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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommittee of the Whole Jun 20 2023Whatcom County Council Committee of the Whole COUNTY COURTHOUSE 311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105 Bellingham, WA 98225-4038 (360)778-5010 Committee Minutes - Final Tuesday, June 20, 2023 2:40 PM Hybrid Meeting HYBRID MEETING - ADJOURNS BY 4:30 P.M.; MAY BEGIN EARLY (PARTICIPATE IN -PERSON, SEE REMOTE JOIN INSTRUCTIONS AT www.whatcomcounty.us/joinvirtualcouncil, OR CALL 360.778.5010) 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 June 20, 2023 Call To Order Roll Call Council Chair Barry Buchanan called the meeting to order at 3:10 p.m. in a hybrid meeting. Present: 7 - Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Todd Donovan, Ben Elenbaas, Carol Frazey, Kaylee Galloway, and Kathy Kershner Announcements Committee Discussion 1. A1.32073 30JJustice Project workshop Buchanan stated they were working off of the version that has all the combined edits. The proposed amendments that were left over from Councilmembers Buchanan and Galloway's amendments are in red. The parts in yellow are additional amendments that came from Galloway and some that came from the Administration. Kershner stated we included the proposed amendments in red as a vote. We have not included any other amendments to be considered as a vote. She is not necessarily opposed to looking at them but they may want to do the red ones first and then come back to the others as time permits. Councilmembers went through the proposed amendments one at a time. SECTION 4_(Under "Now Therefore Be It Ordained")Ap-roximate Tirnest�rn :03:56 Galloway moved approval of the amended Section 4 as presented. The motion was seconded by Buchanan. The following people discussed the motion with the Councilmembers: • Tyler Schroeder, Director of Administrative Services • Karen Frakes, Prosecuting Attorney's Office Councilmembers and the speakers discussed the part of the amendment which would change the word "may" to "must," whether it covers the anticipated expense for building a new jail facility, what the intent is in the proposed amendment to strike "or future implementation plans adopted by the Whatcom County Council," and the difference between "shall" and "must." whatcom County Page 1 Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final June 20, 2023 The motion failed by the following vote: Aye: 3 - Buchanan, Donovan, and Galloway Nay: 3 - Elenbaas, Kershner, and Frazey Abstain: I - Byrd Councilmembers clarified that because the motion failed, the language in that section will remain as it was before. The changes in red were not approved. SECTION 5 (1) (b) - A-ppKoKJqiate'C ig�tqLppJ2j8 kp - — Galloway stated the intent with this was building cross-reference to the Implementation Plan, which was very expansive, rather than listing it all out. Byrd asked whether they should leave this the same so the community knows exactly what we are spending money on. Galloway moved to add "such as" after "projects as established in the Justice Project Implementation Plan," and then keep the rest of the language so it would read: Provides adequate funding to accomplish the -projects a* established in the Justice Proiect Lipp lernentation Plan,,qu __qconstruction of a new jail and behavioral health facilities and maximizes utilization of the remainder of sales and use tax proceeds for investments in behavioral health, re-entry, supportive housing, and diversion facilities and services consistent with the Implementation Plan, and The motion was seconded by Kershner. Councilmembers discussed that "consistent with the Implementation Plan" would be redundant so Galloway amended her motion to keep that phrase stricken so the statement would read as follows: Provides adequate funding to accomplish the _RMLecLs as.establ i shed in the Justice,_p ill nruction of a Lqip I -np dill such as construction new jail and behavioral health facilities and maximizes utilization of the remainder of sales and use tax proceeds for investments in behavioral health, re-entry, supportive housing, and diversion facilities and servicesm,,istent-with4h-e,-1 p - -ntation-P4mi, and whatco"I County Page 2 Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final June 20, 2023 The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Byrd, Donovan, Elenbaas, Frazey, Galloway, Kershner, and Buchanan Nay: 0 SECTION 5 (2) - App w w(a b;il i. Galloway moved to amend Section 5 (2) to add the language in red and to strike the listing of members in the last paragraph and replace it with the bulleted list of members. The motion was seconded