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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Works June 7 20051 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL Public Works and Safety Committee June 7, 2005 Committee Chair Barbara Brenner called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington. Present: L. Ward Nelson Sam Crawford Also Present: Sharon Roy Laurie Caskey- Schreiber Seth Fleetwood Dan McShane COMMITTEE DISCUSSION Absent: None 1. DISCUSSION WITH WHATCOM COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR REGARDING LIGHTHOUSE PARK FEES (AB2005 -250) Mike McFarlane, Parks and Recreation Department Director, handed out information (on fi /e) and stated Councilmember Brenner asked him to explain the rates and fees for Lighthouse Park. There isn't anything unique about Lighthouse Park. It is the same fee system applied to nonresidents across all County facilities. Initially, the Park Board set up a system to provide some free services to County residents, while charging for various programs and specialized equipment. Non - residents were able to get a resident card to give them resident rates if they showed they were a voting member of the county or the driver's license showed residency. That was when license plates indicated the county location. Later, they went to a system that property owners in the county could get a resident card to partake in facilities and programs at resident rates. The last time the $10 fee was charged for that card was in 1990. Since then, the program has been inconsistent in collecting fees. For 2005 and 2006, he is working to get accountability and consistency across the board. He would like to simplify it even more in 2006. In terms if issuing the cards, they didn't keep a record. There was also a cost to issuing the card. This year, they went back to charging a $5 processing fee. Most non - resident fees come to Lake Samish, from Skagit County residents. Lighthouse Park is the next highest use, but they only capture a small amount of the non - resident fees out there. Last year, non - resident fees were in place from May 1 through November. However, it Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. doesn't make sense to not have the fee during the off - season. Therefore, they upgraded signage, managers have became more aggressive in collecting the fee, and they now charge the fee year round. So far, they have issued 17 cards at Lighthouse Park this season. Now, they're asking cars to pay that fee as they come into the park. At the park, there are a number of fees they charge. Brenner stated they're talking about a minute amount of money either way. She asked why staff can't just ask anyone if they are a resident or non - resident. It seems like they are targeting out -of -state license plates. That doesn't seem equitable. Just ask people as they come into the park and hope they tell them the truth. Ask that of everyone. Nelson stated the email the councilmembers received is what got them interested in this matter. He was concerned that there wasn't an exemption program that applied to the entire county, but it sounds like it is covered for the entire county. There may be an administrative cost to asking every user. Whatever they do should be uniform. He asked if there is signage to inform the public that they can get the resident cards. McFarlane stated exemptions are available for property owners only. Nelson asked what happens when there is a family reunion, for example. McFarlane stated the resident in the county usually ends up booking the facility, and that's fine. Non - residents who book have to wait to allow residents to book first. Brenner stated everyone who owns property pay taxes that go into park services. Treat all property owners the same. She asked how much money they end up spending going through this process. If they are going to depend on peoples' honesty, then do it for all. Roy stated they should not ask Mr. McFarlane to change anything. Renters pay property taxes as well, through their rent fee. She asked if the County has a pass to let people into any County park. McFarlane stated that a resident who is a renter would be charged resident fees. Non - resident fees are hard to administer unless there is a County identification card. He would like to address this through the parks comprehensive plan. If they don't aggressively pursue non - resident fees, the activity doesn't become cost effective. In that case, he would ask that they do away with non - resident fees and charge a fee to all. Staff would rather not deal with the resident /non- resident issues because it is difficult to identify. On the other hand, they're raising the swimming fees at Lake Samish because so many non- residents swim there that the residents have a hard time getting into the lake to go swimming. As part of the plan and the next budget cycle, he will bring forward adjustments to the fees. Brenner stated she would rather do away with the fees for local parks. Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Caskey- Schreiber stated it is appropriate to charge a fee for non - residents. Maintaining parks is expensive. Anywhere else in the state, a non - resident will pay a much higher rate. That's okay. She expects that when she travels. Point Roberts may need some fine - tuning of the fees if they are spending a lot of money to collect those fees. When a park is on the county border, charge what it costs to maintain those facilities. Brenner stated that someone who is a part of the community and a resident should not have to pay fees. However, it's difficult to separate them out. Go on the honor system. Make sure some residents aren't treated differently from other residents. Nelson stated the fees are a mechanism to pay for services. Parks has been able to expand its programs because of the fees it collects. He would rather see the public support the programs directly. They need to have an equitable system. Brenner stated she's talking about park access, not programs. The fees for the programs should equal the cost. McFarlane stated the fee for park use is a parking fee. Anyone can walk to the park. Non - residents must pay a parking fee. 2. DISCUSSION REGARDING THE RESOLUTION APPROVING THE WHATCOM COUNTY SIX -YEAR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR THE YEARS 2006 THROUGH 2011 AND THE 14 -YEAR FERRY PLAN 2006 — 2019 (AB2005 -246) Joe Rutan, County Road Engineer, submitted information (on file). The first three projects on the list are 2005 projects they will finish in 2006. Those three projects must be on the 2006 program since money will be spent on them in 2006. He described projects one through ten, which are the 2006 program. The 2007 program begins with project 11. Almost all 2007 projects are grant funded. The first two projects on the 2005 to 2010 list didn't have any funding. This last year, he obtained $3.6 million for the Lake Louise project. To fund the Lincoln Street project, he took funding previously designated for Tyee Drive. The County will not finish all the projects on the list in the next few years. He and the Executive worked hard to get all the projects above Lincoln Road funded so they can work on Lincoln Road. In order to work on Lincoln Road, the Council can lower the priority of the Cable Street and Drayton Harbor Road projects or the Hannegan and Drayton Harbor Road projects. To fund Lincoln Road, they have to not do two of those three other projects. The county has to have all its work on the Hannegan Road done before the State Department of Transportation (DOT) starts its work on the Guide Meridian. To make that road more functional, they need to get the intersection of Pole Road and Hannegan Road done, which is to put in some left turn lanes. Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Brenner asked what will happen if they don't do that on Hannegan Road. Rutan stated there will be traffic issues, accidents, and rear -end accidents. There is also a bike route on Hannegan Road that will cause problems. The signal at Pole Road and Hannegan Road will be a mess. They will be criticized for not during work before the Guide construction. The next opportunity will be the summer of 2010. Brenner asked about putting the Sunrise Road project on hold. Rutan stated they now have all the rights -of -way. The contract for construction is before the Council's Finance Committee. Putting that project on hold would free up $3.2 million, but it does not free up the design capacity. There are four engineering staff positions, but two are vacant. This entire road program is predicated on filling those positions quickly. They have to think about money, capacity, and cash flow. They usually have kept a $10 million reserve. He brings that down to $2 million in the second year of the plan. That is as low as they can go. If one bridge goes down, it will cost $1 million. Caskey- Schreiber stated she has been concerned that they are willing to put $4 million into a controversial and expensive route. She doubts whether it should have been a priority. The project completes an all- weather route, but there are many traffic bottlenecks around the community. She cannot understand why the Sunrise Road can't take a backseat. She asked how frequently they even use all - weather roads. They have designated the Birch Bay area as an urban growth area (UGA) and are targeting population growth out there. It is insane they are not trying to fix that UGA area while they are trying to fix this obscure area where the road does not have a high volume. Rutan stated the Council can change the priority. The reason for the priority of this project is that it is the final length of a project they started 20 years ago. Now, they have a good network used during times of road restrictions. The road is dangerous right now, but trucks are using it. Caskey- Schreiber stated the trucks have different alternatives for a route. Rutan stated the trucks service a lot of dairies in the area. At this point, not doing the Sunrise Road project does not free up any engineering capacity. His personnel are very taxed, even to provide a design for these projects. Every project in 2008 is contracted out to meet that goal. If they continue to do that, they train engineers to be contract managers instead of engineers. They are not training engineers to go out to road failures and make engineering decisions. Contracting out for a long period of time scares him. He's heard three different concepts of what Lincoln Road should be. Depending on that design, the project