HomeMy WebLinkAboutM040389
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MINUTES
WEEX OF APRIL 3, 1989
The meeting was called to order by Chairman George C. Brown in the
presence of Commissioner Larry W. Dennison. Commissioner B. G. Brown was out
of town at a conference.
BUSINESS FROM COUNTY DEPARTMENTS
AUDITOR
Auditor Sa re: Presentation f the 1988 Annual Re rt:
Auditor Mary Gaboury came before the Board to pres nt the 1988 Annual Report.
This report and a cover letter was sent to the Stae Auditor on Friday, after
being completed in record time and within the time frame established by the
State Auditor.
PUBLIC WORKS
Purchase Rea:uisition: Vehicle' for Pe~it Technician: Washinaton
State: 'DeDar'taent of General Adainistration, Sta1=e Purchasina Division: A
vehicle is needed for the recently hired Permit Technician, County Engineer
Bob Nesbitt reported. A Chevrolet S10 pickup can.be purchased off the State
contract for $10,349.50. Commissioner Dennison mo~ed to approve the purchase
requisition for the State Department of General Administration for a
Chevrolet $10 pickup as requested. Chairman George Brown seconded the motion
which carried by a unanimous vote.
Recommendation for Bid Award: SUDDlvin, Liauid AsDhalt for 1989:
Commissioner Dennison moved to award the bid fo~ supplying liquid asphalt
during 1989 to Chevron U.S.A. as recommended by 'the Public Works Department.
Chairman George Brown seconded the motion which c$rried by a unanimous vote.
Reccmaendation for Bid Award: Farnishinq one ( 1) Railroad Flatcar:
Commissioner Dennison moved to award the bid for furnishing a rai lroad
flatcar to Skip Gibbs as recommended by the !Public Works Department.
Chairman George Brown seconded the motion. The motion carried by a unanimous
vote.
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Recommendation for Bid Award: Furnishing Two (2) Compact Utilitv
Tractors: Commissioner Dennison moved to award the bid for furnishing two
compact utility tractors to Auburn Lawn and Garden as recommended by the
Public Works Department. One tractor will have special equipment for picking
up grass clippings. Chairman George Brown seconded the motion which carried
by a unanimous vote.
Application to Open Right-of-Nav: 10th Avenue in Plat of Irondale
#7: Glen D. Baker: Bob Nesbitt reported that Mr. Baker is requesting to open
a portion of right-of-way on 10th Avenue in the Plat of Irondale #7, 20 feet
in width from West Eugene Street to Moore Street, as a private access road
so that a power line can be installed to his residence. Commissioner
Dennison moved to approve opening the right-of-way as requested subject to
the conditions as recommended by the Public Works Department. Chairman
George Brown seconded the motion. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
CONTRACT re: Supplying Liauid Asphalt: Chevron U.S.A.: Commission':'"
er Dennison moved to approve the contract wi th Chevron U. S. A. to supply
liquid asphalt to the County in 1989. Chairman George Brown seconded the
motion. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
AGREEMElft' re: Reimbursable Work; Road Grading aDd Graveling: Undie
Road; Clallam county:' Commissioner Dennison moved to approve the reimbur-
sable wor~ agreement with Clallam County to provide grader work and graveling
on the Undie Road as necessary. Chairman George Brown seconded the motion
which carried by a unanimous vote.
CLAIM FOR DAMAGES #0030389-1 re: Repair of Vehicle Sprayed with
Sand bv Road Sander: Commissioner Dennison moved to approve the claim for
damages to the vehicle owned by Virgil See in the amount of $584.15.
Chairman George Brown seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
BUMAW SERVICES
CONTRACT re : Alcohol Counselor Services Provided by Jefferson
County Human Services: Jefferson General Hospital: Commissioner Dennison
moved to approve the contract between Jefferson General Hospital and the
Human Services Alcohol program to provide alcohol counseling .services as
requested. Chairman George Brown seconded the motion. The motion carried
by a unanimous vote.
CONTRACT #1440-62179 re: Amendment 5: l"unding Reduction: ADATSA
Assessment Services to Jefferson County Human Services: Nashington State
Department of Social and Health Services: Commissioner Dennison moved to
approve the contract amendment with the state Department of Social and Health
Services for reduced ADATSA Assessment Service funding as submitted.
Chairman George Brown seconded the motion Which carried by a unanimous vote.
FACILITIES MAliAGEMERT
Discussion of Design Development: Port Townsend Communi tv Center:
Property Manager Carter Breskin reported that a design development meeting
for the Port Townsend Community Center will be held tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in
the Commissioners' Chambers. This meeting will be to review the final
drawings for the project. The schematic design is essentially complete now,
and the next phase will be to call for bids on the construction work.
The discussion turned to the architects fee and the new architects agreement
form that is re~Aired by the Farmers Home Administration for this project.
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Carter Breskin reported that there will be some increased costs for this
proJect. In May of 1988 the project was estimated to cost $885,134. Now
that the design phase is essentially complete the costs are estimated to be
$1,057,000. The reasons the costs have increased are as follows:
\ . . ,
* 10% inflation factor for building in past year.
* Increases in components of the scope of work - 16% increase
over all areas of project (metal work, electrical, etc).
$71,000 in civil engineering costs required because there is
not time to do this work in house.
Structural modifications such as removal of columns in
bui lding and increase in number of windows from those in
original bid.
