HomeMy WebLinkAboutM120213District 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 December 2, 2013
Chairman John Austin called the meeting to order at the appointed time in the presence of
Commissioner David Sullivan and Commissioner Phil Johnson.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: The following is a summary of comments made by
citizens in attendance at the meeting and reflect their personal opinions:
• An elected official announced that there will be a flag presentation ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on
December 4, 2013 in Superior Court;
• A citizen stated: 1) Toys for Tots biggest request is shoes for children; 2) Half of the kids in the
County school system are on subsidized lunches; 3) This County needs jobs, retail store space and to
raise taxes; 4) Senior citizens are having to choose between prescriptions, heating or food; 5) The
government wants to cut back on food stamps; 6) The Republican party in Congress is a giant
satanic cult; and 7) Building permits should not take longer than two weeks;
• A citizen stated: 1) That he had been misquoted in last week's Board's Official Business (B.O.B.) as
saying "The proposed Solid Waste minimum fee would increase by 100% for 50% of the people"
when it should have read "The proposed Solid Waste minimum fee would increase by 100% for 26%
of the people"; and 2) Money received from Proposition 1 was not spent how it was originally
intended: and
• A citizen commented that the Port Townsend Recreation Center is a place that everyone can use and
funding it should be made a priority.
APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSENTAGENDA: Commissioner
Sullivan moved to approve all the items on the Consent Agenda as presented. Commissioner Johnson
seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
1. RESOLUTION NO. 59 -13 re: HEARING NOTICE: Fourth Quarter 2013 Budget
Appropriations/Extensions; Various County Departments; Hearing scheduled for Monday,
December 16, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. in the Commissioners Chambers
2. RESOLUTION NO. 60 -13 re: Closing County Administrative Offices at Noon on Christmas
Eve
3. CANCELLATION NOTICE re: County Commissioner Regular Meeting; Scheduled for
Monday, December 23, 2013
4. AGREEMENT NO. 1363 -90011 re: Partnerships for Success; In the Amount of $53,912;
Jefferson County Public Health; Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
(DSHS)
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of December 2, 2013
5. AGREEMENT re: Civil Engineering Services for Olympic Discovery Trail — South Discovery
Bay — NOVA Planning Grant No. 12- 1735P; In the Amount of $71,277; Jefferson County Public
Works; Parametrix
6. Payment of Jefferson County Vouchers /Warrants Dated November 21, 2013 Totaling $1,298.97
and Dated November 25, 2013 Totaling $96,626.72
COMMISSIONERS BRIEFING SESSION: The Commissioners each provided
updates on the following items:
Chairman Austin
- Reported the Canvassing Board vote tallying has been completed.
- Will be attending an Ecosystem Recovery Network meeting, Regional Support Network
meeting and an Olympic Consortium Board meeting this week.
- Will be attending a State Board of Health meeting where one of the discussions will be on
obtaining a sustainable funding system for septic systems throughout the state.
Commissioner Johnson
- Will be attending a Hood Canal Coordinating Council meeting and a Parks and Recreation
Advisory Board meeting this week.
Commissioner Sullivan
- Will be attending an OlyCAP meeting this week and working on the budget for 2014. All
OlyCAP programs are currently in the black.
- Will be attending an Olympic Area Agency on Aging meeting, a Resource Conservation and
Development meeting, a Peninsula Development District meeting, a Maritime Discovery
School meeting and a Peninsula Regional Transportation Planning Organization meeting this
week.
The meeting was recessed at 9:39 a.m. and reconvened at 10:03 a.m. with Chairman
Austin and Commissioner Sullivan present. Commissioner Johnson joined the meeting at 10:04 a.m.
HEARING re: 2014 Jefferson County Budget: County Administrator Philip Morley and
Budget Consultant Anne Sears gave a presentation on the proposed 2014 Jefferson County Budget.
