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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCounty Council for March 3 1983MINUTES CORRECTED MARCH 1. 1983 i WHATCOM- COUNTY COUNCIL Minutes March 3, 1983 J The Whatcom County Council meeting was called to order on Thursday, March 3, 1983 at 7:37 p.m. by Chairperson Cole with all members present. The minutes of the Special Council meeting of February 17 and regular Council meeting of February 17, 1983 were approved as presented. OPEN SESSION MAYOR KEN. HERTZ City of Bellingham Read statement into the record. City endorses the Thermal Reduction Company proposal. MAYOR GARY GIBBONS City of Ferndale Concurred with Mayor Hertz. Supports the TRC proposal. DICK METCALF 4779 Sucia Dr. Ferndale, WA Spoke regarding the barricade on South Beach Way. Questioned the status of it. Cole stated the Council has not received a report back from the Executive. CLIFFORD HAINER 5816 Bellard Way Submitted a petition regarding Public Transportation Benefit Area PAUL SHISSLER 717 E. North St. Submitted proposed language in regards to the Resolution on capital improvement projects. Spoke regarding the Olivine proposal. In favor of. JOEL DOUGLAS 600 Linden Rd. Compared the TRC and Olivine proposals. In favor of Olivine. Questioned Council member Van Zanten's right to vote on the issue. Whatcom County .:ouncil Minutes March 3, 1983 page two TIM TRACEY 4396 Nordom Everson. WA In favor of Olivine Corporation. Employee of Olivine. GRANT WOOD 1090 Sunset In favor of Olivine proposal. KEVIN REILLY 325 B Hollywood Ave. In favor of Olivine proposal. Operator with Olivine. CLYDE KOPE 5595 North Fork Road Deming, WA In favor of Olivine. ALLEN KACHELMEIER 820 High St. Submitted correspondence to Council. State concerns regarding paper recycling. BILL KEEL 1392 Country Lane Supports the Olivine proposal. JOE PARCHER 2408 ViewRidge Said he leans more towards the Olivine proposal.. JAY EASTMAN 7930 Parkland Ct. Ferndale, WA Costs of disposing solid waste must be held down so wastes will not be dumped alongside the road way. STEVE UERLING 1428 Grant St. In favor of Olivine proposal. CORKY SMITH, OLIVINE CORPORATION Spoke to his proposal. Whatcom County council Minutes March 3, 1983 page three EXECUTIVE ITEMS Executive Louws reported on the storm damage to Whatcom County. He also forwarded on to Council a copy of a memoran- dum from Paul Rushing, Director of Public Works, regarding Road Damage Restoration Program as approved by F.E.M.A. BID AWARD -- Preleveling various County roads Executive recommended the bid of Whatcom Builders, Inc. in the amount of $60,800.00 on an estimated 1900 tons of asphalt concrete to be used for roadway preleveling. Hansey reported the Finance Committee recommended the bid be author- ized. Hansey so moved to approve the bid. Motion passed. BID AWARD -- Bridge Timbers and Piling for Ferry Dock Executive recommended the bid of Oeser Company in the amount of $16,835.64, including tax, for bridge timbers and piling for ferry dock rehabilitation and maintenance at Gooseberry Point. Hansey reported the Finance Committee recommended acceptance of the bid. Hansey so moved to approve the bid as recommended by the Executive. Motion passed. BID AWARD -- Public Defender's Word Processing Equipment Executive recommended the bid of Tesarik Office Equipment for a 36 -month lease - purchase in the amount of $19,224.00 for word processing equipment. Hansey reported the Finance Committee recommended acceptance of the bid. Hansey so moved to approve the bid as recommended.by the Executive. Motion passed. 0(1NFTPMATTnN OP ADDnTNTIAPNT __ Rzrtanci nn Off i on Due to the resignation of Craig Fenske the Executive requested confirmation of Craig MacConnell to serve as Chairman of the Whatcom County Extention Office. Van Zanten so moved to confirm the appointment. Motion passed. LIQUOR LICENSE --- RUSTLER INN The liquor license of the Rustler Inn to be located on Guide Meridian was withdrawn from the agenda by the Executive. ('0NTRA('T __ _TiivaniICI PY'nhatinn Executive Louws requested the authority to enter into contract with Dr. Carlin Freeberg, psychologist, to do for Whatcom County Council Minutes March 3, 1983 page four the Probation Department assessments, psychological profiles, prescriptive educational plans and design and implement eval- uation strategies for the grant and the Educational Unit. This is a half -time position which is