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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM022205 District No. 1 Commissioner: Phil Johnson District No.2 Commissioner: David W. Sullivan District No.3 Commissioner: Patrick M. Rodgers County Administrator: John F. Fischbach Clerk of the Board: Lorna Delaney MINUTES Week of February 22,2005 Chainnan Phil Johnson called the meeting to order in the presence of Commissioner David W. Sullivan. Commissioner Patrick M. Rodgers was absent. Letter of Support for Geographic Information System (GIS) HB2010 re: County Administrator John Fischbach explained that this legislation supports local funding for County GIS services. Currently the GIS Department provides services for County departments, junior taxing districts, the State, the Federal Government, non-profits and other agencies. Commissioner Sullivan moved to have the Chair sign a letter of support to Representative Bill Fromhold and Representative Jim Moellar who introduced the bill for GIS funding. Chainnan Johnson seconded the motion which carried. Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve the minutes of January 24, 2005 as presented. Chainnan Johnson seconded the motion. The motion carried. COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR'S BRIEFING: John Fischbach reported on the following items: · The Board needs to provide specifics about the revisions they want regarding the placeholders for the Comprehensive Plan Amendments that are on the proposed docket for this year. These amendments have to do with the UGA and the Comprehensive Plan Update approved in 2004. The Planning Commission's hearing is scheduled on March 2. · The Elected Officials will be meeting this week at the Courthouse for a general discussion over lunch. · The contractor for the Hood Canal Bridge Project is planning two bridge closures on weekends in October. The DOT is also in favor of a weekend closure. · The Board decided not to schedule any On the Road meetings unless there are specific issues in a community. Page 1 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of February 22,2005 ...''''.'.''.. ; , <:.1~ ':"'S'l{r"('~"<o!' · Kelly Hays is scheduled to be appointed as PUD Commissioner on March 2. He will fill the vacant position created when David Sullivan became County Commissioner. · The Deputy Prosecuting Attorney has advised that it would not be appropriate for the County to ask the Hood Canal Coordinating Council to take a position on the Fred Hill Materials project because they currently receive funding from the County. · The Board asked the County Administrator to meet with Port Townsend's City Manager regarding the various contracts for services. They requested that an omnibus agreement be developed listing all the contracts. This would help in setting funding priorities, especially with State and Federal budget cuts. Michelle McConnell, Marine Resource Committee re: Program Update: Michelle McConnell reviewed the history of the Northwest Straits Initiative, passed by Congress in 1998, which established the NW Straits Commission and directed that the seven NW Straits counties establish Marine Resource Committees as advisory boards to County Commissioners and Councils. The Jefferson County MRC was fonned in 1999. The NW Straits Commission established original benchmarks to help guide the MRCs, but still allowed flexibility for them to select priorities in their counties. These benchmarks were revised and simplified this year. Education and outreach is an important part of the program. Early in the program, the Jefferson County MRC had a start-up grant which included member training and they also held meetings in communities throughout the County to get public input on the program. She reviewed the MRC's projects over the past several years including: developing a brochure explaining "marine protected areas," planting and monitoring Olympia oysters, establishing a voluntary eelgrass protection zone, and surveys of spawning beaches. When the Northwest Straits Initiative was established, there was a sunset clause built in that required a third party review after 5 years to evaluate if the program would continue. This review was completed in 2004 and the program received a positive evaluation. She requested that the Board write a letter of support to Congress for the reauthorization of this program and that the funding be increased for local projects. There are currently several vacancies on the MRC and they are advertising for new members to fill positions in several categories. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: The following comments were made: there were several letters in the Commissioners' correspondence this week regarding Port Ludlow Associates and representatives were present to answer any questions the Board might have; a request that the Board support the legislation regarding the concept of establishing a rehabilitation zone for Hood Canal; that the County address the issues of the Hood Canal watershed and waters; and the County Commissioners need to take a serious look at the environmental designation that will be made soon on the largest surface mine in the history ofthe County and the Hood Canal watershed. Page 2 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of February 22,2005 .'''''' :: '. 