HomeMy WebLinkAbout012219_ca08 Department of Public Works
O Consent Agenda
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Jefferson County
Board of Commissioners
Agenda Request
To: Board of Commissioners
Philip Morley, County Administrator
From: Monte Reinders, PE, Public Works Director/County Engineer
Agenda Date: January 22, 2019
Subject: Letter of Support for Federal Forest Management
for Rural Stability Act, FFY2019
Statement of Issue: Request for legislative support to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and
Self Determination Act (SRS) through a bill called the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act.
Analysis/Strategic Goals/Pro's £t Con's: The funding decline and financial uncertainty of the SRS
Act has negatively impacted Jefferson County Public Works ability to maintain roads including
those leading to federal lands. The attached letter requests our state legislature to support
reintroduction of a bill to the 116th Congress to create a SRS endowment that would ensure a stable
long-term payment mechanism to forested rural counties which are not subject to the annual
appropriation process. Letters have been prepared for Board of County Commissioners' signature
to members of Congress. Synopsis information about the proposed bill is attached.
Fiscal Impact/Cost Benefit Analysis: No fiscal impact to signing the support letter.
Recommendation: Authorize the Board of County Commissioners by consent agenda to sign three
individual letters to Honorable Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell, and Derek Kilmer to support the
Federal Forest Management for Rural Stability Act in this year's congressional session. Return
signature pages to Public Works for completion of transmittal and follow-up.
Department Contact: Wendy A. Clark-Getzin, PE, Transportation Planner
360-385-9162
Revi, - By:
41r ///74
Philip Morley, C ,unty Administratar---- Date
Section by Section
Forest Management for Rural Stability Act
December 2018
Section 1—Short Title
The Forest Management for Rural Stability Act.
Section 2—Establishment of the Forest and Refuge County Foundation and Natural
Resources Permanent Fund.
300201 includes relevant definitions.
300202 charters a new nonprofit corporation (Corporation)to manage the natural resources
permanent fund (Fund)and make payments to counties. The Corporation is chartered to remain
independent from the U.S. Government and the annual appropriations process to ensure the Fund
and Fund management best serve only the interests of the beneficiary county governments.
300203 defines the Corporation's status as a non-federal, nonprofit corporation.Just as the Fund
charter separates the Fund Corporation from the US Government, the United States Government
is not liable for the actions or inactions of the Corporation.
300204 vests the powers of the Corporation in a Board of Directors(Board). This section details
the qualifications, appointment process,terms, and board leadership. The Board will have 11
members total,three nominated by the Forest Service,two by the BLM, and six by the Treasury
Department. Three of the board members must be elected county officials, with one representing
a Forest Service county, one representing an O&C county, and one representing a wildlife refuge
county. One board member must represent rural economic development interests, one board
member must represent education interests, and six board members must be experts in fund
management.
300205 establishes the duties and responsibilities of the Board, including to adopt and ability to
amend the bylaws of the Corporation that define the duties and responsibilities of the Board and
the operational procedures of the Corporation. This section also empowers the board to hire a
director of fund management, employ professional and administrative staff, and contract for
professional services required to manage the Fund.
300207(a)establishes the Natural Resources Permanent Fund(Fund) and defines the revenue
sources dedicated to the Fund, including eligible receipts generated on Forest Service Lands,
O&C lands, and wildlife refuge plans, as well as other discretionary appropriations and transfers
made by Congress.
1
300207(b)creates three specific accounts within the Fund for eligible receipts directed to the
Fund from the Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management
respectively. Creates a fourth account, which acts as an optional savings and investment account
for counties that would like to invest money.
300207(c)allows states and local governments to voluntarily invest in individual accounts within
the Fund.
300207(d)establishes requirements the Board must adhere to when it defines the investment
policy for the Fund. The investment strategy will seek to achieve at least a 5%return on
investment each year, while preserving the real (after inflation)value of the Fund in perpetuity.
In practice,this means seeking a rate of return,net of inflation,that is equal to or greater than the
amount that will be distributed from the Fund annually. This section also establishes the
fiduciary duty of the Board to the beneficiary eligible county governments.
300207(e)establishes distribution policy from each of the accounts within the Fund. Within each
account, 4.5%of the ending yearly balance is available for payments to counties.
