HomeMy WebLinkAboutclosed_caption09:00:47 Yeah, I know I'm on the go with the over one.
09:00:53 Go ahead last week and get into it.
09:00:55 Like how, Karen, that one's always doing it doesn't everybody need to use it.
09:01:02 Got the AV. Capture going.
09:01:02 That's okay. Cool. Okay? Actually didn't send it.
09:01:07 It happened kind of he didn't. It was an automatic thing.
09:01:23 Hey? How did I think you might have maybe captured running?
09:01:12 But don't worry like, okay. I just turned it off.
09:01:29 Everything's moving a little bit slower in my world. Sorry!
09:01:31 Oh, well, you're the one that's on the meeting.
09:01:34 I'm still trying to get on. So.
09:01:35 Yeah.
09:01:37 Yeah.
09:01:44 So that's not recording it in progress.
09:01:53 It's really hard.
09:01:52 It's really hard to hear, Kate.
09:01:55 Sorry! Alright! That better?
09:01:57 Okay. Yeah.
09:02:01 Yeah, yeah, I'm waiting to regime. Sorry. One day off we all forgot how to use the system here.
09:02:09 Recording in progress.
09:02:10 Here we go!
09:02:15 Although the Internet is just, it is going crazy slow, not I can't get zoom or AV to load.
09:02:25 But we are running.
09:02:28 Guys should come the district, too. Everything's working great here.
09:02:32 Yeah.
09:02:39 Did you lose power? Heidi!
09:02:41 Hmm!
09:02:42 Good. I couldn't believe we didn't in uptown, either.
09:02:45 Was it windy, alrighty in Canada? I don't know.
09:02:52 See, Wendy, this weekend last night. Oh, yeah, there's a gale warning and sweet, really.
09:03:00 Oh, yeah, it's a gale wording and sweet, really.
09:03:01 Oh, you know, it's a gale-wording and sweet, good canal bridge, for from the wind.
09:03:04 Yeah, they didn't want another jacket. Yeah, if it sustains 40 miles an hour, they close it.
09:03:12 Okay, well, it looks like we're all together now, Ab.
09:03:16 Capture seems to be hung up. We'll continue to try to work on that, but we will.
09:03:21 You can always join us with zoom and the recording will be available to all later.
09:03:26 So with that I will call this February 20.
09:03:30 First meeting the Board of County Commissioners to order. Thank you for being with us today.
09:03:34 We will have Dr. Berry, and I say, I believe Willie Vince a little bit later, as well.
09:03:39 But we will start as we always do, with public comments.
09:03:44 We'll start in the room. Anyone in the room like to make public comment today.
09:03:46 Yeah, come on up to the podium, later. You'll have 3Â min fabulous.
09:03:51 First thank you for having me. I we are we. I'm gonna say, our group.
09:03:56 We so appreciate your time and support, and just want to acknowledge the Arpa opportunity where we we've requested 50,000 for planning, initiating our project, and then 50,000
on the build side and we appreciate your consideration there, and when you would
09:04:19 say, Well, why is that so? I'll turn to Heidi first, and so can can you see it? Heidi?
09:04:25 Because kids.
09:04:27 Because Kit hey, duck, do you want to tell us which hat you're wearing my part of the port towns and pump track hat? Officially, I am one of the group members we have.
09:04:49 Probably sometimes upwards of 20 that get involved in fundraising outreach to the community.
09:05:00 Some of you also know I am part of the School Board, and but from that seat as well.
09:05:05 The excitement of Wow. Could we have this project in our backyard where our middle school kids in particular could, 200 yards away, could be this pump track so super excited
about that?
09:05:17 And again here I'll turn so I can see Heidi as well so, just acknowledging this particular project, and I really do deliberately wear this shirt.
09:05:30 For these reasons, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts.
09:05:35 It's really significant in our community in Washington State in general.
09:05:40 Yes, but we're higher in our county, as you guys know.
09:05:46 We look at the survey results regularly, getting our kids outdoors more regularly.
09:05:52 Some athletic opportunities, learning a new a new type of, you know, sport really giving our middle school kids a chance to get out to a new facility rather than writing on
a playground on the back behind the school.
09:06:12 We just look at it as a huge opportunity, is it just for kids?
09:06:16 No, if we go over to Port Angeles, you literally see wheelchairs, skateboard scooters, you see.
09:06:21 Yes, white hair people out there. It's really all all ages so super excited about that we're building relationships out there.
09:06:31 I think you might recall, Kate, that I was at the last meeting out at the fairgrounds.
09:06:39 We're building the relationship with the 4 Fairgrounds Board as well as other groups out at the fairgrounds, because we want to be a good neighbor, and we're really excited
for for that opportunity.
09:06:51 Our next big push is to reach out to the community, continue our efforts to engage the community, but also to let them know we're going to need their financial support.
09:07:02 Thank you so much. Thank you very much. For being able to let them know we're going to need their financial support.
09:07:09 Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
09:07:10 Yeah. Thanks.
09:07:12 Thank you. Thanks, dad. And we'll respond as we always do, to public all public comments after we've heard them all.
09:07:17 So, Mr. Schumacher, do you have a comment today?
09:07:20 Okay. Yeah. I'd like to speak initially to the consent agenda item regarding the partnership for vaccine equity, which is going to this is relating to rigorous anti-racist literacy
training to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, et
09:07:44 cetera populations that have been historically marginalized have lower vaccination rates.
09:07:51 And anyway, this has been a PET peeve of mine.
09:07:54 I really just like having these worthy goals like equities, equity, and things like that sort of rolled in and bundled with this vaccine education program you know, during the
last few years, I'm a classic rock fan I listen to my favorite classic rock station from new York so for like the last
09:08:12 3 years I have been hammered between classic rock songs with this sort of what I would consider it be propaganda, that is, you know, that is paid by tax dollars initially.
09:08:25 The last year or so the tax dollars have stopped, and now, Fivefizer is paying for their own advertising.
09:08:31 Previously. It was just going on and on with our tax dollars, talking about how these vaccines were the greatest things in the world since sliced bread, you know, safe and effective,
and all that now that they're paid by Pfizer, they're no longer able to make these the wild claims that that
09:08:46 are basically false advertising. So instead, it's more just kind of image advertising.
09:08:51 That they're using. So I don't really feel like these Mega corporations need additional funds from our taxes.
09:08:58 You know, I realize this is coming from a different pool, not from our local county pool, but still it just seems, you know, plus the fact that even just on the face of it.
09:09:13 Kids are really not as a lot of risk from from Covid.
09:09:20 They it. The best estimates at this point are 3 deaths per 1 million infected people beneath the age of 20 so this is like a minuscule thing, and they may well be at risk from
the vaccines given unknown side effects, and the rule of 3.
09:09:39 You should really, if you're talking about a risk of if you're talking about a potential benefit of 3 in a 1 million you know, balancing, that would be a harm of 3 in a 1 million,
and you'd almost have to have according to rule of 3 you'd almost have to have 3 times a third of
09:09:56 a 1 million need to have a 1 million test subjects in an experimental trial.
09:10:01 And often you're paying 10 to 20,000 per test subject that would cost a 1 billion or 2.
09:10:06 Have these trials been done with a 1 million young people? Of course not.
09:10:09 And so we really don't know the possible risks.
09:10:11 And so just sort of take it as a rule of faith that you're doing these marginalized groups of favor by by basically pushing them to be having this experimental thing.
09:10:24 You know black people in New York tended to be less vaccinated, and that was because they just, you know, they had experiences with experimental programs in the past that haven't
been good for them.
09:10:35 So they are more skeptical. Thank you very much.
09:10:38 Thank you, Mr. Schumacher. I see we have some hands up online. We've exhausted all the public in the room, so we'll go to bring over Margaret Taylor and Julia Cochrane.
09:10:58 Here we go. Yeah. Eventually. All right, Margaret, we see you in the zoom room when you're able to unmute your your mic. You can have 3Â min if you'd like to turn on your camera.
09:11:09 We'd love to see you as well.
09:11:14 Die! How are you?
09:11:15 Good good to see you. You sound great.
09:11:17 And, Kate, I'm relating back to a lot of times spent at Seattle cancer, cancer. Caroline.
09:11:26 Thank you. Mark.
09:11:25 So thank you of you. There, I am here today. Speaking on behalf of the Jefferson County Bar Association, the rule relating to the exceptions to courthouse security maintains
the exception to screening for licensed members of the bar that promote you know that have the
09:11:50 appropriate, id, and we are in support of that continued exception.
09:11:55 Basically attorneys are already vetted, and many of them have quite a bit of business back and forth throughout the courthouse.
09:12:07 And so the resources spent to do a secondary screening as they move about their ordinary day, and they were concerned about the the time impact of that I'm unable to be here
at 1030, which is the time of the regular meeting.
09:12:23 So I wanted to make that known. Does anyone have any questions?
09:12:31 You know that is great, Margaret. Thank you very much.
09:12:34 We it is a hearing at 1030, but I'm I'm sure we can.
09:12:38 We can process your comments as we as we work through that issue.
09:12:41 So thank you very much for your contributions.
09:12:42 Yeah, thank, you.
09:12:45 All right, Julia, if you can unmute and turn on your camera if you choose.
09:12:50 We'd love to hear from you, too.
09:12:53 Hi! Good morning. I'm just sort of doing a public service announcement, because it seems like a good idea.
09:13:02 So, the winter welcoming center, the day drop and center for the end shelered in the Pope Marine Building, across from City Hall downtown, Port Townsend will be open till 40'clock
today.
09:13:14 Wednesday Thursday, and Friday, and the sheltered.
09:13:20 The American Legion is going to operate their warming center program at starting at 30'clock today till 8 in the morning.
09:13:28 Those 4 days. Also, that's it. Keep up the good work.
09:13:33 Thank you. Julia. It's gonna be a cold one.
09:13:36 Thanks for the extended hours. I'm sure people appreciate it.
09:13:40 Okay, would anyone else in the virtual public like to make a comment today? We'd love to hear from you and click, raise hand.
09:13:49 Stern 9. If you're on the phone to raise your hand.
09:13:54 Okay, seeing no other hands will start responding. But we'll keep public comment open till 9, 30.
09:14:02 Heidi, your virtual today, and he will start with you any responses to any of the public comment.
09:14:07 I just say to Doug, and all that, I'm super excited about the pump track.
09:14:13 I did my ranking of all the projects, and could not rank everything I wanted to is high enough to make the cut, and I it was really hard, so it will be a really great conversation
that we're gonna have sorry Laura start having this afternoon.
09:14:28 I'm not sure what the game plan is, but I think the pump track on is a great opportunity, for young people in our community, and as someone who grew up here, I know that there
was more going on in our community there was a bowling alley and there was a roller skating rink when
09:14:45 I was a kid here, and I can't imagine being 13 or 14 in port towns.
09:14:51 And now and what's there to do? So, anyway? I think the pump track is a great outlet for our community.
09:15:00 To Stevens. Comments about the use subway contract. I think that's what that was about.
09:15:05 That's a continuation of work that we've been doing.
09:15:08 And I think public health has found it really beneficial for their team.
09:15:12 So I defer to public health on what they need to do their work the best and feel like it's a great support from our national entity to support local diversity, equity, and inclusion,
work in our communities and think whatever we can support that we need to Margaret Taylor I have a couple of
09:15:35 questions about courthouse security when we get to that item as well, and I appreciate your answ.
09:15:41 And then Julia, I saw the notices about the warming shelter on Facebook and we just need to get the word out as many ways we can.
09:15:50 So I'm glad you were here this morning, and I'm gonna mute myself.
09:15:54 And this cause I might.
09:15:57 Thank you very much. Heidi. Kate. Any responses.
09:16:02 Sure. Yep, I am excited about the pump track.
09:16:07 Everybody knows I'm a bike nerd and successfully raised one kid as a bike nerd.
09:16:18 But I just see a ton of benefit for all ages.
09:16:22 I think it's a great use of the fairgrounds, so yeah, we'll be talking about it later.
09:16:28 But you know we the county has been supportive of the project so far, and really want to help make that happen.
09:16:37 So I will see you at Bingo tomorrow night. To be sure, the the anti-racism work that public health has been doing.
09:16:48 There's been actually participation from most county departments.
09:16:52 In doing that work I participated for a little while, and then had an ongoing conflict that I couldn't.
09:16:58 I couldn't continue with it, but the reason I was interested in participating is because I think that counties have historically been been implicit in and perpetuating racism,
including public health departments, and it takes a really conscious effort to try to understand that history grapple with that history and think about
09:17:19 how it that can inform creating new anti-terist structure?
09:17:26 So I support that work. I think it's the responsibility of county governments to do that.
09:17:31 There is a very fraught relationship with racism and public health efforts.
09:17:38 And I think this is an effort to try to write that wrong, and I know that we will probably fundamentally disagree on what that looks like. Steven.
09:17:45 But but I do support the effort.
09:17:50 Let's see. Yeah, look forward to the discussion of the courthouse security later today, at our hearing.
09:18:00 And thank you as always, to Julia and the volunteers at the winter warming shelter for the great work that you do.
09:18:08 So that's it for me. Great I don't have a lot to add.
09:18:13 Thanks Doug, for being here. It was super challenging to go through this, and you know the horseshoeing hasn't even begun.
09:18:20 But we did get super oversubscribed for this, and I'm glad that we did.
09:18:24 It was great to see all these great projects learn a little bit more about them.
09:18:27 I don't know a lot about the development of the pump track, but know how successfully the one had been.
09:18:31 Portlandolis has been, and how it really is. You know, it's creating a new outdoor activity for kids and the kids of all ages is really worthwhile it's Mister Schumacher.
09:18:45 You know I I support this work too.
09:18:47 I think Kate really detailed kind of the the landscape, and which is this?
09:18:53 Good. I just see it, as you know, I mean, and feel like you should support it too.
09:18:58 You're taking vaccine dollars and you're using it to fix the lens of public health. I mean.
09:19:02 And that means being responsive and being better listeners to all sorts of different customers.
09:19:08 I think it's going to expand the the I mean the whole intent is to expand the the equitable access for all people so I hope that it ends up with outcomes that you support as
well.
09:19:22 That's the way I see it. I don't see a lot of conflict there and I hope that it ends up with outcomes that you support as well. That's the way I see it.
09:19:31 I don you know. We we would all benefit from it because we are working in institutions that have have served the minority for a long time, and so how?
09:19:41 How do you fix those systems? Is not an easy, unclenching, but one that we're obviously striving to grapple with.
09:19:49 But thank you and thank you, Margaret, for the the, I guess I'll consider it testimony about the pre screening that happens with attorneys.
09:19:59 That's valuable. And yeah, Julia and Ben, and all that are down there at the winter welcoming center, and olycap in the shelter and coast.
09:20:08 Thank you for your efforts to to open up the doors when it gets cold, to stop, so really appreciate it.
09:20:14 All right. We have a few minutes left. I'll open it again to anyone that has not made public comment this morning.
09:20:20 We would love to hear from you.
09:20:22 Seeing none, we can go on to the consent, but we will keep it open for another 10Â min.
09:20:28 There so any thoughts, we'll start with you, Heidi, too, I'm just gonna go to you first.
09:20:34 Oh, hold on 1Â s, Heidi, there's there's another public commenter.
09:20:42 All right, Chuck Henry, when you get.
09:20:53 Welcome, Chuck. We are going to have a hearing about security if that's what you want to talk about, we will have the virtual room open at 1030 again as well but you can make
a comment on anything, though, if you have testimony for the hearing it would be more appropriate at that time so when
09:21:07 you get yourself unmuted and turn on your camera if you wish.
09:21:10 We would love to hear from you. Chuck!
09:21:14 Okay. Thank you very much. I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to show up now or 1030.
09:21:20 But on behalf of the bar, of course, Margaret is already spoken to. The consensus.
09:21:23 Steven. I've been practicing law in this courthouse for 45 and a half years, and so I've seen all the changes I was in the security work in the military before it became Lord.
09:21:36 So I think that the present system is workable to satisfy public concern about safety and security.
09:21:46 The lawyers like Margaret said have already been that to some extent.
09:21:52 We're supposedly a group that has been committed to just be resolution without weapons except sharp tones and sharp lines, etc.
09:22:01 But what I really wanted to comment about there are some attorneys who are even in the courthouse more than I am, since I'm semi-retired.
09:22:13 Do come and go and feel that we don't really need any security for attorneys at all.
09:22:19 Some public defenders, particularly things that the old system was the unearned security folks was quite enough, if not too much.
09:22:30 And so I just I committed to them to let them know that I would speak for you.
09:22:35 Accounting, coup, yeah.
09:22:37 So that was unedited assertion.
09:22:39 Here. Sorry about that. I remember the Angela Davis into the in the California courthouse some years ago.
09:22:49 Guns. Judge was killed bad thing, and nowadays seems like that sort of thing happens far more frequently, and schools and kindergarten oh, my God!
09:23:02 Churches and courthouses, and every place else. So I recognize the need for security.
09:23:05 I disagree with the public defenders. Guys. For this reason, in King County, not too long ago.
09:23:12 A man walk into the courthouse walked up to his wife and a friend who was with her and shot them both to death.
09:23:19 Because of a dissolution proceeding. So I think that some security is necessary where I disagree with the public defenders is, the guys that were with. I think it was Phoenix
security.
09:23:32 We're on our, and if there had been an intentional shooting, those would have been the first 3 bodies.
09:23:41 So I think that the present guys I know Troy. I know Daryl, there's a new guy I haven't met yet, but guns.
09:23:53 Yeah, in their case, I think they're appropriate.
09:23:56 I think they get used to the courthouse staff. I think they get used to the attorneys.
09:24:01 The judges, the secretaries, those folks, they should be able to scan them on through, or wave them on through, and I pretty well commit to use it.
09:24:13 After a couple of 3 months of checking up same people day after day after day, they will start waving them through, and I that's just human nature.
09:24:22 Thank you, Jack. That's.
09:24:22 So I think the policy is. I think the policy has written as Eric. But thank you, sir.
09:24:26 Thank you very much, and if you can rejoin us at 1030 to that would be great.
09:24:31 But it's it's not necessary. We didn't process your comments right now, so thank you.
09:24:34 All right, Mr. Tiersh. You have 3Â min.
09:24:39 Thank you. Good morning, commissioners at all. So the lawyers have decided to chime in on this subject before the hearing, so I guess I will, too.
09:24:50 So you know these these lawyers think they're special.
09:24:53 They think they have special privileges that they're more busy than everybody else in their everyday lives.
09:24:59 If they can't afford to take a few seconds just to pass the same rules that apply to everybody else in the public.
09:25:05 Sorry Nope doesn't work that way. Explain one thing to me if you will.
09:25:12 You lawyers? Why do you have to have a weapon in the courthouse?
09:25:18 If the courthouse is actually secure, if everybody is screened going into the courthouse, there should be no weapons there right?
09:25:24 So what makes you special? Why should you be accepted? I don't see any reason for that.
09:25:30 Everybody is busy, everybody doesn't have enough time. Okay. How was it? Consult?
09:25:34 I build my customers by the hour also. So what still had past the same security, screening as everybody else?
09:25:42 So you know, I'm sorry I just don't buy this.
09:25:45 Business about. Well, they say, see the same people they after day after day, and so they must be safe.
09:25:51 No, not true. The term going postal raise it.
09:25:56 Any memories for you. Yeah, it should. That position about.
09:26:00 Well, we're lawyers, we're special, and we're too busy.
09:26:03 Sorry it doesn't fly more to come later. At 1030.
09:26:09 Thank you very much. Make one more call for anyone else who has joined us.
09:26:15 If you'd like to make public comment, we would love to hear from you. And as a reminder, we do have a hearing where we will take testimony on the security issue at 1030.
09:26:25 Okay. Any further responses with both of those being regarding the courthouse security.
09:26:34 I will wait until the hearing. Yep, heidi!
09:26:39 I think it's important to note that it would be important to show up for that.
09:26:44 Here if you wanna make comments on this item because the sheriff is not what this next, and will be won't be able to hear these comments until the hearing at 1030.
