• 6:30 - 6:45 –Social/pizza time
• 6:45 - 7:30 – Bellingham Police Chief Cook
• 7:30-7:50 - Communities and Schools
• 7:50 - 8:00—Update:  Squalicum Park Phase 3

Bellingham Chief of Police, Cliff Cook

Chief Cook is meeting with all neighborhoods around the City.  He has been in his position here 2 months.  Bellingham Police Officer, John Courtney, also attended the meeting and has been a good resource for the recent history of police activity in Birchwood Neighborhood.  Chief Cook previously worked in Fort Worth, Texas and Vancouver, Washington. Former Bellingham Police Chief, Don Pierce, encouraged Cook to apply for the Bellingham position when it opened. 

Chief Cook was pleased to have the opportunity to work with a department that is not in turmoil. 

BPD has a strong commitment to work for the community.  The officers have a positive attitude, want to do a good job, and spend the time needed.   There are some challenges since going from one call to another takes time, so not as much time is left to cruise the neighborhoods looking for problems.  Most of Bellingham’s problems are quality of life issues that take lots of time.  There are 26 neighborhoods with needs for police attention. 

The audience had questions for Chief Cook:

What level of staffing is needed in Bellingham?

Bellingham’s crime rate ranks in the middle of State.  There are theft, burglaries, and some assault issues.  Bellingham detectives must work various levels – major crimes and family crimes.  Our patrol officers have several collateral assignments, such as crime scene work.  Everyone has multiple responsibilities.  When we have a major crime, officers are pulled from many areas.  To evaluate staffing levels, many variables are considered:  calls for service, crime rate, population, response time.  One variable that shows effective staffing levels is how much preventative patrol time an officer has.  Bellingham police officers have 20-30% of their time available for preventative patrol.  The recommended percentage of time is 40%.

What does the Bellingham Police Department do for crime prevention?

The BPD is not the only group involved in crime prevention.  There are social service groups and non-profit groups involved.   In earlier years, BPD had school resource officers – one in each high school.   Bellingham now has one school resource officer for the City.  They can’t offer the kind of programs they did before.  That kind of program is still needed.  What do you prefer to have?  A good lock-down policy or have a police officer there.

Will Bellingham Police Department have an on-line graffiti reporting system like the one in Vancouver?

Bellingham doesn’t have one yet.  Vancouver has a grafitti abatement department and program through Public Works due to very bad grafitti problem.  It would be a good program for Bellingham but would take funds and time to set it up.  One program that Chief Cook would like to see for Bellingham in the future is Neighbors on Watch.   NOW is a citizen’s patrol program that Cook used in another city.  Trained residents patrol their own neighborhoods.  They are to be non-confrontational and just report issues to the police.  The residents had police radios, uniform shirts or jackets, and decals on their cars.  It takes money to do this.  In Bellingham, we have trained seniors who write tickets for handicap parking violators.  Neighborhood Watch is a good crime prevention program if there is good communication between the neighbors with phone trees and meetings.

What is the best way to document problem houses?

Information you gather can be helpful to the Police Department so they can follow-up.  But be careful about being seen taking information on cars, etc.  The City’s nuisance ordinance is used for quality of life issues.  These issues require a lot of time to do continued follow-up.

Communities in Schools:  Richard May 

Communities in Schools (CIS) is a national organization with 12 affiliates in Washington State.  The Bellingham office is located in Shuksan Middle School.  The goal of the Bellingham program is school dropout prevention.  There is an $11 return on $1 spent on dropout prevention since graduates have better job opportunities.   Bellingham’s CIS looks for kids who need mentors, services, tutors, and follow-up.  Family/community engagement is important at Shuksan.  CIS comes in to make match-ups happen. College students are involved as tutors and mentors.  In Whatcom County schools, 75% of the students will graduate from high school.  CIS works to increases this graduation rate.   CIS is serving over 2000 students in Whatcom County.  There is a 96% graduation rate in the students in the CIS program.   CIS is privately funded by companies like Costco and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as private donors.  CIS has very little paid staff but hundreds of volunteers.

If you have a student you would like to refer to CIS, contact the office at Shuksan Middle School. For more information about CIS, visit the following website:

http://www.whatcomcounty.ciswa.org/about-us

Squalicum Park Phase 3.  Scott Rockwell

Scott reported on the public meeting concerning Phase 3 of the Squalicum Park Master Plan.  Phase 1 and 2 are finished. Phase 3 will be starting Winter 2014. Phase 3 includes:

• a second baseball field - unfenced
• outfield that can be used for other sports- soccer, lacrosse, rugby
• 70’ tall light pedestals for both baseball fields-light is oriented down on the fields rather than out
• playground for young children and one for older kids
• basketball court
• bathroom by off leash dog area
• large picnic shelter
• overhead utilities will be put under ground
• winter sledding area

At the meeting, there were questions about Park programming.  The Master Plan includes large areas for ball fields but some people thought they were not utilized that much.  The central hill currently in the Park will be graded to make the new ball field.

