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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil July 13 20041 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 Regular County Council July 13, 2004 Council Chair Dan McShane called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington. Present: Barbara Brenner Laurie Caskey- Schreiber Sam Crawford Seth Fleetwood Sharon Roy L. Ward Nelson FLAG SALUTE ANNOUNCEMENTS Absent: None McShane announced there was discussion with Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Randall Watts regarding pending litigation (AB2004 -018) in executive session and discussion regarding the EMS Interlocal Agreement (AB2004 -273) during the Committee of the Whole meeting. MINUTES CONSENT Fleetwood moved to approve the Minutes Consent items. Motion carried unanimously. 1. WATER RESOURCES WORK SESSION FOR JUNE 22, 2004 2. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FOR JUNE 29, 2004 OPEN SESSION The following people spoke: Bill Grimes, 923 West 20th Street, Spokane, Washington, stated he is here to introduce the Council to the community forum and growth management process. He handed out information (on file). The objective is to see how best Bellingham Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, Page 1 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. 1 and its urban growth area (UGA) can handle the anticipated growth of about 31,000 2 people in the next 20 years. They will involve the community to help answer that 3 question. The visions document in the City's current Comprehensive Plan suggests 4 directing that growth inward. He's trying to test different scenarios of how that 5 growth can be accommodated in the existing UGA. So far, they've had a six -hour 6 forum attended by more than 100 people. It is airing on channel 10. They are also 7 doing community outreach activities. They are planning neighborhood meetings in 8 August, and will reconvene the forum in September to plan for policy changes. He 9 invited all to attend the drop in center at 120 E. Holly Street in Bellingham. 10 11 John Lesow, 317 Madrona Place, Point Roberts, stated he submitted an 12 application for the proposed Point Roberts Rural Advisory Committee (on file). He 13 listed his qualifications. If appointed, his top priority would be implementation of 14 the goals and objectives of the Point Roberts Subarea Plan. There should be some 15 agreement and consensus on tree retention between the Council and Planning 16 Commission. Trees can be a contentious issue that is not confined to Point Roberts. 17 He's not in favor of scrapping the ordinance for Point Roberts, but it needs to be 18 redefined. 19 20 Regarding sewer, he talked with the Mayor of Delta about extending the 21 sewer line that services the U.S. Customs station down Tyee Drive and Gulf Road to 22 serve the Point Roberts village center. 23 24 Trails in Point Roberts are a priority in the plan, but he's concerned about 25 prescriptive easements. It needs to be addressed. 26 27 Sharon Crozier, Bellingham, thanked the Council for holding a public hearing 28 next week on the ordinance providing for immediate removal from Lake 29 Whatcom of all gas - powered craft (AB2004 -242) and the ordinance 30 amending Whatcom County Code 11.32, Boating and Swimming, Special 31 Restrictions (AB2004 -265). She encouraged the Council to do its job, listen to 32 people who drink the water in Bellingham, and don't let the issue be decided by 33 money or anger. If they take only two - stroke engines off the lake, then take all the 34 two - stroke engines off. The cleaner two - stroke engines are only 25 percent better 35 than the bad two - stroke engines. 36 37 Tim Paxton, 2120 Ellis, Bellingham, stated a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 38 study on mercury is coming out. Another PhD analyzed the methyl mercury and 39 found that its production rate is 50 times that of other lakes in the Puget Sound. It 40 is a serious concern. The Council, as the Board of Health, should consider hiring an 41 outside expert toxicologist. 42 43 Mike Kaufman, 1620 Huntley Road, stated he would speak on the electrical 44 power transmission line ordinance (AB2004 -225). The original public 45 initiative was 14 years ago. He thanked Planning Director Hal Hart. The Planning 46 Commission passed the ordinance by a unanimous vote. This is one of the first 47 times they are attempting to work with public right -of -way. The issue is a design Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, 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. that puts massive power in a public corridor rather than a private corridor. This allows for distribution throughout the community, but it still keeps massive amounts of industrial power off the public rights -of -way. Donna Clark, 2502 Northshore Road, stated she will speak on the ordinance providing for immediate removal from Lake Whatcom of all gas - powered craft (AB2004 -242) and the ordinance amending