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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM050304 ~1 CO~ ~~~S~6\~ ii~ \~~'fÀ \ / \~ ,*J '-"AJ8b r'Ji-0/ ~,,~~// District No. 1 Commissioner: Dan Titterness District No.2 Commissioner: Glen Huntingford District No.3 Commissioner: Patrick M. Rodgers County Administrator: David Goldsmith Clerk of the Board: Lorna Delaney MINUTES Week of May 3,2004 Chairman Glen Huntingford called the meeting to order. Commissioner Dan Tittemess and Commissioner Patrick Rodgers were present. Lloyd Cahoon, Economic Development Council re: Introduction of Executive Director Candidate; Vic Grassman: A key goal ofthe County's Strategic Plan is an economic development strategy to encourage growth oflocal businesses and recruit new businesses. The EDC's role in accomplishing this goal is essential. Lloyd Cahoon, President of the Economic Development Council, introduced Vic Grassman for the Board to interview. Mr. Grassman is one of two candidates for the EDC Executive Director position. The other candidate, Michael Brennan, was interviewed by the Board on April 19. PROCLAMATION re: Juror Appreciation Week: Chairman Huntingford read a proclamation declaring May 3 through May 7,2004 as "Juror Appreciation Week." Superior Court Judge Crad Verser, Superior Court Clerk Marianne Walters, Jury Manager Hope Nordland, and District Court Clerk Mary Ann Plut were present. Judge Verser noted that 400-500 notices are sent out to potential jurors in Jefferson County each month and usually about 200-300 are chosen to serve on jury trials. The jurors do a tremendous job sorting through the information they hear and corning up with the right verdict. Commissioner Tittemess moved to approve the proclamation. Commissioner Rodgers seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BRIEFING: County Administrator David Goldsmith discussed the following items: · The Board will be interviewing four County Administrator candidates on Monday, May 10 and Tuesday, May 11. Letters from a number of organizations supporting the 911sales tax will be corning to the Board within the next few weeks to request that the Commissioners place the proposition on the ballot. The Board will need to make a decision by July. Jeffcom staff is developing a white paper to help with public outreach. Originally, the County was asked to pay $160,000 to replace the E911 radio . Page 1 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of May 3,2004 ~~s ~ 5/11 "'(,~.. . console. The sales tax revenue would pay back the loan. If the sales tax is not approved by the voters, the Jeffcom agencies have signed an MOU to pay their portion of the loan in 2005. A draft of the "State ofthe County" newsletter will be available for the Board's review on May 18. H is scheduled to be published and sent out this month. He met with Port Townsend City Manager David Timmons regarding consolidation of county and city services. An interlocal agreement for an integrated emergency management system will be coming forward to have the County take the lead on emergency management. The County will be responsible for planning, testing, and making sure that the City and the County are in a position to respond in an emergency situation. At this point there is no exchange of money, but over time there may be or City personnel may be involved. The City has been asked to designate an operations person. The City's infrastructure is not large enough to have a stand alone Emergency Management Department and consolidating resources is a positive option. Commissioner Rodgers noted that a costlbenefit analysis needs to be included with the agreement. A Building Official position is being funded this year between the County and the City. This position will be a County employee and the City will contribute to the salary in exchange for services. There have been preliminary discussions about setting up a stand alone department similar to Jeffcom, the E9l1 Council that would result in an integrated, coordinated service center. The City is putting together a proposal. Last year the State initiated a sales tax sourcing study to show where sales tax is generated and collected. The goal is to develop a common methodology to deal with sales in the State and ultimately with catalog and internet sales. Some jurisdictions have warehouses for stores located all over the State and they would see large decreases in tax revenue if a new system is developed and the revenue goes to the jurisdiction indicated by the zip code ofthe purchaser. Jefferson County has $150,000 in retail sales tax leakage because of the small retail sales base. The jurisdictions that will lose the most have joined efforts to be involved in developing the new system to compensate them for lost revenue. The implementation of a compensation system by the State will probably be delayed for a few years because of their current budget shortfall situation. . . . PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: The following comments were made: a member of the Housing Authority Board explained that HUD has sent her a letter directing that she resign her position on that Board immediately due to a conflict of interest with her employer, and she requested that the County provide a legal opinion to be submitted with a waiver to HUD to allow her to continue on this Board; the successful work of the Housing Authority for the last 18 months was reviewed; Teamsters Local #589 supports the Fred Hill Materials Pit-to-Pier project because it will bring union jobs into the area, and Fred Hill Materials is one ofthe safest and cleanest employers on the Peninsula; Leola Armstrong passed away last week, and she will be remembered as a person who believed that Elected Officials must be held accountable for their decisions and their actions; the statistics that a Commissioner quoted last week ftom the AAA website regarding mileage did not apply to his car; and questions about expenses for a conference that the County Administrator attended in Florida last year. Page 2 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of May 3,2004 ;~s ~ 5//1 "'~.~.. APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA: Commissioner Tittemess moved to approve and adopt the Consent Agenda as presented. Commissioner Rodgers seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. 