Visit the Park Department website for more information on Phase 3.

http://www.cob.org/government/departments/parks/projects/squalicum-creek-park-phase-3.aspx

Visioning Committee:  The City is re-visiting the In-fill toolkit program and its application in single family neighborhoods.  This issue could eventually cause changes in our Neighborhood.  There will be more information at future meetings about the formation of a Birchwood Neighborhood Visioning Committee.  This committee would investigate ways to keep the best of our Neighborhood while accommodating growth.  Information about the In-fill Toolkit is available on the following City website:

http://www.cob.org/government/departments/pcd/infill-housing-toolkit.aspx

March General Meeting:  May 28th, Shuksan Middle School, 6:30-8:00pm.

BNA Board members present:  April Barker, Pres., Barb Campbell, Sec., Becky Schlotterback, Treas., Cari Duffy, John Coleman, Scott Rockwell

6:30-6:45 Social time with pizza provided by Little Caesars.

6:45-7:15  Mayor Kelli Linville 

Mayor Kelli Linville reported on several important issues that she has been working on since coming into office. 

--Planning on the Bellingham waterfront project:  Plans for the project have adjusted due to economic changes over the last few years. The waterfront project will bring on development in stages as the City can support it.  There will be more than 32 acres of park land. The Port and City have given detailed information on draft plans for the 237 acre site to the Planning Department that can be viewed on the following website: http://www.cob.org/services/planning/waterfront/index.aspx

--Emergency response for the City and county. 

--City budget:  The Mayor has been working on balancing the budget and developing a work plan for budget expenditures.   Bellingham revenues are are going up slightly.  Over the last 4 years there have been many cuts.  As funds allow, the City will look at what is important to reinstate.

--New Bellingham Police Chief:  Vancouver, WA., Chief of Police Cliff Cook was selected in December to be Bellingham’s new Chief.  He has had success with community policing in Vancouver.

--Question and answer session:  Mayor Linville answered questions from the audience concerning train traffic, Neighborhood Association communication with the Mayor’s office, reporting crime issues, and transportation contacts.

7:15-7:25  Dan Welch, BNA Vice-President

Dan Welch noted some possible zoning changes being investigated by the City later this year that could affect neighborhoods in Bellingham.  Dan will keep the Neighborhood informed.  He also hopes to form a Visioning Committee in the near future to work on defining what we want for the Birchwood Neighborhood.  Dan would also like Birchwood residents to email any major concerns to him at bundledesign@gmail.com so he can bring them up to the Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Commission.

 7:25-7:45  Squalicum Creek Park Update   Jonathan Schilk, Project Manager

Jonathan gave us an update on the development plans for Phase III of Squalicum Creek Park.  There will be many improvements coming, including a circular pathway around the park, larger off-leash dog area, playground, and picnic shelter with tables. He gave a quick review of two possible playground concepts.  We will send the concepts to the BNA email list and comments can be sent to Jonathan at jschilk@cob.org .  More information about Phase III is on the City’s Parks Department website: http://www.cob.org/government/departments/parks/projects/squalicum-creek-park-phase-3.aspx

7:45-7:55   Jack Weiss

City Councilman, Jack Weiss jweiss@cob.org , informed us about a Rental Registration and Inspection proposal that is being considered by the Council.  The goal is to insure safe rental housing in Bellingham.  Jack also updated us on the rising utilities rates and the installation of water meters in the City.  All homes will have water meters by 2017.  Birchwood is scheduled to have meters installed in 2014-2015. 

7:55-8:00  Election of Board Members

The following Board members were re-elected by motion and voice vote to serve 3 year terms:  John Coleman, Dan Welch, Becky Schlotterback, Barb Campbell, Stephanie Twiford, and Cari Duffy.  Jon Raney, Scott Rockwell and April Barker are current Board members who have not finished their terms.

Dan Welch- Neighborhood Update

• Website www.birchwoodneighborhood.org - important links will be available
• Topics Clipboard- BNA Board wants feedback on desired topics
• Updates-Birchwood Elementary rebuild- please be aware of the rapid timeline.  Best time to comment is during scoping. Please attend School Board meetings re: Birchwood Elementary.  Current scope of work is to demolish the campus and rebuild, not remodel

Ahwren Ayers- Reduce Jet Noise (www.reducejetnoise.wordpress.com)

