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Home My WebLink Aboutord2021-064Whatcom County COUNTY COURTHOUSE 311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105 Bellingham, WA 98225-4038 (360) 778-5010 Agenda Bill Master Report File Number: AB2021-561 File ID: AB2021-561 Version: 1 Status: Adopted File Created: 09/21/2021 Entered by: CHalka@co.whatcom.wa.us Department: Council Office File Type: Ordinance Assigned to: Council Committee of the Whole Final Action: 10/12/2021 Agenda Date: 10/12/2021 Enactment#: ORD 2021-064 Primary Contact Email: chalka@co.whatcom.wa.us TITLE FOR AGENDA ITEM: Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 2021-045 (Review of Response to COVID-19 Pandemic) SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE: Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 2021-045 (Review of Response to COVID-19 Pandemic) to change consultant details and project timeline HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE FILE Date: Acting Body: Action: Sent To: 09/28/2021 Council INTRODUCED Council Committee of the Whole Aye: 7 Browne, Buchanan, Byrd, Donovan, Elenbaas, Frazey, and Kershner Nay: 0 Absent: 0 10/12/2021 Council Committee of the Whole RECOMMENDED FOR ADOPTION Aye: 6 Browne, Buchanan, Byrd, Donovan, Frazey, and Kershner Nay: 0 Absent: 0 Abstain: 1 Elenbaas 10/12/2021 Council ADOPTED Aye: 6 Browne, Buchanan, Byrd, Donovan, Frazey, and Kershner Nay: 1 Elenbaas Absent: 0 Whatcom County Page 1 Printed on 1011312021 Agenda Bill Master Report Continued (AB2021-561) Attachments: Proposed Ordinance Whatcom County Page 2 Printed on 1011312021 PROPOSED BY: COUNCIL INTRODUCTION DATE: SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 ORDINANCE NO. 2021-064 AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 2021-045 (REVIEW OF RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC) TO CHANGE CONSULTANT DETAILS AND PROJECT TIMELINE WHEREAS on July 13, 2021, Whatcom County Council adopted Ordinance No. 2021- 04E to establish an independent review of the community response to the COVID-19 Pandemic; and WHEREAS on September 14, 2021, Whatcom County Council discussed the details of the project (AB2021-525) and identified amendments to Ordinance No. 2021-045, including removing requisite qualifications of the commissioner and extending the timeline for completion of the project. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED that Ordinance No. 2021-045 is hereby amended and, r,9plpged in its entirety as shown in Exhibit A, attached. wo �AO�TED`AtIA `, day of October '2021. WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL ATTEST: HATCO N Y, WASHINGTON Dana Bronj:lavir.,�C lerk of the Council B r y ucha an, Council Chair APPROVED.AS'TO FORM: WHATCOM COUNTY EXECUTIVE Karen Frakes (by email) 9/21/2021 Civil Deputy Prosecutor WH TCOM COUNTY, ASHINGTON Satpal Singlf Sidhu, County Executive ( ) Approv d ( ) Denied Date Signed: Iv `� ?� EXHIBIT A ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC WHEREAS on January 21, 2020, the Washington State Department of Health confirmed the first case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States in the State of Washington, and, COVID-19, a respiratory disease that can result in serious illness or death, is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is a new strain of coronavirus that had not been previously identified in humans, which easily spreads from person to person; and WHEREAS on January 31, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar declared a national public health emergency arising from COVID- 19; and WHEREAS on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic with global spread, impacts, and health risks; and WHEREAS in March 2020, Whatcom Unified Command (WUC) was activated to provide an integrated, coordinated, multi -jurisdictional response to the threat of COVID-19 locally, in partnership with the Whatcom County Health Department; and WHEREAS the staff of the Whatcom County Government; the cities of Bellingham, Lynden, Ferndale, Blaine, Nooksack, Everson, and Sumas; the Lummi and Nooksack Nations; PeaceHealth; medical providers; fire districts; businesses; non-profit and faith -based organizations; community groups; and countless citizens all stepped forward to collectively fight the pandemic; and WHEREAS in all prior emergencies the County has faced, we could rely on neighboring communities or states to provide us with materials and skilled workers to help us cope - but as this was a truly global disaster, for a time we had to rely on our own internal County sourced resources to manufacture PPE, distribute food etc.; and WHEREAS Whatcom County can expect future emergencies to arise, of a yet unknown type, which could include future pandemics, floods, fire, earthquake, cyber-attack, widespread communications loss, and perhaps even things we have not yet imagined; and WHEREAS in the book "The Great Influenza" the story of the Spanish Flu pandemic the author concludes: "The final lesson of 1918, a simple one yet one most difficult to execute, is that... those in authority must retain the public's trust. The way to do that is to distort nothing, to put the best face on nothing, to try to manipulate no one. Lincoln said that first, and best. A leader must make whatever horror exists concrete. Only then will people be able to break it apart. "; and WHEREAS this is not humanity's first pandemic, nor will it be our last; and WHEREAS citizens will be less likely to blame their government for future disasters caused by factors outside our control, but will have good reason to be critical if their government fails to plan, prepare and learn from past experiences; and WHEREAS the Pandemic has truly tested our structures and processes for dealing with disaster, and in doing so has provided us an ideal opportunity to evaluate, to recognize what we did well and where we have an opportunity to improve; and WHEREAS the Pandemic response has inspired various requests to review: the makeup of the County Health Board; Unified Command; the County Emergency Management Plan; and County policy related to communications with the public; and WHEREAS the people most qualified to provide feedback on our response are those who actively worked on answering the needs of the community; and WHEREAS this year we will have several key members of our community retiring and we would like to hear from them before they become unavailable; and WHEREAS the best way to determine the lessons to be learned from the Pandemic is to appoint a Special Commissioner to interview the key participants, to document the lessons learned, to better inform the community on how we can ensure the things we did right, what will be likely to occur again, where we need to improve, and what to avoid next time. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED that the Whatcom County Council establishes a County Commission to review our community's response to the COVID-19 Pandemic; and BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that Whatcom County shall hire, an independent Special Commissioner to conduct the inquiry; and BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that they shall include, but not be limited to examining: the makeup of the County Health Board; Unified Command; County policy related to open communications with the public; expanding the designated senior county emergency advisory positions (i.e. manufacturing, logistics, communications) and the community sectors represented; and BE IT FINALLY ORDAINED that the person shall complete and deliver their report to the County Counci►, County Executive and County Sheriff by June 30, 2022, and any recommendations incorporated into the next update to the county's emergency response plan.