by Donovan. Erika Lautenbach, Health and Community Services Director, answered how often the population health report on public health and safety comes out, and stated they produce it generally every five years. It will be produced next in 2025. Schroeder answered what roles the Finance and Operations Advisory Board and the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force (IPRTF)/Law and Justice Council (LJC) are going to have and whether they have a lot of duplication of effort between them. Councilmembers discussed the make-up of the Finance and Operations Advisory Board, whether there should be a youth representative, and whether the group should be smaller. Kershner moved to amend the motion to replace the youth representative with a police officer if they are going to keep this long list of people. The motion was seconded by Byrd. Satpal Sidhu, County Executive, suggested having a subcommittee of people (some of the people listed here) who could advise the IPRTF or LJC on certain topics. Councilmembers discussed whether they can appoint people to boards and commissions who are under 18 years old if they are not registered, and they discussed both Kershner's and Galloway's motions. Kershner withdrew her motion. She spoke about the purpose of this board and suggested they use the IPRTF/LJC to add some additional positions that are listed in this amendment. Wmtcom County Page 3 Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final June 20, 2023 The motion (Galloway's) carried by the following vote: Aye: 4 - Frazey, Galloway, Buchanan, and Donovan Nay: 3 - Elenbaas, Kershner, and Byrd SECTION 5 (3) - Approximate Timesta n 4 �, O Galloway moved approval of the amendments (in red) in Section 5 (3). The motion was seconded by Buchanan. Frazey stated she has a concern with the Implementation Plan update recommendations from the IPRTF/LJC being a minimum of every two years and feels like that should be every five years. Galloway answered why it is every two years. Frazey suggested a friendly amendment to make it every five years Galloway accepted the friendly amendment. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5 - Frazey, Galloway, Buchanan, Byrd, and Donovan Nay: 2 - Kershner and Elenbaas SECTION 5 (4) App c h��)w)µ Galloway spoke about the proposed amendments in Section 5 (4) and stated the added language is a bit outdated now since it sounded like there was not an interest from Council in sending the Implementation Plan back to the Task Force for additional review. But she still likes the second sentence which talks about metrics for measuring progress and tying those to the health and safety goals, and being very specific about the outcomes. Frazey asked if she was just considering taking out that first sentence. Galloway moved to amend Section 5 to add a new Subsection 4 which would read: _. ,.➢ on Plan shall include metrics for rheas pxo ys tpwai°d� c®rrulIq Ay health and safety als a he r�l�ted to_gq!�h & .regornmended by the Zt (� tatYc�� flan as vv�ll a Whatcont County Page 4 Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final June 20, 2023 cost essttirnato tilLe ip s„ , tjdd �4p, i� �°g5,QgLges needed to reach cc�rramur�il..hethretsa The motion was seconded by Buchanan. Councilmembers discussed whether this is language Galloway is recommending to also add to the Implementation Plan for each of the fifteen goals that are outlined there, the fact that the Implementation Plan does not have to be approved at the same time as this Ordinance, whether there is a way to modify the language so that the Council is not hamstringing itself to having an Ordinance out there without the Implementation Plan being finished, and whether the document is veering away from being palatable to a broad range of voters and taxpayers. Frazey asked whether this proposed language could go under Section 7 (2) after it says "Justice Project Implementation Plan." Galloway stated in other words, we are affecting these metrics in subsequent Implementation Plans, and Frazey said yes. Galloway stated she would accept that change as a friendly amendment and they discussed how the language might be integrated into Section 7. Sidhu stated the IPRTF included matrix and evaluation planning in the Justice Project Needs Assessment Implement Plan. Galloway stated her motion would then be to amend Section 7 (2) so it would read: No less than every ______ years, the Whatcom County Executive shall coordinate with the IPRTF/LJC and Finance and Operations Advisory Board to update the Justice Project Implementation Plan based on an analyLis of data collectpd rgcq grements.