could cost $2 million to $6 million. The design needs to look uniform with the rest of the development. The different road designs will be studied. Roy stated she is frustrated. The community knows what the Lincoln Road project means. They may have 6,000 people in that UGA at this point. The County is acting like the people should be driving on the roads they had 30 years ago. She wants to known how the Drayton Harbor Road got as high on the list as it is. It is a local access road used as a shortcut by a small number of people who live in the area. There are only about 100 cars per day that use it, compared to the Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. thousands that would use the Lincoln Road connector. Rutan stated he is also frustrated with not being able to do Lincoln Road. There are other roads he would like to do. If the Council wants to change the priorities, now is the time to do it. They can do Lincoln the Lincoln Road connector by not doing Drayton Harbor Road, and /or Hannegan Road. Drayton Harbor Road is a high priority because there have been a lot of people who want the road open. The Executive directed that it be done. Having Drayton Harbor Road open will be important when they construct Lincoln Road. Also, he received information from the City of Blaine asking that the Drayton Harbor Road be open. The City of Blaine police department also requested that it be open. For the long range of Drayton Harbor Road, he would like to do the slope work and keep it open during the construction of Lincoln Road. After Lincoln Road is constructed, he would propose either close Drayton Harbor Road or make it a one -way road. For either use, the slope repair is still needed. Also, houses along there have access from that road. That slope can fail at any moment. If that fails, they will still have to do something on the road for the residents who live there. Roy stated people can go around. It takes an extra five minutes. This affects a very small number of people. When Semiahmoo went in, the deal was that it was local access only, but it's become a shortcut for west Blaine people to get to east Blaine. She asked why they can't move the Drayton Harbor Road below Lincoln Road. Rutan stated they have to free up capacity and money. Brenner stated a long -range concern seems to be about not contracting out all the personnel jobs. Today, they have a shortage of two engineers. Free up that money, contract this out, and get moving on it. Rutan stated they still have to manage it. Lincoln Road begins construction in 2009. Because of this conflict, he took Tyee Road off the funding list. He ran different scenarios. If they start the project now, they run into cash flow problems in the construction season of 2008. Brenner stated this is the first she's heard of cash flow issues. The Council and administration should address that at budget time. Rutan stated part of the six -year program approval process is the cash flow consideration. Nelson stated they did address it during the budget cycle. Rutan stated last year he told the Council he had no money to finance Lake Louise Road and Lincoln Road at that point. He has been able to finance Lake Louise Road and much of the Yew Street project from grants he's obtained. At the end of 2006, there will be a cash reserve of $2.4 million. Nelson stated a big concern is the capacity issue. He asked the problem with getting an engineer. Rutan stated the County has not attracted any applicants. The only licensed existing staff person moved to the City, who pays $1,000 more per month. He is talking with the Human Resources Division about the issue of Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. attraction and retention. They are using consultants at a great cost. One engineer can do two projects or manage three contracts. Nelson asked how long it will take to fill a position if the pay is there. Rutan stated he hopes to hire one in a couple of weeks and another in a couple of months. Nelson asked if capacity is still an issue if those positions are filled. Rutan stated the six -year plan assumes they are at maximum capacity very soon. There are a lot of placeholder projects that don't let people know when things would actually be built. He would like to give people some idea of when things will be built. Sometimes it takes two to four years to do a project. Go through the unfunded list and take off all but five to ten projects, because that is actually how many can be built. He would propose two new projects. One is the intersection at the Birch Bay Lynden Road and Blaine Road. The other is the intersection at the Birch Bay Lynden Road and Portal Way. Both are due to increased growth. He proposes either roundabouts or signals for those intersections. A recently proposed development can make those two intersections go to a service level of F. (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side A.) Caskey- Schreiber stated that Mr. Rutan should go to Executive Kremen to raise the salary to be competitive. The Council totally supports that. Rutan stated this is a recent development. The City of Bellingham is not considered a comparable jurisdiction. When compared to another county, Whatcom County does okay. However, when two positions are advertised next to each