HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance May 8 2007WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Finance and Administrative Services Committee
May 8, 2007
Committee Chair Sam Crawford called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. in the
Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
Present: Absent:
L. Ward Nelson None
Dan McShane
Also Present:
Barbara Brenner
Carl Weimer
COMMITTEE DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL
1. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A
CONTRACT AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND GALLATIN
GROUP IN THE AMOUNT OF $95,000 TO AID THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE WITH
INTERGOVERNMENTAL ADVOCACY SERVICES AT BOTH THE STATE AND
NATIONAL LEVEL (AB2007 -199)
Crawford moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
Nelson stated he talked to Chris Vance and a representative from the Gallatin Group.
They do have experience working with government agencies such as Whatcom County,
according to an email he received (on file).
Brenner stated she is still opposed to hiring a lobbyist.
McShane asked the role County Councilmembers can play to take advantage of the
Gallatin Group, and the role they can play in Washington D.C. to help their own causes.
John Arthur Wilson, Gallatin Group Principal, stated he encourages all
councilmembers, in coordination with the executive branch, to come to them when it makes
sense. Customarily, they urge a coordinated effort between the legislative and executive
branches.
Chris Vance, Gallatin Group, stated both branches of the government should
coordinate. Having Washington D.C. representation is valuable because his group can set
up meetings for Whatcom County representatives in Washington D.C.
McShane asked about the study regarding 2010 Olympic impacts. Wilson stated the
study was commissioned by the State Department of Community, Trade, and Economic
Development two years ago to do an in -depth analysis on the issues regarding the 2010
Olympics. They will hone that information for Whatcom County on a variety of issues.
McShane stated that is a strength this group has as a lobby group. Wilson stated
there are additional efforts and issues Whatcom County has. They've talked to the
Executive about using the timeframe of the 2010 Olympics to recognize their issues.
Finance and Administrative Services Committee, 5/8/2007, Page 1
1
2 McShane asked if there are other clients who are looking at those issues in a similar
3 manner. Wilson stated that at this time, Whatcom County is the only public entity they've
4 approached about this. The State feels it has a handle on its own issues. Other counties
5 question the amount of impact they will see. A lot of his 2010 Olympic ancillary efforts have
6 focused on private and non - profit clients. In the public sector, Whatcom County will be
7 their only client.
8
9 McShane asked if they would track the State's efforts to make sure they aren't
10 sending money south. Wilson stated that is a legitimate concern. They will make sure
11 Whatcom County doesn't get overlooked with it's significant impacts. Lobbying Washington
12 Q.C. now is helpful. Federal officials must understand that this is an event that is already
13 set with a firm date. The federal government has to make sure that anything is done in a
14 way to affect the community as little as possible.
15
16 Brenner stated the federal government is very aware of the issues in Blaine.
17 Whether or not things get done in time is another story. Wilson stated there is no doubt the
18 local federal officials are aware of it. The question is whether the folks in Washington D.C.
19 understand it. It is easy for federal folks in Washington D.C. to lose site of the issue.
20
21 Nelson stated his main issue is healthcare. He asked if they have health
22 organizations as clients. He asked how they work through issues that may benefit one
23 client and not another client. Wilson stated they run an internal conflict check before taking
24 on a client and keep that check going internally. When an issue comes up, his team will do
25 a check to see if there are conflicts. He doesn't foresee any healthcare conflicts. If there is
26 one, he will bring it to the County immediately.
27
28 Crawford stated he would like the County administration to bring to the Council a
29 cost - benefit analysis of doing this in a year or two. The Council and taxpayers must see a
30 result, which he believes there will be.
31
32 Motion carried unanimously.
33
34
35 COUNCIL "CONSENT AGENDA" ITEM
36
37 1. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A HIDTA
38 AWARD COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND THE
39 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG
40 CONTROL POLICY, TO SUPPORT THE NORTHWEST HIDTA BORDER TASK
41 FORCE PROSECUTION INITIATIVE AT THE NORTHWEST HIGH INTENSITY
42 DRUG TRAFFICKING AREA (FUNDING AMOUNT IS $166,271) (AB2007 -213)
43
44 Nelson moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
45
46 Motion carried unanimously.
47
48 2. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A
49 CONTRACT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND THE BELLINGHAM HERALD,
50 TO PRINT REQUIRED PUBLICATIONS IN THE AMOUNT OF $11.89 FOR A
51 SINGLE COLUMN, PER COLUMN ONE -INCH FIRST INSERTION, AND $10.99
52 PER COLUMN INCH FOR THE SECOND AND ALL SUBSEQUENT INSERTIONS
53 (AB2007 -214)
Finance and Administrative Services Committee, 5/8/2007, Page 2
Crawford moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
Motion carried unanimously.
3. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A
CONTRACT AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND KRAZAN &
ASSOCIATES, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $94,440 FOR CONSULTING SERVICES
FOR WHATCOM COUNTY COURTHOUSE, PHASE I CONDITION SURVEY
(AB2007 -215)
McShane moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
Brenner stated she is concerned that they won't assign blame. She's not looking for
blame, but she wants to know why it happened in the first place.
Mike Russell, Administrative Services Department, stated they will explain all the
conditions. They are past the time they can go back to the original contractor. This is
phase one of a three -phase project to fix this issue.
Crawford stated the original contractor asked to change the design, and was told
that it could not change the design. The contractor predicted failure at the time of
construction. Deciding who did what is less important than getting things fixed.
There was discussion about how the original contactor was involved.
Motion carried unanimously,
4. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND THE UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, MT. BAKER- SNOQUALMIE
NATIONAL FOREST, TO PROVIDE FUNDS FOR A DEPUTY TO PATROL THE MT.
BAKE R-SNOQUALMIE NATIONAL FOREST, IN THE AMOUNT OF $60,000
(AB2007-216)
McShane moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
Motion carried unanimously.
S. RESOLUTION TO SET HEARING TO SELL TAX -TITLE PROPERTY BY PUBLIC
AUCTION REG. #TR2007 -01 (AB2007 -217)
Crawford moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
Motion carried unanimously.
6. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO AN
INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND THE CITY OF
BELLINGHAM FOR THE PURPOSE OF ANNEXATION AND DEVELOPMENT
WITHIN THE CITY OF BELLINGHAM FOR APPROXIMATELY 125 ACRES IN
THE VICINITY OF ALDRICH ROAD AND HORTON ROAD (AB2007 -218)
Nelson moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
Finance and Administrative Services Committee, 5/8/2007, Page 3
1
2 Brad Bennett, Administrative Services Department, stated the Executive withdraws
3 this item from the agenda.
4
5 7. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO AWARD BID #07 -47 TO
6 LOW BIDDER, ]ESSEE ENGINEERING, FOR THE FABRICATION OF BRIDGE
7 BEARINGS TO BE USED ON THE LUMMI ISLAND FERRY TERMINAL IN THE
8 AMOUNT OF $38,732.80 (AB2007 -219)
9
10 Joe Rutan, Public Works Department, stated this is fallow -up work to the emergency
11 work done on the docks last year.
12
13 Crawford moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
14
15 Brenner asked if bearing work was done during the emergency. Rutan stated it was.
16 This is the follow -up repair work to complete that project.
17
18 Brad Bennett, Administrative Services Department, stated the repairs to the dock
19 qualify as maintenance, not capital expenditures. However, the administration is putting
20 forward a resolution to not include them in the fare box recovery calculation. They must
21 make sure they follow the code as well as the reporting requirements.
22
23 Crawford stated it was announced at the time that the costs would be paid from the
24 road fund.
25
26 Motion carried unanimously.
27
28 S. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A LEASE
29 WITH WHATCOM COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT #21, LAUREL FIRE
30 STATION, FOR OFFICE SPACE FOR THE WHATCOM COUNTY SHERIFF'S
31 OFFICE, DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (AB2007 -220)
32
33 McShane moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
34
35 Nelson asked if they would use that facility during an emergency.
36
37 Don Boyd, Sheriff's Office, stated they would, as included in the agreement.
38
39 Nelson asked if parking is adequate for necessary staff during an emergency. Boyd
40 stated they are entering into an agreement with a neighboring church for overflow parking.
41 The current parking arrangement accommodates at least 44 people with no problems to
42 ingress and egress. In the event of an actual emergency, they will have to divert the public
43 to another venue, possibly the Laurel Grange. This is a temporary fix until they build the
44 new Sheriff's Office. They hope that they can integrate into the new Sheriff's facility. They
45 are keeping an eye out for alternative locations.
46
47 Crawford asked about the communications issues experienced by the emergency
48 operations center during the Whatcom Creek emergency. Boyd stated the communication
49 issues associated with the Whatcom Creek incident were problems with the telephone
50 system going down and getting information to the media. They have full communication
51 capability on UHF, VHF, the normal fire and police bands, and the ham radio nets from the
52 Laurel fire station. They have fiber optic and are in the process of contracting for wireless
53 services.
Finance and Administrative Services Committee, 5/8/2007, Page 4
1
2 Brenner stated that during an emergency, this facility would be tactical command,
3 not necessarily where the public would go for information.
4
5 McShane asked if the location is geologically secure. Boyd stated the ground is more
6 seismically sound. The building is single -story and more flexible, which is safer.
7
8 McShane asked if there has been a tsunami workshop in the county. Boyd stated
9 there has been. They are working closely with Sandy Point and the Lummi Nation on
10 warning systems. They are doing tsunami mapping with the State Department of Ecology
11 for all waterfront locations in the county.