• She is a resident off of Northwest Ave. who is dramatically affected by jet noise.  Impacts began mostly after Allegiant Airlines began operations
• Ahwren attended a port sponsored event to discuss the issue.  A large map was provided but was not small-scale enough to include the location of homes of affected residents
• She estimates that affected areas extend north to Wiser Lake, east to King Mountain, and south to Lummi Island and Bellingham Bay
• She claims that Reduce Jet Noise is not an activist’s group, but a group of neighbors
• Website has a large section re: what you can do
• Her opinion is that the jobs derived from airport operations are very few compared to the many folks potentially affected by airport noise
• Allegiant uses refurbished MB-80’s, which are louder than most other commercial jet planes
• Question: Is the Port using tax dollars to promote particular carriers?  The Port claims that user fees, not tax dollars, are passed through FAA for startup promotions.  Allegiant may not pay fuel tax fee, or layover fee (not confirmed).  This is particularly interesting that the airport is operating at a cash loss (not confirmed).
• Question: Are there any studies that look at jet fuel pollution on Whatcom County agriculture?  None that she’s aware of.  The agricultural issue may be a very effective way to project the voice of the organization. It may be beneficial to focus on the business model that the Port is utilizing to highlight the potential unsustainability of airport operations
• What you can do: Post yard signs ($5 suggested donation), attend Port meetings, vote in Port commissioner elections, file noise complaints, visit the website www.reducejetnoise.wordpress.com

Jack Weiss- City Update

• Jack is the city’s rep to the Port’s Comprehensive Master Plan advisory committee.  He is struck by the growth in boardings at the airport.  Currently there are 550,000/year, projected to grow to 1.1million/year over 20 year period.  Growth is funded largely through parking lot fees
• Jack believes that the Port Commissioners are currently sensitive to public feedback.  They have put out the proposal to up the number of Commissioner seats to 5 as a result of public pressure.  Other Requests for Proposals (RFP’s) have gone out from Port as a result of public interest
• Northwest Ave/W. McLeod round-about:  The project has stalled for two reasons: Baptist church wanted to do additional negotiation for property purchase and power line upgrades were suffering theft that delayed implementation timeline.  Project managers want to implement surface improvements at the same time as stormwater improvements
• Costco:  The City has been in communication w/ Costco about a potential relocation.  The City may approve a multi-business storm-water facility, instead of every single business building a facility.  Mitigation may also be implemented for multiple businesses.  Costco is not currently subject to the City’s “box store” moratorium.  There are $3 to $4M improvements planned to Bakerview/ I-5 overpass to improve mobility.  Longer term, more expensive improvements are planned.
• Vehicle prowling issue:  Columbia and Birchwood are currently suffering a rash of car prowls.  M/O appears to be to burglarize unlocked cars.  40 occurred in one Spring or Summer month.  Some burglaries have been costly.  Jack suggests locking your vehicle.  One comment from Rick Flug is to promote annual meetings to re-invigorate block watch efforts, possibly in the Fall time before the dark season
• Jack asked how important is the right-turn lane at the intersection of Birchwood and Northwest Avenue in front of Morries. There may be a proposal to buy a section of Morries’ property to implement a full engineered traffic solution 

• Briefly stated mission of Habitat For Humanity
• Reviewed cost challenges of home ownership for low income & fixed income people
• Stated challenges of justifying constructing new homes when markets are saturated w/ homes:
• Passive design homes offer savings that conventional construction homes do not offer (energy efficiency, etc…)    
• HFH is partnering w/ KCLT on Indiana/Lafayette project for 2 homes
• Structure of HFH Whatcom: Independent 501c(3) – non-profit
• Who qualifies:  Must be low income resident of Whatcom County (medical debt is a qualifying debt), must be owner/occupier, must be able to work at least 8 hours of sweat equity
• Questions:
• Does HFH work w/ Opportunity Council? Yes, other org’s provide leverage and reduce redundancy.
• How does KCLT model change w/ HFH partnership?Depressed land values create opportunity for HFH acquisition, takes cost of land out of equation.  There has been a shift in perspective.  HFH used to consider themselves a hub for low income housing, but new partnership has shown the power of leveraging resources by partnering w/ other org’s.
• What is the length of Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative?Yet to be determined
• What kinds of repairs are eligible for HFH work?Depends on magnitude of required repairs, and what is justified under greatest need.When prices drop, homeowners can afford to buy, but not maintain. Brush With Kindness program helps owners maintain home.  HFH has a financial interest in home, but they do not want to be too heavy handed in requiring maintenance.  If l/o is resistant, HFH will typically respect request.

