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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM112717 - Hearing Comment re: TIPcomyt 44�SON �-o IS ,II NG/ District No. 1 Commissioner: Kate Dean District No. 2 Commissioner: David W. Sullivan District No. 3 Commissioner: Kathleen Kler County Administrator: Philip Morley Clerk of the Board: Erin Lundgren MINUTES Week of November 27, 2017 Madam Chair Kathleen Kler called the meeting to order at the appointed time in the presence of Commissioner David Sullivan and Commissioner Kate Dean. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: The following is a summary of comments made by individuals in attendance at the meeting and reflect their personal opinions: • Three individuals commented on the 2018 Jefferson County Budget and the diversion of $720,000 from the Road Fund to Traffic Law Enforcement; • An individual: 1) Stated he was happy for the upcoming implementation of Courthouse security and suggested parking lot security for staff leaving nightly; 2) Stated the County should create a hotline to report cases of misconduct; and 3) Commented on economic development in the County; • Three individuals discussed issues surrounding the Brinnon Master Planned Resort; • An individual urged the Commissioners to include long distance trail systems in the Comprehensive Plan elements; • One individual commented on gunfire noise from the Jefferson County Sportsmen's Association shooting range and stated he supports residents of the Tarboo Valley against the proposed gun range there; • An individual stated: 1) She heard that buildings were being placed onto property at the proposed gun range in the Tarboo Valley area; and 2) She is in contact with the Washington Department of Ecology regarding cleanup of the former Fort Discovery gun range site; and • An individual commented on Kitsap County receiving a permit to build 140 new townhouses in Kingston, and compared their housing developments to Jefferson County. APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA: Commissioner Dean moved to approve all the items on the Consent Agenda as presented. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. 1. RESOLUTION NO. 51-17 re: Adoption of the 2017/2018 Jefferson County Cost Allocation Plan 2. AGREEMENT NO. ICA18531 re: 2018 Public Defense Funding; Improving the Quality of Public Defense Services; In the Amount of $32,792; Jefferson County Administrator; Washington State Office of Public Defense 3. AGREEMENT re: Jail Services; In the Amount $208,181.60 plus reimbursement costs in 2018, Base goes up 2.5% in 2019 & 2020; Jefferson County Commissioners, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; City of Port Townsend Page 1 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 27, 2017`` 4. AGREEMENT re: Demolition & Removal Project Agreement re: 280 Fremont Ave. on the Big Quilcene River; In the Amount of $28,344 plus tax of $2,551 for a Project Total of $30,895; Jefferson County Environmental Public Health; Diggin' It! 5. AGREEMENT, Change Order No. 4, Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 re: Rick Tollefson Memorial Trail, Phase 1, County Road No. 850100, Contract No. CRI 815; Additional $1,050 for a Project Total Amount of $590,819.80; Jefferson County Public Works; Shold Excavating, Inc. 6. Payment of Jefferson County Vouchers/Warrants Dated November 20, 2017 Totaling $309,737.80 7. Payment of Jefferson County Payroll Warrants Dated November 20, 2017 Totaling $79,159.67 and A/P Warrants Done by Payroll Dated November 4, 2017 Totaling $138,994.47 and Dated November 20, 2017 Totaling $17,530.74 EMERGENCY RESOLUTION re: In the Matter of Declaration of Emergency; Damage to County Roads: A portion of the Hoh Road on the West End experienced major damage. The roadway eroded to the center line. Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve RESOLUTION NO. 52-17 Declaration of Emergency Damage to County Roads. Commissioner Dean seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. The meeting was recessed at 9:57 a.m. and reconvened at 10:07 a.m. with all three Commissioners present. HEARING re: 2018-2023 County Six -Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): Public Works Director/County Engineer Monte Reinders, Engineering Services Manager Eric Kuzma and County Engineer/Transportation Planner Wendy Clark-Getzin were present to discuss the Six -Year TIP. Director Reinders stated that the a majority of Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) projects have been grant -funded, with the County providing on average about 15% match. In some cases, no match is required. He added that the Public Works department has been creative with grant funding and explained that the Olympic Discovery Trail in Discovery Bay had several grant sources and partners. Director Reinders explained that his department worked on a lot of backlogged -projects this year, some of which took quite some time to complete. He informed the Board of the conditions of the County's bridges, per TIP requirement. Madam Chair Kler asked for an update on the Hoh River Road where washouts recently occurred. Director Reinders replied that the upper Hoh roadway washed out at Milepost 8, prior to the recent storm, and overnight 300 feet of old growth forest between the road and the river was washed away. He added that people were evacuated from a nearby park and they expect to review authorization to make emergency