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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Works October 9 2007WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL Public Works and Safety Committee October 9, 2007 Committee Chair Barbara Brenner called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington. Present: Absent: Laurie Caskey- Schreiber L. Ward Nelson Also Present: Carl Weimer COMMITTEE DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL 1. RESOLUTION ORDERING AN ELECTION TO DETERMINE FORMATION OF AN IRRIGATION DISTRICT TO BE KNOWN AS THE NORTH LYNDEN WATERSHED IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (AB2007 -322C) John Gillies, Farm Friends Project Coordinator, stated the packet of information that went to landowners talks about the reasons for the district. One reason is to create a legal entity. Also, there are acute stormwater, drainage, and flooding issues that need to be addressed. A third reason is the endangered species issues. There must be a plan to deal with multiple issues. People in the community met and decided to move forward with an irrigation district. The largest landholders who would pay for the largest portion of this tax are in favor of the district. Brenner asked why it's not called an irrigation district. Gillies stated it has to do with more than irrigation. Irrigation is an issue, but it's not as much of an issue as stormwater flooding. Weimer asked how much money this will raise, and if the district plans to ask the County for more money. Gilles stated it probably will. There are ways to leverage the $3,000 raised. It operates similar to a drainage improvement district. Caskey - Schreiber stated a valuable benefit is the ability for the watershed improvement district (WID) to negotiation with the State Department of Ecology directly. She moved to recommend approval to the full Council. Motion carried unanimously. COMMITTEE DISCUSSION 1. DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSED RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE WHATCOM COUNTY 2008 ANNUAL ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM (AB2007 -382) Joe Rutan, Public Works Department, handed out information on the options for the design for Lincoln Road (on file). They divided the project into two phases. Phase one is fully funded. There is design and right -of -way acquisition money next year for phase two. There is no funding for construction. He will try to get money from the State. That is the change to the actual program. Public Works and Safety Committee, 10/9/2007, Page i They talked about the cross - section of the road. Alternatives A and C were original design alternatives from the alternatives report. Designs D1 and D2 are alternatives with a smaller median in the style of the Bill MacDonald Parkway. He read from the handout on alternatives A, C, D1 and D2. Caskey- Schreiber asked if one of the examples is close to what Mr. Bovenkamp built. Rutan stated Mr. Bovenkamp's median is wide, with plants in it. The homeowner's association will maintain that median. He hasn't proposed a median as wide as that. The County doesn't maintain medians around the county. They are all maintained by homeowner's associations. This median would have to be wide enough to let roots to grow if it were planted. Instead, this median would be stamped, colored concrete similar to the City's setback sidewalks. It matches what they will use on the roundabouts. The corridor will have an aesthetics theme. It would have a six -inch high curb with a reddish colored concrete with a brick pattern stamped into it. Caskey - Schreiber stated the Bill MacDonald Parkway median has very slow- growing trees with grass. The width is not more than four to eight feet wide. She wants to use alternative C, with a lowered middle section to take some stormwater and also with native vegetation and trees. Rutan stated that to have a tree in a median, there must be a curb to protect the tree. Caskey- Schreiber asked if they are not capable of maintaining that type of median. It can't be that hard. Rutan stated Western Washington University, not the City of Bellingham, maintains the median on Bill MacDonald Parkway. The City only maintains the median on Lakeway Drive. All other medians around town are maintained by private entities. The County could maintain the median. It has a cost. In general, a median costs about $2 million. He read from the handout on the costs of the alternatives. Caskey- Schreiber asked if there is an environmental benefit to be gained in the section of road from Shintaffer Road to Harborview Road. Jim Karcher, Public Works Department, stated the outfall ultimately is to Drayton Harbor because they don't want to construct detention ponds. As long as they outfall to the bay or a saltwater body, they don't need to do detention. They aren't gaining a lot of treatment with that center swale that they can't do with bioswales along the edge. Alternative C does provide a treatment benefit, but it is also more complex and forces them to make sure they drain the roadway freely. Brenner asked if they can get the same amount of benefit without the median by creating bioswales on the sides. Karcher stated they are both complex options. He's not sure they gain much by having a treatment swale down the center of the roadway, because it will be very complex to design and construct. Anything they do will be complex. Rutan stated one of the first things the permitting agencies will look at is the amount of wetland impacts. They will see significantly more wetlands impacts for which they will have to mitigate. Caskey - Schreiber asked the width of Mr. Bovenkamp's road. Karcher stated Semlahmoo Parkway is 34 feet from the edges of the pavement, without the trail. That includes 12 foot lanes and five foot shoulders. Rutan stated Semiahmoo Parkway essentially matches alternative A. Karcher stated the center median provides the separation they wanted to prevent left turns more than it provides for water quality treatment. Public Works and Safety Committee, 10/9/2007, Page 2 1 2 Rutan stated the permitting agencies will say that alternative A has lesser 3 environmental impacts. It will be less of an issue for the County to permit. 