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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClimate Action Oct 8 2024Whatcom County Council Climate Action and Natural Resources Committee COUNTY COURTHOUSE 311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105 Bellingham, WA 95225-4038 (360)778-5010 Committee Minutes - Final Tuesday, October 8, 2024 11:15 AM Hybrid Meeting - Council Chambers HYBRID MEETING - MAY BEGIN EARLY - ADJOURNS BY 12:00 PM (PARTICIPATE IN -PERSON, SEE REMOTE JOIN INSTRUCTIONS AT www.whatcomcounty.us/joinvirtualcouncil, OR CALL 360.778.5010) COUNCILMEMBERS Todd Donovan Kaylee Galloway Mark Stremler CLERK OF THE COUNCIL Cathy Halka, AICP, CMC Council Climate Action and Natural Committee Minutes - Final October 8, 2024 Resources Committee Call To Order Roll Call Committee Chair Kaylee Galloway called the meeting to order at 11:15 a.m. in a hybrid meeting. Present: 3 - Todd Donovan, Kaylee Galloway, and Mark Stremler Also Present: Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Ben Elenbaas, and Jon Scanlon Announcements Special Presentation 1. AB2024.649, Presentation by the Climate Impact Advisory Committee on current activity Lauren Clemens, Climate Action Manager, read from a presentation (on file) about Washington State climate regulations and their impact on Whatcom County, initiatives she is working on with County departments, and aspects of the Climate Action Program that have countywide or regional impacts. She answered questions about the application of the Washington internal combustion engine ban and when it would take effect, and (regarding the same ban) what would constitute a light -duty vehicle purchased by Public Works Operations and Maintenance that would need to be electric by 2030. She stated it would be sedans and passenger vehicles like small trucks which are a relatively small proportion of the fleet. She answered what a cost comparison would be if a County electric vehicle cannot do the job of a combustion engine, and stated there are fuel cost savings over the life of the vehicle and additional tax credits with which the County would be eligible for electric replacement. Phil Thompson, Climate Impact Advisory Committee Chair, stated the internal combustion ban is for all new vehicles. He stated the �`ommittP.P_. 1C working on the Comprehensive Plan update and waiting for the next stage of that when a draft becomes available. They are also going to write a letter soon regarding ferry electrification. This agenda item was PRESENTED. 2. A 2fl24­652 Update on Forestry Advisory Committee activity John Gold, Forestry Advisory Committee Chair, read from a presentation (on file) regarding the committee's work plan and deliverables for 2024, information and system changes on what kinds of receipts the county sees from harvest activities within this jurisdiction, including how proceeds from the County's portion of the timber excise tax and trust land timber Whatcom County Page I Council Climate Action and Natural Committee Minutes - Final October 8, 2024 Resources Committee sale revenues have been distributed over the last seven years. He spoke about other things the committee has been working on. Galloway spoke about the advisory committee's memo to Council regarding "Little Lilly" (on file as "Letter - Forestry Advisory Committee") which goes over some of the specifications of that timber sale, including some of the mechanisms that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has in place to protect buffers, important habitats, and older growth trees. She stated DNR continues to be a good partner in this work and wants to continue to engage with the county to communicate their ongoing efforts. Gold answered what happened at the October first DNR board meeting regarding proposed sales in the county. He stated that Little Lilly was one of many on a docket of sales at their meeting and was passed by the board, so it is slated to go to auction in the November auction. He answered how people can learn about the Darrington Collaborative, and stated there is a PowerPoint slide deck they can send to the Council. He answered whether he thinks there are any lessons from that initiative (which focuses on Federal forests) for State forests, and stated the Federal forest funding is so depleted they have relied on good neighbor authority delegated to DNR to do a lot of the work on the ground. Scanlon stated he met with people at Mt. Baker School District and learned how tight their budgets are right now. He and Gold discussed the collaboration taking place in the Darrington Collaborative. Stremler asked about the status of identifying replacement lands for land set aside from harvesting, and Gold spoke about the money set aside for that program by the Legislature and that the list of parcels identified for acquisition exceeds the funds that are available. The last time he spoke with DNR, there had been no replacement parcels yet identified in Whatcom County. He spoke about the time it takes for replacement and stated it would be a minimum of four years before a parcel could be brought to market and then another year or so before those funds were disbursed. It is also very difficult to identify parcels with older trees on it, so in reality, revenues to be generated from any replacement parcels are most likely 20-40 years in the future. Donovan stated they need to look at requests for any further pauses through the lens that there is not a mechanism right now where anyone is going to get compensated for those revenues in at least five years and likely more. Whatcom County Page 2 Council Climate Action and Natural Committee Minutes - Final October 8, 2024 Resources Committee Gold stated it is not just the Mt. Baker School that receives timber sale revenue distributions. The County was getting about $1 million in 2018 and 2020 towards County funds, projects and initiatives. This agenda item was REPORTED. Items Added by Revision Other Business Adiournment There were no agenda items added by revision. There was no other business. The meeting adjourned at 12:03 p.m. R� l� ATT>�SS ° Y Cathy H`Q06b&i Clerk -t_ Kristi Felbinger, Minutes Tr_— an p ion WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WA Kaylee Galloway -via email 10/17/2024 Kaylee Galloway, Committee Chair Whatcom County page 3