HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommittee of the Whole Feb 22 2022Whatcom County
Council Committee of the Whole
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
(360) 778-5010
Committee Minutes - Final
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
3PM
Virtual Meeting
VIRTUAL MEETING - ADJOURNS BY 4:45 P.M. (TO PARTICIPATE, SEE
INSTRUCTIONS AT www.whatcomcounty.us/joinvirtualcouncil OR CALL
360.778.5010); AGENDA REVISED 2.22.2022
COUNCILMEMBERS
Barry Buchanan
Tyler Byrd
Todd Donovan
Ben Elenbaas
Carol Frazey
Kaylee Galloway
Kathy Kershner
CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
Dana Brown -Davis, C.M.C.
Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final February 22, 2022
Call To Order
Roll Call
Council Chair Todd Donovan called the meeting to order at 3 p.m. in a
virtual meeting.
Present: 7 - Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Todd Donovan, Ben Elenbaas, Carol Frazey,
Kaylee Galloway, and Kathy Kershner
Absent: None
Announcements
Special Presentation
1. A 2022-102. Update on 2022 legislative objectives
Tom McBride, McBride Public Affairs, presented and answered questions
about WA House Bill 1333 providing an extension through December 31,
2054 to the expiration of local sales and use tax for public facilities in rural
counties, his relationship with the County and where his priorities come
from, and whether there has been a clear investment for not only our state
and junction culverts but also culverts the cities and counties are going to
be responsible for and how to go about that coordinated effort to ensure
that we are upholding our obligations.
Jon Hutchings, Public Works Department Director, spoke about funding for
work on fish barriers.
This agenda item was PRESENTED.
A B'i022 nays;
2. f�Arv� v i Presentation from Western Washington University regarding the Coast Salish Style
Longhouse project
The following people presented:
Sabah Randhawa, Western Washington University President
• Laural Ballew, Executive Director of American Indian/Alaska Native
and First Nations Relations and Tribal Liaison to the President
Satpal Sidhu, County Executive, answered how the Council can support the
project, stated there would be a proposal coming to the Council for their
consideration, and answered whether a portion of the funding is included in
the Supplemental Budget Request on the agenda today or whether there is
another item he is planning to bring.
Randhawa answered how the fund raising is going for the remaining portion
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Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final February 22, 2022
of the requested dollar amount.
This agenda item was PRESENTED.
Committee Discussion and Recommendation to Council
1. AB2022-1 11 Resolution establishing a Respectful Workplace Standard
Galloway and Frazey briefed the Councilmembers on the Resolution.
Buchanan moved and Byrd seconded that the Resolution be
RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL. The motion carried by the following
vote:
Aye: 7 - Buchanan, Byrd, Donovan, Elenbaas, Frazey, Galloway, and Kershner
Nay: 0
Absent: 0
Items Added by Revision
AB2022-1142 Discussion and possible motion to recommend rescinding a previous action of the
Council that temporarily closed Gulf Road to motorized vehicular traffic
Donovan updated the Councilmembers.
Karen Frakes, Prosecuting Attorney's Office, spoke about a provision in our
code of parliamentary procedure that provides that when you do a motion to
rescind you have to provide the same notice that you provided on the
original notice, and stated the safest way to proceed in this case is to
introduce an Ordinance to repeal Ordinance 2022-005.
The following people discussed the item with Councilmembers:
• Jim Karcher, Public Works Department
• Doug Chadwick, Undersheriff
• Jon Hutchings, Public Works Department Director
They discussed the history of the proposal to close the portion of Gulf
Road, whether the action of the Council had been properly noticed, the
reason for this item, whether what is actually happening on the ground is as
severe as what was articulated in the Council packet, whether these areas are
part of the Lummi Nation's usual and accustomed access points and whether
the Nation was consulted, whether Council could get a map of the area with
a delineation of the private and public land, whether the cultural areas are
owned by the Tribe or by private property owners who then give access to
the Tribe, what the 500 foot right of way is and whether there is any public
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Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final February 22, 2022
Other Business
Adiournmeut
beach, how far the beach is from where they would put the gate, whether the
land owners are willing to work with the public to continue access on foot
or by bike, whether this is just closing vehicle access on a public road,
whether Council had passed a temporary or permanent road closure, and
how a temporary closure is defined.
Satpal Sidhu, County Executive, stated there is still a lot of accessibility and
suggested that Councilmembers gather more information and concerns
from the community members to see how concerns might be eliminated.
Hutchings and his team can talk to the property owners, then come back
with some sort of resolution.
Donovan stated that the path forward would be to introduce a new
Ordinance.
Hutchings answered whether there is legal parking down at the beach. He
suggested to schedule a committee discussion on this to hear from
constituents. In the meantime, he will have a follow-up conversation with
the proponent to let them know what happened today and they would go
from there.
Councilmembers concurred that he will work with Council staff to schedule
a discussion in the Public Works and Health Committee.
This agenda item was DISCUSSED.
There was no other business.
The meeting adjourned at 4:11 p.m.
The County Council approved these minutes on March 8, 2022.
ATTEST:
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