Costs to upgrade all the utilities to the building.
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This building renovation will cost approximately $64 to $65 per square foot,
Carter Breskin added~
Commissioner Dennison stressed that it is necessary that the Architect review
this project to make sure as few errors as possible are made before it is put
out for bid, and that the County hold the line on this project as much as
possible.
PLADIBG AKD BUILDIBG
Comments on Mitiaated Determina.tion of Non-Sianificance: Tamanamus
Rock Recreational Vehicle Park: Anderson Lake Road: Ra.lvh Theriault: Rachel
Nathanson reported that on March 13, 1989 the Board issued a Mitigative
Determination of Non-significance for this proposed project. A packet of the
responses received during the comment period were presented to the Board and
reviewed by Ms. Nathanson as follows:
The State Department of Ecology stated that they had no problem
with the MDNS but that the wastewater management system may require
a permit if it handles more than 14,500 gallons per day. They also
expressed concern about the wetlands. The placement offill in
the wetlands will require a permit from the Army Corps of En-
gineers. The project itself does not include wetlands, Rachel
Nathanson added.
The Port Gamble Klallam Tribe stated concerns about development of
the area around Tamanamus Rock which is a site of special sig-
nificance to the tribe.
The State Department of Community Development reserved the right
to comment until the culture resource survey is completed.
Rachel Nathanson added that no comments have been received that would require
that the Mitigated Determination of Non-significance be removed. Mr.
Theriault has expressed concern about mitigative measure #7 which states "The
project proponents shall pay a proportionate share of the necessary traffic
impact analysis and improvements costs for Anderson Lake Road and Rhody
Drive/Anderson Lake Road intersection as determined by the ..Tefferson COlmty
Public Works Department."
Ralph Theriault: Regarding the wastewater comment from the Department of
Ecology, Mr. Theriault stated that the drainage is designed for a 10,000
gallon per day maximum. This is 4,500 gallons under what the State Depart-
ment of Ecology is requiring. Regarding the Port Gamble Klallam tribe
letter, Mr. Theriault continued, the tribal manager made an inspection of the
site and the area they are concerned with will not be disturbed because it
is off the site completely. A road was built across the wetland for
maintenance of the waterline.
Mr. Theriault asked that mitigative measure #7 be stricken from this project.
This is a contract and if he signs the binding site plan then it is binding
on him. He stated that one development in this area is not being required
to share in these costs.
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Rachel Nathanson reported that a letter has been sent to the Evergreen Coho
Escapee Retreat Camper Club asking that they voluntarily participate in the
cost of the traffic impact analysis. They have agreed to pay their pro-
portionate share of the cost of that analysis.
Commissioner Dennison asked if Mr. Theriault is asking to be relieved of a
proportionate share of all of the costs? Mr. Theriault stated that he feels
that all of this work. regarding traffic impacts should have been done up
front. This is a burden that is being added to. the recipients of these
permits. Chairman George Brown added that Mr. Theriault IS project will.add
to the traffic impact in the area. Mr. Theriault stated that it has come to
the point where the County is pricing the project right off the market. He
added that the County is pricing people out of the use of their land. '
Commissioner Dennison stated that taxes are paid for roads, and inquired that
if a project puts an extraordinary burden on a road, shouldn't it have to pay
for it? Mr. Theriault stated that he feels the County should have been
planning for this over the years and the traffic impact should have been
taken care of through the cou.nty taxes on roads.
Commissioner Dennison moved to uphold the Mitigated Determination of Non-
significance as approved on March 13, 1989. Chairman George Brown seconded
the motion for the purpose of discussion. Mr. Theriault added that he feels
this mitigative measure will be a detriment to the project. Commissioner
Dennison added that Mr. Theriault is not being asked to build a new road or
do something that is not related to the project at all. He is being aSKed
to pay for improvements needed as a direct result of the project.
David Goldsmith added that the proportionate share of the traffic and thus
the costs of needed improvements will be determined by the traffic impact
analysis.
The Chairman called for a vote on the motion. Commissioner Dennison and
Chairman Brown voted for the motion and the Mitigated Determination of Non
significance was upheld with no change to mitigative measure #7.
State Environmental Poliey Act Review: Sawmill Proposal: Center
Road and Eaglemount Road. Gerard West, Inc.. Paul Hendv. Applicant: On
October 10, 1988, Senior Planner Rachel Nathanson reported, the Board
initiated the environmental review of this project which is to build a three
sided structure on the site at the Center Road, McMillen Road intersection
to operate a lumber manu~acturing business. This would include a sawmill,
re-saw and ancillary wood working machinery. During the initial environ-
mental review the Board expressed concern regarding the possible noise levels
created by this project. The applicant was asked to give additional on the
noise levels expected.
Rachel Nathanson then reviewed several comments received by the Board and the
Planning Department on this project. Mr. Hendy presented a packet of
information for the Board to review which included a letter of intent with
signatures of local residents in support of the project. A letter was
included from Mark H. Grimm, Code Enforcement for the Kitsap County
Department Community Development which provided readings of the noise levels
of the mill currently operated by Mr. Hendy in Joyce.
The sawmill operation cannot exceed 60 db, Rachel Nathanson added. Mr. Grimm
does noise readings for Kitsap County but is not certified to operate this
equip~ent. Rachel Nathanson stated that it is her opinion that no verifiable
information has been received that proves that this mill will meet the noise
requirements.