repairs by the end of the day, with repair work to start tomorrow morning. Page 2 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 27, 2017 Commissioner Dean asked about a new case she heard about regarding culverts and asked if this would have an impact on the Public Works department? Director Reinders replied that the case she is speaking to is regarding a lawsuit that targeted the Washington State Department of Transportation, who have stepped up their efforts to replace fish passage barriers. He added that the County has a number of culverts that affect fish passage and they have been working on addressing those, on a one -per -year average with the help of state and federal assistance. Each of those culvert project costs around $500,000 to $1 Million. Madam Chair Kler opened the hearing for public testimony. Cass Brotherton; Quilcene: She read from a statement she provided. (See hearing record) Tom Brotherton; Quilcene: He stated his major problem is with the plan itself. What you are planning to do is go out of business. There will not be any reserve when you are done, and it's not sustainable. The plan is to transfer $720,000 every year and give it to the Sheriff. In 2025, there will be no money for the Sheriff or the roads. You need to find a way to fund the Sheriff s Office that doesn't subtract from an essential service. You are taking in $53 Million dollars and spending $56 Million dollars. He does not like the overall plan. Linda Herzog; Quilcene: She stated she echoes the comments made by Mr. and Mrs. Brotherton and noted their detailed research on the issue over the weekend. She asked that the Commissioners reconsider the transfer of funds from the road fund to the Sheriff s office. She stated there was nothing to add from the earlier presentation which described road failures, which are happening more and more. Our future is looking more dismal than our past, which has been challenging. The weather changes we are experiencing will make things worse. There is no reasonable explanation for taking $720,000 out of the road fund. We all understand that everyone needs more money, but out of the road fund and into the Sheriff s Office for purposes that will not be covered under state regulation, is a real serious problem and may jeopardize further ability to get money into this County. The calculation that the Brotherton's have done, notes that this has been a traditional transfer which has been done for the last nine years which equates to $6,430,000 transferred to the Sheriffs Office. She's not certain the proportion this has on the Sheriff s Office budget, but she stated it is probably substantial. She believes that there cannot be anything more important than funding roads which help people move around rural parts of the County. If we are putting that in jeopardy, we need to think very clearly about the priorities and the end game, if that continues to be done. She vigorously objects to that, and hopes the commissioners think about this before the budget is passed before we put ourselves in harms way once again. She recognizes that the Comprehensive Plan is a future plan, but stated the County needs to have citizens and Elected Officials sit down and really think about the future and make a plan in a policy oriented way for the next three to five years. She believes doing so would alleviate the need to constantly put out fires and correct mistakes that have been made by not sufficiently thinking about the future. Jodi Lehman SP; Chimacum: She thanked the Public Works Department and the Commissioners for making non -motorized transportation a priority in the TIP. She walks and jogs and has done the length of the Larry Scott Trail. She is looking forward to adding the Rick Tollefson Trail to one of her workouts. She would like to eventually be able to hike from the end of the Larry Scott Trail, over Eaglemount and out to Discovery Bay, which she realizes would be a long time away from happening. She stated she uses the trails a lot and sees many bicyclists and hikers. The trails get used and are a lot Page 31 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 27, 2017 safer than being on the roads. Since the trails provide transportation also, she believes that they are a lot more cost-efficient than roads. Trails are a magnet for tourism and an important part of our vision for this area and for the future. Jim Rough; Port Townsend: He misunderstood that the Commissioners were holding a hearing on the TIP and made a comment regarding a "Wisdom Project." Bruce Cowan; Port Townsend: He stated he appreciates the emphasis on the trail system. He thanked staff for their thorough work in developing this plan. He does not envy the task of the Commissioners to fill in gaps in the budget in creative ways. It seems that this fund transfer to the Sheriff s Office, while very much necessary, has become a habitual thing which has cost funding on the road fund side. Over a period of time, it has gone on and this seems like a good time to examine the extent in which we want to do that. Hearing no further comments, Madam Chair Kler closed the public hearing. County Administrator Philip Morley stated that Public Works does a good job of leveraging their funds, that it becomes easier to take the $720,000 transfer each year. He added that the County is hearing loud and clear today, that this is something we need to take a closer look at. County Administrator stated that other County programs have already been cut back, such as Parks and Recreation, Public Health and the Department of Community Development. The underlying issue is that the County has inadequate funding to provide government services to citizens. Madam Chair Kler thanked the Public Works staff and Director Reinders and noted that she is proud of the work they recently did on a presentation which was recognized by federal government staff and other jurisdictions. Commissioner Dean moved to approve RESOLUTION NO. 53-17 In the Matter of Adoption of the 2018-2023 Six -Year Transportation Improvement Program. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. The meeting was recessed at 10:52 a.m. and reconvened at 11:00 a.m. with all three Commissioners present. PRESENTATION re: Draft Marine Spatial Plan for Washington's Pacific Coast; Department of Ecology: The Board listened to a presentation by Senior Ocean Planner Jennifer Hennessey of the Washington State Department of Ecology. Ms. Hennessey briefed the Commissioners on the draft Marine Spatial Plan (MSP) for Washington's Pacific Coast which included the purpose, scope and requirements. She summarized the five chapters of the plan, and explained the draft programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), how to comment, and the next steps. Page 4 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 27, 2017 The meeting was recessed at 11:48 a.m. and reconvened at 1:30 p.m. with Commissioner Sullivan and Commissioner Dean present. Madam Chair Kler joined the meeting at 2:28 p.m. COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BRIEFING SESSION: County Administrator Philip Morley reviewed the following with the Board. Miscellaneous Items: • Briefing re: Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan Update: Department of Community Development staff briefed the Board and the Commissioners participated in the discussion The meeting was recessed at 3:09 p.m. and reconvened at 3:16 p.m. with all three Commissioners present. COUNTY ADMINISTRA TOR BRIEFING SESSION- Continued: County Administrator Philip Morley reviewed the following with the Board. Miscellaneous Items: • Letter re: Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission re: Peninsula Trails Coalition request: County Administrator Morley distributed a final version of the letter approved during the November 22, 2017 Board of County Commissioners meeting DISCUSSION re: Board of County Commissioners Technology Update: County Administrator Philip Morley explained that the County is ready to purchase equipment to enable the live streaming of the Commissioners' meetings online. He noted that Commissioner Sullivan voiced concern over the cost of the new equipment and service. The Commissioners discussed the advantages and disadvantages of making the videos available online. After the discussion, Commissioner Dean moved to implement the technology to stream the Board of County Commissioner meetings online. Madam Chair Kler seconded the motion. Commissioner Sullivan voted against the motion. The motion carried. CO UNTY ADMINISTRA TOR BRIEFING SESSION- Continued: County Administrator Philip Morley reviewed the following with the Board. Miscellaneous Items: • National Park Fee; proposed increase to $70 per day • Community Outreach Meeting Calendar Coordination: • The Commissioners reviewed their meeting schedules. Page 5 Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 27, 2017 NOTICE OF ADJOURNMENT. Commissioner Dean moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:04 p.m. until the next regular meeting or special meeting as properly noticed. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. ATTEST: Carolyn Galaway, CMC Deputy Clerk of the Board JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Kathleen Kler, Chair Z Davi ullivan, Member Kate Dean, Member Page 6 Jefferson County TIP Comments November 27, 2017 Thank you for holding a hearing on the TIP CQ `9eoL 1112 -� / i --1 e-( NOV 2 7 2017 d.�.,.,TVb 1. I am pleased to see that in 7 months we WILL see construction on the Quilcene Complete Street Project. 2. I ask that you eliminate or at least significantly reduce the transfer of $720,000 to the Sheriff. On page 1 it is stated that "lack of available local match funds limit the number and size of grants that can be utilized". Local funds available for this proposed capital program average $277,000 per year. You would have almost a million dollars to leverage each year if you also used the $720,000. The transfer of $720,000 is shown on page 14. Also on that page it shows that in 2018, there is an $579,860 deficit (revenues less expenditures). It is shown on page 15 that you want to reduce the Cash Reserve from $5,000,000 to $1M or possibly ZERO by the end of the 6'�' year. A reserve is critical for roads ---failures can happen quickly and unexpectedly. One possible expensive is a bridge. You have no programmed bridge projects. But there are two functionally obsolete bridges. One of which is near me and has a sufficiency rating of less than 60. The only alternate route, were it to fail, is to use Center to SR 104 to 101. Which is more than 25 miles. And I am sure that there are many even big potential failures on other roads. So please be responsible fiscal managers and leave all or most of the $720,000 in the road budget and find ways to use the money as intended and needed. Cass Brotherton 255 Cascara Dr. Quilcene, WA 360.774.0210