Dean Fearing, KCLT

• Clients of KCLT sign a lease for underlying land, purchase home on top. Home is cost controlled covenant.
• HFH will bring client to home, KCLT provides down payment assistance, which allows HFH to purchase additional lots.  Indiana/Lafayette home mortgages will be held by HFH, if cause is in place, HFH has right of first refusal for re-purchase of home.
• Status update on Indiana/Lafayette:  KCLT purchased 4 lots on Madrona and Indiana streets w/ city funding.  They had hoped to purchase 5 lots south of Indiana Street along former Lafayette right-of-way to construct 20+ units.  Funding has not fallen in to place to implement full project.  Groundbreaking for 4 homes will occur this summer
• Questions:
• What is square footage of Madrona St. home, and what is energy efficiency of home w/ solar panels?  It be net-zero w/ some surplus back to grid w/ non-operation of clothes dryer.
• What is the status of the Lafayette St. right-of-way vacation?Vacation of r-o-w was contingent upon implementation of full project.  The R-o-w will probably expire, but will probably not be paved over by city

Shuksan Middle School Gardens

• Garden is located just south of the middle-school by the bus drop-off
• Volunteers needed for summer gardening
• Forms are available:  Adopt-a-garden program on a weekly basis

Stephanie Twiford & April Baker- Birchwood Elementary School Remodel Project Citizens’ Advisory ad-hoc committee

• Advisory committee seemed to focus on space requirements and many systems spec’s.  Not many big-picture issues.
• Site is limited to 5.6 acres
• Frustration on the part of committee members who felt that granular details didn’t address components that community really wants.  Some feedback from community: Pedestrian friendly, historic character/ historical preservation, preservation of trees
• The school affects property values.
• Committee members spent many hours in advisory meetings.
• April Baker felt that Dykestra was receptive to needs and desires of committee members, though the process is a balancing act.
• Structural feasibility study will answer some limiting factors on the site and w/ the building

Jon Raney- Port of Bellingham, Port Master Plan elements for Regional Airport

• Mission statement:  Meet transportation needs, economically vitality w/ available space, work cooperatively w/ communities, stake-holders
• All presentation materials are available on the Port of Bellingham website
• Port held a survey:  60% of respondents felt that airport was adequate size, 25% of respondents felt that airport was too large, 12% of respondents felt that airport had room to grow
• Port appears to want to expand service at the airport
• Anecdotal observations are that the majority of users are not U.S. residents, but Canadian citizens
• Growth forecasts are based upon trends between 2006 and 2012, which is extended out to 2030.  Is this a reasonable expectation?
• Chief Economic Officer was present at Master Plan meeting:  Port is not concerned about cost of expansion if people will purchase the bonds issued
• Uses: General Aviation (private traffic) and commercial Aviation
• Alternatives:  No action:  (accommodate existing general aviation & commercial aviation or grow commercial aviation, keep general aviation static.  Alternative contested by reps of private plane owners & vendors) or meet forecast needs for commercial and general aviation which could mean flights every 28 minutes.  This build out contains 20% extra capacity.
• What if the exchange rate changes w/ a stronger dollar?  Current exchange rate, combined w/ Vancouver airport expansion expenses (associated w/ 2010 Olympics) has created an environment where perhaps it is temporarily cheaper for Canadians to fly out of Bellingham Regional than out of Vancouver International
• Port website is a conduit for community feedback
• Port is not mitigating for noise impacts from increased traffic currently.
• www.reducejetnoise.wordpress.com is another conduit for community feedback.

Shuksan Middle School Library    May 14, 2012       6:30-8pm

Minutes coming soon.

6:30-6:45 Social time with pizza provided by Little Caesars.

6:45-7:15  WTA Smart Trip 

Kirsten Wirt presented information about the Smart Trips program which encourages biking, walking, or sharing a ride.  The goal is to replace a car trips.  It is a way to save gas, see neighbors and be healthy.  This program is available to anyone in Whatcom County. 

There are presently 13,000 Smart Trip members who have logged over 30 million miles.  There are also137 employer partners.  Members use an online diary to log one trip a day where they walk, bike or ride share.   Sixty percent of the trips we drive are less than 3 miles and could be biked or walked fairly easily. 

Smart Trips encourage bicyclist to bike like you drive your car – don’t ride on sidewalks, stay in the right-hand tire track.  Be predictable to the cars.  Drivers and cyclists should share the road with each other.  Every bus carries 3 bikes on the front.

Smart Trips will be going into 6th and 7th grade classrooms to present a program covering transportation, bus riding, and biking.  Another program called Bike Buddies will have a person come to your home to check over your bike and do a ride to work and home with you.  Smart Trips also sponsors community summer rides.  The rides are about 5-6 miles.

For more information about Smart Trips, visit their website at:

www.whatcomsmarttrips.org

7:15-7:30  Pedestrian Master Plan 

Jim McCabe, chairman of the transportation commission presented information on the Pedestrian Master Plan for Bellingham that will be presented to the City Council in July.   The City’s Master Plan was updated in 2006.  There were several places in the Plan that had lists of bicycle or pedestrian projects.    At that time, the Bicycle Pedestrian Committee also created another list of projects.  In addition, Neighborhood Associations had lists of projects. In 2010, Bellingham passed a transportation levy to fund bike and pedestrian projects. The funds, approximately 4.5 million per year, are divided with 1/3 for bus service, 1/3 for street resurfacing, and 1/3 for pedestrian improvement.   

