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District No. 1 Commissioner: Kate Dean
District No. 2 Commissioner: David W. Sullivan
District No. 3 Commissioner: Kathleen Kier
County Administrator: Philip Morley
Clerk of the Board: Erin Lundgren
MINUTES
Week of November 20, 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:
• Two individuals discussed issues surrounding the Brinnon Master Planned Resort;
• One individual commented on a code enforcement issue at a residence in Brinnon;
• Two individuals commented on the outcome of the failed Prop 1 Levy; and
• One individual commented on the Tri -Area Sewer Project and gave suggestions on how to get the
project moving.
APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA: Commissioner
Sullivan moved to approve all the items on the Consent Agenda as presented. Commissioner Dean
seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
1. HEARING NOTICE re: 2018 Budget; Hearing Scheduled for December 4, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. in
the Commissioners' Chambers
2. AGREEMENT NO. E18-023 re: E911 County Basic Services Operations; In the Amount of
$330,327; JeffCOM; Washington State Military Department
3. AGREEMENT, Amendment No. 1 re: Provision and Coordination of Local Program Services to
Persons with Developmental Disabilities; Additional Amount of $5,342 for a Total Amount of
$297,272; Jefferson County Public Health; Washington State, Department of Social and Health
Services (DSHS)
4. AGREEMENT NO. C17112, Amendment No. 14 re: 2015 — 2017 Consolidated Contract;
Additional Amount of $17,394 for a Total Amount of $1,317,220; Jefferson County Public Health;
Washington State, Department of Health (DOH)
5. AGREEMENT re: Cultural Resources Assessment; In the Amount of $7,904.61; Jefferson County
Public Health; Matthew Whetherbee and Timothy Gerrish of Stell
6. AGREEMENT re: Authorization and Concurrence for the Marie Property on the Big Quilcene
Floodplain; Jefferson County Public Health
7. Advisory Board Resignation re: Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAG); District 3 Citizen
Representative, Jean Ball
8. Advisory Board Appointment re: Parks and Recreation Advisory Board; Two (2) Year
Term to Expire November 13, 2019; District No.I Representative, Amy Yaley
9. Payment of Jefferson County Vouchers/Warrants Dated November 13, 2017 Totaling
$1,680,536.17
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 20, 2017 ll j,Y�
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COMMISSIONERS BRIEFING SESSION. • The Commissioners reported on their
meeting schedules.
The meeting was recessed at 9:53 a.m. and reconvened at 10:03 a.m. with all three
Commissioners present.
HEARING re: 2018 Ad Valorem Tax Levies for Jefferson County Levy in 2017 and
Collection in 2018: County Administrator Philip Morley briefed the Board on the setting of the Ad
Valorem Tax Levies for 2018 which includes a proposed increase in tax collections by 1% for the
Conservation Futures General Fund Levy, Conservation Futures Tax Levy and Jefferson County Road
Levy.
Madam Chair Kler opened the hearing for public testimony.
Bruce Cowan, Port Townsend: He stated that he is one of two members of the audience. He is really
surprised not to see more people because so many have expressed concerns about the County and how it
conducts business and spends its money, but yet they are not participating in this meeting. He hopes that
they will participate in the upcoming Community Outreach meetings the Commissioners have scheduled
throughout the County. He complimented staff and the County Administrator for preparing the
information in such an understandable form. He commended the Commissioners on the difficult
decisions in how to make the County better.
Tom Thiersch, Jefferson County: He asked if the diversion from the Road Fund is the same amount as
the prior year? County Administrator Morley replied that it is. Mr. Thiersch stated that is interesting, and
it would pay for approximately six full-time deputies. In terms of the prior statements by Commissioner
Sullivan that there needs to be a large, organized demand for something to be done, you have a fairly
large petition presented to you for additional sheriff services. He is hoping that is being taken into
account regarding preparation of the budget. Property taxes for new construction would also include if
there were added value to existing properties. For example, someone adds on and builds on to their
property, that would be considered new construction. Under the prior Assessor, he brought it to his
attention that there is a miscommunication or gap in communication between Department of Community
Development (DCD) and the Assessor's Office regarding unpermitted structures. Previous Assessor
Jack Westerman stated it was not his job to tell DCD when his inspectors went to a property and find
things that were built but not previously recorded in his records. DCD never collected permitting money
for those structures, because Mr. Westerman never disclosed those things to DCD. He stated that he
spoke to DCD and they said they don't have to tell the Assessor everything they issue permits for. He
noted that both of those incidents happened under prior Directorship. There is a lack of formal
communication between departments for structures that have currently been built. The Assessor should
be made aware of permits through a formal notification process. If the Assessor finds structures built
and not permitted, permit fees are not collected. The County is missing out on revenue, and there is a lot
of unpermitted structures in this County. There are unpermitted structures in his own neighborhood and
it annoys him and he would like to see the County do something about that so that his taxes won't have
to be raised as much. He would like to see those who are doing things in violation of the law to be taxed.