Whatcom County Code 11.32, Boating and Swimming, Special Restrictions (AB2004 -265). There are six boats in Agate Bay and six boats in basin two today. Boats on the lake are not the problem. She counts the boats that are on the lake. Don't be radical. They have summer for only six weeks. There aren't any more boats now than when she was in high school. They have a bigger problem that is not the boats. Patrick Alesse, 4825 Alderson Road, Birch Bay, stated he recently went to Europe. They took a train from Belgium that went 186 miles per hour. They traveled through countryside that was truly rural. It was like nothing in Whatcom County. They couldn't build a train route in Whatcom County that would go that fast because it would have to keep going around someone's home. Jan Nauman, 8477 Pointe Road North, Blaine, stated her home is on Birch Point and she will talk about Birch Point related to the ordinance adopting the Birch Bay Community Plan (AB2004 -121). She asked the Council not to include Birch Point in the urban growth area for Birch Bay. This is very important. She has experience as a geologist. She sees development without adequate water management out there. Water movement within the subsurface permeable and impermeable beds is not understood well. There is slumping activity in her front yard due to Trillium clearing land across the road from her property. She is concerned about the lack of water management. She's seeing a lot more slumping activity and water flowing through the permeable sediments. Until there is time to do a thorough study of water management in the Birch Bay area, don't include Birch Point. Jo Slivinski, 6163 Semiahmoo Lane, stated she supports removal of Birch Point from the UGA in the ordinance adopting the Birch Bay Community Plan (AB2004 -121). She heard someone mention a probable lawsuit from Thousand Friends, and Councilmember Brenner said they wanted to bring forward an appeal no matter what the Council does. However, representatives from Thousand Friends have told her they do not want to promulgate an appeal, but will if they feel they have to. Removing the two Points from the UGA circumvents that issue. She wished that anyone who voted against the removal would reconsider. Lincoln Rudder is getting ready to send the Council a lengthy and impartial environmental study. The will of almost 70 percent of Birch Point property owners is to remove Birch Point from the UGA. She doesn't know about the Point Whitehorn area. Councilmember Nelson said during the last meeting that he wanted to err on the Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, 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. side of the neighbors, and then expressed his support for including the two Points in the UGA. That isn't erring on the side of the neighbors, but on the side of the Birch Bay Steering Committee, which doesn't represent Birch Point. In addition to the 70 percent of the property owners, there is support for removal from the State Department of Ecology, another State agency, the Puget Sound Action Team, the Audubon Society, the People for Puget Sound, and People for Responsible Development. A memo from Planning Manager Sylvia Goodwin said there is enough land to distribute the projected approved population, without the Point Whitehorn and Birch Point areas in the UGA. If Birch Point is part of the UGA, neighbors along the Lincoln Road boundary will have the same issues. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. ORDINANCE AMENDING WHATCOM COUNTY CODE 6.04 ANIMAL CONTROL (AB2004 -261) McShane opened the public hearing and, hearing no one, closed the public hearing. Nelson moved to adopt the ordinance. Crawford asked if it is legally appropriate to have the term "should seek the appropriate warrant" in Whatcom County Code section 6.04.060(K). Dave Grant, Senior Civil Deputy Prosecutor, stated it is. Crawford stated he doesn't want someone to interpret that the ordinance allows the animal control officers to violate anything else. Motion carried unanimously. 2. RESOLUTION APPROVING THE WHATCOM COUNTY SIX YEAR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (AB2004 -221) Joe Rutan, County Road Engineer, gave a staff report and projected a County road map. It was presented to the Public Works Committee four weeks ago. It was also presented to the Bicycle /Pedestrian Advisory Committee and the Planning Commission. There were comments from the Bicycle /Pedestrian Advisory Committee to the Public Works Committee about listing some projects as having non - motorized enhancements, which he did. There is a group of projects along Hannegan Road. They want to get those projects done before the State Department of Transportation begins its Guide Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, 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. Meridian project in 2008. Make sure those Hannegan Road projects are out of the way, so the Hannegan Road can handle the traffic diverted from the Guide