USE OF FUNDS: 85 percent of the funds available for distribution from the Forest
Service and the Bureau of Land Management accounts within the Fund shall be used to
make payments to eligible states and counties in accordance with Title I of the Secure
Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000(SRS). This means that
85%of the funds will be used for county roads and schools.
15 percent of the funds will be used for county projects in accordance with Title III.
Additionally,the legislation amends SRS to expand the authorized uses of Title III to
include virtually all county economic development needs, including the ability to fund
projects on federal lands that create jobs and merchantable timber products.
CALCULATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS: This section establishes how
payments from the fund are calculated. The Corporation will make payments directly to
states(for further distribution to eligible jurisdictions)and counties using these
authorizations. Payments can be used for any purpose authorized by Title I and Title III
of SRS.
100%of the available amounts in the US Fish and Wildlife Service account within the
Fund shall be used to make payments to eligible counties in accordance with the Refuge
Revenue Sharing Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will calculate authorized
payments based on the total amount available for distribution and the Refuge Revenue
Sharing Act formula. The Corporation will make payments directly to eligible
jurisdictions using these authorizations. Payments can be used for any purpose authorized
by the Refuge Revenue Sharing Act.
2
MINIMUM PAYMENT: This section establishes a minimum payment amount equal to
SRS and Refuge Revenue Sharing Act payments made for FY 2017. If, in the unlikely
event,the amounts available for distribution from the Fund are insufficient to meet the
minimum payment amount, the balance is paid from Treasury.
MAXIMUM PAYMENT: This section establishes a cap (maximum payment)on total
distributions to eligible jurisdictions for Forest Service and O&C counties. The maximum
payment is equal to the total highest year SRS payments(as adjusted for inflation), which
for Forest Service counties is FY2008 and FY2006 for O&C counties.
EFFECT OF MEETING THE MAXIMUM PAYMENT: This section states that once
the each account is sufficient to make the maximum payment,the applicable receipt
payments will return to the counties. At this point,counties receiving funding from the
applicable account will receive both a stable payment from the fund, as well as a Forest
Service and/or O&C revenue sharing payment.
OPT IN AND OPT OUT: This ensures that all counties are initially opted into
distributions from the fund, but ensures that counties have a three-year window to opt out
of distributions and instead applicable revenue sharing payments. This also gives counties
a 5 year window to opt back into the fund.
Finally,this section provides for reasonable administrative and fund management expenses of
the Corporation to be paid from the Fund.
300207(1)through 300207(h)establish reporting, auditing, and oversight responsibilities
respectively for the Corporation.
300207(i)and 300207(j)provide for additional Congressional appropriations and transfers,
respectively, to be deposited in the Fund. This also requires the Forest Service and BLM to
produce detailed reports on forest management activities on a county-by-county basis
Section 3—Transfer of Amounts to the Fund
Section 3 suspends payments from several permanently authorized revenue sharing programs
and permanently transfers them to the appropriate account within the Fund for continue
distribution through the Fund. These revenue sharing payments currently are sent directly to
counties or are used to pay the first portion of payments appropriated under the SRS Act and the
Refuge Revenue Sharing Act. The suspended and transferred payments include:
• payments authorized for the Forest Service in the Act of May 23, 1908 (35 Stat. 260,
chapter 192; 16 U.S.C. 500) and section 13 of the Act of March 1, 1911 (commonly
known as the"Weeks Law") (36 Stat. 963, chapter 186; 16 U.S.C. 500)are transferred to
the Forest Service Account within the Fund; and
3
• payments under title II of the Act of August 28, 1937(50 Stat. 875, chapter 876;43
U.S.C. 2605)are transferred to the Forest Service Account within the Fund; and
• payments authorized under the first section of the Act of May 24, 1939(53 Stat. 753,
chapter 144;43 U.S.C. 2621 et seq.)(commonly known as the "BLM O&C 50%
Revenue Sharing payments")are transferred to the Bureau of Land Management Account
within the Fund; and
• payments authorized under section 401(c)(2)of the Act of June 15, 1935 (commonly
known as the"Refuge Revenue Sharing Act")(49 Stat. 383, chapter 261; 16 U.S.C.
715s(c)(2)), are transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Account within the
Fund.
However, counties that have opted out of the fund will continue to receive these payments.
Section 4—Amendments to the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination
Act of 2000.