Mr. Hendy stated that ,the people who have written letters to the County about
this project are not "adjacent" property owners to the proposed sawmill site.
They all live further down the road. Mr. Hendy then reviewed the information
he presented which identifies the adjacent property owners. He reported that
he has discussed this project with the adjacent property owners and they all
support the project.
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Philip Smith: Mr. Smith stated that he lives approximately two tenths of a
mile from this site and Mr. << Mrs. Osmer live closer to the site than he
does. Susan Herman lives even closer than the Osmers.
Warren Osmer: Warren Osmer stated that the noise fac~or will be a big impact
to this area. Chairman George Brown asked if this mill running during the
day would bother him? Mrs. Osmer asked what happens if the mill runs later
than the operating hours during the day? Chairman George Brown added that
the hours the mill will operate will be regulated.
Michael Brady: Mr. Brady stated that he has a saw that is identical to the
one that this mill will use and his neighbors have not complained about the
noise.
Philip Smith: Mr. Smith stated that he has heard Mr. Brady's saw and the
noise was considerable. The saw was outside and not in a building.
The discussion continued regarding the noise made by various types of saws
and sawmills.
Philip Smith: Mr. Smith stated that the Whispering Cedars mill has had
numerous complaints about the noise it creates.
Commissioner Dennison stated that the bottom line is the noise at the
property line. The County doesn't have a noise meter that is acceptable to
make a determination of compliance.
Mrs. Hendy: Mr. Hendy stated that the Board asked for this information last
October and now he has the information.
Jerry McMillen: Mr. McMillen stated that his mother owns property adjacent
to this site and they were not notified of this meeting, and they have not
objected.
Rachel Nathanson stated that this is not a public hearing it is simply a
public meeting which does not require notification of adjacent property
owners. The Osmers and Mr. Smi th have made inquiries and asked to be
notified when this project came before the Board.
The issue, Planning and Building Department Director David Goldsmith advised,
is not the land use, because the property can be used for industrial
purposes. The issue is the noise created by the project. He further
reported that the Evergreen Fibre chipping operation at Chimacum Creek was
required to have a certified noise analysis done for their project.
Discussion then ensued about the hours of operation for the sawmill. Mr.
Hendy noted that operating hours of 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. would be agreeable
to him.
Rachel Nathanson then reviewed the nine proposed mitigative measures for the
project. She also proposed that mitigative measure number 7 be amended to
limit traffic access off of Center Road. Commissioner Dennison moved to
issue a mitigated determination of non-significance with the conditions as
proposed. Chairman George Brown seconded the motion which carried by a
unanimous vote.
Tom Beavers" ERA Real Estate re: Request for TeDlDOrarv Real Estate
Office at Paradise Bav Road and Highwav 104 Intersection: (See also Minutes
of March 27, 1989) Mr. Beavers updated the Board on the need for a temporary
real estate office to sell property in the 560 acre development along
Paradise Bay Road owned by Pope Resource. 410 acres of this project is still
available. The temporary sales office is only visible from Paradise Bay
Road, and up to this point has only been manned for approximately two days
per week.
Commissioner Dennison stated that his main concern is that the request was
for a temporary office, which was not intended as approval for an indefinite
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period of time. He added he would be willing to consider this request if
there is a definite time period on it.
Mr. Beavers stated that this temporary site is on property owned by the
developer and cannot be made into a permanent office. His original request
was for a one year period of' time, but it was only approved for 120 days.
David Goldsmith reported that the temporary structure regulations allow 120
day approval. One of the benef i ts of this temporary use, Mr. Beavers
responded, is the advertising signs, but having the trailer in place allows
a place for surveyors, consultants and prospective buyers to meet. This is
a common practice in selling large real estate developments.
Mr. Beavers asked that the Board consider granting two 120 day extensions of
this temporary use and they would definitely be off the property by November
of this year. Commissioner Dennison moved to void the motion made on March
27 and to approve a 120 day extension for this temporary real estate office.
Chairman George Brown seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
>Ie * >Ie
1989 Jefferson Count:v Dance License: Hadlock House Restaurant:
Commissioner Dennison moved to approve the dance license for the Hadlock
House Restaurant for 1989 as submitted. Chairman George Brown seconded the
motion which carried by a unanimous vote.
Public Notice for Change in Health Board Meetin~ Date: Commis-
sioner Dennison moved to approve changing the regular monthly meeting of the
Heal~h Board in April to the 25th at 10:00 a.m. Chairman George Brown
seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. A change in meeting
date notice will be published in the Port Townsend Leader.
Applications for Assistance from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief
Fund: The following applications for assistance' from the Soldiers' and
Sailors' Relief Fund were approved, by motion of Commissioner Dennison,
seconded by Chairman George Brown: Kenneth W. Roy $225.00 and Robert E.
Miller $300.00. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
The meeting was recessed at the end of the business day on Monday
an~ reconvened at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening at the Quilcene Community
Center for the following public hearing. Commissioner George C. Brown and
Commissioner Larry W. Dennison were both present. Commissioner B. G. Brown
was not in attendance.
BEARING re: Quilcene/Dabob Bav watershed Action Plan: Board of
Commissioners and the Watershed Manaaement Committee: 28 area residents were
present when Chairman George Brown opened the public hearing regarding the
Quilcene Dabob Bay Watershed Action Plan. Jefferson County Water Quality
Specialist John Heal explained the draft plan for those present.