09:26:57 Yeah. Good point. Thank you. Deputy server here as well.
09:27:04 Okay. Well, there's a couple of minutes left. We will keep it open in case anyone is moved to comments.
09:27:11 But let's take a look at the consent. Agenda thoughts, anything you want to call out problems.
09:27:23 Are we starting with Heidi? Sure!
09:27:28 I didn't have any problems that, with the consent agenda, I let's see.
09:27:35 One thing I was.
09:27:37 Question about. No, that's on the that's on the 1030. Hearing.
09:27:41 So no, it looks good to me, and you know good to see.
09:27:46 Just a lot of work going on here and that is, I'm still still being the newest Commissioner.
09:27:54 I'm always gobsmacked at the amount, for the road levy the certification.
09:27:59 5 million dollars there, but you know our roads are really important, and I think we're gonna be talking about that a lot over the next month or so, especially regarding the
proposed closure of the canal bridge.
09:28:15 But transportation is a huge thing that we all take for granted, and I think roads are such they're lifelines in our community and glad to see this.
09:28:26 The resources coming here also. Glad to see more funding.
09:28:30 Going to the tiny shelters for Caswell Brown.
09:28:32 I watched a video over the weekend of the build of those first and tiny houses for Caswell Brown, and also over the last.
09:28:44 Okay. The timeframes are kind of wearing together right now, but over the last week or so I've been exposed again to the the project.
09:28:53 Community first project in Austin, Texas, and still inspired by that project and wondering, you know what we can do to improve Caswell Brown in the future, and I know that's
something that you're working on, Greg.
09:29:06 But I'm not as lying as close to, so excited to see the and there's a connection project on consent.
09:29:17 Super grateful for all of our members of our community to step up to serve on our advisory boards and commissions.
09:29:25 And that's I think that's it for me on consent.
09:29:29 Great. Thank you, Kate. Anything to add. Yeah, let's see, I did have one question. Mark.
09:29:38 I don't know if you can answer this did. I was curious. If, the the work being done at corrections at the sheriff's department in the jail, if that's required a clearing or
grading permits, I didn't see anything in the paperwork about permitting.
09:29:59 Number 5. Right? I'm familiar with the project and know exactly what they're doing.
09:30:06 It's the same space. It's already it's the same space.
09:30:11 It's pretty level already that they might move a little bit of dirt, but but but not a lot, so they probably don't cross the threshold for a grading.
09:30:21 I think it's the old apple orchard.
09:30:21 Permit. I just.
09:30:24 Part of yeah?
09:30:23 You guys where we remove the apple trees from?
09:30:30 It's it was pretty lumpy once we got those trees out of there.
09:30:34 I can see why they need to do some significant grading.
09:30:39 But it isn't a very cause. I was down there a lot.
09:30:29 Yeah, it's just surprised how big it was. 10,000.
09:30:41 It's not a very large area. It's just never really been been an apple orchard.
09:30:53 Otherwise yeah, I'm glad to see the Olympic Discovery trail.
09:30:59 It's funny that you know we're excited when we got that grant in 2023 years later things move slowly, but good work being done, and it when I started this job, I remember Monty
saying, just be pretty.
09:31:16 Manage your expectations. Things move slowly, things like right-of-way are very.
09:31:20 You have to be very deliberative, so appreciate that we still have those funds to spend, and the good work that John Fleming and others are doing to get that next portion of
the trail.
09:31:30 You see the leveling out around Coswell Brown. They took the pictures, but they've, you know, lessen the curve.
09:31:38 No more airlifting fast bike riders out really appreciate that work and taking care of that opportunity.
09:31:44 Yeah, yeah, that looks great. And how about? And public works did a lot of that work themselves?
09:31:52 Alright. Well, I'm happy to see the incentives for the corrections officer has been effective so far and adding to the team over there, it's really exciting, needed.
09:32:01 Well, and I think you guys covered other stuff. Well, I will say the same thing I said about Bob Hoyle is joining the parks and Rec.
09:32:10 Board, that I did at the Advisory Board meeting, which is, I actually met him once out at Gibbs Lake Park, where I was riding my bike around, and he was out there just spinning
his own time clearing paths and working on the trail and that kind of stewardship is great
09:32:28 to have on the Advisory board. Happy that Bob's signed up.
09:32:33 Okay. One more. Look to see if anyone else was moved to comment.
09:32:39 I don't see anyone, so I will close public comment and sounds like there's no issues I'd welcome a motion on the consent agenda if they're so inclined.
09:32:47 So moved.
09:32:49 I'll second all right. It's been moved and seconded to adopt and approve and adopt the consent.
09:32:55 Agenda as presented all in favor indicate by St.
09:32:57 Hi!
09:32:57 Hi! Alright! That's unanimous!
09:33:01 Okay. Well, we'll be joined. Thanks, Ted, by Dr.
09:33:07 Barry and Willie Benson, 9 45.
09:33:17 Okay.
09:33:11 We have a few minutes to, I guess. Go over some briefing, Heidi, do you wanna tell us about your you're past week, whatever you'd like to share.
09:33:20 Hey, Greg, would you it's something like this morning. Would you mind announcing this special meeting also?
09:33:31 Oh, well, let's let's wait till 9, 45, so we can do it when with the largest audience possible.
09:33:32 But yeah, sorry. Go ahead, Heidi.
09:33:32 I would just say plain strings and on Mobiles and Covid I need to make another sequel to that movie. Alright.
09:33:41 I don't know if they ever made one.
09:33:41 Who's playing Covid John Candy, or Steve Martin?
09:33:45 Oh, God! Steve, pardon would be great as Covid anyway.
09:33:51 So I'll just look at my calendar.
09:33:55 Yeah. So I went to the National Association of Counties Conference in Washington, DC.
09:34:02 And it was completely overwhelming, just in terms of the standard operating procedures.
09:34:09 We've been in for the last 3 years. It was the antithesis of that, and you know I'm masked up quite a bit.
09:34:17 But we were often eating meals in large rooms with people, and it it was, you know, disconcerting at best, but also really inspiring.
09:34:27 So. A strange experience, I think Steve Martin would be a great Covid character, in a movie that I wanna make about it.
09:34:35 But just give you some highlights. You said this at the Icg meeting, but I'll just say it again here, I think what I was hearing from our national leaders at the Conference
is that there's a lot of opportunity right now with funding not only from ourpa and all the
09:34:52 Recovery funding that we've been deploying in the community.
09:34:55 But a lot of these new initiatives are new bills that have come on bipartisan infrastructure law there's transportation funding I won't say his name, but the Secretary of Transportation
was there and talking about how this is a real opportunity for our counties
09:35:13 because largely what they did with this bill was structured it so that funding would come straight to counties and bypasses states, because a lot of the folks who are in leadership
in our national government right now started their careers at local levels in city and county roles and they know
09:35:33 that that's where the work gets done. And that's where folks know best where resources can be deployed.
09:35:38 So it was really heartwarming. That was probably my biggest to, you know.
09:35:44 Touchy-feely, groovy moment of the conference was just like realizing that our national leaders get it, and that they have prioritized getting resources to our communities.
09:35:54 And it's incumbent upon us to rally with our partners.
09:35:59 City, port Ud. Other partners, nonprofit the boards and commissions that work at our community like the pith board, but just figuring out how to leverage the resources we have
locally and also pull more of these national resources.
09:36:15 And I mean we have a unprecedented opportunity right now.
09:36:19 So that's that was my biggest. Take-home message, and you know the hard work that we've all been doing with this last call.
09:36:27 Arpa. Funding list, prioritization. I was like, Oh, we can just supply.
09:36:33 You know, I was thinking about these pots of funding I was hearing about in DC.
09:36:36 This project needs this part of funding, and so figuring out how we can direct some of that funding to these bigger projects in our community.
09:36:44 In these kind of game changing projects, like the ports, breakwater, water walk, you know.
09:36:51 Basically protecting our entire community from sea level rise. It's a it's an awesome project.
09:36:59 And it's huge. And they're just getting started thinking about it.
09:37:03 And how do we help them leverage the resources they're going to need to do something game-changing for our community like that.
09:37:10 So it was inspiring, and I also got to spend time with a number of our Washington Commissioner colleagues, which was great, and I went with me, and we had a few great meals
together, and spend a lot of time walking.
09:37:27 I walked 8 miles on Valentine's day from the Washington Hilton to the capital, to meet with our senators like in person, met with both Senator Murray and Catwin.
09:37:40 So, you know, inspiring, and also feel like I was affirmed, and that I represent my community.
09:37:48 You know I I sometimes as a new Commissioner, you go.
09:37:51 Am am I? You know. Am I doing my best to represent all the constituents in our community?
09:37:56 And I feel like because I've grown up here, and because of the values that I have had my whole life.
09:38:03 I understand our community and I can represent our community effectively.
09:38:08 And that came across for me in the last week. So so it was a good affirmation for me, and also disappointment to come home with Covid and spend the last 3 days with the worst
pain.
09:38:24 The the worst part was aches just the worst pain I've done the worst pain I felt in my life so, but feel better now, and have a couple of questions for Dr.
09:38:35 Berry when she joins us, so I also came back and attended all the meetings.
09:38:37 Good.
09:38:40 I, Cg. And Board of Health and Friday spent a bunch of time with Mark on Friday.
09:38:44 Hope I didn't give Mark Covid. It just sounds like he's evading it so far, working on the strategic Plan stakeholder list.
09:38:52 And so, you know, got right back to work. And anyway.
09:38:59 Great. Well, it sounds!
09:38:59 And Kate. Thank you. Thank you for the greens zone and lucky buttons.
09:39:05 Recommendations.
09:39:06 Oh, good! Hey! Have you heard of others in the delegation, or from the conference?
09:39:10 Have come down with Covid. Is it a super spreader? Where, you guys, it's just a special chosen few.
09:39:16 I don't know. I don't know where we got it.
09:39:19 I reached out to the people I was spending the most time with.
09:39:22 You know Megan and Cindy and Kaylee from Latin County, and none of them have gotten it, and so I.
09:39:28 Plane travel. That's a very common, too. Yeah, I'm glad you're on the men's. Yeah.
09:39:35 Yeah.
09:39:37 It sounds like an optimistic. Yeah. Came back with a positive experience at that.
09:39:46 Yeah.
09:39:45 The Nico Conference, so I'm glad you had one there, and though I I have to say, if I mean you grew up around here, and that helps you serve people, then you might be the oldest
serving Commissioner.
09:39:58 Hey! Kim!
09:39:54 I'm not sure if you can be the new Commissioner and the natives, I will say just one update I heard at association of counties from folks who had just returned from Nico.
09:40:12 Also that some of our folks on the other side of the aisle had met with members of the House from the Republican side, who stated their commitment to not cling back unspent.
Arpathans.
09:40:26 That's great. Yeah. And so hearing that from the folks who I think we're, you know, we're feeling association of counties was concerned that they would be, you know, the change
in house leadership that those funds were at risk and at least our our colleagues felt assured that that was
09:40:42 not going to happen. That's great.
09:40:44 I mean, I would say that I heard that in my meetings with the senators as well, and then also, you know my last-minute entry into the Federal priorities, for Wasack and my addition
of housing to that agenda became a point of big point of conversation when we were in
09:41:00 DC so I'm grateful that I raised my hand for that committee at the last minute and brought housing to the top of their list of priorities, and, you know, got to talk with our
senators about the housing constraints.
09:41:11 We're all feeling. And Washington on both sides of the Cascades.
09:41:16 So it was. Yeah, beneficial to be there.
09:41:20 Great.
09:41:23 Okay. Alright!
09:41:27 There it is. Let my calendar close last week. Hmm!
09:41:37 Altogether unmute. Of course. Tuesday morning had an early morning testimony on the removal of the 1% cap, which again, this would be an option for counties.
09:41:55 Any local government to take. And that's limited to the way the bill is written.
09:42:00 It limits it to up to 3% based on both population growth and inflation.
09:42:07 I was interested to hear, I think, was our sister, who said that we right now, with new construction tends to levy at about 2% average.
09:42:19 So we're not that far from the 3% cap that 3% would include new construction.
09:42:25 Okay, it's it changes the formula and the House and Senate version are each of a little bit different.
09:42:32 So there was still some question as to how to calculate that.
09:42:38 So both bills I was supposed to testify yesterday, on the day, for whatever reason, the legislature doesn't take the day off, and President's Day worked too hard.
09:42:46 I spent 2Â h waiting to testify at a hearing. At 8 A.
09:42:49 M. Yesterday also, and they close the hearing right before they got to our panel.
09:42:53 So. No, it was virtual. So, anyway, more to come on that still some revising of those bills to try to get them to agree, and we'll see how they do.
09:43:11 Let's see. Pads meeting with Carrie Heights on the healthier together.
09:43:19 Initiative sounds like they are going to move ahead with the appropriation request from Senator Murray.
09:43:24 So we should work on a letter of support for that we have about a week or so so next Monday.
09:43:30 I'll remember to bring that Economic Development Council finance meeting, you know, just ongoing concerns about stability, of funding which we read about in the Arpa requests
as well.
09:43:41 Mark and I had a meeting with the the Fairgrounds Board Fair Association.
09:43:49 Yeah, they were. They were willing to revise the the agreement we have with them which I really appreciate.
09:44:00 They had passed some new bylaws. I'm not sure that they did that completely in the right.
09:44:07 I don't think they were complying with their previous bylaws when they did that.
09:44:11 They're by us were very unclear, so they need to be updated.
09:44:14 But Mark and I are gonna be taking a look at our agreement with them.
09:44:19 We're gonna be taking a look at the bylaws.
09:44:21 See if we have concerns, but you know we really made the case that we want some more transparency and accountability.
09:44:29 We want some say and kind of the vision for, and to help create a vision for that property, and also to have a say in how partners and projects are assessed both for capital
projects and some non-capital projects programming.
09:44:48 So I was really surprised and pleased at the willingness that said, There's still a lot of concern in the community that they are not serving the interests of the community
well, and still a number of calls for board resignation.
09:45:03 You know I think the we are under contract with them, and we need to operate in good faith until you know if at some point that seems like it's not possible then we'll have
to consider reconsider that.
09:45:17 But at this point I feel it's incumbent upon us to operate in good faith and given their willingness.
09:45:25 I think that's that both. Well, so more to come on that sorry we are at 9 45.
09:45:34 That's fascinating. I didn't want to cut you off, but we'll bring doc Barry over and we'll get back to your calendaring or briefing from after this, so welcome to the listeners
of Kptz and Dr.
09:45:48 Barry and I do want to just call out that while we have everyone's wrapped attention we'll be having a special meeting this coming Thursday at 10 A. M.
09:45:55 To talk with washdot about the planned bridge closures for this year, but I don't wanna steal too much of your time. Dr.
09:46:05 Barry, that's good to see you.
09:46:06 Nice to see you guys. Thanks for having me. So on the respiratory virus when it comes to Covid at the national level case.
09:46:16 Rates are relatively flat, as our hospitalizations and deaths.
09:46:20 We had been seeing things down trend for the last couple of weeks at the national level.
09:46:24 But that does appear to be leveling off, and there are some hotspots around the country, particularly in the south, where we're seeing a rise in cases.
09:46:32 But thankfully, we haven't seen it rise in hospitalizations and deaths.
09:46:35 Really anywhere in the country, at this point, but we are monitoring that whenever we see our trajectory start to plateau, we want to make sure that it stays at a plateau and
doesn't rise down the road in Washington State at case rates and hospitalizations are relatively flat and deaths
09:46:51 are actually down, trending throughout the country. We are losing a little under 400 people a day to COVID-19.
09:46:58 So 381 as a last check. It's still a an absurdly high number of Americans to lose, and I hope that we can see that number go down in the near future in Jefferson County cases
are largely flat our case rate is 243 per 100,000 with a
09:47:15 case aser retain rate of one in 14, we do have 2 individually individuals currently hospitalized for COVID-19, which is a change from where we were for the last few weeks.
09:47:26 But thankfully we have had no new deaths due to the virus generally.
09:47:29 When we look at our hospitalizations they are by and large people who are not up to date on their vaccines, and who are high risk in one way or another, usually over 65, with
underlying conditions.
09:47:40 I bring that up because we are seeing an increasing data that staying up to date is critical to maintain that protection against severe disease, particularly for those at high
risk.
09:47:54 Half of the county has gotten up to date on their vaccines, but another half has not, and so particularly if you are overseeing 5, I think many of us got used to the idea that
if we got the first round of vaccines, we're at least not going to get severely ill but that does appear to be changing we
09:48:09 are seeing a rise in severe disease in people who are high risk, who have not stayed up to date on their vaccines thankfully.
09:48:17 We are not, seeing that in folks who are up to date so if you've gotten your biivalent, you're in good.
09:48:23 You're in a good position to not get severe disease from Covid, and you are less likely to get Covid at all.
09:48:28 But if you're not up to date, especially if you're high risk, it's really important to move forward with getting that bivalent, because we are seeing a little more severe disease
propping up in people who have not stayed up to date.
09:48:38 I did get an email from a listener in Column County reminding me that a good chunk of Eastern column County listens to Kptz, and they wanted me to bring back reporting the column
numbers.
09:48:51 So we so thank you for that reminder. We have about 100 cases per 100,000.
09:48:57 As our case rate in Clam County listens to Kptz, and they wanted me to bring back reporting the cloud numbers. So we so thank you for that reminder.
09:49:10 We have about 100 cases per 100,000. As our case rate in Clown County, the case as retainment rate, there is one in 20, because we don't count home.
09:49:17 Antigen tests the same way. Mainly we have retired.
09:49:17 The home Antigen reporting system. And we're just using Pcr tests. So that gives us a lowercase.
09:49:21 Ascertainment rate than Jefferson. We do have 3 individuals currently hospitalized for COVID-19 in, and we have had 161 deaths. At this point the most recent death to report
in the last week was a woman in her nineties.
09:49:32 She died as a result of one of the long-term care outbreaks that we're dealing with.
09:49:36 And this person had multiple underlying conditions and had both influenza and Covid at the same time.
09:49:40 I think it was the confluence of all of those factors that unfortunately LED to that death on the flu. And Rsv.
09:49:48 Front by, and large things are looking good. We're seeing just over 1% positivity of influenza tests and less than 1% of emergency department visits right now are for influenza
like illness for Rsv we're seeing about 2% positivity for those
09:50:04 tests. I did get another listener question about what those numbers are.
09:50:09 So those numbers are regional. So they include kids at Jefferson and Claire because of our populations, our, we don't have enough data from our individual accounties to get
meaningful measures.
09:50:22 We include all 3 counties, but it gives us a good picture of the the flu and Rsv picture here, and those are all people who were tested for those illnesses.
09:50:30 That's not run off of other tests that are done so that someone who came in and their doctor thought, That looks like you might have fluor.
09:50:37 Rsv. And tested for them. And so that's where those numbers come from.
09:50:42 They're not run off of, you know other Covid tests, but there are some some tests that will automatically run for all 4, and then those will show up in these numbers.
09:50:51 So by, and large things are looking relatively good. There is still a lot of COVID-19 transmission, but we're not seeing a rise in severe disease, except for among those who
are not up to date in their vaccine.
09:51:03 So that's my biggest encouragement. Is, if you've not moved forward with getting up to date on your vaccines, if you haven't gotten your bivalent now is a really good time to
do so.
09:51:11 But I do think that bu and large the situation is looking much better than it was.
09:51:16 That's a month ago, and with that I'm happy to take any questions.
09:51:21 Id.
09:51:24 Covid, Commissioner, Dr. Perry, positive for Covid. On Saturday.
09:51:30 Oh, I'm so sorry!
09:51:32 And I did get your cell phone number as my lifeline Kate Gate gave it to me, but I didn't give it to it.
09:51:39 Phone friend. Right? It's the same.
09:51:43 Hmm!
09:51:50 Yeah.
09:51:42 But I do have a question, because so we were traveling last week, and we're at a event with thousands of unmasked people and we masked some of the time.
09:51:54 But you know large our event. Lots of unmasked time, too.
09:52:00 And so my husband and I both came back. We both tested positive.
09:52:07 Great.