This section amends the SRS Act to authorize the continued use of the Secure Rural Schools
Formula and to repeal Title II without repealing the authority to continue using Forest Service
Resource Advisory Committees. This section also requires Treasury to make emergency
payments to counties in the unlikely event the amount of available money in the Fund is
insufficient to accommodate the minimum Secure Rural Schools payment amount.
Additionally, this section expands the authorized uses of Title III to allow counties to use funds
for job training or job creation activities, projects approved by RACs or a forest collaborative,
natural resource conservation projects, forest health treatments, economic development activities,
transportation infrastructure projects on county road systems that serve Federal land; or to plan,
develop, or carry out projects on Federal land that are consistent with applicable Federal laws
(including regulations)and forest plans and that create private sector jobs, generate county
revenue, or provide merchantable forest products, including funding Master Stewardship
Agreements.
Section 5—Funding For Refuge Revenue Sharing Act.
This section allows Treasury to make emergency payments to counties in the unlikely event the
amount of available money in the Fund is insufficient to accommodate the minimum Refuge
Revenue Sharing payment amount.
4
of Cojssj Board of County Commissioners
4w4sNeo� o1, 1820 Jefferson Street
m �, PO Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368
F 7"•
q O Kate Dean,District 1 David Sullivan,District 2 Greg Brotherton,District 3
'WING't
January 22, 2019
The Honorable Maria Cantwell
United States Senate
511 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Cantwell,
We are writing to thank you for your ongoing support of the Secure Rural Schools and Self-
Determination Act (SRS) and urge your continued leadership on this important matter. The
recent introduction of S.3753, the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act of 2018, by
Senator Wyden and Senator Crapo offers to bring much needed long-term financial stability to
timber dependent counties like ours. The latest extension of the SRS Act expired in FY2018 and
faces a challenging path to what would likely be only another short-term reauthorization. While
we are grateful for these past reauthorizations, the uncertainty surrounding them over the last few
years has resulted in corresponding financial uncertainty for our rural county with its limited and
insufficient sources of revenue to provide basic services. For these reasons we urge you to
support the reintroduction of the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act during the 116th
Congress.
Since its inception, the SRS program has been critical to Jefferson County's ability to provide
basic services to our constituents. Until 2008, Jefferson County received about $1.3 million per
year for roads maintenance and construction purposes, while an additional $1.3 million went to
schools from Jefferson County's SRS allocation. To put this in perspective, that level of funding
is equal to what the County receives in annual motor vehicle fuel tax allocations. In fact,the SRS
payment represented about 25% of our regular operating budget for county roads. Unfortunately,
in subsequent years the SRS payment decreased to less than $400,000 per year under this
program, and the last payment the County received was for FY2018. In FFY2016, Jefferson
County receive no SRS payment and received instead a share of federal timber receipts that
totaled only $76,000. To deal with the dramatic cutback, the County has continued to defer
maintenance on pavements, bridges, and culverts, including replacement of fish barriers, and has
eliminated jobs that went along with this work.
While reduced funding levels present significant challenges, not having the SRS program or the
Forest Management for Rural Stability Act at all is simply unsustainable. Jefferson County will
face dramatic budgetary shortfalls that will require us to forego even the most basic maintenance
and repairs to avoid bankruptcy.
Phone (360) 385-9100 Fax (360) 385-9382 jeffbocc@co jefferson.wa.us
The events of recent winters demonstrate the predicament we are in. Jefferson County continues
to suffer repeated damage from storms in our region. As you can see from the attached photos a
number or our roads have suffered significant damage. Coincidentally, every one of these roads
is also a "Federal lands access" road meaning they provide direct access to Federal resource and
recreation lands including Olympic National Park, the famed Hoh River Rainforest, and Olympic
National Forest. These roads are also "sole access" roads meaning there is no other way in or
out when they fail, and so they require immediate repairs in order to maintain access. These
roads were originally constructed primarily with timber dollars, and in recent years SRS funding
has provided much of the financial resource to maintain them and respond to these types of
disaster events, which unfortunately are not all that uncommon in our county.
With assistance from your office, Jefferson County ultimately received reimbursement for repair
of some of these damaged sites through sources including FEMA and the FHWA Emergency
Relief programs; however, the availability of funding through these programs is only known
months after the event occurs with no guarantee at the time of the event that any assistance will
be available. With budgets strained to the breaking point, there is no assurance that the County
will have the financial resources in the future to respond to these events without a predictable
and fully funded program such as the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act.