History and Context Implementation: John Heal reviewed the two page executive
summary of the plan briefly. The puget Sound Water Quality Authority was
authorized by the State Legislature and part of their mandate was to develop
a management plan for all of puget Sound in 1987, 1989 and 1991. Their
management plan call of a number of programs to address water pollution in
puget Sound. One part of the program is watershed planning. Each puget
Sound watershed is to have a plan developed to protect water quality in that
watershed as well as all of the issues related to water quality such as,
wetlands, wildlife, fish habitat, recreations use, aesthetics, etc. A
watershed is the whole land area that flows to one point. In this area that
is defined as all of the land area that flows into Quilcene and Dabob Bays.
These two bays are very important for commercial shellfish operations,
recreational and commercial fishing and many other uses that are important
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to the lifestyle of the area. This is a comprehensive plan for protection
of water quality and aquatic resources in this watershed.
The State has set the rules for watershed planning which are outlined in WAC
Chapter 400-12.. There are 13 counties on puget Sound and they are all
working on watershed planning. The Quilcene Dabob Bay watershed has been
priori tized as an early action watershed because of the value of the
resources in the area and is one of the first in the State to develop an
action plan.
A committee was established with representatives of all the effected agencies
including; local residents; representatives of agriculture, the timber
industry; the Forest Service; State Departments of Natural Resources,
Fisheries, Wildlife; the Indian tribes; the shellfish industry; the Conserva-
tion District and local government. This committee, was to look at the
problems in the watershed and to develop ways to correct problems and to
prevent future problems. A big part of this plan is preventative.
The Watershed Management Committee was convened by the .Jefferson County
Commissioners in February of 1988 and had a -total of 13 planning meetings
that year. During the course of those meetings the Committee discussed the
goals for the watershed, how the Committee would reach agreement. The
Committee decided to reach agreement by consensus. This committee had to
deal with compromise to plan for every possible impact to water quality and
aquatic resource in the watershed. This included the seals, septic systems,
timber harvest, agriculture, and recreational activities, etc. The committee
review the problems, the information on water quality and developed source
control programs.
The plan includes a characterization of the watershed, including a map, where
it is located, the land use in the watershed, the water quality data, etc.
The committee deserves credit for reaches some compromises and sticking with
this project. Many volunteer hours were invested in this plan. The Plan was
sent out to effected agencies in draft form last fall for comments. The
Committee met three times this year to revise plan based on those comments
and based the most recent data collected on the seals in Quilcene Bay.
John Heal further reported that there is a 30 days comment period for anyone
to submit a written comment on the plan.
Executive Summary of the Plan: John Heal then read from the Executive
Summary highlighting the following points:
* North end of Quilcene Bay has failed to meet the
standards for Class AAmarine waters because of
fecal coliform contamination.
This plan was developed to prevent and correct non-
point pollution from a wide variety of sources:
septic systems, agricultural practices, forestry
and erosion, seals, marinas and boats, and hazardous
wastes.
Source control programs are planned to correct and
prevent problems with septic systems, agricultural
wastes, forest practices, stream enhancement, and
seals.
Actions plans for various County and State agencies
were outlined.
*
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*
Since there has been controversy about the seals in Quilcene Bay, John Heal
read from the portion of the plan that deals with the seals as follows: "
Harbor seals are a source of fecal coliform bacteria in Quilcene Bay... Some
Watershed Management Committee members felt that shooting the seals or
amending the Marine Mammals Protection Act was not politically tenable.
Removing the log dump entirely did not appear to be economically or politi-
cally feasible. Moving the log dump or changing the operation to discourage
the seals from hauling out are possibilities... The DOE now says that rather
than seeking recertification of the north end of Quilcene Bay; the goal of
the Action Plan should be to take all reasonable actions to correct and
prevent water qf.lality degradation in the watershed. .. In essence; the
federal law protects the seals and conflicts with the State law requiring
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Class AA standards for water quality to be met at the north end of Quilcene
Bay. .. The policy options for seals that the Committee agreed tlpOn are:
>It
The Planning Department shall develop a monitoring
plan with the advise of experts to determine the
relative success of the source controls over a
period of time....
*
The Planning Department shall seek to change the
policy for natural resource management in the north
end of the Bay. One approach would be to designa te
major seal hatd out areas as "uncertifiable" for
commercial shellfish, as is presently done with
point sources and marinas.
*
The other approach would be to seek amendment of the
Marine Mammal Protection Act to allow for management
the seals in Quilcene Bay and elsewhere."
The seal issue was the only issue that the Committee could not reach consen-
sus on, John Heal added. He then opened the floor to questions.
Q. How much has seal population increased in last 10 years or has it
increased at all in the last ten years? How long has this been
a problem?
A. John Heal responded that the seal population has increased
quite a bit. There were very few seals here 25 years ago.
Right now there are bout 1,500 harbor seals in Hood Canal.
Their population seems to be growing about 10% per year. 403
seals were counted in Quilcene Bay last year during a squid
run.
Q. Jerrv Getz: I don't know where you get your 'count of seals. I've
heard there were 18,000 seals in puget Sound. You make it sound
so nice. There area over 1,000 sea lions in puget Sound.
A. John Heal reported that the numbers of seals given is based
on research done by Cascadia Research Collective. They count
the seals from aerial photographs. There are no sea lions in
Hood Canal yet.
Q. Glen Huntinaford: Are any of the people with shellfish harvesting
operations in Quilcene Bay are concerned about changing the
classification of the north end of the Bay and if they are worried
about encroachment from the pollution further south?
A. Murlan Winjum, Olympia Oyster Company: Mr. Winjum stated that
he is concerned about the perimeter of the decertified area.
Olympia Oyster Company is on the east side of the bay. They
don't harvest oysters off that ground but they do harvest
Manilla clams. It would be up to DSHS to determine how
widespread an area would be decertified.
A. John Heal added that there is nothing that can be done to keep
the seals out of an area. The specific situation must be
looked at to see how much tidal flushing there is in the area,
how many seals there are, etc. This is not going to be easy
because the conditions are so variable. We want to protect
the commercial beds that are in Quilcene Bay as much as
possible.
A. Don Ward: In 1952 there were about 6 to 10 seals in Quilcene
Bay and that was in the fall when the salmon come in. A
bounty was put on seals shortly after that and in 1972 when
the Marine Protection Act was signed there were probably 40
to 50 seals. After that they really increased to what we have
today.
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Q. Barbara Fisk: Mrs. Fisk asked regarding the section of the plan
dealing with hazardous waste monitoring in the watershed - would
it include monitoring of the old landfill at Donovan Creek? Is
this part of monitoring hazardous waste?
A.
John Heal:
program.
Yes, there is a hazardous waste source control
Q. Barbara Fisk: Will that also include monitoring the Olympic
Testing Lab site at the head of Donovan Creek?
A. John Heal: The Plan will includes a program that will have
the County Public Works department investigate the potential
for ground water contamination in the Donovan Creek drainage.
Q. Murlan Winjum: What is the intention of the watershed action plan
for an action on the seal issue? Will it go the decertification
route?
A. Commissioner Dennison: One of the things that this position
allows us to do is address the dichotomy between the State law
and the federal law. Its a way of forcing the issue at the
State level and getting them to address it and acknowledge
that it is a part of the problem. The County cannot say that
they can manage the seals, or meet the State guideline so that
forces the ball into the regulators court.
A. John Heal: The Committee will continue to meet on a qu.arterly
basis this year and they and Planning Department will provide
some oversight on plan implementation. This plan was develop-
ed so that it would be implemented by all of these agencies.
Q. Glen Huntingford: As far as changing the water quality standard
because there is a conflict, on Chimacum Creek because there are
three or four dairy farms there, will the same thing be done in
that area? Would the County Commissioner approve changing the
water quality standard on Chimactm Creek also?
A.
A.
A.
Jerry Getz:
John Heal: The water quality classification are set by State
law. In marine waters Class AA this means that no more than
14 fecal coliform organisms per 100 milliliters. The waters
belong to the State, it is a public resource, so we're all
responsible for keeping that water up to that classification.
The situation in Quilcene Bay is that it is very difficult
because of the seals and a federal law protects the seals
which contribute to the water quality problem. That is not
the ca~e in Chimacum Creek. There is no federal law protect-
ing diary farms that would be in conflict.
Commissioner Dennison: There are conflicting laws in the
Quilcene Dabob Bay watershed which are not present in other
areas.
John Heal: If you are in a watershed that has problems in the
upper portion, then we need to spend more energy to find out
what is contributing to the problem. In some cases there is
very limited data, and monitoring programs are designed to get
the most mileage out of them.
We can argtte all night about the seals and until the legisla-
ture changes the law, we're dead in the water. This has been
monitored for three years now.
Discussion continued regarding the seals and ways to take care of them.
Q. Lorna Ward: In reference to changing the water ~Aality standard
in the north end of the Quilcene Bay - She has a copy of a Centen-
nial Clean Water Fund grant application signed by the Board for
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Commissioners' Meeting Agenda: Week of April 3, 1~89
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$160,000. The number one reason for applying for this grant was
for implementing a two year corrective program designed to re-open
the decertified portion of Quilcene Bay and to improve water
quality in the Bay. How can we ask DOE for this funding with this
as the number one priority and now say were going to decertify the
north end of the Bay?
A. John Heal: The goals have changed since that grant applica-
tion was signed. Just two months ago the State Department of
Ecology said that re-certifying the north end of the Bay is
no longer a goal of the plan. The plan should say that we
will do everything reasonable to prevent and correct problems.
Chairman George Brown explained that the Port Ludlow Bay watershed will be
going through this planning process next. John Heal added that the seals are
a fact and the problem they cause needs to be addressed. A stormwater plan
is also on element of that grant.
Q. Lorna Ward: State Senate Bill 5533 to eliminate the seal and the
sea lions was introduced" in March that would have helped this
problem and due to lack of support it died. I preSUMe that
everyone heard about it and supported this bill.
A. John Heal: I thought it passed.
Hollv Coccal!, Point No Point Treatv Council: The Committee (she is a
member) had varying opinions on the significance of the Harbor seal problem
in Quilcene Bay. There was a lot of focus on other issues as well, septic
tanks, etc. Not all of the discussion was on Harbor seals. The only thing
we did have consensus on was that it would be good to analyze the sediments
under the seal haul-outs to see what level of contribution, in terms of fecal
coliform, that the seals were producing and then to try to look into the
problem to present the conflict between DSHS and the federal law.