09:52:03 On Saturday morning, and got we're working our way through that with that.
09:52:10 But then last night I'm like, let's just test, you know.
09:52:21 Yeah.
09:52:17 And I tested 90 husband test and negative. And so now, negative. And I'm positive, do we have to separate ourselves or?
09:52:27 Oh, good question, no. So you guys have kind of by definition, the same variance of the virus.
09:52:36 And so you can't pass it back and forth between each other.
09:52:40 If you know, the only time that can happen is if somehow one of you got a different variant, then you wouldn't want to cross, pollinate.
09:52:45 But you guys have the same one. So no, you could be around each other but you guys have the same one. So no, you could be around each other. I'm so sorry you have Covid.
09:52:52 But it is. There is some comfort when you're both positive cause you at least don't have to isolate from each other, and you can help each other through your day.
09:52:58 I like.
09:52:58 Really glad you got. I think that should help, but that's often some people get a a strong enough response.
09:53:06 They turn negative, and it sounds like that happen for at least one of you.
09:53:09 So couple of things. The Px lovid process was awesome, and the States what the website is.
09:53:16 But I went online on Saturday and got met with a nurse and had a great conversation with her.
09:53:22 And so really, wanna give props to the State for schooling up that kind of responsiveness, that level of responsiveness to this opportunity you get packed and then, you know,
it was at the prescription was at the Qfc.
09:53:36 Here, and had back within like an hour. So anyway, it was really a good experience.
09:53:41 And then the other question is about pets. We have, you know, our pets.
09:53:51 Sure!
09:53:48 We're very. We're best friends with our pets, and they keep in our bedroom, and so I did a lot of reading, and it's like we'll just don't you know, toggle them?
09:53:58 And yup up, all up in their face, and so have you heard anything about that's getting Covid.
09:54:04 I've no, I've read stuff about it. But have you actually heard of any pets getting Covid?
09:54:09 So pets can get Covid, but it's generally not severe in animals, and so the primary worry the reason why we pay attention to that is whether or not the pets can then go on to
give it to other people, and dogs cannot so dogs can get covid but they can't give
09:54:26 it back to other people. Cats can so cats can get Covid and then give it to other people in your life.
09:54:34 That's not surprising. That sounds like I can.
09:54:33 Or they have that matter sounds like what they would do right.
09:54:38 So that's the only thing that's worth paying attention to is, you know, if you were gonna sometimes because of some early guidance around pets, people were actually handing
them over to other people at take care of.
09:54:52 But they had already infected their cats, and then their cat went on to infect other people.
09:54:57 So generally. Just keep your pets with you. I think it's okay to snuggle your pets.
09:55:03 They may get it, but generally symptoms in pets are quite mild.
09:55:07 I suppose if you had a very fragile cat, for example, you know heart failure which some some of our pets do, maybe masking when you're around your cat watching hands around
your cat things like that might make sense.
09:55:20 But generally disease COVID-19. Disease in animals is quite mild, and we've not heard of deaths of animals related to COVID-19.
09:55:29 No cats, just dogs, so we're good. But.
09:55:31 Oh, great! You don't have any vectors in your house.
09:55:35 The worst symptom I have experienced is, the body aches.
09:55:39 Yeah.
09:55:40 It's the worst. Don't get Covid people.
09:55:44 Anyway, that'll probably be in the later this week.
09:55:46 Hmm!
09:55:44 Okay, thank you for sharing your experience, though I think it's really important for people to talk about.
09:55:54 Thank you. That's it.
09:55:55 Thanks. Heidi. Question. Yeah, I've got a couple questions. Dr.
09:56:00 Barry one. I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about the study that came out from Ujub recently, and I'm guilty of having just read the very high level headlines really.
09:56:14 Oh, yeah.
09:56:11 But about the the benefit of natural immunity, preventing long term, or long covid, or serious disease, or what were the kind of findings there of significance?
09:56:24 Sure. So they were looking at. They were looking at subsequent infection after immunity from prior infection, and one of the things that they found in some of this data is that
for those who have had prior infection and then gone on to get a bivalent booster they get the biggest
09:56:43 bub in their antibody response, and so that's really promising for those who have happened to have that happen.
09:56:51 The challenge, I think, is that we're and that's that's just in prevention of symptomatic disease.
09:56:56 Actually is one of the biggest things that they're looking at.
09:56:59 Theirs is antibody response correlates with your likelihood of getting Covid again.
09:57:04 So we do see some prolonged protection from prior infection, and particularly that combined immunity of if you're saying up to date on your vaccines, and you happen to have
had a prior infection, we see even stronger responses to the vaccine if you've already had an
09:57:20 infection that said, you know, getting Covid in order to prevent getting Covid is a weird strategy.
09:57:27 And I think that's where some the interpretation of the study is very different than the results of the study.
09:57:35 But it's more information for people who happen to have already had Covid what they have not documented is what I think.
09:57:41 Sometimes people want to hear is that once you've had Covid, you can just never get it again.
09:57:46 And that's not true. Unfortunately, you can definitely get it again.
09:57:49 You can still give it to other people. But your response to your vaccines is stronger.
09:57:53 If you have had it before. And so that's why.
09:57:56 Sometimes you'll see differential experience for people who have just gotten vaccines and have thankfully missed getting Covid this whole time compared to other people who unfortunately
got it, and then got vaccines and then seem to not be getting it anymore.
09:58:10 That is probably a play there, but the risk of Covid is high enough.
09:58:17 It's still worth not getting Covid in order to, in order to prevent the severe outcomes related to Covid.
09:58:26 Yeah, I think that's the biggest takeaway there.
09:58:28 So we do see a stronger antibody response in that combined environment then you can get with just a just vaccine alone.
09:58:35 But then to do that, you have to have had Covid, which means you have to have taken on the risk of Covid the risk of severe disease.
09:58:44 There is long covid, all of those things. And one thing that we do know from other data is that recurrenrent infections with Covid increases your risk of long covid, and the
more prolonged, some severe issues, related to having had covid so we don't
09:59:00 recommend just getting Covid repeatedly, because that does carry a significant risk.
09:59:06 We had a couple of late coming email questions, if, like, I think I'll just ask the ones that are, I think, relatively easy.
09:59:16 Any update on if another booster will be recommended anytime soon, especially for folks who are now, you know, 4 or 5 months out from there. Booster that Babylon booster.
09:59:28 I'm definitely trying to hear that question more often, and I think it just speaks to kind of stress about the possibility of getting Covid.
09:59:36 And why you do everything you can to protect yourself right now.
09:59:40 We are not seeing any indication of a recommendation for an additional booster.
09:59:44 The primary reason for that is that the bivalent actually is still currently holding up really well against the current circulating variants.
09:59:52 It's still doing a great job at reducing severe disease it is also still reducing your risk of getting infected, though it doesn't make it 0.
10:00:00 And so as we see that until we see that change until we see that people are getting severely ill who have stayed up to date on their vaccines, that's the big thing that would
cause us to change recommendations around vaccines and we haven't seen that yet.
10:00:15 I think part of what's playing out is many of us who have been following all the rules throughout the pandemic and getting our vaccines every time they're told.
10:00:23 We're used to getting them a little closer together than this.
10:00:24 So this is getting further out than many of us have gotten used to, and so that can feel like maybe someone's dropping the ball.
10:00:30 And we're not. You know. We're why, why haven't I gotten another vaccine?
10:00:35 But we are monitoring it, and the main thing we look for is variant change.
10:00:40 So has has a new variant come out that can just get all the way around the vaccine.
10:00:43 No, or have we seen a spike in severe disease in people who are up to date on their vaccines, also know.
10:00:51 And so until we see that we're not gonna recommend an additional booster.
10:00:56 So please know we haven't forgotten about you, and your immunity is still working. It's not.
10:01:00 It's not that it actually automatically phase every 2 to 3 months.
10:01:05 What changes it is when the virus changes enough that it can get around it.
10:01:08 And we haven't seen that happen yet.
10:01:19 Sure!
10:01:10 And then real quick. If folks have lost their proof of vaccination or it's gotten doggy as mine has, we're the best source for getting proof of vaccination.
10:01:24 Sure. So there is a Washington immunization registry.
10:01:29 You can go to online. That's probably your best option.
10:01:32 If you have access to the Internet, and that is an accessible option for you, you can actually print out your your vaccine record, or you can get a little picture that you can
have on your phone that you can share with folks to show your vaccine status it's probably your best
10:01:47 option. If Internet is not accessible, to you, if that's not working for you, then you can give us a call at the Health Department.
10:01:54 We can help you. Help you set that up. We can do replacement cards for people who need them who can't access the online registry.
10:02:01 And we can definitely make sure and share a link to that on our Facebook, so that people in know how to get their immunization information, that same site will also get you
all your other immunization information.
10:02:13 So if, for instance, you've got kids in school, and you need to update their documents, that's a good place to do that periodically throughout the pandemic that website has
had challenges, particularly when large groups of people needed to suddenly show proof of vaccination, they've done a lot of work on
10:02:27 it, and it should be much more streamlined now. So if you had trouble before, give it one more shot, and then, if you're still having trouble, give us a call, we'll help you
through it.
10:02:35 And I think that system is also linked to an app.
10:02:39 So few places are asking for it now. I haven't used it for a while, but I know the app was useful.
10:02:43 It's a to not have to carry paper, but to be able to show a QR code or proof on your phone.
10:02:51 Helpful!
10:02:51 Absolutely.
10:02:53 That's all sorry. Great. I have kind of a question that I've not fully formed following up on Kate's asking about the study, and really just I don't know.
10:03:04 I feel like the lack of uptake on the bivalent booster is a real thing that I'm I've been thinking about.
10:03:12 And I recently took mine. You know, after October infection waited in a couple of months, but I guess I go.
10:03:20 I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about.
10:03:24 I don't know I'm struggling to phrase it I go back in time to when the Social Contract was kind of like, oh, we've finally got an effective vaccine.
10:03:36 And it really, you know, restricts transmission of the disease.
10:03:40 That was going great until you know. Omicron came out of South Africa, and the Social Contract changed.
10:03:48 And I see that as a real point that we lost a lot of people, including some in my own extended family, who are absolutely vaccine adherence, until oh, now it doesn't protect
me from the disease, and I've already got some protection from severe disease.
10:04:02 So how would you quantify the difference between boosted and the bivalent booster?
10:04:12 In effectiveness. I guess. What's the argument that I can make to say no, it really isn't important to keep to keep on this path.
10:04:20 You think that is where we lost a lot of people and I'm also wondering kind of on a deeper and broader scale thing if you can talk a little bit about population level effectiveness
of vaccines, you know, I mean, there were many people that have been against the other vaccines.
10:04:38 That we use in our society, but they were still protected by them from the this year.
10:04:44 Sure!
10:04:42 Magnitude of it. So if, can you just refresh my my recollection on population, health of vaccine math.
10:04:52 And what is the equation? What's the different risk equation with the bivalent versus just the boosted vaccine?
10:04:59 So I do think, you know part of where we lost folks was that was it used to be.
10:05:07 There was this brief, beautiful moment, where, if you got your vaccine, you just weren't gonna get Covid.
10:05:12 And that's a really really good option. And when the virus change that you might still get Covid, but it would be less severe.
10:05:18 That's just that's more complicated to do in your mind.
10:05:21 That's more complicated risk analysis. I think.
10:05:27 And so I think some of it is that it's just the change in what the vaccine brings.
10:05:31 You so just to circle back what it brings you right now if you're much less likely to get it the exact amount, you're less likely to get it, on an individual level varies a
lot based on your independent life risk factors and how you're immune system, functions and so it's hard
10:05:46 to, quantify for each individual person how much less likely you're gonna you are to get Covid.
10:05:52 But you are less likely to get it. You're also less likely to give it to others, because you are more likely to develop symptoms before you become less likely to give it to
others, because you are more likely to develop symptoms before you become contagious and so part of why you get up to date is to protect other people
10:06:04 still. But the other big reason is, protect yourself, and that's a different calculus.
10:06:08 Then I'm doing get like the right thing for my community.
10:06:13 However, we are seeing population level effects in places with more bivalent access.
10:06:18 So classically, Jefferson versus New York City, you know, in New York they had that huge surge of Xp. B.
10:06:26 One, and they started overwhelming their hospitals again.
10:06:28 We didn't do that here, and that only took half of us getting the bivalent vaccine to make that happen.
10:06:33 And that's impressive. So it's showing a population level benefit.
10:06:37 And that's that's this herd immunity concept.
10:06:40 So Hurd immunity was classically the term we use to mean that you could make a virus to stop circulating if enough people were immune to it.
10:06:48 Covid, unfortunately, is so Wiley, it can get them out around immune defenses so well that we can't just shut it down.
10:06:55 There was a brief period where we thought we could, but we we can't shut this one down, but what we can do is dramatically reduce its circulation and reduce its ability to shut
down society.
10:07:06 We can reduce its ability to break the hospital system, make, you know, public utility districts stop functioning.
10:07:13 We can do that. And we can do that by getting up to date on our vaccines.
10:07:19 So it does still have a population level benefit to stay up to date, and it has a personal benefit.
10:07:23 It has its strongest personal benefit for people who are high risk.
10:07:28 So if you are over 65, it's gonna make the biggest difference in keeping you out of the hospital.
10:07:34 Those of us who are under 65, and we few had some other vaccines.
10:07:40 We are unlikely to get hospitals for Covid.
10:07:44 However, Covid is still awful. It's still very unpleasant.
10:07:48 It's worth avoiding, and if you can get a vaccine to avoid it, do it's a good idea to do that.
10:07:53 I do think another big part of what changed public sentiment was a full scale, full- throated campaign of misinformation, and I think that has filtered through even to folks
who were otherwise getting vaccinated.
10:08:10 I still hear from folks who are like, Yeah, but you know natural immunity is better.
10:08:13 For example. But then you have to interrogate that.
10:08:15 What do you mean? Natural immunity is better so it's worthwhile to go through Covid.
10:08:19 At least once, so that you might not have to go through it again.
10:08:24 It doesn't. It doesn't shake out when you interrogate it, but it sounds good as a as a point, and I think there was also part of that campaign and misinformation was this drumbeat
of Covid over so why, would I get a
10:08:37 vaccine if the pandemics over, and I think a lot of the impetus for that was economic and certainly wasn't health.
10:08:44 There was a lot of big pushes from, you know, powerful companies, powerful political leaders who wanted to.
10:08:52 It was in their economic, best interests to convince people to pandemic was over.
10:08:57 And I think that's also playing into decreased interest in the vaccine because it feels like it's the past.
10:09:02 Unfortunately, Covid isn't the past. I wish it was, but it's not, and so I think, staying up to date is important.
10:09:11 But I do think it's becoming easier to stay up to date, staying up to date is probably gonna mean an annual vaccine, just like getting your flu shot.
10:09:19 I think the challenge that we have in public health going forward is after this mass.
10:09:27 Misinformation came against vaccination against public health, against the common good.
10:09:32 How do we rebuild confidence in vaccines generally in public health measures?
10:09:38 Generally because it's true for the longest time we didn't have measles.
10:09:44 It was just gone, and we didn't have to worry about it anymore.
10:09:45 We didn't have kids getting encephalitis.
10:09:47 We didn't have all of those things, and then it came back because enough people stopped getting vaccinated, that it came back enough.
10:09:54 People stop getting vaccinated for polio, but it's starting to come back.
10:10:00 The all these terrible diseases we have done so well for so long that we are no longer.
10:10:06 We're no longer faced with their constant threat. And so vaccination doesn't seem as important because it doesn't feel like it's preventing bad things.
10:10:14 And I think it's human. Memory is fascinating.
10:10:17 The number of folks who appear to have forgotten those early days of Covid, as if there was never a time where it just destroyed a major American city that happened.
10:10:29 That was real and getting vaccinated is one of the most important things we've done to make that stop.
10:10:36 So staying up to date is the way we keep that from happening again.
10:10:46 Okay.
10:10:58 Yeah.
10:10:39 Can I ask one other? I guess truth, my internal clock on how this works, but I see a lack of equitable access to the vaccines as creating the potential for Omicron and South
Africa, or wherever it came from down there in Southern Africa and that is sent to me another thing
10:11:02 that is really, that speaks strongly for vaccines is that this is a wily one, as you say, and it evolves.
10:11:09 But it needs a lot of repetitions to revolve, to evolve, and by allowing that by not distributing vaccine equitably created the second and third years of the third and fourth
years, I don't even know where we are continuation.
10:11:24 Oh, for sure. Yeah, no. I think if we, if we had made sure that the world got vaccine rather than the Us.
10:11:34 Forwarded a chunk of it, we might not have seen some of these variants happen and certainly, if we haven't exported our own misinformation machine we also like, we wouldn't
have seen these variants happen.
10:11:44 Some variants are gonna happen. But variance come from unmitigated spread.
10:11:49 And so the idea that we were just going hyperboxinate this one place and just let it rock everywhere else.
10:11:54 That set us up for trouble, equity, one of the one of the things that I hope we take away from Covid is that we actually do all do better when our neighbors do better it. We
can't actually just wall off ourselves, and protect ourselves.
10:12:08 We are connected. If we don't get our vaccine, that increases the risk, not only for ourselves, but also for our neighbors.
10:12:15 We don't wear our masks. That increased service for ourselves, and also for our neighbors.
10:12:17 When we let the virus circulate widely, then we know that it can change more, and it can come back and hurt us.
10:12:24 And so it's in our own self interest, and also just the decent thing to do to take care of the common good.
10:12:31 Okay, well, thank you for indulging me. I know you still have a few more kptz questions, so I'm done.
10:12:38 So the first one was actually about avian influenza.
10:12:41 So at our Board of Health meeting we talked about avian influenza, and that's in rare cases that actually does infect mammals.
10:12:49 This question was about reverend a newspaper article, where, if you didn't know, there was a coyote that gotten to Jefferson health care thankfully, Jefferson, health care staff
got him over to a well life reput and the coyote was taken care of and is doing fine
10:13:04 and release. But the question was, Did that guy only have birds?
10:13:08 Do you know, was it tested for bird flu? Because one of the ways that Berkeley transmits into mammals is they eat carrion, so they eat dead geese.
10:13:19 Usually, and then get avian flu. I don't know if that coyote was tested. It was not tested.
10:13:25 Positive cause, we would have been notified in the rare cases where mammals get get avian influenza.
10:13:34 It generally looks like a cold, so they usually have a respiratory symptom, and that's what would trigger testing in those cases thankfully on the rare cases where we have seen
mammals like coyotes get get immediate influenza in the United States as a whole.
10:13:50 they've not been able to go on and give it to anyone else.
10:13:52 The only mammal we've seen transmit alien influenza from itself. In the history of avian influenza. Not miss current outbreak actually was Cas was Cathy.
10:14:03 Ma'am, they're sucking the soul out where we're sleeping and giving us avian flu.
10:14:08 But there was one, and I believe, 2012 that got it from an infected bird, and then gave it to a veterinarian.
10:14:15 Everyone did fine. Everyone recovered except for the bird, but we have not seen, not seen any of that transmission from mammals to humans.
10:14:25 In this outbreak at all thankfully. What ever the this particular variant of avian influenza that is circulating has so far not successfully been able to infect humans.
10:14:35 No matter the source, except for one case that may or may not have actually gotten.
10:14:39 But good question. I don't believe that Coyote was a risk to the public based on any virus status, but there was a risk based on the fact that it was a coyote and a hospital,
and I'm glad that it got to a better place.
10:14:52 This question was about the bivalent booster.
10:14:56 So we talked a little bit about that. This person got their biivalent in September.
10:14:58 Is it still protecting you? Yes, yes, it is. It's still protecting you again.
10:15:03 Severe disease, and it is reducing your risk of symptomatic disease it doesn't make it 0 but it doesn't make it less.
10:15:09 My family was a good example of that. We had about a 24Â h household exposure to Covid, which is a really high-level exposure to Covid, and we just didn't get it because we
all have our bivalent including the toddler she didn't get it either we tested
10:15:24 a lot. So it does work. It reduces your risk, doesn't make it 0, though this person says, I see people wearing the lighter surgical masks.