12
13 McShane asked them to provide information to the public as well.
14
15 Motion carried unanimously.
16
17 9. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO AN
18 AGREEMENT WITH FCS GROUP TO ASSIST WITH ESTABLISHING A FUNDING
19 MECHANISM FOR THE BIRCH BAY COMPREHENSIVE STORMWATER PLAN IN
20 THE AMOUNT OF $84,645 (AB2007 -221)
21
22 McShane moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
23
24 Brenner stated she is concerned about doing this piecemeal. It should include
25 Drayton Harbor.
26
27 Crawford stated this work can be used with future work. They can't change the
28 scope at this point. He hopes some nexus between distance of the property and the bay
29 itself will also be considered.
30
31 Nelson stated the issue is to have a process to evaluate the proposals as they come
32 forward. He hoped future phases of this project will identify the locations and funding.
33
34 Brenner asked if they will account for distance, soil types, and credits.
35
36 Kirk Christensen, Public Works Department, stated they will look at all the
37 characteristics. However, as they make it more complicated, more resources are required.
38 They must keep that in mind.
39
40 Brenner stated the County has committed to move in that direction. Create
41 incentives for people to do mitigation. That should be a priority.
42
43 Weimer stated they are paying a consultant for a one - quarter time position for
44 $80,000. Other areas are in the queue for similar districts. He asked if the County would
45 be better off to hire it's own staff person. It is something to consider. Christensen stated
46 these people are experts. This process may create a good template to move forward to the
47 other areas, and then they can get their own staff involved to use this template.
48
49 McShane stated the Council is going to battle over defining assessment mechanisms
50 and true low- impact measures.
51
52 Motion carried unanimously.
53
Finance and Administrative Services Committee, 5/8/2007, Page 5
11. REQUEST RATIFICATION OF THE 2007 -2009 SHERIFF'S SUPPORT STAFF
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT (AB2007 -223)
Nelson moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
Motion carried unanimously.
10. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A
CONTRACT AMENDMENT WITH WILSON ENGINEERING, LLC, TO PERFORM
ADDITIONAL WORK RELATED TO THE LUMMI ISLAND PARKING LOT
PROJECT IN THE AMOUNT OF $38,449 FOR A TOTAL AMENDED AMOUNT OF
$143,303 (AB2007 -222)
Joe Rutan, Public Works Department, stated this is the amount they will pay for
ongoing monitoring that is required. The other two main issues are additional outreach
during the design process and accounting for additional design costs.
Crawford moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
Rutan stated they have not overrun the entire budget amount, just the portion of the
project that involves outreach and a delay over the winter. This monitoring is to the
stormwater facility after completion of the project. The monitoring they're doing now is
construction inspection.
Brenner asked why the Public Works Department wouldn't do the monitoring. Rutan
stated he will have to consult with staff. He believes the department doesn't have staff
available to do this monitoring.
Brenner stated withdraw this item. This is a Public Works Department function.
Rutan stated their staff doesn't have time to add this project to its workload. Monitoring
stormwater is a condition of the permit. They are going to see more and more of these
types of requirements. The County will have to discuss whether to staff up or send this
future work to a consultant.
Brenner stated the Council budgeted for staff.
Crawford stated that was for a road engineer.
(Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side A.)
There was discussion about whether or not County staff can do this work.
Weimer asked if Wilson Engineering or the Public Works Department is aware of what
the Hearing Examiner conditioned to be done on this site. Rutan stated he is sure that they
are following the permit conditions of the Hearing Examiner. He will make sure that
happens.
Motion carried unanimously.
12. RESOLUTION TO SET HEARING TO DECLARE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2158
SOUTH NUGENT ROAD, LUMMI ISLAND, WA AS SURPLUS (AB2007 -153)
Crawford moved to recommend approval to the full Council.
Finance and Administrative Services Committee, 5/8/2007, Page 6
1
2 Weimer stated the Council voted to put this back in the Public Works Committee,
3 which is where island residents expect this to be discussed.
4
5 Brenner stated this was not scheduled in the Public Works Committee this week
6 because the Planning Committee is scheduled to begin early.
7
8 Motion carried unanimously.
9
10 Crawford stated he wants to get all questions answered during the public hearing.
11
12 McShane stated the Council received additional information from their legal counsel.
13
14 Weimer stated he hoped to hear from the public before the hearing so they can
15 resolve any issues, and not incur the legal expense of advertising yet another hearing.
16
17 Crawford stated councilmembers are welcome to pull this item from the Introduction
18 Items tonight.
19
20
21 OTHER BUSINESS
22
23 There was no other business.
24
25
26 ADJOURN
27
28 The meeting adjourned at 12:03 p.m.
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
7 Fn Crawford, CoVmittee Chair
Finance and Administrative Services Committee, 5/$/2007, Page 7