Commissioner Dennison The problems are not simple and we need to look at all
of the problems. The standard to measure water quality is fecal coliform and
the seals contribute to that. We need attention to be focused on the fact
thati ts' not just as simple as we though before. It's not just septic
tanks, or animal keeping practices along streams, it's other things .and we
need to look at all of it. This is the first time seals have been looked at
in this way, and we finally got some attention.
Q. Glenn Huntinaford, Conservation District: The Conservation
District needs another technician and if the grant funding is
denied, will the county fund this position?
A. Commissioner Dennison: The state Department of Ecology
requires the plan to say that the County will do certain
things, and this plan says that the County will do certain
things but the County can only do these things if there is the
right combination of resources and support.
A. Roaer Short: I disagree with you there Larry, because the DOE
got in over their heads and have found that it is costing more
money than it was ever expected. DOE is' having trouble
getting the things done that they are required by law to do
and they are asking the local people to do these things. Just
the planning process is costing more than was expected. DOE
doesn't have the money so they are coming back locally and
asking the local government to do it.
Commissioner Dennison: If the State can't do these things
because they don't have the money, then if the County doesn't
have the money then they can't do them either. There's
nothing wrong with saying that this is what we want to do.
John Heal: The plan has to make a positive statement. The
effected agencies can say they agree with the plan, but they
don't have the money to do everything that is outlined.
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Commissioners' Meeting Agenda: Week of April 3, 1989
Page: 11
Because the plan is an Early Action Watershed Plan, it is
being watched by State because they have a vested interest in
it. Because the plan requires the Soil Conservation District,
which has no taxing authority, to hire a technician, that will
make the application for funding that much stronger.
Lorna Ward: John, I hope your not living in a dream world.
I have worked for State government for 21 years and many time
we were mandated to do things there was no money to do.
Barbara Fisk: I served on the Citizens Advisory Committee and
then on the Watershed Management Committee and we didn't know
there were grants proposed, so we didn't have input into the
problems to be addressed by the grant funding. .We found out
by accident about the grants. The Committee was told it had
no authority, but, it should have been working with the County
on these grants. If any future grants are applied for the
Committee should be working with the County on it to help
coordinate the effort. A new .Jefferson County Watershed
Council is being organized with a whole new group of people.
John Heal: The Watershed Management Committee is not being
dissolved. The Planning Department, as lead agency, will
reconvene the Committee this year on a quarterly basis. It
is important that the Committee continue to oversee implemen-
tation the Plan. The Jefferson County Watershed Council is
a consortium of the local environmental groups like the Salmon
Club, Trout Unlimited, Wild Olympic Salmon Club and the
Conservation District. Several groups were doing the same
things and the Council is a grass roots effort to work
together to take a basin wide approach. It is not funded by
tax dollars.
Barb Fisk: Would it be feasible to have some of the members
come to some of the Committee meetings and work with the
Committee.
John Heal: I've been trying to represent the Quilcene
Watershed on that qouncil.
Murlan Winjum: Mr. Winjum stated that he is not a designated spokesman for
the shellfish industry, but he wanted to make the point that people should
not be frustrated with the seal issue. It's a tough problem and it will be
a long time before it is resolved. Let's pursue vigorously that which we can
do something about.
Tom Jay, Wild Olympic Salmon Group: Mr. Jay shared his view of how the plan
might be looked at in the long term. Watersheds are self managing systems.
The systems that are in place in the watershed can tell us what we are doing
wrong. Two places that attention should be focused directly are the es-
tuaries of all the different stream systems in the County because you have
a natural indicator. Streams that, are being heavily eroded will dry up in
the estuary, any contaminant and pollution will be concentrated in the
estuary. By sampling estuary sediments you'll be able to tell what's
happening in the whole watershed. Estuaries are fertile environments and are
nurseries for herring and salmon, and all kinds of animals because they
concentrate nutrients as well as pollution. If you can focus on an indicator
species that lives in the estuary you might have a biological mechanism to
be able to calibrate watershed heal tho Focus your attention on estuaries you
will have a very good working tool to look at the whole watershed. You could
develop baseline data from county aerial maps on the estuary to document
changes in the estuary.
The other key indicator that could be focused on is the salmon resource in
all of the watersheds. If you can get baseline data or even historical data
about the salmon resources in the county, the ideal would be to bring the
runs back to historic levels. Then you would know you have a functioning
heal thy watershed. That would be a simple manifestation of watershed health.
You addressed that in your plan and I congratulate you on that.
, VDL
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Commissioners' Meeting Agenda: Week of April 3, 1989
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The last issue, which is the coming issue in Jefferson County is the issue
of conversion 0 forest land to another use. We've got three basic fun-
damental resour.es in Jefferson County which are good farmland, good forest
land, and fish. These are the economic basis of the county. Tourism is a
flash in the p n, is basically not a long term economically viable thing.
We need to con entrate on soil health and the ability to have the land
resources to gr w timber and to have clean watersheds. I want to see good
logging practic s so the loggers can keep working and to see healthier
streams so the ish people can keep catching fish and I want to see erosion
control so the armers can keep working in the farms.
Don Ward: In tlking about fecal coliform there is human, animal (cattle)
and seal. My u derstanding is that the seal feces produce 10 to 30 times as
much fecal coli orm as humans or diary animals, cattle?