Meridian. There is a group of projects in the Birch Bay area that are unfunded for construction. As they move through the next two years of construction projects, the funding situation will become clearer. They will hopefully be able to direct unspent construction money to those projects. There are projects around Slater Road, Curtis Road, and Rural Road. The problems are with growth, the Coast Millennium Trail, and functional and obsolete bridges. They hope to obtain grant funding for some of these bridges. On Council packet page 274 is the six -year plan. Projects one through five are carry -overs from 2004. Project six is a project they'll begin in 2005. The 2005 projects are listed through project 12. The 2006 projects are projects 13 through 16. Project 17 is a carry -over from 2006. After that, construction funding starts dropping away from the projects. Expenditures are shown on packet page 285. In the past, they've maintained a $10 million to $11 million fund balance. In 2007, the fund balance goes down to about $1.6 million. There are numerous projects on the six -year plan they'd really like to get to. Lake Louise Road is one of the first that is unfunded for construction as they go down the list. In addition, the Lincoln Street connector and another connector are projects they'd like to get to. The Lake Whatcom /Lake Louise connector is still in the plan for engineering. They really want to get to the North Shore project. It is a road that rates the lowest for quality. Nelson asked if they can get information on the level of service (LOS) for a lot of these road projects. Rutan stated level of service is one factor of the priority rating program. There is a form from the County Road Administration Board that all counties use to look at volumes, accident rates, geometric form, lane widths, shoulder widths, horizontal and vertical curves, pavement condition, the ride, and the drainage. All those items are weighted. The lower the number, the worse the condition of the road. He can provide upon request information on specific LOS for each road. Nelson stated the rating for Lake Louise Road is in the 20's. Rutan stated that is very low. There is a poor geometric design. There is a lot of horizontal and vertical curve problems. There is a lack of shoulders and there are high volumes. Nelson stated that is not on the priority listing. Rutan stated it is the first project on the list that is not funded for construction. Construction funding will Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, 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. come as they move through the program the next few years and see what the spending rates are. McShane opened the public hearing and the following people spoke: Donna Clark, 2502 Northshore Road, stated she's worked on the Lake Whatcom connector since 1970. They've petitioned for it three times. The Council has it in its archives. The most important thing the County can do is to put in a corridor that has been needed for 25 years. Geneva is not the only issue anymore. There is a lot of traffic. When it snows, they are stopped at the bottom of Cable Street. One can't turn left from Portal or Birch. There is hardly any traffic on North Shore, and they are surveying for bike paths. She read a letter to the editor of the newspaper in the July 11th edition. The connector will protect the water quality and the watershed. (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side A.) Doralee Booth, 818 Birch Bay Drive, stated the community wants Birch Bay Drive to be safe and friendly for recreation. They must lessen traffic on Birch Bay Drive. A Birch Point connector road would help. It would provide a safe and fast corridor for those commuters from Birch Bay Village and Birch Point to jobs outside the Bay area. There is a tremendous number of commuters. Many people speed. It would address the safety concerns of pedestrians on Birch Bay Drive, relieve the loads of traffic on Birch Bay Drive to the intersection of Harborview Road, and provide quicker responses from emergency vehicles to the northern populated areas. Claudia Hollod, 8240 Birch Bay Drive, stated she would speak on the Lincoln Road /Birch Bay Road connector. They have been working on it a long time. Another reason for the connector is to deal with pollution from cars. She is concerned about their priority on the list. Last year, they were at number 18. They've had secure funding for Lincoln Road. Preliminary engineering has been moved from 2004 to 2006 to 2007. Construction plans were removed from the current list. They keep getting bumped down the list, and they're the fastest growing area in the county. Carol Sandvig, 8212 Birch Bay Drive, stated they should give top priority to a Birch Bay Drive connector. She read a letter into the record (on file) from other Birch Bay Drive residents who are not able to attend. She fears that this has been put off so long that they will never see it happen. Mike Fleming, 8224 Birch Bay Drive, stated speed is a huge problem. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, only 33 speeding tickets were issued. He can't count the number of cars that he witnesses exceeding the speed limit because there are too many. It makes a very dangerous situation. Hearing no one else, McShane closed the public hearing. Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, 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. Brenner moved to approve the resolution and asked that Birch Bay be moved back to where it was. Rutan stated that the projects are in the same order as in past years, but the carry -over projects change the numbering. The projects planned for funding have been on the list for years, except for the Hannegan Road projects which need to be done before the State starts its project on the Guide Meridian, which it's doing in anticipation of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Brenner stated the Hannegan Road will take care of itself. Even with the influx of people for the Olympics, it won't be a problem. She'd like to see the Hannegan Road lights go in, but she'd rather see the left hand turn lanes on Birch Bay Drive go in first. Rutan stated one project on Hannegan is a bridge project fully- funded by the federal government. Lake Louise Road and Lincoln Road are the first projects the County will put construction funds toward when they know their expenditure rate. Caskey- Schreiber stated the Birch Bay Subarea Plan puts an emphasis on traffic impact fees. An impact fee can't be used to fix existing problems. It can only be used to pay for the impacts from the added development. If they identify on the list that it needs to be fixed, they're undermining that road getting funding to be fixed. Rutan stated it also has to be on the six -year plan. There is a lot of growth occurring out there. He hopes to spend any transportation impact fees that become available on that area. Caskey- Schreiber stated she drives the Hannegan Road every day. At times, it is absolutely shut down between 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The Smith Road has a stoplight, which backs up lines of cars at the East Pole Road and Hannegan Road intersection. There are no turn lanes. It's also a state truck route. There have been multiple accidents. It's a dangerous intersection. Roy stated her concern the last three years is that the list is arbitrary. The determination is made by few people. It can change a lot between years. On a six - year road plan, there should be consistency between what the list looked like three years ago and how it looks today. Projects should be moving up the list. As a community member, she's frustrated there isn't a lot of exchange with the community. It's very arbitrary. Rutan stated to prepare the list, staff starts with the previous year's approved list, crosses off the projects they've done, starts with the carry -over projects, and then inserts some projects that are fully funded from other sources. He hasn't moved the priority projects around except for the Hannegan Road projects and the fully funded projects. The projects they've developed since last year are put at the bottom of the list. This really is last year's plan with few modifications. Roy stated the reality in the communities is that the list has changed. Rutan stated that's why he's tried to organize the list so the numbers flow with the funding. A number one priority doesn't mean much if there's no funding. If they decide that Lincoln Road is something they want to fund, then it's easy to identify a Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, 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. project above it on the list that could be moved back. This year, he wanted to match some of the road projects more directly with the priority rating. He hasn't done that so he can keep moving forward what they've approved in the past. A project number may move from 20 to 28, but the year it is planned for construction has stayed the same. Crawford asked if the Garrison Road project is not on the list because they anticipate that it will be fully funded by the State. Rutan stated it is a fully- funded State project. Crawford stated the Lake Whatcom Yew Street connector was a part of this list as a high priority. In keeping with the tradition of keeping the older priority projects in their place, he moved to amend the list by moving the Yew Street Connector, project 57, to the highest place on the list of unfunded projects, project 22. He does not discount the folks in Birch Bay. The Council has done a lot on that problem. Had the community thought moving the connector higher on the list was a possibility, a lot of people would have turned out for the meeting in support of the amendment. Nelson stated he supported the motion. Level of service is what impacts people. The only way they are going to determine the reason for the impacts is through the traffic volume and road quality. These numbers mean