fully funded by grant monies. Hansey moved to authorize the Executive to enter into the contract. Motion passed. HEARINGS VACATION AND ABANDONMENT OF COUNTY ROAD NO. 223 Hearing was declared open in the matter of the vacation and abandonment of a portion of County Road No. 223. Pete Trigstad, Project Manager, spoke in favor of the vacation. No further testimony was received and the hearing was closed. Johnson reported the Planning and Development Committee recommended approval of the vacation. Johnson so moved to vacate a portion of County Road No. 223 with the condition the petition will pay the $280.80 fair market value. Roehl moved to amend the motion by deleting the require- ment of payment of the fair market value. Motion to amend passed. Motion to vacate the portion of the road as amended passed. ORDINANCE -- Stop Sign on Karber Road Hearing was declared open on the Ordinance regarding the matter of placing a stop sign on Karber Road at its inter- section with Grandview Road, stopping southbound traffic, in Section 1, Township 39 North, Range 1 West. No testimony was received and the hearing was closed. Roehl reported the Law and Justice Committee recommended "do pass" of the ordinance. Roehl so moved the ordinance for final passage. Motion passed unanimously. ORDINANCE -- Speed Limit on East Bakerview Hearing was declared open on the Ordinance to reduce the speed limit on a portion of East Bakerview Road, between Whatcom County Council Minutes March 3, 1983 page five James Street Road and the Bellingham City Limits, Section 7 and 18, Township 38 North, Range 3 East from 40 m.p.h. to 35 m.p.h. No testimony was received and the hearing was closed. Roehl reported the Law and Justice Committee recommended "do pass" of the ordinance as recommended by the Engineer's Department. He also stated photographs and correspondence have been received from Bob Gilda regard- ing the speed limit. Roehl so moved the ordinance for final passage. Motion passed unanimously. MOTION -- At this time Hansey moved to consider item one, under Other Business, the report of the Special Committee on Transportation and Solid Waste regarding the Solid Waste proposals. Motion passed -and the matter was before the Council. SOLID WASTE ISSUE Hawley, Chairman of the Special Committee on Transpor- tation and Solid Waste, reviewed the recommendations of the Committee. MOTION -- Hawley moved to adopt recommendation numbers two and three of his memorandum to Council dated March 1, 1983, as follows: 112.) Motion.by Councilman Johnson to recommend to the full Council the Olivine Proposal, including per- formance bonding in the amount of at least $500,000, or as recommended by the Prosecuting Attorney's Office. 3.) Motion by Councilman Johnson to recommend to the full Council that the Olivine Proposal be accepted in accordance with Councilman Hansey's memorandum to the Council of February 22nd, Section A, quoted as follows: A.) 1.) Offer to purchase the existing T.R.C. facility and equipment for the fair appraised value not to exceed the $700,000 T.R.C. stated was their sales price for approximately twenty (20) acres of land including building site, landfill area and all associated lease- hold improvements in their original proposal and their amendment dated November 29, 1982. Whatcom County Council Minutes March 3, 1983 page six 2.) Offer to take over all equipment on the site owned by the City of Bellingham at no cost to the County. 3.) Enter into an agreement with Olivine Corporation as follows: a. Lease the facility to Olivine for $1.00 per year. b. Olivine to provide all waste disposal required in the original R.F.P. for a period of ten (10) years at a cost of $18.00 per ton. C. Olivine to construct and operate its own equipment on the property sufficient to meet the requirements of the County per the R.F.P. d. Any co- generated steam or electricity to be credited to the County in the amount of 25% of the net receipts after expenses related thereto. e. Olivine is to provide a performance bond to the County in.an amount to insure the County will be sufficiently protected in event of default. NOTE: A formula might be developed along the.line of: Total waste to be disposed of = 40,000 tons Cost for alternative disposal $32 per ton x 40,000 = annual $1,280,000 Cost allowed for tipping fee $18 per ton x 40,000 = $ 720,000 Potential annual loss to County= $ 560,000 f. Other requirements as are deemed appropriate