John Heal: No, you have to look at the concentration of bacteria in the
fecal material. How many bacteria per gram. Then you have to look at the
amount of fecal material produced which in the case of cattle is considerably
more than seals. Then you have to consider that in the case of seals there
is a high amoun of variability in the concentration of bacteria. It can be
as much as 100 times as much bacteria in seal feces at Dosewallip as there
is in Quilcene aYe No one knows why that is.
Don Ward: Per ram, seals have more than cattle or humans, right?
cow or seal it is hard to say.
John Heal:
Don Ward: Thi is information put out by Cascadia Research. I get the
finger pointed ~t me quite a bit. During the year about 2/3 of the drainage
goes through my Pla.ce is dry. The other third com.es out of the ground. In
February during the cold spell it dries up. Where does the water come from?
It comes from he west, its' surface water. It comes from school grounds
possibly, busin sses, street and all the houses, yet I get blamed for the
fecal coliform rom my cattle in that stream and I don't like it.
Ken Stone Water The State
strongly supports the concept of watershed planning to prevent non-point
source polluti n. We feel that there is significant non-point source
pollution probl ms in the Quilcene watershed and we feel that the best way
to address tho e problems and come up with 'solutions is through a local
committee made p of people who live and work in the watershed. As such I'd
like to commend the Committee and the staff for the considerable time and
effort they've ut into development this watershed management plan.
Roaer Short: have a dairy farm in Chimacum. One of the concepts I've
looked at all a ong is that we all contribute to non-point source pollution.
It needs to be emphasized that we are all contributors. If we want the
cooperation of he landowners, the guys with septic tanks, or dairies, or the
guy with one or two cows, we have to look at everything that contributes to
the problem to et their cooperation. We all contribute and we all have got
to be involved nit.
Commissioner De
tare you going to do when big outfits like Pope and Talbot
spray allover and now they have big signs up that say
ur health" "Keep Out". They're spraying sludge from Winslow
lse. Don't tell me that don't wash down into the streams.
Jerrv Getz: Wh
come along and
"Hazardous to y
and everywhere
Barbara Fisk:
have to have permission from the County?
Yes, the Health Department monitors it.
Barbara Fisk: he paragraph that stat,es "the public's rights to clean water
must be weighe against individual freedoms and private property rights."
She asked that this be changed and it wasn't. The public has a right to
clean water and this should be re-worded. This can be accomplished through
cooperation fr m individual property owners, to industry and public
education. That statement should be taken out and anyone that doesn't agree
wi th me is just oing to relinquish some of their rights to do what they want
: Val
15
r;\{')~
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Commissioners' eeting Agenda: Week of April 3, 1989
Page: 13
to and have., th
their land. I
that are going
County and everyone else interfering with what they do on
you're going to say that we must look at some of the things
n in the County.
Commissione~ De nison: Are you saying we should have re~tlations of what
people do or we shouldn't?
Barbara Fisk:
say what I can
his statement means that the County and State can come in and
o on my own land.
Commissioner De nison: What about the situation above you on the hill? Are
you saying we s ouldn't be regulating what is done?
Barbara Fisk: If you're going to say this I then it should be applied to
everyone. If you're going to say this, it will have repercussions on
everyone in the county.
Chairman Geor
comment. The
Brown: That is what this public hearing is for and you can
scussion continued regarding public rights.
...John Heal:
earlier.
I had that flagged also. It should say the individual cannot
ttention at the expense of the rest of the public. Also on
will" develop wetlands and stormwater management program?
Jer~y Philips:
be given every
page 7 under wh
t is being worked on now as part of the grant discussed
Jerry Phillips: Silting measurements should include the Little Quilcene as
well as the Big Quilcene River.
Ron Sikes: Mr. Sikes is in favor of implementation the Quilcene Dabob
Watershed Actio Plan. It gives the public an opportunity to act responsibly
in minimizing t eir individual impacts on water quality. It is a means of
maintaining and improving the public resource in the watershed. The adoption
of the plan is ignificant in setting the stage for future implementation of
watersheds plan for the rest of the county. Critical to this plan is public
education, but also important is SEPA review for timberland conversions.
They have treme dous impacts. Septic system monitoring. If we can control
that we can gr atly reduce the problems in the Quilcene Dabob w~tershed.
Best Management practices for agriculture. I think that's been proven a real
positive progr m for stream enhancement. Buffering streams from logging
activi ties. P otecting wetlands. Thanked the citizens and staff from
various agencie who put the work and effort into this plan.
Barbara Fisk: One more concern. She understands that the County reviews
logging operati ns for Class 4 streams. What is the law there? Do they have
to come through the County if they want to log?
Chairman Geor Brown: No. Through the State Department of Natural
Resources any 1 "ging that takes place within 200 feet of any stream or bay,
must have a buf er zone left along the stream.
Tom Jay: The J fferson County Watershed Council has requested that DNR send
them all of the forest practice applications for eastern County with the view
of having input into these applications. The Council is a cooperator in the
Fish and Wildl fe Act, now. You can have input into those applications
through the Cou cil.
John Heal: The
shoreline desi
that.
does review forest practice applications within the
The Planning Department could tell you more about
...Jerrv Getz:
log.
have to get a cutters permit from the State before you can
Bernice Philli I support this concept of leaving a buffer along streams,
because we have logging on both sides of our property.
