The Ferndale City Council and city staff met tonight for a regular city council meeting. The following are the items they took action on.
The consent agenda was unanimously approved after excluding an item about a WRIA 1 agreement.
Charles “Art” Longstreth was recognized by city staff and Mayor Mutchler on the eve of his retirement after 25 years with the city. Capital Projects Manager Katy Radder introduced Longstreth as “kind of a big deal.” According to Community Development Director Jori Burnett, Longstreth “saved the city a lot of money while insuring we had the best and safest roads.” Ferndale Mayor Jon Mutchler presented Longstreth with a framed Certificate of Appreciation commemorating his years of service to Ferndale (photo).
There was discussion over a new proposed operating agreement put forth by the Washington State mandated Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 1 watershed management project to be agreed to by all members, Ferndale included. This item was removed from the consent agenda for further discussion. Peggy Uppiano spoke during public comment and asked if Ferndale had seen any benefit from participating. She said it was her understanding the WRIA 1 planning committee participants had lost interest and many were no long participating due to its ineffectiveness.
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Click for more informationCity Administrator Greg Young said he agreed with many points Uppiano had brought up and said he had heard the same concerns before over the last few years. Young emphasized, “This [WRIA] is so darn important, and has been so ineffective, we need to do something different.”
The council vote was unanimous for the city to agree to the agreement.
City staff presented a list of upgrades to the restrooms in Pioneer Park separated into “must do,” “should do” and “not needed.” Council voted unanimously to approve the “must do” item list (cost estimated at $10,300). Public Works Director Kevin Renz said the work would be done during the off-season so the facility will be ready next season. Renz also noted the nearby field house demolition should happen this year and design work is in progress for restrooms near Star Park.
Burnett asked council to approve a new chapter to the Ferndale Municipal Code that details the process to be followed for street vacancy requests and criteria the city is to use to evaluate them. Prior to including this chapter, the city had no direction as to how best to ensure the decision served the long-term good of the city. Council approved the addition by unanimous vote.