Action Taken at August 1, 2022 Meeting
Shall the council:
133. Request the council president and administration to formulate a resolution in support of the six-year countywide Emergency Medical Services levy? The Whatcom County Council at the 7/26/2022 meeting, vote #193, voted to place a renewal of the countywide EMS levy on the November 2022 general election ballot. State law requires the City Council to approve the proposed tax measure before it may be placed on the city ballot. (AB23382) Approved 6-0-1, Lisa Anderson abstained.
134. Approve the mayor’s reappointment of John Peppel to his second term on the Lake Whatcom Watershed Advisory Board? The Watershed Advisory Board advises the city regarding the protection, cleanup, and restoration of the Lake Whatcom Reservoir and the surrounding watershed, the city watershed land acquisition program, and the management, maintenance, and use of acquired property. The board provides citizen advice concerning proposed specific land acquisitions. John Peppel was initially appointed to the board at the 8/19/2019 meeting, vote #135. He was a senior vice president of Cargill Animal Nutrition and served for many years on the Global Agribusiness Alliance. The term will expire on 8/19/2025, at which time he may be reappointed. (AB23413) Approved 7-0
The mayor made six appointments to the Immigration Advisory Board. The board reviews and evaluates policies regarding compliance with E2SSB 5497 and makes specific recommendations regarding policies related to immigration matters; provides for data collection regarding contact between the city of Bellingham, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection; and includes periodic updates to the council. (AB23414)
135. Approve the mayor’s reappointment of Holly Pai to her first full term? She was appointed to a partial term at the 4/12/2021 meeting, vote #60. She has lived in Bellingham for six years, is an immigration attorney with a Juris Doctorate from Seattle University School of Law. Her full term will expire on 6/23/2024. Approved 7-0
136. Approve the mayor’s reappointment of Australia Tobon to a full term? She was initially appointed to a partial term at the 4/12/2021 meeting, vote #60, under the name Australia Shanghai Crosby. She has lived in Bellingham for 11 years, is a community organizer with a B.A. from WWU in human services and rehabilitation. At the 12/13/2021 meeting, vote #238, she was given a maternity leave under the name Australia Toubon [sic]. Her full term will expire on 6/23/2024. Approved 7-0
137. Approve the mayor’s reappointment of Bridget Reeves? She was initially appointed at the 2/24/2020 meeting, vote #29. She has lived in Bellingham for 13 years, is an associate executive director for the Lighthouse Mission, has a B.A. from WWU and a masters of divinity from Western Seminary. Her final term will expire on 6/23/2024. Approved 7-0
138. Approve the mayor’s reappointment of Monika Cassidy? She was initially appointed at the 2/24/2020 meeting, vote #29. She has lived in Bellingham for over 24 years, has worked with the Peace and Justice Center as well as C2C, and is president of the South Neighborhood Association. Her final term will expire on 6/23/2024. Approved 7-0
139. Approve the mayor’s appointment of Tara Villalba to her first term? She has lived in Bellingham for 10 years, has a Ph.D. from UC Santa Barbara and has taught at WWU and WCC. She is currently an organizer for Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility. Her first term will expire on 8/1/2024, at which time she may be reappointed. Approved 7-0
140. Approve the mayor’s appointment of Mario Banuelos to his first term? He has lived in Bellingham for four years, is an immigrant from Mexico who was formerly a seasonal farm worker and now is a deputy director of equity, diversity and inclusion. His first term will expire on 8/1/2024, at which time they may be reappointed. (AB23414) Approved 7-0
The mayor made two reappointments to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. The board provides recommendations on plans and programs designed to enable the Department of Parks and Recreation to maintain and improve city parks and provide recreation programs for the general welfare of the people of the city. Advises the City Council, mayor, Department of Parks and Recreation director, and other city departments. (AB23415)
141. The mayor reappointed Zarah Manju to her first full term. She was appointed a partial term at the 12/13/2021 meeting, vote 240. Zarah Manju has a B.A. from the University of Washington and is a 20-year resident of Bellingham. She has volunteered for trail cleanups. Her first term will expire on 8/8/2025, at which time she may be reappointed. (AB23415) Nonvoting issue.
142. The mayor reappointed Michael Kutcher to his final term. He was appointed to his first term at the 9/9/2019 meeting, vote #156. A 23-year resident of Bellingham, he lives in the Puget neighborhood. He has a B.S. in political science from the University of Maine, is a former military officer, and worked for a company responsible for water testing and wetlands impacts studies. His term expires on 8/30/2025. (AB23415) Nonvoting issue.
