ord2021-045'
Whatcom County
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
(360) 778-5010
•
Agenda Bill Master Report
File Number: AB2021-360
File ID:
A62021-360
Version: 1
Status: Substitute Adopted
File Created:
06/15/2021
Entered by: JLassite@co.whatcom.wa.us
Department:
Council Office
File Type: Ordinance
Assigned to:
Council Committee of the Whole
Final Action: 07/13/2021
Agenda Date:
07/13/2021
Enactment #: ORD 2021-045
Primary Contact Email: RBrowne@co.whatcom.wa.us
TITLE FOR AGENDA ITEM:
Ordinance to establish an independent review of the community response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE:
This ordinance establishes a County Commission to review the community's response to the
COVID-19 Pandemic. An independent Special Commissioner would be selected by the County
Council and hired by Whatcom County. The Special Commissioner would be compensated at normal
market rate and be provided appropriate resources and one or more full-time support person. The
Special Commissioner would examine 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 and community sectors represented. The Special Commissioner would
deliver their report to the County Council, Executive, and Sherriff by October 31, 2021.
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE FILE
Date: Acting Body:
Action:
Sent To:
06/15/2021 Council INTRODUCED Council Committee of the Whole
Aye: 6 Browne, Buchanan, Byrd, Donovan, Frazey, and Kershner
Nay: 1 Elenbaas
Absent: 0
07/13/2021 Council Committee of the Whole RECOMMENDED FOR
ADOPTION WITH
PROPOSED
AMENDMENT(S)
Whatcom County Page 1 Printed on 711412021
Agenda Bill Master Report Continued (AB2021-360)
07/13/2021 Council SUBSTITUTE ADOPTED
Aye: 6 Browne, Buchanan, Byrd, Donovan, Frazey, and Kershner
Nay: 1 Elenbaas
Absent: 0
Attachments: Proposed Ordinance, AGENDA REVISION NOTICE FOR 6.15.2021, Substitute Ordinance as
Amended 7.13.2021
Whatcom County Page 2 Printed on 711412021
PROPOSED BY: BROWNE
INTRODUCTION DATE: June 15, 2021
ORDINANCE NO. 2021-045
ESTABLISHING 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 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 County Council shall select, and Whatcom County
shall hire, an independent Special Commissioner with the requisite qualifications (ideally a
retired senior lawyer familiar with the county) to conduct the inquiry; and
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that such Special Commissioner be compensated at the
normal market rate for such work, and be provided the necessary resources including office
space and one or more full-time support persons to manage meetings and documentation;
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 Council, County Executive and County Sherriff by March 31, 2022, to enable
the county to incorporate their findings in future updates to the County's existing emergency
response plan.
ADOPTDi s
of July
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ATTEST:��°`� �..,
Cr. ....,
Dana BrownDvl,Cl�r�l ofi the Council
.aF 6
APPROVED A§,�Tq FORM:`'
/s/ Karen Frakes Approved via E-mail/ JL
Civil Deputy Prosecutor
2021.
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
/WHATCOM _ UNT , WASHINGTON
Barr B chanan, Council Chair
WHATCOM COUNTY EXECUTIVE
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Satpal Sidhu,�County Executive
( Approved ( ) Denied
Date Signed: