City Council - Committee Of The Whole

City of Bellingham Committee of the Whole Minutes September 13, 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. 23000 1. Update on Implementation of Interim Housing Strategies (i.e. Shelter) p. 4 for Those Experiencing Homelessness Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 1 September 13, 2021  Staff provided a progress update to the Council. Tara Sundin, Economic Development Manager and Anne Deacon, from the Whatcom County Health Department, provided a progress update to the Council. The update packet contained a memo, a table that contains a status report on projects, and Homeless Strategies Workgroup recommendations. There is new capacity for overnight sheltering spaces beginning this Fall. Council Members asked questions. Council affirmed that they support efforts made by the Mayor and County Executive as regional partners to help those experiencing homelessness. 23086 2. Consideration of Interlocal Agreement with Whatcom County for a p. 11 Homeless Communication Strategy This program funds local community organizations to gather information, develop a communications strategy and create a resource toolkit to be used, as needed, to inform and mobilize the community about the challenges and solutions regarding homelessness in Whatcom County. Gene Knutson / Daniel Hammill moved to recommend approval of the interlocal agreement. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 23092 3. Proposed Ordinance Accepting Donation of Hillside Estates p. 18 Stormwater Facility The Hillside Estates Stormwater Facility is a privately owned facility located in the City of Bellingham. The HOA has offered to donate the facility to the City. Staff recommends that Council accept the donation by adopting the proposed ordinance as authorized by Chapter 4.90 of the Bellingham Municipal Code. Pinky Vargas / Gene Knutson moved to recommend approval. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 23102 4. Bid Award for Job Order Contracting - Construction Services: Bid p. 23 #26B-2021 A job order contracting process advertised a Request for Proposals. The Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 2 September 13, 2021  City received five responses which were opened on 7/7/21 (Phase I) and on 7/20/21 (Phase II). Forma Construction and Colacurcio Brothers were identified as having offered the lowest responsive, responsible proposals. Lisa Anderson / Gene Knutson moved to recommend approval. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 23103 5. Report from the September 1, 2021, Lake Whatcom Policy Group p. 29 Meeting Committee Member Lilliquist provided an update from the Policy Group from their September 1st meeting. Among topics discussed, were tributary monitoring in Lake Whatcom and a report is now available on monitoring efforts. Additionally, the County Council asked staff to update and revise the County overlay district that contains land use, stormwater, and tree retention regulations for the watershed. The update went on to include a report out on the wildfire risk management program as well as management coordination to address unauthorized bike trails on public lands. 23091 6. Opportunities for Public Engagement with the City Council p. 33 Council President Stone announced that outside of regular City Council Meetings, the Council will host Public Comment sessions, to begin on Monday, September 20th at 7:00 PM. The City Council will hear Public Comment at a new time and session on the following dates: Commencing on September 20, 2021, at 7:00 PM via Zoom. Advance registration is not required to participate. To join any of the public comment sessions, sign-in to the meeting at https://cob.org/commentzoom 2021 Dates for Public Comment Periods September 20th October 4th October 18th November 1st November 15th November 29th December 20th December 27th Additional ways to engage with the Bellingham City Council are: Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 3 September 13, 2021  Attend City Council meetings or view them via BTV Bellingham (https://cob.org/services/education/btv) or via Zoom (instructions for remote meeting access provided in each City Council meeting agenda (https://cob.org/cczoom) Provide live testimony during scheduled Public Hearings – speaker pre- registration is encouraged but not required (https://cob.org/ccsignup) and attendance is via Zoom (https://cob.org/cczoom) Provide written testimony for scheduled Public Hearings (https://cob.org/gov/public/publichearing-testimony) Provide written Public Comment, view other comments, and/or Share comments on social media using Engage Bellingham (https://engagebellingham.org) Email the full City Council at ccmail@cob.org or email individual Council members using the contact information provided on the City Council website (https://cob.org/gov/council/contacts-bios) Send a letter to the City Council at Bellingham City Hall, 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA 98225 Call the City Council at 360-778-8200, or call individual Council members using the contact information provided on the City Council website (https://cob.org/gov/council/contacts-bios) 7. Approval of City Council Committee and/or Special Meeting Minutes Michael Lilliquist / Gene Knutson moved to approve the Committee Meeting minutes of August 30, 2021. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 8. Old/New Business Mayor Fleetwood noted that some City property leases are exempt from Council's approval, including those in the City's Parking Garage. For properties that are exempt from Council's approval, the Mayor is required to inform Council as to when a new lease is executed. One that has been executed at the 1302 Commercial Avenue property, better known as the Parking Garage, is a Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 4 September 13, 2021  space leased by tenant, Wink Wink. With this new lease, the Parking Garage tenant spaces are now 100% fully occupied. Council Member Knutson will not be attending this evening's meeting. Four items were presented for Executive Session. Committee of the Whole moved into Executive Session at 2:43 PM for approximately one hour and ten minutes for the following items: 1. Litigation: Lev v. City of Bellingham 2. Potential Property Acquisition 3. Potential Property Acquisition 4. Litigation: Hanlon v. City of Bellingham Adjournment Council President Stone reconvened the Committee of the Whole to adjourn at 5:10 PM. Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 5 September 13, 2021