an organizational chart of the long range planning staff (on file). There is one
35 vacancy in long range planning for the water resource inventory area (WRIA) work.
36 Otherwise, long range planning is staffed up.
37
38 Linda Peterson, Planning and Development Services Department, thanked everyone
39 for being involved. Staff wants to know the Council's priorities. The Council needs to know
40 the staff situation and workload. Many different projects and activities compete for the
41 small number of staff. About 64 items are on the list of projects and activities. There have
42 been a great number of changes in the long range planning division over the past several
43 months. She has developed some organization to improve efficiency and the effectiveness
44 of the work they do.
45
46 Each planning staff person will speak on their respective roles, priorities and
47 projects, and main accomplishments over the past year. Their time is maximized now.
48 Many projects are on hold due to lack of staff. Planners with project responsibilities will
49 speak. A planner technician, a new planner I, and two geographic information system (GIS)
50 folks will not speak today.
51
52 Ryan stated one speaker today is not listed as an full -time equivalent (FTE)
53 employee, but is extra help, and will speak.
Special County Council - Long Term Planning, 7/24/2007, Page 1
1
2 Matt Aamot, Planning and Development Services Department, gave his background
3 with Whatcom County. His role is to work on Comprehensive Plan policies, changes to
4 development regulations, and rezones. His projects in 2006 and 2007 include the Foothills
5 subarea plan, which has been his main project the last year. He described the project. He
6 hopes to finish the subarea plan by early 2008. Over the last year, he's also been assigned
7 to the six -year capital improvement program, which requires collaboration with other
8 County departments and the County Executive's Office to formulate a plan for construction
9 and acquisition projects over the six -year planning period. He's worked on a
10 Comprehensive Plan and zoning amendment to require development in the outer portion of
11 an urban growth area (UGA), to be clustered on a small part of the lot until it's rezoned and
12 public water and sewer become available. He's also worked on a mineral resource
13 application in Nooksack, a number of rezones in the Ferndale UGA and the Kendall area, and
14 a variety of other miscellaneous projects.
15
16 Caskey - Schreiber asked when the Foothills subarea plan would come forward.
17 Aamot stated they hope to get it to the Council by the fall. it must go through the Planning
18 Commission process first.
19
20 Caskey- Schreiber stated a challenge is to not lose citizen involvement because of the
21 County's lengthy processes.
22
23 Brenner asked why Mr. Aamot was switched out of the Ferndale area. When
24 someone has a relationship and history with an area, that's a good thing. Aamot stated
25 that Gary Davis is now the Ferndale planner.
26
27 Peterson stated she is trying to be more efficient with the staffing allocation by
28 having one planner dedicated to a subarea. Because of Mr. Aamot's work on the Foothills
29 subarea, she assigned him that subarea. At the time, Gary Davis was working on Ferndale
30 issues and became the Ferndale subarea planner. The department has a team
31 environment. They are not losing institutional memory. The planners talk all the time
32 amongst each other, so information is shared.
33
34 McShane stated the Foothills area is complex. He asked if Mr. Aamot would lean
35 more toward getting the subarea plan right or getting it done. The Birch Bay plan took a
36 long time, but they ended up with a good plan in the end, Patience was shown at times.
37 The Council took its time on it, as well. Aamot stated he would rather get the plan done
38 right. The committee wants to have a plan that the community supports. it is a lengthy
39 process that takes time.
40
41 McShane stated the slowness might not be due to staffing, but to the committee
42 working through things. Aamot stated a subarea plan takes about two years to do it right.
43 They tried to do this one quicker, but the committee is taking its time. The people want to
44 speak and have public comment at every meeting. The committee has invested a lot into
45 the planning effort. He would hate to see it go this far, and hurry the end to compromise
46 the work.
47
48 McShane asked if the six -year capital plan is done. Aamot stated it's done every two
49 years. The next update is November 2008.
50
51 McShane asked how much support Mr. Aamot gets from staff outside the Planning
52 Department. Aamot stated it varies, but there is a lot of coordination and interaction with
53 the other departments and the Executive's Office.
