City Council - Committee Of The Whole

City of Bellingham Committee of the Whole Minutes May 10, 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 Pinky Vargas, Fourth Ward Council Member Lisa Anderson, Fifth Ward Council Member Michael Lilliquist, Sixth Ward Council Member Hollie Huthman, At-Large 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 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. 22985 1. An Ordinance Authorizing the Issuance of Limited Tax General p. 3 Obligation Bonds Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 1 May 10, 2021  Andy Asbjornsen, Finance Director, explained the bond, a Limited Tax General Obligation Bond, will be used to fund construction of a new operations facility on Pacific Street and authorizes the City to issue up to $21,000,000 for construction costs. Gene Knutson / Daniel Hammill moved to recommend approval. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 22986 2. Legislative Session Update p. 25 State Representatives, Alex Ramel and Sharon Shewmake, provided a 2021 Legislative Update from the last Legislative Session. The City, County, and Port of Bellingham provided legislative objectives to representatives before the session started and gave input on house bill drafts. Alex Ramel worked on clean energy transition legislation. Representative Ramel explained that the City had asked for flexibility in utilizing emergency funds. Due to the passage of House Bill 1069, additional flexibility is allowed for spending regarding the criminal justice sales tax and criminal justice assistance accounts. Sharon Shewmake explained that $3.2 billion dollars went towards Public Health and Health Care funding associated with the COVID-19 response, contract tracing, testing, and vaccine distribution. $149 million went towards local public health districts. MTCA funds for the Central Bellingham Bay site, Central Waterfront, I & J Waterway, RG Hailey site, and the Cornwall landfill clean-up were added to help infrastructure projects. Sharon Shewmake reported that the legislature was able to expand rental assistance funds. Alex Ramel noted that the eviction moratorium for the state remains in place. Evictions can correlate to homelessness so added provisions have been made. Funding for dispute resolution has been added as well as the right to counsel if low-income tenants end up in court. The legislature also passed a bill to ensure "just cause" must be met by the landlord when evicting a tenant. If a landlord evicts a tenant, they must provide one of fourteen reasons why it is reasonable to evict. Committee Members asked questions. Information only. Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 2 May 10, 2021 22987 3. Mental Health Court Presentation p. 27 Commissioner Pete Smiley, gave a presentation on the City's Mental Health Court, a diversionary therapeutic court that began in 2015. The therapeutic court is similiar to a drug court or veteran’s court and started in January of 2015. It contains pre-trial release with or without supervision. It includes:  SCRAM Alcohol Monitoring  GPS Home Detention  Active GPS monitoring  Diversions  Deferred prsecution  Plea agreements conditions on treatment/services  Mental Health Court He explained the post-conviction process. Information only. 22596 4. An Ordinance to Reduce Single-Use Plastic Waste in Bellingham and p. 49 to Encourage Compostable or Reusable Alternatives Committee Member Hammill asked Council to pass legislation to be effective July 31, 2022. The ordinance targets single-use plastics that have available alternatives. It impacts restaurants, prepared food businesses, and businesses associated with the hospitality industry. Compostable items or reusables are approved for take- out. Single use hotel products such as shampoo and soap are prohibited. Council Members asked questions. Pinky Vargas / Gene Knutson moved to recommend approval. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 5. Approval of City Council Committee and/or Special Meeting Minutes Gene Knutson / Daniel Hammill moved to recommend approval of the minutes from the April 26, 2021 Committee Meetings. Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 3 May 10, 2021  MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 6. Old/New Business Committee Member Vargas explained that as she serves on the LTAC, they have decided to open the grant application process early. The process will start in June. If anyone has ideas for events that LTAC may fund, please apply since it helps the economic viability of the region. These grants are for events scheduled in 2022. Committee Member Knutson toured the library. The remodel has been a great success with new rugs, paint, and computer stations. He looks forward to the Grand Reopening. Committee Member Anderson reminded everyone that the museum is open, at limited capacity but be sure to check the website for hours of operation. Membership is very important for support of the museum. Two items for Executive Session. Committee of the Whole moved into Executive Session at 3:10 PM for approximately thirty minutes for approximately the following items: 1. Litigation: Juarez v. City of Bellingham. 2. Litigation: Bianchi v. City of Bellingham. Adjournment Council President Stone reconvened the Committee of the Whole to adjourn at 3:35 PM. Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 4 May 10, 2021