The 2020 Stormwater Management Program and the 2019 Stormwater Annual Report have been updated and released. They are accessible on our Stormwater page.
For questions, please contact Stormwater Manager Paul Knippel at (360) 685-2357 or PaulKnippel@cityofferndale.org.
Yesterday, the Whatcom Unified Command, which includes the Whatcom County Health Department, issued a recommendation to cancel all summer activities to limit the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, the City is cancelling Old Settlers’ Weekend, the Ferndale Street Festival, the Parks and Recreation activities and all other large gatherings and events through August 31st, 2020. This was done in consultation with the organizing committees of these events.
Press release from Whatcom Unified Command included below:
Whatcom Unified Command (WUC), which includes the Whatcom County Health Department as a lead partner, is working to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 locally. Consistent with that key objective, and in line with recent simulation models, the Health Department recommends cancellation of summer events throughout Whatcom County.
In a letter to community leaders today, April 14, Erika Lautenbach, Whatcom County Health Department director, noted that work already underway to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 has been showing results.
“We see positive effects of the efforts to contain the virus, in large part due to the social distancing measures put into place in March,” said Lautenbach. Governor Jay Inslee initially announced his Stay Home, Stay Healthy order on March 23; on April 2, he extended the order through May 4.
Modeling presented by the Health Department on April 13 indicate Whatcom County is “on the downside of the first wave of COVID-19 spread locally. Scenarios suggest that with continued social distancing, the next wave could be mitigated as well. However, if group gatherings resume too soon, the virus’ spread could be deadlier.
Lautenbach said that’s why she recommends that all summer events – including parades, community festivals and fireworks displays – should be cancelled.
“I recognize that this recommendation creates considerable disappointment,” said Lautenbach. “However, the long-term health of our community and our economy could be further damaged if we move too quickly to resume the activities that we know will put us at risk.”
For more information on COVID-related recommendations, visit the Whatcom County Health Department COVID-19 webpage. For updates on WUC work to prevent the spread of the novel virus, visit WhatcomCOVID.com or the Whatcom Unified Command: COVID-19 Facebook page.
The regularly scheduled Finance & Administration Committee meeting on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams, with staff and Councilmembers accessing the meeting from individual locations. This complies with Governor Jay Inslee’s Stay at Home Order, which states, in part, that people should refrain from all public gatherings, including civic activities.
This is still an open public meeting as defined by the Open Public Meetings Act. The City will be using Microsoft Teams to livestream the meeting. Members of the public do not need to download anything to view the proceedings. The meeting can be viewed by clicking this link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YWU1MjM3MDgtMTIyZC00NDMzLWJmMjItZTAwNWJkNzlhMjk3%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2234e51373-fdc5-4a29-a035-e73c7e5c58b8%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225d4dc67e-43a8-46e1-b345-78486d85243c%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d
The Finance & Administration Committee meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. The Public Works & Utilities and Planning & Land Use Committee meetings are cancelled.
All physical city offices are already closed due to COVID-19 but city employees will not be conducting work on April 10th, 2020 due to Good Friday. They will return to work for their usual schedule on Monday, April 13th will be accessible by phone and email then.
The regularly scheduled City Council meeting on Monday, April 6, 2020 will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams, with staff and Councilmembers accessing the meeting from individual locations. This complies with Governor Jay Inslee’s Stay at Home Order, which states, in part, that people should refrain from all public gatherings, including civic activities.
This is still an open public meeting as defined by the Open Public Meetings Act. The City will be using Microsoft Teams to livestream the council meeting. Members of the public do not need to download anything to view the proceedings. The meeting can be viewed by clicking this link :Join live event at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, April 6.
The public comment session at the opening of the meeting has been cancelled until further notice. Members of the public are encouraged to submit written comments to City Clerk Susan Duncan by emailing susanduncan@cityofferndale.org. Comments received prior to 5:00 p.m. Monday, April 6 will be included in the meeting record.
Notice is hereby given that the Ferndale City Council Committee meetings for Wednesday, April 1, 2020 are cancelled.
Susan Duncan, CMC, City Clerk
UPDATE 4/20/2020 – The City has issued revised guidelines for residential and commercial construction. See more details here.
Most Construction Activities Required to Stop
Governor’s proclamation deems nearly all construction as nonessential
The City of Ferndale announced today clarifications to Governor Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” statewide stay-at-home order as it pertains to construction, identifying nearly all construction as nonessential. This means most construction activities are required to stop during the order.
All construction activities allowed to continue under exemptions must comply with social distancing including appropriate health and worker protection measures before proceeding.
“We know this is hard,” said Mayor Greg Hansen, “But these necessary steps can literally save lives.”