Special County Council - Long Term Planning, 7/24/2007, Page 2
Nelson asked the breakdown of Mr. Aamot's priorities and time spent. Aamot stated
he spends more than 50 percent of time on the Foothills subarea. That project has been
increasing. As of July, it will be close to 90 percent. Over the year, about two - thirds of his
time is spent on Foothills. He spends the rest of his time with other Comprehensive Plan,
zoning amendments, and miscellaneous things.
Brenner stated Mr. Aamot is a pleasure to work with.
Caskey- Schreiber stated Mr. Aamot is doing a good job with the Foothills subarea
plan process. The community is really engaged with him. He helps keep them on track and
keep the issues vetted. That helps the Council when it gets the issue. It's difficult to bring
together folks with strong differing opinions. Aamot stated he appreciates the
Councilmembers' involvement.
Cathy Craver, Planning and Development Services Department, gave her background
with the department. She is assigned to the Bellingham subarea. She described the
subarea plan process. She helps develop the policies and write the background chapters in
coordination with the City staff. She maintains the website, gets information out to the
public, and works on annexations to the city of Bellingham. When she first started, she also
worked on the shoreline management update. She is the planning liaison for the Inter -
Jurisdictional Coordinating Team for the Lake Whatcom Management Program, which
coordinates with planners and staff of other jurisdictions and departments, the water
district, and the City. About 90 percent of her time is spent on the Bellingham UGA.
McShane asked if Ms. Craver hasn't done much yet with the Lake Whatcom
Management Plan, and if it's a future project. Craver stated she worked 2 1/2 years with the
City on the Lake Whatcom Management Program, as a City staff person. Most of her time
now is for the subarea plan.
Gary Davis, Planning and Development Services Department, gave his background
with the department. He spends about 67 percent of his time on helping Ms. Craver with
the Bellingham UGA project. He also does UGA review for the small cities. He works with
Ferndale and Blaine to start their UGA land supply analysis. He interacts regularly with Mr.
Aamot on the Ferndale background. He is also doing Growth Management Act (GMA)
compliance related to the Futurewise decision on urban residential, three units per acre (UR-
3) zone in urban areas. He will work with the Birch Bay incorporation study to manage the
consultants that will prepare a feasibility study for the incorporation process. He's also
assigned to individual zoning changes.
Nelson asked if the rest of his time is split amongst all the other activities. Davis
stated it is.
Caskey - Schreiber stated Ms. Craver and Mr. Davis have been very helpful in the
Bellingham UGA process. Their input is welcome.
Brenner asked if they are still determining whether Birch Bay can incorporate, and if
the staff is not going help Birch Bay actually move toward incorporation. Davis described
the feasibility study for incorporation.
Brenner asked if there is a down side to doing a feasibility study totally with a
consultant, to free Mr. Davis up for other things. Davis stated a consultant is helpful by
Special County Council - Long Term Planning, 7/24/2007, Page 3
bringing in their special expertise. There is still a lot of time involved in managing the
consultant and contract.
John Everett, Planning and Development Services Department, stated he is the
transportation planner. There is an inextricable link between the land use and capital
facilities plans. His position was created a year ago to focus on those issues and other
necessary public facilities and services. His position addresses those issues in three ways.
First, his core activities include being the County liaison for transportation planning
issues. He interacts regularly with other jurisdictions. There is a lot of activity related to
the transportation issue. He's also the lead staff person representing transportation during
project development reviews. All major land use projects being reviewed go through him
for transportation review. He is involved in transportation issues within the State
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) process. He is the technical administrator for the
concurrency ordinance. He is assigned to the Birch Bay subarea. Transportation is the
main issue out there.
Second, he does long range coordination regarding transportation for Comprehensive
Plan amendments, rezones, and UGA expansion issues.
Third, the most important, is the concurrency impact fee program. A consultant
helps him with that project. This project must not be done quickly at the expense of it
being done right. Concurrency is a new program. If they don't strike the right balance for
impact fees, the system could have major negative repercussions. It's critical to get the
program right. He described his activities with that project. He is also working on a parks
impact fee that is on hold until the parks plan can be approved and a school impact fee is
done, which is in process now.
Fleetwood asked the negative repercussions that could happen if they don't get
impact fees right. Everett stated that they may not be able to invest enough into the
transportation system, based on the community's level of expectation. The challenge is to
accurately portray what it will actually cost the County to maintain certain levels of service.
They must define the level of revenue needed to maintain the transportation system
adequately.