other, applicants will apply for the position with the higher wage. Also, there is a problem of compression. When he moved from City employment to County employment, his responsibility level went way up. He had to negotiate so it wouldn't be a pay cut. If they pay the project engineers more, they will make more than the project managers. Raising the salaries for positions creates a domino effect. Nelson stated the six -year road program is really a 20 -year road program. Don't ignore impacts that go beyond six years. Rutan stated the six -year program should be a six -year construction program and a ten -year planning document. He proposes that projects they will construct in the next six -years be on the six -year road plan. When projects or grant funds come up, it's easier to identify changes. A grant funded program will take away capacity. They are at a point where they don't want to accept a fully funded bridge repair because it takes away capacity from a more important project. On the unfunded list, have only five to ten projects. Nelson asked if the ten -year planning document will be included. Rutan stated this plan would include ten years of projects and six years of construction. The projects they are doing every year also include stormwater projects, non - motorized projects, and other types of projects. Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Caskey- Schreiber asked how this would work when they get the traffic impact fees in place. Not having this lengthy plan will help collect accurate impact fees. Rutan stated that's correct. Road projects are expensive. To collect enough of an impact fee to make a difference, it would have to be a lot. In areas with lots of development, such as in Birch Bay, they can get enough money to pay for the engineering of Lincoln Road, but not for right -of -way and construction. Transportation impact fee - funded projects have to be on the six -year plan and in a designated zone. He is concerned about getting little bits of money in areas where there is not a lot of development. Caskey- Schreiber stated that if the pending, large developments don't contribute traffic impact fees, the County will have trouble. Rutan stated that he supports the traffic impact fees. However, doing that identifies fewer projects on the six -year plan to which those fees can be applied. There are many traffic projects needed in the Birch Bay area, including a proposed project at the Blaine Road and Birch Bay Lynden Road intersection and the Birch Bay Lynden Road and Portal Way intersection. Roy asked if that level of service says something about the traffic flow into the area and the need for Lincoln Road. Rutan stated creating Lincoln Road would make the level of service worse. He explained the anticipated traffic flow on the map. Roy asked at what point they stop issuing building permits when there is not adequate infrastructure. She asked at what point they say they can't support any more development. Rutan stated they can't permit the development with that low level of service. The low level of service is dangerous. Brenner asked if they've considered setting up local improvement districts to help fund the infrastructure. Rutan stated that ties into the discussion of incorporation and stormwater districts, which is another issue out there. If they are collecting transportation impact fees in the east county, there may not be a project to spend the fees in seven years, when he would have to give the money back with an interest rate of 12 percent per year. They will have to come up with a project in those zones that deal with capacity. They may never have a capacity improvement in the Acme valley. They may have safety projects, but not capacity projects. Caskey- Schreiber asked if that is a reason they have not used transportation impact fees. Rutan stated the Technical Advisory Committee is discussing it now. Caskey- Schreiber asked if they can use transportation impact fees on State road projects. Rutan stated he would propose they go to increase capacity on the State routes. They would signalize some of the intersections and potential roundabouts to get people on and off the freeway. Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Caskey- Schreiber asked if the transportation impact fee ordinance would be in place when the County makes a decision on the development at Kendall. Rutan stated it potentially could be in place. They have had a large bank of capacity out there. The roads have not been busy. At Birch Bay, the north end of Lake Whatcom, and the area from Bellingham to Blaine they have used up their capacity. Those areas are going from a rural to an urban setting. Lincoln Road will be expensive because Semiahmoo wants it to look like the rest of the road. He can punch in a County road for Lincoln Road for $2 million. The City of Blaine wants it to look like Semiahmoo Parkway with sidewalks and a center median. There is agreement to continue the bike lane along there. The center median is a good idea to deal with wetlands in the area. In 2006, the preliminary design will look at these issues. Brenner stated Mr. Rutan knows what the County Council wants. The Council depends on Mr. Rutan to figure out how to make things work. Rutan stated that to do Lincoln Road earlier, they