County Administrator Morley stated that the 2014 recommended budget includes $51,674,159 of
expenditures and $46,419,141 of revenues. This includes the General Fund and 54 Other Funds. His
power point presentation noted that information regarding the 2014 Budget could be found on the
County website at:
www.co.iefferson.wa.us/auditor/Accounting/Accounting.asp
The recommended 2014 Budget is balanced and was developed as part of a rolling five -year General
Fund budget strategy for 2014 -2018. County Administrator Morley stated that 2013 saw a modest
recovery to the economy, which gave modest relief to the County budget in 2014. Despite an improving
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of December 2, 2013
economy in 2013, the 2014 Budget continues to be impacted by continued declines in the value of
County revenues against inflation. Causes for this include:
• state - imposed I% per year limit on the property tax base, except by a public election
• prolonged economic downturn which has constrained or reduced other revenues; and
Cost inflation which exceeds revenue growth over time, and reduces the value of all local
revenues
2014 will be the sixth consecutive year of reducing public services and the size of Jefferson County
government. County Administrator Morley noted that in 2014, the County will use almost half of the
General Fund's Unreserved Cash to sustain ongoing programs and staff. By 2017, Unreserved Cash will
be virtually exhausted, before beginning to rebuild in 2018. He added that this continues a multi -year
strategy of carefully using reserves the County built up prior to the recession to soften its impact.
Departments that will be especially impacted by budget constraints are:
• Community Development
• Public Health
• Water Quality
• Parks and Recreation
Consultant Sears and County Administrator Morley reviewed the significant changes to the budget in
2014, the County's outstanding debt and Budget Policies.
Chairman Austin opened the hearing to public testimony.
Robert Commishane, Port Townsend: He addressed the parks and recreation situation. He saw an article
published in the Port Townsend Leader stating women and children came to last week's Board of
County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting. Mr. Commishane understands the County alone can do very
little to prevent the cuts in staff and programs, and the possibility of elimination in 2015. He believes in
partnering and noted a couple of the women, Sarah McNulty for one, who made comments on how vital
parks and recreation programs are in attracting families and children to the area and doing whatever is
necessary to keep it running. Shelly Randall commented on getting volunteers. Mr. Commishane looked
on the County's website and read an excerpt from the Parks and Recreation mission statement: "...The
vision of Jefferson County Parks and Recreation is not to serve every purpose, but to lead towards
cooperation and comprehensive community solutions." He figures that whatever the County can do to
lead the process of finding partners for Parks and Recreation is important. He does not look at the
recreation center as a luxury that may or may not be supported, he sees it as a necessity for the health
and well being of our community. He does not believe there should be an option of eventually closing it
and everything that can be done to keep the recreation center running at full capacity, should be done.
Mr. Commishane believes it's a responsibility for all of us, including City and County governments. He
commented that the County has done this in the past and he hopes this continues and that they will talk
to the City and lead as the Parks and Recreation mission statement says.
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of December 2, 2013
Nathanael O'Hara, Port Townsend: Thanked the Board and County Administrator Morley for their time
that has been put into the community. He reviewed the Parks and Recreation budget last week and tried
to figure out what might need to be changed in 2014. Mr. O'Hara realizes the problems are long -term
and those problems probably require a completely different solution. He questions the transfers between
departments. Income from Parks and Recreation transfer to Facilities is about $56,500 and in 2011 it
was only $10,300. In 2012, it was $41,000 and in 2013 it was $54,000. Two years ago it was extremely
low which meant it probably didn't cover the cost. The inter -fund rents and leases from the Parks and
Recreation department was $42,000 and in the last three years it has only been $2,100 and last year it
was budgeted at zero dollars. He does not understand how it has jumped up so much for 2014. He has
the same questions about utilities. Utilities has $32,000 budgeted in 2014. In 2013 there was $7,800
budgeted for utilities. In 2012 there was $15,000 budgeted for utilities and in 2011 there was $15,000
budgeted for utilities. Insurance is budgeted at $11,000 when for the last three years it has been zero.