4 5 Brenner stated much of the traffic will come in and out of Semiahmoo Parkway. 6 Alternative A matches that road, even though it doesn't match Mr. Bovenkamp's road. The 7 roundabout will slow people down anyway. Once through a roundabout, they won't gain 8 much speed until the next roundabout or intersection. Karcher stated the Bovenkamp 9 development is on a varied grade. He has slope working to his advantage. The County is 10 on a flat grade and is struggling to get fall for the water issues. 11 12 Brenner asked if the staff's recommendation is alternative A. Rutan stated that if 13 money weren't an issue, they would all like alternative C. However, for more than $2 14 million, the amount of safety benefit from the median could be better applied to better 15 safety use throughout the county. It will be a safe route. They are not experiencing any 16 accident history on Semiahmoo Parkway. 17 18 Weimer stated he leans towards alternative A for those same reasons. It matches 19 Semiahmoo Parkway. There isn't a huge environmental benefit to the center swales. It 20 leaves wetlands that are already functioning. He asked if the cost of the side swales are 21 included in the handout estimates. Rutan stated they are. The staff would like to get a 22 decision on the design. It would also like to get the annual construction program introduced 23 and adopted, and then create a budget for 2008. He needs a budget by January 1, 2008. 24 25 Caskey- Schreiber moved to recommend approval of alternative A to the full 26 Council. This alternative will impede less wetland and will be the quickest and most 27 economically feasible to adopt. 28 29 Brenner stated alternative A will be safe enough, as proven by the safety of 30 Semiahmoo Parkway. Rutan stated the roundabouts will help with safety. The staff will 31 monitor the road's function, and make adjustments as needed. It will allow a left hand turn 32 lane. 33 34 Brenner stated it's good to keep it visually similar to Semiahmoo Parkway. Rutan 35 stated it won't look out of place. 36 37 Regarding another project, he became aware of an issue on Slater Road that is 38 similar to a Pole Road /Hannegan Road issue. The original estimate for the construction of 39 that bridge was $6.4 million, with $3 million from a Federal Emergency Management Agency 40 (FEMA) grant and $3.4 million from local funds. The engineer's estimate he recently 41 received has the cost at almost $10 million. The administration is taking a look at it. There 42 is no way to address it now. He will work with FEMA to make sure the $3 million is still 43 available and if the cost - benefit ratio is now greater than one. He will work with the Lummi 44 Nation to identify other funds. He will come back to the Council to discuss this road in the 45 future. For now, leave it on the annual construction plan as it is now. 46 47 Motion carried unanimously, 48 49 Weimer asked about the Potter Road bridge. He asked if there is a safety reason for 50 changing it to a two -lane bridge. Now, it has rural character. Rutan stated there are issues 51 with flooding, structural capacity, and being functionally obsolete. There may be grant 52 funds available. 53 54 Karcher stated the Potter Road bridge got funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs 55 (BIA). The Nooksack Tribe wanted to replace the bridge because it was functionally 56 obsolete. It is structurally fine. He described the history of the bridge project. He would Public Works and Safety Committee, 10/9/2007, Page 3 1 like to upgrade the bridge. They will continue to have structural issues. It is an old bridge. 2 There is a high maintenance cost on this bridge. They'd hoped to dovetail the opportunity 3 to get rid of something with a high maintenance cost with the river and flood project. 4 5 Rutan stated this project is just a placeholder in case money becomes available. 6 7 Karcher stated the program for bridge replacement funds from the State reactivates 8 in 2008, but competition for the funding will be keen. 9 10 Rutan stated they will continue to live with and maintain the bridge if the County 11 doesn't get outside funding. The flooding is just as big an issue. It cuts off that area. 12 13 2. DISCUSSION REGARDING A REQUEST TO HAVE SPEED BUMPS 14 INSTALLED ON LAKESIDE /EUCLID STREET (AB2007 -404) 15 16 Joe Rutan, Public Works Department, stated people have always used that road to 17 cut through. The City of Bellingham has a program for traffic calming around the City. He 18 is developing a similar traffic calming and speed reduction program in the County. Set 19 aside money in the six -year plan each year to do projects in his program. He intends to 20 wait and see the results of the City's efforts on that road, and then address it through his 21 proposed traffic calming program next year. 22 23 24 OTHER BUSINESS 25 26 Brenner stated the Council received a petition requesting more sandbags for 27 Marietta. 28 29 Joe Rutan, Public Works Department, stated it's a good time to take a look at the 30 sandbags and make sure they're ready to go. He'll pass that project along to his staff. 31 Staff has been doing a lot of preparation for this year's flooding, especially with the new 32 director and new assistant director. Staff is doing a lot of training. This year, they 33 anticipate a colder and wetter winter. 34 35 36 ADJOURN 37 38 The mee ' adjourned at 2:17 p.m. 39 40 41 42 Jill Nixon ��tjkin"I Transcri tion 43 �r 44 ��' GO V 45 �T]• ��►j C0�••�� �' ++ WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL 46 WHATCOM COUNTY WASHINGTON 47 '� • - 48 — Air. 49 50 51 D +S�,ia 8rbay is, "Cpoil Clerk Barbara Brenner, Committee Chair Ii+*��`,�`,� ei ► Public Works and Safety Committee, 10/9/2007, Page 4