Online (Microsoft Teams) City Council Meeting

CITYOFLYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING April19,2021 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Korthuis called to order the April 19, 2021 regular session of the Lynden City Council at 7:00 p.m. held through an online web-based meeting platform (Microsoft Teams). ROLL CALL - None Members present: Mayor Scott Korthuis and Councilors, Gary Bode, Ron De Valois, Jerry Kuiken, Brent Lenssen, Nick Laninga, and Kyle Strengholt. Members absent: Councilor Mark Wohlrab absent with notice. Staff present: Finance Director Anthony Burrows, Parks Director Vern Meenderinck, City Clerk Pam Brown, City Administrator Mike Martin, and City Attorney Bob Carmichael. OATH OF OFFICE- None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Councilor Strengholt moved and Councilor Kuiken seconded to approve the April 5, 2021 regular council minutes as presented. Motion approved on a 6-0 vote. ITEMS FROM THE AUDIENCE Scheduled- None Unscheduled - None 2. CONSENT AGENDA Payroll information is unavailable at this time because of the finance department's transition to a new payroll system (Caselle) 300 4th Street, Lynden, WA 98264 www.lyndenwa.org Page 1 of 5 CITY OF LYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING Approval of Claims - April 19,2021 Manual Warrants No. through $0.00 EFT Payment Pre-Pays $6,025.26 Sub Total Pre-Pays $6,025.26 Voucher Warrants No. 21824 through 21959 $817,560.83 EFT Payments $0.000 Sub Total $817,560.86 Total Accts. Payable $823,586.12 Introduction of the 2022 Budget Calendar As required by RCW, there are several budget preparation deadlines as the City moves forward in preparing its year 2022 Budget. The 2022 budget calendar is provided to Council review. These dates are for the review of the full Council, and if no objection, they will be presented for the Council's approval at the May 3, 2021 Council meeting. Upon approval this calendar will be distributed as presentation dates to the satellite agencies, as well as to City departments. This calendar was reviewed earlier by the Finance Committee at their April 19th meeting. Resolution No. 1035 - Local Government Investment Pool Authorization The Legislature created a trust fund to be known as the public funds investment account (commonly referred to as the Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP)) for the contribution and withdrawal of money by an authorized governmental entity for purposes of investment by the Office of the State Treasurer. From time to time, it may be advantageous to the authorized governmental entity, City of Lynden, the "governmental entity", to contribute funds available for investment in the LGIP. Any contributions or withdrawals to or from the LGIP made on behalf of the governmental entity shall be first duly authorized by the City of Lynden, the "governing body" or any designee of the governing body pursuant to this resolution, or a subsequent resolution. The current LGIP authorization needs to be updated along with the designee appointed by the governing body. Resolution No. 1035 accomplishes these requirements. The Finance Committee reviewed this resolution earlier today and approved it for review by the full Council. 2021 Chamber of Commerce Events Gary Vis, the Chamber of Commerce Director, presented the list of 2021 events to the Public Works Committee at their meeting on April 7, 2021. The Committee reviewed the events and concurred to recommend approval by City Council. 300 4th Street, Lynden, WA 98264 www.lyndenwa.org Page 2 of 5 CITY OF LYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING Reouest to Reject Bid for WWTP Utilidor Repairs Staff solicited bids from eight companies on the City's Small Works Roster in March 2021 to rehabilitate and waterproof the underground utilidor at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The project would remediate groundwater intrusion and leakage into the structure. The City budgeted $50,000 in 2021 for this work and so it was well within the $350,000 small works project limitation. The City received only one bid, from Strider Construction, in the amount of $105,439.00. After review of the bid from Strider Construction, staff is recommending rejecting the single bid by Strider Construction. This would allow staff to review the project scope and budget with the intent of providing additional budget funds and resoliciting in 2022. Councilor Kuiken moved and Councilor De Valois seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion approved on a 6-0 vote. 3. PUBLIC HEARING - None 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS- None 5. NEW BUSINESS Aareement for Land Use Hearinq Examiner Services The City Council recently agreed to hire Rajeev Majumdar who is a partner in the Whatcom Law Group, as Lynden's first Land Use Hearing examiner. The Council is now asked to approve the attached contract for his services. The important terms contained in the document are identical to the ones contained in the proposal that accompanied his resume. Significantly they include a flat reimbursement of $1,800 for each appeal hearing; $1,400 for each hearing that does not involve an appeal, an a $200/hour charge for matters the City requests but fall outside the specific scope of the contract. A Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) equal to the COLA applied to the City's non-represented workforce will be applied annually commencing in 2022. The contract is effective through December 31, 2024 with renewable terms. There are adequate funds in the 2021 budget to support this agreement. Councilor Lenssen moved and Councilor Kuiken seconded to approve contract with Whatcom Law Group for Land Use Hearing Examiner services. Motion approved on a 6-0 vote. 300 4th Street, Lynden, WA 98264 www.lyndenwa.org Page 3 of 5 CITY OF LYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING 6. OTHER BUSINESS Council Committee Updates Councilor De Valois reporting for Park Committee stated discussion of the following: • Berthusen Trail maintenance will occur on April 24th and 25th. • RFQs for Benson Barn are due on May 6. • RFPs for south 20 acres of Benson Park • There are some interpretation questions remaining for the Dickinson property survey. • Depot to 8th Street trail. • Cameras at Bender Field are installed. • Brent DeRuyter has been hired for the Parks Maintenance Supervisor position. • Seasonal positions are forthcoming. Councilor Strengholt reporting for Finance Committee stated discussion of the following: • OT for Police, Fire and Finance Departments discussed. • Sales Tax revenue doing really well due to destination sales tax. • Budget discussion. • 2022 Budget calendar. • Possibility of an annual Council Retreat. • Resolution No. 1035 allowed for an update to using the title of City Finance Director rather than an individual's name. • A regional sports complex for the area and what they may look like. Gary Vis, Chamber of Commerce Director, provided council with further guidance on parades, festivals, and fairs from the Governor's office. The challenge is that we have no legal authority of who stands in the public right-of-way or private property which is where most of the city's parade is held. A possible solution would be to put out a statement saying that the parade is a public event and there is possibility of unmasked participants and spectators that will not be practicing social distancing. Further discussion concerning the Raspberry Festival event is occurring. Mayor Korthuis will continue to work with the Governor's office to come up with a solution. Some members of Council agreed that the Farmer's Day Parade should be continued in 2021. 300 4th Street, Lynden, WA 98264 www.lyndenwa.org Page 4 of 5 CITY OF LYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING 7. EXECUTIVE SESSION Council did not hold an executive session. 8. ADJOURNMENT The April 19, 2021 regular session of the Lynden City Council adjourned at 7:21 p.m. ^dm?X D .farmijn <^-^ j(^^ Pamela D. Brown, MMC Scott Korthuis City Clerk Mayor 300 4th Street, Lynden, WA 98264 www.lyndenwa.org Page 5 of 5