Bellingham City Council

Shall the Council

202. Accept low bids totaling $92,57 for Whatcom Medic One medical supplies? Life Assist, Bound Tree and Tri-Anim were selected as low bidders. The bids were constructed so Medic One can purchase individual products from qualified vendors who submitted the lowest bid on a particular supply. The bid prices are set for three years and the savings is expected to be around $20,000 annually based on current prices. Approved 6-0, Louise Bjornson excused.

203. Approve two amendments to the Whatcom Falls neighborhood plan? (1) Reduce the minimum lot size in the area east of Yew Street and south of Lopez Street from 7,200 square feet to 5,000 square feet. Approved 4-2, Bob Ryan and Gene Knutson opposed, Louise Bjornson excused. (2) Lopez Street be a collector arterial east of Yew Street. (AB15880) Approved 6-0, Louise Bjornson excused.

204. Approve design revisions, phasing conditions and extension of the Wildrose Hills preliminary plat? The plat was first approved on September 23, 1996; amended and extended on October 22, 2001. Plat extensions must conform to current environmental regulations. Changes in wetland regulation have delayed the project. The design changes comply with current regulations and allow Lopez Street to extend to the east. Kenoyer Drive will be used for access while Lopez Street is under construction. (AB15887) Approved 6-0, Louise Bjornson excused.

205. Set the 2004 Parks and Recreation user fees? The fees will be effective January 1, 2004 and will not cover all the operation and maintenance of the facilities. The increase will result in a revenue increase of about 16 percent ($8,500). The last increase was in 1999. AB15884 (Resolution 2003-34) Approved 6-0, Louise Bjornson excused.

206. Set the 2004 transportation impact fee rate? The impact fee on construction that increases traffic will raise the average fee for a new single-family unit by $305 (from $605 to $910). The range of costs will run from $210 per unit in the downtown to $4,020 per unit in the Samish Hill area. If the trend continues, the impact fees could bring in an additional $290,000 per year in revenue. The current impact fee (approximately 12 percent of the city’s total capital expenditures) could increase to 18 percent of the total capital expenditures. AB15886 (Resolution 2003-35) Approved 5-1, Grant Deger opposed and Louise Bjornson excused.

207. Amend the Whatcom County urban fringe plan and zoning regulations? Establish an 80-acre Transferable Development Rights zone in the Telegraph Road/James Street Road area of Bellingham’s Urban Growth Area. This is an effort to improve the conditions in the watershed by transferring development from the watershed. While there will be no immediate cost, the zone may need additional investments in infrastructure and public facilities and services to support the higher density. AB15891 (Resolution 2003-36) Approved 6-0, Louise Bjornson excused.

208. Set the time and dates for the 2004 regular meetings? 32 meetings are scheduled for 2004 beginning January 12, 2004, five more than were scheduled in 2003. AB15892 (Resolution 2003-37) Approved 6-0, Louise Bjornson excused.

209. Establish a new parking district in Fairhaven? The new district (on the block southwest of 10th and Harris) will minimize the cost and complexity of the new development on Harris Avenue. All residential parking will be on the building’s site and will develop 36 additional street parking spaces for the building’s commercial uses. Approved with the provision for staff to look into broadening the adjacent parking district. AB15882 (Resolution 2003-38) Approved 5-0-1, Gene Knutson abstained, Louise Bjornson excused.

210. Update Bellingham’s comprehensive plan for population and employment growth? The Growth Management Act requires that the city update its population growth forecast. The high figure for Bellingham’s twenty year estimated growth was 42,168 and the low figure was 22,800. The council selected 31,600 as the projected twenty-year population increase. AB15871 (Resolution 2003-39) Approved 4-2, Bob Ryan and Grant Deger opposed. Ryan and Deger proposed accepting the high estimate of 42,168.