nothing. Rutan stated he would provide rating sheets to the Council next year. That priority rating is a compilation number based on volume, accident history, geometric design, vertical curves, and horizontal curves. All counties have to go through that analysis. Nelson stated another concern was about whether they want transportation to cause development. Communities need to have the information on engineering, costs, and land use. Have a future discussion on a possible Comprehensive Plan amendment to establish transportation corridors that won't cause future development. Roy stated she does not support the amendment. She is concerned that the connector road would increase development. These decisions are made without a lot of community input at all levels. With issues like transportation corridors and community priorities, many times the community doesn't even know what is going on. If they are going to consider this, think about a citizen advisory group or somehow broadening the decision base, if possible. Caskey- Schreiber stated she won't support the amendment. It would be extraordinarily expensive. They have so many problems with existing traffic corridors, they are trying to maintain those. She hopes that the Birch Bay community can create traffic impact fees to take traffic off the bay. It's essential those pollutants don't reach the Sound. They have to fix what they already have. She appreciates that Joe Rutan has worked very hard on this. The Public Works Committee worked on this ranking. People can participate by going to that Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, 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 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. committee, which could be advertised before. Citizens, including the Bicycle /Pedestrian Advisory Committee, have weighed in before that committee. Jeff Monsen, Public Works, stated the six -year transportation program finishes work that has begun. As far as identifying corridors and other transportation priorities, the effort needs to be placed in the subarea planning exercise. This prioritization process looks at adopted land use plans and incorporates those policies in the ranking. The staff can allow more community access into the ranking process, but he would recommend instead putting their energy into the transportation chapters of the subarea plans. Also, Public Works staff can put more energy into a financing plan. Without a financing plan, they're dealing with cash as it comes in. Nelson stated the public is frustrated. There are new ideas they need to kick around. He would support the amendment. This is not a seasonal traffic condition around Lake Whatcom Boulevard. This is a year -round problem. They can't talk about protecting Lake Whatcom water quality without trying to find other solutions to a serious problem simply because they don't want to fund it. There are other mechanisms for funding. Brenner stated there was a study on the Lake Whatcom connector, which said it is prohibitively expensive and it won't solve the problem. That's affected her decisions on the connector. If it becomes affordable and will solve problems, she would be open to reconsidering. Caskey- Schreiber stated she received information from the City of Bellingham Public Works Department. During the wettest months of year, the benzene levels in the lake drop to almost zero. If cars really are a problem, they would show some increases. They don't. If she truly believed cars were the issue, she would be aggressive in addressing it. However, she doesn't approve of spending that kind of money for a road that will only alleviate traffic problems and not pollution problems. Motion to amend failed 2 -5 with Nelson and Crawford in favor. Nelson asked if an illumination light at the Yew Street Road and Samish Way intersection is included in project 13. Rutan stated the light has been installed at that intersection for four or five months. Nelson stated they still can't see the street sign. Rutan stated the lighting is installed at the location approved by the Council. When the County does project 13, it will greatly enhance visibility. McShane asked how much work has been done on project four. Rutan stated the bids for that project were opened this afternoon. The bids came in at about seven percent above the engineer's estimate. They will begin the project within the next two months. They expect that it may go into 2005, which is why he included the project on the list. Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, 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 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. McShane moved to make project four, Frost Road, a road closure instead of a bridge replacement. Motion to amend passes 4 -3 with Nelson, Crawford, and Brenner opposed. Fleetwood moved to reconsider. Motion to reconsider carried 5 -2 with Caskey- Schreiber and McShane opposed. McShane moved to close Frost Road, project four. Motion to amend failed 3 -4 with Roy, Caskey- Schreiber, and McShane in favor. McShane moved to drop flood - proofing work from the Haxton Way project 26. Caskey- Schreiber stated they could ask the Lummi Nation for cost - sharing. Rutan stated the Lummi Nation approached the County with a request for cost - sharing, which is why it's on the list. There is a little bit of project engineering money available. With that money, they can work with the Lummi Nation on the project. When they go out for grant funding, they can say it's on the six -year plan. Caskey- Schreiber asked if the chances for receiving grants would be hurt if they don't have it listed as it is. Rutan stated it helps to show that the elected body has determined it is something it wants to pursue. Flood- proofing is something they would determine during preliminary engineering. Nelson stated this is a major road to the reservation and also to Lummi Island. He asked why they would not flood -proof the road. Flooding is a serious issue out there. McShane stated that area floods, has always flooded, and will flood for only five days per year, at the most. Motion failed 2 -5 with Caskey- Schreiber and McShane in favor. McShane moved to remove the Slater Road project 31, for the same reasons as Haxton Way. It's across the flood plain. In the end, it will be very expensive. The money might come from the federal government, but it may be federal money they want to direct elsewhere. Roy asked if it would affect salmon recovery. Monsen stated this project is part of the River and Flood Division's modeling work in reach one. Something will Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, 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. occur on Slater Road to deal with floodplain management below Ferndale. However, at this point, they will not ever ask for financing to deal with flood - proofing Slater Road. This item is on the list to deal with the issue of how they manage the flood plain in that reach. Roy asked if the Public Works Department considers salmon recovery as a factor of these evaluations. Monsen stated it does. The project is a combination of flood plain management, transportation, and salmon recovery. They don't know yet how those pieces will fit together. Motion failed 2 -5 with Caskey- Schreiber and McShane in favor. Motion to approve the resolution carried unanimously. Pete Kremen, County Executive, thanked Joe Rutan for a job well -done. (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side 8.) COUNCIL "CONSENT AGENDA" ITEM Crawford reported for the Finance and Administrative Services Committee and moved to approve Consent Agenda items one through five. McShane withdrew item two. Motion to approve Consent Agenda items one and three through five carried unanimously. 1. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO AWARD CONTRACT FOR DESIGN, PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION FOR THE WHATCOM COUNTY MINIMUM SECURITY JAIL, COMMUNITY CORRECTION CENTER, TRIAGE CENTER, ELECTION CENTER AND STORAGE FACILITY TO HDR, INC., AND AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE TO NEGOTIATE AND SIGN AN AGREEMENT WITH HDR, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $925,800 (AB2004 -267) 2. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT FOR SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND HDR ENGINEERING, INC. TO REVIEW POSSIBLE SITES FOR A REGIONAL JUSTICE CENTER IN THE CITY OF BELLINGHAM OR THE URBAN GROWTH AREA OF THE CITY OF BELLINGHAM IN THE AMOUNT OF $24,426 (AB2004 -268) Crawford stated documents for this item were modified in Finance Committee. The committee recommends amendments. He moved to approve the request with the amendments from committee, to amend the agenda bill, "cwt Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, Page 11 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. identify." In addition, eliminate all references to "review" throughout the documents. McShane stated he voted against these amendments in committee because they should focus on the scope of work, on Council packet page 41. It's a matter of semantics. The scope of work matches the Council's wishes to review the potential sites and be given information on those sites so the Council can make a well - informed decision. It's critical that the Council get a review from experts. He prefers to support a contract and a scope of work that includes review of potential sites, not just identification of those sites. Brenner stated she requested that references to review be removed. Originally, she requested the identification of sites, not a review. The County will spend more money on review. If ten sites are identified and the Council looks at five, then five sites will be reviewed. Don't have the contractor review every site. It's a waste of money. Be cautious about the review. In the last review, they received a biased review. It doesn't make sense to review all the sites if the Council isn't interested in all of