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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM111014�4 cv ON no C 9 At NGv 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 November 10, 2014 Chairman John Austin called the meeting to order at the appointed time in the presence of Commissioner Phil Johnson and Commissioner David Sullivan. 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 local schools and courthouse need more security; and 2) More assistance needs to be given to local homeless individuals; • Two citizens suggested a device such as a Sound Pressure Level (SPL) device be used if the proposed Noise Ordinance passes; • A citizen commented that he is pleased that Jefferson County voter turnout was 70% and that the Board is moving forward with 4 pieces of legislation; • A citizen thanked the Auditor and staff for handling this year's election; and • A citizen stated: 1) Having good candidates yields higher voter turnout; 2) He sees no indication that homeless individuals are living in the area of Kah Tai Park as a previous commentator indicated. APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA: 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. 1. HEARING NOTICE re: Clean Water District Ordinance; Hearing Scheduled for Monday, November 24, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. in the Commissioners' Chambers 2. HEARING NOTICE re: Noise Control Ordinance; Hearing Scheduled for Monday, November 24, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. in the Commissioners' Chambers 3. AGREEMENT, Supplement No. 1 re: Port Hadlock Wastewater Facility Collection System Local Improvement District Support Services; No Change in Dollar Amount; Jefferson County Public Works; Tetra Tech, Inc. 4. Final Short Plat Alteration re: T.E.C. Commercial Short Plat (U- Haul); To Eliminate Interior Lot Lines from Four Lot Subdivisions; SUB13- 00008/MLA13- 00094; AMERCO Real Estate Company (U- Haul), Applicant 5. Advisory Board Resignation re: Climate Action Committee, Michael Tweiten, Representative for Local 20/20 6. Payment of Jefferson County Payroll Warrants Dated November 5, 2014 Totaling $849,309.75 Page 1 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 10, 2014 COMMISSIONERS BRIEFING SESSION: The Commissioners each provided updates on the following items: Chairman Austin - Attended the Hood Canal Coordinating Council (HCCC) Achievement Awards with Commissioner Johnson last week. - Will be attending a State Board of Health meeting and discussing shellfish poisoning this week. - Reminded everyone November 11, 2014 is Veterans Day. Commissioner Johnson - Displayed an original set of wooden clock hands used on the Courthouse clock tower. The hands were replaced in 1976. Commissioner Sullivan - Attended a Future of Healthcare Forum at Fort Worden last week. - Attended a Conservation District annual meeting last week. - Will be attending a regional Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) meeting this week. PRESENTATION re: North Olympic Peninsula Medal of Honor Memorial Highway: Highway Supporter Gerald Rettela stated he is working on a piece of legislation to honor four Jefferson and Clallam County residents who received a Medal of Honor for their military service. Mr. Rettela proposed Highway 19 between the junction of state route number 104 and 20 as the North Olympic Peninsula Medal of Honor Memorial Highway. The purpose of the highway memorial is to honor those who served and sacrificed their lives for our country. Chairman Austin read the proposed draft resolution and noted that the Board previously voiced their support for this memorial highway. Mr. Rettela will present the draft resolution to the Washington State Secretary of Transportation Ms. Lynn Peterson. BRIEFING re: Draft Animal Responsibility Code: County Administrator Philip Morley stated that Chapter 6.05 of the Jefferson County Code refers to Animal Responsibility. The proposed changes cover the same ground but add some new provisions that were not previously listed. He added that once the draft ordinance is finalized, and if adopted, it would replace the existing chapter. Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Alvarez joined the meeting shortly after discussion started. County Administrator Morley indicated that he is also seeking comments and suggestions from the public for the draft of the Animal Responsibility Code. He reviewed each section of the chapter from 030 to 500. The Board discussed possible edits and verbiage changes which County Administrator Morley will include in the draft of the Animal Responsibility Code. He added that the proposed code is currently in the refinement stage. Page 2 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 10, 2014 County Administrator Morley pointed out some of the notable revisions or additions to the chapter. He stated that one of the revisions define different categories of facilities that house dogs and cats. The Animal Shelter on Critter Lane in Port Townsend is currently County - owned. Animals in Jefferson County that have been seized, end up at this facility. He added there are quite a few privately owned animal shelters in the County such as Paws, the Humane Society, non - profit groups, commercial kennels or privately owned kennels. The proposed ordinance differentiates responsibilities. Animal control responsibility is with the Sheriff s Department as they do enforcement. The Humane Society operates the County's Animal Shelter under contract. The Humane Society is also under contract as a pet licensing agent. He reviewed the fee schedule which included a series of updates to bring it into alignment, separating County and private function. He added that private entities do not need to be included in the County Code. A new section referencing dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs has been added. Another addition includes standards for animal shelters, welfare facilities and kennels. Careful review of those additions is suggested. A major change to the ordinance is the removal of howling and barking dog regulations as part of this Code. The proposed ordinance also makes it mandatory for anyone who is residing in unincorporated Jefferson County, to get their dog licensed. County Administrator Morley stated that his contact information is on the proposed Animal Responsibility Ordinance and he welcomes any comments or feedback from the public regarding technical issues or other ideas that would further the Code. The hearing notice will be presented to the Board by November 24, 2014. The meeting was recessed at 11:06 a.m. and reconvened at 1:37 p.m. with Chairman Austin and Commissioner Johnson present. Commissioner Sullivan joined the meeting at 1:41 p.m. DISCUSSION re: Participation in the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Workers' Compensation Retrospective Rating Program: Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Retro Program Manager Brian Bishop was present to discuss Jefferson County's possible participation in AWC's Worker's Compensation Retrospective Rating Program and Pool. County Administrator Philip Morley stated that in the past, Jefferson County has participated in a Retro Pool for worker's compensation that was operated by the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) with the help of Sedgwick, which is the third party claims administrator. There were a number of counties in the pool, not Jefferson County, that drove our collective experience into negative territory for three consecutive years which then endangered the entire pool and potentially subjected Jefferson County to higher rates or even paying assessments. As a result, a decision was made by WSAC to discontinue that pool. WSAC has worked with AWC to broker an opportunity for individual counties to participate in AWC's retro pool. Mr. Bishop stated that he and AWC are excited about the potential partnership with the counties. He previously worked with the counties in the WSAC Retro Pool. He joined AWC and is now running their Page 3 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 10, 2014 Retro Pool and the Drug and Alcohol Consortium for testing of Commercial Driver License (CDL) drivers. Due to Mr. Bishop's past working relationship with counties across Washington, he was approached by counties about what they could do regarding assessments. The issue these counties are facing is that for a few years, they have had to pay assessments. An assessment occurs at the end of the year when the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L &I) looks at all worker compensation injuries. When the reported amount of injuries is higher than the county's premiums, the county receives an additional assessment. Mr. Bishop explained that workers compensation insurance is paid every year, just like you would pay your car insurance. An assessment is comparable to that of getting in a car accident, your rates are going to go up. But with workers compensation insurance, instead of your rates going up, you get charged an additional penalty called an assessment. Washington State has a requirement that if a Retro Group has three assessments in a row, the group must be disbanded. The WSAC Retro Pool has had to disband due to this requirement. Mr. Bishop stated that another reason the WSAC Retro Pool had to disband was due to rules changes that L &I made to their retro program. In January 2011, they created "New Retro," which is a different method of calculating premiums and refunds. As a result of this "New Retro," it made it more difficult for entities that paid lower premiums, to obtain refunds. County Administrator Morley clarified that Mr. Bishop is referring to an individual county approach, but because we are in a pool with several counties, even though our claims experience was good, we were tarnished by the experience factor of the other counties. Mr. Bishop explained further that Jefferson County is part of a "pooling concept." L &I takes all of the counties' premiums paid in one year and they compare it to all the claims that occurred in that year. For each of those years where the counties were charged an assessment through the pool, Jefferson County actually helped the pool each year they were in it because of its good individual experience. All Jefferson County departments and employees have had very safe records for many years. That is why AWC wants Jefferson County to join their pool. The County's good record would actually help AWC's Retro Pool. Mr. Bishop stated that AWC consists of 100 cities and three special purpose districts for a total of 103 Retro Pool members with a pool amount of $13.5 million. The larger the pool, with safe workers, the better chance of getting a refund. To compare, WSAC's pool was about $2 million, making it hard to get a refund. In January 2012, AWC brought a third party administration of claims in -house to focus on public entities. They looked at 14 counties and invited 7 of those counties to participate in AWC's Retro Pool, Jefferson County being one of them. A number of counties will only be participating in service -only Third Party Administrator (TPA) programs and not participating in AWC's Retro Pool. AWC's Board of Directors is made up of the AWC Executive Committee. They are the Retro Board. The Advisory Committee is the operating committee which advises and makes recommendations to the Executive Board. The Advisory Committee meets 3 times per year to review specific claims of specific entities. They recommend types of distributions to be awarded as refunds. Mr. Bishop noted that a county position was added to the Advisory Board as part of the agreement