Regular City Council Meeting

CITY OF LYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING July 6, 2021 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Korthuis called to order the July 6, 2021, regular session of the Lynden City Council at 7:00 p.m., held at the City Annex. ROLL CALL Members present: Mayor Scott Korthuis and Councilors, Gary Bode, Ron De Valois, Jerry Kuiken, Brent Lenssen, Nick Laninga, Kyle Strengholt, and MarkWohlrab. Members absent: None Staff present: Finance Director Anthony Burrows, Fire Chief Mark Billmire, Parks DirectorVern Meenderinck, Police Chief Steve Taylor, Planning Director Heidi Gudde, Public Works Director Steve Banham, City Clerk Pam Brown, and City Administrator Mike Martin. OATH OF OFFICE- None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Councilor De Valois moved and Councilor Kuiken seconded to approve the June 21, 2021, regular council minutes as presented. Motion approved on a 7-0 vote. ITEMS FROM THE AUDIENCE Scheduled- None Unscheduled - None Mayor Korthuis and Councilor Lenssen thanked Gerald Veltkamp for his 12 years of service on the Planning Commission. Th Mayor cited some notable projects that had been completed during those 12 years: • 2010& 2020 Shoreline Master Plans • 2014 & 2020 Park Master Plans • Pepin Creek Subarea Plan • Multiple Annexations • 2010 North Prairie Development Projects • Delf Square Renovation • Market Square (Salmonberry) 300 4th Street, Lynden, WA 98264 www.lyndenwa.org Page 1 of 6 CITY OF LYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING • Blankers Estates • Two Appeals (2015 & 2017) Councilor Lenssen expressed that he enjoyed working with Mr. Veltkamp while working joint meetings between council and planning commission. He recognized it is not always easy to serve in those positions. 2. CONSENT AGENDA Set Public Hearinci Date for Ordinance No. 1625- Amending LMC Titles 1 and 12 In May of 2019, the City Council identified a desire to update the municipal code to remove or revise some sections which were no longer necessary. Although revisions were drafted, the details of the amendments related to the serving of alcohol and horse taxies proved to be more complicated than initially thought and the amendment stalled. In an effort to conclude this item the proposed amendments were brought to the Community Development Committee meeting on April 21, 2021. The Committee concluded discussion by requesting that staff move forward only with the revisions to Title 1 regarding the City's datum point and Title 12 regarding a requirement for oil drip pans. Minutes from this meeting are included in the council packet. The draft of Ordinance 1625 amends the Lynden Municipal Code as requested. At this time staff is requesting that Council set the public hearing date for this amendment. Councilor Lenssen moved and Councilor De Valois seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion approved on a 7-0 vote. 3. PUBLIC HEARING Vacate Application 21-01 Redwood Road Compass Point Survey, on behalf of the West Lynden Business Park, has submitted an application for the vacate of a portion of Redwood Road right-of-way. The subject vacate is a dedication of approximately 48,000 square feet meant for the future construction of Redwood Road. This dedication was originally made with the approval of the West Lynden Business Park General Binding Site Plan with the intent that it would be constructed at the time of development. Needs of the industrial market indicate that large scale parcels are desirable. As such, public right-of-way at the planned location is not needed and may limit the design potential of the parcel. The Technical Review Committee has completed review and provided a report:. 300 4th Street, Lynden, WA 98264 www.lyndenwa.org Page 2 of 6  CITY OF LYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING As additional vacation of associated utility easements is being finalized, staff is asking that the City Council only conduct the public hearing and take public comment at this time. Council can expect an applicable ordinance to follow at a subsequent meeting. Mayor Korthuis opened the Public Hearing at 7:03 p.m. Council did not receive any public comment. Mayor Korthuis closed the Public Hearing at 7:03 p.m. Public Hearing only. No action taken. 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS-None 5. NEW BUSINESS Appointment to Planning Commission- Darren Johnson Mayor Korthuis appointed a new member, Darren Johnson, to fill a vacancy on the Planning Commission (PC). The PC consists of seven volunteer members. At the time of appointment and throughout their term of office, the primary residence of each member of the PC must be within the city limits of Lynden and the term of office for each member is four years unless specifically completing the term of another member. Darren Johnson will be filling the seat vacated by the resignation of Gerald Veltkamp. Gerald's remaining term to be completed by Mr. Johnson runs through the end of December 2021. This appointment is being brought forward to the City Council for confirmation. Barren's experience as a nearly life-long resident of the Lynden area and his role as a real estate agent will undoubtedly be an asset to the Planning Commission. The City takes this opportunity to thank Gerald Veltkamp. He has been a long-time Planning Commissioner and the City sincerely wishes to thank him for his service. CouncilorBode moved and CouncilorStrengholt seconded to confirm the appointment of Darren Johnson to the Lynden Planning Commission to complete an existing term expiring December 2021. Motion approved on a 7-0 vote. Final Plat Approval - DeJona Lona Plat, Phase 1 The DeJong family and their agent, Jerry Blankers, were granted preliminary plat approval for the DeJong long plat on February 18, 2020. This long plat is located north of Aaron Drive near Line Road. The property is approximately 9.44 acres in size and is zoned as residential multi-family, RM-3. 