The City sends out a newsletter quarterly with the utility bill and the Fall 2019 issue just arrived. You can read it online by clicking here.
| City Council Agenda Follow-Up September 3, 2019 | |
| 5:00 p.m. FINANCIAL WORKSHOP City Administrator Jori Burnett and Finance Director Sirke Salminen presented a background and possible funding options for new or expanded City facilities. (City Hall, Municipal Court, Council Chambers.) | INFO ONLY |
| APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Hansen moved, and Councilmember Taylor seconded, to approve the agenda as presented. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| PUBLIC COMMENT | INFO ONLY |
| CONSENT AGENDA Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Bersch seconded, to approve the consent agenda. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| 2019 PERMITS UPDATE Assistant Planner Jesse Ashbaugh presented updates on private development applications in 2019. | INFO ONLY |
| RESOLUTION: Denouncing White Supremacy (Amended) On August 19th a resolution denouncing white supremacy was approved. This earlier resolution included a “hidden message” that implied a profanity. Council requested that the resolution be amended to remove this hidden message. Councilmember Bersch moved, and Councilmember Hansen seconded, to approve the resolution with modifications to the order of the “Whereas” statements. Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Bishop seconded, to amend the motion to add the following paragraph as Section 3 of the resolution: “The City of Ferndale calls upon our neighbors, businesses, religious leaders, government officials, and local law enforcement to develop strategies and actions to stop the rise of threats of violence and symbols of hate speech in our community, and to take further steps to ensure that the City of Ferndale is a place where citizens experience inclusion, acceptance, and love.” ON THE AMENDMENT: MOTION CARRIED 7-0 ON THE MAIN, AMENDED MOTION: MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED AS AMENDED |
| RESOLUTION: Declaration of Admonishment In response to a grievance filed against Councilmember Olson by a City staff member, Council has determined that Councilmember Olson has engaged in conduct of a discriminatory and harassing nature. Council has asked that a declaration of admonishment be read into the record, and that any such acts must cease. Mayor Mutchler recused himself from the discussion and Mayor Pro Tem Kate Bishop presided over this item. Mayor Pro Tem Bishop read the declaration of admonishment into the record. Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Xczar seconded, to approve the agenda bill. MOTION CARRIED 5-2, Councilmembers Jensen and Olson opposed. | APPROVED |
| MAYOR REPORTS/COMMENTS Information only. COUNCIL REPORTS/COMMENTS Information only. DEPARTMENT REPORTS Information only. | INFO ONLY |
| ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m. |
In honor of Labor Day, city offices will be closed this Monday, Sept. 2nd. The City Council meeting which would normally be held on that Monday will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 3rd instead.
The Ferndale Arts Commission‘s Downtown Mural Project has added several new murals. Visitors to downtown Ferndale will find art in three alleyways off of Main Street, and on buildings on Second and Third Avenue.
These murals were designed by local artists and installed by the artists themselves or through a volunteer effort coordinated by the Arts Commission. They were funded with a combination of a Project Neighborly grant from the Whatcom Community Foundation, city funds and private donations from the property owners.
“Adding art is an essential part of making Ferndale’s downtown the incredible, vibrant place we all want it to be,” said Councilmember Rebecca Xczar, who organized the project on behalf of the Arts Commission. They are planning to install at least one more commissioned mural this summer.
An ideal time to visit the murals is during this year’s Ferndale Street Festival occurring Friday Aug. 23rd and Saturday Aug. 24th on Main Street in Ferndale. The festival includes live music, food vendors, kids activities and entertainment.
Whatcom County Public Works will be striping streets in the City of Ferndale on Friday, Aug. 23rd and Saturday, Aug. 24th. Every year Whatcom County re-stripes over 1,300 lane miles of roadway. This fresh coat of reflective paint enables drivers to more clearly see their lane of travel during dark or rainy conditions.
A new playground is coming to Cedar Creek Park, off of Apollo and Aquarius north of Thornton Road. The new play equipment, which will be installed on the south side of the creek adjacent to the sidewalk, includes a Jupiter rope climber, log walk and a slide.
Installation will begin in September 2019 with the park open for use starting in October 2019.
The Ferndale Arts Commission seeks volunteers to help with their Downtown Mural Project on Aug. 17th and 18th.
Click here to sign up for a volunteer shift
Help install alley murals on the alley between Second and Third Avenue on the south side of Main Street, next to US Bank. Check out the volunteer slots below, sign up and show up. The murals will be completed as swiftly as possible based on the number of volunteers so make sure to show up early in the shift so you don’t miss out. For any questions, please call Communications Officer Riley Sweeney at (360) 685-2353.
