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City Council Agenda Follow-Up
November 18, 2019
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5:00 p.m. Budget Workshop
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INFO ONLY
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APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Councilmember Bersch moved, and
Councilmember Hansen seconded, to approve the agenda as presented.
MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
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APPROVED
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PUBLIC COMMENT
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INFO ONLY
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CONSENT AGENDA
Councilmember Jensen moved, and
Councilmember Hansen seconded, to approve the consent agenda. MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
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APPROVED
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PRESENTATION: North Whatcom Poverty
Task Force
The North Whatcom Poverty Task Force was formed in
February 2019 in order to address impacts of rising housing prices, income
inequality, homelessness and food insecurity in Ferndale. The focus of the
task force is to conduct a needs analysis for the community, examining the
full scope of impacts on social services, the business community, health care
access, food and transportation system. Recommendations for both short-term
and long-term strategies for addressing the issue will be presented to the
City Council prior to December 31, 2020, after which the task force will be
disbanded.
Owen Cool and Jim Carr presented an update
on the work of the North Whatcom Poverty Task Force, the progress they have
made, and the next steps for the group.
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INFO ONLY
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CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE
Public
Works Project Manager Katy Radder presented updates on the following capital
projects:
Ferndale Terrace – 30% design will be complete
in the next few weeksNordic to Scout Water Line – 90% plan review
is complete; BNSF permit anticipated soonPump Station #19 Decommissioning – 90% plan
review underway; anticipate going out to bid in early 2020First Avenue Pedestrian Improvements – Poles
for the Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) will be delivered to Puget
Sound Energy in February 2020, and installation is expected to begin in March
2020Complete Streets – ADA ramps on Alder Street,
RRFBs on Vista and Thornton; design contracts for all are expected in early
2020Thornton – Vista to Malloy – Statements of
Qualifications have been submitted and are under review; a design contract is
anticipated in early 2020Thornton Overpass – The project is out to bid
now, and the bid opening is scheduled for November 21, 2019. The bid award is
expected to come to Council for approval on December 2, 2019.
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INFO ONLY
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ORDINANCE: Property Tax Levy
In
2016, the City reduced its share of property tax due to the annexation into
Whatcom County Fire District #7. This amount has been reserved by the Whatcom
County Assessor as the City’s banked capacity. The available amount the City
is eligible to claim is $1,420,313. Council can decide to take all or part of
the banked capacity. The use of the full banked capacity would allow the City
to sustainably address community needs that have remained unmet, such as
providing adequate personnel funding for the Police Department, providing
resources for new City facilities, providing resources for deferred
maintenance of City infrastructure, and to allow adequate reserve funding in
the event of economic downturn. The required public hearing was held on November
4, 2019.
Councilmember Bersch moved, and Councilmember Taylor seconded, to approve
the agenda bill with the following amendment: Reduce the amount of banked
capacity to be taken from 100% down to 33%.
Councilmember Xczar moved, and
Councilmember Jensen seconded, to amend the motion to increase the amount of
banked capacity to be taken from 33% up to 50%.
ON THE AMENDMENT: Motion failed 3 – 4,
Councilmembers Xczar, Jensen and Bishop in favor.
Councilmember Olson moved, and
Councilmember Bersch seconded, to amend the ordinance to include language
specifying that the first priority for the banked capacity is for Police
Department needs.
ON THE AMENDMENT: Motion failed 2 – 5,
Councilmembers Olson and Bersch in favor.
Councilmember Hansen moved, and
Councilmember Bersch seconded, to amend the ordinance to include language
specifying that $300,000 of the banked capacity be designated to Police
Department needs and balance be designated to funding for new City
facilities.
ON THE AMENDMENT: Motion failed 2 – 5,
Councilmembers Hansen and Bersch in favor.
ON THE MAIN MOTION:
MOTION CARRIED 5 – 2, Councilmembers
Jensen and Olson opposed.
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APPROVED AS
AMENDED
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PUBLIC HEARING: 2020 Budget
State
law requires that two public hearings be held prior to the adoption of the
budget. The second public hearing will be held on December 2, 2019, and
Council will be asked to adopt the 2020 budget at that time.
The
public hearing was opened at 7:08 p.m.
No
members of the public spoke.
The
public hearing was closed at 7:09 p.m.
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PUBLIC HEARING
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CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING CONTRACT:
Thornton Overpass
When
the City advertised for design engineering work for the Thornton Overpass
project in 2017, it included the option to add future phases of work,
including construction engineering, construction management, inspection, and materials testing. Staff has
been working with Reichhardt and Ebe to put together a multi-discipline team
of highly qualified and experienced professionals needed to administer the
project This includes utilization of several subconsultant firms with the
expertise and skills needed to oversee and facilitate construction activities
to ensure the project moves forward within available budget and on schedule, while
also adhering to the standards of quality for a long-lasting product. This
contract is designed to complement the efforts of the City’s existing capital
project staff members by providing the manpower and technical knowledge
needed to administer a contract of this nature. In addition to the civil
engineering, inspection and contract administration assistance to be provided
by Reichhardt and Ebe as the prime consultant, this contract includes
structural engineering oversight by KPFF, bridge inspection and construction
engineering services from KBA, geotechnical engineering oversight by PanGeo,
materials testing services by Geo Test, as well as ancillary survey work by
Compass Point.
Councilmember Jensen moved, and Councilmember
Taylor seconded, to approve the agenda bill. MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
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APPROVED
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INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT: Wayfinding
Program
The
interlocal agreement with Whatcom County and the other Whatcom County cities
will facilitate a coordinated rollout of a comprehensive regional wayfinding
signage system. As per the terms of the interlocal agreement Whatcom County
would compensate the City for half the cost of the vehicular signage within
the City, with the County’s share estimated to be approximately $93,000. The
City has included $100,000 in the 2020 budget to represent the City’s
share. Finance & Administration
Committee members discussed the issue at length during the November 13, 2019
meeting; and specifically wondered if the City would be obligated to initiate
the project or to complete the full scope of work described in the interlocal
if City funding was not available. Whatcom County personnel have confirmed
that the interlocal provides pro-rata funding only for the actual vehicular
sign costs. This means that if the City does not put up a sign, it is not
obligated to do so. The County also confirmed that, although it is not
specified in the interlocal, it has been generally agreed upon that the
County would consider a low or no-interest loan to assist jurisdictions that
are unable to complete the full scope of work.
Councilmember Taylor moved, and
Councilmember Bersch seconded, to approve the agenda bill. MOTION CARRIED 5-2,
Councilmembers Olson and Bersch opposed.
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MAYOR REPORTS/COMMENTS
Information
only.
COUNCIL REPORTS/COMMENTS
Information
only.
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Information
only.
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INFO ONLY
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ADJOURNMENT
The
meeting was adjourned at 7:31 p.m.
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