February 2007
Watching Government
Bellingham City Council
Compiled by Earl Dennis
Action Taken at December 11, 2006 Meeting
Shall the council:
306. Authorize the mayor to sign a settlement with Trillium Corporation to end the Cordata building moratorium? A 1986 agreement required Trillium to share road construction costs in Cordata once 3.25 million square feet of buildings were constructed. That limit was reached in October of 2006; the city and Trillium disagreed over the amount of money to be paid and when roads should be built, so the city imposed a moratorium. The council agreed to lift the moratorium for Trilliums one-time payment of $963,000. Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
307. Authorize the mayor to sign a five-year lease with Woods Coffee of Lynden for a coffee shop in Boulevard Park? The shop will occupy the former pottery studio located in the southern portion of the park. Under the lease, the coffee shop must be open from 6 a.m. 10 p.m. five days a week from May to September and from 8 a.m. 5 p.m. three days a week between October and April. The owner determines what days the coffee shop will be open. The rent will be (including tax) $1,467 a month. Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
308. Authorize the mayor to sign an agreement with Whatcom County for countywide emergency medical services? The city will contribute $1,005,892 and the county $1,349,562 for a total of $2,355,344 and both will increase future contributions by 1 percent per year. This agreement is automatically extended for one-year periods until one party provides a written notice of termination. (AB17260) Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
309. Approve supplemental agreement #2 with the Port of Bellingham for New Whatcom? For background, see 12/13/04 meeting, vote number 271, 7/24/06 meeting, vote number 176, and 10/9/06 meeting, vote numbers 241 and 242. This agreement authorizes $332,118 with the port adding the same amount for the next phase of waterfront redevelopment. Consultants will review the draft framework, create supporting documentation for the environmental impact statement and conduct scoping for preliminary phases of the EIS. (AB17261) Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
310. Authorize the mayor to award the low bid of $88,075 to Gary Harper Construction of Snohomish for a stack cap damper? A new stack cap damper on incinerator #2 at the Post Point sewer treatment plant will insure clean burns. Thirty-one bids were solicited and three were received. (AB17267) Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
311. Appropriate $1,481,611 for goods and services checks issued from November 17 through December 1, 2006? (AB17271) Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
312. Approve a new institutional master plan for the Cornwall Park neighborhood plan? An institutional master plan guides development, defines boundaries and development parameters and ensures adequate city utilities and sets appropriate land use over 20 years. The institutional master plan for area seven (St. Josephs Hospital) was adopted in 1982; the hospital requested a new plan in 2005 because the current plans projected development has been exceeded. AB17243 (Ordinance 2006-12-118) Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
313. Amend the Happy Valley neighborhood zoning table? A discrepancy was found in the area three zoning table during the 2006 neighborhood plan amendment process. This amendment will correct the discrepancy and implement council directions for actions taken because of the error. AB17244 (Ordinance 2006-12-119) Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
314. Amend the Happy Valley neighborhood plan? The amendment will change approximately 3.5 acres in the area seven from residential single, detached, 15,000 square foot minimum lots to residential multi, multiple, 1,000 square feet per unit. The site will be incorporated into abutting area three because of identical zoning regulations. AB17245 (Ordinance 2006-12-120) Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
315. Amend the York neighborhood plan? The amendment rezones area five from multifamily residential to single family residential and Rock Hill Park from multifamily residential to public; requires alley access in area five when an abutting improved alley is available and amends the area five special regulations in the zoning table to allow existing nonconforming buildings that are destroyed by a sudden accidental cause. AB17246 (Ordinance 2006-12-121) Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
316. Allow tandem garage parking within area five of the York neighborhood? A garage with tandem parking (one vehicle behind another) must be set back four feet from the front of the building to prohibit snout houses. The ordinance will be reviewed in three years to see if it should be retained, modified or repealed. AB17247 (Ordinance 2006-12-122) Approved 5-1, Bob Ryan opposed, Joan Beardsley excused.
317. Amend the Mt. Baker neighborhood plan? Change the zoning from residential single to residential multi/neighborhood commercial to allow the Meadow Ridge development. The zoning change will allow mixed residential housing and commercial. The 48-acre development will be located west of James Street, east of I-5, south of McLeod Road and north of Sunset Square. Baker Creek flows through the northern portion of the development. The project will widen James Street and add a sidewalk and a bike lane from the development to Sunset Square. AB17248 (Ordinance 2006-12-123) Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
318. Adjust departmental savings goals in the 2006 budget? The city is currently on track to reach its general fund savings goal for the 2006 budget. Estimates show a savings of at least $1.6 million over the five departments (finance, human resources, information technology services, legal and fire) that require a total adjustment of $558,521. Business and occupation tax receipts, which have exceeded the original projections, will be used to cover this adjustment rather than arbitrarily increasing some other departments goals or tapping into ending reserves. The departments will have their goals reduced by the appropriate amount and the business and occupation tax revenue will be used to pay for the deficit. AB17249 (Ordinance 2006-12-124) Approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
319. Approve the 2007 budget? The year 2007 begins with reserves of $70,432,695; anticipates revenues of $196,161,106; expenditures of $205,343,070 and ending reserves of $61,250,731. The general fund anticipates revenues of $65,029,375; expenditures of $66,547,737 and ending reserves of $10,675,978. The 2007 budget is $12 million above the proposed budget for 2006. AB17166G (Ordinance 2006-12-125) Amended* and approved 6-0, Joan Beardsley excused.
*Amendments include: $533,000 for emergency management funding, approved 6-1, Bob Ryan opposed; $75,000 for an affordable housing consultant, approved 7-0; reconsidered funding a Charter Review Committee, approved 4-3, Gene Knutson, Louise Bjornson and Terry Bornemann opposed; staff was directed to give council a presentation of the options regarding a Charter Review Committee, approved 6-1, Gene Knutson opposed.