143. Appropriate $2,420,553 for goods and services checks issued from July 15 through July 21, 2022? (AB23417) Approved 7-0
144. Appropriate $4,253,503 for payroll checks issued from July 1 through July 15, 2022? (AB23418) Approved 7-0
145. Approve a countywide ballot proposition for a six-year countywide Emergency Medical Services levy? The Whatcom County Council at the 7/26/2022 meeting, vote #193, voted to place a renewal of the countywide EMS levy on the November 2022 general election ballot. The levy rate will be $.295 per $1,000 of assessed value if approved by the voters. State law requires the City Council to approve the proposed tax measure before it may be placed on the city ballot. The levy will run from 1/1/2023 through 12/31/2028. The council supported the 2017-2022 levy at the 5/2/2016 meeting, vote #73. AB23382 (Resolution 2022-15) Approved 6-1, Lisa Anderson opposed.
Action Taken at August 29, 2022 Meeting
Shall the council:
146. Spend $250,000 to acquire two acres with three potential development units in the Lake Whatcom watershed from Christopher Drake? (Discussed in Executive Session.) Approved 7-0
147. Spend $60,000 to acquire 1.17 acres with two potential development units in the Lake Whatcom watershed with from Donald and Heather Templin? (Discussed in Executive Session.) Approved 7-0
148. Authorize the mayor to sign a contract with outside legal counsel to represent the Bellingham police officers named in the Ghanbari v. City of Bellingham lawsuit? (Discussed in Executive Session.) Approved 7-0
149. Ratify the 2022 collective bargaining agreement with the Bellingham Police Guild? Effective 1/1/2022 – a 5 percent increase in base rate of pay. Effective upon ratification, adjust the salary structure by increasing Grade 29 by 3 percent. All other steps and grades are recalculated based on this increase. Effective upon ratification, all active employees will receive a $700 signing bonus. Health insurance: Restructure the employer HSA contribution in the high deductible plan to mirror the formula used in all other plans. Duration: 1/1/2022 through 12/31/2022. (Discussed in Executive Session.) Approved 7-0
150. Keep the emergency ordinance imposing a moratorium on permit processing for residential and multifamily designations in the Silver Beach neighborhood? (Public hearing held.) State law requires the City Council to hold a public hearing on an emergency ordinance within 60 days of passage. At the 7/11/2022 meeting, vote #126, the City Council adopted a one-year moratorium on development applications for new residential housing within the four residential multifamily zones in the Silver Beach neighborhood. The moratorium enables city staff to determine if multifamily densities in the Silver Beach neighborhood are consistent with existing city policies for protection of water quality in Lake Whatcom. Following the public testimony, the council supported maintaining the emergency ordinance by taking no additional action to modify or rescind the moratorium ordinance. (AB23419) Approved 7-0
151. Approve the mayor’s appointment of Sarah Gardner to a partial term on the Greenways Advisory Committee? The Greenways Advisory Committee shall identify, develop, review and recommend selection criteria, general priorities and specific actions relating to the expenditure and allocation of Greenways Levy Funds. A two-year resident of Bellingham, Sarah Gardner is currently president of the Birchwood Neighborhood Association, a member of the Maplewood/McCleod Park Master Plan Committee, and serves on the Wild Whatcom Governance Committee. Her partial term will expire on 12/13/2024, at which time she may be reappointed. (AB23422) Approved 7-0
152. Authorize the mayor to accept a $1,537,580 state grant for the Middle Fork Nooksack River Fish Passage Project? At the 5/20/2019 meeting, vote #95, the council authorized the mayor to accept a $10,560,000 state grant to assist with the fish passage project. At the 10/26/2020 meeting, vote #189, the council authorized the mayor to accept an additional $2,000,000 state grant. This project is a collaborative partnership among the city of Bellingham, American Rivers, the Nooksack Indian Tribe, Lummi Nation, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, city of Bellingham and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have all provided funding for the project. These grant funds are from other completed Large Capital projects and have been made available for distribution to active projects. This vote brings the total grant amended amount to $14,097,830 and the total project cost to $21,783,603. (AB23424) Approved 7-0
153. The mayor made seven initial appointments to the Salary Commission. At the 12/6/2021 meeting, vote #230, the City Council voted to create a seven member salary commission to determine compensation for City Council members. Salary commission meetings commenced on 9/14/2022 and shall conclude by the end of the year. Members serve without compensation. The term for commission members will not exceed one year and their decision on either a salary increase or salary decrease is binding. (AB23431)
