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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Committee Of The Whole
June 29, 1999
The meeting was called to order at 6:15 p.m. by Council Chair Marlene
Dawson in the Council Committee Room, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham,
Washington.
Also Present:
Kathy Sutter
Connie Hoag
Barbara Brenner
Tom Brown
Absent:
Robert Imhof
L. Ward Nelson
1. WORK SESSION TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSED 2000 -2005 SIX -
YEAR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN (AB99 -248)
Bruce Mills, Public Works Engineering, distributed documentation. Projects
are put together by first, second, and third years. The remaining forth through
sixth year projects are combined. Every year, by law, they have to update the six -
year plan. The first three years are pretty solid projects. They never know for sure
where the matching funds will come from, so they make educated guesses. The
staff also creates a priority array of the projects, based on the amount of traffic on
the roads, the condition of the pavement, and the number of accidents. These
items are rated and scored to determine which are the projects in the County that
are the most crucial. He made himself available for questions.
Brenner questioned how sure they are that Sunrise will be done in 2002.
Mills stated that will be the latest it will be finished. The survey work is in.
Hoag asked about Park Road. Mills stated they were hoping to do that in two
pieces. It is 2.8 miles long. They were hoping to do half this year and half next
year. They ran into wetlands in the area, which will involve the Army Corps of
Engineers and a lot of time. Therefore, they plan to do the entire project next year.
They will widen the road to 11 -foot lanes and 3 -foot shoulders. They will chip seal
this surface. It has windy curves and is shaded quite a bit. Chip seal will provide
better traction. It only carries 500 cars per day. It is not a big priority.
Dawson asked about the Lummi Shore Road. Mills stated the Lummi Shore
project has been around for years. The scope was recently narrowed a bit. They
are hoping to do most of it next year. Rights -of -way are the only thing that will
hold it up. They have to jump through the environmental hoops as other projects,
but they've already done a lot of the environmental work.
Committee of the Whole, 6/29/99, Page 1
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Brenner questioned where Slater Road would come out when it is extended.
Mills stated they don't have that figured out exactly because part of it is in the city
of Bellingham. It will be developer- driven. When the City builds out to the County
line, then the County will finish it. It is a much - needed connection, but there are
not definite plans by the City of Bellingham.
Brenner asked about the Grandview costs. Mills stated it is on the bottom
end of the wish list. Development at Cherry Point might push that project through.
Just to go over the Nooksack River, a bridge alone may cost approximately $4
million. That includes only the bridge structure.
Brenner asked how the people at Cherry Point were able to talk the State
into taking out the stop sign at Kickerville and Grandview. Mills stated the State's
reasoning is that the majority of the traffic is on Grandview, and there is very little
cross traffic on Kickerville.
Brown stated the State road always has a right -of -way over a county road.
Mills stated their engineers have also done traffic studies and say it was the way to
prevent accidents.
Brown stated that all the development and projects are in the western part of
the County. He hoped that, as the rural economic development funds come into
play, they could be applied to other areas. Mills stated the problem is there isn't
enough volume of traffic to justify a program.
Brown stated he would like the County and State to work together on joint
projects using rural economic development funds. He wanted to create an
economic corridor for the tourist industry. He had a lot of concern about the Lummi
ferry. Mills stated there isn't anything about the ferryboat itself.
Brown questioned whether there have been any thoughts about getting
another ferry and increasing to two routes. Mills stated the funds are very limited
right now. There is a national ferryboat discretionary fund in which 4 or 5 million
ferries nationwide compete.
Jeff Monsen stated the focus is to develop a parking lot on the island side.
They've begun discussions with the Lummi Tribe regarding developing a parking lot
on the Gooseberry Point side. They are also working on improving access with the
Whatcom Transit Authority and are in the process of looking at boat improvements.
Brown stated he would like to be kept up -to -date on this issue. Also, they
should review the ordinance regarding owner - participation of gravel road
conversions. Some of the County people have stated it is cheaper to turn the roads
over to chip seal rather than maintain gravel portion. There are a number of
connecting roads, such as Truck Road, in which people are using them as a
connector. Monsen stated that Truck Road wouldn't require a great deal of
widening to get it to standard. It wouldn't be a huge cost to make that conversion.
A lot of the other roads would be costly to convert and widen.
Committee of the Whole, 6/29/99, Page 2
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Brown asked about Goshen Road. Monsen stated that Goshen is the full
width. The national level of the Association of County Engineers is working on
revised design criteria for low- volume roads, so the County isn't held liable in court
by going to a lesser standard when they do conversions. That should be finalized
within a year and a half.
Sutter stated road standards were going to be included in the Planning
Commission docket, specifically to eliminate impervious surfaces, particularly in the
Lake Whatcom Watershed. It may be, they may not want to convert gravel roads
in some instances, for environmental purposes in the watershed. Monsen stated in
those situations, they will likely be requiring right -of -way.
Brown commented that gravel road becomes an impervious surface. It
doesn't make sense to go to that route.
Sutter stated that it is less impervious than road surfacing.
Brown stated that brings up a constant road base problem, safety issues, and
other problems. He did not support that.
Hoag asked about Van Buren Road. Mills stated there are curves that are too
tight, and they hope to eliminate. There is also a fair amount of traffic. In the last
ten years, they've improved Van Buren Road and Hampton Road to that point. The
improvement is not to make it a superhighway, but to widen the lanes.
Hoag stated there isn't any information on the Pole Road and the Double
Ditch Road, and they are falling apart. Mills stated the Pole Road, east of the
Guide, is a State highway.
