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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM01121404 �� ON 4 kIN�� 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 January 13, 2014 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: • A citizen stated: 1) The Chris Christie fiasco shows how fast something can spin out of control; 2) The new Gulfstream jet is proof that part of the economy is booming; 3) Certain jobs have thousands of applicants; 4) The Republican party won't sign on to unemployment extensions; and 5) The Mountain View facility is an asset to the entire County; and • A citizen stated: 1) A movement in Seattle is pushing for $15/hour minimum wage, Jefferson County should think about raising its minimum wage; 2) He has concerns about a No -Bid Contract on the Consent Agenda; and 3) The Board should use their legislative powers to enact laws like nuisance ordinances. APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA: 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. Reject Bid Award re: Center Road Overlay Phase 6: MP 4.39 to 6.86, County Project No. CR1928, Federal Aid Project No. STPR -Q16 (009); Jefferson County Public Works 2. CALL FOR BIDS re: Center Road Overlay Phase 6; M.P. 4.39 to 6.86, County Project No. CR1928, Federal Aid Project No. STPR -Q 161 (009); Bids will be Accepted Until 9:30 a.m. on Monday, February 10, 2014 and Opened and Read Publicly at 10:00 a.m. or shortly thereafter in the Commissioner's Chambers, Jefferson County Courthouse 3. AGREEMENT re: Legislative Liaison Services — Port Hadlock Wastewater Systems; In the Amount of $85,000; Jefferson County Public Works; Strategies 360 4. AGREEMENT re: Evidenced Based Expansion, Functional Family Therapy (FFT) Program; In the Amount of $77,208; Jefferson County Juvenile Services; Craig Isenburg 5. AGREEMENT re: 2014 Community Services Grant Funding; In the Amount of $4,550; Jefferson County Fair Association 6. Payment of Jefferson County Vouchers /Warrants Dated December 26, 2013 Totaling $51,015.91 7. Payment of Jefferson County Payroll Warrants Dated January 3, 2014 totaling $819,312.82 and A/P Warrants Done by Payroll Dated December 31, 2013 Totaling $726,278.29 Page 1 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of January 13, 2014 XKK111 � COMMISSIONERS BRIEFING SESSION: The Commissioners each provided updates on the following items: Chairman Austin - Met with Senator Hargrove in Olympia last week regarding Regional Support Network (RSN) funding and attended a Washington State Board of Health (BOH) meeting. - Will be attending a local BOH meeting this week. - Reported there have been 11 flu deaths in Washington. H1N1 is the most common strain going around and is included in the flu immunization shot. Commissioner Sullivan - Attended a Legislative Steering Committee (LSC) meeting last week in Olympia. Part of the discussion focused on the mental health sales tax supplant language and funding. Commissioner Johnson - Met with the Executive Director of the Wild Fish Conservancy and a retired County Commissioner from Whidbey Island regarding Atlantic Salmon and net pens. Will be a speaker at a Northwest Straits meeting later this month. The meeting was recessed at 9:29 a.m. and reconvened at 10:01 a.m. with all three Commissioners present. Discussion and Approval of a Proposed Resolution re: Adopting the Jefferson County / City of Port Townsend 2013 Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan: Emergency Management Manager Bob Hamlin and JeffCom Chair and City Council member Deborah Stinson were present and reviewed the proposed 2013 Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan with the Board. Mr. Hamlin stated that the proposed comprehensive plan is a strategic plan on how the community will respond to an emergency and recovery. He added that failing to plan, is a plan to fail. He noted that due to limited resources, a good relationship needs to exist between the City of Port Townsend and the County, therefore the plan calls for a joint resolution. In the last couple of years, the relationship between the City and County has improved significantly at both the policy and operational level. Ms. Stinson stated she wants to ensure that the community as a whole is prepared in the event of an emergency. She mentioned there are approximately 125 neighborhoods in Jefferson County and Mr. Hamlin is working toward establishing good connection points and reinvigorating those neighborhoods through training programs this year. Commissioner Sullivan stated that not every emergency situation will be the same and strong community relationships are beneficial. He added that he feels good about the network in the community. Commissioner Johnson noted that the plan contains a list of action priorities and addresses environmental impacts before the economic impacts. He appreciates the effort of placing the environment first. Mr. Hamlin noted that the environmental impact was included as part of the recovery because recovery can take months and sometimes years. Page 2 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of January 13, 2014 Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve RESOLUTION NO. 03-14 adopting the Jefferson County — City of Port Townsend 2013 Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. The meeting was recessed at 10:26 a.m. and reconvened at 1:37 p.m. with all three Commissioners present. Discussion re: Review of Draft Program materials and Proposed Resolution to begin the 2014 Conservation Futures Funding Cycle: Environmental Health Specialist Tami Pokorny, Conservation Futures Citizens Oversight Committee ( CFCOC) Chair Rick Jahnke and CFCOC member Lorna Smith were present for the discussion. County Administrator Philip Morley noted that the CFCOC has