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Commissioners' eeting Agenda: Week of April 3, 1989
Page: 14
Jerrv Gilbert, ort Townsend: After ten years in Port Townsend, our water
comes out of t e Quilcene Ranger District and we depend on that forest
keeping the wat r clean. Have to get the communi ties involved and the people
involved and we have to communicate with each other. Would like to see this
Plan implemente as soon as possible. I think we're over emphasizing a few
things and unde emphasizing other things. Basically we want to cooperate
and clean our w ter up. The State will not do it for us. We have to start
right here with our neighbors cleaning our water and not wait for the State
to do it. We'v got to start policing this stuff ourselves. Committees like
this are a good thing and we've got to start working ori this.
Bernice Philli s: Three years ago an announce was in the paper that no
aerial spraying would occur during high winds. We have complained to DNR and
they did nothin about it. They assured me it was perfectly safe.
Barbara Fisk: nything our County or the Committee can do about the televi-
sion commercial that show cars zipping through streams over and over again.
I've called the T.V. stations to complain but they don't do anything. These
commercials enc urage people to drive through our streams and they do damage
to the stream beds. Is there anything that our Committee could do to
discourage play ng these commercials?
John Heal: The Committee could make a recommendation that puget Sound Water
Quality Authori_y pursue that issue because they have a statewide perspec-
tive.
Tom Jav:
plan?
Ques ioned the conversion plan element of the watershed action
John Heal: Joh Heal read the element and explained it further.
Tom Jav: Coul the plan mandate buffers on stream in these forest land
conversions?
John Heal: The County does not have much input into forest practices, only
on these conversions.
Holl Coccoli oint No Point Treat Council: Type 1, 2 or 3, streams are
fish bearing st eams. A buffer is required to be left along these streams.
Logging can be one within the buffer strip, of selected trees. Conversions
are an importan issue in Jefferson County and throughout puget Sound. The
County can try to work out a buffer strip along streams and wetlands to
protect them in the conversion of forest lands.
Herb Beck: Mr. Beck stated that he has lived by a stream most of his life.
His main conce n is the fishery in our streams. Its almost like history
being repeated gain. In the 1930's they closed the Canal to gill netting
because the streams were over fished. I know the salmon come up in a storm.
That's the best time to make money. In the last few years the Canal has been
open to netting. The salmon coming back to the creeks are smaller. These
salmon have to et back to the stream or the fisheries will be hurting.
Jerrv Getz:
hasn't been a fish up Dabob Creek for eight years now.
Barbara Fisk: his came up before the Committee and were told that the Bolt
Decision cannot be changed. We need to get the cooperation of everyone that
fishes to build up the runs.
John Heal: T e Jefferson County Watershed Council will work with the
Committee to su port a cooperative effort for watershed management.
Lorna Ward: My answer is 1) dredge the Big Quilcene River out to where the
water table is lower than the septic tanks, 2) close all inland waters to
commercial fish ry, and 3) put a bounty back on the seals.
Ken Stone Stat There's been a couple of comments
tonight relativ to the State dumping their water quality problems on the
locals. I thi k comments like that are counter productive and not very
accurate either I'm not sure how serious are that made those, but, the fact
. VOL
15
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Uf";' 1407
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Commissioners' eeting Agenda: Week of April 3, 1989
Page: 15
is that it woul be relatively easy for the federal government or State to
come up with regulations to control non-point source pollution. Much the
same as they did with point source pollution. We honestly do not believe
that that is th way to go. We don't think that's an effective way to do it.
We do believe t at the solutions to non-point source pollution are from the
locals. What w do is provide funding, we provide technical assistance and
we provide the uidelines within which that can happen. I should not that
all the water: q ality grants that come out of Olympia require a 25% match
from the local ponsor which in most cases is the County. So the County is
also committing a lot of their resources to making this happen. We at the
Department of E 'ology as well as the puget Sound Water Quality Authority have
a very special nterest in making this work, because we don't want to have
to go the re~AI tory route. There's a lot of people out there just waiting
for this to fa~l because they don't think it can work. They don't think
people can regl, late themselves. We're not dumping our problems on the
locals, we just think its' a b tter way to do it.
Mike Denker: I'd like to repr .sent the recreation sector. Preserving the
aesthetic quali y of this area is real important and real valuable. I see
a large growth n recreation in this area. I think implementing this action
plan is very cr cial, so peopl are educated on how they can recreate, so
they are not i pacting the environment as much. Since this is one of the
earliest action plans, this is eally important that its implemented because
this will set an example for other counties to follow. I acknowledge
everyone whose ut energy into it. Its really a good idea. Go for it.
Barbara FisK: John Heal should be complimented on all the hours he spent
and all the tim s that he kept verybody together and kept everybody cool and
no arguments, 0 shouting. H did an excellent job of coordinating this.
He did and exce lent job in su plying our information and helping everybody
find the inform tion they want d and needed.
Chairman Geor e
in the way he
hearing and adv
comments.
Brown: I was t several meetings and John was very tactful
pproached some of the problems. The Chairman closed the
sed those pres nt they would have 30 days to submit written
Commissioner De The so ution to our problems lies with us and John
and this Commit ee have proven that we can work together to find solutions
and that's prObrblY the only wa we're going to be able to do it. I commend
not only member of this Commi tee but also the members of this community.
We all have an mpact. The sol tions to our problems depend on everyone one
of us.
John Heal: Tha ked everyone f r coming out.
SEA
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
4~~(V~
George C. rown, Chairman
--
MEETING
ATTEST
B. G. Brown, Member
~-<<~~
Lar . Dennison, Member
,
. ~OL
15
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