Published January 14 2021
Plus, diversity summit reflections and convention center board approval
On Monday, the City Council received a report on current COVID-19 trends from the director of Public Health – Seattle & King County. The report included updates on current COVID-19 case numbers and a strong message to residents to continue masking and physical distancing through the winter months as more time is spent indoors.
The report also outlined the county’s vaccine distribution plan. Roughly 70,000 people in the county have been vaccinated so far, including frontline healthcare workers, and residents and workers in long-term care facilities. King County has at least 100,000 healthcare workers, 5,000 EMS personnel and 40,000 people working or living in long-term care facilities. To find out which vaccination group you would be in, the state has a tool describing who is eligible for each vaccination phase here.
The full report is available on video replay through Bellevue Television.
Adapting city services
In other business, councilmembers received reports on two city service areas that transitioned to primarily telephone and online service delivery models and instituted rapid safety protocols to continue serving the community during the pandemic.
Bellevue continued to experience strong development activity through 2020. The city issued permits for the highest valuation of development assets ever, almost $1.2 billion in value, in 2020. More than 79,000 inspections were also completed during the year.
As Bellevue closed facilities and transitioned workers to remote locations, development services were able to continue seamlessly due to investments in paperless services and online tools for the public. This work was in partnership between the city’s development services and information technology teams. Inspection teams also created ways to safely complete certain inspection tasks remotely and quickly instituted safety protocols for in-person work.
In a customer satisfaction survey, Bellevue received higher marks than before the pandemic began, with 84% overall satisfaction and 93% of responses reporting courteous, helpful staff.
Bellevue’s conflict resolution center (BCRC) also transitioned quickly to serve emerging and changing needs in the community as the pandemic progressed.
The BCRC provides conflict resolution services that address community disputes between neighbors, businesses, and public entities. Due to COVID-19, the Center has experienced a 30 percent increase in cases over the last quarter of 2020 and is anticipating a larger increase due to rent arrearages and potential foreclosures. The Center has launched a Rent Negotiation program to help landlords and tenants make agreements about rental arrearages and has handled more than 100 landlord/tenant cases in just the last three months. Staff is anticipating more cases as eviction moratoriums are set to expire this spring.
The BCRC is training volunteers virtually for its annual conciliation training session next month and is looking for more volunteers to help handle the increased caseloads. The training is Feb. 8-10 and open to anyone interested in helping neighbors resolve disputes. Contact bcrc@bellevuewa.gov for registration information.
Diversity Summit reflections
The city held its first-ever Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit on Jan. 8. Councilmembers shared their experiences as attendees at the summit, an event that attracted more than 270 stakeholders from across the region, and even several participants from other states. The councilmember discussion is available in the replay of the council meeting.
Portions of the summit were recorded, including a report on the city’s progress made through its Diversity Advantage Initiative since council adoption in 2014, and will be available on Bellevue’s Diversity Summit web page in the coming weeks.
As part of its emphasis on equity and inclusion, the city is also hosting its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration and health fair in a virtual format on Jan. 18. More details are here.
Convention Center board approval
Councilmembers also unanimously approved a motion to concur with the selection of Bellevue Convention Center Authority board members, as chosen by the City Manager. City Manager Brad Miyake made no changes to the board, citing the strong leadership shown by the board in maintaining the viability of the center and pivot in services during the pandemic.
The details on the selections are available in the meeting materials.
NOTE: Due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, the next Bellevue City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, at 6 p.m.