HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Work Session Oct 20 2020Whatcom County
Council Water Work Session
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand Avenue, Ste 0105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
(360)778-5010
Minutes - Final
VIRTUAL MEETING - VIEW ONLINE
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
10:30 AM
Virtual Meeting
COUNCILMEMBERS
Rud Browne
Barry Buchanan
Tyler Byrd
Todd Donovan
Ben Elenbaas
Carol Frazey
Kathy Kershner
CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
Dana Brown -Davis, C.M.C.
Council Water Work Session Minutes - Final October 20, 2020
Call To Order
Roll Call
Council Chair Barry Buchanan called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. in a
virtual meeting.
Present: 7 - Rud Browne, Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Todd Donovan, Ben Elenbaas,
Carol Frazey and Kathy Kershner
Absent: None
Water Resources Update
Gary Stoyka, Public Works Department, and Satpal Sidhu, County
Executive, updated the Councilmembers on the following:
The Department of Ecology (DOE) has recommended that the Nooksack
Basin be one of two basins that adjudication proceedings begin with and
submitted a budget request to the Governor's Office for pre -adjudication
work. The County Executive is working on a settlement proposal to present
to all of the parties in Whatcom County which would be involved in a global
settlement of water rights and will get documents to the Council before the
next Council meeting.
Stoyka answered questions about whether Whatcom County has a choice if
the DOE recommends adjudication and he described the next steps of the
process. If the Governor and the Legislature go along with funding it, the
adjudication will proceed. If it is approved, the local negotiation process
can still go forward. He answered whether the Public Utility District (PUD)
is staying neutral on the process of adjudication.
He continued to update Councilmembers on:
• The Regional Water Supply plan led by the PUD
• A grant for Drainage Basin Management
• Getting a contractor in place to do a peer review of the groundwater
model that was completed in 2019 and what the groundwater model
will accomplish
• The Conservation District is rolling out a domestic water use
efficiency program and is planning to develop a program next year
for outreach and education
• Recent and upcoming Meetings related to water resources
2021 Flood Control Zone District Budget
The following staff presented (on file):
Whatcom County Page 1 Printed on 1111212020
Council Water Work Session Minutes - Final October 20, 2020
Paula Harris, Public Works Department, presented on the flood
components of the flood budget and answered whether there is a central
place that citizens can go to report drainage problems, and whether it is the
Parks Department that would deal with beaver dam problems in Silver Lake.
Gary Stoyka, Public Works Department, presented on the Natural
Resources components on the flood budget and answered whether there is a
way to tell what the revenue sources are for the various programs, what
dollar amount is required to be maintained in the flood budget, whether the
plan for some of the 250,000 for water planning would be to hire someone
for the settlement process, what the philosophy is about spending more
money on education and outreach than on enforcement, and whether river
monitoring data is online.
He also answered a question about where complaints about solid waste
disposal should be directed.
Harris spoke about grant funding for Floodplains by Design.
Updates to Lake Whatcom Homeowners Incentive Program (HIP)
Other Business
Adjournment
Ingrid Enschede, Public Works Department, gave a presentation (on file).
She and Gary Stoyka, Public Works Department, answered why funds spent
on advertising cannot be used toward one or two single large-scale projects
to get the most for the money, whether there is a timeline to start working
with the homeowner's association, and how much of the budget is for
compliance monitoring and enforcement.
Clerk's note: Buchanan left the meeting at 11:58 a.m. so Byrd adjourned
the meeting.
There was no other business.
The meeting adjourned at 12:01 p.m.
The County Council approved these minutes on November 10, 2020.
Whatcom County Page 2 Printed on 1111212020
Council Water Work Session Minutes - Final October 20, 2020
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WA
, Council Chair
Whatcom County Page 3 Printed on 1111212020