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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM060705S DRAFT REGIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEETING City of Port Townsend, Port of Port Townsend Jefferson County PUD #1, and Jefferson County Commissioners TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2005 Olympic Room - Waterman & Katz Building MINUTES CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Mayor Catharine Robinson at 10:03 a.m. The following representatives were present: City of Port Townsend Council members: Michelle Sandoval and Catharine Robinson Port Commissioners: Bob Sokol and Herb Beck PUD Commissioners: M. Kelly Hays and Wayne King Jefferson County Commissioners: Phil Johnson, Pat Rodgers, and David Sullivan (via speaker phone) Not present: Geoff Masci (City); Conrad Pirner (Port); Dana Roberts (PUD) Staff present: City Manager David Timmons, County General Services Director Alan Sartin, and Port Director Larry Crockett ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no announcements APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the February 1, 2005 meeting were approved unanimously. DISCUSSION OF TOPICS Port of Port Townsend Upcominq relocation of Port's Administration/Accountinq Offices in Point Hudson Materials were distributed regarding the Port topics. Reg/onallntergovernmental Meeting Page 1 June 7, 2005 DRAFT Mr. Beck stated the project will cost about $300,000. Mr. Sokol noted that the Port will occupy about a third of the building and the rest may be rented as office space. Mr. Crockett added that there is a workshop scheduled with the architect tomorrow; the Port will be its own general contractor, which will allow them to use more local labor. u.s. Customs in Port Townsend The Commissioners distributed a letter which will be mailed to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, requesting a permanent customs agent for Port Townsend. The previous agent retired and since then, agents are available only from the Port Angeles office on call. If someone at the Port has a guest coming in from Canada, they must wait until an agent shows up. The days and hours agents are available vary now from week to week. Mr. Crockett stated this also holds up the local private ferry run to Victoria. Those in attendance expressed support for the request, and Mayor Robinson stated she would have city staff draft a letter of support for possible Council approval on June 20. Airport Update Mr. Sokol referred to the update which was provided. He noted the FAA is providing about $800,000 from the FAA for major taxiway construction. Additional stormwater runoff retention and treatment will be required, which will cost about $150,000 and this has delayed the bid process. The PUD is , partnering with the Port to cover fire flow. He added that there is incredible demand for hangars. The Aero Museum has started grading and is waiting for a determination on septic capacity; a Northwest fixed-based operator is waiting to build a new structure but the septic capacity is a problem. The Spruce Goose wants to serve dinner four nights a week and that adds considerably to the industrial waste that must be processed. The Port is also working with the FAA to get instrument approach system so that planes could come in lower. Mr. Crockett stated that construction is scheduled to start in July and there will be much traffic coming and going from the site. Because contractors are building their own hangars, they don't have to pay prevailing wage. Mr. Sokol stated that typically a fixed base operator will operate air taxi service, provide a conference room and lounge for pilots, provide flying lessons, and other amenities. The proposed FBO currently does not want to do the air taxi but that is a possibility in the future. The Port wants to continue to run fuel at the airport. Regional Intergovernmental Meeting Page 2 June 7, 2005 DRAFT Mr. King and Mr. Kelly commented on the concept of rain gardens, which are being used successfully in Bellingham. Runoff from parking lots goes into a planting strip, then percolates through rather than overflowing into the storm sewer. Mr. Crockett noted the FAA discourages ponds near runways because of the attraction to waterfowl. PUBLIC UTILITY DISTICT #1 Peterson Lake Mr. King stated that the PUD plans to buy Peterson Lake, a pristine privately owned 243 acre property and lake, which could provide an additional water storage reservoir and could provide stream augmentation for low flow periods. If the PUD is successful, the property will remain one parcel, which cannot be subdivided or sold and no development or public access will be allowed. In that case, the lake would be fenced and a caretaker hired. Mr. King noted that the tribes are very supportive and other partners will include RC&D and Port Gamble. He said that appraisals should be completed soon; a letter of intent has been offered, and once the appraisals are done, the PUD will try to make the purchase at appraised value as quickly as possible. At this point, Mr. Peterson is indicating his desire to sell to the PUD. Once the lake is owned by the PUD, grant funding will be pursued. CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND Countv-wide p/anninq policies and economic development Ms. Sandoval stated this item is a carryover from the Joint Growth Management Committee and was proposed for general discussion; however it may be better to wait and bring forward after the decision about the land analysis, She suggested discussing the CWPP as there hasn't been a lot of time focused on that issue. There has been discussion of the potential support of the land analysis as the subcommittee level; now we are at a point where that group needs to get back together since the Port has decided not to go forward with funding for a land use inventory. Comments on the CWPP will be brought forward to the next Joint Growth Management Committee meeting. Regional Intergovernmental Meet/ng Page 3 June 7, 2005 DRAFT Mr. Rodgers asked if the City is still interested in pursuing a land analysis. He noted the County Commissioners have voted to support in the amount of $25,000 and that the land bank could be a beneficiary but more important is the study itself and the analysis. Ms. Robinson asked what the benefit to city taxpayers would be to spend money on a county-wide land survey. Mr. Rodgers stated that he believes there is a need so start to see the County and City as one whole economic unit and work together to best serve the needs of the residents. He sees the land inventory project as a fundamental piece of knowledge necessary to achieve that objective. Ms. Sandoval stated that the inventory is not necessarily as valuable to the City as the City knows what its inventory is and what its infrastructure is; the City's primary need now is to do an analysis of the City's infrastructure needs. She stated she supports the goals of economic development, but these can better accomplished by putting funding toward infrastructure improvements and studies that will help us analyze those needs and locations. Mr. Rodgers stated he applauds the city's development and planned infrastructure improvements; however there must be a larger plan and the study