City Council - Regular Meeting

City of Bellingham City Council Regular Meeting Minutes 06/19/2017, 7:00 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 The meeting was called to order by Council President Lilliquist at 7:00 p.m. Announcements & Upcoming Meetings: 1. On Monday, July 10, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers, the City Council will host a Public Hearing on amendments to the Cordata Neighborhood Plan Bellingham City Council meets all requirements of the State of Washington Open Public Meetings Act. Pledge of Allegiance Led by Council President Lilliquist. Roll Call Present: April Barker, Council Member, First Ward Gene Knutson, Council Member, Second Ward Daniel Hammill, Council Member, Third Ward Pinky Vargas, Council Member, Fourth Ward Terry Bornemann, Council Member, Fifth Ward Michael Lilliquist, Council Member, Sixth Ward Roxanne Murphy, Council Member, At Large Excused: City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 1 of 9 6/19/2017  Public Hearing Council President Lilliquist explained the Resolution that was put forth for consideration. Ballot Initiative 1552 was organized by a group called Just Want Privacy. The initiative asks for the current laws that allow transgender persons to use whichever bathroom they feel comfortable in, be overturned. The Resolution asks Bellingham residents to decline to sign the initiative and if the initiative succeeds and is on the November state ballot, that Bellingham residents vote "no." Council Member Murphy introduced background on the Resolution. Council President Lilliquist opened the public hearing. Dena Jensen, spoke in support of the Resolution. She feels the initiative would discriminate against transgender persons. Chris Deile, talked about his support of the Resolution. Paul Moore, urged the Council to pass the Resolution. He compared the initiative to discriminatory behavior and laws he grew up with in the southern part of the country. L. K. Langley, thanked Council Member Murphy for bringing the Resolution forward and spoke in favor of the Resolution. She gave testimony on the experiences of binary persons and feels this initiative would discriminate against them. Riannon Bardsley, discussed the ramifications of I-1552. She thanked Council Member Murphy for bringing forth the Resolution for consideration. Dean Tuckerman, encouraged all persons not to sign the I-1552 petition. Lisa Page, discussed queer youth statistics. She spoke in support of the Resolution. Briana Reynolds, spoke in support of the Resolution. Chao-Ying Wo M.D., reported that the Washington Academy of Family Physicians passed a resolution last year to reaffirm nondiscriminatory care particularly towards LGBTQ patients. He feels the "bathroom bills" that keep coming forward to voters have adverse effects on transgender persons and he sees the effects in his practice. Although he has mixed feelings about governmental agencies advising voters on how to vote concerning initiatives, he is in general support of the Resolution. City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 2 of 9 6/19/2017  Larry Hildes, supports the Resolution and thanked Council Member Murphy for bringing forth the Resolution. He feels that justice for transgender persons will be served by equal access to whichever restroom. Erik Bostrom, proposed a solution that includes a single stall bathrooms. He feels that new categories of persons keep coming forward so rather than group bathroom stalls, a single stall bathroom would fit all persons. Karen Weil, thanked Council for bringing forth the Resolution for consideration. She feels it is a civil rights issue. Mark Allen, requested the Council pass the Resolution. No further comments, the Public Hearing was closed. Terry Bornemann spoke in support of the Resolution. He expressed that it is a basic civil rights issue. Pinky Vargas thanked Council Member Murphy for bringing forth the Resolution. She thinks it is a shameful initiative. Dan Hammill feels the initiative is discrimination. April Barker suggested the writers of the initiative are "probably middle class white men" and thanked Council Member Murphy for bringing the initiative forward for consideration. Gene Knutson reported the Resolution was easy to support. Roxanne Murphy / Dan Hammill moved final approval of Resolution # 2017-30. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 21647 1. Public Hearing to Consider a Resolution Asking Bellingham Residents to Decline to Sign Initiative 1552 15-Minute Public Comment Period Chris Deile, spoke about rent control, and objected to the reintroduction of Grizzly bears. Kevin Ernest, relayed his desire to buy a house in Bellingham, but is disheartened at how unaffordable homes are. He requested Council do all they can to help solve the affordable housing crisis. Joseph Mc Donald, feels the rules concerning the Public Comment period are not fair for speaking and feels the Council has broken these rules before. He relayed that some speakers wear political buttons but still continue to speak and concluded that it is a rule violation that was not enforced. City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 3 of 9 6/19/2017  Stephen Jackson, asked the Council to reject the contract that the County put forward for consideration. He reported that retrofitting the current jail would cost approximately $10M and the new jail is estimated to cost $110M. As a public defender, he feels that if we build a new jail for the much larger amount of money, we should factor in a lot more mental health services. He also objected to the jail being funded by a sales tax that would be passed on to his clients many of whom do not have a lot of money. Elijah Morgan, spoke about the high costs of housing in Bellingham. Nathan Barton, relayed his story in rentals and discussed the high cost of rent. Dena Jensen, feels a needs assessment is necessary for making an informed decision about building a new jail. She also feels the existing jail should be renovated. She reported that she has been in contact with the County Executive and received word that contract and bids are being worked on for proposed repair and work to the existing jail. She urged citizens to get involved with the jail facility proposal. Everett Barton, spoke about the high cost of rent. He also feels the jail is overpriced and is not needed. He would like to see the land site be sold and used for tiny homes for persons experiencing homelessness. Clint Lincoln, thanked the Council for delaying the vote on the jail. He discussed the need for repairs and renovation to the current jail so that it will be a safe and humane. Because the jail has not been renovated under the current County Council and administration, he stated that we should not trust them to plan a new jail facility. Christina Goode, relayed her concern for the state of disrepair the current jail is in. She feels it is unsafe and inhumane and does not trust the current County administration to make more jail facility use decisions when the current jail has not been repaired. Erik Lawrence, feels the new jail facility proposal is a bad idea and asked the City Council to vote against it. Michelle Ewing, spoke against the jail proposal. She supports a jail renovation of the existing jail. Tip Johnson, feels the jail proposal is a bad idea for the City of Bellingham because the cost is too high and will be writing "a big, blank check to Whatcom County." He asked the County for Public Records on the current jail building's foundation analysis, but the County told him they do not have any. Because of their reply, he feels untrusting of City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 4 of 9 6/19/2017  reports from the County that say the building cannot be renovated and may fall down in an earthquake. Hannah Fishman, a member of the Bellingham Tenants Union, thanked the Council for the Town Hall meeting last week. She asked for a ban on source of income information and feels it is discriminatory. Lisa McShane, asked that the City Council vote "no" on the jail funding agreement. She made two points: First, in 2011, she served on a committee to plan the jail facility with Whatcom County. A report from a consulting firm was given to Whatcom County and she reported that the report went largely ignored. Secondly, in 2016, Whatcom County released an engineering study of the current jail facility. She outlined three points from the report and passed out to Council Members. She expressed that the current jail has no problems that are unfixable and it will be less money to fix and operate the current jail. Kaia Gran, feels the jail facility proposal is a for-profit facility and not serving the best interest of the residents of Whatcom County. Joy Gilfilen, stated a needs assessment should be performed for the jail building. She expressed her wish for more jail alternatives that are less costly than incarceration. She objected to the location of the proposed jail and warned of the consequences of moving the jail out into the County. Dean Tuckerman, spoke against the jail facility. Amy Malone, conveyed her appreciation to the Council for their thoughtful discussion and decisions they had concerning the jail. Larry Hildes, spoke against mass incarceration and the criminal justice system. He feels we do not need a new jail. He feels the number of beds is too large and the location is terrible. Karen Weil, stated that poverty and racism aid in incarceration. She spoke against the criminal justice system and the cash bail system. She feels that the amount of mental health beds that are being considered in the jail plan, is not enough. She is against building a large jail facility. City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 5 of 9 6/19/2017  Council Standing Committee Meetings: Planning 21621 1. Council Planning Committee Work Session on Residential Renter Barriers/Concerns Gene Knutson reported that Landmark Realty property managers came and gave their perspective on income discrimination. Public Comment was also taken during Committee. The next work session will be at the July 10, 2017 Committee meeting. Information only. Committee Of The Whole 21648 1. Town & Gown Implementation Strategy – Overview of the Partnership Between Western Washington University (WWU) and the City to Reduce Conflicts Between Students and Neighborhoods Through Education and Increased Coordination Thirteen items of concern or Action Items were listed in the plan. Discussion during Committee. Information only. 21649 2. 