We applaud your attention to natural resources and infrastructure issues critical to Jefferson
County and across our great state and look forward to working with you and your staff going
forward. We ask that you join in supporting the reintroduction of the Forest Management for
Rural Stability Act in the 116th Congress. Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have
any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Kate Dean
Jefferson County Commissioner, District 1
David Sullivan
Jefferson County Commissioner, District 2
Greg Brotherton
Jefferson County Commissioner, District 3
2
o� CoN� ss Board of County Commissioners
Q94w¢S �o�o� 1820 Jefferson Street
Q' A PO Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368
81IING�O Kate Dean,District 1 David Sullivan,District 2 Greg Brotherton,District 3
January 22, 2019
The Honorable Derek Kilmer
United States House of Representatives
1410 Longworth House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Kilmer,
We are writing to thank you for your ongoing support of the Secure Rural Schools and Self-
Determination Act (SRS) and urge your continued leadership on this important matter. The
recent introduction of S.3753, the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act of 2018, by
Senator Wyden and Senator Crapo offers to bring much needed long-term financial stability to
timber dependent counties like ours. The latest extension of the SRS Act expired in FY2018 and
faces a challenging path to what would likely be only another short-term reauthorization. While
we are grateful for these past reauthorizations, the uncertainty surrounding them over the last few
years has resulted in corresponding financial uncertainty for our rural county with its limited and
insufficient sources of revenue to provide basic services. For these reasons we urge you to
support the reintroduction of the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act during the 116th
Congress.
Since its inception, the SRS program has been critical to Jefferson County's ability to provide
basic services to our constituents. Until 2008, Jefferson County received about $1.3 million per
year for roads maintenance and construction purposes, while an additional $1.3 million went to
schools from Jefferson County's SRS allocation. To put this in perspective, that level of funding
is equal to what the County receives in annual motor vehicle fuel tax allocations. In fact, the SRS
payment represented about 25% of our regular operating budget for county roads. Unfortunately,
in subsequent years the SRS payment decreased to less than $400,000 per year under this
program, and the last payment the County received was for FY2018. In FFY2016, Jefferson
County receive no SRS payment and received instead a share of federal timber receipts that
totaled only $76,000. To deal with the dramatic cutback, the County has continued to defer
maintenance on pavements, bridges, and culverts, including replacement of fish barriers, and has
eliminated jobs that went along with this work.
While reduced funding levels present significant challenges, not having the SRS program or the
Forest Management for Rural Stability Act at all is simply unsustainable. Jefferson County will
face dramatic budgetary shortfalls that will require us to forego even the most basic maintenance
and repairs to avoid bankruptcy.
Phone (360) 385-9100 Fax (360) 385-9382 jeffbocc@cojefferson.wa.us
The events of recent winters demonstrate the predicament we are in. Jefferson County continues
to suffer repeated damage from storms in our region. As you can see from the attached photos a
number or our roads have suffered significant damage. Coincidentally, every one of these roads
is also a "Federal lands access" road meaning they provide direct access to Federal resource and
recreation lands including Olympic National Park, the famed Hoh River Rainforest, and Olympic
National Forest. These roads are also "sole access" roads meaning there is no other way in or
out when they fail, and so they require immediate repairs in order to maintain access. These
roads were originally constructed primarily with timber dollars, and in recent years SRS funding
has provided much of the financial resource to maintain them and respond to these types of
disaster events, which unfortunately are not all that uncommon in our county.
With assistance from your office, Jefferson County ultimately received reimbursement for repair
of some of these damaged sites through sources including FEMA and the FHWA Emergency
Relief programs; however, the availability of funding through these programs is only known
months after the event occurs with no guarantee at the time of the event that any assistance will
be available. With budgets strained to the breaking point, there is no assurance that the County
will have the financial resources in the future to respond to these events without a predictable
and fully funded program such as the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act.