Shall the council

211. Award the sole bid of $1,736,000 to Turf Tech of Bellingham for landscape maintenance at the Lake Padden Golf Course? Turf Tech was the sole bidder on the four-year contract after 11 potential bidders reviewed maintenance specifications and three attended a pre-bid site review. Turf’s experience, qualifications and equipment either meet or exceed bid requirements. (AB 15901) Approved 7-0

212. Grant VECO Pacific of Bellingham a license to use the right-of-way adjacent to their business at 1313 Bay Street? This will give VECO exclusive use of 15 angled parking spaces from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. VECO will pay $726 per space per year plus tax for a total of $10,890, maintain the spaces, and be responsible for parking control. Exclusive use allows VECO to tow anybody that is not an employee or client. (AB15903) Approved 5-2, Barbara Ryan and Terry Bornemann opposed.

213. Reject all bids for the installation of emergency air pollution equipment at the Northshore Drive wastewater pumping station? The equipment at the station located at the intersection of Britton Road and Northshore Drive would have reduced diesel generator emissions. The two bids were $17,000 above estimate. An evaluation of the bids determined that communication problems caused confusion in the bidding process. (AB15904) Approved 7-0

214. Accept the low bid of $32,476 from En Pointe Technology Sales of El Segundo, CA for McAfee antivirus software? Of the twenty-nine bids, only seven met the criteria. (AB15914) Approved 7-0

215. Award the sole bid of $31,866 to Northend Truck Equipment of Marysville for two 2-yard dump bodies? The chassis were bought earlier this year. Large capacity trucks are sold without beds or bodies because they can be used for a number of applications. The bid includes the installation of a crane and crane pedestal. (AB15915) Approved 7-0

216. Award the sole bid of $43,3132 to Northend Truck Equipment of Marysville for two 10-yard dump bodies? The chassis were bought earlier this year. Installation is included in the bid. (AB 15916) Approved 7-0

217. Award the city legal notices contract to The Bellingham Herald? Two bids were received, one from The Bellingham Herald for $29,000 and the other from The Bellingham Weekly for $20,577. The Herald circulation is 24,425 daily and 31,230 on Sunday, while the Weekly circulation is 15,000. The decision to select the Herald was based on the cost per reader, per year. For the Herald it is $1.18 and the Weekly it is $1.37. AB15905 (Resolution 2003-40) Approved 7-0

Shall the council

218. Grant final plat approval for the Allie Mac cluster plat in the Happy Valley Neighborhood? The Bellingham Hearing Examiner granted preliminary plat approval on April 16, 2002 for three single-family lots. A density bonus is awarded for keeping two of the three lots as affordable housing for a minimum of 15 years. A non-refundable deposit for planting street trees and buffer plantings in the open space tract has been accepted. AB15907 (Resolution 2003-41) Approved 7-0

219. Correct the ordinance closing the 2001 fire construction fund? There was an accounting error resulting in a negative balance of $16,048 in the ordinance (7/28/03, vote 132) closing the Deemer Road fire hall construction fund. AB15883 (Ordinance 2003-12-81) Approved 7-0

220. Appropriate $511,760 for a feasibility study to design the fish ladder on the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River? This project has received $531,250 in grant money. AB15885 (Ordinance 2003-12-82) Approved 7-0

221. Approve the 2004 annual budget? The total budget has $161,800,602 of expenditures and $45,503,494 of ending reserves. The proposed general fund within the total budget is $50,802,359 of expenditures and $4,487,592 of ending reserves. AB15888 (Ordinance 2003-12-83) Approved 6-1, Bob Ryan opposed.

222. Amend neighborhood plans? Adopt changes made to neighborhood plans in 2003. The text changes for the South Hill and Guide Meridian neighborhood plans and the rezones in the Mount Baker and Whatcom Falls neighborhoods. There was a vote for each plan individually. AB15890 (Ordinance 2003-12-84) South Hill, Approved 6-1, Grant Deger opposed; Guide Meridian, Approved 7-0; Mount Baker, Approved 5-2, John Watts and Barbara Ryan opposed and Whatcom Falls, Approved 4-2-1 Gene Knutsen and Bob Ryan opposed, Louise Bjornsen abstained.