153A. Approve the mayor’s appointment of R.B. Tewksbury to the commission? He has lived in Bellingham for five years. He is a business owner, a member of the city Broadband Advisory Workgroup and the county Stakeholder Advisory Commitee for the Justice Project. Approved 7-0
153B. Approve the mayor’s appointment of Kenny Ramsberg to the commission? He has lived in Bellingham for six years. He operates a marketing/ad agency and is a real estate investor. Approved 7-0
153C. Approve the mayor’s appointment of Jedediah Givens to the commission? He has lived in Bellingham for four years. He is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran (2011–2015) who graduated from WWU in 2020. Approved 7-0
153D. Approve the mayor’s appointment of Pinky Vargas to the commission? She has lived in Bellingham for 13 years. She served on the Bellingham City Council for eight years (2013–2021), has a business degree from WWU, and is currently involved with the SWAC Board and the YWCA. Approved 7-0
153E. Approve the mayor’s appointment of Gene Knutson to the commission? He has lived in Bellingham for 67 years. He served on the City Council for 28 years (1993–2021), and, for the past 40 years has been a member of the Bellingham Central Lions Club. Approved 7-0
153F. Approve the mayor’s appointment of Gerard Kahle to the commission? He has lived in Bellingham for 17 years. He has a chemistry degree, is an eucharistic minister at the Church of the Assumption, and isa retired pharmaceutical scientist. Approved 7-0
153G. Approve the mayor’s appointment of Ken Hertz to the commission? He has lived in Bellingham for 60 years. He was mayor of Bellingham from 1975–1983 and is a former director of the Whatcom County Parks Department. (AB23431) Approved 7-0
154. Authorize the mayor to sign an agreement with the state of Washington to sponsor two Washington Conservation Corps crews for natural resource projects? The total cost will not exceed $519,000 and will run from from 10/1/2022 to 9/30/2023. The two crews’ work will continue the city’s long-term commitment to improving and protecting the community’s water quality, salmon habitat, and open space. The city’s crews serve the city though an interagency agreement with the Department of Ecology. The WCC program is a partnership between the city of Bellingham, the Washington State Department of Ecology and the federal AmeriCorps program. It provides meaningful service and training opportunities to young adults (ages 18-25) and military veterans. Crews will perform riparian restoration work throughout the city of Bellingham and the Lake Whatcom watershed. (AB23432) Approved 7-0
155. Appropriate $16,880,509 for goods and services checks issued from July 22, 2022 through August 19, 2022? (AB23433/23434/23435/23436) Approved 7-0
156. Appropriate $4,147,309 for payroll checks issued from July 16 through July 31, 2022? (AB23437) Approved 7-0
157. Authorize the mayor to accept a $36,000 state grant for the Little Squalicum Estuary project? The additional funding will remove concrete debris from the beach. At the 5/9/2022 meeting, vote #73, the low bid of $3,474,179 was awarded to Glacier Environmental Services of Mukilteo for the project. The project has a total budget of $4,152,217 for both design and construction, and it is funded through city funds (30 percent – $1,227,217) and grants (70 percent – $2,925,000). The Port of Bellingham is also involved in shoreline improvements. (AB23438) Approved 7-0
158. Relinquish a surplus utility easement at 818 14th Street? (Public hearing held.) On 4/20/1953, the City of Bellingham vacated 10 feet on each side of Taylor Avenue from 15th to 16th streets, plus the 10 feet on each side of Taylor Avenue from the easterly line of 10th Street to the westerly line of 29th Street. The owner of 818 14th Street, Harry Pattison, plans to improve and redevelop the site and needs the added area encumbered by the city’s retained utility easement to properly complete the design and meet current regulations. Staff do esnot see a need nor are there plans to place public utilities in the retained utility easement area, and the site hasn’t seen any action for the past 69 years. Other franchise utilities do not exist in the retained utility easement area and their services are provided from outside the easement area. AB23420 (Resolution 2022-16) Approved 7-0
159. Correct scrivener’s error in Resolution 2020-45? At the 11/23/2020 meeting, vote #216, the council passed Resolution 2020-45, an amendment to the 2018 Climate Protection Action Plan. This resolution corrects scrivener’s errors in the 11/23/2020 vote. (Resolution 2022-17) AB23426 Approved 7-0