with WSAC. Another Page 4 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 10, 2014 N" position for counties may be added in the future. AWC will also be hiring another loss - prevention staff person. AWC offers a Retro Safety Academy which is four days and provides three courses each day. Each course is 1.5 hours. The Safety Academy is included in the cost to the County. Also included is: • On -site Visits • Accident Prevention Programs • Assistance with Policy Development • On -site Training • Hearing Testing • Assistance with Return to Work Programs • Effective safety committees In- person training and webinars may also be available. The County can send as many employees as it would like. If 4 employees take the courses and graduate, the County will receive a 15% discount off of the Retro Pool annual fee, however, 3 of the 4 employees must be outside the Human Resource department. Mr. Bishop stated that management participation is mandatory. The County Administrator and Public Works Director would need to take online versions of the training and "Management's Role" training. AWC also has a hearing conservation program. The pool reimburses the County for half of the testing cost for every employee that is exposed to a certain level of noise. The cost to participate in the AWC Retro Pool is 7% of the County's L &I premium. AWC does not keep any part of the refund, it goes back to the members. The average refund to members over the past few years has been approximately 12% of standard L &I premiums. A portion of the refund is returned to the County and a portion is kept by AWC in a reserve account to protect against possible future assessments. Mr. Bishop explained that the standard premium is established by using the following formula: Number of hours worked by employee Multiplied by L &I rates established by industry classes Multiplied by Experience factor Equals = Standard premium In a typical year, the County could receive a 12% refund of premiums paid, which would be $29,511. The service fee of $18,764 would be returned to the County and two years later after the program closes for that year, the County would get back $5,374. Refunds are paid out every December based on claim experience in the previous year. The balance, of $5,374 would be held in a reserve account until the pool retains a certain reserve level. Once that level is reached, the pool will pay the County back the remaining portion, otherwise it is used to pay for any future assessments. AWC wants to insure that in the event there is an assessment, they do not have to come back to the County and ask for additional fees. The money retention account has a policy to hold back 1'h times the maximum assessment that could be assessed in a given year. Currently, AWC is still banking that amount. Page 5 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 10, 2014 - KrCY"I Mr. Bishop stated that if Jefferson County happened to have a bad year in regards to claims experience, they would not be kicked out of the pool for one bad year. He added that they have not kicked out an entity from the pool since 2005. The Advisory Committee looks at the performance of every member every year. Members are ranked by percentages every year. After 3 bad years, an entity goes on probation. At that point, the Advisory Committee makes recommendations to the Executive Board on the removal of entities from the pool. He noted that there is an appeal period for this type of decision. If Jefferson County joins AWC Retro Pool in January 2015, L &I will track total premiums paid and total claim costs for the entire 2015 year. In December, 2016 L &I would give a refund to AWC Retro Pool based on 2015 totals. If the County had a bad year in 2015, the County would only be eligible to receive of the service fee back. Mr. Bishop stated that AWC has only had to go back to members and ask for an assessment one time which was in 2010. It was not a full assessment though, only the 14 members who contributed to the bad year had to pay the assessment. He added that assessments are capped at 17.5% of the total premium. Good performers get the biggest share of the refund and poor performers get their share of the assessment first. At the end of the year, L &I reviews all of the pool's claims. If injuries are higher than premiums, the County would have to pay an assessment. County Administrator Morley complimented Mr. Bishop on doing a great job educating the Board on the AWC Retro Pool. Formal deliberations and possible action on joining the AWC Retro Pool will occur at a future meeting. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS re: Zelatched Point, South Coyle No Shoot Zone Petition: County Administrator Philip Morley handed out two maps, each outlining a different version of a proposed No Shoot Zone in Zelatched Point in South Coyle called: 1) Original Petition; and 2) Alternative No. 1. County Administrator Morley pointed out the difference between the original petition and the proposed Alternative No. 1. The original petition included an area between Zelatched Point Road and Coyle Road up North to Payne Road. Alternative No. 1 proposes to keep Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) land open to shooting, but would maintain a 200 foot setback along Zelatched Point Road, Coyle Road and Payne Road. So as people are driving, they are not traveling between no -shoot areas. Alternative No. 1 is a result of conversations with Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Alvarez and local tribes. The County does not want to interfere with tribal hunting rights as outlined in the Point No Point and Elliott Bay Treaties. Generally, there has been an agreement between DNR and the tribes that DNR lands constitute as "open lands" for purpose of tribal hunting. Deputy Prosecutor Alvarez recommended