can put off some combination of the other three areas that will free up money and capacity. They can put off Sunrise Road, which will free up money, and put off another grant- funded project to free up capacity. It's not good to give back grant money because they won't be given grants in the future. He's already had to give back some grant money this year. Brenner stated that she will propose tabling this issue and have more of a discussion in committee, specifically about how to come up with money and capacity. Nelson stated that it doesn't take a lot of engineering for punching in Lincoln Road. He asked if they can phase the Lincoln Road connector. Rutan stated he looked into it. It would not save any time. They still have to acquire rights -of -way, mitigate wetlands, and engineer detention. He wants to buy enough property right - of -way for the ultimate configuration. Crawford asked if the project for the intersection of Blaine Road and Portal Way would be in lieu of another project. Rutan stated the Blaine Road is a State intersection. They have been very unsuccessful getting money from the State. They might be able to get money from potential development. They would have to be in lieu of or in order when money comes available. If the Council tells him to not do Cable Street and Drayton Harbor Road, he can do Lincoln Road. If they started today on Lincoln Road with all the necessary money and capacity, the earliest he could begin construction would be in 2008 if permitting goes well. Crawford stated he thought Mr. Rutan said that it was wise to fix Drayton Harbor Road in order to do Lincoln Road. Now he's hearing that they can do Lincoln Road if they give up Drayton Harbor Road. Rutan stated the construction of Drayton Harbor Road will assist during the construction of Lincoln Road. Lincoln Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Road can be done without Drayton Harbor Road, but traffic will be more difficult, and they'll still have to do some form of project for the houses on Drayton Harbor Road. The problem with Drayton Harbor Road is that the beach has undercut the road for about a half mile. The slope from the road to the beach is failing. The road is only open for the four or five houses along that stretch of road. Dan Warner, Squalicum Lake Road, stated Whatcom County has seen a rise in dissatisfaction with the pace of growth in the county. Infrastructure is the main constraint. Unintended consequences of infrastructure is to promote that which they do not want. It's okay to not issue building permits and improve infrastructure. Ron Leech, Blaine, stated the citizens are concerned with the Lincoln Road from Shintaffer Road to Harborview Road. The road is narrow with no shoulders and large drainage ditches parallel to the road. There is no lighting at the intersection of Harborview Road and Lincoln Road. It is extremely dangerous. He is asking the County to do repairs of Lincoln Road to improve safety. The County must address these issues before more projects go forward. Drayton Harbor Road has to be repaired. Once they start repairing or improving Lincoln Road, the traffic has to be diverted somewhere. Leave it open during construction of Lincoln Road. Doralee Booth, 8188 Birch Bay Drive, stated she has been studying the six - year transportation improvement program for a number of years. The 2003 -2008 plan listed the Birch Bay Lynden Road /Portal Way intersection. If that was followed through, construction should have begun in 2003. The residents are dizzy trying to figure out what these programs mean. She represents the Birch Bay Transportation and Public Safety Implementation Committee. The committee asks the County to honor its obligation to Birch Bay. The County adopted the Birch Bay Comprehensive Plan last fall. Begin the transportation implementation goals in the plan. She read the goal from the plan. Give the Lincoln Road improvements a higher priority. It was promised to the community in the mid- 1990's, and they are still waiting. It will take much traffic off the Birch Bay Drive. The community wants a safe Birch Bay Drive for pedestrian use. The connector road has no date listed for construction. It will divert traffic from Birch Bay Drive. The developer of the proposed Horizon development project will deed the right -of -way to the county and has offered to pay for engineering and some construction. This development will create hundreds of homes. The County must work with the developers in a timely manner to develop roads sooner rather than later. The priority placements have made no sense for years. A project listed as number 17 is said to actually be number two unfunded and a top priority, yet the construction date continues to move further into the future. Don't postpone the traffic needs of the fastest growing community in the county. Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Martin Conyac, Sandpiper Lane, submitted and read from his information (on file). There is a safety problem that must be fixed at the intersection of Lincoln Road and Harborview Road. Also, emergency vehicles must have access to the shortcut along Drayton Harbor Road. Last, Lincoln Road is very dangerous as it is now. Meg Grable, Birch Bay Village General Manager, stated the community members said they want to get out of the village. They have maintained their own roads and ditches at no cost to the county since 1963. However, houses are now paying taxes for road issues. That road money hasn't come back to this area, except the Birch Bay Drive overlay. This community must get out of town if there were any safety issues. They are asking for a connector road, preferably the Lincoln Road, or allow those from the Birch Bay Village and on Birch Point to travel at 30 miles per hour up to Shintaffer Road to Lincoln Road, to Harborview Road, to Birch Bay Lynden Road. On Birch Bay Lynden Road, there is a necessity for the left turn lane. Traffic is more congested from Lincoln Road and Birch Bay Lynden Road. She lives on Harborview Road. Traffic has increased in the last 20 years. She has seen the growth since 1980. She worked on the steering committee growth plan. Now they need a six -year road plan that includes a safe route out of town. Consider the feasibility of a project that has been on the list since 2002 and 2003. Claudia Hollod, Birch Bay Drive, stated Blaine is responsible for the problems with the Drayton Harbor Road. It should pay for the problem. Also, people on the road don't want the road fixed. It is supposed to be local access only. Regarding safety, she is concerned with pollution problems. Traffic contributes to pollution. Don't increase traffic on Drayton Harbor Road that would create pollution. Economically, it makes sense to get the connector road and fix Lincoln Road to Harborview Road, at a minimum. They need it all the way through to the Blaine Road. Birch Bay Village has 2,600 permanent residents. There are at least 4,000 residents who need a way out of and into the area for work. Crawford asked about the commute times. Hollod stated the heaviest traffic is in the morning from about 5:30 a.m. to almost 8:00 a.m. and in the afternoon from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m.. (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side B.) Hollod stated the six -year road program is a shell game. It is frustrating. Lincoln Road was supposed to be done in 2003. She prefers that they just not issue any more building permits without a safe level of service. Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Kathy Berg, Birch Bay, stated she is frustrated with this situation. The residents have been coming to the County since 1992 with this very problem, which has not changed in 13 years. The problem needs to be solved. The Council has known this for years. Ralph Falk, Birch Bay Village Community Club President, stated traffic levels have increased, especially on Lincoln Road. School buses drive on that road. If the Council can't help with the road, then have a building moratorium. Lincoln Road is the only road. Many trucks will go by on that road when the Horizon development goes in. If that road fails, there is no way out at all. Fred Bovencamp, Horizon Project developer, stated his proposal is to develop 450 lots in a subdivision, plus another 150 units and a village that includes a market and commercial space. He is committed to participating in this process. He is eager to get this done. The connector road is a critical component. A road from Birch Point Road to Lincoln and Shintaffer Roads was on the six -year road improvement plan before. He conducted a traffic study. The project will contribute to an increase in traffic. He is willing to participate in paying for infrastructure. He agrees to provide 80 feet of right -of -way for the collector road. He agreed to pay for the engineering. He would also be willing to pay for the engineering of Lincoln Road if it is an issue, if Blaine won't pay for it. That road needs to get Lincoln Road done. The community needs it. He supports the community of Birch Bay, which has welcomed him as a developer. He will do what he has to in order to make this happen as quickly as possible. It's needed for safety and good traffic circulation. He plans to bring a new prototypical urban village to the urban growth area. Crawford asked if the people who will buy these homes will be commuters or retired folks. Bovencamp stated he thinks it will largely be a retiring baby boomer demographic. The development will be an upscale gated community. There will not be a lot of families because of the prices. Brenner stated the Council is listening to the residents of Birch Bay. It has heard the residents loud and clear. She asked the deadline for getting this passed. Rutan stated this plan must be submitted to County Road Administration Board on August 1. A public hearing is scheduled for July 12, with possible adoption on July 26. The ordinance will be introduced at the next Council meeting. Brenner stated schedule this in committee again at the next committee meeting. Rutan stated they are getting projects done. They will get the Hannegan Road project done before the Guide Meridian project. OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business. Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 3:13 p.m. Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription ATTEST: Dana Brown - Davis, Council Clerk WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON Barbara Brenner, Committee Chair Public Works and Safety Committee, 6/7/2005, Page 12