Nelson asked the amount of time spent on core, secondary, and tertiary activities.
Everett stated it's difficult to estimate how his time is broken up. Over the next six months,
he will spend 60 percent of his time on concurrency and impact fee programs.
(Clerk-'s Note. End of tape one, side A.)
Weimer stated it seems like this position, more than others, is at the whim of other
demands. Everett stated it is. He has a cyclical work pattern. Also, much of the
concurrency impact fee program is tied to consultant work, so his work may be in a holding
pattern at times, when he'll have time to work on other things.
Caskey - Schreiber stated Hal Hart advocated for this position. Mr. Everett's work is
invaluable. She asked how the Council can help him. His plate is very full. She asked if a
consultant has helped, and if the staff can use another consultant in another area. Everett
stated he hopes that, once they complete the concurrency and impact fee program, it will
free up more of his time. Many larger urbanizing counties will have transportation planners
focused on the larger long -range issues. He would like to work on long -term planning
Special County Council - Long Term Planning, 7/24/2007, Page 4
issues. Once he gets the concurrency program and impact fees in place, he will have more
time to work on those issues.
Nelson asked where Mr. Everett is on the organizational chart. Everett stated he is a
Senior Planner in the Planning Division.
Nelson asked if he has a technician to work with. Everett stated he does not.
Peterson stated there are three extra help positions, one of which is vacant. When
filled, that extra help person will assist Mr. Everett.
Brenner asked for a definition of the job descriptions of Senior Planner, Planner II,
and Planner I. She thought it was based on time in the job, as well as qualifications. She
asked if it's based more on qualifications. Ryan stated that when replacing a planner staff
position, they hire for the specific position that's vacant. If a senior position is vacant, they
hire someone qualified as a senior planner.
Brenner asked if they can have an interim concurrency and impact fee program, until
they get one right. The current interim ordinance doesn't have any teeth. Everett stated
the SEPA program allows them to exact mitigation fees. He is working with individual
projects on mitigation fees and mitigation projects.
Brenner asked if SEPA is a better tool. Everett stated they are making much better
use of SEPA for mitigating transportation impacts than in the past. The impact fee system
makes the system more predictable. With SEPA, a developer won't know their likely
mitigation requirements until they go through the SEPA process. With impact fees, people
know up front what is expected of them.
Brenner asked if they are heading in the right direction to do impact fees instead of
SEPA. SEPA seems to have more Flexibility. Everett stated they will ultimately use SEPA for
critical safety issues and other things not addressed through the impact fee system. There
may be situations where it's necessary to have an improvement made at the time of the
development project due to a safety issue. Rather than just collect fees and wait for the
County to make a fix, through SEPA, there may be a significant impact that needs to be
addressed immediately. They'll have two tools to use.
McShane asked if Mr. Everett's position is paid for out of the general fund.
Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, stated it is.
McShane stated the link between transportation and planning is critical. He asked if
they can use the road fund to pay for Mr. Everett's position. Desler stated they've looked at
that option. Road funds must be used directly for County roads. It's more appropriate to
use the general fund.
Nelson asked if the impact fees have the same restrictions, in terms of using them to
pay for planning help. Desler stated the impact fees must be used for infrastructure.
Peter Gill, Planning and Development Services Department, described his
background. He is part of the natural resource policy group transferred to the long range
planning division. He's worked on the critical areas ordinance and shoreline management
plan. He's also working on the WRIA 1 implementation plan. He is glad the Council is
prioritizing projects for the staff. Now he's working on the comprehensive water resource
Special County Council - Long Term Planning, 7/24/2007, Page 5
integration project, the WRIA I watershed management project, Utah State University
(USU) decision support system (DSS), Birch Bay watershed characterization plan, Cherry
Point aquatic reserve plan, and flood plain mapping to support the critical areas ordinance,
and with the Department of Ecology (DOE) to finalize the shoreline program. Most recently,
the WRIA detailed implementation plan has taken up 50 percent of his time, the Birch Bay
landscape characterization project is 30 percent of his time, and the other projects take up
the last 30 percent of his time.
Brenner stated Mr. Gill is amazing with the Birch Bay folks. He has a great way with
people. She asked if he hopes that they will get USU deliverables. Gill stated he does.
There is encouraging activity happening.