excluding DNR lands from the expansion area. He also suggested the 200 foot buffer. Page 6 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 10, 2014 AR 17-11 Commissioner Johnson indicated that he would be more comfortable with a 300 foot buffer due to windfall and potential storm damage to trees. The Board discussed the issue of logging. There would be no control over the buffer being logged. Commissioner Sullivan stated that signage may be an issue. County Administrator Morley indicated that there already is a signage issue with no -shoot zones. Chairman Austin stated that he supports Commissioner Johnson's 300 foot buffer recommendation. He likes the no -shoot area as proposed in the original petition, but recognizes the need for recognition of tribal rights. Commissioner Sullivan pointed out that with today's technology, bullets from high powered rifles have the ability to travel quite a distance. That does change what we think of in terms of no -shoot areas. He noted that on the flipside of the argument, people decided to move to a hunting area and now they want a no- shooting area. County Administrator Morley stated that the Commissioners can turn down the proposed no -shoot areas completely. Commissioner Sullivan asked if this particular area has a covenant or something else already protecting them? Chairman Austin stated they have a gate. They try and keep the gate closed. Chairman Austin stated that quite a few people in that area petitioned and asked for a no- shooting zone. He believes it is the Board's duty of government to provide that if a majority of the citizens want it. Commissioner Johnson indicated that he does not agree with that sentiment. It bothers him that people decided to move out to the forest, and now they want protection from the forest. They chose to live in a remote area. Commissioner Sullivan pointed out that as a County, we allowed this area to be platted this way. Jefferson County Code, Chapter 8.50, establishes the process for creating and designating the no -shoot areas. Section 050 deals with the creation, alteration or dissolution of a no -shoot area. There are two ways for initiating the process: 1) Petition filed by residents containing the signatures of at least 20 elector residents of each voting precinct in the area under consideration; and 2) A majority vote of the Board of County Commissioners. County Administrator Morley explained that the petition was submitted, the Auditor reviewed and determined that there were not 20 registered voters in the expansion area. When the Auditor looked at the registration rules, there was not a pool big enough that there would be 20 elector residents. Commissioner Sullivan moved to direct staff to prepare for a public hearing on the proposed No Shoot Area at Zelatched Point on the South Coyle Peninsula, presenting the public with the original petition and Alternative No. 1. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. A hearing notice will be brought to the Board for approval at a future meeting. Page 7 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 10, 2014 R2 COUNTYADMINISTR,4TOR BRIEFING SESSION: County Administrator Philip Morley reviewed the following with the Board. Miscellaneous Items: • DISCUSSION re: Consideration of Possible Transfer of County -Owned Dosewallips Floodplain to Washington State Parks. Environmental Health Specialist Tami Pokorny present. • Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) Board Invitation deadline is November 12, 2014. • Draft Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) schedule for remainder of 2014. • Budget Update. • Boards and Commissions. • Food Bank Association. Calendar Coordination: • Veterans Day is on Tuesday, November 11, 2014. • Commissioner Sullivan will be attending a Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) Regional Legislative Briefing on November 12, 2014. • County Administrator Morley will be attending a Washington Counties Risk Pool (WCRP) Conference November 12 -14, 2014. • All three Commissioners will be attending a Jefferson Transit meeting on November 18, 2014. • Commissioner Sullivan will be attending a Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) Conference in Spokane November 18 -20, 2014. • Chairman Austin and County Administrator Morley will be attending a Budget Committee meeting on November 19, 2014. • Chairman Austin and County Administrator Morley will be attending a Lodging Tax Advisory Committee meeting on November 19, 2014. • The November 19, 2014 Hood Canal Coordinating Council (HCCC) meeting has been cancelled. • The November 20, 2014 JeffCOM meeting has been cancelled. • The Certification of the Election and Swearing in of the Sheriff, Treasurer and Assessor will be on November 25, 2014. • The Jefferson County Courthouse and County facilities will be closed on November 27 and 28, 2014 in observance of Thanksgiving. • Chairman Austin will be out of the office mid- afternoon on November 25, 2014 and will be back in the office on December 1, 2014. • There will be a JeffCOM meeting on December 11, 2014. • There will be an HCCC meeting on December 17, 2014. • There will be a Board of Health meeting on December 18, 2014. • The Jefferson County Courthouse and County facilities will be closed on December 25, 2014 in observance of Christmas. • The Swearing in of Elected officials will be held on January 2, 2014. •.•- Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 10, 2014 NOTICE OFADJOURNMENT. Commissioner Sullivan moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:07 p.m. until the next regular meeting or special meeting as properly noticed. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. SEA ATTEST: Carolyn A cry Deputy Clerk of the Board JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS John Auti , Chair Phil Johnson Member Dade Page 9