#off° outcomes and ef�l�icae of the current Plan rigid ire ajMf Ment��vitl a pc?p���ticL health repo t such as t1� orn� L� ity health Assessment as well as cost estimates tined gaps in resourges needed tg each corrtrnunity heal h � t � Councilmembers discussed how to handle the motion since is it no longer about Section 5 (4). Galloway withdrew her motion to approve the amendment in Section 5 (4). They will incorporate that language into Section 7 when they get to Section Wharcom County page 5 Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final June 20, 2023 11 SECTION 5 (5) Appjpo dt qtq 'I rigs 1k��U.1:04 :L 1.. Galloway moved to approve the amendments in Section 5 (5). The motion was seconded by Frazey. Councilmembers discussed whether the establishing Ordinance for the IPRTF/LJC has language to do exactly this, who the Task Force would report to annually, whether they could change this Ordinance without changing the establishing Ordinance for the Task Force, what is meant by "the legal system" and whether the target to reflect that demographic would have to be continually updated, and what the outcome of this statement in this Ordinance would be. Sidhu stated there is representation of the same population in the Finance and Operations Advisory Board that they looked at in Section 5 (2). This item is well -covered already by the oversight board and the purpose of this was already achieved in the earlier discussion. Galloway stated if it makes the Council more comfortable, she would be fine with withdrawing her motion and just sticking with language the Administration has previously proposed. Buchanan stated the IPRTF has taken on Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARS) membership and they really do want to proceed down this road, so he thinks the Administration's original language is probably an accurate reflection of the goals that the IPRTF has to do that. Galloway withdrew her motion. Donovan stated it would be his guess that they cannot change the composition of those groups without going to the original Ordinances. SECTION 5 (6) A Irgxhnate invest ..01:12:3 Galloway moved to approve the amendments in Section 5 (6) to fix a scrivener's error in the word "Plan" and to add language to the end of the section so that it would read: The IPRTF/LJC shall further consult BIPOC communities and Wkatcom County Page 6 Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final June 20,2023 people with criminal justice lived experience in the progress of the Implementation Plan and future planning efforts. Further, the Whatcom County Executive and the IPRTF/LJC shall consult with the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission on progress and planning efforts, particularly as it relates to data gathered on racially disparate impacts in the Whatcom County criminal justice system., and recommendations rgg�rdi elimination of barriers to iblic The motion was seconded by Kershner. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Galloway, Kershner, Buchanan, Byrd, Donovan, Elenbaas, and Frazey Nay: 0 SECTION 5 (7) Approximate ritp -14:59 Galloway stated she was going to move past this proposed amendment because it got included in Subsection 3 and would be duplicative. SECTION 7 1 - 15:44 Galloway moved to approve the amendments (including ones discussed earlier under Section 5, Subsection 4) in Section 7 (2) so that it would read: No less than every setwo-years, the Whatcom County Executive shall coordinate with the IPRTF/LJC and Finance and Operations Advisory Board to update the Justice Project Implementation Plan based on An angly is of date cQ[tected iEeastLretRents for outcomes and efficq�cof the ctinypt Plan, nd in aligqni�jnt with p� tipR q-- —4ot pope -k- - heath repo rLgich a,the AjoiR-qu!ty Health Assessment, as well as cost esti opqpqg-s-!1q.eded to-reach- c,ommunitv health targets, The lt`Rj�F . JQ shalt transmit the LmpLetnentatiort,Plan to the Whatcom County Council for approval. The motion was seconded by Donovan. Frazey suggested a friendly amendment to the motion to change two years to five. Whatcom County Page 7 Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final June 20, 2023 Galloway accepted the friendly amendment. Schroeder answered whether the Administration is fine with a change to five years and he stated five is reasonable in comparison to seven and two was too soon. Councilmembers discussed why they would ask the Whatcom County Executive to update the Justice Project Implementation Plan. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Kershner, Buchanan, Byrd, Elenbaas, Frazey, Galloway, and Donovan Nay: 0 SECTION 8 (3) AproAimqte 'T'irnestam. 