Action Taken at September 12, 2022 Meeting
Shall the council:
160. Spend $300,000 to purchase 17.47 acres located at 2011 E. Sunset Drive from Peter and Helen Plagerman? (Discussed in Executive Session.) Approved 7-0
161. Authorize outside counsel to settle the Roorda appeal before the state Board of Industrial Insurance? Outside counsel is authorized to sign an agreement to settle the appeal by accepting responsibility for and paying for a medical procedure performed in March 2022. (Discussed in Executive Session.) Approved 7-0
162. Authorize the mayor to sign all documents necessary for the City of Bellingham to participate in the $518 million settlement between the State of Washington and local jurisdictions in their lawsuits against the three largest pharmaceutical distributors of opioids in the nation? (Discussed in Executive Session.) Approved 7-0
163. Formally name a new park “Hundred Acre Wood?” Park names were solicited over several months: over 700 people participated, 34 names were submitted and 63 percent selected “Hundred Acre Wood” from the list. The 112-acre contiguous forest is located between Fairhaven Park, Chuckanut Drive and Old Samish Way. Over the years, it has been variously called Chuckanut Community Forest, Chuckanut Ridge, Fairhaven Highlands, Fairhaven Woods, 100-Acre Woods, One-Hundred Acre Wood and Hundred-Acre Wood. This park is a contiguous forest surrounding the Chuckanut Community Forest conservation easement, as well as Hoag’s Pond and several parcels along the Interurban Trail. (AB23425) Approved 7-0
164. Reject all bids for security upgrades at the Bellingham Police Department facility? The upgrades includes replacement of the existing 6’ tall, perimeter chain-link fencing with new, 8’ tall, 5/8” mini-mesh chain-link fencing, replacement of the existing 6’ tall courtyard stucco wall with a new, 8’ tall, corrugated metal panel wall and installation of new automated gates, roller guards and concertina wire. The engineer’s estimate was $575,000 and the budget for the planned improvements is $350,000. The city received two bids: the low bid of $825,439 was submitted by the Colacurcio Brothers of Blaine, and a bid of $921,013 was submitted by Faber Construction of Lynden. The project needs to be re-scoped, re-budgeted and re-bid. (AB23440) Approved 7-0
165. Approve the Hundred Acre Wood Master Plan? (Public hearing held at 8/29/2022 meeting.) In 1996, the Madrona Development Corporation of Seattle proposed the Chuckanut Ridge Planned Development. The proposal would have built 1,464 units on 101 acres. In 2004, Greenbriar Northwest Associates and Horizon Bank acquired the land and the next year proposed building a 739 unit housing development known as the Fairhaven Highlands on approximately 85 acres. The owners wanted $20.7 million for the land, so purchase by the city was not feasible at that time. After Horizon Bank failed in 2010, its assets became the property of Washington Federal and Greenbriar NW. At the 8/15/2011 meeting, vote #166, the City Council authorized the expenditure of $8,230,000 in Greenway Levy funds to purchase the Chuckanut Ridge/Fairhaven Highlands property. The Parks and Recreation Department is proposing $650,000 in the 2023-2024 capital budget for phase 1 improvements. Planned activities include trail improvements, sign installation, installation of garbage and dog-waste collection stations and park boundary markers. (AB23441) Approved 7-0
166. Appropriate $4,194,813 for payroll checks issued from August 1, 2022 through August 15, 2022? (AB23445) Approved 7-0
167. Appropriate $3,978,809 for goods and services checks issued from August 20 through August 26, 2022? (AB23446/23447) Approved 7-0
168. Authorize the mayor to sign an agreement with Whatcom County for a portion of a federal grant? The 2022 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program has allocated $38,840 in grant funding: $24,837 for the city of Bellingham and $14,003 for Whatcom County. The city will use the money to purchase body armor (ballistic resistant vests). County deputies will be equipped with NIJ certified ballistic vests made in America that are rated to stop handgun rounds, as well as some shotgun rounds. (AB23448) Approved 7-0
169. Appropriate an additional $76,000 for irrigation clocks at the Lake Padden Golf Course and hiring four community service officers for the police department? The funds will replace the golf course’s irrigation clocks, a repair required to maintain the quality of the course. The community service officers will perform duties not requiring a uniformed officer, like interacting with the public at the police station and taking reports over the phone. The city has faced challenges in fully staffing the police department. Due to ongoing salary savings, this addition requires no appropriations in the current biennium. AB23430 (Ordinance 2022-09-021) Approved 7-0