10:15:34 Do those protect us against Covid? They do so actually, if you see it.
10:15:38 If you see me around Jefferson County I'm usually in a surgical mask.
10:15:41 If I'm indoors, it's the type of mask I can use the mask I've used the most in medicine.
10:15:46 It's the one I'm the most in medicine. It's the one I'm the most comfortable, and it fits my face just fine, and I know I've got my bivalent.
10:15:51 I'm relatively low risk, and I know that I pay attention to my symptoms and tests.
10:15:55 If I could potentially be positive. So that feels comfortable for me a surgical mask reduces your risk of getting Covid and giving it to others.
10:16:02 It's almost equally effective as a barrier method.
10:16:06 Then then the can't. Can any 5 and stronger mass, so as far as preventing transmission to others, works great as far as preventing acquiring COVID-19.
10:16:18 So it reduces your risk of picking up Covid by about 66% based on the most recent data.
10:16:23 At this. It's not a 100 but so in most situations where I'm not in a super crowded place, that's what I work with when I'm in clinical medicine.
10:16:31 I use a higher level of mask, or if I'm in a very high risk, space like a plane, then I'm gonna can 95 or higher.
10:16:38 And so it just depends on your baseline risk and the risk of the space that you are which mask you choose.
10:16:45 The surgical mask is great, and it's much more comfortable for most folks.
10:16:48 So, if that's within your wheelhouse of comfort, I think it's a really good option.
10:16:53 Dr. Barry, can I ask a follow-up to that?
10:16:55 Yeah.
10:16:57 Would. So for people in my situation, with a very high risk person in the household.
10:17:01 Would that change the risk? So, either for that, you know that person who is more vulnerable, or for those with those people in their lives, is that would you recommend a higher
level of protection?
10:17:13 So, yeah, the person is very high, risk themselves, I think, wearing a 1095, or higher in the world is a good idea.
10:17:21 If they can, if they can, tolerate that as a family member, I think it depends a lot on the space that you occupy.
10:17:29 So, if you're, you know, in a room with a few other people, I think a surgical mess actually probably is plenty good, but if you're, you know, if you're doing a large public
meeting where lots of people are coming maybe you've been raising their voices at U K N 85
10:17:47 Thanks.
10:17:44 is the way to go, so depends a lot on those kind of things.
10:17:51 Then this last question, I believe, was, whether what were the negative consequences, if any, to those who got additional boosters, like those who receive the J.
10:18:02 Amp. J. Vaccine, and only waited a few months and left, you know, left the State or the country to get additional boosters, and I would say it's we have relatively limited data
on people who got more boosters than we have recommended.
10:18:15 But generally we actually haven't seen severe. We do monitor them.
10:18:20 So we we track vaccinations. And so if we get under regular vaccination, noted in Jefferson County, we get a little flag on it.
10:18:28 So if we vaccinate someone who's too young, if someone gets too many boosters, we actually do get a little notification in the system.
10:18:35 And by and large. We've not seen severe outcomes for those folks when we know about it, but if they went to campus and got it, I don't know if they got in additional booster
and so we aren't really tracking those spaces, but if someone happened to get an additional booster
10:18:47 here through some error in those cases, mostly, what we've seen is just more flu, like symptoms, more fevers, things like that.
10:18:57 They got additional boosters that are recommended, but not really severe consequences with additional boosters.
10:19:03 The main reason why we don't recommend it is not because it's dangerous, but because it's not.
10:19:09 Sure it doesn't make it. It's not clear that it helps.
10:19:12 And so with every medical intervention, we're always balancing risk versus benefit.
10:19:18 The risk of vaccinations is incredibly low, and in much lower than the benefit you get from getting them.
10:19:24 However, if you start taking additional vaccines at a time where it's not clear they're providing you much benefit then all your all they're bringing is risk, even if that risk
is intestinal.
10:19:35 And so that's why we don't recommend it.
10:19:36 If it's not at a time where it's providing you enough benefit, there's still really low risk.
10:19:41 You're probably gonna be fine if you get extra boosters.
10:19:44 But we don't know that they're gonna help you right now.
10:19:48 And so that's why we're not pushing them at this point.
10:19:51 And with that have with any other questions. If anybody has them, or I see Willie has joined us.
10:19:57 Great. Well, thank you very much. You got to all the questions from Kptz.
10:20:00 I did.
10:20:01 Great. Okay. Any last questions for Dr. Barry? All right, Willie.
10:20:09 It's been a couple of weeks good to have you back.
10:20:11 Yeah. Good morning. Everyone. Good to be back still. Not a ton to report on the emergency management side.
10:20:20 Of the Covid response. We're actually in the phase where we're working with Fema.
10:20:24 I'm just start recouping some of our costs going through documentation.
10:20:28 All of that fun stuff on the back end. So that's where we are at right now, and we still are.
10:20:33 However, still being particularly cautious with some of our trainings, and I wanted to, you know, dress that with the listeners today, as folks have been reaching out to us
I'm looking specifically for cert or community emergency response team training something that it's a long a long academy that's
10:20:51 in-person requires a lot of direct teamwork and a lot of interactions.
10:20:54 So we haven't been able to spin that back up again as of yet, even though we've been getting UN of requests, and we actually still have to finish a training that we had started
was interrupted by Kovat all the way back in March of 2,020 and so we have to finish that training.
10:21:10 With those folks. We're hoping to get that back up and running in spring.
10:21:16 I'd encourage folks. Listening if you're interested in that kind of training to reach out to us and we'll put you on the list and notify you when we are ready to hold those
in-person trainings in.
10:21:27 We also did have a in-person volunteer appreciation of it planned for late January.
10:21:32 That we did decide to postpone. I'm after a concern from a lot of our volunteers who, you know, we're really hesitant to attend a pretty large in-person event, giving the pure
volume of voluntary had help out during covid so we're
10:21:47 targeting that first spring as well. So we just appreciate everyone's patience as we still look to ease back into a lot of the in-person work that we do, and a lot of the outreach
and education and training we do here in emergency management other than that thankfully I always
10:22:03 hesitate to use the q-word other than some high wins.
10:22:06 Last night it has been relatively quiet, I'm here around Jefferson County.
10:22:10 We are expecting a pretty decent cold snap our way, coming over the next couple of days, we may see some lowland snow.
10:22:18 I'm here tonight, and then again, this weekend.
10:22:21 Certainly nothing at this point in time that looks to shut everything down.
10:22:26 But as always, if you do travel around the county in and out of the county, I'm exercise caution.
10:22:34 Do you keep an eye on the weather? And as I always a big thank you to our partners, who work with the unsheltered population as we're looking at temperatures down into the mid-twenties
over the next couple of days so below freezing definitely a cost for concern so we'll
10:22:47 be keeping an eye on that otherwise, as usual, no Kptz questions for me to address, so I'm happy to answer anything from the Commissioners.
10:22:57 Questions. I have one question really. Do we have anybody out of power from the windstorm last night?
10:23:04 Not at this time there was an outage down in Quilcy.
10:23:08 I believe that Pud resolved pretty darn quickly they were at the standby for any additional, but but nothing I had seen after that.
10:23:17 I'm one fortunate thing these kind of windstorms, late in the season.
10:23:22 A lot of the dry brush has been knoced loose already.
10:23:26 A lot of the trees that were kind of in a precarious position.
10:23:29 I'm already knocked over. I'm beauties had to do a ton of work already this winter, so things have been fortified.
10:23:34 A lot of the hazards have already been and I'm knocked loose or not down, and there's always the concern I'm doing particularly wet winters in the br is saturated that may lead
to some additional 3 falls, and some additional damage, but we didn't see that
10:23:50 last night thankfully so in a good position, for now.
10:23:53 Just some road salad. I love that term, that Stewart Tommy Road salad, concussion.
10:23:59 And on my way way in this morning I did see road crews working to clear some of that additional debris so that's getting cleared up this morning, and I'm otherwise travel conditions
get decently safe for now.
10:24:10 But definitely as things get, maybe a little snowy, maybe a little bit icy exercise caution. Now here for the next week or so.
10:24:18 Great thanks, Willie, and go ahead.
10:24:19 Bye, bye, so, Willie, my heart has been broken over the last week or so regarding all of the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, and because of my degree in geology I have a sensitivity
to the fragility of our region in terms of seismic events and i'm just
10:24:41 wondering. If there's anything in the plans to do.
10:24:45 Any community, education, or outreach. I long been saying. I want to prep my neighborhood. I just haven't had time.
10:24:50 There my neighborhood yet, and I I know we're not on the map as one of the Prep.
10:24:57 Neighborhoods, and you know, I think we all take our personal precautions, and you know, keep a certain amount of water.
10:25:04 And anyway, I just feel like these massive global events cause sensitivity to those of us in our region who know about our seismic potential.
10:25:17 Here, and I just wonder if there's anything that we can do as a community in terms of community education and outreach.
10:25:23 If you have anything planned, or any thoughts.
10:25:26 Yeah, and so that's one of the programs that we had.
10:25:29 You know, paused during the Covid response you know we've been talking around here when I when I first arrived, here in Jefferson County, and in this apartment we were doing
a couple outreach events sometimes a week multiple a month lots of even to smaller neighborhoods with just 4 or 5
10:25:47 people going into folks as homes and kind of educating them.
10:25:50 Talking about the Cascadia threat I'm talking about other hazards, so we're still kind of similar to the training piece.
10:25:57 I talked earlier, really planning on doing a strong push. Come this spring hopefully, when we can do in person I'm one thing that we have noticed is that folks are pretty darn
sick of Zoom, and so we wanna get back to doing those in person.
10:26:11 Trainings, doing things a little bit more engaging, a little bit more participatory with folks out in the community on the in prep. Front.
10:26:19 I'm happy. You brought that up. I actually have in 5Â min.
10:26:21 Right after this meeting. I'm a meeting with some of our in prep leaders as we're talking about revamping that program on the program that we had used specifically as part of
in Prep.
10:26:33 Called map your neighborhood. I'm talking to your neighbors getting their information, developing a plan within your neighborhood is changing at the state level and moving in
a direction that we didn't feel really worked for us here locally, so we're building our own program somewhat from the ground up we're plagiarizing
10:26:51 from a few other communities and building it. And so we're developing a whole new program that will be, you know, wholly in Preps and are hoping to to start rolling that out
over the summer.
10:27:01 So we have on a lot of potential opportunities coming up as we're trying to rebuild this program.
10:27:07 If anyone at any time does want us to come, even if it is via zoom, I'm come and talk to their neighborhood group, top to their organization, their place of work, and we're
happy to do those kind of visits and really design a program or a lecture i'm specifically for
10:27:23 you and your questions, but more than that, I think you know we're happy to support that outreach and education in any way.
10:27:30 Just talking with your friends, talking to your family. The whole point of impre is that preparedness starts at home I'm so if it's something you're concerned about, reach out
to us, we can provide you the resources and the information that you need. I'm within.
10:27:42 Talk to your friends, talk to your family, and you know, plan amongst each other, and that's really one of the most powerful ways you know.
10:27:49 Business starting at home the way you can get ready for really anything.
10:27:54 So we'll be happy to support if you need anything specifically.
10:27:57 But yeah, reach out to folks and start talking from there.
10:28:02 And hopefully, we'll have some good educational stuff coming up summer to support.
10:28:04 Thank you.
10:28:05 Can I? Can I follow up on that a little bit, you know.
10:28:08 I've heard from a lot of, I guess more communities than neighborhoods, and about an interest in creating kind of a place to gather.
10:28:17 You know, like Quilcine and Brennan and Port Ludlow, all have really started working on kind of the larger area emergency response.
10:28:26 And I'm wondering, is in prep. The appropriate place, or, as you kind of rejigger this, is it possible to create.
10:28:31 I don't know. Nodes, nodes in different communities where they can go with powers out or waters out, or something, and if they is that something that can be served by this program
as well.
10:28:42 Yeah, that's actually a really pressy question. You have your finger on the pulse pretty well.
10:28:46 And that's exactly what we're doing. We're calling them neighborhood emergency hubs.
10:28:51 And we're borrowing some program information from Seattle and Portland.
10:28:56 Specifically, and that's a precisely what they are.
10:28:59 They're nodes for folks gather after an emergency, they can be something as small as a neighborhood with 8 in households, in your gathering in someone's front yard to check
in on each other, or something larger.
10:29:10 Like you mentioned Port Ludlow, who's kind of helping us.
10:29:14 Revamp this program on that can be a larger place for members of the general public, for tourists and for really anyone and everyone to gather and and seek resources after major
disaster.
10:29:26 So I'm gonna it doesn't matter what size your neighborhood is or how large your community is in Jefferson County.
10:29:31 We're working to hopefully address all of those needs.
10:29:34 And again, it's that neighborhood hub program where we're currently building. And we'll be talking about here in just 2 short minutes, and I'm looking to roll it out this summer.
10:29:43 That's that's great. I look forward to hearing more about that great minds.
10:29:47 Alright anything last we're kind of out of time.
10:29:50 We want to let you get to go to talk about the neighborhood hubs. Thank you.
10:29:54 To the listeners of Kptz and Dr. Barry and Willie Vince. Great to see you, and we'll see you in a couple weeks.
10:29:59 Thanks, all.
10:29:58 Thank you. Bye, guys.
10:30:00 Bye, and we'll sign off of Kptz and take a quick break before we go into our hearing.
10:30:08 So we're gonna just delay for 2Â min for a quick little break, and we'll be right back.
10:33:22 Oh, good! It looks like it's been working the whole time regardless cause we're seeing really dense on it.
10:33:38 So all right. Well, I will call us back into session I'm not sure if I even recess us.
10:33:44 We just kind of took a break, but I will we're gonna go into our hearing on courthouse security standards and requirements with respect to Jefferson County Courthouse security.
10:33:56 This is a hearing, and we would love to hear testimony from anyone that in virtually or in real life here we will start with a staff presentation about the ordinance we're considering,
and then we will go to take testimony from folks before we deliberate so with that I will open
10:34:13 this hearing, and and pass it off to to Mark, to take us through this document.
10:34:18 Okay, Commissioners. Thank you, Commissioner Brotherton. We have 2 staff members on tap to testify about this proposed ordinance this morning.
10:34:27 One is our sheriff, Sheriff Joe Noel, and the other is our chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney, Philip Huntsucker, I think the upshot of this Commissioners is that because
courthouse security will be an enduring presence in the courthouse and
10:34:45 because of its importance to the security of employees and the public that have formalizing the procedures that we've had in place for a number of years.
10:34:57 It makes really good sense and codifying it into our code is the best way for us to pursue that.
10:35:06 And, so to speak, to the specifics of the proposed of the resolution in a proposed ordinance.
10:35:12 I'll turn the floor over, I think, to Sheriff Noel.
10:35:16 To begin with.
10:35:20 Well, thank you, Mark, yeah, we're here today to talk about this new ordinance that basically updates something that was made a number of years ago.
10:35:30 And other than that, I think that, Philip, could you have something that you were?
10:35:36 Gonna talk about.
10:35:38 I would just say that 2 things, really, it's there are a lot of judgment calls to be made.
10:35:46 Or judgment calls be made, and mainly in terms of the exceptions.
10:35:52 The board heard today, some public comments on that already, and I would say that it's, you know, sort of up to the board to make judgment of the judgment calls as to whether
they kinda continue.
10:36:07 Essentially the process has been in effect, since, you know, 2,018, when Phoenix was hired for security.
10:36:14 The second thing is, if you want to codify the ordinance, it probably has to be modified slightly to do that.
10:36:23 So it might, it might make sense to hold the hearing today.
10:36:28 If you have time, have some deliberations, and then have another session next week or the following week, with a revised version that would add, the you know, stuff that would
codify it, creating some new chapter probably in title 8 somewhere.
10:36:47 It wouldn't take a lot of work to do that. But but I don't really think there's any need to do it on the fly today.
10:36:56 Okay.
10:36:57 And I just to add to that all a little bit.
10:36:59 I have heard some people have reached out about some of the comments they had, and my understanding that the there's a couple of different things going on, and you know one
of them is the what we're talking about today.
10:37:16 The resolution which basically says, people people, people have, to be screened when they come in the courthouse for security, and how we do that.
10:37:27 Is there? There is some technicalities about using a wand, and you know, searching through things.
10:37:33 But who gets screened? Who doesn't get screened I think that is still something that we may want to discuss.
10:37:40 But the, as I see the resolution today is just allowing that there will be screening, and that the the sheriff decides who will be screened and who will not be screened.
10:37:54 And but I just I just wanted to throw that up there.
10:37:59 Great. Well, thank you both, so I think we can support your your plan for going forward.
10:38:07 And fill up of. We'll take testimony.
10:38:11 Close the hearing today deliberate any changes. That come up through our deliberations today, and the testimony we'll try to get to to the prosecutor's office, so we can have
an ordinance, a codified organance to consider in the next week
10:38:25 or 2. Does that ring ring straight for everyone? Okay? And we can do that by continuing the hearing.
10:38:30 So we don't need another public hearing. Notice. Oh!
10:38:35 Yeah.
10:38:35 Well, you would just. You would just have continued the double relations.
10:38:41 You would close the public hearing, then continue deliberation.
10:38:42 Right? Okay, great. And we did get a little bit of a written oh, sorry. Go ahead, Sheriff.
10:38:51 Yeah, I have ideas to keep on my head. I don't know if I need to say this or not, but I I just want everyone to know that I am in favor of screening at the courthouse, and that
I the idea that firearm should not be allowed in there.
10:39:03 I think that is a correct idea in my understanding of the law, and where the court is held throughout the courthouse, depending on what's going on, that that that is something
that should be done.
10:39:15 So I just, I guess, wanted to go on record saying that I split that.
10:39:19 Yep, thank you.
10:39:20 The res. Just so, you know the resolution that this would replace was past, and I think 1999.
10:39:28 And in it makes clear that there's that there will be no firearms or weapons throughout the courthouse.
10:39:34 So that's already, in effect.
10:39:39 Where there are a lot more Nune Chaka sticks in the nineties.
10:39:43 I think maybe.
10:39:44 Okay.
10:39:46 And throw and throwing stars so.
10:39:48 Yeah. Okay, great. Well, I guess, Phillip, I just wanted to. Did you get a chance to look at the written testimony that we received with some some recommendations? I'm wondering
if you have any initial response to those.
10:40:04 I have not looked at the written, the written testimony.
10:40:09 Well, I don't know. Should we take more testimony before we press that I guess that's deliberation.
10:40:15 Why don't we I'll bring those back up as we as we deliberate.
10:40:18 But you're only with us until 110'clock today.
10:40:20 About 1055, and you know you I you they probably were willing to do this anyway.
10:40:25 Well, maybe I will just.
10:40:28 But you probably should take oral testimony, or whatever before you, before you start deliberations.
10:40:39 Questions, for staff, first, yeah, yeah, do you have any questions? Clarify some things before we open up the hearing?
10:40:46 Okay, yeah, just and I will avoid the things that I think will come up in in testimony.
10:40:54 But one question which actually came up in public comments last week, I believe, was or excuse me when we published the notice was, you know, do we?
10:41:06 Section 3. We say clearly weapons are prohibited, as we know, but we don't have an exemption there for the folks doing security.
10:41:17 And this case all representatives of the sheriff's department.
10:41:21 But do we need to have any additional exemption there for the weapons that our own?
10:41:25 Folks are carrying.
10:41:31 Can I just respond to that? Or just between the Commissioners? Only?
10:41:33 Go ahead. No, this is questions for you guys actually.
10:41:36 Yeah, I guess I would say that. And I saw that, and I forgot that.
10:41:40 But I think that would I mean, of course, I'm not a lawyer, but I that would.
10:41:44 I think that should be a good addition. I've seen other statutes where to me it's like, well, that's obvious.
10:41:50 But it's important to have that in there.
10:41:53 I I think.
10:41:54 Including deputies in the courtrooms, not just at the screening.
10:41:57 Right.
10:42:01 Related to that is, I wonder if we want to leave ourselves?
10:42:05 The ability to also use a private or contracted security company if needed.