01_ :21:27 Galloway moved to add the proposed new Section 8 (3) which reads: Ihatcom COUnky shdl � c �vit a r� � tic ent third- rtY_ t tyto conduct an evaluation cl'the Public Health,_Saf&ty and Justice Sales and Use TaN� end tie ocess end pro��ss oaf the Implement( plan, incltL anatysiq of data collected measurements for outcomes and efficacy, dnd alas n�nen with a..._ pQp,i ac�n h€ a[th r pc� B ch ash c� r7lta t Health Assessment, Councilmembers discussed how they would pay for this and whether an evaluation conducted by a third party is prudent or needed. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 4 - Buchanan, Byrd, Donovan, and Galloway Nay: 3 - Elenbaas, Frazey, and Kershner Schroeder asked how often they want to do this independent third -party evaluation and Galloway stated every ten years seems good. Councilmembers discussed how the time period should be sited and Sidhu suggested ten years from when the levy passes or the year 2034. Donovan moved to amend Section 8 (3) for the audit to begin 10 years after approval of the levy. The motion was seconded by Galloway. The motion carried by the following vote: Whatcom County page 8 Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final June 20, 2023 Aye: 6 - Byrd, Donovan, Frazey, Galloway, Kershner, and Buchanan Nay: 1 - Elenbaas WHEREAS STATEMENT ON PAGE FOUR - Appr®xirr�at�j I estaq-_n 01:29:02 Councilmembers discussed whether they should discuss the proposed amendments in yellow highlight, whether they could have another work session, and whether there are any amendments that are in yellow and were proposed by the Administration that they should look at. Kershner moved to amend the yellow -highlighted Whereas statement on page four of the Ordinance so that it reads: G 6W:1-1EREAS, on June 12, 2023, the l:pRTF, acting as the Law and Justice Council, endorsed the Justice project Implementation flan as ultimately approved by the County Executive and County Council; and" The motion was seconded by Buchanan. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Frazey, Galloway, Kershner, Buchanan, Byrd, and Donovan Nay: 1 - Elenbaas A p q imatc_Timestamp: 01_:34:19 Kershner stated they got a letter from Tyler Schroeder today regarding the formulas used for jail size and expansion and she would like to know if they can just incorporate that language into this Ordinance in one fell swoop. Schroeder summarized the memo and stated it is not recommending a change but is just providing some background to Section 5 (1) (c) for the record to show in the future. He spoke about the intent of the language and stated the intent is enough clarity. Buchanan moved that they schedule a work session for next week but no motion was needed. Dana Brown -Davis, Clerk of the Council, discussed with Councilmembers a day and time. Whatcont County Page 9 Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final June 20, 2023 Elenbaas stated he sees one of the small city mayors here and he is interested in whether the progress to date is increasing their trust in the ability to execute this to the satisfaction of the cities that we are going to partner financially with. Scott Korthuis, City of Lynden Mayor, spoke about language that talks about the 50 percent and striking four to six years, encouragement to the cities in a meeting they had with the legislative group to go after behavioral health money from the State, and concerns about the large Finance and Operations group. Councilmembers discussed what they would discuss at the next work session, that the Ordinance is not ready for introduction tonight, and whether AB2023-332 could be discussed at tonight's meeting. This agenda item was DISCUSSED AND MOTION(S) APPROVED. 2, AB2023-3 2 Discussion relating to the draft scope of work for the 2025 Comprehensive Plan and development regulations update Matt Aamot, Planning and Development Services Department, answered whether they should still talk about this item tonight. He stated they have not actually received their final award letters from the State yet so, even though there is some time sensitivity, it is probably OK to push this out one more meeting. They need to know how much money we are going to get from the State for the periodic update and for climate change. 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 4:57 p.m. The County Council approved these minutes on July 25, 2023. N zatcom County Page 10 Council Committee of the Whole Committee Minutes - Final June 20, 2023 a,;:,�%1;1131iIj, ATTEST! ° 0 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL Ni C 0 WHATCOM COUNTY, WA Goutx1 'If 71 Dana Brave fii'Pncil Clerk Ba uc anan; ouncil Chair Kristi Felbinger, Minutes Transcription Whatcom County Page 11