City Council - Committee Of The Whole

City of Bellingham Committee of the Whole Minutes March 22, 2021, 1:00 PM Mayor Seth Fleetwood Contact: (360) 778-8200, ccmail@cob.org Council Members Hannah Stone, Gene Knutson, Daniel Hammill, www.cob.org/council Pinky Vargas, Lisa Anderson, Michael Lilliquist and All meetings are held in the City Hall Council Chambers at Hollie Huthman 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA, unless otherwise noted. Call to Order Roll Call Present: Council President Hannah Stone, First Ward Council Member Gene Knutson, Second Ward Council Member Daniel Hammill, Third Ward Council Member Lisa Anderson, Fifth Ward Council Member Michael Lilliquist, Sixth Ward Council Member Hollie Huthman, At-Large Excused: Council Member Pinky Vargas, Fourth Ward Council Standing Committee Meetings: Open to the public to attend. Note: there is generally no public comment period for Committee sessions. Standing Committee Members receive reports and information, ask questions and, when appropriate, vote on a recommended action for consideration by the full Council at the Regular Meeting. The notice of Committee Meetings identified below also serves as notice of Special Meetings of the City Council at the times identified as Council Members who are not members of the committee routinely attend and participate in the Committee Meetings. Committee Chairs give a report of the Committee Meeting at the Regular Meeting in the evening prior to deliberation and formal vote in the order shown below: Committee of the Whole 1:00 PM Hannah Stone, Chair Gene Knutson, Daniel Hammill, Pinky Vargas, Lisa Anderson, Michael Lilliquist, Hollie Huthman Please be advised that if the City Council is ahead of schedule, they may start with old/new business before the official Committee of the Whole meeting time. 22930 1. Part 2 in a Series of Staff Presentations in Preparation for City Council p. 3 Adoption of the 2021-2022 Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Action Plan Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 1 March 22, 2021  Samya Lutz, Housing and Services Program Manager, introduced representatives from community partners who help provide services for families with children experiencing homelessness. Staff presented a proposal that requests an additional $250,000 in general fund money that could assist in relieving a portion of the bottlenecks presented by community partners. Teri Bryant, Director of the Whatcom Homeless Service Center, a department of the Opportunity Council, explained how the coordinated entry program works to assess eligibility for people who apply for help. Debbie Patton, Director of Community Services at Opportunity Council Community Resource Center. Opportunity Council is a direct service partner agency. They work with motels for emergency shelter for families, rapid rehousing transitional housing from housing pool providers and long-term subsidy programs. Rochelle Hale, Rapid Rehousing Case Manager with the Lydia Place Family Housing Program, discussed case management and barriers that are tackled while providing support for clients. About 80% of the clients they assess exit into housing. Tony Casale, from the Bellingham Housing Authority, described all the supportive housing units that are available through the Housing Authority within the City of Bellingham. Emily O'Connor, with Lydia Place, explained how the Rapid Rehousing Program is an effective and less expensive way to end homelessness. Council Members asked questions. Staff sought direction to focus on families with children. Gene Knutson / Lisa Anderson moved to direct staff to prioritize rental assistance and case management for families with children experiencing homelessness. MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Pinky Vargas excused. 2. Approval of City Council Committee and/or Special Meeting Minutes Gene Knutson / Michael Lilliquist moved to approve the Committee Meeting minutes of March 8, 2021. Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 2 March 22, 2021  MOTION CARRIED 6-0-1, Pinky Vargas excused. 3. Old/New Business The Mayor provided an update on the disbanding of the encampment at Jeri Fields, which occurred last Tuesday, March 16. The effort was not met with any major resistance and staff was able to proceed with their work. Eric Johnston, Public Works Director, indicated that it was a relatively peaceful dismantling of the camp. Many campers were under the impression that they were not able to go to Base Camp. He commended the Public Works crews. As some campers went over to Laurel Park to set up camp, staff posted notices to inform them they must leave Laurel Park by Friday, March 19, 2021. Brian Heinrich, Deputy Administrator, reported that they were met with protests on Friday. Many of the campers left when staff left. By the afternoon of the same day, the park was nearly empty. Crews returned on Saturday to clean up. Committee of the Whole moved into Executive Session at 3:11 PM for approximately 40 minutes to discuss the following items: 1. Potential Litigation 2. Potential Property Acquisition 3. Litigation: Bornstein Seafoods v. City of Bellingham, et al Adjournment Council President Stone reconvened the Committee of the Whole to adjourn at 4:23 PM. Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 3 March 22, 2021