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Home My WebLink AboutM050205 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 May 2, 2005 Chainnan Phil Johnson called the meeting to order in the presence of Commissioner Patrick M. Rodgers. Commissioner David W. Sullivan wasn't present due to an excused absence. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Rodgers moved to approve the minutes of April 4, 11, and 18,2005 as presented. Chainnan Johnson seconded the motion which carried. PROCLAMATION re: Jury Appreciation Week: The Chair read the proclamation designating May 2 through May 6,2005 as "Jury Appreciation Week." Commissioner Rodgers moved to approve the proclamation as presented. Chainnan Johnson seconded the motion which carried. Superior Court Judge Craddock Verser expressed his appreciation to the jurors who are called to serve on a monthly basis and have their lives interrupted to fulfill this important function of the judicial system. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: The Chair read the following infonnation into the record: Your comments on any topic are welcome. Please keep them briefso others may also speak. You should know that in certain cases, such as decisions relating to land use applications, the County Commission does not make the final County decision and will not express any opinions in that regard. Comments made during the Public Comment Period relating to an item where others make the final decision will not be sent to that decision-maker. You may have other forums that will allow your comment to reach the relevant decision-maker. The following comments were made: the annual Tribal Canoe Journey is scheduled for August 1-6 this year and usually the County lets the participants camp at Memorial Field, but, the Jazz Festival is that weekend so they are looking for another location, and a request for County funding to help with the event when the canoes are here; vote-by-mail should be addressed as part of overall voting refonn because accountable registration is crucial, picture ill should be required, and a person's right to secrecy when they vote is an issue ifthey can't go to the polls; vote-by-mail is something that should have been done several years ago; the County needs more than State and Federal grants to fund the Courthouse rehabilitation project and the Page 1 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of May 2,2005 ~'.."."'.'.". "/' ~, ,", ~1 . ..... ~,- .1,/ 1,,~, \ Board needs to appoint a Blue Ribbon Commission; Port Townsend is remodeling City Hall into a museum at a high cost to taxpayers; it is premature to implement a county-wide vote-by-mail system until the issues regarding the voting process for the last governor's election are addressed; there is an obsession with land use issues in Jefferson County, too much money is spent to defend decisions that are made, and soon people will begin to stand up for their property rights; the funding needs to come from the HotellMotel Fund if the County Commissioners decide to subsidize the parking fees at Fort Worden State Park, and the Teen Center in Quilcene is going to close because there is no funding; a suggestion was made look into making Jefferson County a charter county; this is Indian Island Awareness Week, does the County have an emergency plan in place if there is an explosion there?; last year a record amount of ordnance was delivered to the island and this year will probably be the same; the County Commissioners shouldn't have doors on their offices because anything they say to anyone should be public, and if the Commissioners are asked a question or sent a letter that requires a response, the response needs to have substance instead of being meaningless. APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA: Commissioner Rodgers explained that he voted against the original actions for Item #2 and Item #4 and would not change his vote. He added that although he originally voiced concerns about the Conservation Futures proposals (Item #3), he read the Oversight Committee's recommendation and their unanimous approval changed his mind although he is still concerned about the possibility ofthe property being taken off the tax rolls. Commissioner Rodgers moved to delete Item #2 and Item #4 and approve the balance of the Consent Agenda. Chainnan Johnson seconded the motion which carried. Chainnan Johnson moved to table Item #2 and Item #4 until May 9. Commissioner Rodgers seconded the motion which carried. 1. RESOLUTION NO. 28-05 re: Vacation ofthat Portion of Oscar Peterson Road Lying Within the Northwest 1/4 ofthe Northwest 1/4 Section 29, Township 27 North, Range 11 West, WM; Gary Peterson, Petitioner 2. DELETE: Resolution No. re: Hearing Notice; Proposed Budget Extension/Appropriation for County Fund; Hearing Scheduled for Monday, May 16,2005 at 11:00 a.m. in the Commissioners' Chamber 3. HEARING NOTICE re: Conservation Futures Citizen Oversight Committee 2005 Funding Recommendations; Hearing Scheduled for Monday, May 16, 2005 at 10:35 a.m. in the Commissioners' Chambers 4. DELETE: Agreement re: Designating the Official County Newspaper of Public Record for the Publication of Legal Notices; Port Townsend-Jefferson County Leader 5. AGREEMENT, Amendment No.1 re: Dosewallips River Floodplain Acquisition Project, Salmon Recovery Fund Board; Jefferson County Health and Human Services, Division of Natural Resources; Washington State Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation 6. Federal Grant Application re: Jefferson County Regional Program Development Unit; Jefferson County Juvenile Services; Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) Page 2 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of