Historical - Planning and Community Development Committee - Existed 2019-2020

City of Bellingham Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes September 14, 2020, 1:00 PM Mayor Seth Fleetwood Contact: (360) 778-8200, ccmail@cob.org Council Members, Hollie Huthman, Chair www.cob.org/council Daniel Hammill, Michael Lilliquist All meetings are held in the City Hall Council Chambers at 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA, unless otherwise noted. Call to Order Roll Call Present: Committee Chair Hollie Huthman, At-Large Committee Member Daniel Hammill, Third Ward Committee Member Michael Lilliquist, Sixth Ward 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: Planning and Community Development Hollie Huthman, Chair Daniel Hammill, Michael Lilliquist 22750 1. Local Economic Development and Business Assistance Agencies and p. 3 Their Response to Assist the Business Community with the Impacts of COVID-19 Council Member Huthman introduced the Economic and Business Assistance Agencies and their response the COVID-19 pandemic. Tara Sundin, Economic Development Manager, provided an update on how agencies are assisting with economic stabilization and recovery by utilizing the CARES ACT funds. 26 childcare providers/agencies received funds. Last week, 148 Bellingham businesses were awarded funds as well. Contracts are going out today. Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes Page 1 September 14, 2020  Don Goldberg, Economic Development Director with the Port of Bellingham, reported that the Port provides temporary ferry service between Pt. Roberts and Bellingham. The ferry runs on Tuesdays and Fridays to the Fairhaven terminal. The Port is working with Unified Command and local elected delegates to open the Border. Approximately eleven percent of salestax revenue comes from Canadian traffic. They are also working to reduce the train noise from BSNF in downtown and working with Federal delegates to accelerate the Quiet Zone program. The Port facilitates the weekly Mayor's Meeting that has been going on since the COVID-19 shutdown started. It includes seven city mayors from countywide cities and the county executive. There is a COVID-19 revolving loanfund for COVID related expenses. Businesses can loan up to $150,000 at an approximately four percent interest rate. Sandy Ward, with the Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism Board, gave an overview on what the Board is doing to help inform visitors about tourism in Whatcom County. They promote the areas outdoor assets. Information can be found at https://www.bellingham.org/ to and promote "Bellingham Experience" on social media. The site also has Zoom backgrounds to download for personal use. They can be found at https://www.bellingham.org/insider-blogs/zoom- virtual-backgrounds-for-bellingham-and-whatcom-county/ CJ Seitz, Western Washington University Director of Small Business Development Center, provided an update on the pandemic, called the Pandemic Response Report. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:40 p.m. Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes Page 2 September 14, 2020