1. AGREEMENT re: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIP AA); Jefferson County Central Services; Jefferson County Fire Protection District #1 2. Advisory Board Reappointment: Jefferson County Parks Advisory Board, Representing District #2; Two (2) Year Term Expiring May 1, 2006; Michael Ryan 3. Advisory Board Appointment: Tri Area Community Center Board of Directors; Two (2) Year Term Expiring May 3, 2006; Lee Maxwell HEARING re: Adoption of WRIA 17 Water Resource Management Plan: Chairman Huntingford opened the public hearing. Natural Resource Manager Dave Christensen reported that Water Resource Inventory Area 17 (WRIA 17) Management Plan is mandated by the State Watershed Planning Act. The plan represents 6 years of work by the WRIA 17 Planning Unit, a group of agencies and citizen stakeholders involved with water resource management. He reviewed the process. An initial assessment of technical issues and data regarding water resources in the watershed was done in 2000. They also contracted with the USGS to get additional information about water resource availability and constraints in Chimacum Creek Basin. In 2002, they contracted with a firm to complete the WRIA 17 Water Resource Management Plan which was approved by the consensus of the Planning Unit. The Board has the following options after hearing public testimony: 1) to approve the Plan and forward it to the Department of Ecology; 2) to reject the Plan; or, 3) to reject the Plan and send it back to the Planning Unit with suggested revisions. The Water Resource Management Plan contains elements on water quantity, water availability, future water supply needs, water quality, and fish habitat and constraints. The Plan doesn't contain instream flow recommendations, although the Planning Unit has agreed to take on this issue and the DOE is providing funding for the Planning Unit to continue their work. If consensus of the Planning Unit is reached, DOE will adopt the instream flow numbers, if consensus cannot be reached, DOE will set the flows. The Chair opened the public testimony portion of the hearing. Susan Gulick, Sound Resolutions, Seattle, stated that she has been the facilitator and Project Manager for the WRIA 17 Planning Unit since 1999. She noted a list of the members who participated in this project and stated that there has always been a high degree of civility and cooperation throughout this process. They have worked out their issues and been able to get to consensus. This has set a good foundation for approaching the tough issue of adopting instream flows and dealing with water resource issues in general. She supports the adoption of the Plan today. Page 3 ~--- Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of May 3,2004 IJ···"'·'····· ;..... ..... ~.........~ lti_'IJ'J".~'.~...~... Phil Wiatrak, Olympia, stated that he works for the DOE and supports this local process. The Water Resource Plan had to be adopted within 4 years according to the statute. When instream flows weren't included in the Plan, he lobbied at DOE to allow Jefferson County to continue this process at the local level rather than having the State set them. The DOE has agreed to work with the WRIA 17 Planning Unit to allow them to corne to consensus on instream flows, and funding was found to gather the information necessary to complete the process. He added that the Planning Unit is made up of a very diverse group of people and they have been able to reach agreement on a lot of key issues. Doug SoehL Port Townsend, Conservation Vice President of the Washington Council of Trout Unlimited, stated that he has been a member of the Planning Unit throughout the process. He pointed out that the members did not take up the numbers for the instream flow discussion until their last meeting and they didn't have the data that they thought was required. The numbers covered a wide range, but there was no negotiating at the meeting. The instream flow process is a separate track from the actual Plan. If the Commissioners decide not to approve the Plan and wait for the instream flow portion, the whole project and all their work to this point might be thrown out. He encouraged the Board to approve the Plan today and adopt the instream flows at a later time. Dana Roberts, Port Townsend, noted that he is present as a PUD Commissioner and as a person who was involved in the Planning Unit for several years representing Wild Olympic Salmon. There has been a lot that has happened in this process and he is pleased that DOE chose to allow the Planning Unit to continue the work on the in stream flows. Several Tribes have dropped out of other watershed planning groups, but the Tribes in the WRIA 17 Planning Unit have maintained their membership and contributed funding for some of the research. He asked that the County Commissioners approve the Plan subject to the continued instream flow work at the local level. Torn McNerney, Chairman of the Planning Commission stated that he has attended several WRIA 17 meetings over the past few years. The State law says, "...to ensure clean water and sufficient quantity to provide both adequate habitat for fish and adequate supply for human uses." In the meetings he attended, human use was never discussed. Last week he received a letter as an interested party mentioning adequate supply for human uses. He commends the Planning Unit for all their hard work, but is concerned about the lack of information in the Plan regarding human uses. At the Planning Unit's last meeting, there was a discussion about instream flows on Tarboo and Thorndyke Creeks. The State has population projections and DOE oversees exempt wells. There needs to be a balance between fish habitat and human use. He recommended that the Commissioners send the Watershed Plan back to the Planning Unit to add more about human use. Dana Roberts, stated that water providers within the basins such as the PUD are going to be updating the Water Utilities Coordinating Plan. These providers service the people on pipe systems. The PUD is currently researching all the claims to water rights in the Thorndyke Creek area to accommodate the load on the stream and the sub-basin. Hearing no further comments for or against the watershed plan, the Chair closed the public testimony portion of the hearing. Page 4 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of May 3,2004 ;~s ~ \1/) "'(.