by the County Hansey stated he had spoke with a Department of Ecology representative who indicated that their was no commitment of the $3.5 Million grant from DOE. Hansey felt the proper step at this time was to enter into a feasibility study. The study would take, into consideration all information the County has received at this time to determine which is the best proposal. Whatcom County ,ouncil Minutes March 3, 1983 page seven MOTION -- Hansey moved a substitute motion as follows: "To authorize the County Executive to enter into an agreement with Department of Ecology to do the required Feasibility Study in conjunction with the Comprehensive Plan Update (as required by State) and report the results back to the Council at the earliest possible date with a recommendation on what type of proposal to proceed with to enter into the Engineering and Plan Specification phase to develop a solid waste disposal facility for Whatcom County." Muenscher read into the record a letter of correspondence to Bob Jurica, Assistant County Engineer, from Pete Haskins, Department of Ecology Grant Department, dated January ?, 1983, regarding an enclosed grant. Muenscher also read a letter addressed to Jurica from Mark Crooks, Department of Ecology Sanitary Engineer, stating that DOE concurs with the proposal of TRC.. Van Zanten spoke regarding the statement made of her voting on the issue. It is the Prosecuting Attorney's opinion that she may vote on the issue and there is no appearance of fairness problem. Hansey's motion for a substitute motion failed. Hawley withdrew his motion. Hawley introduced a resolution authorizing the develop- ment of a solid waste disposal contract with Olivine Corpora- tion, as proposed by Hansey. Roehl questioned the bonding issue. He referred to the recommendation of Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Gene Moses in his memorandum of January 31, 1983 to Council member Hawley. On page three -of the memo, Moses recommends that "Whatcom County evaluate the financial effect of a failure of the Olivine proposal and affix the bond amount between $2.5 and $6.850 million. Whatcom County is purchasing a service and I would encourage you to require a performance bond near the upper limit of $6.850 million." Whatcom County Council Minutes March 3, 1983 page eight MOTION -- Roehl moved to amend the resolution on page two, Section 4, line 17 to change the amount of the bond from 11$500,000" to "$6,850,000. Motion failed. MOTION -- Cole moved to amend the resolution on page two, Section 4, line 17 to change the bond amount from "$500,000" to "$3,350,000, which is the amount that could possibly come from a State grant. Motion passed on a 4 -3 vote (Hawley, Hansey, Johnson). MOTION -- Hansey moved to amend the resolution to strike Sections one through four and.insert the following: "Whatcom County shall immediately begin negotiations with the Olivine Corporation for the construction of a facility that will meet the RFP as proposed in March, 1982, at a cost of approximately $2.5 million and that the Olivine Corporation be required to provide a performance bond under the same terms and conditions on their purchase as TRC was being "required to on their offer to sell their unit to Whatcom County." Motion failed on a 3 -4 vote (Roehl, Van Zanten, Cole, Muenscher). Motion to adopt the resolution as amended failed. MOTION -- Muenscher moved the following: "I move to give conceptual approval to the T.R.C. pro- posal with the following conditions: 1. That the contract, concerning sale of electrical power, be scrutinized by an independent qualified Law firm that specializes in contract Laws. 2. That the Recycling Fund as proposed in the Whatcom County Solid Waste Plan receive 750 per ton from the tipping fee paid to.the County. That these monies be used to enhance and promote the efforts of recycling in Whatcom County. 3. That T.R.C. agree by new contract now, that they will continue to process at $34.00 per ton all of solid waste that the County (including all cities) delivers to the present T.R.C. Plant that is within the capabilities of the present facilities, until the new facility is operational. 