10:42:10 You know, for example, we had real staffing issues within the sheriff's department, or special event that warranted needing more than we were able to to utilize again, this
kind of gets into deliberation.
10:42:23 But I'm wondering if there's any reason not to.
10:42:26 You know, we very clearly call out that the security will only be provided by the sheriff's department, and especially if we're looking at codifying this, we want to provide
some more flexibility. Should we need it.
10:42:41 Don't have to.
10:42:41 I like that. I like that idea.
10:42:44 And we don't have to get to that level of detail just yet.
10:42:49 Just one more quick question on section 5, number one, all person subject to security, screening.
10:42:54 And I know we're gonna get much more into this.
10:42:56 Who should be screened, but it does say all persons entering the courthouse will be subject to security, screening by the sheriff to ensure compliance, and you know I literally
take that, as Joe Noel currently but I suspect that that's a a language that that means any
10:43:14 representative of the sheriff's department, but.
10:43:16 I think there is a definition of sheriff that includes or designee.
10:43:18 Okay.
10:43:21 I haven't looked at it in a few weeks, but I believe so.
10:43:24 It does. Okay. And it includes without limitation all shifts.
10:43:29 Deputies. Okay, great. Thank you. That's all from me. For now any questions, Heidi, before we get into testimony.
10:43:36 I mean they.
10:43:39 This is kind of maybe a squishier one. But the the full question about the attorneys coming in the building it was brought up a couple of times this morning, so my understanding
is once they show their credential.
10:43:56 There are association credential in their authorize proof of.
10:44:00 Identification is that just once they show that. And then the security team, our sheriff's deputies know that those people are clear, or does that every time they have to show
that.
10:44:14 The way the ordinance is written. It's every time.
10:44:16 How are read it? Yeah.
10:44:18 So. So in that case I was just. I was thinking that was what it was meant.
10:44:23 But in that case it is that slower than going is, you know.
10:44:31 Does that take as much time as doing the security, screening?
10:44:34 Maybe this is a question for Joe. Is is it faster to show you your id than to?
10:44:40 Oh, yeah, if they just show their id, they're just showing the idea.
10:44:45 If they go through the screening, they have to empty their pockets and go through the, and if it, you know, if the person has a briefcase or a purse, or something that would
have to be checked as well.
10:44:53 Okay, so, but it is every time. Okay.
10:44:56 If we're currently written. Yes.
10:44:56 I would think.
10:45:00 And if you forget your badge hiding, you got to get searched, too. Me, too.
10:45:03 I'm not worrying my bad.
10:45:03 I know I've already I mean they're on me about that.
10:45:06 I've already got where my badge more than someone other people.
10:45:09 I have. I have mine on a dummy cord. For that reason.
10:45:09 And I, yeah, I would hope to that sense.
10:45:15 This is new, that we would probably tweak it a little bit as we go along, to make it more.
10:45:20 What? Exactly what we want, what works.
10:45:23 Thank you. That was.
10:45:23 We're gonna codify it. It's harder to tweak. Course.
10:45:29 I had one question.
10:45:30 I'm sorry just, but in my understanding what we're talking about today with this proclamation or this resolution is, it's not who gets checked.
10:45:40 It's cause. It says everybody gets checked, but and so we would.
10:45:45 Those could be discussions that come up later, and I don't know if that makes cause.
10:45:49 I was wondering that as far as if we did want to change stuff later, we're not.
10:45:55 We wouldn't be changing the resolution or the code of codification.
10:45:57 Is that right, Philip?
10:45:59 You would have to change the ordinance if you currently it has hard exceptions in it.
10:46:05 There's little discretion left the way it's written.
10:46:08 Now for the sheriff's office. So these are exceptions, and if you wanted to change them you would have to change the ordinance that, as we're doing, you know, going through
the process, you know, one of the things that could be considered is whether or not to give the share and the deputies
10:46:26 more discretion on how to enforce this. There's a downside to that, because more, it's discretion.
10:46:34 You give the sheriff's office the more likely it's gonna someone gonna complain that either being singled out or they're being treated differently.
10:46:42 So. So, yeah, thank you about those things, too, I think, as a part of the process.
10:46:47 I'm sorry.
10:46:49 Well the resolution that I have the resolution I have doesn't have any exceptions in it.
10:46:53 So I don't know.
10:46:53 Does. Do you have an 8 page document?
10:46:56 Pardon.
10:46:57 You have an 8 page document.
10:46:59 Yes.
10:47:01 So if you go down to Section 5, security screening required.
10:47:11 Yes.
10:47:11 All persons are subject to security screening, and then number 3 is the exceptions, and my big question about the exceptions is so on duty.
10:47:21 City police officers would likely have their weapons on them when they walk in. There's not an exception to them carrying a weapon, only an exception to the being screened,
and that seems like it creates a bit of a incongruous central.
10:47:33 Hey, guys, I guess I don't mind mind. Just says.
10:47:38 That the sheriff and their discretion may determine that certain individuals may be exempted from this requirement, and it doesn't list any who those people may be.
10:47:49 So maybe I don't know if I have the quick version.
10:47:49 I think you're an old copy. You might wanna go on AV capture.
10:47:54 You can see our current agenda with with the item, but it is, it does different.
10:48:00 I can share my screen so you can see it right now.
10:48:01 It actually lists, types of individuals that are exempted.
10:48:05 Yes.
10:48:07 Okay? Well, that would change the idea of going back. Make changes once it's codified.
10:48:17 I think there was a question, too, if attorneys were were carrying a weapon lawfully, would that be allowed or not?
10:48:25 So something else to dig into.
10:48:32 Okay.
10:48:30 Sorry this section 5 security screen, and then it goes.
10:48:37 So!
10:48:37 Okay. Yeah, I don't have that part. But I, yeah.
10:48:41 But I I know that I thought that was an I thought that was something else.
10:48:43 But and I know.
10:48:44 Hey, Joe, I just emailed you. I just emailed you the the one we're looking at here.
10:48:47 Okay, yeah, I got it. Thanks.
10:48:49 So you might want to open.
10:48:54 Alright. Well, we're gonna lose Philip here pretty quick.
10:48:59 Any last questions for Philip before we open it for public testimony, knowing that we will have another opportunity to talk to Philip before we codify this. Certainly.
10:49:08 I guess I do have a question. If we did so, if we wanted to change or make adjustments to who is exempted, that would be harder to do after this is codified.
10:49:20 Correct.
10:49:22 It's not an impossible.
10:49:23 Correct.
10:49:25 Okay.
10:49:25 Not impossible, but harder it would, it would require a hearing, and going through the same rigor, roll again.
10:49:32 Okay.
10:49:36 That's fine!
10:49:36 One thing I one thing I want to say about attorneys is some some courthouses trust attorneys.
10:49:47 If they show their. And this is, you know, and courthousees.
10:49:51 I've been in. Okay on the West coast, some of them say the Eastern Us.
10:49:56 District Court for the Eastern District of Sacramento.
10:49:59 You had your card and a and a an id showing you where you were.
10:50:05 You didn't have to go through screening. Others say the western.
10:50:09 Us such a corporate Western District of Washington. You get screened northern district of California.
10:50:16 You get screen. I think King County, you get screen whether you're would you have a bar card or not?
10:50:23 Pierce County has a I understand it.
10:50:28 They have an understanding with the Bar Association. The Bar Association issues cards, and those are accepted to exempt you from screening.
10:50:37 I'm not aware of any courthouse that authorizes lawyers to bring guns to the courthouse.
10:50:48 What about employees?
10:50:49 Yeah, my, I guess. Sorry. My, I would. I understand.
10:50:53 They said you would just you wouldn't be allowed to bring a gun, and if you're a lawyer or a county employee or something, you just don't have to go through this screening.
It was I mean, firearms would still be prohibited in the
10:51:07 courthouse, as it would be my understanding, I mean.
10:51:10 Yes, your understanding is correct, sir.
10:51:15 And the concerns about kind of constitutionality, of infringing upon that right is protected by Rcw.
10:51:24 Where courthouses are specifically called out as a place where you can limit firearms. Is that correct?
10:51:30 Yes, and also you you have some discretion, and other and other parts of the statute.
10:51:41 Chapter 9.41. That would that supports this ordinance.
10:51:45 It's cited in there somewhere. I wanna say it's 3, 300 somewhere, 9.4 1.300 also gives you some discretion, and that also was a basis for the the prior resolution.
10:52:01 So it's both. It's both of those things.
10:52:04 And to follow up on that that's why we're only looking at the courthouse right now with this ordinance and not public health.
10:52:12 Tcd. Public works. They are all in a different place, according to the law. As to whether folks can bring firearms onto this properties.
10:52:23 Yeah, I would say.
10:52:23 That. And that's my yeah. Sorry, Philip.
10:52:26 Yeah, and as it no, it's okay as a current, as at the current state of the law in Jefferson County.
10:52:33 Yes, that's absolutely correct, and also cited in the in the ordinance is the is.
10:52:45 This is the Washington Supreme Court order that requires courthouse security.
10:52:50 So you've got that as well.
10:52:52 Great Heidi.
10:52:54 So I'm scouring the language to see if it's in here.
10:52:58 But I'm not seeing it so.
10:53:01 I'm just wondering about like time. The time of day, I mean.
10:53:08 So I'm just wondering. It seems to me uncertainty is that there are people in the courthouse who are there for a trial sometimes being transported from the the county jail and
have block.
10:53:26 They're in there before this security team, is there? Is there some kind of an alternative screening procedure?
10:53:36 We have in place to allow for people who arrive at like, say, 7, 45 in the morning.
10:53:42 Is there? How, how are inmates who are there for trials?
10:53:47 Screen before.
10:53:51 I I know I just don't see it.
10:53:49 Hopefully, you're screening the inmates.
10:53:54 I don't see it in here, and I don't see it.
10:53:53 Yeah.
10:53:55 In here, and I don't see it referred to in here.
10:53:57 So it just feels like a potential loop. Hold on me. I don't know.
10:53:59 It it is.
10:53:59 The inmates would be with what he searched before they left the jail.
10:54:09 Ph, okay.
10:54:07 I mean I that's all I can offer.
10:54:05 That's h 3 h, yeah, there's there's an exemption specifically calling out inmates who are in the custody of Oh, that's juvenile.
10:54:18 Oh, h is right h and.
10:54:19 Okay, thank you. I I just didn't keep that.
10:54:26 One quick question, Philip. I thought that knives with a blade longer than 3 answers or something, were considered dangerous weapons, but don't see any.
10:54:35 I mean, I see the throwing stars and the new chocolate sticks, but I don't see knives and the dangerous weapons your definitions.
10:54:44 Okay, technically.
10:54:44 I honestly, Commissioner, I haven't looked at this in a while, so I don't know but the the definition of dangerous weapons.
10:54:56 Yes.
10:54:53 There's a doubt of dangerous weapons in there. I that's included, and I don't know if it includes knives or not.
10:54:59 But that came from from Ancw. I offhand.
10:55:03 I can't remember what it is, but you know, maybe that's something that we need to fix. If it doesn't include 9.
10:55:08 It's listed in section 2, number 7. Webin definition in the from the Rcw.
10:55:14 Well, there's also a dangerous weapon. Definitely. Gotcha.
10:55:20 Okay.
10:55:23 Right, so!
10:55:22 But it does seem silly to have a separate definition.
10:55:28 Right? Gotcha. Okay. Alright. Well.
10:55:35 Fair enough. Okay? Well, we I know that you have to go, Philip.
10:55:40 So thank you very much for being with us as long as you can.
10:55:43 We might have more questions for you, or suggestions at the end of the testimony that we received today.
10:55:47 Okay, very good. I'll come back soon as I can.
10:55:50 Okay. Thank you.
10:55:51 Thanks. Philip.
10:55:53 Alright, you guys ready for your testimony. Yes, okay.
10:55:58 As I said, we had some written testimony, and I will now open it up.
10:56:01 This hearing for oral testimony, and as opposed to public comments, you still have 3Â min, but you need to state your name and your place of residence, and it is part of the
record.
10:56:14 So please keep your testimony to the ordinance at hand, Mr. Schumacher. Thank you.
10:56:19 Yes, Steven Schumacher Core towns in Washington. Yeah. Listen.
10:56:23 I've had nothing to great experiences with the screeners in this courthouse, but it is a little bit of a drag to have to go through.
10:56:27 It, especially when you have a lot of stuff, and the insofar, as you know.
10:56:37 When I when I go on air flights, I have a trusted traveler thing, and I can sort of imagine that you might consider it to some extent.
10:56:45 People who are attorneys, people who have been regularly through.
10:56:47 Maybe somebody who signed something. Perhaps you still need screening, but perhaps there would be a sort of a more abbreviated screening just to keep the flow through.
10:56:56 Obviously weapons and things are illegal. But the question is, how Draconian the searches should be.
10:57:04 Also, I really do along the lines of what Commissioner Brotherson said.
10:57:07 I really think there should be an exception for knives less than 3 inches.
10:57:10 There's no reason for anybody to have none. Caucus or firearms, but just sort of like simple pocket knives.
10:57:18 I was stopped for having a simple pocket knife attached to my keychain.
10:57:24 I sort of have.
10:57:31 Yeah.
10:57:40 Which is, yeah?
10:57:57 And you know, screwdriver, but.
10:58:10 You know. Perhaps that could be. I would also like to address the whole issue of the restricted areas.
10:58:13 Do not include common areas of ingress and egress to the building.
10:58:14 When it is possible to protect court areas without restricting ingress and egress, they will be the minimum necessary.
10:58:16 And I understand that there is an 2 floors. But having lived in Port Townsend for a long time, it's definitely possible, because we did it for decades, to just have the screening
up next to the courthouse by having it here at the bottom it means anybody who it wants just pay their utility bill or check with the assessor has to go through the
10:58:29 screening and so it it increases enormously.
10:58:29 The number of people who need to be screen increases the cost of screening the intervenes for everybody, and it also sort of makes the whole atmosphere of, you know, sort of
makes this whole building seem to be this kind of inaccessible type. Of situation.
10:58:36 And so I you know. I understand that there are occasional meetings down on the first floor, or whatever, but people could be taken upstairs to be screened, and then come down
to the meeting in those cases.
10:58:43 I understand there's trade-offs both ways, but I really do.
10:58:46 I really would like us to at least consider the possibility of renormalizing, so that we actually don't have an entirely locked down building.
10:58:54 But instead have have some kind of security for that courthouse, not for paying your utility bill.
10:59:00 Thank you very much. You state your name and place of residence. Please. Sorry.
10:59:04 Well, Port Townsend is, that's a Port Townsend. Is that sufficient?
10:59:11 Oh, yeah, that's fine, all right. Anyone else in the room that would like to give testimony.
10:59:18 Yep. Come on up. Okay. So I appreciate that you're so Stacy, Preda, Jefferson, County treasurer, Court, Townsend.
10:59:29 So I appreciate your working on this and refining it.
10:59:32 As we've had more experience with it, I do appreciate it.
10:59:36 It is at the entrance a public interest, and entrance for the full building we've had a lot fewer tension and incidences on the first floor since we've done this, we do have
assessor auditor, treasurer, and while they sound administrative people.
10:59:57 Get pretty heated, and so we do not have to call.
11:00:00 Security, as often because they already know they're in the building, and they've gone through security.
11:00:06 And we also know that, or can trust that they don't have weapons on them where we couldn't.
11:00:11 Before one thing I'm a little reluctant to bring up, but I will, anyway.
11:00:19 So in terms of knives we have knives in our back room to cut apples, a standard steak knife is 4 and a half inches, as I just Googled, and I guess what I am hoping to get concurrence
on would be that when it says in 2 7 weapon or any
11:00:44 knife, dagger, or other similar weapon that is capable of causing death or bodily injury, and is commonly used with the intent to cause death or bodily injury that those types
of kitchen implement would not be prohibited.
11:01:28 My perspective on that is number one. Employees do get a background check when we're hired.
11:01:34 We are bound for employment by our personnel, manual, and other types of requirements, but beyond that we have a lot of employees in and out throughout the building all day,
dropping the mail in the mailbox outside, going to get a property tax statements or ballots and the idea of
11:02:00 having everyone have to go through security with trays of mail and ballots, or everything else, and even records management in and out, is a logistical impediment to doing our
job efficiently with.
11:02:14 I don't think much benefit. You know we do watch each other and bring up issues where we start to think someone might be getting heated.
11:02:24 And so I think that's sufficient, and that employees should stay on there.
11:02:30 Thank you, Stacy. Anyone else in the room. Come on up, Brenda.
11:02:37 So we're in the Hemingford. I live in Portland, though I'm the Jefferson County auditor, and I just want to reiterate everything that Stacy said the same thing.
11:02:47 We feel that once security was down at the lower level, that our customers that are coming in to do business are way more respectful to us, and they know that you know they're
just a bit away.
11:03:03 If you know we feel protected to the employees, and just like Stacy said, if we we're really good at wearing our badges now, and we do have staff in other locations that come
in and out of the courtroom or courthouse and to have them have to stop and get
11:03:22 scanned, would, would impede, you know, traffic, and we are right.
11:03:29 In the middle of an election, and we bring ballots in once, or sometimes even twice a day, from the post office, and then from other locations.
11:03:35 And those are big trays, heavy, full of ballots.
11:03:41 So, and security on them as you know, we have 2 staff with them at all times, so we just support the security being at the lower level, but support that you know, staff that
could not does not have to get scanned as long as they're wearing their badges.
11:04:00 Okay, great. Thank you very much. Anyone else in the room that would like to make testimony.
11:04:06 Nope, all right. We'll move to the Virtual room, and I see one hand up if you'd like to make testimony.
11:04:12 Please click the raise hand button, and we'll bring Margaret over again.
11:04:21 Alright! Hello again Margaret! Please do identify yourself, and where you live, and we're ready for you whenever whenever you get up, you remuted.
11:04:31 Whenever you're ready.
11:04:36 What! So can you hear me now?
11:04:39 We can hear you. We can't see you, but that's fine.
11:04:41 If you'd like to keep your camera.
11:04:45 Hey? How are you then, like got dressed for this?
11:04:50 But then get the camera going. I will.
11:04:51 I know. Whoa, huh! Nice to see you I'm Margaret Taylor.
11:04:58 I'm here as a representative president of the Jefferson County Bar Association.
11:05:03 First of all, I want to support the transfer. It looks like the transfer of the management of this ordinance was transferred over to the sheriff's office, and I support that
the sheriff thank you for what you're doing I was at the United States Capitol.
11:05:21 You know, it's a job of screening as 99.1% boredom, and then horrible excitement.
11:05:28 And I was at the capital, where one of the screeners was hurt their line of duty, so I appreciate the importance of the role that you are playing.
11:05:38 There, and I also know that the screening involves a lot of sheriff staff time.
11:05:44 There was some testimony during the open public comment period earlier that talked about that the exception to the screening requirement would allow a treaties to carry in weapons,
and I just wanted, I think our discussion here today cleared that up no no one brings a weapon in except the
11:06:07 sheriff's office. The other thing is that there created an implication that somehow attorneys are special people, and entitled to special privileges, and I don't think that
was the intent of this at all.
11:06:23 I was looking at the other exceptions, and one is for employees which makes sense and also volunteers with cards.
11:06:33 And so one idea that came up with and I'm gonna put an idea out there, and then I'm gonna knock it down.
11:06:40 So one idea that came up with is that attorneys could go through the staff process and get a card like a volunteer would.
11:06:51 And the reason why I would think that that would not be a good idea is one it would involve staff time on your part.
11:06:59 The courthouse and the other problem is is so to attorneys.
11:07:06 House, one get screened thoroughly. Their briefcase opened and the other one shows a card and walks in, and what that would do is create an appearance of favoritism like one
is like in the know about the courthouse, and the other one especially screened attorneys are already vetted.
11:07:26 When they get their card, so they, attorney would have to show their card just like the volunteers would have to show their badge.
11:07:37 The one weakness I saw in the proposed legislation.
11:07:40 So I would. I support the continued exception of attorneys that can prove and document just like the volunteers do with the card that they can, to not be screened.
