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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM090913N ¢�o co � Q9SkI N G`SG� District No. 1 Commissioner: Phil Johnson District No. 2 Commissioner: David W. Sullivan District No. 3 Commissioner: John Austin County Administrator: Philip Morley Clerk of the Board: Erin Lundgren MINUTES Week of September 9, 2013 Chairman John Austin called the meeting to order at the appointed time in the presence of Commissioner David Sullivan and Commissioner Phil Johnson. MOMENT OF SILENCE. The Board held a moment of silence in honor of past Superior Court Judge Crad Verser who passed away over the weekend. Chairman Austin opened the floor so the public could say a few words about the late Judge Verser if they wished. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: The following is a summary of comments made by citizens in attendance at the meeting and reflect their personal opinions: • A citizen of Shine Road stated there is a commercial geoduck operation going on there and 26,000 PVC pipes are sticking out of the sand. He would like to see a moratorium on this activity until it is determined if this is okay; • A citizen questioned why no permit is required to raise geoduck and the County should put a hold on harvesting until the Shoreline Master Plan (SMP) is finalized; • Two residents of Termination Point are concerned about a developer clearing property near their property after stop work permits were issued and they want to know what the County will do about their situation; • A citizen stated the County needs to step in and play hardball with the developer who is clearing land at Termination Point after a stop work order was issued; and • An elected official wants to clear up a comment made during a past meeting from a citizen who wants County funds insured by the FDIC. The official stated the County protection goes well above FDIC protection and is guaranteed at 100 %, FDIC only insures up to $250,000. APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSENTAGENDA: Commissioner Johnson moved to approve all the items on the Consent Agenda as presented. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. RESOLUTION NO. 42 -13 re: Finding and Determination to Declare Certain Personal Property as Surplus and Authorize Disposal RESOLUTION NO. 43 -13 re: Creating a County Project Designated as Uncas Road Culvert Replacement AGREEMENT NO. 1363 -80445 re: Washington State Aggression Replacement Training (WSART); In the Amount of $16,440; Jefferson County Juvenile Services; Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Page 1 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of September 9, 2013 4. AGREEMENT re: Site Hazard Assessment #G1400038; In the Amount of $39,850; Jefferson County Public Health; Washington State Department of Ecology 5. AGREEMENT, Amendment No. 10 re: 2012 -2014 Consolidated Contract; Additional Amount of $132,038 for a Total of $1,237,845; Jefferson County Public Health; Washington State Department of Health 6. AGREEMENT re: Individual Employment and Individual Technical Assistance; In the Amount of $38,964; Jefferson County Public Health; Concerned Citizens Contract Services 7. Payment of Jefferson County Payroll Warrants Dated September 5, 2013 Totaling $794,919.85 Approval of Minutes: Chairman Austin pointed out a correction to the July 15, 2013 minutes on Page 5 on the second line it reads: "...clarify some of the facilities..." should read "...describe some of the facilities..." Also, in the same paragraph it reads: "...1,090 members provide the maintenance for..." should read "1,090 members provide the maintenance funding for..." Commissioner Johnson moved to approve the regular meeting minutes of July 15, 2013 as corrected and the regular meeting minutes of July 22, 2013 as presented. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. COMMISSIONERS BRIEFING SESSION. • The Commissioners each provided updates on the following items: Chairman Austin - Attended the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend. - Will be attending an upcoming Olympic Consortium Board meeting in Sequim. - Will be attending a breakfast next month to benefit the mentally ill. Commissioner Johnson - Will be attending an Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) meeting this week. - Will be going to the Governor's Office this week to schedule a meeting with the Governor re: net pens. - Will be working with Environmental Health regarding marine spatial planning. Commissioner Sullivan - Attended an Olympic Area Agency on Aging (03A) meeting last weekend and reported their finances are looking stable. - Attended the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend. Expressed appreciation for the local newspapers doing a good job of getting the word out there. The meeting was recessed at 9:40 a.m. and reconvened at 10:00 a.m. with all three Commissioners present. Page 2 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of September 9, 2013 Hi UPDATE re: Washington State Department of Natural Resources 2"d Quarter County Income Report: Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) State Lands Assistant Drew Rosanbalm was present to review the 2nd Quarter County Income report. Regional Manager Sue Trettevik was unable to attend the meeting. Mr. Rosanbalm first addressed the letter from Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark dated July 13, 2013 and pointed out the following correction in the first sentence of the second paragraph: "Net value under contract for harvest after calendar year 2013 is estimated at $873, 000." This figure should be 1.4 million he stated, which is the net value under contract starting in 2014. The revenue from timber harvests on State Forest Board lands in Jefferson County is distributed to the various taxing districts in which forests are located. DNR's actual and projected timber harvest from State Forest Board Trust lands directly impact County revenues in 2013 and revenues projected for 2014 within the County's General, Road Fund and Conservation Futures Fund, as well as revenues to a wide variety of junior taxing districts which contain State Forest Board lands. Timber sales reports were reviewed by Mr. Rosanbalm. Center 12 project is rolling right along and is bringing in about $20,000 a month. Their sales have been steady, but slow. Once Coyle Retreat gets going, the County should see a lot more revenue coming in. Since Coyle did not build a road this summer, they haven't brought in revenue as expected. They will probably finish by next summer though. There are six units around $3 million dollars. One unit is located on the Dabob Bay side and a few further north. The layout for the Penny Creek Waterline project has been completed and the cruiser is headed there this week. The pre -sales packet for that project should be done by the middle of October and is scheduled for a February sale. The West End market is still struggling due to the price of natural gas being so low and they are finding it hard to compete. Mr. Rosanbalm stated they are considering helping the public out by issuing permits to citizens so they can obtain pulp for firewood. The aforementioned pulp was left behind from a project as it was not cost effective for the previous handlers to haul it. DNR is currently selling this pulp for $1 a ton. The market on pulp is constantly changing. When the biomass boiler is done, it should help the pulp market. Interrorem on the north side of the Duckabush is being worked on now and will probably go up for sale in March. Mr. Rosanbalm stated that 2015 is being anticipated as a big year for housing so prices for contracts that spill over will get better.. He explained to the Board that DNR's fiscal year is July to July and that the 2015 plan should be ready by next quarter. Revenue distributions for the next 18 months will be reduced as DNR makes deductions to correct prior over - distributions which occurred in prior years when DNR misidentified harvests from certain tracts that were in Common Schools or other Trusts, and incorrectly coded them as harvests from State Forest Board Trust lands instead. Mr. Rosanbalm stated that he met with Treasurer Judi Morris and reviewed the issue with her. Chairman Austin mentioned to Mr. Rosanbalm that the Paradise Bay Water District was hoping for a long term lease on 10 acres. County Administrator Philip Morley elaborated that their request is not just Page 3 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of September 9, 2013 matter of them wanting to secure the location to insure that they can continue to operate there, it is also tied toward their ability to make investments in improving the system so they can show, for financing purposes, that it has a useful life. Mr. Rosanbalm stated he remembered hearing about it and will follow up with his staff. He also stated that his staff would be following up on the Trust Land Transfer between Beausite and Gibbs as previously addressed by Chairman Austin. The meeting was recessed at 10:34 a.m. and reconvened at 1:34 p.m. with all three Commissioners present. Discussion re: Auditor's Office Staffing: Auditor Donna Eldridge, Chief Deputy Auditor Karen Cartmel and Budget Consultant Anne Sears were present to discuss the staffing changes in the Auditor's Office. County Administrator Philip Morley briefed the Board on the basis for the request. The Auditor's Office is requesting a budget commitment to continue indefinitely an Administrative Clerk II position originally funded and approved for one year only (2013), and to increase the hours of the position to 35 hours per week. The incumbent in that position left in the middle of 2013 and the Auditor is seeking certainty for future budget years in order to be able to attract a qualified replacement now. The Deputy Auditor's position (Exempt Grade 16) will be replaced with an Elections Coordinator (UFCW Grade 32) position at the beginning of 2014. Deputy Auditor Cartmel's position is being vacated through a planned retirement at the end of this year. Auditor Eldridge stated she had previously met with the Board members individually and they know what the issues are. She asked if the Commissioners had any questions for her? Commissioner Sullivan referenced data from Auditor Eldridge's letter regarding over half of the licensing transactions are now happening online. Auditor Eldridge stated that although that is true, Auditor staff still processes around 98 of in -office licensing transactions a day. She added that Jefferson County now provides Quick Title which is $50 extra and her office has to provide title the same day. The Jefferson County Auditor's Office also generates passports for the public. The time spent on customers needing passports can range from a few minutes to a half