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 20, 2017
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Madam Chair Kler closed the public hearing. Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve
RESOLUTION NO. 46.17 Increasing the Jefferson County General Fund Levy for 2018 Taxes.
Commissioner Dean seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
Commissioner Dean moved to approve RESOLUTION NO. 47-17 Increasing the Jefferson County
Conservation Futures Tax Levy for 2018 Taxes. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which
carried by a unanimous vote.
Madam Chair Kler moved to approve RESOLUTION NO. 48-17 Increasing the Jefferson County Road
Levy for 2018 Taxes. Commissioner Dean seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve RESOLUTION NO. 49-17 Diversion of Road Levy for
Traffic Law Enforcement for the 2018 General Fund Budget. Commissioner Dean seconded the motion
which carried by a unanimous vote.
Madam Chair Kler moved for staff to create an a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between
Public Works and the Sheriff s Office regarding reporting on funds received from the diversion of the
Road Levy for traffic law enforcement. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a
unanimous vote.
Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve a LETTER to the ASSESSOR regarding 2018 Real and
Personal Property Levy Amounts. Madam Chair Kler seconded the motion which carried by a
unanimous vote.
INFORMATION BRIEFING re: Online Posting of the 2018 County Administrator's
Recommended Budget. The Hearing Notice for the hearing on the 2018 Jefferson County Budget
scheduled for December 4, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. in the Commissioners' Chambers was approved in the
Consent Agenda. The County Administrator gave a brief overview of the 2018 recommended budget.
HEARING re: Proposed Ordinance regarding Emergency Alarm Systems; Add a New
Chapter in the Jefferson County Code Entitled `Faulty Security Systems': Chief Criminal Deputy Art
Frank gave an overview of the proposed Alarm Ordinance. He stated that the Sheriff s Office frequently
responds to false alarms and this year they have already responded to over 350 false burglar or false
alarm calls. He believes that this equates to approximately 700-800 man hours per year. The false alarm
calls are usually caused by faulty alarm systems or inadequate information held by the alarm companies.
The proposed ordinance would enact a $20 registration fee. If there is a false alarm call and the
homeowner is not registered, there would be a $50 fee charged. For the first false alarm call of the year,
there would be no charge. The Sheriff s Office is trying to eliminate the chronic once per month
response with no corrective measures. Chief Criminal Deputy Art Frank added that the ordinance is not
meant to punish homeowners, it is meant to encourage them to keep their systems up-to-date and
working properly, and to update the alarm company with current contact information. Chief Civil
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney (DPA) Philip Hunsucker stated he has reviewed the proposed ordinance.
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 20, 2017
Madam Chair Kler opened the hearing for public testimony.
LOA
Tom Thiersch, Jefferson County: He stated there is an apparent lack of information regarding the
amount of fire systems in the County. He is not sure if it requires in the ordinance, during a change of
ownership of the property, that the alarm company is required to notify the Sheriff's Office or the
County in the change of ownership and if that would require a new registration fee. He suggested that if
not, the ordinance should require that. He suggested that the ordinance include language requiring real
estate agents to include information regarding alarm system registration transfer to take place, as part of
their disclosure requirements when selling property. He would like to see the process include notifying
the County there is a property being sold that has an alarm system, so the County can expect a new
registration. The new owner may decide to cancel the alarm system, but it may trigger some sort of
action. There is a tremendous lack of enforcement in the County regarding regulation. He suspects that
enforcement of this regulation will not be quite so lax.
