HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-09-08Board’s Official Business
Highlights from Monday’s Commissioner Meeting September 9, 2008
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: The
following comments were made by
citizens: a citizen stated his opinion on the
campaign being run by Puget Sound
Energy to influence voters to vote against
Proposition #1 in the General Election
which would give the Jefferson County
PUD the authority to get into the electrical
utility business; a citizen who is in favor of
storing the County’s permanent records
electronically explained that he doesn’t
think all the County offices have to convert
at the same time because separate
departments in several counties have
received Local Records Grants from the
Office of the Secretary of State; a person
noted that he doesn’t think the Board will
have officially approved the Brinnon
Master Planned Resort (MPR) until they
sign off on the development agreement; a
person stated his views that the Port of
Port Townsend is the only governmental
entity in the County that has the authority
to carry out economic development
projects; a citizen mentioned the need for
people to remember the events of
9/11/2001 on the upcoming anniversary;
and a citizen thanked the Board for their
service to the County.
CONSENT AGENDA: The Board
approved all of the items as presented.
RESOLUTION: Cancellation of Unclaimed
Warrants
HEARING NOTICE: Proposed Ordinance
amending Ordinance No. 06-0726-93 fees
for the Solid Waste Division to implement
a fee for yard debris disposal; Hearing is
scheduled for Monday, September 22,
2008 at 10:00 a.m. in the Commissioners’
Chambers
3 AGREEMENTS: 1) Well inspection
delegation with Washington State
Department of Ecology; 2) Birth to Three
Years with Concerned Citizens of Forks;
and, 3) GIS data gathering and
compilation with microDATA GIS, Inc.
COMMISSIONERS BRIEFING: The
following items were discussed.
•Commissioner Austin reported that
the State is now committed to the
original plan for the Dosewallips
State Park large onsite septic
system (LOSS). This will allow
several businesses and residents in
the Brinnon rural village center to
hook up to the system which the
PUD would run.
•Chairman Johnson conducted
interviews for the Executive Director
of the Hood Canal Coordinating
Council last week. The agency has
suggested that the interviewers
make the final decision and
Commissioner Sullivan and
Commissioner Austin stated that
they feel this would be appropriate.
•Five County Administrator
candidates are scheduled to be
interviewed by the Board, the
Elected Officials and some
Department Heads on Tuesday.
•Commissioner Sullivan reported on
the activities at the event for the
proposed Equestrian Park.
•The Commissioners reviewed their
schedules for the week.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE:
Team Jefferson includes six volunteers
who are successful business people. Their
job is to assist and facilitate the process for
potential businesses and businesses that
want to expand and to link them with
community resources. They have limited
their focus on recruitment because they
feel there is too much competition. Instead
they have focused more on entrepreneurs
because 90% of rural jobs are created by
local entrepreneurs and Jefferson County
has a large number of them. Team
Jefferson encourages cluster businesses
including maritime clusters, cheese
clusters, wine clusters, garlic clusters and
shellfish clusters. Their other goals include
attracting and keeping residents age 18 to
35 and growing the workforce and their
skills. The quality of life in Jefferson
County is a major attraction. It was
suggested that the County needs to
address infrastructure improvements,
especially in the Glen Cove area, and
collaborate more with the City of Port
Townsend and the Port of Port Townsend
in that area.