11:07:52 The one weakness was there. I think there has to be some discretion on the part of the sheriff's office to be able to screen, should there be, say, a red flag notice with a
particular person that you know that they have a particular axe to grind, I was actually got a notice for an
11:08:09 Margaret, I'm sorry. That's 3Â min.
11:08:12 Can you just finish your sentence? Okay, thank you very much.
11:08:09 I. Rs agent. Okay, this is good. Thank you.
11:08:16 Appreciate it. All right, Mister Henry, we would. Oh, yeah, you can. I think we might have turned off. We might have muted you check. You'll need to unmute yourself.
11:08:31 And then please identify yourself and your place of residence, and we'd love to hear from you.
11:08:37 Sorry. Oh, yes, I was sorry. Shaking my head in agreement with Margaret Taylor.
11:08:48 Attorneys do not, should not carry guns. I never intended anybody to think so.
11:08:54 I've had a cards since I was the deputy prosecutor 50 years ago.
11:08:58 I don't carry a gun on the courthouse.
11:09:01 The simple reason the lawsuit is a can't, and it wouldn't, because it changes your attitude and your strap on the gun.
11:09:06 Your perspective changes. My job is to represent a client and do a job.
11:09:12 And that is my total focus. For that reason I don't carry a pocket type of any size and I've been carrying them a pocket night since I was a little kid.
11:09:24 But not in the courthouse. I leave it in the car.
11:09:27 I'm starting to take the leading my keys in the car because I've got a cloud now, attorneys can think around these things.
11:09:35 We're not special people, but we just need to be processed with the same efficiency.
11:09:41 Once we're trusted is Court down there, and I think that Phil was correct, and thinking that we should have some kind of discretion in the deputies, do, I still think, should
be armed by the way.
11:09:59 When they get accustomed to people from the auditors office going out with ballots, put them in there mailbox, or get them from the mailbox.
11:10:08 So, I'm going. Come back. They're probably not packing.
11:10:12 Okay, give them some discretion. As for Police Officer City police officers, a lot of them across deputies.
11:10:21 They know who they are, and I'm not bothered by the idea of a deputy or city officer carrying the gun into the courthouse.
11:10:33 I do prefer not to have plain clothes officers in the courtroom.
11:10:38 With the gun, because it changes the testimony. There is just a psychological thing.
11:10:45 They get on a different persona.
11:10:51 And you're back in the gun. You're a different person than you are when you're on your own.
11:10:55 I really I think that it's all a matter of common sense.
11:10:58 It's a matter of risk analysis, we're no special, any more than anybody else.
11:11:04 But we do have a job to do in efficiency accounts for something in the courthouse.
11:11:08 I thank you for the time.
11:11:10 Thank you, Mister Henry. Can you tell us where you reside?
11:11:13 Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, sir.
11:11:16 Great. Thank you very much. All right. Next up for testimony is Mr.
11:11:22 Tiersh working for you when you never get unmuted. Mr.
11:11:26 Hmm!
11:11:26 Tiersh, and you can turn on your camera if you choose.
11:11:30 Okay, thank you. Yeah. For the record. Tom Tiersh resident of Jefferson County.
11:11:35 So why is this ordinance necessary? Why is it being considered well?
11:11:39 First of all, because Washington Court ruled gr. 36 mandates.
11:11:43 It you've got to provide security for the courtrooms, and, of course, safety of county employees, and safety of the public.
11:11:51 So you know, we need the ordinance I mean, I'm in favor of it, and I've sent you some recommendations for improving what's what's been proposed and I hope you take the time
to read those and evaluate those recommendations carefully because I really did spend a lot of
11:12:04 time on it, and I also am glad to hear what Mr.
11:12:07 Hunsucker said about not approving this ordinance until you've had time to really consider deliberate.
11:12:12 Accept all the testimony and go over it. So there's no need to rush it.
11:12:17 But you know, let's let's be careful about what we say regarding the the discretionary nature of of screening.
11:12:23 That's problematic because you get into favoritism. You get into.
11:12:27 Well, I know this guy. He always goes through here. No problem.
11:12:31 Well, I'm sorry. It's simple. It's much simpler.
11:12:35 If you have clearly stated rules that are followed uniformly, a 100% of the time and and that's that, then you don't have to guess.
11:12:43 And there's no ifs about it. Some of the comments the testimony that was just stated by Treasurer Preta, and by the auditor.
11:12:54 The packages that that were mentioned being brought into the courtroom.
11:12:59 They have the courthouse. They have to be screened.
11:13:00 How does the auditor, for example, know that a ballot box, a sealed ballot box, doesn't have a letter bomb in it?
11:13:06 Seriously. Things are getting bad in this country, as we know, and I wouldn't be surprised if that sort of thing, while we're to happen here.
11:13:13 It's happened elsewhere. Oh, you know again simple rules.
11:13:17 Everything gets screened, everything gets scanned very simple, very straightforward.
11:13:22 As for the issue of trust trusted people, people have badges, and that includes employees.
11:13:27 I'm sorry. Without screening. It's impossible to know if a weapon is being carried into the courthouse by somebody.
11:13:34 People that you may have worked with for 10 years all of a sudden they decide.
11:13:39 Nope, they're not happy. They get. They get some problem in their life.
11:13:43 And all of a sudden you've got a dangerous workplace.
11:13:44 It's not necessary. Simply impose the ordinance and apply it to everybody, equally including employees, with the very few exceptions that are outlined in my recommendation of
of revision.
11:13:59 You know, if there's an issue about employees being delayed to get into work, just adjust their work schedule slightly, like 10 or 15Â min to balance the workload at the entrance,
not a big deal.
11:14:09 It's been done elsewhere, certainly can be done here now.
11:14:12 You know the long-term fix for this? Obviously. Well, 2 things.
11:14:16 First, you could just move the screen back to where it was before on the second floor, just before you get into the courtrooms.
11:14:22 But that's apparently been deemed to be insufficient, or I guess another solution might be to move some of the more common administrative functions of the county like getting
your car tabs and so forth.
11:14:33 Move it to another building where there isn't this kind of screening.
11:14:44 Please wrap it up, Mr. Tiers, that's time.
11:14:36 But that does get back to an issue. I raised in one of my one of my testimony emails to you, which is, Hey, you're protecting people and pour down, but not in your other offices,
you know.
11:14:48 It seems a little unequal treatment of your employees. Thank you.
11:14:51 Thank you very much.
11:14:54 Okay. I'll call out for anyone else online that would like to make testimony for this ordinance.
11:15:01 We're considering today. We'd love to hear from you. I don't want to go on the line. You can hit Star 9 if you're on the phone and would like to raise your hand and work on
unmute you.
11:15:14 Okay. I'll make one more call in the room. If anyone else would like to make public comments.
11:15:20 Oh, we got one more. I'm sorry. Testimony.
11:15:24 We've got one more online.
11:15:28 Wouldn't accept the promotion, Mr. Johnson. We'd love to hear your testimony.
11:15:41 I was cut off there. Can you hear me?
11:15:43 Yep, we can hear you. Please let us know your your name, and where you resign.
11:15:47 My name is George Antha, reside in Port Townsend.
11:15:52 I have to say that I really agree a lot with what Mr.
11:15:56 Tiers is saying, I think, that we can't have favorites, even employees, because sometimes employees become distrundled employees, and that's unfortunate.
11:16:09 But it does happen. I would concur with the idea that everybody's be screened.
11:16:17 Thank you.
11:16:19 Thank you, Miss Piano.
11:16:22 Okay, last, call for testimony online or in the room. We'd love to hear from you.
11:16:32 Okay. Seeing no other interest in testifying, I will close testimony, and we will continue or start deliberations.
11:16:43 So dots id Kate.
11:16:46 I wonder if we wanna wait to decide. On closing the hearing or not?
11:16:54 Just if we do, if we want to provide another opportunity for input, we could see if we're in, you know, level of agreement.
11:17:00 We reached today.
11:17:05 Okay, scrub what I said. We'll just. We'll leave it open at least while we deliberate.
11:17:09 So, happy. Okay, Carolyn's got a preferred.
11:17:18 He would love to close the oral testimony.
11:17:22 Obviously interest in this topic. The only chance that the public is really had to respond, at least through our deliberations and see what we decide at the end of this country.
11:17:36 I could jump in. Let's see. Just kind of call out issues for that, I think, are still salient for discussion.
11:17:48 The you know we have grappled with this since the court order came out from the States.
11:17:58 Really, you know, requiring courthouses to to have a certain level of security, and we, of course, have an administrative and court shared building here, and so it always brings
up this kind of inherent question yeah, yeah, but I think we have heard very loudly from our fellow electeds.
11:18:21 And departments here in the courthouse, that the value of having security provided.
11:18:27 So I am certainly lean in favor of continuing to to have screening on the first floor.
11:18:35 Sorry. On the basement floor for everyone who comes in, and and then trying to figure out the question of who, of course, that's the hard part.
11:18:46 The you know, I think, where I think the kind of functionality of this is.
11:18:55 The crux is really at. Do we have the ability to flag employees? And I would.
11:19:04 I guess attorneys to. If there is a concern.
11:19:09 So, for example, when, if an employee is let go, do we have a really clear path of communication where department director elected would go to security and say, Hey, this person's,
you know, employment has been terminated, and they now need to be screened?
11:19:27 We can't rely on the badge. Somebody could have their badge you know. Somebody could have their badge at the time that they're letting them need to be screened. We can't rely
on the badge. You know somebody could have their badge at the time.
11:19:35 That they're let go. So I think that you know, determining those protocols which is, falls outside of this.
11:19:38 But really Key point. And yet, of course, that can be abused and we don't want to.
11:19:46 Especially given the function of courts have any appearance of favoritism.
11:19:51 So I do really appreciate that point being brought up I don't know that this level of detail needs to go into into our code, but I do think it's something we want to give a
lot of thought, too.
11:20:03 I would rather not have our employees screened every day.
11:20:06 I think it would be a very time. Intensive, stressful situation.
11:20:11 People racing in, worrying about being late. I generally really trust our employees, but I think we do need a process to be able to say, Hey, we now need to be screening this
person.
11:20:24 Okay. Let's see. Question of knives, I think, is still outstanding.
11:20:29 Or do we want to allow very small knives? Is there a definition?
11:20:34 We can fall back on from the State or feds for that, and then I think this question of law enforcement, if they are on duty, should they be allowed to carry they're on duty
and in uniform, should they be allowed to bring a weapon into the
11:20:57 courthouse, and then the question of the should plain clothes law, enforcement, or military.
11:21:07 Be screens if they're off duty.
11:21:13 And then the idea of ballots and package screening that.
11:21:21 Yeah, I mean, I think it'd be interesting to get some input from from our fellow elected on that.
11:21:25 It seems to me that a lot of the risks associated with those are actually wouldn't be picked up in screening.
11:21:30 You know we've seen how yeah powders and things like that which we wouldn't see, knowing how those boxes of ballots come in.
11:21:40 They? It seems to me it's fairly obvious something another object were in that ballot box.
11:21:45 I think that would be obvious. But again, I think requiring that is just gonna I don't think it's worth the effort.
11:21:59 And then again I do. I think it's important that we call out that the sheriff's designate sheriff and designees.
11:22:08 And again, I'd like to include the ability to bring in private security should it be needed at times that they will be armed, I think we should clarify that.
11:22:14 So those are the points I still see outstanding to do into Heidi.
11:22:20 Do you wanna respond at any other points?
11:22:24 I would just say I agree to screening for the courthouse purpose.
11:22:31 It is. It does bring up a lot of gray area.
11:22:35 When you talk about inconsistency with other locations of county business, like public health, I know, has had, you know, concerns over the last few years.
11:22:44 Regarding issues that have come up around the Coronavirus and Dcd.
11:22:50 Has been a hotbed of controversy at times, and they're up there on Castle Hill without any security.
11:22:57 So, you know. I think, that our administrative functions that our house in the courthouse have the benefit of being co-located with the courthouse security.
11:23:10 Still still leaves a pause about our other departments for me, and you know the ballots.
11:23:18 I think I often are the one who arrives early in the morning, and I'm often here when, during election season, our auditors staff are, you know, with their heads up in those
ballot boxes pulling out the ballots, and I've a number of times.
11:23:34 That? Oh, my God! What if you know some things in there?
11:23:37 And I know that there are precautions in place, and they have practices that help make sure that there's nothing nefarious in the ballot boxes.
11:23:47 But I still have a concern about this security of our elections.
11:23:52 Staff, and I don't know what other counties have done to further protect their election processes from you know nefarious activities.
11:24:03 But it would be interested in knowing that I agree wholeheartedly with Tom Tiers is, I've been I don't know what the right word is, but encouragement that we be clear and consistent.
11:24:18 I think clear, quick clarity and consistency lead leads to the best right practices of the most people like.
11:24:28 When you know clearly what's expected of you, then there is no real like gray area that you have to.
11:24:34 You know. Noodle around in to figure out if you're doing the right thing.
11:24:38 So I think, is ensuring that whatever we put in place is as clear and consistent as possible is kind of the top priority here, and I do agree with Kate's comment about screening
employees who left service.
11:25:00 You know? How do we? What procedure do we put in place so that the it was about those badges, those our necklaces are, you know, returned, or, you know, just making sure that
we're really notifying our security team of folks who you know might have some kind of
11:25:20 revenge, mentality. Those are my main, I mean just echoing what some of some of it's been said, and trying to reinforce some of the good comments that have been made.
11:25:33 Okay, great. I guess. I'll give my first impressions.
11:25:38 I hear the other electors loud and clear, that it's a value.
11:25:43 Add to have the screening at at the basement, and you know, despite my constant, risky business references, I'm okay with it.
11:25:53 I think how much to harden is always a big question, and I feel like you get diminishing returns at a certain point.
11:26:00 I think if we started to scrape all staff into the screening process I mean, I get here before the screening starts.
11:26:07 Does that mean? We start screening it? 7, 30 a. M.
11:26:10 And go tell 5, 30, you know, screening just during the public hours of the courthouse makes a lot of sense.
11:26:15 Employees don't necessarily go on that. That path also.
11:26:20 There is another entrance, you know, with a reason that we're down to one public entrance is because we can screen that.
11:26:25 But it would be impossible to screen, or it would be much more costly to screen the other entrance that employees have access to.
11:26:32 So I think it would be really problematic. 200. I do like Kate's idea about some sort of process for flagging, and the suggestion that maybe there's another policy that needs
to exist, not in code, but just that you know can be printed out and pointed to and say oh, you know.
11:26:48 you're sorry. Your exception doesn't count anymore because of this or that.
11:26:55 And Hi, I to think that oh, welcome back, Philip!
11:27:00 That a Board association card would be sufficient, and do appreciate not having different processes for different lawyers.
11:27:12 I think that's a good equity issue to a response to equity.
11:27:21 I think, wait! Can you repeat your position on that?
11:27:26 Be holding a heavy having a Bar association.
11:27:35 If that's the consensus. I don't have a problem with that as as an identification to get past the screening, or I would be fine screening every lawyer every time, too.
11:27:46 I mean, I do take Mr. You know, being the same process is what you wanna do.
11:27:52 So you just don't want different lawyers going through different processes.
11:27:55 I take that point from the testimony today, I I'm not sure if we can get a separate plan.
11:28:03 That kind of creates those guardrails that we're talking about.
11:28:08 And in time for this ordinance, but feels like we should, and I guess those are my first thoughts since we have, Mister Hunsucker here.
11:28:21 Could could I ask him a question? So, Phil, while you were gone, we've been talking about, you know, the kind of default mode to be that employees don't need to be splen and
this this also begs the question of attorneys, too.
11:28:42 But I suspect the answer is different. But would we?
11:28:46 Is there any way we could flag folks? Certainly, if they leave county employment easy enough to say, you know, even if they say they didn't weren't able to turn their badge
back in because of the nature of the departure, they didn't have it.
11:29:01 With them whatever, but blagging those folks, I guess current current in like we wouldn't wanna fly current employee, I mean, that's just thinking like people can become unstable.
11:29:16 And I worry about this with, if with attorneys, if they're just coming in and showing a bar card that doesn't mean that they're not going through a nasty divorce off-duty military
law enforcement, but I assume there's a civil
11:29:33 rights issue of flagging folks for different treatments in being screened or not.
11:29:38 Yeah, there's a potential issue, you know, disparatement issue, you know, if they're not an employee, they're not an employee.
11:29:49 And we just cause they're they have an employee card doesn't mean they're an employee.
11:29:54 So you know.
11:29:57 That news might travel slowly, though right? You could have, just because you have an employee card. It doesn't mean your employee is is the it person?
11:30:05 That's my point.
11:30:07 Yeah, right? But Sarah Melonson and Kristen Bennett work behind a door right next to security it wouldn't take a whole lot for them to inform security that this employee has
left county employment and should they enter the building, they're no longer exempt from screening although security wouldn't necessarily know them
11:30:25 by name. Well, we have their photo we could print an 11, 8 and a half by 11 sheet of paper, saying, If this person comes into the courthouse they're no longer an employee and
please screen them, hey, Philip?
11:30:39 Another question that came up from treasurer, predator was that the use of knives throughout the courthouse and break rooms and kitchens and everything?
11:30:47 And how do you make sure that dangerous knives don't come in?
11:30:51 While, you know, cutlery can, in reasonable situations, and where?
11:30:58 How do you make that definition? I mean any you know any a chair in here could be used as a weapon?
11:31:01 If you're really want to. So it's, how are you? How do you?
11:31:05 How do you? How do you skin that cat?
11:31:05 Well, you know, when I was in my old job before I came to the county, I was on the road all the time, and I had a a Tsa person take a small screwdriver from me, because it you
know violate, and I thought well, this is crazy.
11:31:32 Hmm!
11:31:25 But then, my old firm used to use those unit ball pans, you know, really strong, you know, you can use those as a webin.
11:31:35 Yeah.
11:31:37 So you know, it's just I mean, you can't get this to a level of perfection.
11:31:55 Hmm!
11:31:43 You probably could write an exception, for you know, knives being used by staff and break rooms, or something, you know, and it comes down in part 2.
11:32:00 There is, there has to be at least some amount of discretion and enforcement, and the point of you know the point of entry is what you're talking about.
11:32:11 The difficulty with employees. I'm talking about current employees who have access to to the building.
11:32:17 They can come in at an hours that there's no security there.
11:32:23 Hmm!
11:32:22 So you know, that's kind of that, I would say.
11:32:28 One of the reasons why we let them, you know we let them come in, and they could come in at off hours, and plant a night a gun, whatever.
11:32:35 It's just not practical, you know, at some level.
11:32:40 Given our situation, you know, with the security that we have.
11:32:45 You know, to regulate them at some level. So it just that's a judgment call.
11:32:51 Ultimately, you know, that has to be made by the board on which you want to do about that.
11:32:58 But you know I mean how sharp a knife do you really need?
11:33:04 Or you know, to cut a cake right? I mean, I don't know what they're people are using them for, you know, up, I mean, or you know.
11:33:14 But if you're cutting up something much tougher than that, you'd probably need an eye in sharp knife.
11:33:20 Anyway, that's my response.
11:33:20 No? Well done, we'll put that in there. How do we measure? Sure?
11:33:24 Yeah.
11:33:26 Hmm, hmm!
11:33:28 Okay.
11:33:29 The hardness of the cheese that we eat right.
11:33:34 It's a soft cheat.
11:33:34 Well, I had. I have a tool that's not a knife that'll work on pretty hard cheese, but but but I can.
11:33:42 I can see where you, you know you could conceivably need a knife or something, some cutlery for something.
11:33:50 So, some discretion, I mean is that discretion already built in cause? You know.
11:33:54 So weapons? Are it like a knife? That's a weapon.
11:34:01 Basically is is a knife.
11:34:03 I I would say I would answer your question straight up.
11:34:08 Yes, that it. There is some discretion built in.
11:34:15 Yeah. Hmm, okay, yeah. I think the first time someone comes to the courthouse with a small pocket knife, and they're they have to leave it at the security station, and the next
time they come in maybe they'll leave it in their car.
