Bellingham City Council

Shall the council:

159. Hire outside counsel for the Matia Contractors, Inc. vs. city of Bellingham lawsuit? The case will be heard in King County; counsel will be hired in that jurisdiction. Hiring outside counsel will allow city staff to remain in Bellingham and not interrupt their caseloads. Whatcom Watch was unable to ascertain the reason for the lawsuit. (Executive Session) Approved 7-0

160. Spend $1 million to purchase 20 acres in the Cordata Parkway area? This acquisition from the Trillium and Semiahmoo Companies gives the Cordata area a neighborhood park and trail corridor. Trillium is donating the trail easements to the north and south of the property. Whatcom Watch was unable to ascertain the exact location of the property. (Executive Session) Approved 7-0

161. Spend $200,000 to purchase 4.61 acres at 4649 Aldrich Road? The property is being purchased from Karen Durham, it will connect the Bear Creek Greenway trail to the Northwest Soccer Fields. (Executive Session) Approved 7-0

162. Authorize the mayor to sign an agreement with Whatcom County for the W. Illinois Street/Timson Way project? The new road will start at Marine Drive and end at West Illinois Street. The estimated cost of construction is $2.2 million. The road will be two lanes with curbs and gutters, a sidewalk on one side and two bike lanes. The new road will be funded by the city of Bellingham (55 percent), Whatcom County (23 percent), Bellingham Technical College (17 percent) and Morse Steel (5 percent). For County Council votes on the project, see the 7/24/07 meeting, votes 153 and 155. (AB17567) Approved 7-0

163. Appropriate $1,101,808 for goods and services checks issued from July 27 through August 3, 2007? (AB17576) Approved 7-0

164. Appoint a committee to prepare pro and con arguments for the voters’ pamphlet? At the 8/6/07 meeting, vote number 155, the council placed a charter amendment on the November 6, 2007 ballot. If approved, the council will have the authority to change all gender reference in the charter from masculine to gender neutral. Three individuals: Barbara Ryan, Stan Snapp and Rebecca Johnson will prepare a statement supporting passage. No one has volunteered or been appointed to write a statement opposing passage. No agenda bill number (Resolution 2007-19) Approved 7-0

165. Authorize the mayor to award the low bid of $147,151 to HB Hansen Construction of Lynden, for parking improvements on 10th Street? This is the final phase of the Taylor Dock project; sidewalk, curb/gutter, on-street parallel parking and street trees will be installed. Of the federal grant money, $220,833 remains in the Taylor Dock account. The bid is $17,489 below engineer’s estimate. Fifty-four bids were solicited and four were received. (AB17575) Approved 7-0

166. Amend ambulance rates? Medicare reimbursement rates have decreased and the Whatcom Medic One costs have increased. Medic One proposes eliminating medication charges and basic life support “no transport” fees and increasing the transport fees consistent with state and federal reimbursement practices. Medicare and most insurance companies do not cover “no transport” charges. The fee increase will generate about $79,028 for the rest of 2007. Discontinuing the basic life support fee is expected to loose $14,473. The net gain is $64,555 that will offset a projected shortfall from increased costs of paramedic student training and the decrease in Medicare reimbursement. AB17555 (Ordinance 2007-08-63) Approved 7-0

167. Grant a 10-year telecommunications franchise to Fairhaven Light & Ether, LLC? The company has applied to use public right-of-way to construct, operate and maintain up to 25 miles of fiber cable to connect existing and key infrastructure (including leftover PUD lines) and to wholesaling the data to other telecom and Internet companies. Fairhaven Light will pay the city $5,000 to reimburse the city for costs associated with processing the application plus any additional fees. AB17557 (Ordinance 2007-08-64) Approved 7-0

168. Add $104,654 in unanticipated revenue to the 2007 budget? An electric short in a street sweeper caused a fire at the public works garage on Pacific Street, damaging the interior and destroying the street sweeper. The repairs have been finished and the sweeper replaced. The insurance settlement is the unanticipated revenue. AB17561 (Ordinance 2007-08-65) Approved 7-0

This was a joint meeting with the Port of Bellingham Commissioners to discuss New Whatcom.