Transportation criteria were used to rank the projects and a priority list of projects was created.  There are 40 Tier 1 projects.  The bike lanes on Northwest Ave. are one of the Tier 1 projects.    To find out more about the Pedestrian Master Plan project and goals, go to their website: www.cob.org/walk   

7:30- 7:55  Transportation Projects  

Councilman Jack Weiss made two announcements before presenting transportation issues. 

He recognized Jim McCabe for his generous volunteerism for the benefit of Bellingham. 

Jack also announced that Birchwood Park will have a portable toilet beginning in April.  Last year the Birchwood Neighborhood Association funded it for five months.  Now the Bellingham Parks Department will pay for it. 

Jack covered many transportation issues affecting our Neighborhood.

1. Airport issues:  There will be a meeting on April 19^th at the Harbor Center to discuss the Airport Master Plan process.  We will send out more information on the meeting as it becomes available.   Air traffic will continue to increase at the airport.  Presently, there are 500,000 boardings per year.  The Master Plan expects an increase to 1.2 million boardings per year.  This increase in air traffic will have noise and street traffic implications.   The following website gives information concerning the Airport Master Plan.  On this site you will also find a link to an online survey that you may take to express your feelings:  http://www.portofbellingham.com/index.aspx?NID=470
2. Bakerview Interchange;  Starting next year, the Bakerview interchange will be improved.  The State is providing $3million to create 2 lanes of traffic in each direction, turn lanes and a sidewalk on one side.  There will be no bike lanes
3. Round-about at McLeod road: the construction of a round-about at McLeod Road and Northwest Ave. will be starting in a couple of months.  In conjunction with this project, a section of sidewalk will be added to McLeod Road.  The project should finish in October.
4. Traffic Camera program:  The City Council voted 6-1 to stop the red light camera program.   City will pay $100,000 to the company contracted to provide this service to void the contract.
5. Bicycle lanes on Northwest: Work will begin within next 2 months to add bike lanes to Northwest Ave. from W. Connecticut Street to McLeod Road Parking will be removed from the west side of Northwest. 
6. Alderwood Crosswalk:  A lit crosswalk will be installed at the intersection of Alderwood and Northwest Ave.
7. WTA Public hearing: This Thursday, March 29^th, there will be a hearing in the County Council Chambers at 6 pm, concerning service increases and changes. 
8. Water Metering:  By State mandate, the City of Bellingham must install water meters for all customers by 2017.  For more information go to :  www.cob.org/services/environment/conservation/index.aspx

Shuksan Middle School     February 28th           6:30-7:45pm

6:30-6:45--Social and Pizza Time

6:45-7:00--Election of new BNA Board members

Becky Schlotterback explained the qualifications and responsibilities of a Birchwood Association Board member.  The Birchwood Neighborhood Board may have a maximum of 11 members. The following eight Board members will continue serving their 3 year terms:  Dan Welch, John Coleman, Barbara Campbell,   Rebecca Schlotterback, Stephanie Twiford, Carrie Duffy, Jon Raney, and Scott Rockwell.  There are 3 openings.  Candidates submitted for election were: Katherine DiCastro, April Barker, and Adrienne Battis.  The Association approved the new Board members. 

7:00-7:40--Birchwood School Remodel Presentation

Bellingham School District Assistant Superintendent, Ron Cowan, gave a brief overview of the Birchwood remodel history, process, and plans.  The District reallocated funds to Birchwood when the need for the remodeling was evaluated.  One major need is for more classroom space.  The plan would include 2 classes per grade level, plus space for preschool and pull-out programs.  The District selected the Dykeman Architecture Group to do the remodel planning.

Presenters from Dykeman gave a brief history of their group and projects they have done, including Whatcom Middle School.  The Dykeman Architect group was formed in 1967.  In the1980s, the firm did retail commercial work.  In 1985 they diversified into K-12 education.  The K-12 school work comprises 30-40% of their current business.   The firm is proud that 82% of their clients are repeat clients.

Zach Hamm, project architect on Whatcom Middle School, stated the most important factor in working on schools is understanding the characteristics and qualities of the neighborhood.  He worked on two elementary schools in Everett. One of those schools, Monroe Elementary, is like Birchwood.  It is located right in the middle of a neighborhood.  He feels the most exciting part in the remodel process is meeting with neighbors to see what they want. 

The timeline for Birchwood remodel includes about a year for design and putting the project out to bid.  Then it should take a year to build.  The school should open in Sept. 2014. At this time they are beginning an OSPI-mandated study of old building to analyze all systems in the school to see what is needed to bring it up to standards.  Birchwood Elementary is a 1920’s building with 1950 additions.  Tonight’s neighborhood meeting is the first public engagement for the project.

