Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCounty Council April 3 1990WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL April 3, 1990 The meeting was called to order at 7:06 p.m. by Council Chairman Don Hansey. Other members present: Absent: Dan Warner none Emily Jackson Dennis Vander Yacht Bob Imhof Marge Laidlaw Mary Vanderpol EXECUTIVE ITEMS DISCUSSION OF EXEMPT SALARIES. Van Zanten explained the salary structure for exempt employees and distributed some information on this issue. She stated this does not mean elected officials, nor Undersheriff, the Chief Criminal Deputy, the Chief Jailer nor the two Superior Court Commissioners but would include everyone on the matrix, the Medical Examiner, the Court Reporters, and the Health Officer as well. Van Zanten said she and Personnel Director Larry Mans are suggesting another five percent beginning July 1, 1990. She said these people do not get overtime or comp time but work much longer hours than they used to. They should be treated as management salary -wise to stay competitive in the market. The cost would be approximately $55, 000 for the six months in 1990 including benefits and deductions or $110,000 annually. The Salik study was a disappointment as it was underfundedshe said, adding that the study had too many flaws in it to use which means the $25,000 was a waste. There are inequities in the salary system and Van Zanten suggested the County hire an additional staff person to evaluate them as part of their job along with rewriting job descriptions. Another part of this new job would be to take on the financial management of the self insurance program to ensure the funds are properly invested. The salary for the new person would be in range 20 or 21. Warner wondered if the raise for exempts could be more than five percent. Van Zanten said the staff would of course accept more than that but she and Mans had not wanted to start too high. Vanderpol said he thinks a department head would be the best person to write a job description. Van Zanten said it would be done in conjunction with a department head. Van Zanten said there have been 35 new positions and 10 percent turnover this year. Personnel is having difficulty dealing with all the job searches. There are more grievances; it has been found that the duties are not properly described in the job Minutes, 4/3/90, Page 2 found that the duties are not properly described in the job description and not appropriately compensated. She discussed the matter further. Warner said he would like Mans and the Union representative to come to the Finance Committee to discuss this issue, and asked that the negotiating committee look at the Salik study and see if it could be utilized in any way. Van Zanten said none the study is worth looking at and three of the five committee members have rejected it. This matter will be looked at on the April 24 Finance Committee and Council meetings with Larry Mans in attendance. OTHER BUSINESS 1. DECISION ON APPEAL OF HEARING EXAMINER'S DECISION, FILED BY JEFF MCCLURE JACKSON MOVED THE COUNCIL GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS THIS ITEM. Motion carried. The Council went into Executive session and reconvened in 10 minutes. IMHOF MOVED TO REJECT THE MCLURE APPEAL BECAUSE IT WAS FILED TOO LATE. Motion carried unanimously. 2. REVIEW OF POINT ROBERTS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Carl Batchelor said the Planning staff had been up to Point Roberts six times since spring of 1989. In May of 89 SEPA started, public information meetings were hosted in May and June of 89, in July and September the Planning Commission had hearings and accepted written comment until the end of that month. From November to January, there were 13 work sessions. The draft Environmental Impact Study (EIS) was completed in January and the final EIS results were published in March. Batchelor said the following conclusions were reached: air quality is good in Point Roberts; increased pollution comes with increased development and traffic but it does disperse quickly there; there is half the rainfall in Point Roberts as there is in Vancouver; the views are wonderful from most of Point Roberts but tall structures would impede views; there is erosion potential in certain areas; sand and gravel is a resource Canada would like; Point Roberts generally has poor permeability and is perennially wet in certain areas. Point Roberts is unique because of the presence of wildlife. The heronry is the largest in the region. Many great bald eagle nests which are protected by the Department of Wildlife, exist. Minutes, 4/3/90, Page 3 Until recently Point Roberts was dependent on six deep wells but because of pollution these could not be used. The residents have been able to get 840,000 gallons a day from the Greater Vancouver Water District. If the population increases there would need to be additional water storage. Individual septic systems handle sewage disposal except for one larger septic system at the Marina. There are still some individual homes on their own wells but most are on the water system. There was some discussion as to whether there would