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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCounty Council for November 1 1979r WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL Minutes of meeting November 1, 1979 The Whatcom County Council meeting of November 1, 1979 was convened at 7:35 p.m. All members. were present for roll. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as corrected. Dave McEachren, Prosecuting Attorney introduced Steve Gish as a new member on the civil side of his staff. He will be one of the legal advisors to the County Council beginning early in December. OTHER BUSINESS The chair reported that the Committee of the Whole met on October 31 to interview eight candidates for the Third District Counnil. Posi- tion B. Of the original 13 nominees, Gary Gibbons, Everett Sanders, Hugh Pottle and Wella Hanson had withdrawn, and Jim Hawley was not avail- able for interview. Of the eight remaining candidates, the Committee of the Whole recommended Phyllis Graham and Jon Donellan be accepted by the Council as the finalists. Johnson moved to accept these two. Hansey moved to amend the motion that voting at this meeting would be on these two candidates only, but at a later date, the other nominees could be considered as well. His motion was defeated by a 4 to 2 vote. The orig- inal motion was passed. In the vote for the Council replacement, it was Hansey, Johnson, and Muenscher for Donellan, and McIntyre, Roehl, and VanZanten for Graham. Johnson moved to postpone further voting to November 15, seconded by McIntyre. Motion passed. Muenscher moved to approve the.preliminary plat of North Shore Ridge subject to conditions as set out in the findings of fact as recommended by the Hearing Examiner, with a "do pass" recommendation from the Planning Committee. His motion passed unanimously. Muenscher also moved the Conditional Use Application of North Shore Ridge with "do pass" recommendation from Planning. His motion carried. The Consultant Contract regarding the Planning Department was con- sidered by the Finance Committee, who recommended approval. The amount of the contract is $13,961 with Kramer, Chin and Mayo, Inc. of Seattle. The contract was approved by majority vote of Council. The chair made note of a letter of apology from Mary Kay. Becker for not attending the dinner held by the Council with the local State Elected minutes of Council meeting November 1,, 1979 page two officials. John Louws was appointed to represent Whatcom County on the Public Lands Committee at a legislative conference on November 8 $ 9 sponsored by the Washington State Association of Counties by unanimous decision. A letter was received from the Skagit County Planning Department informing the Council of the November 7 meeting they are holding regarding extention of the Puget Power Nuclear Project rezone contract. Roehl moved that a committee be formed of Van Zanten, Louws, and a member of the Planning Committee to draft a letter expressing Whatcom County's concern in the matter, and requesting to be considered when analyzing the impact of the project since Whatcom County stands to bear considerable financial impact in terms of increased demands on county services. HEARINGS & FINAL CONSIDERA'T'ION OF ORDINANCES $ RESOLUTIONS Hearing was declared open on the ordinance regarding the regulation of the sale of kegs or other containers of seven gallons or more of malt liquor. Sheriff Mount gave testimony on its behalf, as the proposer of the ordinance. He spoke to the problems as a result of minors attending keg parties: traffic accidents, etc. He has talked to the police chiefs from all the incorporated areas, and has been assured that they will push for passage of similar ordinances in the areas under their jurisdiction. He requested the deletion of Section 1.2 and Section 1.3(c). Wanda Henley from the Little Roadside 'Tavern spoke against the ordinance, stating that there are only about ten taverns in the unincorporated areas and over 100 in the incorporated areas of the county, and that this ordinance would cause the beer purchases to be made in the cities, thus hurting the business of the taverns in rural areas. Kerum Jankuish spoke in .favor of the ordinance, and Jim Dooley of the Ranch Tavern in Acme spoke against the ordinance for the same reasons as Henley. Public hearing was closed. The ordinance will remain in the Public Safety Committee until they are ready to make a recommendation to the Council Hearing was held on the next item. No testimony was given. Johnson moved for passage of the ordinance placing stop signs in:t.he Plat of Cedar - -orook, with Public Safety "do pass" recommendation. His motion passed unanimously. minutes of Council meeting November 1, 1979 page three No testimony was offered in the public hearing on the ordinance placing stop signs in the Plat of Maplebrook. Johnson, with Public Safety "do pass" recommendation, moved its passage. The motion carried by unanimous vote. Public hearing was held on items 4 $ 5. Ed Henken spokeon No. 4; Louws on No. 5,respectively, the resolution regarding the adoption of Whatcom County's 1930 Annual Construction Program and the resolution authorizing establishment of a central road district at G -3 site. Both are still to be considered by Public Works Committee, so final action was not taken on them. The ordinance authorizing a supplemental budget for the Solid Waste Management /P.W. Fund for 1979 was given a "do pass " by the Finance Committee. Roehl's motion to pass carried unanimously. EXECUTIVE ITEMS Transfer item No. 10 -4 in the CETA budget, and transfer No. 10 -5 in the Northwest Washington Fair budget were approved unanimously, by the motion of Hansey with Fiannce approval. INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS The following five ordinanceswere introduced by Don Hansey and re- ferred to Finance: supplemental budget for the Auditor's 1979 budget, supplemental budget for the Law Library's 1979 budget, supplemental budget for the Personnel Department's 1979 budget, authorizing a budget decrease and revision within the Public Works River Improvement Fund for 1979, and in the matter of adopting the final budget for 1980. The next three items were introduced by Roehl and referred to Public Works. They were the ordinance adopting by reference and in accordance with the State Building Code Act, the ordinance providing for the issuance of a revocable encroachment permit in accordance with the standards set forth in WAC 136 -40 -200 through WAC 136 -40 -812, and the ordinance adopting the 1979 Edition of the Uniform Building Code; the rules and regulations, establishing standards for making buildings and facilities accessible by the Handicapped or Elderly Persons as provided in RCE 70.92.100 - 70.92.160. The resolution regarding the funding of the Railroad Safety Program to 'Eliminate high hazard locations was introduced by Roehl, who moved for minutes of Council meeting November 1, 1979 page four immediate passage. Ed Henken, County Engineer, gave testimony on its behalf. The resolution passed unanimously. Roehl introduced the resolution approving petition and agreement for installation of automatic flashing light at Grandview Road, Burlington Northern,Inc., grade crossing. Henken spoke on this as well, and the resolution passed by unanimous vote. Muenscher introduced the resolution approving Water District No. 10, September 12, 1979 Amendment to Comprehensive Plan, and recommended it be sent to the Planning Committee. His motion passed. OPEN SESSION Johnson announced he would be absent from t lie also requested that a letter from the Council who served in the North Bellingham Fire District him and thanking him for his years of service.in Hansey announced the series of meetings. set to handle the 1980 budget. Meeting was adjourned at 9:35, at 7:30 p.m. he November 15 meeting. be sent to George Smith for may years, commending the County. up by Finance Committee to reconvene on November 15, 1979