Bellingham City Council

Action Taken at July 11, 2022 Meeting

Shall the council:
118. Authorize the mayor to sign settlement agreements with Belleau Woods II and the Village at Baker Creek? Belleau Woods II will receive a $48,750 park impact fee credit for the public trail portion of an easement granted to the city prior to the development and construction of the Belleau Woods apartment complex. The Village at Baker Creek will receive a $27,000 payment as compensation for the property interests needed to construct the Telegraph Road safety improvements project. These agreements resolve all claims against the city with respect to these properties. (Action Taken in Executive Session.) Approved 6-0, Hollie Huthman excused.

119. Grant a noise variance to Potelco/Puget Sound Energy? Construction work in residentially zoned areas between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. requires a noise variance. Potelco Inc. on behalf of Puget Sound Energy is requesting a one-night variance for work at the intersection of Alabama and Woburn streets in the Roosevelt Neighborhood. The project will allow Potelco crews to repair the city sewer, previously damaged by a utility pole installation. (AB23393) Approved 6-0, Hollie Huthman excused.

120. Submit the Post Point Resource Recovery Project Facilities Plan to the state of Washington? The resource recovery project will replace the aging and failing incinerators with a thermophilic anaerobic digester process to manage the organic biosolids produced at Post Point. As currently scoped, the biosolids project is estimated to cost more than $220,000,000. The facility plan is a detailed plan that lays out the goals of the project and provides a layout of the plant facilities and project implementation, to be submitted to the state Department of Ecology in July 2022. The Ecology review and State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) comment period is up to 90 days. If necessary, an updated facility plan can be submitted in October. Final acceptance is expected to be in November 2022. (AB23394) Approved 6-0, Hollie Huthman excused.

121. Authorize the mayor and police chief to sign an agreement with the state of Alaska for a K9-unit at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal in Fairhaven? The Alaska Marine Highway System will pay the Bellingham Police Department $90.00 per hour for two K-9 handlers, one drug and one bomb detection team. The goal is to deter and discourage individuals from bringing explosive devices or drugs onboard Alaska ferry vessels. The officers and a spotter will provide services on sailing dates. This agreement was last approved at the 5/22/2017 meeting, vote #97. It had been a contract for many years until 2020, when Alaska ran out of money. (AB23397) Approved 6-0, Hollie Huthman excused.

122. Appropriate $4,181,064 for payroll checks issued from June 1 through June 15, 2022? (AB23398) Approved 6-0, Hollie Huthman excused.

123. Appropriate $6,606,642 for goods and services checks issued from June 17 through June 30, 2022? (AB23399/23400) Approved 6-0, Hollie Huthman excused.

124. Designate July 2022 as Parks and Recreation Month? Parks and recreation are an integral and fundamental part of the well-being of communities throughout the country, including Bellingham. To celebrate the many health and wellness benefits of parks, the U.S. House of Representatives designated July as Parks and Recreation Month. The City of Bellingham recognizes the environmental, economic, ecological and educational value of our extraordinary parks and recreation system. Additionally, parks and recreation are leading providers of free, subsidized or low-cost programs for all ages and abilities, while maintaining open public access to nature and developed public spaces. AB23395 (Resolution 2022-14) Approved 6-0, Hollie Huthman excused.

125. Appropriate $500,000 for the Bellingham Food Bank? Since February 2020, food bank visits have more than doubled from 17,000 to 35,000 monthly. Meanwhile, inflation has hit food costs particularly hard, with some staples increasing by over 50 percent. This American Rescue Plan Act allocation is for the purchase of high-quality, culturally appropriate foods to be distributed by the Bellingham Food Bank. Some food purchased through the Salvation Army may be distributed through the Bellingham Food Bank. AB23381 (Ordinance 2022-06-018) Approved 6-0, Hollie Huthman excused.