Brenner asked if he trusts the material that USU sends over. Gill stated that remains
to be seen.
Brenner stated she would like to know which of his activities should be the highest
priority. She wants to ask how Mr. Gill would like to see his workload prioritized. He's been
around awhile and has observed the issues. Private firms can do things like flood plain
mapping. Gill stated a consultant would take the new elevation data that the County just
received from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and do the same thing the County is doing.
The County has needs for the information. It's an improvement on the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) maps.
Caskey- Schreiber stated she likes the idea of asking staff what they can do and what
is important. She asked Mr. Gill's opinion of the top two areas that they should prioritize.
Gill stated focus on what they are already deeply involved in and for which they have a lot
of citizen support, before dropping them off the list.
Caskey- Schreiber stated that is Birch Bay and WRIA. She feels like the flood plain
thing is coming forward without a lot of updated information. The Council is being asked to
repair a dike that seems to have a negative effect to the opposite side of the river. A
question is how much more money the County should spend in that one area without
considering what else is going on. Gill stated that the Flood Division is mostly working on
that project. He is helping them figure out how best to do the mapping.
Nelson stated he would like the Planning Manager to give the Council thoughts on
their perspective. Peterson stated the team has gone through several exercises regarding
their projects and activities, including both active projects and projects on hold.
Caskey - Schreiber stated she wants input from the staff also.
Samya Lutz, Planning and Development Services Department, gave her background.
She works on the ongoing affordable housing project through the Countywide Housing
Affordability Task Force. She described the affordable housing project. She also worked on
Birch Bay design guidelines for commercial development, which recently ended. She
described that project. Now, she assists Senior Planner Kraig Olason with the agricultural
program, particularly the purchase of development rights (PDR) portion of the program.
Caskey- Schreiber asked if the Birch Bay design guidelines will be formally adopted or
a covenant. Lutz stated implementation is on hold. They completed the consultant portion
of the project. The consultant's deliverable was a proposed design guidelines document,
but it has not gone through public processes through the Planning Commission and Council.
Special County Council - Long Term Planning, 7/24/2007, Page 6
1 Caskey- Schreiber asked how long that would take. Peterson stated there was a
2 decision to put that on hold because of the incorporation study. If Birch Bay goes forward
3 with incorporation, it's more reasonable that the city come up with its own design
4 guidelines.
5
6 Caskey- Schreiber stated she is concerned about projects that are moving along and
7 won't have any guidelines to follow. Peterson stated the Birch Bay incorporation process
8 could be completed before they adopt the guideline, anyway.
9
10 Brenner stated the Birch Bay design guideline process actively involved the
11 community. She asked if they can take that draft and adopt it as an interim. Incorporation
12 will take a long time if the community goes forward with incorporation. Peterson stated
13 they haven't thought about doing an interim. They needed to shift staff to other resources.
14
15 Weimer stated the draft is a guideline, and is not ready to put into code.
16
17 Caskey- Schreiber asked if they could increase Ms. Lutz to a vacant planner II
18 position. Ryan stated the vacant position is for WRIA, not long range planning.
19
20 Brenner stated Ms. Lutz wants to work part-time.
21
22 Elizabeth Olsen, Planning and Development Services Department, described her
23 background. She has gone through eight of the existing subareas from the beginning. She
24 knows why things were done and their effects on planning at that time. Now, her work is
25 on zoning and Comprehensive Plan amendments and the very basic mandates such as the
26 Open Space program. She described the Open Space program and her responsibilities. She
27 also works on changes to the Coordinated Water Plan and annexations.
28
29 Nelson asked how Ms. Olsen allocates her time. Olsen stated that to the end of the
30 year, she has a Planner I to work with her on mandated projects.
31
32 Brenner stated it's a pleasure working with Ms. Olsen. She's very helpful and easy to
33 get a hold of.
34
35 Jim Thompson, Planning and Development Services Department, gave his
36 background. He is with the long -range natural resources policy planning group working on
37 the water resources integration project. Over the next 18 months, he will spend 30 percent
38 of his time doing WRIA implementation and management, 30 percent on the conservation
39 plan for agricultural lands, which is an element of the critical areas ordinance, and more
40 time on perfecting some of the forest conversion regulations mandated by the end of 2008.