The transfer to the construction line is $60,000 which he assumes is some kind of capital or
improvement that was on hold. Is there a way to re- analyze these numbers for 2014 in order to try and
preserve the Park and Recreation programs for this year? Mr. O'Hara stated he understood that in regard
to a long -term solution, this would not fix anything. Adding up some of those numbers, it looks like the
total rent would be around $11,903 per month, not counting the construction accounts. It seems to him
that would be fairly expensive rent. If the programs were cancelled, how much of that $11,000 would
the County still be paying for?
Donna Eldridge, Auditor: She stated that one of the things that happened in the budget year for 2014, is
that the State Auditor's Office has done a reconstruction of the Budget and Accounting Reporting
System (BARS) line. You might have seen zero in 2013. That is because the State changed the BARS
numbers so it is very hard to follow. The numbers were changed so that Legislature could easily pull
down state -wide information.
Tom Thiersch, Jefferson County: He mentioned his suggestions for the County Budget. In regard to the
Department of Community Development (DCD) he mentioned that the level of permit activity in
Jefferson County is incredibly low. Mr. Thiersch compares what happens in the paper every week with
Clallam County versus Jefferson County. He noted that Clallam County is a little over two times the size
of Jefferson County, but there is a huge difference in the number of inches of paper given to one county
versus the other. There has to be a reason for that and he believes there's something wrong with the way
the County is dealing with permitting. He is not sure if it's something to do with Code or the permit
process being too unwieldly, or what the cause is, but someone needs to get down to the exact cause of
this because the County is just losing ground. Until we get more permitting, more construction, which is
the only source of new revenue the County has, the budget will continue to suffer because of it. He
urged the County to take a look at the Information Services (IS) department. He noticed the staff count
there has not decreased, it has actually increased over time. Mr. Thiersch noted, for comparison
purposes, the 8 plus staff that is allocated to IS in the County for maintaining about 300 computers
versus the two full -time staff the Port Townsend School District has for maintaining over 700
computers. What's wrong with this picture? They do about the same thing. They maintain the computers
and the phones. He believes there is a huge discrepancy in the County's IS staff count. Maybe there
should be something done about that. He mentioned that those working in IS professions are some of the
higher paid personnel in the County. Mr. Thiersch commented that the slide in County Administrator
Morley's power point presentation depicting 5,600 participants in the parks and recreation programs are
not unique participants. The number of actual people that participate in these programs, participate in
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of December 2, 2013
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multiple programs, so it is not a true reflection of the number of people that are using the programs. It is
much lower than 5,600. No one knows what the answer is. He stated that if you ask Parks and
Recreation staff, their answer is "I don't know." They do know that there are multiple overlaps. In
regard to the graph showing the decrease in the assessed value of the County, Mr. Thiersch commented
that he is not sure why that matters because the amount of money that the County collects in property
taxes goes up by I% every year no matter what the assessed value is. What's the point of showing it? It
doesn't show any kind of decrease in taxing power. The County is going to collect more money every
year, all that changes is the tax rate will go up as the assessed value goes down. He believes the graph
was meant to be a scare tactic and he does not understand the point of having it in the presentation. He
suggested revising the presentation.
Kathleen Kler, Quilcene: She is appreciative to those in the County, staff and citizens, giving attention
to the difficulty that Parks and Recreation is having, in terms of supplying services and having sufficient
budget to do so. Ms. Kler stated she has looked at this issue for well over four years without coming up
with a sustainable and reliable solution. There are challenges ahead. A lot of the conversation has been
focused on the Recreation Center and its programs. She mentioned she is a South County resident and
mother. In talking to lots of young mothers, she believes that the need for what we are doing for our
children and for our young families is not only in the City, but throughout the County. Ms. Kler stated
she did not have any answers but offered everyone more strength and encouragement. Whatever the
solution is, it needs to encompass the entire County's needs for youth and recreation. It has a lot to do
with health and public safety. It is a challenge that we need to keep in front of us. She thanked the
County for being specific as to what lies ahead with the budget issues.
