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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Works Jul 25 2023Whatcom County Council Public Works & Health Committee COUNTY COURTHOUSE 311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105 Bellingham, WA 98225-4038 (360) 778-5010 Committee Minutes - Final Tuesday, July 25, 2023 1:15 PM Hybrid Meeting HYBRID MEETING - ADJOURNS BY 2:15 P.M. (PARTICIPATE IN -PERSON, SEE REMOTE JOIN INSTRUCTIONS AT www.whatcomcounty.us/joinvirtualcouncil, OR CALL 360,778.5010) COUNCILMEMBERS Carol Frazey Kaylee Galloway Kathy Kershner CLERK OF THE COUNCIL Dana Brown -Davis, C.M.C. Council Public Works & Health Committee Minutes - Final July 25, 2023 Committee Call To Order Roll Call Committee Chair Kathy Kershner called the meeting to order at 1:43 p.m. in a hybrid meeting. Present: 3 - Carol Frazey, Kaylee Galloway, and Kathy Kershner Also Present: Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Todd Donovan, and Ben Elenbaas Announcements Committee Discussion 1. AB2023-473 Discussion of an ordinance establishing a temporary closure of West Smith Road from Northwest Drive to the Ferndale city limits The following people briefed the Councilmembers and answered questions: Doug Ranney, Public Works Department • Katy Radder, City of Ferndale Public Works project manager They answered whether there are any other local detours residents might want to take that they are not aware of, whether there will be any left turns where traffic will get backed up, whether concerns from the public could be channeled to the City of Ferndale public communications staff, and when this will be undertaken. Radder stated construction should start around September or October when the groundwater levels are as low as they possibly can be and that the forty -day closure is a worst -case scenario. She answered how and when they advertise the road closure to the public, whether they put notification in the newspapers, whether there is another alternative for Bell West Drive and Smith Way, what the travel time difference will be for traffic to go around the closure, and whether they could specifically notify people in the housing development near the closure since they will be the most impacted. Elizabeth Kosa, Public Works Department Director, spoke about County communications efforts and stated they will be re -posting the messages that come from the City and asked the Council Office to do the same. Getting communication out early and often is important. Elenbaas stated the Ferndale Neighbors page on Facebook is an effective way to get a message to a targeted audience. Whatcom County Page I Council Public Works & Health Committee Minutes - Final July 25, 2023 Committee Radder answered questions about who will be affected by the closure and what their options are, and Ranney answered what the next steps are for this item. It is on for introduction tonight and will then be scheduled for a public hearing. This agenda item was DISCUSSED. Committee Discussion and Recommendation to Council 1. AB2023.2.94 Resolution adopting the Food System Plan created by the Whatcom County Food System Committee Riley Sweeney, Food System Committee Chair, briefed the Councilmembers and spoke about what the committee did since the last time this was before the Council. Galloway moved that the Resolution be RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL and thanked everyone involved in this plan. She stated she is proud of the outcome of this work. Sweeney answered whether there is anything that the new people joining the process wanted but did not get. He stated every single member of their committee voted yes because they knew they had been heard and felt their voice was incorporated into the plan even though they did not get everything they wanted. Elenbaas stated it seems like agriculture is always late to the table and it would have been nice if they could have been involved from the beginning. That said, those involved said they did not get all that they wanted but it was good enough. Sweeney stated it is a compromise document and the next step is implementation of the plan, if it is approved, and that too will involve some tug-of-war. Galloway's motion that the Resolution be RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL carried by the following vote: Aye: 3 - Frazey, Galloway, and Kershner Nay: 0 2. � 132023483 Discussion and request approval of motion to appoint one member of Council to the Multi -Agency Coordination (MAC) Group Councilmembers discussed the purpose and background of this item. Whatcom County Page 2 Council Public Works & Health Committee Minutes - Final July 25, 2023 Committee Frazey stated she was thinking about either Councilmember Galloway or Councilmember Kershner if either of them was interested. Galloway stated she was going to suggest Councilmember Buchanan because he has been involved in a lot of this work already. Kershner asked Buchanan if he would be interested and he stated he would do it. Frazey moved to recommend that Buchanan be appointed. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 3 - Galloway, Frazey, and Kershner Nay: 0 This agenda item was DISCUSSED AND MOTION(S) APPROVED. Motion approved to recommend appointing Councilmember Buchanan iierns Added iv Revision Other Business Adiournment There were no agenda items added by revision. Kershner stated she is asking the Council Office to work on two ordinances that will be coming before the Council, maybe by September. One is an ordinance to install signs that say no parking after the park closes on Euclid Avenue, and the other is for Aldrich Road where there is a city park with an opening and entrance and a problem with people parking there and potentially engaging in illegal activities. Councilmembers discussed whether these would just involve installing no -parking signs and Kershner gave her thought process behind proposing the ordinances. The meeting adjourned at 1:43 p.m. Miatcom County Page 3 Council Public Works & Health Committee Minutes - Final July 25, 2023 Committee �;pa�gsbtir�a�6® ATT� �GfoiU/ ,n CJ �� m 7= ana t3�pvc�,s\ �bunc�l Clerk Ln Kristi Felbinger, Minutes Transcription WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WA Kathy Kershner-via email 8/6/2023 Kathy Kershner, Committee Chair Malcom County Page 4