be enough year -round people to make a treatment system feasible. There is residential pickup of solid waste which is taken to a transfer station. There is some dumping of construction waste at the old landfill. Littering by day visitors is a problem. The fire department has 21 volunteers. Point Roberts needs two sheriff's deputies because of its separation from the rest of Whatcom County. Prisoners need to be flown to Bellingham; they cannot be taken into Canada and kept in custody. Students have to be bussed to Blaine as there is no school in Point Roberts. There are no health care professionals and transportation is a big problem because of the border. Point Roberts has more than its share of Park facilities but they serve mostly Canadians. There is very little public beach access. The Planning Department wrote a policy to encourage development of a school. There is a long and colorful history of the Lummi and Tsawwassen Indians. There are four known archeological sites. A policy has been included in the plan to identify and preserve cultural sites with the Lummis. It is very difficult to make a living in Point Roberts; historically it has relied on entrepreneurship and sometimes that has been illegal. Recreation, tourism, etc. is mostly dependent on Canadians. The Marina has grown a great deal. The need is expressed by the residents of establishing stable year -round families. Point Roberts has a reputation for tacky taverns but more and more nice family restaurants are now appearing. There are over 500 people living there with 3,000 to 4,000 seasonal visitors and 14,000 day visitors. It is hard to encourage year round residents without sewer facilities. Point Roberts went through a lot of subdivision activities between the 160s and 170s. Many lots are undeveloped; urban densities without urban amenities. Batchelor explained the maps with the Planning Commission's recommendations. All park areas have been zoned R10A which is the lowest density zoning. He also explained the Planning Department's suggested map with a central core that may promote a sewer system. Batchelor discussed the differences between the Planning Department and the Planning Commission recommendations. Warner asked about the usefulness of transfer development rights and what are people going to talk about at the public hearing. Minutes, 4/3/90, Page 4 There was a certain amount of unfairness perceived so in order to preserve numbers, transfer of densities was suggested, said Batchelor. If one person will not be using all his development rights, he can sell these density rights. If parcel "A" is four to the acre and parcel "B" is two to the acre "B" can buy rights from "A" if "A" does not wish to develop. Potential demand exceeds the supply. Real Estate people are very skeptical about transfer rights. Taylor said he thinks they were talking against the zoning. Vanderpol asked how much of Point Roberts was down - zoned; Taylor said about 50 percent. The new plan requires a sewer system for development for more than one dwelling per acre. Imhof said the people who called him were most concerned about the transfer rights. Warner said some want to preserve the area and some want to develop it. The Planning Commission's recommendation is a reasonable compromise. Jackson said a sewer system would take up property and Batchelor agreed. Jackson said if there is a downturn in the Canadian economy there may be property back as County tax title property. Vander Yacht was concerned about the data used to determine the sewer system needs. The residents thought because staff suggested something it would take place and did not attend the Planning Commission hearings; now they are unhappy. Planning Commission came up with cluster bonuses that may get more densities. Jackson asked if they had taken into consideration the new health requirements for a double drainfields. Taylor said that was not in the original plan. Hansey said anyone who wishes to speak at the public hearing on April 19 will be allowed to. He said anyone representing a group will be given priority. Some will speak in broad issues and some in specific issues; he would like to reduce redundancy. The Council will not take action that night, he said. Taylor said the sign ordinance will be on 24th Council agenda for introduction; it will take some time if the Council wants its own hearing. Taylor asked if the Council wants an emergency ordinance and a regular ordinance to be an extension to the moratorium that is now running out. It was agreed that would be a good idea. Taylor said the Bakerview rezone will be discussed at the Planning and Development Committee meeting on the 10th. Laidlaw said the Planning & Development Committee will be attending the Planning Commission meeting on the 17th at 1:30 p.m. She invited the rest of the Council to attend as well. Hansey asked if the Bakerview rezone could be on the agenda in July; Taylor said it could but the staff won't get the work done until fall. Minutes, 4/3/90, Page 5 The meeting was adjourned at 9:51 p.m. ATTEST: WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON Ba bara Maher, un it Clerk nald G. an y, Chair n