Steve Oakford, Port Townsend: He stated that whatever it costs to maintain parks and recreation and
meet the needs of our young people is a lesser amount than what it would cost in Police, Sheriff and the
Court system to deal with problems later. He believes that is just simple subtraction and noted that he is
not a great mathematician, but that level of arithmetic he can do. What it costs to keep kids off the street
and good, wholesome development is way less costly than what it would cost if they end up in Judge
Landes' or Judge Harper's court. They go for a ride in a squad car. There would be more of a need for
Guardian ad Litem. All these programs to fix what we can prevent. He feels that parks and recreation
should become a mandated thing, because we would be solving problems rather than fixing problems.
Jack Westerman, Assessor: He noted that the graph that County Administrator Morley included in his
power point presentation, was not a graph of the property tax base going down. It was the property tax
revenue versus the CPI. Mr. Westerman mentioned that County Administrator Morley kept talking about
the tax base and he believes that is what confused one of the previous public commentators during
testimony. He stated that you just have to make sure to compare the tax revenue versus the CPI in the
same years. County Administrator Morley interjected, saying that it was the revenue from the tax base of
2002. Mr. Westerman stated that 2002 was the base year, not the tax base. It was the base year of
revenue. 1989 was the last year they collected that much in new construction, but you can imagine what
$24 million of new construction was in 1989 versus 2013. He commented that he visited the Port
Townsend Recreation Center three nights in the last week and was aware that there were citizens who
spoke at the last BOCC meeting regarding the recreation program. His last visit to the center was on
Friday night around 5:15 p.m. to shoot some hoops. Instead, there was "Family Night" going on and
someone mentioned it was the last scheduled "Family Night ". Mr. Westerman stated the entire place
was packed, and it was an unbelievable sight. It appears to him now, more so than in the past, that the
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of December 2, 2013
Parks and Recreation staff are trying to do more things with the gymnasium than they have ever done
before. He stated they did not do family things 20 years ago and occasionally they would rent it out for
parties. They seem to be trying to use that facility more than he has ever seen them use it. He added that
he selfishly would like to see the Recreation Center remain open so he can play basketball, but seeing all
the kids last Friday night was absolutely incredible. He told staff at the Recreation Center to take lots of
photos to show the County Commissioners. Mr. Westerman stated it does not come as a surprise that a
lot of people feel strongly about the Recreation Center, and for good reason.
Hearing no further testimony, Chairman Austin closed the public hearing.
County Administrator Morley pointed out that Mr. O'Hara raised some questions regarding the Parks
and Recreation budget. Consultant Sears stated she would be happy to sit down with him and go over
some of the details he was concerned about. The major issue he brought up was in regard to the increase
in rent of the facility. One thing that the County did several years ago when there were budget issues,
was instead of the General Fund paying for the Recreation Center facility cost, they put those over into
the Parks and Recreation budget and also gave them a corresponding transfer to pay for it out of their
budget so they could see the costs for the Recreation Center, where they should be shown. The transfer
Mr. O'Hara mentioned that showed $60,000 going to Capital, is part of the agreement with the City
where they are funding the County recreation programs in the amount of $212,000 a year. Of that
$212,000, $60,000 is going to Capital projects. They are transferring that from the Recreation
Department over to Capital programs. That will be used as the County and City get together and decide
what project they want to fund. With regard to the other inter -fund transfers, Ms. Sears stated she will
have to look into them to be able to give more detail. She stated that those include all the vehicles and
everything the parks system requires to do their business such as mowers. Those are legitimate costs that
should be in the Parks and Recreation Budget. Chairman Austin suggested Consultant Sears get in touch
with Mr. O'Hara, if he chooses, to go over the figures.
County Administrator Morley pointed out that in regard to IS staff, there are 5 full -time employees
(FTEs) working for Information Technology (IT), 1.5 FTEs working the Geographical Information
System (GIS) and 1 FTE working in Records Management, so it is not all computers. Chairman Austin
noted that the IT staff has different responsibilities than the school district. Consultant Sears pointed out
that one of the positions in IS is funded by the PUD because the County has been managing their IT for
the last year and a half.
