Digital Subscription

tool name

close
tool goes here

Bellingham mayor says major projects should move forward in 2013

RALPH SCHWARTZ; THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Published: Jan. 15, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. PST — Updated: Jan. 15, 2013 at 5:24 p.m. PST
0 comments
Craig Cole, left, talks to Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville before her 'State of the City' address at a Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry at the Best Western Lakeway in Bellingham Tuesday morning, Jan.15, 2013. At right is Chamber president Ken Oplinger. (PHILIP A. DWYER/THE BELLINGHAM HERALD)

BELLINGHAM - Mayor Kelli Linville's first year in office was more about rebuilding relationships than producing tangible results.

With the Port of Bellingham, Whatcom County government and other partners working more amicably with the city, the stage is set for progress in 2013 on developing the waterfront, protecting Lake Whatcom and keeping the county's emergency response agency unified.

This was the mayor's message during her State of the City address, Tuesday, Jan. 15, at Best Western Lakeway Inn. She spoke at a meeting of the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Cooperation between the city and the county led to a common policy on preventing invasive plant and shellfish species from entering Lake Whatcom, Linville said.

"Working with (county) Executive (Jack) Louws has been very inspirational on that part," Linville said of the work to protect Lake Whatcom. "He understood everyone needs to pay their fair share."

Linville conceded that progress has been slow on the lake. A program to reduce stormwater runoff at homes in the Silver Beach Neighborhood had to be retooled to reach a larger number of residents, she said.

The Lake Whatcom program will benefit from a new hire, she said. Jon Hutchings will leave his job as assistant Public Works director for the county to take the new title of natural resources director with the city. He will coordinate all the city's environmental programs, Linville said.

A good working relationship with the port has yielded progress on waterfront redevelopment. The plan comes before the city Planning Commission in March, when the public can begin to assess the proposal and give input.

More behind-the-scenes work on emergency services should show results soon, Linville said. County and city officials have been hammering together the "four or five contracts" needed to reorganize the advanced ambulance service Whatcom Medic One, while keeping city and county units unified.

Not every county fire district can be forced to participate, Linville said, but "right now everybody has got their hand up saying that they want to."

"Everything is looking fairly positive," she said.

A new Medic One board that gives the county more oversight should be in place this year.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here

We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.

SPORTS
SOUTH SOUND
BLOGS
CONTESTS

Similar stories

  • Lummis move to get trust land status worries local governments

    FERNDALE - Whatcom County and the city of Ferndale have written letters to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs opposing Lummi Nation's move to get trust land designation for an 80-acre site south of Slater Road and west of Interstate 5.

    The land had been mentioned as a possible site for both a new county jail and a new Costco store before the tribe acquired it from Ralph Black and family for a reported $5.4 million in late 2011. Ten of the 80 acres are inside the Ferndale city limits, while the remainder is within Bellingham's legally designated urban growth area. That means it is earmarked for eventual Bellingham annexation.

    Tribal trust designation would move the parcel out of city, county and state jurisdiction and take it off property tax rolls.

  • Bellingham council holds hearing on boat fee to combat mussels in Lake Whatcom

    BELLINGHAM - City Council members were ready on Monday afternoon, March 11, to approve a new boating fee for Lake Whatcom, to try to prevent non-native mussels from invading the city's drinking-water supply.

    A vote on an ordinance detailing a new inspection program will take place at a future meeting. On Monday night, council held a public hearing.

    City officials plan to start the program this year, with the city's efforts focused on the launch at Bloedel Donovan Park. They are coordinating with Whatcom County officials, who would establish a similar program with the same fees: $50 for a season pass or $20 for a day-use sticker.

  • Whatcom senators strange bedfellows on Bellingham waterfront cleanup

    Whatcom County's two state senators are political opposites in some ways but are working together to pass two toxic-cleanup bills that could benefit Bellingham's waterfront.

    A bill introduced by Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, would speed up permitting for toxic cleanups funded through the Model Toxics Control Act. The other bill's main sponsor is Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, who wants to ensure that money set aside under the act doesn't get diverted from cleanup projects. Both bills passed out of the Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 13. Ericksen chairs the committee, and Ranker is the ranking minority member.

    The idea for Ranker's bill was hatched by the Port of Bellingham, which is in charge of decontaminating a dozen sites on the waterfront. Investigation, planning and permitting for the port's first cleanup under the toxics control act took nine years, Ranker said.

  • County, Bellingham councils still apart on Lake Whatcom boat inspections

    BELLINGHAM - City and county officials have a lot of ground to cover if they are going to reach agreement on a coordinated boat inspection program and fee for Lake Whatcom.

    There's only a handful of weeks left to put the program in place. City and county officials said they want to enforce the new rules before the opening day of fishing season at the end of April.

    The Bellingham City Council and Whatcom County Council are both interested in keeping invasive mussels out of the lake, for the harm they can do to public water intake systems, boats and the lake ecosystem. At this stage, there's not much evidence of agreement between the two bodies on the details.

  • City Council wrestles with cost of boat inspections at Lake Whatcom

    BELLINGHAM - City Council members still hope to avoid a taxpayer subsidy of the boat inspection plan for Lake Whatcom, but they have yet to reach agreement with the Whatcom County Council on how much boaters will pay for a legally required inspection sticker.

    At a Monday, March 25, committee discussion, City Council members appeared to be moving toward a boat inspection ordinance that would allow the city's public works director to set the inspection sticker price, with an eye toward covering the estimated annual cost of about $140,000 for the program.

    The goal of the inspections is to head off the introduction of destructive species, such as zebra and quagga mussels, into the lake.