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HomeMy WebLinkAbout020215_cbs01o� 0N �Skrrtrs� °� District No. 1 Commissioner: Phil Johnson District No. 2 Commissioner: David W. Sullivan District No. 3 Commissioner: John Austin County Administrator: Philip Morley DRAFT Clerk of the Board: Erin Lundgren MINUTES Week of November 17, 2014 Chairman John Austin called the meeting to order at the appointed time in the presence of Commissioner Phil Johnson and Commissioner David Sullivan. Commissioner Sullivan excused himself from the meeting for an appointment at 9:04 a.m. and returned at 11:05 a.m. 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) Many are helping low income people in this community; and 2) This County's economy needs improvement; • A citizen inquired about sign regulations at County parks; • Two citizens informed the Board that the Jefferson County Democrats will be hosting a meeting this week; • Four citizens commented on the proposed Noise Ordinance; and • A citizen expressed concern regarding the Pacific Northwest Electronic Range. APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSENTAGENDA. Commissioner Johnson moved to approve all the items on the Consent Agenda as presented. Chairman Austin seconded the motion. The motion carried. I. RESOLUTION NO. 49-14 re: Creating a County Project designated as: Rick Tollefson Memorial Trail — Ball Field Connection, County Project Number 1805951956; Old Hadlock Road, County Road No. 527109, from M.P. 0.58 to M.P. 0.82 2. RESOLUTION NO. 50 -14 re: Adoption of the Jefferson County Cost Allocation Plan for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015 3. HEARING NOTICE re: 2015 Jefferson County Budget; Hearing Scheduled for Monday, December 1, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. in the Commissioners' Chambers 4. HEARING NOTICE re: Two Alternatives for Expanding the South Coyle Peninsula No Shooting Area; Hearing Scheduled for Monday, December 8, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at the Cotton Building, 607 Water Street, Port Townsend, WA. 5. AGREEMENT re: Pickup Trucks for Various Jefferson County Departments; In the Amount of $1,097,278.11; Jefferson County Central Services; Legacy Ford 6. Payment of Jefferson County Vouchers/Warrants Dated November 10, 2014 Totaling $423,352.01 7. Payment of Jefferson County Payroll A/P Warrants Done by Payroll Dated November 5, 2014 Totaling $736,772.75 Page I Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 17, 2014 COMMISSIONERS BRIEFING SESSION: The C Mitissioners each provided updates on the following items. (Commissioner Sullivan was absent during this session): Chairman Austin - Attended a State Board of Health meeting last week. - Met with the new Director of Jefferson Mental Health last week. - He will be attending a Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) meeting this week. Commissioner Johnson - Attended an Olympic Region Clean Air Agency meeting in Olympia ( ORCAA) last week. He facilitated resolving a dispute between ORCAA and a local business. The meeting was recessed at 9:45 a.m. and reconvened at 10:07 a.m. with Chairman Austin and Commissioner Johnson present. Commissioner Sullivan was absent. K, HEARING re: Setting the 2015 Ad Valorem Tax Levies for Jefferson County Levy in 2014 and Collection in 2015: County Administrator Philip Morley reviewed the four proposed resolutions before the Board. Three resolutions will set the levies for the Conservation Futures Tax, General Fund Levy, Road Levy and a separate resolution will divert funding to traffic law enforcement. In each case, is a proposal that would increase Jefferson County's levy rate by 1% from the previous year. This amount is separate from any new construction and takes into account a number of other adjustments related to property improvements, refunds, cancellations and refunds. County Administrator Morley explained that the diversion of Road Levy is allowed under RCW 36.33.220 based on the idea that traffic law enforcement still serves for the operation and safety of the roads. It is proposed that the amount to be diverted from the Road Levy to the General Fund remain at $720,000 for the purpose of funding road traffic law enforcement. Chairman Austin opened the hearing for public testimony. Hearing no comments for or against the Setting of the 2015 Ad Valorem Tax Levies for Jefferson County Levy in 2014 and Collection in 2015, Chairman Austin closed the public hearing. Commissioner Johnson moved to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 51 -14 re: Increasing the Jefferson County Conservations Futures Tax Levy for 2015 Taxes. Chairman Austin seconded the motion. The motion carried. Chairman Austin moved to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 52 -14 re: Increasing the Jefferson County General Fund Levy for 2015 Taxes. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion. The motion carried. Commissioner Johnson moved to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 53 -14 re: Increasing the Jefferson County Road Levy for 2015 Taxes. Chairman Austin seconded the motion. The motion carried. Chairman Austin moved to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 54 -14 re: Diversion of Road Levy for Traffic Law Enforcement for the 2015 General Fund Budget. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion. The Page 2 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 17, 2014 motion carried. Ko� I Commissioner Johnson moved to approve a letter to the Assessor re: 2015 Real and Personal Property Levy Amount. Chairman Austin seconded the motion. The motion carried. The meeting was recessed at 10:18 a.m. and reconvened at 10:31 a.m. with Chairman Austin and Commissioner Johnson present. Commissioner Sullivan was absent. HEARING re: Amendment to JCC 18.30.150 — Sign Code: Department of Community Development (DCD) Director Carl Smith and Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor David Alvarez were present for the meeting. Director Smith stated that since 2006, Jefferson County's Sign Code has been in need of a major overhaul. He added that since 2006, staff has worked on the Sign Code many different times. He decided to take over work on the Sign Code due to the importance of it and to free up staff time for other work. Director Smith stated that the proposed Sign Code has been approved by the Planning Commission. He added that a "Clean" version without edit marks of the Sign Code and ordinance, with proposed amendments recommended by the Planning Commission and staff, is included in the packet. Through his own research and that of Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Alvarez, a three part test was implemented to ensure that the proposed Sign Code would hold up in Court. Director Smith stated that in the "exemption" section of the ordinance, a sign must meet all the applicable requirements of a sign, even if that sign does not require a permit. Chairman Austin pointed out that hours of time has been spent putting together this ordinance, including hours of testimony at the Planning Commission; Director Smith's and staff s time; Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Alvarez's time; and discussion with the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) during the afternoon session. A comment made during the Public Comment period asked about County parks' placement of non- governmental signs. Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Alvarez stated that per the ordinance, a property owner can say "no" to the placement of a sign. Chairman Austin noted the Parks and Recreation department should make clear where it is acceptable to post signs. Chairman Austin opened the hearing for public testimony. Tom Thiersch, Jefferson County: He expressed appreciation for the amount of time and effort that has been put into crafting this ordinance. He believes there are a number of questions and issues that still should be settled before you approve this. The first and most disappointing issue is that we have all these regulations in here regarding the sign and permit requirements, but DCD has never adopted, what would be a fairly obvious thing, which is the International Building Code Appendix H which specifically refers to the structural requirements for signs. Mr. Thiersch stated that it seems to him that it would be universally enforceable and accepted standard. He does not understand why the County is continually reinventing the wheel in terms of these kinds of regulations. What is absent from the proposed Page 3 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 17, 2014 ordinance; and what he would like to see added, pertains to Public Works. Mr. Thiersch explained that every year, Public Works issues an advisory memo regarding political signs referring to what can be posted in the right -of -way. He added that the memos that are posted do not refer to regulations or laws, they are merely recommendations and suggestions. They do not have the force of law and they can be confusing, especially when we have a brand new sign code which is at least, in some respect, in conflict with what is already published. Mr. Thiersch requested that Public Works not publish that type of information. He believes it would only be confusing. Other parts of the ordinance that he finds objectionable are the discretionary portions where the County Administrator has the authority to grant a 50% variance in sign size. That is an invitation to corruption. There should be a limit. Either it is 16 feet or it is not. It is not 16 feet or up to 24 feet at the discretion of some person who may be doing a favor for a friend of theirs. That should not be permitted. Just set the limits and stick to them. Mr. Thiersch indicated that there were other wording issues he had problems with, but could not address all of them during testimony. Regarding the description of portable sandwich board signs, the word `portable' is redundant because a sandwich sign, as referred to in the definitions section, is already a portable sign. Little things like that should be cleaned up because it makes the ordinance look silly. Regarding seasonal signs, what is a seasonal sign? Some people wish to observe Christmas throughout the year. That can be a serious religious issue to some folks. The ordinance states if a sign is seasonal, it is exempt. Not really. Regarding signs facing water -ward, he asked if he has a pond on his property, he can't put up a sign that says "Eat at Joe's "? Mr. Thiersch stated that he has a problem with that. There is still some fine tuning that needs to be done. Thanks. Alden Johnson, Port Ludlow: Be stated that during the morning session of the Board of County Commissioner's (BOCC) meeting, he had asked the question "What is the controlling authority for the County Parks ?" His concern pertains to a circus -like situation that happened five years ago regarding Christmas displays in the Capitol Building. At one point past Governor Gregoire asked that the displays be moved outside the building. Mr. Johnson stated he is concerned because if a seasonal sign is considered exempt, could a person place a display out in the County park? A reasonable person travelling down the street, seeing a seasonal sign or display on County property, could assume that it is the County doing the speaking. If it is a religious sign, it would run contrary to the first amendment in which government is prohibited from establishing a religion. Mr. Johnson added that a person who drives down the street, seeing the sign or display, could interpret it as the County endorsing the menorah, festivus pole or whatever else was on display. That is his biggest concern. Other than the County having the authority to decline a sign or display as owners of the property, he did not see much keeping this sort of thing from happening. Commissioner Sullivan re- joined the meeting at 11:05 a.m. Hearing no further testimony, Chairman Austin closed the public hearing. Chairman Austin stated that he assumes that this sign regulation would be subordinate to federal or other government regulations. For example, nowhere in our ordinance does it state you cannot take a sign and start beating someone with it. Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Alvarez was in the audience and replied that Washington State law and Federal law would preempt. He added that this is a land -use regulation and does not consider criminality or those kinds of things. Chairman Austin stated that it would be unnecessary to include a section on religious signs on County property as that Page 4 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 17, 2014 Exe " is already a federal regulation. Deputy Prosecutor Alvarez stated that there is no federal regulation that prohibits religious signs on public property, however, there is case law which prohibits such signs, and case law controls. It is what is known as "Common Law" which dates all the way back to Magna Carta. He added that he has not seen sign codes from other counties that include questions about the first amendment or an establishment clause. Director Smith indicated that if approved, a reduced version of the sign code regulations could be distributed during election season instead of the routine advisory given by Public Works staff. Director Smith addressed an earlier comment regarding the International Building Code, Appendix H. He stated that the County specifically did not adopt that code because portions of it directly conflict with our County's code and more specifically, the sign code. He added there is a common misconception that Appendix H identifies what signs require a building permit, it does not. Commissioner Johnson addressed the comment regarding the County Administrator being able to increase the size of a sign at his or her discretion. Director Smith stated there is guidance for the CountyAdministrator, as outlined in the proposed regulations. There is an exact limit on how large a sign can. Chairman Austin noted that if a County Administrator showed favoritism, he or she would be jeopardizing their job. He added that he liked the ability to allow room for flexibility. Deputy Prosecutor Alvarez added that to avoid favoritism, an outside source could be enlisted to make these types of determinations. The Board decided to not make a decision until Commissioner Sullivan had a chance to review the audio of the Sign Code hearing. The meeting was recessed at 11:19 a.m. and reconvened at 1:33 p.m. with all three Commissioners present. DISCUSSION re. Amendment to JCC 18.30.150 Sign Code — Continued. Commissioner Sullivan reviewed the audio of the hearing regarding the sign code that took place during the morning session in his absence. Chairman Austin noted that there were obvious typographical errors in the proposed sign code. Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Alvarez replied that correcting scrivener errors would not change the substance of the code. Commissioner Johnson moved to adopt ORDINANCE NO. 10- 1117 -14 Amending the Unified Development Code, JCC 18.30.150 Signs, to update certain provisions for clarity, effectiveness and provide for constitutionally protected speech. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. County Administrator Philip Morley will speak to Parks and Recreation regarding signage in County parks. Page 5 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 17, 2014 147] ADDITIONAL BUSINESS re: Appointment to Jefferson Transit Board: Chairman Austin stated that the Jefferson Transit Authority indicated one of the Commissioners should serve on the Public Transportation Benefit Areas (PTBA) Board. Commissioner Sullivan volunteered to serve on the board. Commissioner Johnson moved to appoint Commissioner Sullivan to the PTBA Board. Chairman Austin seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. COUNTYADMINISTRA TOR BRIEFING SESSION: County Administrator Philip Morley reviewed the following with the Board. Calendar Coordination: • Budget Update. 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 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- aftemoon on November 25, 2014 and will be back in the office on December 1, 2014. • There will be a Hood Canal Coordinating Council (HCCC) meeting December 10, 2014. • Commissioner Sullivan will be attending a Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS) meeting on December 10, 2014. • There will be a JeffCOM meeting on December 11, 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, 2015. Miscellaneous Items: Discussion of differing proposals: one by Dick Bennett and Medal of Honor recipients and Marvin Shields Highway 101 versus a second by Gerald Rettella to designate State Route 19. • Noise Ordinance and Acting Sheriff Nole comments of November 10, 2014. The meeting was recessed at 2:40 p.m. and reconvened at 2:48 p.m. with all three Commissioners present. Page 6 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 17, 2014 Miscellaneous Items — continued: • Report from prior week's Washington Counties Risk Pool (WCRP) Board meeting. • Budget update. • Washington State Auditor's Office exit conference. Commissioner Johnson to attend. • Navy Growler Jet Expansion meeting. Commissioner Johnson wants to research if there is a need for a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Scoping Hearing rather than a scoping meeting on December 4, 2014. • WSAC Legislative Steering Committee (LSC) meeting at 2:00 p.m. on November 18, 2014. • WSAC Timber Counties: Meeting November 20, 2014 in Spokane. Commissioner Sullivan will he either attending in person, or participating via conference call. • WSAC Coastal Caucus: Commissioner Johnson may participate via conference call. • NACo: Public Lands Committee needs a new Jefferson County representative. NOTICE OFADJOURNMENT. Commissioner Sullivan moved to adjourn the meeting at 3:39 p.m. until the next regular meeting or special meeting as properly noticed. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. SEAL: ATTEST: Carolyn Avery Deputy Clerk of the Board JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS John Austin, Chair Phil Johnson, Member David Sullivan, Member Page 7