Commissioner Sullivan mentioned there are a variety of areas that support youth in Jefferson County
within the budget such as 4 -H, the Guardian ad Litem program and Juvenile Services. He has concerns
about parts of the budget that are beyond control such as federal and state contracts and grants. These
are things that help young people and the future of these types of funding is uncertain. There are ways to
increase revenue for the County and he reviewed some options. He noted that a levy lid lift was
mentioned as an idea to raise revenue. This raises concerns for him as it pertains to the total valuation of
the County. Property tax competes with schools, fire departments and other taxing districts. He stated he
was impressed with the citizens who voted and passed Proposition 1 and he believes the County has a
prudent balance right now.
Commissioner Johnson mentioned that Jefferson County's budget is around 60% for Law and Justice
and while that may seem high, other counties are at 70 %. He added that in recent weeks there have been
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citizens who have come to the BOCC meetings and asked the Board to raise taxes.
MCI
Commissioner Sullivan directed staff to prepare a final 2014 Budget for potential adoption on December
9, 2013 or subsequent date. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous
vote.
Interviews and Appointment to Serve as Jefferson County Assessor: The Board
interviewed three candidates for the position of Jefferson County Assessor. Those candidates were Gary
Felder, Jeff Chapman and Judy Maves - Klatt.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: An Executive Session was scheduled from 12:10 p.m. to
12:20 p.m. with the Assessor and County Administrator regarding personnel matters — appointment to an
elected office, under exemption RCW42.30.110(1)(g) as outlined in the Open Public Meetings Act. The
Board actually met in Executive Session on this topic from 12:10 p.m. to 12:20 p.m. At the conclusion
of the Executive Session the Board resumed the regular meeting and no action was taken.
ASSESSOR APPOINTMENT: Commissioner Sullivan moved to appoint Jeff Chapman
to take over Jack Westerman's position as County Assessor. Commissioner Johnson seconded the
motion which carried by a unanimous vote. Chairman Austin stated that the Assessor's Office is
undergoing a bit of technological change and they need someone who will be able to hit the ground
running.
The meeting was recessed at 12:26 p.m. and reconvened at 1:34 p.m. with all three
Commissioners present.
Briefing re: Proposed Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) Meeting: Port
Commissioner Dave Thompson stated that at a recent Port of Port Townsend conference the new DOE
Director Maia Bellon was present. Mr. Thompson told Director Bellon that the Port of Port Townsend
has an interesting working relationship with the Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT).
Jurisdictions send a representative to a meeting every two months when they iron out a lot of problems
and make DOT aware of concerns of the communities. He mentioned to Director Bellon that it would be
nice if the Port of Port Townsend could have a meeting with DOE similar to their DOT meetings and
she said to consider it done. Mr. Thompson contacted the Public Utility District (PUD), the Port and the
City of Port Townsend who stated they have staff they will be sending to the proposed meeting. Mr.
Thompson asked the Jefferson County Commissioners if they would like to attend the meeting as well?
Chairman Austin asked where the meeting will be held? Mr. Thompson replied that it would be in
Jefferson County. He added that the idea of the meeting is to open up conversation. There is no
timeframe for the meeting yet. The Port of Port Townsend will contact the DOE and send out letters to
the interested agencies on the specifics of the meeting. The Commissioners stated they are interested in
participating in the meeting. County Administrator Philip Morley will be the contact for the
Commissioner's Office.
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of December 2, 2013
Continued Discussion re: Conservation Futures Code Revisions: The Board met with
Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney (DPA) David Alvarez regarding his suggestions to the
Conservation Futures Citizen Oversight Committee pertaining to proposed changes in the County Code
Section 3.08 for the Conservation Futures Fund. Also present at the meeting was Environmental Health
Specialist Tami Pokorny and Chair of the Conservation Futures Citizen Oversight Committee Richard
Jahnke.
The following suggested revisions were discussed at the November 25, 2013 Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC) meeting:
1. Add County Code Section 3.08.050(6) stating: "No person on the citizen oversight
committee shall serve as the application presenter or advocate during the annual
application cycle that such a particular application is participating in except that this
section is not violated when a citizen oversight committee member is the person
authorized or required to sign an application, request or other document necessary for the
Conservation Futures Fund application process and so signs that application, request or
other document."