recommended some changes both to the scoring sheet and particularly to the manual, partially in response to the issues raised by members Raven and John Wood over a year ago. Ms. Pokorny stated that the Committee met twice last fall and made recommendations for updating the Conservation Futures application, rating sheet and manual. She noted that she has incorporated those recommendations into those materials which is summarized in the "Summary of Proposed Changes to 2014 Conservation Futures Funding Cycle Materials" that is included in the Board's Packet. She added that she developed a draft resolution that defines the application period and the amount of funding available for next year's projects, which is substantially lower than previous years. This was due to the Tarboo Project which is a multi -year project. Commissioners have the opportunity to give their input on the suggestions made by the CFCOC and staff. It would be a good idea to review and comment on the By -Laws as well. Ms. Smith stated that the near consensus of the CFCOC was that if it is not broken, do not fix it. Ms. Pokorny noted that in the manual she had required sponsors to record documents within 30 days from closing, but that it may not be necessary. Commissioner Sullivan stated that 30 days seems reasonable. Mr. Jahnke added that the current verbiage of the manual states that a sponsor must maintain their records for six years. The CFCOC is presumably filing properties away for decades and it would be nice to make sure that before the sponsor gets rid of information, the CFCOC would ensure that everything was formally recorded to title and received verification of that. By making it a requirement for sponsors to record documents within 30 days of closing, it would alleviate any title issues that may arise in the future. Chairman Austin stated that he appreciates the work of the CFCOC and the amount of work that goes into deciding how the funds are distributed and visiting the different sites. He added that the people who are sponsoring projects are creative in how they come up with 50% fund matching. He also suggested a change to the Jefferson County Conservation Futures Program Manual 2014 Funding Cycle on page 6 under Acquisition Projects. He is concerned about the wording regarding multi -year acquisition projects being generally discouraged. He feels it might discourage someone from grabbing an opportunity. He would like to see the last sentence that states "Multi-year acquisition projects are generally discouraged" removed. He believes it takes away a tool that could make a difference. Page 3 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of January 13, 2014 KK� Commissioner Johnson asked why this language was added to the manual? Ms. Pokorny replied that it was added at the recommendation of Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor David Alvarez in response to Mr. Wood's letter. Ms. Smith added that when the committee was considering the Tarboo Project, a lot of discussion ensued regarding the advisability of multi -year projects. The feeling was that if a great project were to come in the following year, they would not have the opportunity to compete if the majority of the funds had already been allocated. Mr. Jahnke stated they try to split the projects and make them ambiguous enough that it would not rule out multi -year projects if a good one were to come along. On the other hand, you do not really want a majority of big projects applying. Ms. Smith noted that the Tarboo Project was a particular situation due to extenuating circumstances. Ms. Pokorny mentioned that one of Prosecutor Alvarez' concerns regarding the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) earmarking funding, is that it would then bind future members of the BOCC. She added that Ms. Smith pointed out there could also be future changes to the law. County Administrator Morley indicated that he believes the context of Prosecutor Alvarez' response was recognizing that Mr. Wood is an attorney, and part of it may have been an effort to accommodate as many of the concerns as possible to avoid a potential pro se legal challenge by Mr. Wood. He believes it is part of the risk continuum, it does not necessarily mean the position is correct. It is to say, that to avoid risk of legal challenge, this is how we could accommodate that. He stated it is appropriate for the Commissioners to weigh in as a matter of policy in regard to what type of projects they would like to see and what degree of risk they are willing to take on behalf of the County. Commissioner Sullivan stated it may be better to include a list of pros and cons instead of discouraging applicants. Chairman Austin mentioned that the concern regarding wrapping up money the next year will always be an issue but he believes it is very important that the committee have as much legal flexibility as they can so they can seize the moment when needed. Commissioner Sullivan stated that on the flipside, by not using all the funding in a particular year and waiting until next year to fund a project, people may argue to downsize Conservation Futures funding since they did not use all the funds allocated for that year. He indicated that he would like to see the committee have maximum flexibility and give recommendations to the BOCC. Commissioner Johnson mentioned that he did not have a problem with the verbiage under Acquisition Projects in the manual. He noted that there may be an issue over the term "generally ". County Administrator Morley explained that Mr. Wood's complaint was that CFCOC was allowing multi -year projects and that the question before the Board is whether that is a sufficient reason to start discouraging multi -year projects or whether the County respectfully disagrees with Mr. Wood. Page 4 