May 2,2005 elJ···~:···"········:'" ~: .". -:-' "',.' __ii,. ...._ '\'1,,,,...' HEARING re: Authorization to Conduct All Jefferson County Elections by Vote By Mail: Approximately a dozen citizens were present when Chainnan Johnson opened the public hearing regarding the Board's authorization to conduct all Jefferson County elections by vote-by-mail. Auditor Donna Eldridge explained that the Help America Vote Act (HA V A) was passed in 2002 and requires significant changes that need to be in place by December 31, 2005 in election administration at all levels of government. In order to meet the HA V A requirements, Jefferson County would need to expend $216,000. The most costly change is implementation of electronic voting machines, or Direct Recording Electronics (DREs), which allow disabled voters to vote confidentially. These machines are required at all polling places. Another option, which would save the County a considerable amount of money, is for the Board to implement countywide vote by mail because only two DREs would be needed instead of sixteen. Approximately 66% of Jefferson County voters currently vote by mail. There are certain deadlines that need to be met if the Board chooses to go to all vote by mail this year. State legislation regarding the voting process is scheduled to be signed by the Governor this week. One of these bills will require that DREs produce a paper record and currently, there isn't a certified DRE that does this. Recently, the Auditor's Office purchased a new ballot tabulator machine and the vendor is currently having a DRE machine certified that produces a ballot that is counted through the ballot tabulator. Another bill will require a flap on the secrecy envelope with the voter's affidavit for their signature. Three counties already have adopted all vote-by-mail systems and five more are ready to adopt it when the legislation is passed. There was a discussion about whether countywide vote by mail would affect the integrity of an election. The Auditor stated that she feels strongly that Jefferson County goes to great lengths to insure that the procedures for the receipt and counting of absentee ballots is done correctly. She explained the process. If a new Auditor and Board of County Commissioners chose to go back to voting at the polls at a future date, the action to allow countywide vote by mail can be reversed. The Chair opened the public testimony portion of the hearing. Jack Westennan. County Assessor, stated that he has run in many elections. If72% of Jefferson County voters used absentee ballots in the last general election, he feels that it is time to go all vote by mail. Any system that would streamline the process for Elections staff would help with the accuracy of the vote. Clallam County has been all vote by mail for awhile now. Bob Henderson, Quilcene, stated that not that many people go to the polls in Quilcene to vote. When a new person registers to vote, they should go to the Auditor's Office and have to show picture ill. Dave Woodruff, Port Ludlow, stated that he has been an advocate for vote by mail for several years. This is a timely action that will be efficient and serve the public well. It's a waste of money to keep the polls open. Page 3 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of May 2,2005 (ÐIJ""\"" ",,:. -·--r .¡. :-,:>:: - .. -;~-¡/;I-~"~" Al Frank, Port Townsend, stated that he feels the County Commissioners should wait to go all vote by mail because the problems throughout the State regarding the last governor's election are still being sorted out. Signature checking and identification are key issues. He has been encouraging the Auditor to go countywide vote by mail for the past six years. Jefferson County staff knows how to run an election. Databases need to be cleaned up. He understands the timing of the change over. Jim Hagan, Cape George, stated that the recent governor's election has shown the need for overall election refonn throughout the State. He has great confidence in the current Auditor and Elections staff but they won't be here forever. The County needs a system that is comprehensive and minimizes the human factor. He isn't against countywide vote by mail. A statewide voter database is only as good as the integrity ofthe voter rolls. People should re-register to vote and show picture ill. He understands the benefits of a simplified, unified system. It might be premature to go ahead with the countywide vote by mail until all the issues :fÌom the governor's election are sorted out. Hearing no further comments, the Chair closed the public testimony portion of the hearing. Commissioner Rodgers asked the Auditor about the timing of the decision. Donna Eldridge replied that the Board must direct her office to go all vote by mail within 90 days before an election. The next election is in September. Some citizens present also had questions for the Auditor that were answered. Later in the meeting: Commissioner Rodgers moved to approve RESOLUTION NO. 29-05 to authorize the County Auditor to undertake all actions required to conduct all Jefferson County elections by mail according to the State law. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried. The Board then interviewed George Bush who is interested in serving on the Conservation Futures Advisory Board. ~~ ..... ,ø,It'~ .. r-~;'ì '; MEETING ADJO~··' .' " '. )'.' ., ., .. ~" . .." . J ð " (., ~ ~ -t I. SEAL: .. ,.... ~) ~.¡..... '~~'. ~ ' I' j,',¡'" . ~, \ -. í..It J ':~ Ij ,; _,' 1.,) .. ~\:, \\1 ..j J : ~ ¡ J . ..~. , .,~ ,,' oJ .' . ·"A~/·· \ · "to A·.··· ~. ATTEST: '. "<:'. ~',: ~., :\~>~./ ,ge:t:Z~='(~;C Deputy Clerk of the Board (Excused Absence) David W. Sullivan, Member ~~ atrick M. Rodgers, Member --- Page 4