Poverty Task Force to Deliver Final Report to City Council Monday
After a year of studying poverty and income inequality, the North Whatcom Poverty Task Force will deliver their recommendations to the Ferndale City Council at their next council meeting, Monday, March 2nd at 6pm in the City Annex (5964 Second Avenue).
The North Whatcom Poverty Task Force was created by the Ferndale City Council in February of last year to examine the impacts of poverty and income inequality. Over the last year, the group met with representatives from social services, businesses, law enforcement, real estate, employment specialists and those who had experienced poverty firsthand.
“I’m really proud of the work the Poverty Task Force has done over the last year,” said Councilmember Kate Bishop who spearheaded the creation of the task force. “Ferndale is becoming a leader when it comes to tackling the complex problems facing our most vulnerable residents. This is about smart planning and making sure those who call Ferndale home have access to the resources they need to remain a part of our community.”
The final report details over forty different recommendations that the City of Ferndale can enact in the short- and long-term covering topics such as housing, transportation, hunger, youth in crisis and homelessness. The central recommendation of the report is an affordable housing levy to be placed on the ballot for November 2020. This recommendation will be discussed at the following council meeting on March 16th.
The complete report is available online at https://www.cityofferndale.org/your-government/boards-and-commissions/north-whatcom-poverty-task-force/
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.
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. |
City offices will be closed in honor of Veterans Day. The public is urged to attend the City’s Veterans Day Ceremony at the Pioneer Pavilion at 11am.
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.
To apply for one of these positions, please fill out this application and email it to City Clerk Susan Duncan at susanduncan@cityofferndale.org. Click the links below to learn more about each board or commission.
Here are the positions currently seeking volunteers:
Washington Supreme Court Justices Tour Ferndale Court Facilities
A delegation from the Washington Supreme Court visited the Ferndale Municipal Court today to highlight the challenging conditions at the courthouse. Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst, Justice Mary Yu and Justice Steven Gonzalez were joined by Bellingham Municipal Court Judge Debra Lev and Commissioner Pete Smiley during their visit.
Currently Ferndale Municipal Court is held in the City Annex on Second Avenue in downtown Ferndale. The facility, once a garage for the local firestation, also hosts proceedings by the city council, planning commission and hearing examiner. In recent years, the space has struggled to accommodate its growing uses.
“I am concerned and troubled that the limitations of our facilities may have an impact on the functions of our justice system,” said Ferndale Municipal Court Judge Mark Kaiman. “We must ensure due process for all involved, this cannot wait.”
Earlier the year, the City worked with the school district to assess whether a new joint courtroom and city hall could be established at the Old Main building of Ferndale High School but decided to pass on that option due to the cost.
The City and Council continue to work towards a new facility for the courthouse and city hall and are exploring options as part of the 2020 budget process.
City Weighs Options for More Equitable Utility Rate Structure
On Monday, Oct. 7th at 6pm in the City Annex (5694 Second Avenue), the City Council will be reviewing options for adjusting the utility rates.
Earlier this year, the City hired FCS Group to study our rate structure and provide recommendations on how to fund future capital projects while maintaining a fair structure for all ratepayers. This meeting, they will be presenting their findings and the options available to the council going forward.
The public is encouraged to attend and share their input on the best way to provide for the future of our utility system. More information about the rate study, including their presentation on revenue requirements in August and the materials for their presentation on Monday, is available on the city website here: www.cityofferndale.org/ratestudy