11:34:33 So I mean I entered the courthouse down in Clark County.
11:34:36 Once I had a small pocket knife, a real nice one, and they wanted to take it, and I said, Now I'll just I'll come back later and cause I didn't wanna lose possession of that
nice little knife.
11:34:51 But every time they're after, and I made sure I didn't have anything in my pockets except my wallet.
11:34:57 Yeah. Leave the new Chaka sticks in the car.
11:35:01 Let's say that as many times as I can today rarely comes up in our.
11:35:04 That's right, right. It's Corkscrew is at Tsa that I was getting.
11:35:10 I don't know I'm gonna have to call you out on that, Greg.
11:35:13 You got me. You got me on the Secretary of Transportation.
11:35:23 Oh! Another question. I didn't bring up was Bobby.
11:35:28 And you know some of which are very regular, like, operate as staff, like the Guardian Atlanta.
11:35:37 That's a tough one. Yeah. Our veterans.
11:35:42 So I think that's one that warrants some attention.
11:35:45 Also.
11:35:55 Seems like an appropriate guardrail for volunteers is already in there. Right? Yeah, although you could see that those would vary easily, get outdated or not be current.
11:36:06 Yeah, and that somebody running a volunteer program might not ask for it back when they leave.
11:36:12 You know? Just kind of drop off, but then they still maintain access.
11:36:16 Then all kind of talks about a database that the screening deputies would need access to right.
11:36:25 And yeah, that seems cumbersome. So?
11:36:34 I think Staff would appreciate maybe comments that are more specific for the language you'd like to see other than I think.
11:36:43 This is more attention, because you know what kind of attention does it need?
11:36:48 Do we eliminate volunteers and require them? To be sure, because I can imagine the inaccuracy.
11:36:56 I mean, how many volunteers did Willie have during the pandemic?
11:36:58 That came into the courthouse well, who could have come into the White House? Yeah.
11:37:03 So if he has 500 at any time, you know, maybe 50 of them are no longer volunteers, but they might still have a card so you're suggesting, maybe just take I want to bring in
ordinance. Yeah, back to you.
11:37:16 And have you say what we did? Nothing with that paragraph, and we were that subparagraph.
11:37:23 So, yeah, what about what? What is work?
11:37:26 Is important is your pleasure on that particular section. Yup.
11:37:32 Would there be like a term like some kind of security clearance?
11:37:38 I've got this one from. Sorry I'll turn off.
11:37:42 My, but it's like just a badge like the Us.
11:37:45 Capital gives out for the day, but maybe we have one. That's for a month, or I don't know.
11:37:51 How do we? How can we clear people for a longer period of time?
11:37:54 I guess what I'm after, or if someone's a volunteer, for example.
11:38:00 You know, an effective way would be an electronic system where everyone gets a Proxcart.
11:38:07 And we could have a reader and it'd be a central database.
11:38:09 Yeah, well, yeah, sure, they're called prox cards, and they communicate with the device.
11:38:18 They send a little signal out like you said I mean, I have one to get into the jail, and the minute I shouldn't have access to the jail someone goes in and disables the card.
11:38:30 How much would 300 is 50 of those cost? I don't know the answer to that.
11:38:34 How much?
11:38:36 It wouldn't be cheap. You know, and someone would have to be assigned the duty of keeping that database up to date seems a lot of you know. I think we're trying to thread the
needle here between too much bureaucracy.
11:38:48 And you know too much time and effort devoted to this.
11:38:49 While achieving a satisfactory level of security. I have an idea what about in the exceptions where we talk about employees and volunteers that we require that they'd be duty
on duty.
11:39:06 And here, for specifically for county business, and that would that provide?
11:39:10 Maybe the ability to flag folks who we're concerned are going through a hard time are involved in the court system.
11:39:17 For some reason, to at least be able to say, Hey, you know this I rent, I know, I mean I I think, having communication with our folks and security is really important.
11:39:29 So that department directors feel like they can go to them and say, Hey, there's I'm a little concerned about this person.
11:39:34 If they're not on duty or, you know, to hear, for courts can can we flag it?
11:39:41 But that does like being on duty or not does provide us some ability to dial it in a little better.
11:39:48 I think.
11:39:50 I think the difficulty with that is keeping track of that right.
11:39:54 You'd have to have someone who would keep track of that, and that would be that would add a level of complexity.
11:40:00 That will be, I think it would be difficult. I mean, I was thinking about Mark's idea of the cards.
11:40:07 You know we had that in the elevator for couple years people had access to the third floor.
11:40:13 You just go and put your, you know, card up against the thing and you could go up to the third floor.
11:40:19 That's basically what Mark's talking about. And so I think everybody on the third floor had those cards.
11:40:29 Why?
11:40:28 So we probably, you know, we probably could figure out what the cost would be on annual basis.
11:40:35 So I don't think those systems are too expensive. We had that at the Maritime center for our employees and volunteers, and it was a pretty effective system.
11:40:45 Why? Why was that discontinued for the third floor?
11:40:48 Philip.
11:40:55 Bye, bye!
11:40:48 Because they moved security down to the basement. So you know, everybody was getting screen, whereas before security was up on the second floor, and you could get in the elevator
at the basement and go up to third floor if you didn't have that and there was it still, wasn't perfect but.
11:41:11 And so to do something like that here would be you would come in and hold up your thing in front of security, and it would give a green lighter red light and red light would
get screened, and green light would go.
11:41:25 Yeah. It would signal that the card was properly issued and is valid.
11:41:29 For example, the west stairwell, we put a proxy card.
11:41:33 Reader on it. So Judge Mack has one. I would imagine Sophie Nordstrom has one Amanda Hamilton might have one.
11:41:43 Any staff that needs access to that to the Judges chambers, or to the clerk's office could be issued a card and the door won't open if it's not a valid activated card.
11:41:57 I realize it would be an investment of capacity. But I kinda like that idea.
11:42:04 Not kind of. I like that idea. Excuse me.
11:42:10 I'm neutral to the idea, and I guess I'd want to see how much it costs, so I wouldn't recommend codifying that right.
11:42:18 Yeah, in this, however, it, you know, we can certainly investigate the feasibility of doing such a thing.
11:42:30 Put a prox reader on the west entrance and the parking lot entrance, as well as the front.
11:42:36 So the employees and the benefit of that. Well, we also have security cameras.
11:42:41 That record people as they come into the building and move about but a proxc card reader would would date, stamp.
11:42:49 Okay, man, you know what date, what time? And who was it and so we'd have that record that could be useful at times.
11:42:59 Of course. Come up to the microphone, please. The nice thing about a proxy card.
11:43:08 You can eliminate the keys and the proxy card can be turned off or turned on at anywhere.
11:43:15 So, if there's some reason that that employee or volunteer decides, you know or it's decided that they're not worthy to come in, it's easily turned off so they wouldn't have
Umhm.
11:43:31 Yeah, right? Thank you. And it's also it would be supported by this ordinance which just says, If you're a volunteer with the valid card, I mean, it's we wouldn't have to change
anything in the ordinance as written right now to include prox and we would have to scope it
11:43:48 out what it would cost to run wire, because these are computer enabled readers.
11:43:54 And so they would have to connect to the system that that authorizes entry and activates the cards.
11:44:04 And then how much is each card? And I would imagine that as volunteers come and go if we were to issue them.
11:44:11 Developmenteers that many of them would disappear overtime.
11:44:16 I'm no longer volunteer. I don't have my card.
11:44:19 I don't know where it went, so it's disabled.
11:44:21 They can't use it. But the dollar 50 that we invested in that cart is gone.
11:44:26 But probably a lot cheaper than a key. Hmm! And plus the key that's there forever. Yeah.
11:44:33 But we don't issue keys. The volunteers very frequently so.
11:44:40 I still think that maybe specifying employees or and current volunteers, and maybe specifying who are here on county business or just adding on duty before employees on duty
employees or volunteers of Jefferson County. Yeah, that's how we?
11:44:59 What do you think about that, Heidi? For 3 a.
11:45:02 Under exceptions. 5, 3. A.
11:45:07 Sorry I like it.
11:45:08 And I would say, and it would say what it would just say under 5, 3, a.
11:45:14 The words on duty would be added before employees, so on duty, employees or volunteers.
11:45:26 Yeah.
11:45:26 Oh, so if I'm an employee, and I've got the day off, and I wanna come in and get my tags, I gotta go through screening.
11:45:34 Well, I I think probably security wouldn't know that.
11:45:38 But if somebody had an employee going through a very ugly court proceeding, the director would be able to say to security, Hey, just so, you know, you know, this employee is
not on duty today might be able to just flag.
11:45:52 Give the opportunity for to flag if there's extenuating circumstances where screening might be appropriate. If they're not here for business.
11:46:05 What do you think, Mark?
11:46:09 Yeah. I'm just trying to think about execution of that.
11:46:16 I mean, it would still have to be a matter of interpretation.
11:46:19 By the screeners. Right? So they're not gonna know that.
11:46:22 Oh, yeah, you're taking a day off today. They're not gonna know that it's it would be kind of explicitly off duty, or they're no longer a volunteer and probably extraordinary
circumstances.
11:46:34 Like if somebody is suspended from their work, or, you know, removed from duty under investigation or.
11:46:42 Again. So you have hung sucker. I wanna weigh in on that.
11:46:45 I would just say that you add an element of a potential retaliation in there.
11:46:51 If you do that, you know, or alleged retaliation.
11:46:56 So I would say, the less discretion that you give, the safer you are from claim against us. Perspective.
11:47:05 Do you think just adding on duty makes that?
11:47:09 You know I mean, what does that mean? Am I always on duty am I only on duty?
11:47:18 You know, when the courthouse is open, I'm having.
11:47:22 I think there's some vagueness to that, too.
11:47:26 I think it's really gonna be really hard to. And I mean, I get the added security that it potentially gives.
11:47:34 But I think the enforceability of it will. We'll make it difficult and and maybe not as useful as as the intent was clearly, you want to be able to.
11:47:47 You know, you know, if you know someone is, you know, a threat.
11:47:56 Then, you know, you wanna be able to deal with it. But maybe there's other ways that already exist to deal with that that you know this. You can't get this perfect. I don't
think.
11:48:05 I mean setting up communication between department heads and the screening staff seems logical, and we've talked a lot about that.
11:48:14 Anyways, I mean, regardless of like. If there was a staff or a volunteer who seemed like they were in a bad, bad way and potentially a threat even with it, as written employees
or volunteers, you could still notify security they should be screened right I don't know that could be arbitrary you
11:48:36 know different treatment.
11:48:38 So so I guess you know, maybe you could put the concept of a valid badge, or whatever's in there, or valid id.
11:48:49 And that would let you later, you know. Maybe we could write a policy that addresses this.
11:49:07 So? Who?
11:48:57 You know. What does that mean? Cause? I think if you had a policy to back it up, you'd have less risk of being challenged for being.
11:49:09 And.
11:49:09 I'm sorry. So you're suggesting on 3 a employees or volunteers at Jefferson County who present or wear a valid county, issued picture. Id.
11:49:19 Yes, and then, you know, if you were, if you were going to implement a system, you know, of you know, swipe cards, or whatever the right word is, you control it.
11:49:34 At that point. And could have a policy that talks about that, or a resolution you could pass for that that we didn't like that out, and, you know, might have some ability to
pull someone's card.
11:49:51 Make it not valid. Right? Switch off, but you would have criteria for that, and the more you have criteria for that, those safer you are from, you know, abuse of discretion,
kind of perspective.
11:50:04 Does that make sense?
11:50:04 Perfect, yeah, what do you think, Kate? Yeah, I think it still doesn't give us the ability to flag.
11:50:11 If there's concern about somebody here for other business, you know.
11:50:16 Just again the nature of the courts, or a grievance, you know, if they're on work time, we obviously have more discretion to ask people to leave, or as employees.
11:50:32 But if we're trying to kind of prevent people from entering without being screened, if they are in some sort of crisis, I just think we're limiting that ability.
11:50:44 But you know I mean it. This stuff is so hard because there's, of course, a lot of potential for this.
11:50:50 We see it all over the country all the time, and yet and so it's you know, that the threat feels real, but it's also probably a very small yeah risk.
11:51:02 And yet it's one incidence that is tragedy that we're trying to avoid.
11:51:08 So it's it's hard to know how much to box us in.
11:51:14 That's well said, and and that's why you're the legislative authority of the county.
11:51:23 And that's why you're our legal counsel.
11:51:30 Hiidi, how are you feeling? What do you?
11:51:33 What I mean.
11:51:35 I don't think I have the same level of.
11:51:40 Concern about the rogue.
11:51:44 Wednesday employee trying to renew their tabs and going.
11:51:49 Rogue, I don't know, feels like something I need to think on more, but.
11:51:59 It is super complex, and I don't think we're gonna find any solution that's gonna you know, ameliorate.
11:52:06 And you can all the concerns that we could come up with, like, we need the policy that is clear, consistent, and takes care of the 95% of things we're trying to get at.
11:52:21 Yeah. And remember, 5 years ago we had no security whatsoever.
11:52:26 Right.
11:52:27 And we have super grateful, and I feel really strong team.
11:52:33 And this is in support of their work. Right? So how are we best supporting the work of our team?
11:52:38 Doing, the security.
11:52:42 Hi! I do think, adding the word ballot is a good idea, because it allows you to.
11:52:50 You know, basically enforce that. You know, you could do it through the card system or the system that Mark talked about a minute ago, where you just let people know that people
aren't employees anymore.
11:53:03 Or both. Yup!
11:53:05 Or both.
11:53:09 And you know how I mean. So they have to go through security.
11:53:16 Not the worst thing in the world right?
11:53:21 Well, I still think that on duty provides a little layer of protection, too, that we could so tough to define.
11:53:30 I have to side with Hunsucker on their side.
11:53:33 I don't know. We have a lot of volunteers if I I ran into pick up something, and I'm not actually doing any work.
11:53:40 Here am I on duty but I don't, and we have a lot of volunteers, and if I run into, pick up something, and I'm not then it's not gonna be an issue.
11:53:50 They won't know what you're here for. It won't matter, but then they could, and so maybe I don't get asked but you know the new staff are at the clerk does get asked, and so
we're being treated differently.
11:54:02 But I think, if the policy is that that only gets triggered if there's a concern, and why doesn't just adding valid do the same thing?
11:54:13 If you've got it, that id that you can turn on and off.
11:54:15 So you could always verify an id, and you could let security know.
11:54:19 Hey, this person does not have a valid id anymore, because it no longer an employee or no longer a volunteer.
11:54:25 Well, if there's a a labor grievance and an investigation going on which you know, this is a fairly common cause of workplace violence, people aren't necessarily off duty.
11:54:36 They can still be coming to work. Philip's admonition about retaliation is a real concern, because if an employee files a grievance against the county and then all of a sudden
that person has to go through screen, I think that's a textbook case of retaliation
11:54:57 am I wrong, Philip?
11:55:00 Like I mean, it could be.
11:55:01 Well, I would say I'd be concerned very concerned about that.
11:55:05 I would to answer your question, yes or no.
11:55:09 I'd need to have more facts. How's that for a lawyer?
11:55:11 Answer.
11:55:11 Oh, very good! And another concern, too, is we talk about triggers.
11:55:15 So you have an employee that's having a remarkably difficult time coping with life.
11:55:20 And now, all of a sudden, you gotta go through screening, and that could just ratchet up the stress to another level that could trigger something. I don't know.
11:55:32 I'm not a psychologist, but certainly that would add to the stress, but it would only be if they were here for a reason other than work.
11:55:47 Which gets to the kind of nefarious, you know, coming in from the various purposes that that could be triggered well, to go to things, I think, just to change the topic a little
bit.
11:56:01 I do feel like the I think it was, Mister Chee.
11:56:05 She talked about Section 3, and making sure that we add the caveat that our screening deputies and courtroom deputies can be armed is important, because right now they can't
appro according to my reading, of it.
11:56:19 Hmm, Yup agreed, and I am curious about some of the exceptions, like off-duty law enforcement officers.
11:56:27 Why? Why is there an exception for off-duty law enforcement officers?
11:56:31 I'm not. I just don't understand. Share of know.
11:56:35 Is he still with us?
11:56:40 Hmm answer. I'm duty law enforcement officers.
11:56:44 Be allowed to carry their weapons. Right? Yeah, I think a very large percentage of off-duty law enforcement carry their weapons and I'm not an expert on that.
11:56:54 So maybe Sheriff Noel can confirm that or say otherwise.
11:57:00 Yes, sorry about that. My computer decided to reboot in the middle of the meeting.
11:57:03 Oh!
11:57:06 You know that you know a lot of officers where they're weapons off duty.
11:57:14 We don't require that at the sheriff's office, but the idea being that they could take Enforcement action if necessary.
11:57:20 You know the commission that we carry is good. 24Â h a day.
11:57:27 A person, probably get in trouble for this, but I would have no, I put it I, personally would have no problem, not carrying my firearm into the courthouse if I was off duty.
11:57:38 Very rarely do I come there, when I'm off duty, you know I just recently I've been there to get some tabs for my car.
11:57:45 And it's I was thinking of this cause.
11:57:47 I'm normally in uniform. So when I came in and playing clothes, so Security wanted me to go around the thing, and I said, No, no, I'm gonna go through it.
11:57:54 Hmm!
11:57:56 And like Mark said, I had a little tiny Swiss army knife that I felt obligated to show, cause. I know it would have went off in the screen anyway, but the next time I went I
left it out my clar, so you know there may be some you know the one thing I
11:58:11 would say that have an off-duty officers armed in the courthouse is another level of security.
11:58:17 If you want to say if something did go wrong, but it in to me, you know, keeping the rules and the technicalities, you know.
11:58:27 Simple, either, all cops can work guns in the courthouse or you have to be on duty.
11:58:48 Yes, thank you.
11:58:34 So I don't have a I don't have a problem with that. But there would be a level of security that would be lost because you could have a potential other person who could help
out if someone bad and firearms were required that answers the question.
11:58:53 Yes, a few, a few suggestions there on duty off duty, plaintiffs in uniform.
11:59:02 If I could just add one thing, though, I know Chuck Henry who I'm friends with you know I was a detective.
11:59:12 Yup!
11:59:10 Most of my career, and I'm usually always in playing clothes, and I think it would.
11:59:16 It I wouldn't. I would be opposed to that if you come to testify in court as A is off duty, are not off duty, but as a plain close that you wouldn't have your firearm cause.
11:59:25 You're you're still on duty.
11:59:30 And so that'd be one. I would like that to be known that you know.
11:59:36 Just like to me it would be no different than a uniformed officer having to take their gun off if they came into the courthouse.
11:59:40 I mean, other people know that we are. And when I say other people, I mean people not necessarily courthouse workers know that we're law enforcement, and I think that we should
be our playing close or not off duty is another thing.
11:59:55 Do you think that should extend to military as well, Joe?
11:59:59 I don't. I don't I? You know I don't know where that came from.
12:00:02 I don't know if that's a common practice somewhere.
12:00:04 I thought I mean you have to risk me getting myself in trouble.
12:00:10 I don't know why that would be an exception.
12:00:13 Personally, I mean, I don't. You know, military. If they were like in uniform and doing something where they carried guns, that'd be one thing, but just because they're military
and come in, that they would have an exception that they could carry.
12:00:23 Well, it's on duty military, and I don't know.
12:00:27 Has there been an occasion for I meet with members of the military here they are on navy business.
12:00:38 But yeah, administrative.
12:00:39 Yeah, my experience with the military is they don't usually don't have, and I worked at Indian Island security for a couple of years.
12:00:49 You know they don't carry weapons unless something's going on.
12:00:52 Right, typically members of the military that carry weapons or their shore patrol or military police.
12:00:59 And if if they were to come to this courthouse for some sort of official proceedings, I think they would come on armed.
12:01:10 But in the event they came armed. I don't see why we wouldn't allow them into the building with their weapons well, it's prohibited, as this is written, I believe, right.
12:01:26 I mean, no one could be in there here without weapons.
12:01:31 Well, it's prohibited, as this is written, I believe, right? I mean, no one could be in the here without weapons, as it is right now, so I don't think they're allowed to carry.