2. Add County Code Section 3.08.050(7) stating: "Recusal of any sponsor or applicant, or
any representative, advocate, presenter or agent of any sponsor or applicant, who is a
voting member of the citizen oversight committee shall be mandatory prior to the start of
any meeting of the citizen oversight committee during which the citizen oversight
committee is going to vote upon or rank one or more applications."
3. Revise County Code Section 3.08.010(8) to remove the words "for public use and
enjoyment." So that the revised definition ends with the phrase: "farm and agricultural
land and timber land as those terms are defined in Chapter 84.34 RCW."
4. Revise County Code Section 3.08.050(1) to remove the words "at least quarterly" and
replace them with "as needed."
DPA Alvarez reviewed the Board's concern over his suggested revisions. He stated one concern
addressed was his suggested revision pertaining to someone being an advocate and also being a part of
the voting process. His revisions were a result of two past members of the Conservation Futures Citizen
Oversight Committee voicing their concerns. The idea was to separate the presenting role from the
voting role. He stated that Item No. 1 was suggested as a result from that concern. For example, a
member from Jefferson Land Trust (JLT) could be on the Citizen Oversight Committee, they just would
not want that person presenting and voting. He was asked about taking out the word "advocate" in Item
No. 1. He noted that he added that term because a person would be advocating for a particular project or
proposal.
County Administrator Philip Morley elaborated that a person on the advisory committee, even if they are
not presenting, may be asked questions and they may need to speak on behalf of the project in some
fashion. Chair Jahnke asked if that would rule out clarifying questions? County Administrator Morley
asked if answering clarifying questions would make them an advocate? DPA Alvarez answered that it
probably would not be a big deal to delete "or advocate ", but it was there to have the different hats be
very distinct. He stated that on the other end of the spectrum, he is not sure if someone who has a vote,
should be advocating.
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of December 2, 2013
Chair Jahnke noted that the presenter has never actually voted or ranked any of the proposals. The
voting he is talking about is usually reassessing the process; changing bi -laws,
changing how they operate. It has always been practice that the presenter has always recused themselves
from the meeting and the voting.
Commissioner Sullivan stated the most important thing to him would be disclosure. He does not have a
problem with a member being the presenter and voting as long as they disclose their stance.
County Administrator Morley pointed out that there are quite a few boards where members have an
interest in the projects that the advisory board is recommending, who may present and also vote.
Chairman Austin noted that the RCW governing the Lodging Tax and Advisory Committee (LTAC)
requires them to have two recipients and two donors. DPA Alvarez commented that is not the case for
the Conservation Futures statute, the suggestions only came about by two past Conservation Futures
Citizen Oversight Committee members, Raven and John Wood.
Chairman Austin asked DPA Alvarez if the suggestions were given in response to the concerns of the
two past committee members or if he was just giving the County his legal perspective on the issues?
DPA Alvarez replied that there is not a conflict of interest, but it would be cleaner in the future to add
that separation.
Environmental Health Specialist Pokorny stated that right now the recusal process is in the By -Laws and
she asked if it was necessary to have it amended in the County Code, as proposed, or would it be viable
to have the committee make changes to the By -Laws? County Administrator Morley replied that right
now they are determining if any modifications are desirable and legally necessary, and if they are
desirable, which changes they would want to make.
Commissioner Johnson asked what the By -Laws specifically say in regard to recusal? Environmental
Health Specialist Pokorny read the following By -Laws and the questions that are stated at the beginning
of the ranking meeting:
"Are you, as a committee member, able to hear and consider this proposal in a fair and objective
manner, that is without bias, without a pre- disposition to any particular result regarding this proposal or
application ?"
