The City sends out a newsletter quarterly with the utility bill and the Fall 2019 issue just arrived. You can read it online by clicking here.
The City sends out a newsletter quarterly with the utility bill and the Fall 2019 issue just arrived. You can read it online by clicking here.
| City Council Agenda Follow-Up September 3, 2019 | |
| 5:00 p.m. FINANCIAL WORKSHOP City Administrator Jori Burnett and Finance Director Sirke Salminen presented a background and possible funding options for new or expanded City facilities. (City Hall, Municipal Court, Council Chambers.) | INFO ONLY |
| APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Hansen moved, and Councilmember Taylor seconded, to approve the agenda as presented. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| PUBLIC COMMENT | INFO ONLY |
| CONSENT AGENDA Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Bersch seconded, to approve the consent agenda. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| 2019 PERMITS UPDATE Assistant Planner Jesse Ashbaugh presented updates on private development applications in 2019. | INFO ONLY |
| RESOLUTION: Denouncing White Supremacy (Amended) On August 19th a resolution denouncing white supremacy was approved. This earlier resolution included a “hidden message” that implied a profanity. Council requested that the resolution be amended to remove this hidden message. Councilmember Bersch moved, and Councilmember Hansen seconded, to approve the resolution with modifications to the order of the “Whereas” statements. Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Bishop seconded, to amend the motion to add the following paragraph as Section 3 of the resolution: “The City of Ferndale calls upon our neighbors, businesses, religious leaders, government officials, and local law enforcement to develop strategies and actions to stop the rise of threats of violence and symbols of hate speech in our community, and to take further steps to ensure that the City of Ferndale is a place where citizens experience inclusion, acceptance, and love.” ON THE AMENDMENT: MOTION CARRIED 7-0 ON THE MAIN, AMENDED MOTION: MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED AS AMENDED |
| RESOLUTION: Declaration of Admonishment In response to a grievance filed against Councilmember Olson by a City staff member, Council has determined that Councilmember Olson has engaged in conduct of a discriminatory and harassing nature. Council has asked that a declaration of admonishment be read into the record, and that any such acts must cease. Mayor Mutchler recused himself from the discussion and Mayor Pro Tem Kate Bishop presided over this item. Mayor Pro Tem Bishop read the declaration of admonishment into the record. Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Xczar seconded, to approve the agenda bill. MOTION CARRIED 5-2, Councilmembers Jensen and Olson opposed. | APPROVED |
| MAYOR REPORTS/COMMENTS Information only. COUNCIL REPORTS/COMMENTS Information only. DEPARTMENT REPORTS Information only. | INFO ONLY |
| ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m. |
NOTICE OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FERNDALE CITY COUNCIL
Notice is hereby given that the Ferndale City Council will hold a special meeting for the purpose of discussing potential funding options for new or expanded City facilities. (City Hall, Municipal Court, Council Chambers.) The meeting will take place on September 3, 2019 at the City of Ferndale Council Chambers, located at 5694 Second Avenue, beginning at 5:00 p.m. This is an Open Public Meeting as outlined by the Open Public Meetings Act, and members of the public are invited to attend and observe.
In honor of Labor Day, city offices will be closed this Monday, Sept. 2nd. The City Council meeting which would normally be held on that Monday will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 3rd instead.
Work is scheduled to begin tomorrow today, Tuesday, August 27, 2019, at the intersection of First Avenue and Main Street, Ferndale. Work is being done as part of the City’s First Avenue Pedestrian project. This pedestrian safety project will include reconfiguration of the intersection to eliminate the crosswalk on Main Street east of First Avenue, removal of the traffic signal poles and cabinet, plus new striping at the intersection. Crews from Sail Electric, Inc. are scheduled to remove the signal poles Tuesday morning, starting at approximately 8am. The Ferndale Police Department will be on hand to stop traffic as necessary so the overhead cross arms can be removed safely. Drivers are encouraged to drive with care and caution or utilize alternate routes during this tomorrow’s work. After the initial signal pole removal, the contractor will shift traffic around the work zone, and no lane closures are currently expected.
