City Council - Committee Of The Whole

City of Bellingham Committee Of The Whole Meeting Minutes 11/14/2016, 1:40 PM Mayor Kelli Linville Contact: (360) 778-8200, ccmail@cob.org Council Members April Barker, Gene Knutson, Daniel www.cob.org/council Hammill, Pinky Vargas, Terry Bornemann, Michael Lilliquist All meetings are held in the City Hall Council Chambers at and Roxanne Murphy 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA, unless otherwise noted. Call to Order Roll Call Pinky Vargas, Chair Roxanne Murphy April Barker Michael Lilliquist Dan Hammill Gene Knutson Terry Bornemann Council Standing Committee Meetings: Committee Of The Whole 21431 1. Progress Update on COB Energy Reduction Initiatives Presented by Jeff Aslan of Sustainable Connections Terry Bornemann / Michael Lilliquist moved to accept the recommendation to re-do the lighting in the Council Chambers and ask staff to bring back a budget amendment to Council MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 21432 2. An Ordinance of the City of Bellingham, Washington, Regarding Planning Commission Membership, Amending Section 2.42.020 of the Bellingham Municipal Code Michael Lilliquist / Terry Bornemann moved to direct staff to integrate Councilmember Hammill's language and bring forward changes in the ordinance for Council to consider. Councilmember Hammill's language is as follows: "The membership as a whole shall reflect a broad range of opinion, experience and expertise with the objective of providing sound advice representative of the citizenry. To achieve that purpose, it shall include residents from different neighborhoods 1  within the City and members of underrepresented and diverse communities and citizens active in neighborhood or community affairs." MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 3. Approval of City Council Committee and/or Special Meeting Minutes Michael Lilliquist / Roxanne Murphy moved approval of the November 7th minutes as submitted. MOTION CARRIED 6-0. Abstained: Terry Bornemann 4. Old/New Business Councilmember Hammill would like the Council to host a family day in early 2017 to encourage young children to attend a Council meeting and learn about the local political process. Dan Hammill / Roxanne Murphy moved to host a Council Family Day early in 2017 MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Councilmember Bornemann asked about City policy in relation to undocumented people in Bellingham. Past practice was to not involve Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). What is our current status? City Attorney Peter Ruffatto cited the Bellingham Police Department's policy that is listed on the City's website. Councilmember Vargas presented a letter to Council for their consideration regarding advocating funding for the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). The letter is addressed to three entities: Association of Washington Cities, Association of Washington Counties, and the Washington Public Ports Association. Dan Hammill / Roxanne Murphy moved to agree to sign the letter related to the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Councilmember Knutson expressed disappointment that the EMS Levy was not passing as of the current vote tally. 2 Councilmember Barker said that she attended a large community meeting recently where concerned families asked questions of an immigration attorney. Constituents have been approaching her about Sanctuary City status. What is our status? Maybe we can communicate the current policy more widely. Councilmember Bornemann said that before we say Sanctuary City, we should look to see what's in place now. Councilmember Lilliquist supports the motion for the Legislative Analyst to research local and federal policies. Councilmember Knutson said that when the Council addressed Sanctuary City before, the public meeting was rough. He advocates keeping the policy where it is and not going down the Sanctuary City road: Stay with current policy. Mayor Linville said she supports Mark Gardner doing the research. If it gets to the point where Council would like an ordinance drafted, please ask the Mayor's staff to work on that. April Barker / Michael Lilliquist moved to ask Mark Gardner to research the concept of Sanctuary City MOTION CARRIED 6-1. Opposed: Gene Knutson Councilmember Vargas updated the Council that they will not be moving into their new office space until February 2017. She also announced that she is going to Pittsburgh next week to present on Bellingham's participation in the Georgetown University Energy Prize at the National League of Cities event. 21386 5. Work Session on the 2017/18 Biennial Budget Finance & Personnel Committee Chair Roxanne Murphy opened the budget work session. Public Works and Parks & Recreation presented their past accomplishments and proposed 2017-2018 budgets. Councilmember Vargas also presented her budget amendment to fund an additional $6,000 for the local Commission Against Domestic Violence. Adjourned from the Mayor's Boardroom 3