300 4th Street, Lynden, WA 98264 www.lyndenwa.org Page 3 of 6 CITYOFLYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING The development of the plat is proposed in two phases. At this time, the applicant is seeking final approval of Phase 1 . This phase included frontage improvements along the Aaron Drive, the creation of 11 lots, and the dedication of trail easement along the Badger Road (with trail construction scheduled for Phase 2 of the plat development). The Council is being asked to consider final plat approval for Phase 1 of the DeJong Long Plat under the following conditions: 1. Completion of all punch list items. 2. Submittal and acceptance of required maintenance bonds and any necessary performance Bonds, including bonding for future trail construction (trail construction is a requirement for completion of Phase 2) 3. Payment of final inspection fees for plat construction. 4. Submittal of final as-built drawings. 5. Submittal of final plat mylars. 6. Final development fees paid in full. Councilor Lenssen moved and Councilor Strengholt seconded to grant final approval of Phase 1 of the DeJong Long Plat subject to conditions 1-6 listed above, and to authorize the Mayor's signature on the final plat documents. Motion approved on a 7-0 vote. Mayor Korthuis read the following into the council record: / am pleased that last Wednesday when asked if there was a fatal flaw with either candidate, all agreed there was none. Based on that and all the projects and initiatives in the city, I have decided that John Williams should be offered the job as our next City Administrator. • / think of the Pepin Creek expansion and all the elements involved with that project. It would be nice to have experience to navigate what is coming. • Then there is the GMA Comp Plan update coming in the next few years. • John has shown through previous experience that he is able to capture grant money from both the feds and state governments. We will need this as we proceed. • We have American Rescue Plan money coming. We will need a someone to help us through the process of procuring and spending this money within the scope of the law. • We will be negotiating four union contracts this year; John has relevant experience with fair results for both the unions and Cities he has been involved with. • Then there is the history that comes with John o His packet of information came with 10 stellar reference letters from: • A. state senator • Former mayors and deputy mayors of both Moses Lake and Battle Ground 300 4th Street, Lynden, WA 98264 www.lyndenwa.org Page 4 of 6 CITY OF LYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING • The Moses Lake fire chief • HR person from Battle Ground • City attorney • City lobbyist o / talked with the former deputy mayor of Moses Lake. She said a couple of important things: • John was caught blindsided by a public employee that was good at hiding his deeds. He will be wiser and more scrupulous based on this experience. • John showed his stellar character by resigning from his position. He felt responsible for not catching the bad behavior earlier. • John is still a very knowledgeable manager, and she still contacts him for advice. • More telling to me; the mayor would hire John if given the opportunity. o Our police chief also vetted this candidate, probably over vetted him, and is comfortable with him. o Of the five references that Turner Services contacted, all said that given the opportunity, they would hire John to their organizations. So based on all this background and work, I would entertain a motion to approve the hire of John Williams as the next city administrator and give the administration the latitude to negotiate a contract with him to be approved by the City Council. Councilor De Valois moved and Councilor Bode seconded to approve the hire of John Williams as the next city administrator and give the administration the latitude to negotiate a contract with him to be approved by the city council. Motion approved on a 5-0 vote with Councilors Lenssen and Wohlrab abstaining. Parks Director Vern Meenderinck told council that as of 4:00 p.m. this afternoon the 21 trees slated for Glenning Park had been planted. The trees are along the South and the West fence line. 6. OTHER BUSINESS Council Committee Updates CouncilorWohlrab reporting for the July 1st Public Safety Committee stated discussion of the following: 300 4*h Street, Lynden, WA 98264 www.lyndenwa.org Page 5 of 6 CITY OF LYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING • OT numbers for fire department were not available for review • Ryan Yoshimoto has been selected to fill the Acting Fire Chief position, with an anticipated start: date of October 1 • Fire station is progressing nicely and currently on budget • Fire department establishing a hiring list in early August based on some potential vacancies • SCORE 2022 increase • Police department body cameras will require service at the end of the year • Security coverage for courtroom 7. EXECUTIVE SESSION Council did not hold an executive session. 8. ADJOURNMENT The July 6, 2021, regular session of the Lynden City Council adjourned at 7:15 p.m. PomdOL. 0.6^00 -^•j\t^ Pam Brown, MMC §cott Korthuis City Clerk Mayor 300 4th Street, Lynden, WA 98264 www.lyndenwa.org Page 6 of 6