It’s estimated that the project will have a duration of up to three weeks. The Contractor will be utilizing a 4-10 schedule and plans to work between the hours of 7am to 4:30pm Monday through Thursday.
Puget Sound Energy will supply and install a new pedestrian-activated flashing crosswalk beacon later at this intersection once the equipment is ready for installation. The City will provide additional information regarding the schedule for this work when it becomes available.
For more information on this project, please go to our website at https://www.cityofferndale.org/public-works-department/capital-projects/firstavepedestrianproject/ or contact the Public Works Department at (360) 384-4006.
The City of Ferndale and the Whatcom County Public Works Department have rescheduled road striping for Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
Starting at 6:00AM on Wednesday, August 28, 2019, crews will be striping fog and centerline stripes on Ferndale roadways in the area generally southeast of downtown. Those streets include, but are not limited to, Smith Road, Pacific Highway, LaBounty Drive, Slater Road and Hovander Road.
Crews will return at 6:00AM on Thursday, August 29, 2019, to paint Main Street and roadways north of Main Street. It’s anticipated that the work on Main Street will occur between the hours of 6:00AM and 10:00AM, and parking will be prohibited on Main Street while the work is scheduled. No parking signs will be placed on Main Street to warn drivers of the parking restrictions.
As always, work is weather dependent and may be rescheduled if affected by adverse conditions. For more information, please feel free to contact Ferndale Public Works at (360) 384-4006.
Ferndale partners with the Whatcom County Public Works Department for paint striping. Due to the unforeseen and sudden change in today’s weather, some of the work started this morning was adversely affected. Crews suspended painting activities and have taken necessary steps to perform containment and cleanup actions where paint lines were not yet cured and were impacted by the rain. Those streets include Main Street, Douglas Road, Hendrickson Avenue and Ferndale Road.
If you notice paint on your vehicle, the City recommends washing it off as soon as possible. The paint used is water based and any tracked paint can be cleaned off vehicles using a standard automotive soap and water.
County crews were scheduled to restripe City streets today and tomorrow, but has been called off due to an unexpected rain event. Striping work may continue tomorrow as planned, but is weather dependent. Please feel free to contact Ferndale Public Works for additional information at (360) 384-4006.
The Ferndale Arts Commission‘s Downtown Mural Project has added several new murals. Visitors to downtown Ferndale will find art in three alleyways off of Main Street, and on buildings on Second and Third Avenue.
These murals were designed by local artists and installed by the artists themselves or through a volunteer effort coordinated by the Arts Commission. They were funded with a combination of a Project Neighborly grant from the Whatcom Community Foundation, city funds and private donations from the property owners.
“Adding art is an essential part of making Ferndale’s downtown the incredible, vibrant place we all want it to be,” said Councilmember Rebecca Xczar, who organized the project on behalf of the Arts Commission. They are planning to install at least one more commissioned mural this summer.
An ideal time to visit the murals is during this year’s Ferndale Street Festival occurring Friday Aug. 23rd and Saturday Aug. 24th on Main Street in Ferndale. The festival includes live music, food vendors, kids activities and entertainment.
Whatcom County Public Works will be striping streets in the City of Ferndale on Friday, Aug. 23rd and Saturday, Aug. 24th. Every year Whatcom County re-stripes over 1,300 lane miles of roadway. This fresh coat of reflective paint enables drivers to more clearly see their lane of travel during dark or rainy conditions.
A new playground is coming to Cedar Creek Park, off of Apollo and Aquarius north of Thornton Road. The new play equipment, which will be installed on the south side of the creek adjacent to the sidewalk, includes a Jupiter rope climber, log walk and a slide.
Installation will begin in September 2019 with the park open for use starting in October 2019.