them. Caskey- Schreiber stated that for the money they're funding, the Council will get a general review of feasibility of the sites. She will propose that the contractor focus on downtown sites, not sites in the urban growth area. That was the original intent of the Council. It will narrow the contractor's focus enough to bring forward viable sites. If sites in the urban growth area (UGA) are included, then she would agree to only identify and not review sites. Crawford stated he is confident that the administration understands what the Council is looking for. He agreed that it is a matter of semantics. He will support any language. Pete Kremen, County Executive, stated Council packet page 41, the scope of work, has the word "identify" four times in the language. It's exactly what the Council and administration want. McShane asked if the committee amended the scope of work. Crawford stated the committee moved to remove the word "review" from all documents. It may not have been in the scope of work. Brenner stated the vote on the "review" amendment should be done after Councilmember Caskey- Schreiber makes her motion to remove the UGA from the identification area. She said it will affect her vote. Crawford withdrew his motion. Caskey- Schreiber moved to withdraw the UGA from consideration for identifying sites during this stage. Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, Page 12 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. Motion failed 3 -4 with Roy, Brenner, and Caskey- Schreiber in favor. Brenner moved to amend the agenda bill, "Feview identify." In addition, eliminate all references to "review" throughout the documents and replace with the word "identify." Caskey- Schreiber asked if the motion means that the administration will not provide any information on whether or not the sites are feasible. Brenner stated the administration is going to identify feasible sites, but that doesn't require a review of the sites. Roy stated that she supports this change. She has a problem with item seven on Council packet page 42. The Council had been given two choices, for a location right here or outside the city on 50 acres of land. The Council didn't like those two choices. The Council questioned whether there were other places in Bellingham where they could site the jail. The administration's charge was to find out if there are other places in Bellingham to site the jail. The Council was feeling a little pressured from the first presentation by being given two radically different choices. She felt they were being guided toward one choice. Item seven on Council packet page 42 goes beyond identifying feasible sites. The Council only wants to know where else in Bellingham it might place a justice center. Item seven sounds like the Council would end up with evaluation and decisions being made on these sites. That's why she supports the motion. The next step will then be to have drawings of how a facility might look. McShane stated item 8e on Council packet page 41 reflects exactly what the Council was looking for, which was other sites in those areas. Keep in mind that the deciding body will be the City of Bellingham, anyway. Roy stated the City of Bellingham will be better prepared to make a reasonable decision if it knew the Council looked at a multitude of sites. Brenner stated that if the City of Bellingham isn't cooperative, then it can fund a new facility. McShane stated it will help the City if the County provides them with a lot of information. Motion to amend carried 5 -2 with McShane and Crawford opposed. Motion to approve the contract as amended carried unanimously. 3. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND WESTCOAST COUNSELING & TREATMENT CENTER FOR Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, Page 13 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. OUTPATIENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES (AB2004 -269) 4. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND GENERAL TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 231, SHERIFF'S SUPPORT STAFF BARGAINING UNIT, FOR THE PERIOD OF JANUARY 1, 2004 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2006 (AB2004 -270) S. REQUEST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXECUTIVE TO ENTER INTO A RESIDENTIAL LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY AND THE WHATCOM COUNTY SHERIFF TO LEASE THE APARTMENT LOCATED AT SILVER LAKE PARK AT 9006 SILVER LAKE ROAD, MAPLE FALLS, WA FOR A TOTAL OF $650 PER MONTH (AB2004 -271) OTHER ITEMS 1. ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2004 WHATCOM COUNTY BUDGET, 9T" REQUEST (AB2004 -262) Crawford reported for the Finance and Administrative Services Committee and moved to adopt the ordinance. Motion carried unanimously. 2. RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR SUBMISSION TO THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE COUNTY A PROPOSITION AUTHORIZING A LOCAL SALES AND USE TAX OF ONE TENTH OF ONE PERCENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FUNDS FOR COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH FINANCING, DESIGN, ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, EQUIPPING, OPERATING, MAINTAINING, REMODELING, REPAIRING, RE- EQUIPPING, AND IMPROVEMENT OF JAIL FACILITIES (AB2004 -263) Crawford reported for the Finance and Administrative Services Committee and moved to approve the resolution. Motion carried unanimously. 3. ORDINANCE AMENDING WHATCOM COUNTY CODE 20.82, PUBLIC UTILITIES, ADDRESSING TRANSMISSION LINES OF 115 KV AND TRANSMISSION LINES OF 115 KV OPERATING ABOVE 160 MW, AND MODIFYING WHATCOM COUNTY CODE 20.42 AND 20.43, RURAL AND COMMERCIAL FORESTRY CHAPTERS (AB2004 -225) Brenner reported for the Public Works and Safety Committee and moved to adopt the ordinance. Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, Page 14 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. Motion carried unanimously. 4. REPORT ON COMMITTEE DISCUSSION REGARDING THE STATUS OF THE LUMMI ISLAND FERRY 20 -YEAR PLAN (AB2004 -238) Brenner reported for the Public Works and Safety Committee. S. RESOLUTION ENDORSING THE EXPANSION OF THE DEMING LIBRARY (AB2004 -266) Brenner stated the County won't have to pay anything. The Library just wants the County's support. She moved to approve the resolution. Motion carried unanimously. 6. REQUEST CONFIRMATION OF THE EXECUTIVE'S REAPPOINTMENT OF GLEN HALLMAN AND CLIFFORD HENSEL TO THE NORTHWEST SENIOR SERVICES BOARD (AB2004 -274) McShane moved to confirm the appointments. Motion carried unanimously. 7. APPOINTMENT TO THE FLOOD CONTROL ZONE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, ALTERNATE POSITION - APPLICANT: ROBERT STRACHILA (AB2004 -264) (Clerk's Note: The Council acted as the Flood Control Zone District Board of Supervisors.) McShane moved to appoint Robert Strachila. Motion carried unanimously. McShane moved to appoint Will Munsell as an alternate. Motion carried unanimously. INTRODUCTION ITEMS Nelson moved to accept the Introduction Items, including the substitute Introduction Item two. McShane referenced Introduction Item one and stated the ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission uses the old Lake Whatcom overlay. He's not sure if that significantly changes anything. Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, Page 15 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. Sylvia Goodwin, Planning Division Manager, stated she will take a look at that and prepare a substitute ordinance with the correct base text, if necessary. She will make sure the correct ordinance is in the Council packet. Motion carried unanimously. 1. ORDINANCE ADOPTING AMENDMENTS TO SECTIONS OF THE WHATCOM COUNTY ZONING ORDINANCE (TITLE 20) CHAPTER 20.10, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENTS, CHAPTER 20.71 WATER RESOURCES PROTECTION OVERLAY DISTRICT, CHAPTER 20.89 DENSITY TRANSFER PROCEDURE, AND CHAPTER 20.90 AMENDMENTS, RELATING TO THE TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS (AB2004- 275) 2. ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2004 WHATCOM COUNTY BUDGET, 10TH REQUEST (AB2004 -276) 3. ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE BIRCH BAY COMMUNITY PLAN (AB2004- 121) 4. ORDINANCE AMENDING THE WHATCOM COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TEXT AND MAP REGARDING THE BIRCH BAY URBAN GROWTH AREA (AB2004 -122) OTHER BUSINESS Fleetwood stated the Birch Bay Subarea Plan was voted out of the Planning Committee and the Council will hold a public hearing on July 27, 2004. Fleetwood stated there will be a public hearing and special Council meeting at 6:00 pm on July 20, 2004 regarding two ordinances. One is an ordinance providing for immediate removal from Lake Whatcom of all gas - powered craft (AB2004 -242) and the other is an ordinance amending Whatcom County Code 11.32, Boating and Swimming, Special Restrictions (AB2004- 265). Also, an alternate version of AB2004 -265 is available for review. It will make the regulation less restrictive than the current ordinance, so it will not require another introduction to the Council. REPORTS AND OTHER ITEMS FROM COUNCILMEMBERS Nelson stated he received notice of the annual award to County Treasurer Barb Cory from the Washington Finance Officer's Association. It's commendable that their treasurer received this award from her State peers. Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, Page 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 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. McShane stated he received a stipulation agreement between British Petroleum (BP) and the Whatcom County Council. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 9:04 p.m. Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription The Council approved these minutes on July 27 , 2004. ATTEST: Dana Brown - Davis, Council Clerk WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON Dan McShane, Council Chair Whatcom County Council, 7/13/2004, Page 17