City Council - Special Meeting

City of Bellingham City Council Special Meeting Minutes June 16, 2020, 6:00 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 The meeting was called to order by Council President Knutson at 6:01 p.m. Roll Call Committee Of The Whole Gene Knutson, Chair Hannah Stone, Daniel Hammill, Pinky Vargas, Lisa Anderson, Michael Lilliquist, Hollie Huthman 22664 1. CARES Act Implementation Tara Sundin, Economic Development Manager, presented the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, & Economic Security (CARES) Act implementation plan. Whatcom County has been awarded a little over $12M, the City of Bellingham has been awarded $2.7M, and each of the small cities have been awarded $1.2M. The City has a requirement to submit for reimbursement by October 1, 2020. There is urgency to get programs put together to help those in need throughout our community. The City has been coordinating with Whatcom County to achieve efficiency, pool funds, and rely on each other to help get dollars out while responding to the most urgent needs. The City is leaning on groups with expertise to advise these decisions. Under the CARES Act, the relief fund can be used to cover costs that are necessary expenditures incurred due to COVID-19. Sundin provided a presentation detailing the recommended allocation of these funds. Councilmember Pinky Vargas spoke to the impressive nature of the City, Port, County, and small cities working together in this economic development venture while trying to make this happen as quickly as possible by combining funds and resources. She thanked everyone involved. Councilmember Michael Lilliquist said he really appreciates what is be being done with the CARES Act dollars. The City of Bellingham is only using a portion of the dollars being allocated, and are turning around and pushing the other larger portion out to help with housing and human services, economic City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 1 June 16, 2020  response, and childcare. He echoed what Councilmember Vargas said in that this implementation works better in coordination with the County, as they are better suited to emphasize certain areas such as public health. Councilmembers asked questions and provided comments. 22665 2. Consideration of Lease Terms for a COVID-19 Emergency Shelter/Temporary Building Encampment at 1530 Cornwall Avenue Mayor Seth Fleetwood provided an introduction and stated the need and urgency of this project. He thanked Dr. Baker and the Bellingham School District's partnership of offering the Bellingham High School location for the temporary shelter. The School District needs the site back no later than July 15, 2020 to prepare for the school year. The shelter cannot return to the Light House Mission Drop-In Center site on Holly Street due to insufficient space to create adequate distancing. He recognized opposing views on the Public Market site proposal and is committed to navigating the concerns expressed by community members to ensure potential impacts are minimized to the extent the City is able. The City is pleased to partner with Whatcom County and the Light House Mission Ministries to fill this vital community need. County Executive Satpal Sidhu thanked Council, Mayor Fleetwood, the City and other parties involved for allowing him and the County to present their view of the issue. Whatcom County is committed to be a cooperative partner with the City to address the needs of the most vulnerable population in the community. He recognizes the urgency of the task in front of the City. The current public health emergency requires adherence to COVID protocols of social distancing for shelter residents, the people who serve them, and visitors. He recognizes the community's strong thoughts and feelings about the proposed location and recognizes it is not the perfect site, but a response is needed in a short amount of time. He spoke about community-suggested alternatives. Whatcom County has not had serious COVID-19 outbreaks because of the community commitment to following public health guidance and by quickly preparing a place for people who needed shelter and adequate distancing at the Bellingham High School site. The Whatcom County Health Department is a dedicated partner in this crisis and will help mitigate negative impacts associated with the proposed Public Market site. Whatcom County will provide financial and public health support to make the transition successful. Eric Johnston, Public Works Director, explained the site selection process and the lengths that City staff took to investigate potential properties for drop-in center homeless facilities. City staff conducted paper site reviews, looked at sites near the Holly St. Drop-In Center location, and multiple locations throughout the city and county. Staff looked at building new facilities on vacant City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 2 June 16, 2020  property, leasing existing vacant retail space, converting existing parking lots to temporary shelters, modular buildings, adapting existing buildings, potential tent encampment sites, dormitories at colleges and universities in the community, etc. In each examination, the most important criterion was time. There were also limitations when it comes to cost. Johnson detailed different locations that were investigated in this process. Rick Sepler, Planning and Community Development Director, spoke about the permit process, highlighting conditions and mitigation measures. The City was able to bypass typical processes that are lengthy and could have delayed the response necessary at this time. Preliminary conditions have been prepared that are proposed to address potential impacts, which could be implemented concurrent with occupancy of the subject site. When the current emergency ends, the proposed existing use would be inconsistent with zoning. It is anticipated that the Light House Mission Ministries would need to apply for a temporary encampment permit in the building. The City has had five temporary encampments that have been established and in each case has developed a suite of conditions to protect guests and surrounding residents and businesses. The conditions are preliminary and would go into play should the lease be approved and would be acting on the site until the temporary encampment permit is completed. The list of conditions can be found in the City Council packet. An online informational meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 24 at 5:00 PM. Tara Sundin, Economic Development Manager, provided an overview of the proposal and summary of the lease terms. The City will be the lessee and will sublease to the Light House Mission Ministries. The City would contribute $700,000 (in CARES act and Housing Levy funds) and the County would provide $800,000 (from a variety of sources). The Mission is anticipating $.5M a year to operate the site. The City and County would contribute towards lease payments including a portion of the triple net. The City and County will also contribute to improvements of the property. The lease would be for three years with the opportunity to extend for one year. Hans Erchinger-Davis, Executive Director of the Light House Mission Ministries, explained the adversity faced by those who are unsheltered. The last count showed 715 people on the streets of Whatcom County, mostly around the downtown core. Of those people, 186 stayed at Bellingham High School last night and another 100 stayed in the Light House Mission Ministries' next stage recovery programs in Old Town. Prior to the Bellingham High School location, about 15 people were being turned away a night at the Drop-In Center due to capacity restraints. The Drop- In Center is a 24-hour shelter experience designed to help and motivate people to next steps of life recovery by providing three meals a day, a safe place to sleep, restrooms, showers, basic storage for City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 3 June 16, 2020  overnight guests, mail services, community health spaces, emotional and spiritual services, etc. He provided details about the Good Neighbor Program and the Light House Mission Ministries' commitments to the community. Public comment was taken. City staff responded to comments made by the public. Councilmembers responded to comments made by the public, provided comments, and asked questions of the presenters. Pinky Vargas / Daniel Hammill moved to approve the essential elements of the Lease and Sublease as outlined in the packet. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 22666 3. Resolution Exempting the Drop-In Center at 1530 Cornwall Avenue from State Building Code Requirements in Order to Provide Housing for Indigent Persons Consistent with the Provisions of RCW 19.27 Planning and Community Development Director Rick Sepler presented the resolution. The resolution would apply to both the COVID emergency shelter and the subsequent permit of the temporary encampment. The resolution would allow concurrent time for the leasehold the City has for the building to be used without strict compliance to the building code. Daniel Hammill / Lisa Anderson moved to recommend approval of Resolution #2020-20. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Adjournment Council President Knutson adjourned the meeting at 8:48 PM. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 4 June 16, 2020