Kelly Smith, architect, discussed public outreach and educational specifications for the project. . Birchwood community engagement will include input from families, community leaders, Birchwood Neighborhood Association, and District staff. There will be continual updates on the District website and in the District newsletter.  A committee of parents, staff, and architects will meet to go through Ed spec process to decide what should be in the building. 

Ron Cowan, BSD assistant superintendent, stated that the purpose of tonight’s meeting was to give the neighborhood an update on where the District is in the process.  He would like to come back to Birchwood Neighborhood Assoc. meetings during the process to get input on what qualities the neighborhood values.   Next week, the School District’s website will have a link for interested parties to apply to be on the Ed Spec committee.  The first meeting should start in the next several weeks.  There will be 4-6 meetings by the time school is out. 

Greg Baker, Bellingham School District Superintendent, stated he was very excited to be on the journey to remodel Birchwood.   BSD has opened two schools in the last couple of years.  He felt it was necessary to allocate resources to get Birchwood remodeled. 

The audience had several comments and questions:

Comment: This is a historic neighborhood so we want to keep that characteristic, perhaps with the use of brick.

Question: When will the old school be taken down?   The school may not be coming down.  They will know when assessment of the old building is done.

Comment:  The District asked us to call 911 if there is questionable activity on the school site.  The District will try to keep up the grounds.

Question:  How does the Birchwood project compare to the work on Lowell? Birchwood is a much bigger project than Lowell School.

Question:  How many students are planned for Birchwood?  The District is planning at least 400—2 classrooms/grade level plus preschool and pullout programs

Question:  Will boundaries change? Boundaries will stay as now defined. 

Question:  Will Alderwood be closed?  No, it will not be closed down.

Comment:  The Birchwood neighborhood seems to be changing, having more families with school age children.

Comment:  The neighborhood will coalesce around the school as a community center.

Question:  Will we have teachers to fill the schools with state budget cuts?  The House and Senate budgets released today don’t have any significant cuts.

Next BNA meeting will be Tuesday March 27^th.  Our agenda will focus on transportation issues.

A special thanks to Little Caesars Pizza on Northwest for providing pizza for our meeting!

Shuksan Middle School Cafeteria      November 29, 2011    6:30-8:00 pm

Welcome:  John Coleman, BNA President, welcomed neighbors to the meeting and reviewed the agenda. 

North Sound Baykeepers: The team from North Sound Baykeepers gave a presentation on the pollution problem in Puget Sound caused by runoff of oil, fertilizers, pesticides, animal waste and soil trash. Motor oil is the single largest source of pollution. Polluted runoff causes 30% of the pollution in the Sound.  Some ways to help decrease this pollution include: 

• cleaning up pet waste in your yard every couple of days and picking up waste on walks
• washing your car at a car wash facility and not in your driveway 
• using rain gardens and rain barrels to allow slow infiltration of rain water  

The North Sound Baykeepers team plans to conduct a walking tour of Birchwood to show examples of runoff control in our neighborhood.  If you know someone who might be interested in being part of the tour, please contact Lindsay Taylor, Project Coordinator for North Sound Baykeepers Team at LindsayT@re-sources.org.  You are also invited to a watershed walk in the Lettered Streets, starting at 1301 J Street on Sat. Dec 3^rd at 10am.  The North Sound Baykeepers’ website gives more information on their mission and projects. (http://www.re-sources.org/programs/baykeeper)

HKP Architects: Julie Blazek gave a presentation on the firm’s history and its work as Campus Architects on Bellingham Technical College's campus for the past 15 years. The new Campus Center, which will be completed soon, has many environmentally friendly features such as a green roof, solar panels, day lighting, and rain gardens for runoff.  Several other projects at BTC are currently underway:  additional offices for the Campus Services building, 2 large labs and 2 classrooms for the Des McArdle Center, additional parking, and Whatcom Creek Fish Hatchery improvements.  There is a pressing need for an expanded Health Sciences facility due to huge waiting list for the Nursing program.  Eve Magyar and David Jungkunst from BTC answered a question about the possibility of instituting paid parking on campus.  They stated that students have had to absorb increased tuition costs and paid parking would be an additional burden.  Also, if paid parking was adopted, it could push parking into the neighborhood rather than keeping it confined to the BTC campus. 

Portable toilet funding for Birchwood Park: This year, the Birchwood Neighborhood Association paid for a portable toilet in Birchwood Park for 5 months.  It was financed by a generous grant from Whatcom Educational Credit Union and Birchwood neighbors’ donations.  We would like to provide this facility again next year.  A small portable toilet costs $95/month and an ADA portable toilet costs $150/month.  We will approach WECU again for a grant and solicit donations from neighbors and others who use the Park.  Steven Trinkaus, owner of Bellingham’s Everyday Public Market on Cornwall Ave., has offered to match donations up to $250. If you would like to donate to this project, please send the donation, payable to BNA, to Becky Schlotterback, 2611 Lafayette, Bellingham, WA. 98225.