is fundamentally important to seeing how various projects are integrated into that plan. He asks that everyone think in broader perspective which is larger than a project level. Ms. Robinson said there may be some other areas within economic development that the EDC might help the city with that have a greater priority for us than a countywide land assessment; we need to invest on the ground. She added that the Councilmembers represent the city and not residents countywide. Ms. Sandoval said there were many studies done which were paid for with joint funds (BIRFUS, Sommers, etc.) and it would be good for EDC to build on that in terms of the impact of changing demographics. We must be practical about where we put our dollars. Mr. Sokol said he would like to see the city's information and analysis; with a land bank, you could help businesses in knowing when they can go forward and whether their project can be accommodated in the city or needs to go into the county. Information must be brought together to a group like this or the EDC infrastructure committee but the bottom line is we must decide the best place to put this money. Mr. Timmons said he is supportive of the benefit of land analysis; the foundation is there, but the problem is we are not evaluating some of the other attributes critical to economic development - some of this is demographics which drive the Regional Intergovernmental Meeting Page 4 June 7, 2005 DRAFT needs for particular labor forces like health care related service programs- where will they come from and who will train them, and where will they live? Private industry is responding to the demographic shift; clues are there in the BIRFUS study. We must meet the full spectrum of needs so that we know how to adopt the land analysis to what the needs are. He stated the City is going to emphasize infrastructure needs as a key part of economic development; he also noted the City does not have $25,000 of discretionary funding in the current budget. Mr. Rodgers stated that he hears a good argument for a market study and that we must have different ideas of what a business inventory is. He said that a land inventory includes determining what is the market, what is the demand, and how does the available land match that. Tamer Kirac, EDC Director, stated he is here as staff representing EDC and said that EDC would like to have a board member at the table. He stated there is a need in the community for economic development and we cannot look at this in a narrow sense. Economic development occurs interactively; many people work in the city but live in the county. The study planned by the EDC includes a cosUbenefit analysis, land inventory is not the entire assignment, and in fact represents no more than 10-12% of the resources in the study, The study identifies alternative development and the cosUbenefit associated with each. The county has fallen behind in wages and salaries and this will result in replacing the indigenous population with retirees. Ms. Sandoval stated that if the SOQ had something in it about the market we could have discussion - there is something missing here because there was nothing said except regarding the focus on the land bank which then was switched and changed. There was very little cosUbenefit to the City since it is the Urban Growth Area and have had studies much broader than providing jobs. We need affordable housing but can't do it if we don't have the infrastructure. She stated she would like to make an agreement to start to land bank now for affordable housing because it doesn't matter what we do if we can't have anyone afford to live here. When money is scarce, we need to go to basics. She reiterated that we were not aware of a market portion of the analysis. Mr. Rodgers left the meeting at 11 :26 am. Ms. Robinson stated that she also has never heard about the market portion so there has been some miscommunication about the project. Mr. Johnson agreed that the SOQ was based toward the land bank; the County is sitting in a position to move forward, and noted that the Port has not committed to funding the project either and that has been a disappointment to the County. JEFFERSON COUNTY Regional Intergovernmental Meet/ng Page 5 June 7, 2005 DRAFT Coordination Between Citv and Countv of Land Use issues Land Use Assessment Proiect It was noted that these issues had been discussed in the previous discussion; also that the coordination issue was suggested by Mr. Rodgers who was no longer present. Zero Tolerance Policv (related to improper conduct bv members of the public) Mr. Johnson noted that there have been incidents toward County staff involving both weapons and verbal abuse. Ms. Robinson asked if the BOCC has adopted a policy regarding inappropriate language. Mr. Johnson said that staff is working on it. Mr. Sokol stated people are frustrated by the process. Mr. Johnson said that for the most part staff is very helpful and courteous and that the process is much faster here than in most of the areas of the country people are moving from. Ms. Sandoval stated that permits are more easily acquired here but some customers simply like to beat the system if they can and beat up on staff in the process. Mr. Crockett said even if people are frustrated it does not authorize them to swear or threaten staff. He has heard people said it is worse in Jefferson County than anywhere else. Ms. Robinson stated that if elected officials speak to each other disrespectfully and citizens see it, they think it's okay. She believes the elected bear some responsibility in our interactions and it is important for us to support our staffs. Mr. Timmons stated that is a cultural tolerance for abuse and disrespect here; baby boomers don't want to go into public service because of the bashing of government by government officials; it is heightened here because of the isolation and the closed community. He stated we are seeing it a lot within the City. When the people see an elected official show disrespect or contempt for the staff either publicly or in private, it becomes more accepted within the community. Behaviors occur here that are just no accepted other placed. Mr. Johnson stated that elected officials must support their employees. Ms. Sandoval stated elected officials must support each other; they should be comrades even if they disagree. They need to engage with citizens and see both sides of the issue; although only one decision can be made, other viewpoints must be seen. Regarding formula store regulations, Mr. Sullivan asked that the city keep the county informed about the issue. Reg/onallntergovernmental Meeting Page 6 June 7, 2005 DRAFT NEXT MEETING The next meeting was set for Tuesday, September 13, at 10 a.m. at the PUD. The PUD will notify other entities of their requirements for the deadline for agenda items. Mr. Kirac again stated the EDC would like a seat at the table. Ms. Robinson' stated that this group is elected officials, not non-profit agencies; if there are EDC issues to be addressed, he can come to any of the four represented bodies and ask that they add the item to the agenda. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 11 :58 a.m. Minutes submitted by Pam Kolacy City Clerk Reg/onallnter9overnmental Meeting Page 7 June 7, 2005