HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommittee of the Whole Oct 27 2020Whatcom County
Council Committee of the Whole
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand Avenue, Ste 4105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
(360) 778-5010
Committee Minutes - Final
VIRTUAL MEETING - MAY BEGIN EARLY; ENDS NO LATER
THAN 5 P.M.
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
3:10 PM
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 Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final October 27, 2020
Call To Order
Roll Call
Present: 7 - Rud Browne, Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Todd Donovan, Carol Frazey, Ben
Elenbaas and Kathy Kershner
Absent: None
Committee Discussion
1. AB2020-219 Discussion and update on strategies and other items related to COVID-19 (Council
and Health Board)
Erika Lautenbach, Health Department Director, updated the
Councilmembers on the following:
• Lower rates of COVID-19 cases in Whatcom County compared to
the rates nation-wide but continued spread among households and
social gatherings
• The outbreak at the Highlands Long Term Care Facility and that it has
stabilized
• Most new COVID-19 cases being seen in the under 40 age group
• A meeting with the federal delegation about continuation of CARES
Act funding for next year
• State plans for a COVID-19 vaccine
• An update in two weeks about efforts around behavioral and mental
health in our community
Frazey thanked Lautenbach and her team and Elenbaas explained why the
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about Racism are not yet ready.
Lautenbach and Tyler Schroeder, Executive's Office, answered questions
about the "DOH CARES Act $4.5 M Spending Plan," as presented on packet
page 334, what the school district contract amendments are for, getting a
chart with columns for each allocation of CARES Act funding that the
County has received and how it has been allocated, and whether this is just
the Health Department's $4.5 million.
This agenda item was DISCUSSED.
2. AB2020-470 Introduction to the County Executive's recommended 2021-2022 Biennium Budget
presented by Deputy Executive Tyler Schroeder
The following people presented from documents on the County's Finance
Department's website and spoke:
Whatcom Colony Page I
Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final October 27, 2020
• Tyler Schroeder, Executive's Office
• Satpal Sidhu, County Executive
• Brad Bennett, Administrative Services Department
They answered questions about which departments the 22.5 unfunded frozen
positions are in, whether those will just be un-filled positions as opposed to
lay-offs, how hard or soft the budget lapse number is, who approves or
disapproves the Additional Service Requests (ASRs), meeting with
department heads that have unapproved ASRs, and why an ASR submitted by
the Council Office was not approved.
Dana Brown -Davis, Clerk of the Council, stated there is not a list yet of
specific departments that Councilmembers would like to hear from so
Councilmembers discussed which departments they would like to hear from
and what dates they should be scheduled.
This agenda item was PRESENTED.
3. AB2020-345 Discussion of proposed Cherry Point amendments
Councilmembers discussed how to proceed with the discussion.
The following people answered questions and discussed with
Councilmembers progress on the work being done and changes they may
want to propose:
• Eddy Ury, Re Sources (Joint Stakeholder Group)
• Matt Aamot, Planning and Development Services Department
• Mark Personius, Planning and Development Services Department
Director
This agenda item was DISCUSSED.
Items Added by Revision
Other Business
Adiournment
There were no agenda items added by revision.
There was no other business.
The meeting adjourned at 4:29 p.m.
The County Council approved these minutes on November 24, 2020.
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Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final October 27, 2020
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Kristi Felbinger, Minutes Transcription
Whatcom County page 3
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WA
BaVcLnan, Council Chair