Hoag stated the Double Ditch Road belongs to the County. The fog lines are
close to falling into the ditches. The stretch is from Lynden where it crosses Badger
Road. There are school buses and milk trucks that have to travel that road. There
is no shoulder any more. She questioned whether the road would be fixed.
Monsen stated those kinds of things would be basic repair. The County is a long
way from rebuilding the arterial system, let alone going off the access roads.
Hoag stated that was more important than the Van Buren /Lindsay project,
which isn't dangerous. Monsen stated the drivers want Van Buren to be all
weather, for full- season access to Lynden, Sumas, and Everson. There are also
problems in the area on the State highway.
Hoag questioned whether there is a problem because of the gravel pit in the
area and with all the gravel trucks. Monsen stated the problem isn't just the gravel
pit.
Hoag stated the safety issue is more important than upgrading a road to all -
weather. It isn't a matter of making a few repairs, the whole section is bad. Mills
Committee of the Whole, 6/29/99, Page 3
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stated it is a matter of choices. Double Ditch would be extremely expensive to
improve. The ditches are fish streams. But, the question would be whether the
County should put a lot of money into a road that carries very little traffic,
compared to the arterial roads.
Hoag questioned the options. Mills stated the priority array takes into
account the condition of the road and the safety concerns. He was not aware that
there is an accident history of the area.
Hoag stated that they should not wait until there is an accident. The Van
Buren road is perfectly safe to drive. This road is not perfectly safe to drive. It has
to get on the list somewhere. Mills stated that soon, Lynden will own it all the way
out from Badger to the highway.
Brenner questioned whether they will be dealing with security measures on
both sides of the Lummi Ferry. Mills stated that they will.
Monsen stated that they plan improved lighting, and they will talk with the
Lummi Tribe regarding services the County can consider.
Brenner suggested camera monitoring. Monsen stated they will discuss it
with the Island residents.
Brenner stated the residents are concerned about the security of their
vehicles.
Hoag questioned Van Wyck Road. The Plan shows that it is scheduled for
2003 -2005. Mills stated the portion they are talking about is a short stretch from
the Guide Meridian to the east, for about a half mile. Up until this year, it had not
been a County- maintained road.
Monsen stated this project will convert that section into a maintained County
road. Right now it is not.
Brenner questioned whether there is any discussion about extending the Van
Wyck Road. Mills stated the City of Bellingham is going to dictate more where a
future connector can push through.
Brenner questioned whether the City of Bellingham has any easements there.
Mills stated he believed they are discussing that it be further south than Kline Road.
Hoag questioned the Whatcom Connector. Mills identified the potential
connector on the map, but it is listed last on the list. He has a $250,000 study
listed as a cost, but it would be up to the Council Members.
Brown stated they should wait until all the Council members are present to
make that decision. They also need to know exactly where the route would go.
Committee of the Whole, 6/29/99, Page 4
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Monsen stated they will look more at Double Ditch Road. Prior to and at the
public hearing, they can address those issues. The Council has full discretion in
prioritizing the expenditure of the funds. He cautioned that the funding for the
projects in the first two years are driven by grants they were able to get and were
given to a particular road. The projects that are fully locally funded can be re-
prioritized.
Brenner questioned whether they would be able to get money for being a
distressed county. That money might help. Also, she noticed a few places on
Lummi Island where the road was degrading. She questioned whether that would
only be considered repair work. Mills stated it would be under another category.
Brenner questioned whether there is interest in establishing the outer road as
a one -way road, so the big trucks could always drive on the inside. Monsen stated
that topic has come up a number of times. Each time, it was not adopted as a
policy. Until they can build roads to lesser standards, he didn't think they could
rebuild the roads on Lummi Island. They are very difficult to maintain and to
protect the outer edges.
Brown stated the South Pass road is connecting Everson with the
Peaceful /Paradise area. Mills stated that is why this was put on, because the
population base is growing up there.
Monsen stated that South Pass Road will probably rank high in the rural
arterial program, within the next few years.
Hoag questioned whether, if they rank Double Ditch Road even higher,
another program would slip. Mills stated it would.
Monsen stated they could either place a project on a later year, when there is
still some flexibility in making choices. Or, they could put a placeholder out further
and they can be focused on looking for funding opportunities.
Brenner asked about the Lummi Shore Road. She assumed there were the
same kind of erosion problem there as there is on Lummi Island. She questioned
their confidence of the work on Lummi Shore Road regarding how it will last. Mills
stated the Army Corps of Engineers has spent several million dollars in rock. With
that rock in place, they feel confident it will hold.
Monsen concurred.
Brenner questioned how long it will last. Mills stated that he felt confident it
may be there in 50 years.
Monsen stated the type of erosion one will see will be from severe storms or
spot failure that can be repaired. The biggest unknown is the stability of the beach
itself, from an environmental standpoint.
Committee of the Whole, 6/29/99, Page 5
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Brenner questioned whether anyone had thought of buying more property
inland, and moving the road. Monsen stated they looked at that option pretty
seriously. At the time, the cost between rebuilding and replacing was not a
dramatic difference. The public sentiment was split, but the Tribe was adamant
that it be replaced.
Mills stated the Tribe has water and sewer along that route also, so it
wouldn't be just moving the road, but also moving the utilities.
Brenner stated there are not many houses there. She was pleased with the
engineering work. Mills stated that the Corps installed the rock to save the utilities,
not the road.
Sutter stated they could also do an aqueduct.
Mills stated this will be introduced at the July 13 meeting, and there will be a
public hearing on July 27. There are still opportunities to make changes now.
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:00 p.m.
Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
These minutes were approved by Council on September 21 , 1999.
ATTEST:
Dana Brown - Davis, Council Clerk
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Marlene Dawson, Council Chair
Committee of the Whole, 6/29/99, Page 6