Environmental Health Specialist Pokorny stated if someone answered "no", then they must immediately
recuse themselves. There are other questions along these same lines that are asked as well. DPA Alvarez
commented that he does not have a strong opinion about the suggestions he made. He stated that part of
the reasoning behind the suggestions were due to the statements made by committee members Raven
and John Woods and another part of his reason was to make the verbiage cleaner.
DPA Alvarez asked if recusal is noted in the By -Laws? Environmental Health Specialist Pokorny stated
that right now, if you have a conflict, you have to recuse yourself from discussing that particular project.
Administrator Morley asked if it addressed the issue of who the presenter is? Specialist Pokorny read an
excerpt from a draft of the Conservation Futures By -Laws in which they will add the following question:
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of December 2, 2013
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"Are you, as a committee member, also a sponsor, applicant or any representative advocate presenter or
agent of any sponsor or applicant ?"
County Administrator Morley stated that question is fairly broad. If recusal was necessary, what would
they exactly be recused from? Environmental Health Specialist Pokorny read another excerpt which
states: "...you must immediately recuse yourself from any debate or deliberation regarding that
proposal."
The Board discussed and agreed that DPA Alverez' suggested revisions No. 1 and No. 2 were not
necessary and the proposed additions to the By -Laws as they pertain to the suggested revisions also
seem unnecessary. Chairman Austin noted that there are times when they listen to the same
presentation and when it comes time to vote, they may still have questions about the subject matter. He
agrees that there should be recusals from voting, if warranted.
Commissioner Sullivan moved to direct staff to make the revisions to the County Code as stated in
suggested revision Item No. 3 and 4. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion. County
Administrator Morley asked if this would leave the County open to legal issues. DPA Alvarez stated that
it was possible.
Chairman Austin called for a vote on the motion. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
DPA Alvarez urged Environmental Health Specialist Pokorny to make the following statement at the
beginning of the next Conservation Futures Citizen Oversight Committee meeting stating: "This has
been discussed in detail by the Board and the Board is comfortable with the current By -Laws and the
current Code."
COUNTYADMINISTRA TOR BRIEFING SESSION: County Administrator Philip
Morley reviewed the following with the Board.
Calendar Coordination
• The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting will adjourn by 11:45 a.m. to allow the
Commissioners to attend a meeting with Representative Derek Kilmer at the Chamber of
Commerce
• Commissioner Johnson will be attending an Integrated Watershed Plan (IWP) meeting on
December 4, 2013
• Commissioner Sullivan and Commissioner Johnson will be attending a Peninsula Regional
Transportation Planning Organization (PRTPO) Public Outreach meeting on December 5, 2013
• Commissioner Sullivan and Commissioner Johnson will be attending a Port Townsend School
District Maritime meeting on December 5, 2013 regarding the Regional Transportation Plan
• Commissioner Johnson will be attending an Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA)
meeting on December 11, 2013
• All three Commissioners will be attending a Hood Canal Coordinating Council (HCCC) meeting
in Mason County on December 11, 2013
• Chairman Austin will be attending a JeffCom meeting on December 19, 2013
• The BOCC meeting for December 23, 2013 has been cancelled
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of December 2, 2013
• There will be an HCCC meeting on January 15, 2014
• County Administrator Philip Morley will be attending a JeffCom meeting on January 23, 2014
• Chairman Austin will be attending a National Association of County Officials (NACo)
Conference in March, 2014
Miscellaneous Issues:
• Department of Community Development (DCD) project applications
• County budget, structural funding issues, public outreach (quarterly perspective in the Leader)
• 4th Quarter Appropriations
• Public connection opportunities: Perspective in paper versus On the Road versus individual
presentations to chambers and service organizations
• The Board's Official Business (BOB); summary of public comments
Future Agenda Items: Commissioner Committee Assignments
NOTICE OFADJOURNMENT. Commissioner Johnson moved to adjourn the meeting
at 3:26 p.m. until the neat regular meeting or special meeting as properly noticed. Commissioner
Sullivan s&onded hhe motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
SEAL: �, �40CL.'!��~.�
John ti , h it
• a
ATTEST:
Carolyn Amory
Deputy Clerk of the Board
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