City Council - Special Meeting

Name: City Council - Special Meeting — Bellingham, WA
Start: 2021-10-04T19:00:00
End: 2021-10-04T21:00:00
Location: Bellingham, WA

Special Meeting

Bellingham, WA · October 4, 2021

Agenda Minutes Packet

Minutes

City of Bellingham City Council Special Meeting Minutes October 4, 2021, 7:00 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 Council President Stone opened the Public Comment Session. Roll Call Present: Council President Hannah Stone, First Ward Council Member Pinky Vargas, Fourth Ward Council Member Lisa Anderson, Fifth Ward Mayor’s Office, Janice Keller Police Department Administration, Lt. Claudia Murphy Announcement of Upcoming Public Hearings 1. On October 11, 2021 at 7:00 PM there will be a Public Hearing to consider a draft ordinance amending Title 7 of the Bellingham Municipal Code to revise setback requirements for beekeeping. 2. On October 11, 2021 at 7:00 PM there will be a Public Hearing to consider a request from the Bellingham School District to amend the Capital Facilities and Utilities Chapter of the 2016 Bellingham Comprehensive Plan to incorporate the District’s new Capital Facility Plan by reference. 3. On October 11, 2021 at 7:00 PM there will be a Public Hearing to consider the City of Bellingham’s 2022 Revenue Forecast Including Property Tax Levy. Public Comment Session There was a minimum of 21 people in attendance at the Public Comment Session. Attendees who wished to address the Council were given 3 minutes to share their comments. A total of 11 attendees elected to speak publicly. Included below is a list of speakers and topics addressed during their comment periods: 1. Dena Jensen - recommendations for public comment session to be recorded for broader community access / audio recording at a minimum and Mayor’s attendance during public comment sessions, referenced 9/28/2021 email City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 1 October 4, 2021 correspondence regarding errors on the police services website in reference to CDC guidelines for camp cleanups. 2. Mary Lou White - vaccine mandate not necessary when we have N95 masks, lives in the Birchwood neighborhood and has concern regarding residential- multi development and increased density. 3. Jean Purcell (on the line with Nancy Bergman) - support for freedom to choose to be vaccinated or not, mandates are discriminatory and racist. 4. Helga DeLiban (on the line with Nancy Bergman) - concern that experimental vaccines cause injuries, death and other adverse reactions. 5. Natalie Chavez (on the line with Nancy Bergman) - concern about Mayor’s emergency order and the November 19th deadline for vaccinations and no announcement of order during council meeting, support informed consent, support natural immunity as better option, support hotline/800# to collect data on adverse reactions to vaccines. 6. Nancy Bergman (on the line with Nancy Bergman) - shared quotes from senior U.S. Army flight surgeon Lt. Col. Theresa Long’s testimony/affidavit under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act. 7. Susan Prosser - stated elected officials sworn to protect rights of people and no obligation to follow Health Department and CDC guidelines, concern for loss of essential workers who won’t get the vaccine because they need to protect their own health, support collection of evidence of adverse effects of vaccine. 8. Karen Frances Steen - referenced email from 2/2020 regarding the history of MNAC and need to revitalize neighborhood associations, representation of neighborhood was lost, need for a Department of Neighborhoods, concern regarding Lighthouse Mission redevelopment and impact of mixed-residential 9. Ken Domorod - questions regarding timeline for development of these new public comment sessions and council’s reasoning for doing so, support to record public comment sessions, support public comment as city business during regular meetings, support to reopen council chambers. 10. Misty Flowers - concern regarding attempts to pull Whatcom County Council public comment, stated that lawsuits are coming and referenced Fisheries Engineers, Inc. v. State of Washington, Governor Jay Inslee case number 18-2- 04658-34. 11. Hannah Ordos - disappointment regarding how public comment is being held, quoted local statistics regarding vaccinations and hospitalizations, a call for elected officials to support all people. Adjournment There being no further comments, the session adjourned at 7:51 PM. The next public comment session will be held on Monday, October 18, 2021 at 7:00 PM. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 2 October 4, 2021

Agenda

City of Bellingham City Council Special Meeting Agenda – Public Comment Session II October 4, 2021, 7:00 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. Council members will participate in this meeting remotely through an online web-based meeting platform. Per Washington State Proclamation 20-28, in-person attendance at meetings is prohibited at this time. Members of the public must be present in the meeting to participate and are welcome to come to the meeting to listen without commenting. Each participant wishing to speak will be asked to identify themself and state their full name for the record, then they will have three minutes for comment. There is no advance registration process. To join the public comment session, sign in to the meeting at www.cob.org/commentzoom. Members of the public who would like to listen by phone can do so using any of the following phone numbers:  (253) 215-8782  (346) 248-7799  (669) 900-6833  (301) 715-8592  (312) 626-6799  (929) 205-6099 Meeting ID: 923 0705 9297 Password: 018602 General Public Comment can also be presented to the Council:  by mail (210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA 98225)  online : https://engagebellingham.org/council-public-comment  by telephone (360-778-8200) Call to Order Roll Call Announcement of Upcoming Public Hearings Please note that all Public Hearings are topic specific. All testimony provided during a Public Hearing must be related to the specific topic under consideration. Public Hearings are held during City Council Regular Meetings. 1. On October 11, 2021 at 7:00 PM there will be a Public Hearing to consider a draft ordinance amending Title 7 of the Bellingham Municipal Code to revise setback requirements for beekeeping. 2. On October 11, 2021 at 7:00 PM there will be a Public Hearing to consider a request from the Bellingham School District to amend the Capital Facilities and Utilities Chapter of the 2016 Bellingham Comprehensive Plan to incorporate the District’s new Capital Facility Plan by reference. 3. On October 11, 2021 at 7:00 PM there will be a public hearing to consider the City of Bellingham’s 2022 Revenue Forecast Including Property Tax Levy. Public Comment Session Please note that Public Comment Sessions are not topic specific. Each participant wishing to speak will be asked to identify themself and state their full name for the record, then they will have three minutes for comment. Members of the public must be present in the meeting to participate and are welcome to come to the meeting to listen without commenting. There is no advance registration process. To join the public comment session, sign in to the meeting at www.cob.org/commentzoom. The enclosed documents provide additional details regarding the purpose and scope of these Public Comment Sessions:  Bellingham City Council Memorandum: Opportunities for Public Engagement with the City Council (August 25, 2021)  News Release: Comment sessions aim to improve public engagement with City Council (September 16, 2021)  Bellingham City Council Rules of Procedure: Exhibit A – Guidelines for Public Comment Period, Public Hearings, and Public Participation (Last updated April 20, 2020) 23135 1. City Council Public Comment Session II p. 4 Adjournment Agenda Information: Council Committee and Regular Meeting agendas and agenda packets, which contain the supporting documentation for agenda items, are available to the public Wednesday afternoon prior to the meeting. They are posted at https://meetings.cob.org/. Meetings are streamed live on the internet as they occur. Accessibility: The Council Chambers is fully accessible. Elevator access to the second floor is available at City Hall’s west entrance. Hearing assistance is available, and a receiver may be checked out through the Deputy City Clerk prior to the evening session. For additional accommodations, contact the Legislative Assistant at 778-8200 in advance of the meeting. Thank you. Next City Council Committee Meetings Monday, October 11, 2021 Deadline to submit material for any public hearing for inclusion in the published agenda packet is 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday prior to the meeting.

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