City offices will be closed Dec. 24th and 25th for the holidays. We will reopen during normal business hours on Dec. 26th. In the event of an emergency, please call 911.
City offices will be closed Dec. 24th and 25th for the holidays. We will reopen during normal business hours on Dec. 26th. In the event of an emergency, please call 911.
The City has a number of Boards and Commissions that work to advise the council on a broad array of subjects. These are volunteer positions but absolutely essential to providing quality input to the city decision making process.
There is currently a vacancy on the Planning Commission, as well as several vacancies on the Arts Commission. To apply for one of these positions, please fill out this application and email it to City Clerk Susan Duncan at susanduncan@cityofferndale.org.
Ferndale Receives Clean Audit for 15th Year Running
Each year, the Washington State Auditor takes a close look at the City finances, and once again, the City of Ferndale received a clean bill of financial health. The audit looked at the City’s financial statements for 2018, reviewed compliance with state law and best practices and gave the City top marks.
“The City has shown great integrity with their openness with the audit team and implementation of prior audit recommendations,” said Kelly Collins, Director of Local Audit with the State Auditor’s office.
“We take our responsibilities to the public very seriously and track every penny that crosses our door,” said Ferndale Finance Director Sirke Salminen. “Beyond that, we open up our books to the public. Anyone who is interested can check out our website and explore the City budget on a monthly basis so you can see how your tax dollars are working for you.”
The full audit is accessible on the Washington State Auditor’s website or the City of Ferndale website on the Finance Department page.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 27, 2019
FERNDALE OFFICER CHARGED, INTERNAL INVESTIGATION PROCEEDS
FERNDALE –A Ferndale Police Lieutenant has been charged by the Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney as a result of an investigation that began in April. Lt. William “Bill” Hatchett is on administrative leave as he awaits due process by the courts.
The April 11th vehicle accident was investigated by the Washington State Patrol and Ferndale Police have had no direct involvement in the accident investigation or subsequent criminal investigation.
“We place a high value on the community’s trust, and we will continue to work every day to earn and maintain that trust,” said Chief Kevin Turner. “Our staff are dedicated to the welfare and safety of our community and perform their duties every day with distinction and professionalism. We thank Washington State Patrol Chief Batiste and his staff for their assistance in conducting the accident investigation.”
Ferndale is conducting an internal, administrative investigation to determine if rules of conduct, policies or procedures were violated. It is standard procedure to initiate an internal investigation pending the completion of a criminal investigation. The internal investigation is not, however, dependent on the criminal investigation or the outcome of any criminal charges. Rather, it is to examine whether the officer complied with the rules of conduct and professionalism established by the Ferndale PD to direct all employees in carrying out their duties and responsibilities.
Over the weekend, Star Park and Cedar Creek Park were both tagged with graffiti. The Ferndale Police Department is investigating and if you have any information about this incident, please reach out to Officer Steven Gamage at 360-384-3390 x5864 or sgamage@ferndalepd.org.
Thankfully, our Public Works crew was able to remove the damage however we do need your help making sure Star Park stays clean.
Star Park is an incredible facility. Over 2,000 volunteers and 300 organizations donated thousands of dollars and hours to bring it to life. It was designed by Ferndale children and built by this community.
We are small town and it is likely that whomever did this is local. Please talk to your children, neighbors and friends about how important Star Park is to our city – you never know whose mind you might change.
The City is planning a Star Park Renewal day in Spring of 2020 where we will conduct minor repairs, repaint the park and add some additional art to the equipment. If you are interested in volunteering for this, please email Recreation Coordinator Riley Sweeney at rileysweeney@cityofferndale.org.
City offices (City Hall, and the Ferndale Police Station) will be closed Nov. 28th and 29th for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
With Thanksgiving underway begins the big holiday shopping season and the City would like to urge you to shop local. There are hundreds of stores, vendors, service providers and merchants in Ferndale providing thousands of potential gifts. When you shop within the city limits, you are ensuring your dollars stay in your community.
Make sure to start your shopping right with your Ferndale Businesses. Here’s a great list to get you started:
http://business.ferndale-chamber.com/list/
Over 160 residents joined us for our Citywide Community Meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 19th to get an inside scoop on what is happening in Ferndale in 2020 and to meet their newly elected officials. You can find the video of the program below and pictures of the event on the City’s facebook page.
| City Council Agenda Follow-Up November 18, 2019 | |
| 5:00 p.m. Budget Workshop | INFO ONLY |
| APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Bersch moved, and Councilmember Hansen seconded, to approve the agenda as presented. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| PUBLIC COMMENT | INFO ONLY |
| CONSENT AGENDA Councilmember Jensen moved, and Councilmember Hansen seconded, to approve the consent agenda. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| 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. | INFO ONLY |
| 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. | INFO ONLY |
| 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. | APPROVED AS AMENDED |
| 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. | PUBLIC HEARING |
| 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. | APPROVED |
| 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. | |
| MAYOR REPORTS/COMMENTS Information only. COUNCIL REPORTS/COMMENTS Information only. DEPARTMENT REPORTS Information only. | INFO ONLY |
| ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:31 p.m. |
Public Works crews are set to smoke test sanitary sewer lines this week in the neighborhoods identified above.
These tests help the City identify how and where water (and other material) enters and leaves our sewer system, allowing us to locate defective connections and spots in need of repairs.
During smoke testing, field crews blow air and smoke into the sewer system from the street and then monitor where it comes out. The smoke under pressure will fill the main line as well as any connections and then follow the path of any leak to the ground surface, quickly revealing the source of the problem.
For instance, if smoke permeates up through a yard, it indicates breaks in the sewer line. The smoke is gently pushed to overcome atmospheric pressure and should escape from building roof vents.
The smoke itself is actually not smoke, but a non-toxic, non-staining odorless vapor.
Smoke testing is a harmless, cost-effective way to identify areas of our sewer system that need improvement.
Below are some common questions and answers about this testing, if you have any further questions, please call the Public Works Department at (360) 384-4006.
Notice is hereby given that the City of Ferndale’s 2020 Preliminary Budget has been filed with the City Clerk. A copy thereof will be furnished to any taxpayer who requests it by contacting the City Clerk. Ferndale City Council will hold a public hearing on Monday, November 18, 2019 to consider the final budget for 2020.
The hearing will be held at the City Hall Annex Building located at 5694 Second Avenue, beginning at 6:00 p.m. Any taxpayers may appear thereat and be heard for or against any part of the budget. Documents may be viewed at www.cityofferndale.org.