2009 Annexation Phasing Plan Update Staff gave an overview on the areas that could be annexed in the future. The overview included background information of properties, summaries and a map of all the Urban Growth Areas and a discussion of the issues of the areas. Information only. 21561 3. Second Review of the Public Work's Director Decision Denying a Request for Retail Water and Sewer Service at 1323 Mt. Baker Highway On March 27th, the City Council reviewed a denial for a request for water and sewer service from owners of a property located at 1323 Mt. Baker Highway. At that time, Council directed staff to work with the property owners for an annexation option. This plan does not extend or overturn the established utility extension policy. Upon review of that staff's plan, the Council directed staff to move forward with the annexation proposal. The proposal will come forward for direction at a future date. City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 6 of 9 6/19/2017  21372 4. Waterfront District Implementation Status Report Minor changes to the implementation building plan. The primary goal of the refinements, are to accommodate three waterfront residential buildings along Whatcom Waterway, provide an unencumbered easement for the City for the first phase of Waypoint Park and to adjust Western Crossing's location to support adaptive reuse of the Board Mill Building. Important to note: there are no changes in the acreage devoted to Parks development, no change in the financial commitments, and no change in the timing of the phasing of the projects. Information only. 21266 5. Interlocal Jail Facility Financing and Use Agreement Roxanne Murphy / April Barker moved to direct the Legal Department and Council President Lilliquist to present to the Whatcom County Council a list of points for clarification and consideration. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 21646 6. Council Discussion on June 13th Town Hall Presentation during Committee. Council directed staff to review the policy issues and revisit at a later meeting likely in July. Information only. 7. Approval of City Council Committee and/or Special Meeting Minutes Roxanne Murphy / Pinky Vargas moved approval of the May 22, 2017 minutes of the regular City Council meeting and the June 5, 2017 minutes of the regular City Council meeting as submitted. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 8. Old/New Business Council Member Hammill will be attending an AWC (Association of Washington Cities) conference this week. He is hoping to learn to develop a strategy to capture online sales tax generated in Bellingham and keep that revenue for the City of Bellingham, rather than Whatcom County. Mayor's Report Standing time for briefings, updates and reports to Council by the Mayor, if needed. Information only. 21650 1. Mayor's Reappointment of Jean Melious to the Historic Preservation Commission (Approval) City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 7 of 9 6/19/2017  Roxanne Murphy / April Barker moved approval of the reappointment of Jean Melious to her third term on the Historic Preservation Commission, which will expire on June 30, 2020. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Mayor Linville reported that Brian Heinrich, Deputy Administrator, will be receiving an All-Star Award presented by AWC (Association of Washington Cities) for his work on the MTCA (Model Toxics Control Act) issue and strategic outreach to other elected officials. Consent Agenda All matters listed on the Consent Agenda are considered routine and/or non-controversial items and may be approved in a single motion. A member of the Council may ask that an item be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered separately. 21651 1. Authorization of A/P Checks Issued June 2, 2017 21652 2. Authorization of A/P Checks Issued June 9, 2017 21653 3. Authorization of Payroll Labor Cost Payments Dated May 11, 2017 - May 25, 2017 Roxanne Murphy / April Barker moved approval of the Consent Agenda in its entirety. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Final Consideration of Ordinances 21634 1. Public Hearing to Consider a Comprehensive Plan Amendment to the Barkley Neighborhood Plan to Rezone a Portion of Property Located Within Area 1 from Residential, Single to Commercial, Planned Will be continued and voted on after the Comprehensive Plan amendments are made later in the year. 21635 2. Public Hearing to Consider a Comprehensive Plan Amendment to the Cordata Neighborhood Plan to Rezone a Portion of Property Located within Area 20 from Residential, Single to Industrial, Planned Will be continued and voted on after the Comprehensive Plan amendments are made later in the year. City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 8 of 9 6/19/2017  21637 3. An Ordinance Amending the 2017/2018 Adopted Budget Recognizing $9,868,874 Property Tax Revenues in the Greenways Fund, Appropriating a Portion for Capital Maintenance and Increasing Ending Reserves Dan Hammill / Roxanne Murphy moved approval for third and final reading. Upon motion, said bill was placed on final passage and approved by the following roll call vote: AYES: BARKER, BORNEMANN, HAMMILL, KNUTSON, LILLIQUIST, MURPHY, VARGAS NAYS: EXCUSED: MOTION CARRIED and was thereafter named Ordinance #2017-06-017 Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 pm. Michael Lilliquist, Council President ATTEST: Elisabeth Oakes, City Clerk Representative APPROVED: July 24, 2017 City of Bellingham Regular City Council Meeting Page 9 of 9 6/19/2017