~.. Chairman Huntingford asked if other WRlAs have set instream flows? Dave Christensen answered that the Nisqually Watershed Plan is the only plan that has been approved by a Board of County Commissioners. He added that 20 year population projections are available in the WRIA 17 plan. The problem is that WRIA 17 has several different drainages and smaller streams. The challenge isn't as simple as corning up with a balance equation because development in an area may affect underground connections far away fÌ'om a stream. This is the difficulty with determining in stream flows. There needs to be a process and system that allows people to withdraw water from wells and policies in place to set in stream flows to protect fish. Chairman Huntingford stated that corning to consensus on instream flows is not easy, but he would rather have them set at the local level than have the State set them. He wants to see the numbers work for people and fi sh. Commissioner Titterness asked if the criteria for instream flows was required in the Plan when the WRIAs were established and the grant funding was received? Phil Wiatrak replied that a good faith effort was expected as part of the planning process, but lack of data can make it difficult to achieve consensus. Commissioner Titterness commented that it sounds like it was a goal of the Plan, but not a requirement. Dave Christensen added that he wouldn't have recommended that the County enter into an agreement to do something that required other people outside of the County to make decisions for the County. Commissioner Rodgers stated his concerns about having to reach consensus. The assumption in consensus is that there will be give and take, but if someone makes a demand that is unreasonable or excessive to the facts, it would indicate that they aren't negotiating in good faith. Dave Christensen noted that the Tarboo Creek discussion was the first real discussion about numbers for instream flows and it takes time to begin the process of how to corne to consensus. Doug Soehl explained that only the governmental entities must have complete consensus in the process. The other agencies operate on a majority. He feels the WRIA Planning Unit members are operating in good faith. If the Commissioners don't approve the Plan and they send it back to the Planning Unit for inclusion of instream flows, the plan may never corne back to the Board and DOE will take over and set the instrearn flows. Torn McNerney stated that he looks at setting the instrearn flows as the next step forward in the Plan. The Plan before the Board today is separate from in stream flows. He still feels that this Plan should have some reference to the human side and that is his only objection. Chairman Huntingford stated that his other concern about the Plan relates to the transfer of regulatory authority over a Class IV General Forest Practice to local government. He knows that the County is working toward this, but designated forestland is different than rural residential treed land that is converted and most people don't know how to differentiate between them. The County isn't losing its forestland base. Dave Christensen added that he hasn't heard comments on that issue during this process, but he has heard it at other times. Dave Christensen reiterated the Board's options for this hearing. Chairman Huntingford asked the deadline for setting the instream flows? Phil Wiatrak pointed out that the State is funding an outreach to try and get everyone to consensus. The draft rules will be done by January, 2005. The WRIA Planning Unit would Page 5 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of May 3,2004 IJ·····''''···'· t''''''-.:-\ ~'¡.\Il ~~>~... need to be done with this part of the process by December. Dave Christensen stated that the Plan that is before the Board is due by June 30 in order for the County to receive the remaining grant funding. He suggested that the Board could send the Plan back to the Planning Unit for inclusion of the instream flow chapter and this would be an acceptable decision to allow DOE to release the grant funds. Susan Gulick noted that if the Board sends the Plan back to the Planning Unit, they need to be very specific about what they want. Commissioner Titterness moved to send the Plan back to the WRIA Planning Unit to include a chapter for instream flows and language stating that they will work toward the instream flows in the plan and this will be completed by December 31, 2004. Commissioner Rodgers seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. At 11 :00 a.m., the Board met in a workshop regarding mileage reimbursement. At 2:00 p.m., the Board met in a workshop regarding firework displays. Discussion re: Mileage Reimbursement: Central Services Director Allen Sartin presented the Board with language to be added to the current resolution regarding options for mileage reimbursement for certain County Officials. If a Commissioner uses a County car, it would rent for a percentage of $362/per month, which is based on the average rental of the current inventory for the type of vehicle that a Commissioner would drive. There was a discussion about how the rental rates are calculated. Commissioner Rodgers moved to have staff update the resolution that authorizes car allowances for the Commissioners, County Administrator, and Central Services Director to add language to have the amount of the car allowance set as a percentage ofthe average ER&R rental rate for County vehicles similar to a car the Commissioners would be provided. Commissioner Titterness seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. Each Official authorized by the resolution will make the choice of using a County car, submitting for mileage reimbursement, or taking a car allowance. The change over will be made when the rates are set during the annual budget cycle. ~ 't I 'J ., . MEETING AD,JOURNÈD. · 1·,' r'"". . \ ... , .' \ II t ì " S "... (.J " .. ' , SEAL: . < ·r ~ ) (¡ .' ...J ATTEST: ~ /171~ 'erne' cØ'ulie Matthes, CMC Deputy Clerk of the Board Page 6