Shall the council:

169. Authorize the mayor to execute supplemental agreement #41 with the Port of Bellingham for New Whatcom in the amount of $352,413? This authorizes — with the port adding the same amount — the next phase of the waterfront redevelopment. The money will fund additional analysis for the environmental impact statement, the master plan and development regulations. (AB17577) Approved 6-1, Barbara Ryan opposed.

Shall the council:

170. Authorize the hiring of Seattle lawyer Robert Christie to represent the city in the Alexander v. city of Bellingham lawsuit? In the Federal Court lawsuit, the plaintiff claims two officers with the Bellingham Police Department neglected her safety resulting in her rape, a leg injury and emotional distress. At the 4/30/07 meeting, vote number 85, the council denied a $1 million damage claim by the plaintiff. (Executive Session) Approved 7-0

171. Withdraw from the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and Coalition of Government Entities, v. Department of Ecology litigation? City staff recommended withdrawing from the appeal on stormwater issues. The city will meet the stormwater compliance requirements, thus the case is not an appropriate use of resources. (Executive Session) Approved 7-0

172. Approve a settlement with Grand Slam Management? During the renovations of Civic Field, the owner of the Bellingham Bells baseball team claimed the construction work forced the team to use a less-desirable field and sued the city. The lawsuit was dropped in 2006 but the owner continued to complain. This settlement waives the 2007 rent of $10,000, reduces the rent to $9,000 in 2008 and 2009 and ties future increases to inflation. (Executive Session) Approved 7-0

173. Consider a quasi-judicial rezone in the Whatcom Falls neighborhood? A closed record hearing considered the rezone request for approximately 12 acres located west of Yew Street, south of Whatcom Street and at the southern terminus of Xenia Street. The proposal would change residential single cluster lot size from 7,200 square feet to 5,000 square feet. Changes for the coming ordinance will limit the number of units built and guide traffic control issues. (AB17581) Approved 4-3, Bob Ryan, Louise Bjornson and Gene Knutson opposed.

174. Authorize the mayor to award the sole bid of $56,999 to Primus Sterilizer Company of Omaha, Neb., for a laboratory autoclave? The autoclave will be used at the sewer treatment plant to perform tests on treated water. Twenty-nine bids were solicited and one was received. (AB17586) Approved 7-0

175. Appropriate $4,823,026 for goods and services checks issued from August 3 through August 24, 2007? (AB17587/17588/17589) Approved 7-0

176. Appropriate $5,503,552 for city payroll checks issued from July 16 through August 15, 2007? (AB17590/17591) Approved 7-0

177. Set October 3 as the public hearing date to consider the vacation of a portion of Ohio Street and abutting alley? The Bellingham Hearing Examiner will consider a petition by Jerry and Catherine Thomas to relinquish public ownership of rights-of-way for a portion of Ohio Street and the abutting alley between I-5 and Nevada Street. The vacation would be exchanged for property next to Whatcom Creek to be used for restoration purposes. AB17584 (Resolution 2007-20) Approved 7-0

178. Appropriate $744,000 for three street projects? The money for these projects was not included in the 2007 budget. The sum of $400,000 will be used for Northwest Avenue sidewalk improvements (from McLeod to Bakerview), $184,000 for the Woburn-Alabama intersection improvements (see 6/23/07 meeting, vote number 148) and $160,000 for the W. Illinois Street/Timpson Way project (see 8/13/07 meeting, vote number 162). AB17568 (Ordinance 2007-09-66) Approved 7-0

179. Accept and spend a federal grant of $27,651 for software upgrades? This is phase 2 of the project to make police department records compatible with the National Incident Based Reporting system. The phase 1 grant for $15,910 to cover programming costs was approved at the 6/12/06 meeting, vote number 156. AB17574 (Ordinance 2007-09-67) Approved 7-0