Bruce Cowan, Port Townsend: He stated the ordinance seems entirely reasonable when we are living in
a time where a private machine can call upon public resources. It seems the owner of the machine
should bear responsibility for its functioning. He believes this is a modest fee proposal. He went online
to ADT Security systems, and the monthly fee for alarm services is approximately $29 per month. The
proposed fee seems entirely manageable for anyone who has an alarm system.
Madam Chair Kler closed the public hearing.
The Commissioners and County Administrator reviewed the language of the proposed ordinance and
voted on the following motions:
Commissioner Sullivan moved to change the title of the proposed Jefferson County Code Chapter 8.80
from "Faulty Security Systems" to Registration and Regulation of Alarm Systems." Commissioner Dean
seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
Commissioner Sullivan moved to clarify the proposed ordinance by adding the following after
"...Appendix A" so that it reads: "...Appendix A, with fees to be added to the Jefferson County Code
Appendix Fee Schedules." Commissioner Dean seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous
vote.
Commissioner Dean moved to amend the title of the proposed ordinance to: Registration and Regulation
of Alarm Systems. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
Commissioner Sullivan moved to change the term "faulty security system" to "faulty alarm system"
wherever it appears in the proposed ordinance. Commissioner Dean seconded the motion which carried
by a unanimous vote.
Commissioner Dean moved to approve ORDINANCE NO. 04-1120-17 in the Matter of an Ordinance
Regarding the Registration and Regulation of Alarm Systems, with previously approved edits.
Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 20, 2017
The meeting was recessed at 11:26 a.m. and reconvened at 1:34 p.m. with all three
Commissioners present.
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BRIEFING SESSION: County Administrator Philip
Morley reviewed the following with the Board.
Miscellaneous Items:
Update: WSU Extension staff updated the Board on the 10,000 Years Institute work on the West
Jefferson County Invasive Species and Projects.
Briefing: Public Works staff briefed the Board on the Six -Year Transportation Improvement
Program (TIP).
DISCUSSION re: Olympic Discovery Trail and APPROVAL of a LETTER: County
Administrator Philip Morley stated that the Peninsula Trails Coalition (PTC) requested the that Jefferson
County take further action in support of PTC's request to the Washington State Parks and Recreation
Commission that a segment of the Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT) be routed and constructed through
Anderson Lake State Park, with State Parks funding that segment. The PTC circulated a petition and has
also presented a draft resolution which they have asked Jefferson County to consider adopting.
Jefferson County Public Works previously sent a letter on November 9, 2017 to the Washington State
Parks and Recreation Commission in support of routing a segment of the trail through Anderson Lake
State Park.
After further discussion, Commissioner Sullivan moved to direct Commissioner Dean to prepare a
LETTER for all three Commissioners to sign and send to the Washington State Parks Commission
supporting PTC's petition for state funding of the proposed Anderson Lake portion of the ODT. Madam
Chair Kler seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
The meeting was recessed at 3:17 p.m. and reconvened at 3:29 p.m. with all three
Commissioners present.
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BRIEFING SESSION: County Administrator Philip
Morley reviewed the following with the Board.
Calendar Coordination:
• The Commissioners shared their meeting schedules.
Miscellaneous Items:
Upcoming Legislative meeting with Senator Kevin Van de Wege and Representatives Steve
Tharinger and Mike Chapman
Chamber meeting; the County Administrator congratulated Commissioner Dean on her
presentation at a recent Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce meeting
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Commissioners Meeting Minutes of November 20, 2017
• Community Outreach Meetings
• Jefferson County Sportsman's Club Association; the County Administrator read a draft article
segment to be printed in the Port Townsend Leader regarding the Sportsman's Club
ADDITIONAL BUSINESS: Madam Chair Kler moved to have Commissioner Sullivan
serve as Chair for the Board of County Commissioner meeting during the afternoon session on
November 27, 2017 if she is unable to attend in time due to her election precertification obligations.
Commissioner Dean seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
NOTICE OF ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Dean moved to adjourn the meeting at
4:30 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 Gall ay, CMC U
Deputy Clerk of the Board
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Kathleen , Chair
David Sullivan, Member
Kate Dean, Member
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