Opportunities to serve on BNA Board:  An election for open Birchwood Neighborhood Board positions will be held at the January 17^th BNA meeting.  Becky Schlotterback, BNA Treasurer, explained that anyone who has lived in Bellingham for a year and is a resident of Birchwood Neighborhood or owns a business in the Neighborhood is eligible to run for a Board position.  A Board member’s term of office is three years.  The Board meets once a month.  Please contact Becky Schlotterback, rebecca.schlotterback@comcast.net  if you are interested or have questions.

Questions and Answer Time with Jack:  Our councilman, Jack Weiss, shared information and answered questions from the neighbors concerning City and neighborhood issues:

Our next Birchwood Neighborhood Meeting will be Tues. Jan. 17^th   The Bellingham School District Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent will discuss plans for the Birchwood Elementary remodel.   

Shuksan Middle School Cafeteria                      September 20, 2011            6:30-8:00 pm      

Welcome:  Becky Schlotterback welcomed neighbors and informed them about the Bellingham Bay Marathon that will be using some trails and streets in our Neighborhood on Sept. 25^th.  She also reminded people to sign in, encouraged membership donations, and pointed out the 3x5 cards that could be used for submitting meeting ideas and comments. 

House 2 Home presentation:  Abby Lund, from the House 2 Home Network Virtual Furniture Bank at Whatcom Volunteer Center, explained how the organization helps people who were recently homeless and acquired housing through housing case management.  Her organization has volunteers pick up furniture items from donors and deliver them to clients’ new homes. They have the greatest need for bookcases, dressers and dining sets.  They also need volunteers to help pick up and deliver furniture.  You may contact her at:  abbyl@whatcomvolunteer.org

Squalicum Park, Phase III plans:  Jonathan Schilk, a landscape architect for the Bellingham Parks Department, gave the development history of Squalicum Park to date.  The project started in 2004, with Phase I completed in 2008. This included site preparation with demolition and removal of concrete, building a baseball field, putting in parking and a restroom.  Phase II of the Park, day-lighting a salmon-enhancement stream, was completed this year. 

Phase III will start this year with a site survey and site sculpting.  The majority of the work will start in 2014.  This will included a softball field, a fenced “bark-park”, picnic area, multi-use field, underground wiring, an internal trail loop, volleyball and basketball courts, extended parking, an office area and restroom. 

Several neighbors expressed their wish to keep the hill in the Park.  This hill was created with soil moved in to develop a second baseball field.  The hill is considered the best amenity of the Park by many of the Park users.  The funds used to purchase Squalicum Park were designated to provide a community athletic area.  Significant community input was used in designing the Master Plan for this Park.  In order to change the Master Plan in order to keep the hill, there would need to be a public discussion of the issue, a conclusion supporting a Master Plan amendment, submission of the amendment to the Parks Advisory Board, and final consideration by the City Council. For further information and opportunity to comment, there will be a public meeting on October 6^th, from 7-8:30pm, in Building G at Bellingham Technical College.

Questions and Answer Time with Jack Weiss:  Jack Weiss, our City Councilman, shared information that would affect us and our City.  He also took questions from the neighbors concerning City and neighborhood issues. 

The clean-up of Little Squalicum Creek Park is nearing completion and the Park should be opened very soon.  There was more toxic waste in the Park than initially thought.  Many trees had to be removed leaving the Park with larger fields than planned.  There will be a total of 11,000 plants put in along the creek.  The fields have been seeded with grass.  At this time the City does not have funds to replant the entire Park.  It was suggested that the Neighborhood Association investigate ways of helping to replant the Park. 

The State is mandating that Bellingham have water meters installed on houses by 2017.  Bellingham and Everett are the only large cities in the State that are not on water meters.  Households may request the installation of water meters sooner than 2017.  Many people find they are paying less if they have their water metered.  To request a meter or estimate your water consumption, go to: www.cob.org/utilities  and select Voluntary Water Metering Program

Maplewood Avenue is in need of resurfacing.  It is in very poor condition and has unpaved parking strips.  It creates a hazard for bicycle and pedestrian traffic.  One neighbor said it is an embarrassment as a main entry into the Neighborhood.  Jack Weiss will check with Transportation to see what could be done.  Starting next year, there will be funds available for pedestrian and bicycle improvements.  Neighborhood will decide the 3 most important improvements needed and will submit them for consideration to the City.  Maplewood Ave. could be included on this list. 