XCommissioners Meeting Minutes of January 13, 2014 Chairman Austin stated that Raven maintained that the opinions of the County attorney need not be attended to, only the opinion of a trial judge. Commissioner Sullivan believes that there was a fundamental misunderstanding by the people making complaints in regard to who made the decisions. He stated that the BOCC makes the decision and they appreciate the CFCOC's advice. Chairman Austin added that decisions are easier to make because the projects that the CFCOC presents to the Board are well vetted. County Administrator Morley asked if the multi -year projects were originally proposed as multi -year, or were they proposed as single year and then evolved into multi -year? Commissioner Sullivan replied that they volunteered to be adjusted and Ms. Smith concurred. Commissioner Johnson stated that if he had a large multi -year project and he had read the statement "Multi year acquisition projects are generally discouraged" he would be discouraged and most likely not move forward. He suggested deleting the sentence. Discussion followed regarding the possibility of requiring multi -year projects to submit a finding that outlines the need for multi -year. County Administrator Morley asked Ms. Pokorny to draft up verbiage summarizing what the group had just discussed regarding multi -year. Ms. Pokorny asked if the statement should read "Multi -year acquisition projects are allowed but should be accompanied by written justification...?" County Administrator Morley replied that Ms. Pokorny could take a moment and write down what she believes would fit and then present it to the Board. While Ms. Pokorny was writing out the verbiage, Ms. Smith elaborated on a recent CFCOC meeting regarding multi -year projects and the pros and cons that went into the decision of adding the aforementioned line to the manual discouraging multi -year projects. She stated that the CFCOC ultimately did not want to discourage larger projects, but with larger projects there is a chance that smaller projects may be turned away because the money would already have been allocated to the larger projects. Commissioner Sullivan noted that in the sentence prior to the one in question, it states "Applicants are encouraged to submit pertinent materials and documents, as appropriate, in addition to those items required." He suggested expanding that sentence to read "Multi -year acquisitions are encouraged to analyze the long term issues (or implications)." Mr. Jahnke suggested it read "Multi -year acquisitions are permitted but require additional justification." County Administrator Morley asked Ms. Pokorny what verbiage she suggests. She proposed it read "Please provide justification for submission offending requests spanning multiple years." County Administrator Morley asked Mr. Jahnke again what his suggestion was. Mr. Jahnke proposed it read "Multi year acquisition projects are permitted, but require addition al justification." County Administrator asked the Commissioners how they felt about Mr. Jahnke's suggestion and they all agreed on using his verbiage. County Administrator Morley asked the Commissioners if there was anything else in the manual or scoring sheet they would like to discuss? Chairman Austin suggested changing the last sentence to Article IX: Amendment of By -Laws. It currently reads "These By -Laws, in their present form or as amended, may be subject to review by the County Commissioners in the fourth calendar year after their enactment by the Committee, and every fourth year thereafter." He suggested ending the sentence at Page 5 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of January I' ), 2014 "...review by the County Commissioners." He believes if this is not changed, it would tell future Commissioners that they cannot review these By -Laws. County Administrator Morley asked why trigger the periodic review if it is working okay? Ms. Smith replied that By -Laws should probably be reviewed periodically to see if they are consistent with new ordinances. Commissioner Sullivan asked if the Commissioners are the ones that are actually doing the review, or are they doing the amending based on the recommendations by the committee? Ms. Smith replied that would make more sense. Ms. Pokorny stated that currently the By -Laws can be amended by a 2/3 vote of the CFCOC. Ms. Smith queried as to when the Commissioners would want to become involved in changes to the By -Laws. Commissioner Johnson stated that in reviewing the same paragraph, the second sentence where it reads "Any regular Committee member may propose an amendment..." the word "regular' may not be necessary. County Administrator Morley stated the proposed resolution before the Commissioners reads "Jefferson County hereby approves of the draft 2014 Conservation Futures Program Manual, Application and Score Sheet. " He asked Ms. Pokorny what requires these documents to come before the Commissioners for approval? Ms. Pokorny replied that the ordinance states that the Commissioners should review program goals every two years. She added that this has been done annually in the past. County Administrator Morley indicated that if this procedure is done automatically every year, and for instance if something odd was changing in the By -Laws that would affect the scoring or how the program was being run, it would be noticed and flagged for review. He noted that at this time, it sounds like a matter of practice and not a requirement that the materials come before the Commissioners for review. Ms. Pokorny stated that County Administrator Morley was correct. Commissioner Sullivan asked if the proposed resolution would change the By -Laws? County Administrator Morley replied it would not. Commissioner Johnson noted that in the By -Laws, the last sentence reads "...or as amended, may be subject to review by the County Commissioners..." the words "May be" should be removed. He elaborated that his previous comment about the "regular" members should be clarified. Ms. Smith agreed and stated that it should read "any committee member in good standing" or "any committee member' or "voting member." County Administrator Morley pointed out that Ms. Pokorny handed him information on the ordinance creating the CFCOC. He read a section of it to the Commissioners "... the Citizens Oversight Committee shall adopt rules of conduct and abide by the rules of conduct, to include adherence to applicable statutes on issues such as conflict of interest. A chair and vice -chair may be elected, from among the members." Under Item No. 5 it reads "The Citizens Oversight Committee shall review program principles at least once every two years and make recommendations to the BOCC for modification to the program." He asked what would constitute "program principles ?" Ms. Pokorny replied that she had searched the Ordinance for that term, and Item No. 5 is the only place that it is written. She stated that it has been interpreted as being the annual program materials. County Administrator Morley asked Chairman Austin about his proposed language change to the last sentence in Article IX: Amendment of By -Laws. Chairman Austin reiterated that he would like the sentence to end at "...review by the County Commissioners." It is notification to the committee that any changes they make are subject to review by the County Commissioners. Mr. Jahnke suggested to remove the words "may be" and replace with "are." Commissioner Johnson reiterated changing the Page 6 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of January 13, 2014 second sentence of the same paragraph where it reads "Any regular Committee member may propose an amendment..." the word "regular" should be replaced with "voting." County Administrator Morley asked if the Commissioners approve each amendment when the By -Laws get amended, or should the amendments be subject to review? Ms. Smith would like the amendments to be subject to review because there may be times where a minor change is being made. Chairman Austin agreed. County Administrator Morley read the proposed change to the last sentence: "These By -Laws, and any future amendments, are subject to review by County Commissioners." He added that since the By -Laws are adopted by the CFCOC itself, the Commissioners could pass a motion requesting the CFCOC amend their By -Laws accordingly. Commissioner Johnson moved to approve the changes to the Conservation Futures Manual with the edits suggested by Mr. Jahnke. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. Commissioner Sullivan moved to recommend that the CFCOC amend their By -Laws as recommended. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. A Resolution will be submitted for approval at a later date. The meeting was recessed at 2:27 p.m. and reconvened at 2:35 p.m. with all three Commissioners present. COUNTYADMINISTRA TOR BRIEFING SESSION: County Administrator Philip Morley reviewed the following with the Board. Calendar Coordination • Commissioner Johnson and Chairman Austin will be attending a Hood Canal Coordinating Council (HCCC) meeting on January 15, 2014 • Commissioner Sullivan will be attending the Human Services Transportation Plan Stakeholder's meeting on January 15, 2014 • There will be no Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting on Martin Luther King Day January 20, 2014. The BOCC meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 21, 2014. There will be no County Administrator Briefing session on that day • Chairman Austin will be out of the office January 22 -24, 2014 • Commissioner Johnson and County Administrator Philip Morley will be attending a JeffCom meeting January 23, 2014 • Commissioner Johnson will be attending a Solid Waste Advisory Committee (S WAC) meeting January 23, 2014. • Commissioner Sullivan will be attending the Legislative Steering Committee (LSC) meeting on January 22 -23, 2014 • Commissioner Johnson will be attending the Coastal Caucus on January 22, 2014 Page 7 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of January 13, 2014 There will be a Quarterly Elected Officials and Department Director meeting on January 27, 2014 Chairman Austin will be attending a Washington Tourism Summit on January 28, 2014 County Administrator Philip Morley will be attending a Finance Committee meeting on January 28, 2014 Miscellaneous Issues: • Update from Associate Planner Michelle McConnell regarding the Shoreline Master Program (SMP). She is working closely with Jeffrey Stewart of the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) on getting the information ready for review and approval by the DOE Director • Healthcare Improvement Plan; there are push backs from local health jurisdictions and directors • Tri -Area Sewer: Grant funding, final plans completed for the sewer treatment plant • Parks & Recreation: City's proposal regarding funding 2014 Legislative Session: • Supplementary budget not anticipated • Transportation • Regional Support Network (RSN); focus on changes and make sure Counties are protected with the new health laws • Growth Management Act as it applies to Jefferson County • Proposed Bill re: septic /sewer systems • Financial forecast NOTICE OFADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Johnson moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:31 p.m. until the next regular meeting or special meeting as properly noticed. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. y iiiJ SEAL: o• � %y I 1 r J J ATTEST: I w� ` �� Carolyn A 'ery U Deputy Clerk of the Board JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Phil'J Page 8