an hour and often times entire families come into the office needing passports. Some passports are more complicated than others, such as out of country birth certificates and these types of situations are time consuming for Auditor staff. A typical passport takes 4 -6 weeks after paperwork is processed. Another issue that was reported is that staff is not being able to take lunch and breaks at certain times and sometimes aren't able to take them at all. Commissioner Sullivan asked how the Auditor is handling this issue? Auditor Eldridge stated that at 4:30 p.m. the doors close to the public, but if someone is in line, then they still would take care of them. If the budget request is not granted the office will have to stop processing passports and close the office for lunch from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Auditor Eldridge stated that the Auditor's Office coverage is so slim that sometimes staff is unable to use the restroom. Chairman Austin asked if other Department of Licensing (DOL) offices close for lunch? Auditor Eldridge replied that there are some DOL offices that close for lunch. Page 4 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of September 9, 2013 The ballot tabulators in the Auditor's Office are depreciating out and Auditor Eldridge has been looking into outsourcing this process. She stated this would ultimately be a decision for the new Auditor. The step increase policy was reviewed by Chairman Austin who mentioned that every year the County budget would have to increase to cover steps. Budget Consultant Anne Sears commented that she saw a problem with allowing departments to take the savings between bottom step and top step as Auditor Eldridge had suggested. She stated that in the future there would need to be a big increase in the 5 year projection and having to possibly look at job cuts to accommodate. The budget deadline was last week and County Administrator Morley stated that the Auditor's Office met the deadline. For the General Fund, Ms. Sears and County Administrator Morley have set "Budget Targets" for each department to anticipate what individual departments may be requesting for 2014. The cumulative ask for the General Fund was $677,218 more than they anticipated. County Administrator Morley handed out a sheet titled "Jefferson County General Fund — 2014 Budgets Targets." He also suggested sending the same handout to other departments in the County and ask them to review it for additions or revisions if needed. Commissioner Sullivan stated that of the asks, duties that are mandated would have a higher priority. Chairman Austin commented that all asks would be need to be reviewed. Auditor Eldridge stated the Auditor's Office has to keep up with the expectations of the public. When it comes to licensing, the office has to keep up to speed on public assistance or they could lose the licensing portion of their services which would be a loss to the County. Commissioner Sullivan stated the Board is not saying no at this time and that they are still reviewing the budget. No decision was made at this time. The meeting was recessed at 2:46 p.m. and reconvened at 2:57 p.m. with all three Commissioners present. Continued discussion re: Auditor's Office staffing: County Administrator Philip Morley stated that the economy is still in an uncertain time. Procedurally, it would be difficult to promise funds for an Auditor position before all the asks were looked into. He suggested funding a part time position for the Auditor's Office. The Board agreed to this. Commissioner Sullivan pointed out that any budget addition made during this time of the year may change when the 2014 budget comes out. COUNTYADMINISTRATOR BRIEFING SESSION: County Administrator Philip Morley reviewed the following with the Board. Calendar Coordination • Commissioner Sullivan will attend a telephone conference for the Peninsula Regional Transportation Organization (PRTPO) on September 9, 2013 Chairman Austin will be attending the Tourism Coordinating Council (TCC) meeting at 10:00 a.m. on September 11, 2013 • Chairman Austin will be attending a Tarboo Valley tour on September 13, 2013 Page 5 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of September 9, 2013 Miscellaneous Issues: • Employment Services Managers and Worksource Development is looking at using Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) space • Chris Moore; courthouse grant funds $2 million. Central Services Director Frank Gifford to receive grant application • Law enforcement request re: Developer Mr. Trask. The Department of Community Development is coordinating with the County Prosecutor and the Sheriff s Office on a response • Dungeness River having a 50 year record salmon return • Notice to the North Olympic Salmon Coalition (NOSC) and Uncas Road culvert project approval today by the Board of County Commissioners • Pre - Metropolitan Park District (MPD) Steering Committee meeting discussion • Economic Development meeting Team Jefferson and the Port on November 20, 2013 NOTICE OFADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Sullivan moved to adjourn the meeting at 3:51 p.m. until the next regular meeting or special meeting as properly noticed. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. s 4O � e ip "f • N 4� 4 u. ATTEST: +air Carolyn Avery Deputy Clerk of the Board JEFFERSON COUNTY 111-1670 01Z�IVEGIOUTISF M11901WI .= Page 6