41 The remaining percentage will be spent on the water resource integration project, the
42 Cherry Point aquatic reserve, developing critical areas and shoreline guideline technical
43 materials to apply the guides consistently, and the critical areas ordinance amendment
44 cycle. Parallel with water resource integration and working strategy documents, they are
45 working toward natural resource integration, not just water resource integration. The
46 critical areas ordinance and shorelines are two elements of an advanced strategy. In
47 moving from land use to natural resource policy, his purpose is to work on the
48 implementation elements.
49
50 Fleetwood asked for more information on the forest practice conversion rules. He
51 also asked the key feature of the detailed implementation plan. Thompson explained the
52 State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) forest conversion changes. Regarding the
Special County Council - Long Term Planning, 7/24/2007, Page 7
1 implementation plan, WRIA is an advanced process that he's still learning about. At this
2 time, he's not sure he can identify a key feature.
3
4 McShane stated it's a good idea to have someone like Mr. Thompson, who has been
5 working with the regulations on the ground, in this position. Identify those issues where the
6 staff and public end up spinning their wheels.
7
8 Peterson read information from Senior Planner Kraig Olason, who couldn't be here
9 today. Mr. Olason has a very important role. He is assigned to agricultural programs, the
10 Lynden subarea, the ten -year review for the UGA's for Lynden, Sumas, Everson, and
11 Nocksack. She read his statement describing his agricultural program activities.
12
13 (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side B.)
14
15 Brenner stated the Council funded a permanent assistant for Mr. Olason. She asked
16 why the administration didn't fund it as a permanent position. Ryan stated that position
17 was funded to June 30 of this year.
18
19 Brenner stated the Council and the administration need to work together. The
20 Council prioritized agriculture as one of the top priorities.
21
22 Desler stated he'd have to look at the record to see what happened to that position.
23 He remembers additional staff capacity added to the budget. The agricultural program
24 corning forward includes a consulting team and staff assistance. He's not sure if that
25 assistance is permanent.
26
27 (Clerk's Note: The Council took a break from 10:53 a.m. to 11:09 a.m.)
28
29 Review of Long Range Projects and Activities - 2007
30
31 Brenner stated some of the core activities don't seem to be long range. It's
32 confusing. Some things like SEPA review and annexations aren't long -range activities as
33 much as they are regular administrative things. Ryan stated part of that is correct. Long
34 range planning responds to the SEPA decisions being put out. Before, the department
35 wasn't contributing its input. Now, that is happening.
36
37 Brenner stated that Mr. Everett's position includes long -, medium -, and short -range
38 projects. That has a tendency to divert their focus to short -term projects and away from
39 long -term projects.
40
41 Weimer stated one of the core functions is making sure there is integration among
42 the different pieces of the puzzle.
43
44 Petersen stated it's hard to differentiate between long -range and current projects.
45 On the list are long -range planners working on long -range projects and looking at long -
46 range issues. She summarized the July 24, 2007 version of the Long Range Planning
47 Division Projects and Activities for 2007 (on file).
48
49 Brenner asked if Futurewise compliance requires one FTE per year. Davis stated the
50 Futurewise case involves densities that aren't dense enough in the urban areas, which
51 they've taken care of. It is also about densities outside rural areas that are too dense.
52 Third, it is about Comprehensive Plan designations that are not in accordance with limited
53 areas of more intense rural development (LAMIRD's). The project requires a lot of
Special County Council - Long Term Planning, 7/24/2007, Page 8
I Comprehensive Plan text amendments and changes to many Comprehensive Plan
2 designations to comply. It also requires much public interaction to explain the changes to
3 the public.
4
5 Brenner stated they are doing that anyway. She asked why they are assigning one
6 FTE for the year. The County may not do those things as quickly as Futurewise wants, but
7 they are moving forward. Davis stated they are still awaiting a decision from the Court of
8 Appeals. If the County gets the word from the court that it needs to do these things, the
9 staff anticipates having many public meetings all over the county.
10
11 Caskey- Schreiber stated it's evident that the County doesn't have enough staff to
12 complete some of these tasks. Rather than nit- picking which tasks are more important and
13 which are mandated, add staff, contract out, or transfer staff from the permit division.