The Chuckanut Ridge purchase was discussed.  The main issue now concerns financing the loan the City made to itself from one of the Greenway accounts.  One idea was selling off a portion of the land to pay off the loan. 

Kulshan Community Land Trust will be building a total of four houses with 2 ADUs on their four lots at the end of Indiana St. They don’t need and are not requesting special zoning for the project. 

BTC Surge Space update: Dave Jungkuntz and Eve Magyar presented the site plan for Bellingham Technical College.  They explained the Surge Space construction that will continue to the end of the year.  They will be adding classrooms and electronics labs.  More space will be added to the Campus Center.  Additional parking spaces will be created, as well as rain gardens to manage water runoff.  BTC has a webcam that will provide viewing of the construction on certain sections of the campus.  To access BTC construction updates, go to www.bet.ctc.edu and use the QUICKLINKS pull down menu in the upper right corner.   Updates are posted every other week. 

Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance:  Brooks Anderson handed out information about the problems caused by single-use plastic bags.  She outlined the benefits of reusable bags, including less litter on the land and ocean and  reduced land fill waste and cost.  Bellingham uses 22 million plastic bags a year.  The “Bag It Bellingham” group is proposing a ban on plastic carryout bags as well as a 5 cent charge on recycled paper carryout bags.  The fee will encourage the switch to reusable bags.  The fee will stay with the retailer to cover costs of the paper bags.  To express your support of this ordinance, contact City councilmembers.   More information is available at:  www.bagitbellingham.com or www.facebook.com/bagitbellingham

Earthquake Preparedness:  Flip Breskin described the “Map Your Neighborhood” program that explains how to prepare your home and neighborhood for disasters.  In a disaster, first responders may not be able to help you.  Your neighbors will be your resource for help.  When you meet with your neighbors to “Map Your Neighborhood”, you will make 3 lists:  who has what skills, who has what supplies, and who lives where.  The “Map Your Neighborhood” booklet tells you what to do first.  One thing that everyone should do is have a bag under the bed with sturdy shoes, a flash light, and hardhat or helmet.  “Map Your Neighborhood” takes only one person on any block to start it.  That person invites the block neighbors to a meeting to go over the “Map Your Neighborhood” information.  Flip Breskin would be willing to present at such meetings.  If she is not available, there is a “Map Your Neighborhood” DVD.  The presentation takes 90 minutes.  Contact Flip Breskin at:  flip@breskin.com   You may also ask to join the email list for Flip’s Columbia Neighborhood newsletter that has great information for all neighborhoods.  If you wish to be on her email list, include your name, address, phone number, and email address in your message to Flip.

Sheriff Department Presentation:  Sheriff Bill Elfo and Corrections Deputy, Wendy Jones gave a presentation outlining the many responsibilities of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Department.  The Department patrols 2000 sq. miles, and serves 201,000 residents.  It works with all other law enforcement agencies and public safety agencies.  There has been a significant drop in crime over 5 years, but there has been a rise in crime in the last year.  A major concern of the Sheriff’s Department is the increase in gangs in Whatcom County.  There are 18 active gangs with over 400 members.  The white supremacist gangs are the most prevalent in Whatcom County.  The Sheriff’s Department has assigned a team of deputies to focus on the gang problems.  Another pressing issue for the Sheriff’s Department is the out-dated, over-crowded jail.  The jail was built to house 148 prisoners and currently averages 290.  The Sheriff’s department would like to see a jail built close to I-5 that would meet current needs and be able to expand, as needed, over time.  You can contact the Sheriff’s Department at: www.whatcomcountysheriff.org

Announcements:

Birchwood Park Port-a-potty:  The Birchwood Neighborhood Association is renting a Port-a-potty for the Birchwood Park from May through September, the highest park use period.  The Bellingham Parks Department budget was not able to pay for the facility.  The BNA felt this was a sanitation and safety issue and decided to pay for it through BNA dues and donations.  The cost to cover this time period is $520.  At this point BNA has collected $300 in donations to support the portable toilet.  Donations may be sent to:  BNA, c/o Becky Schlotterback, 2611 Lafayette St., Bellingham, WA 98225

New Neighborhood Church:  Nate Walker told us about Christ’s Church that has newly located in the church building next to Birchwood Elementary.  The church is planning to be of service to the Neighborhood residents.  Nate encouraged neighbors to contact them or attend the Church services.

Cozy Corner Book Store: The bookstore has moved to the Northwest Shopping Center across from Yeagers. They have a larger space and serve espresso drinks.  Several cards giving free espresso drinks were given out. 

Annual Birchwood Neighborhood Picnic:  The annual picnic will be held on Sunday, August 7^th, from 3:00-5:00pm.  Hot dogs, veggie burgers, and watermelon will be provided.  Potluck dishes are welcome. More information will be coming later in the summer.