4. Additional efforts be taken to assure that, though recycling, plant capacity not exceed actual need." Whatcom County Council Minutes March 3, 1983 page nine Muenscher spoke to the portion of the motion relating to the impact of the sale of electrical power on capital costs. A memorandum from the Executive points out that at $.05 a kilowatt hour and with the amount of kilowatts that will be produced, $561,000 in annual revenue will be obtained from electrical energy sales. This will pay one -half of the capital costs. The projected revenue from steam sales will be $3.1 million in 10 years and $5.8 million in 20 years, according to Louws. MOTION -- Hansey moved to amend Muenscher's motion in Section 1 after the word "Laws" to add "and shall generate not less revenue to the County per kilowatt hour sold than the TRC proposal presently before the Council for the first 10 years of operation." Motion to amend passed (Hawley abstained). MOTION -- Hansey moved to amend Muenscher's motion to add Section 5 as follows: "5. That all procedures be met so that Whatcom County shall receive from the State not less than one -half the total cost of the construction of the facility." Motion to amend passed (Hawley abstained). The Chair clarified the motion before the Council, which is to give conceptual approval to the TRC plan with several conditions, and that actual contract approval will have to come back to the Council. Hawley spoke to the fee of $34.00 per ton for the City. He read the contract between the City of Bellingham and TRC for 1982. Whatcom County Council Minutes March 3, 1983 page ten Vice -Chair Roehl recessed the meeting at 12 :13 a.m. for lack of a quorum. Chair Cole called the meeting back to order at 12:14 a.m. with all members present. Van Zanten called for the question. Hawley stated the question cannot be called for. Van Zanten clarified her motion is for the Council to take a vote on whether or not they are ready to take a vote. The Chair consulted with other Council members as Hawley continued with the reading of the contract. Hawley stated once the meeting was closed at this time no special meeting had been indicated by the Council or by the Chair and he so declared the meeting closed. He stated Vice -Chair Roehl had closed the meeting and there was no special meeting elected by the body to continue the meeting. Chair Cole's interpretation of Roehl's action was that he recessed the meeting. The Chair ruled the meeting would not be closed. Hawley continued with the reading of the contract. Chair Cole recessed the meeting for.lack of a quorum at 12:22 a.m. Chair Cole called the meeting back to order at 12:23 a.m. with all members present. Member Van Zanten moved that the Council vote immediately on the question on the floor. A roll call vote was taken and the motion passed on a 6 -1 vote (Hawley). Muenscher's motion was before the Council. Hawley stated a point of order that it was his under- standing that the meeting was previously closed for lack of a quorum. Chair Cole stated Councilman Roehl indicated he recessed the meeting and the Chair rules the meeting was recessed and will continue. Whatcom County Council Minutes March 3, 1983 page eleven Hawley requested that any matters which took place before Council at.the time the meeting was closed and it was proven that the meeting was closed that the matters be stricken from the record. Chair Cole stated the basis of his ruling was that there was no such thing as closure of a meeting. There is adjournment and recess. A roll call vote was taken and Muenscher's motion as amended passed on a.4 -3 vote (Hansey, Johnson, Hawley). MOTION -- Johnson moved to amend the agenda to consider item two under introductions. Motion passed. MOTION -- Hansey moved to introduce an ordinance amending Ordinance 82 -85, an Ordinance of the County Council of Whatcom County authorizing the acquisition, construction and installation ofthe exposition building on the grounds of the Northwest Washington Fair; and the repair and replacement of County roads and drainage facilities; providing for the issuance and sale of Limited Tax Levy:.General Obligation Bonds of the County in the principal sum of $1,300,000; providing the date, form, terms and maturities of said bonds; providing for the annual levy of taxes to pay the principal of and interest on said bonds; and providing for the sale thereof, by modifying Section 2.B. entitled "Road Improvements." and to refer the ordinance to the Finance Committee. Motion passed. MOTION -- Roehl moved to recess the meeting until March 10, 1983 at 8:30 a.m. Motion passed. Meeting was recess at 12 :30 a.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY Clerk