According to the memo issued by the governor’s office, the exceptions are construction related to essential activities like health care, transportation, energy, defense and critical manufacturing; construction “to further a public purpose related to a public entity,” including publicly financed low-income housing; and emergency repairs.
The City will defer to the governor’s order as to the list of essential businesses and subsequent letters from the governor’s office identifying specific businesses or construction projects as essential.
City inspectors shall have the authority to determine what is allowable to prevent spoliation. In their discretion the installation of a roof, roofing materials, doors, windows, or structural elements necessary to prevent the degradation or failure of building elements.
Projects that have determined that they qualify as essential infrastructure and businesses as described below may request inspections:
“The City continues to review, and process permit applications. Recognizing that construction is vital to our community, our goal is to keep all permits in various review stages, moving full speed ahead so that construction can commence as soon as the emergency order ends. We thank our local applicants, builders and contractors for the collaborative effort during this time.” Haylie Miller, Community Development Director.
If projects are continuing construction that is not deemed “essential by the Governor’s Order” , the City will cease inspections and may proceed with enforcement (as necessary) to gain compliance.
For more information, contact Community Development Director Haylie Miller by phone (360) 685-2367 or email at HaylieMiller@cityofferndale.org.
With the uptick in cleaning and sanitation, many of you are flushing wipes down into our sewer system. Please stop. There is no such thing as a flushable wipe, these materials do not break down and will clog our pump stations, causing serious damage to our utilities.
For more information or questions, please contact Ferndale Public Works at 360-384-4006.
Even during a pandemic, there is plenty to celebrate. Today. the City swore in our newest Ferndale Police officer, Jeremy Freeman. He joins us from the Lynden Police Department and we are proud to have him on the team.
Mayor Greg Hansen shares some of the City’s actions to protect our community from COVID-19 and offers three ways you can help. For more information and resources available during this difficult time check out cityofferndale.org/covid19 or the Whatcom County page at whatcomcovid.com.
Spanish language version available below with Councilmember Herb Porter.
Complete text:
Hello Neighbors,
My name is Greg Hansen, and I’m the Mayor of Ferndale. Today, I am going to share with you some of the things we are working on as a City to keep all of us safe during this pandemic and what you can do to help.
Like many other communities around the world, we have closed public spaces to help slow the spread of this disease. This includes closing City Hall, the Police Station, our municipal court and our playgrounds. For the safety of our staff and others, we’ve empowered city employees to work remotely whenever possible. Despite the crisis, the work of the City continues and we are reachable by phone, email or through our website.
As you know, the state and county have enacted measures to close schools, bars, restaurants, libraries and other public places, and yesterday, the Governor issued an order to shelter in place.We know this is hard but these necessary steps that could save literally thousands of lives.
For those of you worried about your utility bills, rest assured, we are not doing shutoffs or charging late fees for the Feb. 28th bill. The next utility bill does not go out until April 30th and we are working to see what solutions are available then. We understand that people are struggling, and this is what we are able to do right now to help.
For families and businesses needing economic support, there is an ever-growing list of resources available. We have linked it in the description of this video.
For those of you worried about your building permit deadlines, please contact our community development staff who are ready to provide you the flexibility needed during this time.
The City is working closely with our neighboring communities. The County has established a Unified Command at the County Emergency Operations Center so that all first responders, medical professionals and public information officers in our area can work together seamlessly. We are proud to be part of this dedicated team working around the clock to protect our community.
Ferndale has always met challenges head on. When there’s a big crisis, we always rise to meet it because that is what we do. We are Ferndale, and we look out for each other. That’s why we need your help. Here are the three things we need everyone in Ferndale to do.
First, stop the spread. That means staying home if you are sick, avoiding gathering in groups, limit trips to the grocery store and wash your hands with hot water and soap. This will help stop the spread of the disease.
But we also need to stop the spreading of misinformation. In a crisis, bad information can make a challenging situation even worse. Please be prudent about what you share. Whatcom County has established a single website for all COVID related information, it is whatcomcovid.com. For Ferndale-specific details, please go to www.cityofferndale.org/covid19.
Second, support your Ferndale businesses. Whenever possible, shop Ferndale. We’ve assembled a list of restaurants providing takeout in our city at www.cityofferndale.org/takeout. Pick up some food and tip well, it really does help. A number of other local businesses are modifying their operation to facilitate convenient pick up and deserve our support.
Finally, look after each other. Call your elderly relatives, keep active as best you can and make sure that your neighbors have the help they need. I know that when we work together and take care of each other, we are stronger than any virus.
As always, we are here to help. If you have questions or need help, don’t hesitate to call or email. Thank you.