126. Implement a moratorium on permit processing for residential and multifamily designations in the Silver Beach neighborhood for one year? There will be a public hearing within the next 60 days on the emergency ordinance, and, at that time, the council will decide whether to maintain or appeal it. An emergency was declared, establishing an immediate moratorium on development applications and permits relating to multifamily zoned properties within the Silver Beach neighborhood and setting 12 months as the effective period of the moratorium to allow the city to review development options and existing regulatåions to ensure that they are consistent with the city’s adopted goals and policies that are aimed at protection of the water quality of Lake Whatcom. (Emergency Ordinance 2022-06-019) Approved 6-0, Hollie Huthman excused.

Action Taken at July 25, 2022 Meeting

Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Fleetwood announced the city is seeking residents to serve on the salary commission, which will establish salaries for the City Council. As part of a one-year pilot program, effective 8/1/2022, the Bellingham Police Department will eliminate the Associate of Arts degree requirement for applicants. The current pay scale provides an increase for those with a degree and the department is examining how to support professional advancement for officers that includes college education.

Shall the council:
127. Appropriate $4,272,718 for payroll checks issued from June 16 through June 30, 2022? (AB23406) Approved 5-0, Hollie Huthman and Lisa Anderson excused.

128. Appropriate $10,283,000 for goods and services checks issued from July 1 through July 14, 2022? (AB23407/23408) Approved 5-0, Hollie Huthman and Lisa Anderson excused.

129. Authorize the mayor to sign a purchasing agreement with Puget Sound Educational Services District for shared bidding processes? This purchasing agreement allows the city to piggyback onto the competitive bidding processes conducted by PSESD, in lieu of performing its own bidding process. This ability is made possible through the Interlocal Cooperation Act granting two or more public agencies the ability to exercise powers cooperatively, including purchasing. PSESD operates the Washington Learning Source purchasing program under which competitive bids and proposals are solicited on behalf of school districts and other educational organizations for the purchase of technology goods and services. Purchases made using this Interlocal Cooperative Purchasing Agreement will be approved during the normal budgeting process. (AB23409) Approved 5-0, Hollie Huthman and Lisa Anderson excused.

130. Extend the contract terms with the federal government for the Puget Sound Coastal Storm Modeling System? At the 11/4/2019 meeting, vote #189, the council initally authorized the mayor to sign a collaborative agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey for development of a combined storm surge and sea level rise model for the Whatcom County shoreline. It was extended at the 12/13/2021 meeting, vote #248. This extension will provide additional time for USGS staff to continue to consult and advise project partner staff on the application of the CoSMoS model to the Whatcom Compound Flood Model. The extension will also accommodate completion of the peer review process. The modification does not increase the cost of the agreement. The model will give local jurisdictions the data needed to plan for and respond to coastal flooding due to sea-level rise plus storm events by providing information about storm wave heights, currents, and inundation areas, depths, and durations. The model will provide information necessary to evaluate risk associated with sea-level rise in the city of Bellingham, but specifically at the Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant. For more information, please see (walrus.wr.usgs.gov/coastal_processes/cosmos/puget/). This extension expires on 12/31/2022. (AB23410) Approved 5-0, Hollie Huthman and Lisa Anderson excused.

131. Authorize the mayor to accept a $60,000 state grant from the Criminal Justice Training Commission? This grant will help recruit bilingual applicants and provide incentives to recruit new officers. It will help with developing new recruitment strategies and implementing them in the competitive market for police officers and ends on 6/30/2023. (AB23411) Approved 5-0, Hollie Huthman and Lisa Anderson excused.

132. Declare a state of emergency regarding antiharassment orders and no contact orders and update the city code to adopt relevant sections of the Revised Code of Washington? The Washington State Legislature amended state laws related to these types of orders and recodified them under Title 7. The city must amend the municipal code to establish the jurisdiction of the Bellingham Municipal Court over alleged violations. Because the state bill took effect on 7/1/2022, this ordinance shall be effective immediately. AB23405 (Emergency Ordinance 2022-07-020) Approved 5-0, Hollie Huthman and Lisa Anderson excused.  

Bookmark the permalink.