14 Borrow three people from the permit area to work on the low priority items for a year.
15 Ryan stated all the vacancies in the department are in the permit division. Those people
16 need to be trained. If they borrow any more staff, then they will slow or stop the permitting
17 process.
18
19 Caskey- Schreiber stated the other option is to add more staff or consultants. A
20 problem with hiring is getting those people hired and trained.
21
22 Weimer asked if there are timelines on the legally mandated items. Peterson stated
23 she's indicated any deadlines on the list. The others are more vague in terms of a deadline.
24
25 Weimer asked if legal mandates have to be at the top of the priority list. Peterson
26 stated that in an ideal world, they do.
27
28 Weimer stated there isn't enough staff to do more than what's legally mandated.
29 Peterson stated it's more important to complete the non - mandated items on which they've
30 invested a great amount of time and resources. She would not divert staff from that to a
31 mandated item with no deadline. Keep the continuity.
32
33 Brenner stated consultants could work on some of these activities. Former County
34 staff people with backgrounds in these items are working for local consulting firms. Some
35 projects are small and can be done quickly, and others are big long -term projects. Use
36 consultants that have worked in the County in the past so they don't have to be brought up
37 to speed. Go through the list and identify those things that can be done with consultants
38 who are former employees. Ryan stated those consultants have to be budgeted.
39
40 Fleetwood asked what a budget appropriation would need to be if they were to hire
41 to fill these gaps. Ryan stated they didn't have the time to put together a fiscal impact.
42
43 Nelson asked if projects that have received other funding get preferential treatment.
44 Peterson stated there are strings attached to grants, and grants are difficult to administer.
45 It's difficult to secure a grant. They have to really decide whether a grant is worthwhile.
46
47 Nelson asked about other agency involvement to work on some of these projects.
48 Peterson stated that can include a State agency, another city, or other jurisdictions. Most
49 projects have interagency and extended public involvement, such as one or more
50 community meetings.
51
52 Nelson asked the impact to these projects from Planning Commission involvement.
53 Peterson stated that the impact is to staff time required to process the project.
Special County Council - Long Term Planning, 7/24/2007, Page 9
Weimer asked if County law or State law requires items to go through the Planning
Commission. Aamot stated Planning Commission involvement is required by State law.
Brenner stated the community impact assessment item is about requiring a cost -
benefit analysis on commercial development in excess of 80,000 square feet. However, the
Council adopted an ordinance about commercial development being no larger than 75,000
square feet. She asked why that item is on the list.
Fleetwood stated he filed that item a year ago.
Brenner stated some of the projects on this list are outdated.
Weimer stated the Council adopted this limitation as an interim.
McShane stated the Planning Department has a history in the county. The GMA has
had significant impacts on how business is done in every county. Every county is struggling
with this. This has been hard for the County Council because it is a part-time Council.
Their workload has gone up a lot. They haven't responded with the staffing levels that the
GMA requires, partly because they didn't anticipate how enormous the issues would be.
Those problems aren't going to go away. Because of the nature of Whatcom County, they
want to move beyond GMA compliance, such as with the agricultural program. They must
have a robust process. It will come down to deciding whether or not the County should set
a budget and ramp up long -term planning. The Council has started to ramp up by hiring
the Council policy analyst. That's where they are getting to, and that's what they need to
talk about. Not included on this list are all the action items in the Comprehensive Plan.
Weimer stated they don't have enough staff to get through the legal mandates.
Spend time talking about ramping up with the administration.
Fleetwood stated he agrees. There seems to be a Council consensus that they need
more. Long -term planning is necessary for implementing the best vision for the county.
Because something is a mandate doesn't mean it's a high priority to local values. The
County's values are equally important. He supports hiring more staff, even if it takes more
money.
Brenner stated they can have more staff, but the current staff members have been
leaving. People are coming on board, getting trained, and leaving. Long -term staff have
also left. There is a combination of problems. Just ramping up is not going to do it. They
need more staff even if no one had left. There are two issues to deal with. In addition to
budgeting for more staff, they must also preserve institutional memory.
Olsen stated the long -range Planning Division shouldn't be mixed up with the
Building and Land Use Divisions. Only one long -range planner has left.
Brenner stated Jeff Chalfant was a long -range planner.
Caskey- Schreiber stated there are more tasks than staff available to do those tasks.
That won't change. She is in favor of hiring staff over hiring consultants. Do a budget
amendment. The administration should figure out what they need, and the Council will
support it. Some of the staff may have left because they were over - burdened. That's
everyone's fault. Solve the problem. Add the people they need.
Special County Council - Long Term Planning, 7/24/2007, Page 10
Nelson stated that if they are going to add staff, the Council must also be responsible
to the citizens in terms of cost and how long it will take. They must address the mandates
and the local projects that are in process. When they have things proposed by legislative
action or otherwise, it would be good to put a timeframe in place. When they start seeing
these problems occur, they can do an analysis and make sure they are meeting the
demands being placed upon the department. Consider that for the future. Additional
workloads add stress to the staff. There are things they can do to accommodate that. They
may need additional staff to get this going.
The question is how to look at their needs for the future. Impacts from legislative
decisions and mandates never came forward in the budget process. They need that
information. Peterson stated this information should have been provided a long time ago.
This information will change as the situation changes. From this, they can build a better
basis for making staff determinations, staff requests, and budget requests. Also, fiscal
notes will be included with ordinances and other things that come forward.
Pete Kremen, County Executive, stated he thanks everyone for this dialog. It's
productive for everyone. The administration does need to ramp up. It has begun to ramp
up, in spite of the perception. The long -range Planning Division has more people than it did
a few years ago.
(Clerk's !Vote: End of tape two, side A.)
Kremen continued to state that these comments are extremely valid and
appropriate. From his perspective, allocating more resources and creating positions doesn't
mean they are going to be able to hire anyone. There is a lot of competition in this
Northwest region for this expertise. There is a reason why private businesses are recruiting
out of the County and City jurisdictions. There is a dearth of skilled people in this industry.
It will be tough to fill those positions. They don't want to hire just anyone. They need the
right person with the right skills and the right fit. The County will do the best job it can.
It's a very competitive market. Whatcom County will be more aggressive in it's recruitment
and retention efforts.
Weimer stated the councilmembers can do their prioritizations later and turn them
in.
Brenner stated identify which projects can be done with consultants. Have three
categories that include the long -term staff projects, the short-term staff projects, and
consultant projects.
Fleetwood stated that if the Council agrees that everything on the list is important, it
doesn't need to go through the prioritization activity.
Caskey- Schreiber stated the Council already determined that these are high
priority items. She wants to know how much they can do with more higher -level planner
positions. Then, prioritize what kind of people they add versus hiring consultants. She
moved to ask the administration to come back with options for sending out some projects
to consultants, make recommendations for increasing staff levels, and estimate costs.
McShane stated he doesn't want to micro- manage at this point. The Council is
willing to support increasing capacity of the department on some level. Consultants are
expensive, not often good, and take governments for a ride. He's cautious about them.
However, there are specific issues on which the County has done a good job using
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consultants on specific issues that don't require staff for the long term. Those are the
things that should be assigned to consultants. Don't use consultants to take over things the
County should normally do on a regular basis.
Ryan stated they must also consider space needs for additional staff.
Brenner stated she disagrees with Councilmember McShane. Most consultants, other
than USU, have been good. Most have done excellent work. She's only talking about
having consultants for one -time projects, not ongoing activities. Her priority is low- impact
development.
McShane stated he is afraid of using consultants for low- impact development.
Kremen stated the Council and County needs to prioritize, regardless of whether or
not they ramp up. Staff needs to know what to focus on while they try to find people to fill
the positions they create. Doing that right now is premature. Digest this list. Keep the list
for a week, and the administration will come up with more options, per the motion.
Nelson stated that is what the motion implies. They need to work more on
prioritization. There is more work than what the staff can do in a reasonable amount of
time. They need to look at the alternatives available from an administrative perspective.
He restated the motion to request the administration to work with its staff to define the
options. Adding staff isn't always the answer. There may be impacts to implementation if
they move faster on planning.
Caskey- Schreiber concurred with Councilmember Nelson's clarification of the
motion.
Motion carried unanimously.
OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business.
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m.
Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
;0ffiCrd!lhdilr?roved these minutes on September 25 2007.
ATj•�S► `•'COv�I! WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
�� �i•• �Ir1ATCp ;00 WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Carl Weimer, Council Chair
Special County Council - Long Term Planning, 7/24/2007, Page 12