At their Aug. 5th, 2019 council meeting, the City Council adopted a greenhouse gas reduction policy that put in place a number of best practices, goals and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and better ensure the resilience of our community to climate change.
| City Council Agenda Follow-Up August 5, 2019 | |
| 5:30 p.m. Financial Workshop | INFO ONLY |
| APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Jensen seconded, to approve the agenda with the following amendment: Move Item G (Old Main Discussion) to Item D1. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| PUBLIC COMMENT | INFO ONLY |
| CONSENT AGENDA Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Bersch seconded, to approve the consent agenda. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| PROCLAMATION: Community Health Week Mayor Mutchler read the proclamation acknowledging community health centers and declaring August 4 – 10 to be Community Health Week. | INFO ONLY |
| INTRODUCTION: Parks Intern Micah Robertson | INFO ONLY |
| DISCUSSION: Old Main The City Council is being asked to reach a conclusion on the potential re-use of the Old Main facility on the existing Ferndale High School campus. Old Main, together with the majority of other buildings on the high school campus, is expected to be torn down following the construction of a new high school approximately 800 feet north of the building. The School District is in the process of developing a conceptual site plan for the new campus, and it is likely that athletic fields and/or parking will be built in the space between Old Main and the new school facilities. The District is also working with transportation consultants to determine potential modifications to onsite parking, bus storage and loading, pedestrian access, and overall traffic patterns both on the campus and in the surrounding area. The City’s architectural consultants have concluded that the Old Main structure is of sufficient size to accommodate City functions (City Hall, Court, Council, storage, and miscellaneous other uses) well into the foreseeable future. The consultants have determined that the building can be renovated to achieve compliance with seismic and other requirements. Including a 30% contingency assumption, the total estimated cost of improvements is approximately $13.3 million. This cost is generally consistent with other development scenarios for a smaller facility evaluated by a different architectural consultant in 2017. The primary alternative scenario that has been discussed is the construction of a new co-located facility (or an expansion of existing) at the current City Hall location. As has also been discussed, City facilities do not require proximity to a jurisdiction’s Main Street or the core of the City to function, although the symbolism of such a facility in the core may be important. One of the main considerations for alternatives to Old Main, whether at the current site or at Pioneer Park, would be the cost increases associated with building in the floodplain. With that factored in, the costs between all of these options are comparable. Councilmember Jensen moved, and Councilmember Hansen seconded, to pursue the purchase/repurposing of Old Main. MOTION FAILED 0-7. | MOTION TO REPURPOSE OLD MAIN FAILED |
| PUBLIC HEARING: Accessory Dwelling Units Ordinance In June 2017, the City Council adopted an ordinance to allow Accessory Dwelling Units. (ADUs) The ordinance required a review of the new code section by February 2020, or after 10 permits were received, whichever occurred first. The city has received its tenth application and is therefore bringing the new ordinance to Council. Prior to 2017, the City did not allow ADUs within the City limits. The ADU ordinance was ultimately approved because of increased demand within the City. ADUs are anticipated by the City’s Comprehensive Plan and are a requirement of the Growth Management Act for larger jurisdictions. Larger cities are required to adopt an ADU ordinance when their population reaches 20,000. In order to take a proactive approach, the City adopted the ADU ordinance to allow for any necessary changes to be made prior to a state requirement to adopt. The ordinance was also created to address potential unpermitted ADUs that may have been both uncompliant and unsafe. The proposed ordinance includes a modification to the reporting requirements for owner occupancy, and allows up to 40 more ADU’s, bringing the total number allowed up to 50 before the next scheduled review. Councilmember Xczar moved, and Councilmember Hansen seconded, to approve the agenda bill. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| RESOLUTION: Greenhouse Gas Policy In order to be considered for various grants, loans, or funding, Washington State requires that jurisdictions demonstrate the manner in which they have enacted policies or procedures to reduce or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and/or to identify other practices that may benefit the environment. In the last decade Ferndale has taken significant steps on these issues, but has never listed these approaches in one document. If adopted, the Greenhouse Gas Policy resolution would do just that. The document reflects the City’s existing standards and identifies potential new policies that could be considered in the future. By adopting the resolution, the City will remain competitive for funding, and will reduce time and effort in developing funding applications. Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Bishop seconded, to approve the agenda bill. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| MAYOR REPORTS/COMMENTS Information only. COUNCIL REPORTS/COMMENTS Information only. DEPARTMENT REPORTS Information only. | INFO ONLY |
| ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. |