We applaud your attention to natural resources and infrastructure issues critical to Jefferson
County and across our great state and look forward to working with you and your staff going
forward. We ask that you join in supporting the reintroduction of the Forest Management for
Rural Stability Act in the 116th Congress. Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have
any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Kate Dean
Jefferson County Commissioner, District 1
David Sullivan
Jefferson County Commissioner, District 2
Greg Brotherton
Jefferson County Commissioner, District 3
2
�0 Co lviNs,'(Vj Board of County Commissioners
44 5 c°� ,,, 1820 Jefferson Street
0 4 A1.1
PO Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368
"IS/ZI N(1��' Kate Dean,District 1 David Sullivan,District 2 Greg Brotherton,District 3
January 22, 2019
The Honorable Patty Murray
United States Senate
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Murray,
We are writing to thank you for your ongoing support of the Secure Rural Schools and Self-
Determination Act (SRS) and urge your continued leadership on this important matter. The
recent introduction of S.3753, the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act of 2018, by
Senator Wyden and Senator Crapo offers to bring much needed long-term financial stability to
timber dependent counties like ours. The latest extension of the SRS Act expired in FY2018 and
faces a challenging path to what would likely be only another short-term reauthorization. While
we are grateful for these past reauthorizations,the uncertainty surrounding them over the last few
years has resulted in corresponding financial uncertainty for our rural county with its limited and
insufficient sources of revenue to provide basic services. For these reasons we urge you to
support the reintroduction of the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act during the 116th
Congress.
Since its inception, the SRS program has been critical to Jefferson County's ability to provide
basic services to our constituents. Until 2008, Jefferson County received about $1.3 million per
year for roads maintenance and construction purposes, while an additional $1.3 million went to
schools from Jefferson County's SRS allocation. To put this in perspective, that level of funding
is equal to what the County receives in annual motor vehicle fuel tax allocations. In fact, the SRS
payment represented about 25% of our regular operating budget for county roads. Unfortunately,
in subsequent years the SRS payment decreased to less than $400,000 per year under this
program, and the last payment the County received was for FY2018. In FFY2016, Jefferson
County receive no SRS payment and received instead a share of federal timber receipts that
totaled only $76,000. To deal with the dramatic cutback, the County has continued to defer
maintenance on pavements, bridges, and culverts, including replacement of fish barriers, and has
eliminated jobs that went along with this work.
While reduced funding levels present significant challenges, not having the SRS program or the
Forest Management for Rural Stability Act at all is simply unsustainable. Jefferson County will
face dramatic budgetary shortfalls that will require us to forego even the most basic maintenance
and repairs to avoid bankruptcy.
Phone (360) 385-9100 Fax (360) 385-9382 jeffbocc@co.jefferson.wa.us
The events of recent winters demonstrate the predicament we are in. Jefferson County continues
to suffer repeated damage from storms in our region. As you can see from the attached photos a
number or our roads have suffered significant damage. Coincidentally, every one of these roads
is also a "Federal lands access" road meaning they provide direct access to Federal resource and
recreation lands including Olympic National Park,the famed Hoh River Rainforest, and Olympic
National Forest. These roads are also "sole access" roads meaning there is no other way in or
out when they fail, and so they require immediate repairs in order to maintain access. These
roads were originally constructed primarily with timber dollars, and in recent years SRS funding
has provided much of the financial resource to maintain them and respond to these types of
disaster events, which unfortunately are not all that uncommon in our county.
With assistance from your office, Jefferson County ultimately received reimbursement for repair
of some of these damaged sites through sources including FEMA and the FHWA Emergency
Relief programs; however, the availability of funding through these programs is only known
months after the event occurs with no guarantee at the time of the event that any assistance will
be available. With budgets strained to the breaking point, there is no assurance that the County
will have the financial resources in the future to respond to these events without a predictable
and fully funded program such as the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act.
We applaud your attention to natural resources and infrastructure issues critical to Jefferson
County and across our great state and look forward to working with you and your staff going
forward. We ask that you join in supporting the reintroduction of the Forest Management for
Rural Stability Act in the 116th Congress. Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have
any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Kate Dean
Jefferson County Commissioner, District 1
David Sullivan
Jefferson County Commissioner, District 2
Greg Brotherton
Jefferson County Commissioner, District 3
2
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Damage to the Upper I loll Road \IP 8.0, November 2017 ($400,000 and counting)
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Damage to Undi Road (Landslide), 2016 ($1,750,000)
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Oil City Road MP 8.8,November 2015 ($425,000)
Quinault South Shore Road, December 2014($800,000)
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Dosewallips Road,December 2014($175,000)
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Upper Hoh Road MP 9.7,December 2016($250,000 and counting)
5