'Í -~f '- ,..~~ $It/ll:~"~ APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA: Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Chainnan Johnson seconded the motion which carried. 1. RESOLUTION NO. 14-05 re: Adopting a Grievance Procedure Policy as a Requirement of the State CDBG Program 2. RESOLUTION NO. 15-05 re: Creating a County Project Designated as CR1686; Install Drainage Improvements as Recommended by the Port Ludlow Drainage District Comprehensive Stonnwater Management Plan 3. AGREEMENT re: Phase I and Phase II Enhanced E-911 Services; Jefferson County JeffCom; Cingular Wireless 4. Notice of Completion of Day Labor Projects for 2004 HEARING re: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG); Housing Needs Assessment with the City of Port Townsend: Chainnan Johnson opened the public hearing on a joint Jefferson County/City of Port Townsend CDBG grant. Jeff Randall, City of Port Townsend, stated that the purpose of this hearing is to satisfy a requirement of a CDBG application for a housing needs assessment. The area to be studied includes the City of Port Townsend and eastern Jefferson County. The fonnal grant is $40,000 for planning only. There is a local City/County match required of $5,000 that can be an in-kind match. There is also a $2,000 match listed from local financial institutions. He handed out, and made available to the public, infonnation from the State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development regarding their CDBG programs. The City will administer the grant. A consultant will be hired to conduct the assessment and City and County staffwill work together on the project. The City's Affordable Housing Committee with representatives from the City, non-profits, and other regional housing providers will also be involved. The deadline for the fonnal grant application is March 10. The project will take about 8 months. Both the City and County Comprehensive Plans refer to the importance of affordable housing. The survey will provide current infonnation on housing in order to set a baseline and develop an implementation plan. Vanessa Brower, Affordable Housing Committee, explained that this grant will provide key indicators that can be used to assess the need for future housing stock in the community. The study includes homeowners and renters. A fair market rent study, as defined by HUD, will be included. The Jefferson County Housing Authority can use the infonnation for their payment standard criteria which could result in higher quality housing for low income participants. The homeownership study will address housing conditions, rehabilitation repairs, and minor home repairs. This could help the economy by capturing a pocket industry to address the needs of the housing stock. The Committee doesn't want the study to be another report that gets put on the shelf. It will be a "living" tool that will be used on a regular basis to market opportunities for construction and repairs with lending institutions. The Affordable Housing Committee will act as technical advisors to City and County staff involved in the project. The joint project allows more funds to develop a better survey, and serves the entire community better. Page 3 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of February 22,2005 .""""'. t ";:.","í:! ~f$f1 N~'~ëS Director of Community Development Al Scalf stated that this is an important project that will address the gap between wages and housing costs in the County. The costs for the resale of homes continues to escalate and there is a widening gap of afford ability. Staff recommends that the Board approve this project. Chainnan Johnson opened the public comment portion of the hearing. Hearing no comments for or against the CDBG grant application, the Chair closed the public hearing. Commissioner Sullivan moved to sign RESOLUTION NO. 16-05, authorizing the County Administrator to sign a Community Block Grant application for funding of a combined housing needs assessment with the City of Port Townsend. Chainnan Johnson seconded the motion which carried. The Board met in Executive Session from 11 :00 a.m. - 11 :59 a.m. with the County Administrator and Public Works Staff regarding real estate negotiations. The meeting was recessed at the close of business on Tuesday and reconvened on Wednesday. Chainnan Johnson and Commissioner Sullivan were present. Commissioner Rodgers was absent. Letter of Support for Indigent Defense Services HB1542: John Fischbach reported that this legislation would create a system to distribute State funds to cities and counties to improve the quality of public defense services. Commissioner Sullivan moved to have the Chair sign letters to Representative Lynn Kessler and Representative Jim Buck in support of this bill. Chainnan Johnson seconded the motion which carried. MEETING ADJOURNED SEAL: ATTEST: /Î ¿.. J.JjJ fr):;~ ernC ieMatth's, CMC I . eputy Clerk of the Board Page 4