12:01:37 They just aren't screen well on duty, which I mean, I think, too, with port towns and police, they actually have jurisdiction over the building, cause we're or no, they don't.
12:01:46 Yeah, well, they have any crime that occurs. They do.
12:01:51 Right, yeah. Heidi, you can go ahead and go to your new meeting, and it it is 120'clock.
12:02:01 I don't know. It doesn't seem like we're quite ready to take action.
12:02:04 So right, that's the only portion of the well. Yeah, you know, I feel I saw that there are some of the public that have raising their hand again.
12:02:16 And this is not where we don't want to get into a back and forth with the public that can go on for ages.
12:02:20 I don't know, Heidi. You wanna leave testimony written testimony open for the net.
12:02:26 While we consider this this week.
12:02:28 Yeah, I think that would be good. And I thought Sheriff Noah had his hand up again.
12:02:32 Yeah, I just wanted to be clear that a member of the military who's on official business, and you know, and they I wouldn't be opposed to them bringing a firearm into the courthouse
if that was part of their normal duty.
12:02:48 Okay, well, we're not gonna be able to.
12:02:49 Just like, and I should say just just like port channels at least coming in, or something.
12:02:54 Right, you want to extend the written testimony to 4, 30 on the 20.
12:02:59 Fourth sounds good. I will. I will close the oral portion of the hearing, and we will keep written testimony open until 2, 24, at 4 30 p.
12:03:13 M. You can send emails into Jeff Bocc at Co.
12:03:17 Dot, Jefferson, dotw us to give any written testimony, and I will and respect for Heidi's meeting at noon.
12:03:26 We will recess until 1 30, when we will come back.
12:03:29 I think we have a 1 30 item, and then after that we will continue deliberation although I don't think Mr.
12:03:35 Hunsucker. I wonder if we want to put this off till next week?
12:03:39 I think we've.
12:03:45 So should we continue this next week, I would recommend that.
12:03:52 I'm just point of order since I was gone. Yeah, was the test money closed on this?
12:04:02 Okay.
12:03:59 Oral testimony has been closed, and we're accepting written testimony until 2, 24, at 4, 30.
12:04:04 Thank you, appreciate it.
12:04:06 And just a reminder that transit is from 3 to 5 today.
12:04:10 So!
12:04:11 Yep, thank you. Yes, so we will be done here by 30'clock today.
12:04:16 Alright we're we'll see you back.
12:04:17 I'm sorry just to be clear, so that this part of the meeting is gonna continue later or not. Today.
12:04:23 Correct it'll connect correct, probably next week. Next Monday.
12:04:26 Okay.
12:04:27 We'll try and find a time on the agenda that works for you.
12:04:31 Joe and Philip.
12:04:31 Okay. Thanks.
13:30:44 Mute Our A A Capture.
13:30:49 Recording stuff.
13:30:56 Yep.
13:30:52 The transit.
13:31:00 Monty joining us as well today, virtually it should be here, and that's it.
13:31:07 Yeah, okay.
13:31:13 Hello, heidi!
13:31:17 Hi!
13:31:17 All right. Are we ready?
13:31:20 Great. I will call this meeting of the Board of County Commissioners back into Session.
13:31:25 We're joined by our solid waste manager.
13:31:29 And Al Karens, and also imminently by our public public works.
13:31:36 Director. Montana. So we're gonna get an update on the solid waste strategic planning process.
13:31:44 You. Yeah, take her away. Al, glad to have you here, let me just play with the script.
13:31:50 Sorry I got this. Yeah, okay, the microphone right up close would be to the microphone right up close to the microphone, right up close. It'd be better to hear the Zoom.
13:32:06 Yeah, Heidi will be really our barometer, for whether oh, here he is, speak of the devil!
13:32:09 I expect them to be chart truce every time he walks in the room.
13:32:12 Now for sure. Number one, yeah, thanks for being here, Monty.
13:32:23 We were just getting started alright. Well, thanks for having us here today.
13:32:27 We just wanted to review wherever we're at with our planning process for solid waste facility, replacement.
13:32:34 It's a roughly a 12 month process that we're engaged in.
13:32:40 We're oh, I guess about a quarter of the way through now, so we thought it.
13:32:44 It would be an opportunity time to brief the board on where we're at with the process now, and also to talk a little bit about the Site selection process, which is a bit further
off.
13:32:55 Maybe 3, 4 months down the road. There are some candidates, sites that would likely rise to the top, and we wanted to read where they may be and get some feedback on those.
13:33:12 Got it so first we should start with why we're engaged in this planning process.
13:33:21 Sorry. So there's there's really 3 principal drivers.
13:33:30 Alright!
13:33:35 Capacity is one of them. The transfer station was designed to handle a maximum 50 tons per day and 2,022 we average 77 tons per day.
13:33:47 We had a couple of days where we went over 120 tons in a single day.
13:33:54 You know we've added staff to a comedy.
13:33:57 You know that overage in design, capacity, but we definitely feel the stream some days.
13:34:11 It doesn't like that. No, it doesn't.
13:34:14 Costs are increasing, as you can imagine, with any aging industrial facility.
13:34:20 The transfer station was built in 1,992.
13:34:23 Our maintenance and capital expenditures are increasing. We'll have a more detailed report on that trend line upwards shortly.
13:34:35 One of the larger capital projects that we just completed was the pit scale replacement project.
13:34:45 This was a roughly $300 project more. Such capital!
13:34:50 Intense projects are are planned for the near future.
13:34:54 Congestion is continuing to be a problem on the photo on the left you can see the outbound traffic flow during the pit scale replacement project.
13:35:05 Those were 2 weeks that both our customers and staff would probably like to forget.
13:35:10 It was a challenge meeting customer demand during that project.
13:35:16 The photo on the right shows the queueing lean into the transfer station.
13:35:20 That link can often get really backed up, mostly owing to the outbound lane being too short.
13:35:27 So at times we have to only allow, you know, at a ratio of 2 to one traffic inbound versus 2 cars out and it's frustrating for our customers who are sitting there waiting watching
an empty floor.
13:35:43 But we've got it. Manage the outbound lane first.
13:35:47 So we're over design capacity. Our costs are increasing, and we've got suboptimal traffic flow.
13:35:54 We could probably call that sub suboptimal traffic.
13:35:59 So the time is now to start planning, considering that either a rebuilt or remade facility at the current site or a new facility elsewhere, will take 5 to 7 years.
13:36:11 So as an essential public service you know, we've got 32,000 current or near future customers, and so a planning process like this is going to rely on a very robust public interface
to gain information about what services people to desire and and at what level we can
13:36:34 deliver those services, so, in order to assist in this planning process, the Board has appointed these task force members to work with staff and a consultant, we yeah, no, that's
fine.
13:36:52 Thank you. I was thinking this had gotten even more sensitive.
13:37:02 I just love this be reminded, who's on the okay? Thanks.
13:37:06 So we tried to imagine, you know, a really diverse set of area of expertise and and representation.
13:37:16 We do have a vacant district, 2 citizen position on there, and we are actively recruiting for that position both on Swack and for this planning process.
13:37:29 We're fortunate to have retained the services of Vaik environmental engineers.
13:37:37 This is a relatively small engineering firm out of Edmunds, but they're their entire focus is on solid waste management and planning.
13:37:46 There's a pretty deep reserve here of expertise.
13:37:51 So we're fortunate to have them on board, and then, of course, we have dedicated all available public Works staff to the project money myself and Justin misco our operations
coordinator.
13:38:07 And we've imagined a fully integrated planning team.
13:38:12 Yeah, so rather than just have an advisory committee.
13:38:18 The task, force. The consultant and staff will be developing a final recommendation to the Board.
13:38:25 Next slide, so we've used the Bermuda triangle model of integrated team planning processes here next slide.
13:38:34 So at the end of all of our work, which we hope to have completed in December of this year, it will be a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.
13:38:45 And it will describe how the facilities should function where they should be located and how we're going to pay for it.
13:38:54 To date. We have some of our work. Product includes a technical memo on the current facilities.
13:39:01 Replacement costs that's critical to kind of set a baseline for our work here, and also at factors into our fee schedule planning as well and then we've got oh, back one.
13:39:13 We've also got a draft. Outreach needs assessment, and that was largely informed of feedback from the task force.
13:39:25 And then we've got a draft project work plan and a project team charter.
13:39:31 The team charter sets our goals some of our guiding principles, and it also gives us some framework for decision making as well.
13:39:40 Both of these are in draft form now, but at our at our next meeting in March we will adopt them formally.
13:39:50 We also have a current assessment study being done, we hope to be able to present that at our March meeting as well, and that will kind of grade the condition of all of our
solid waste assets.
13:40:03 Yes, definitely. So here's our our high level schedule of our work.
13:40:15 You can see we're about to move into a meeting with the task force and consultant in March, mid march.
13:40:24 Will adopt some of those guiding documents, and then we're also going to start aining what level of service we could provide in terms of really just this, the range of services.
13:40:39 So we're we're asking our task force to dream big right now.
13:40:44 Next slide, please. So this is the aspirational phase, nothing's off the table right now, and we've gotten some really good feedback.
13:40:56 So far from from both the task force and some other stakeholder groups in the county.
13:41:05 So these are. This is a very short list of some of the feedback that we're getting from stakeholders in the task force.
13:41:13 On! What a future facility could be either a reimagined and rebuilt one on at the current.
13:41:20 Say, or elsewhere in the county. So if we were thinking about what kind of pickup truck we wanted, instead of a transfer station, then it would probably look like this.
13:41:33 Can I ask you about one of those criteria?
13:41:35 There, and that's reuse of materials which I know.
13:41:38 Come up all the time from the public, and also is kind of the bread and butter of solid waste I'm just curious where where staff is on that particular suggestion right now,
is there a way that can be nestled in?
13:41:52 Do you think we could? It depends on it essentially depends on where you're collecting revenue right now.
13:41:57 Is there a way that so you know, most sites will have the recycling facility and waste ofversion, facilities ahead of the scale?
13:42:06 So there's no charge. The easy way to be able to accommodate your operations and maintenance needs and keep the fund solving is to charge a fee, probably at a reduced fee for
those waste aversion activities.
13:42:20 Gotcha. So it just depends on where you put your scales.
13:42:23 Really thanks. I put sense behind it for the first time. Thank you.
13:42:28 So this is the pickup truck version of what's being imagined for a new transfer station.
13:42:38 And and that's fine. This this is.
13:42:42 This is what we're after right now is, you know, this is aspirational moment.
13:42:46 Let's say, in 1972, so we're aspiring for sure.
13:42:55 That's it. And then when we get to this point in our planning process, and we look at the hard numbers for what all of our aspirations would likely cost us, then the reality
may be next slide, please.
13:43:15 A great truck out.
13:43:10 Yeah, which is, yeah, it's solid waste.
13:43:21 So!
13:43:26 Can hear. Monty!
13:43:28 Microphone. Yeah, there's a difference in designed by committee and getting, you know, feedback from all the stakeholders and feedback and incorporating what makes sense is
one thing, but designed by committee, you usually don't end up with anything that you wanted.
13:43:45 Cause. There's just so many compromises, so that's why we have concerns and staff involved.
13:43:53 And in in the process, you know.
13:43:55 So!
13:43:59 So even if we can't afford this, then the reality. When we get into site selection, and we consider what properties are available, then it may turn out next slide.
13:44:15 That we can't even fit our aspirations onto the properties that we have available.
13:44:22 So some of the citing factors are found in our solid waste management plan.
13:44:27 These aren't completely exhaustive of all the stating factors, but they're the ones that you would most suspect.
13:44:33 You would find in here.
13:44:38 And then one thing that's not considered in the solid waste management plan in terms of saving criteria is the current material flow.
13:44:49 So all of our inbound materials are coming from all across East Jefferson County and finding their way at the current transfer station, where they then go outbound and and for
essentially in the opposite direction.
13:45:06 So based on that our current material management. These are some of the site selection criteria, that staff are bringing to the table.
13:45:18 It needs to be east of the North, South. Access of the current facility north of Highway 104, and access has to be off of main arterials and then we've also got some additional
citing considerations.
13:45:32 One is the potential for co-location of the roads and fleet shops.
13:45:38 Whether or not a different site would accommodate the co-location.
13:45:43 Whether or not it's large enough for disaster, debris, management.
13:45:47 Currently, the comprehensive plan has a large aspiration that our current facilities could manage a large-scale disaster debris, management, scenario.
13:45:58 Those are aspirational, probably not grounded in reality.
13:46:01 Given the current site, configuration locations also, whether or not we could just have a single solid waste facility instead of 2.
13:46:14 And then there's whether or not there's a potential for a partnership with Clown county material management, and also whether or not that location can help us reduce our total
carbon footprint.
13:46:26 Al, did you say whether the existing transfer station property is an option?
13:46:32 It is. Yes, in fact, that will be our first consideration whether we we can remake the current facility, and we'll look at a slide in a little bit about what our current constraints
are on that property, and then also the potential for the 80 acres adjacent to
13:46:50 it. So our candidate properly should be located in the Port Townsend area or the Tr area, or along the highway.
13:46:59 104 corridor.
13:47:02 So this is showing the current facility. I put the recycling facility in the tipping floor there for reference.
13:47:12 You can see in the orangeish outline.
13:47:18 There, that's the property that's available for development.
13:47:23 In purple is the property that's currently under lease.
13:47:29 Through an inter local agreement by the city's bio. Sell!
13:47:32 It's composting facility. To the west is a close landfill which could be redeveloped for anything but passive recreation, and perhaps another 3 years.
13:47:45 There's a closed septage lagoon, also kind of out of bounds to the right.
13:47:54 In that outline there raid off of Jacob Miller Road.
13:47:58 That's the Gun Club. Least property we could potentially think about relocation of that.
13:48:05 But I understand that the County and the Gun Club are in a happy place right now, and we probably don't want to upset that arrangement it's a lot of bullets to clean up.
13:48:18 Arrow is right there. Okay, Gotcha, that's all done. Orange.
13:48:23 Everything in the Orange dashed line is the Gun Club.
13:48:27 That's right. And so, yeah.
13:48:37 And that's right. And that's critical. To continue to right.
13:48:40 I mean, like we're dependent on it for even the sewer project.
13:48:44 Wow! 30 of that nice to the southwest there, right?
13:48:52 That's what I was trying to get my!
13:48:58 To utilize that site, we'd have to think about a major traffic revision if we're you know, our ambulance is to shoot for a forty-year service horizon.
13:49:09 It's a pretty large capital expenditure. And so you want to extend your service life out as far as you can, so we'd have to make a major traffic revision here.
13:49:16 Perhaps an inbound lane on Gun Club Road, and outbound in the current arrangement, and then there's the 80 acres to this hour.
13:49:29 That's okay. The 80 acre parcel to the south, outlined in light blue.
13:49:34 That is currently zoned as essential public facility, waste management.
13:49:38 It's one of 2 very unique zoning, underlying zoning designations, the other being the airport.
13:49:47 So this was designated for future expansion as a response to the Growth Management Act, which required counties to look far over the horizon about difficult to place facilities.
13:50:01 So this is the area that's currently kind of slated for development, for future expansion.
13:50:09 I should also point out that the the Tr area uga didn't exist at the time, either.
13:50:23 Can't hear you, Monty.
13:50:27 Oh, no cause I'm Al student 98% of the I was just gonna say that these sites are definitely, you know, on the, on the table, in, in the discussion whether it's a reimagine facility
where we're at or this property that's
13:50:44 outlined in blue, that's already zone properly, but we don't, wanna, you know, jump to any conclusions that these are the only sites in the county that make sense for the future.
13:50:56 But they're, you know, definitely again, strong candidates in the mix you know the main problem like Al, said one of the main problems with our existing facility, is the our
ingress and egress is jammed up against the North property line with no real way of moving that there's
13:51:16 wetlands to the just to the south of the pavement.
13:51:20 So it's it's threading the needle between a property line and a and a pond.
13:51:27 And you know, when we've had issues at the transfer station projects and things we've seen traffic backup all the way onto Jacob Miller Road.
13:51:36 There, and we probably all recognize that that intersection with Jacob Miller wrote, is suboptimal, to use Als word.
13:51:45 You know it's got. It's on a curve with a hill that you can't see over.
13:51:49 So, again, if we were going to use that site and I don't want to dive too far into the weeds.
13:51:55 But really would have to solve that issue at this site as well with intersection reconfiguration, and figuring out how to create longer, create more vehicle storage.
13:52:07 For traffic. Is it possible? Go ahead. Sorry.
13:52:09 Hey? Mark? Okay. Sorry. How much of the like to the south of the current.
13:52:16 Basically underneath the recycling tipping forwards, there is wetland, is is that not delineated here?
13:52:24 Or is it that whole yellow elevation line?
13:52:29 I don't think that just, you know, like where the words recycling slash, tipping floor written.
13:52:34 Yeah.
13:52:37 Oh!
13:52:34 That's not Wetland there. For the most part it's just forested.
13:52:40 So where were you saying There's a wetland, is it like under the Red Arrow, or?
13:52:42 Right on the south side, between the animal shelter and the road coming into the transfer station.
13:52:50 Oh!
13:52:50 So right next, right along the road, coming in.
13:52:54 I see. But the okay.
13:53:00 Okay.
13:52:59 Yeah, yeah, so there is potentially some usable space, you know, underneath where that lettering, recycling slash tipping floors written course right now, it's being used to
walk animals from the shelter.
13:53:16 But there's there's some locations here, but maybe not quite as much room as people think, because of the amount of area on the property.
13:53:25 That's consumed by closed landfills.
13:53:30 And least to the city, I think is, or to you know, the Gun Club, or the fire Department, or whatever I think is probably the point I was trying to make one of them, at least
can I ask one clarifying question about that?
13:53:45 It's so, permutations with this as a possible site include expansion. And if the existing kind of property expansion into the 80 acres potentially as another egress ingress
place. And then, also as 2 satellites is that still in an option, or do you okay.
13:54:06 You know, pretty pretty much at the beginning of our planning process.
13:54:12 It's it's really once we get into site selection that will be able to.
13:54:16 And we need some more information, too, in terms of you know, cost benefit analysis between different sites.
13:54:23 All of these options are will be up on the wall, so to speak, and will identify.
13:54:28 Likely cost. And then, you know, benefit to cost ratio for all of them.
13:54:33 Great.
13:54:37 And so now we're down in port in Purple.
13:54:43 His county owned property, that that actually extends to to the east of the road.
13:54:50 There, too, by another, maybe 10 or 15 acres, so you probably know it as the Bob Bates Memorial Fields, you know, we can't build on on the topography outside of the ball fields.
13:55:07 You know what the slope is just too great to overcome.
13:55:11 There and then next slide. And there's some obvious political considerations to suggesting that we, you know, put a transfer station on some beloved little league fields.
13:55:25 And then the private privately owned properties that we that we can find within this location all seem to be too small.
13:55:34 There's one example there, that's only 6 acres.
13:55:37 So we're currently on 6 and a half acres is our operational footprint recycling.
13:55:41 And the transfer station. So we're really gonna need probably twice that if we want to realize more services, particularly with waste aversion.
13:55:53 Hey? Also, we don't really wanna take up a room in the Seward. Uga!
13:56:02 With the transfer station, and it is a challenge, you know.
13:56:05 We can talk about areas like near Port Townssend or the near Port Hadlock, which is kind of central to the Quen per peninsula, or further south.
13:56:17 But there's a lot of constraints on property in this county.
13:56:21 There's either Steve Hills or swamps, and there's not a lot in between.
13:56:27 It's surprisingly hard to find relatively level, dry pieces of large property that are on the type of road that you would want to use to access the industrial facility and things
like that, and also far enough away from you know, residential properties that were it's not gonna be a
13:56:49 nuisance and things. But again, you know, trying to identify at least some general areas just because we've drawn circles around properties doesn't mean we're out actively trying
to negotiate with property owners.
13:57:02 And we're way too early in the process for that.
13:57:05 So still seems like this is a more problematic location generally.
13:57:09 With the sewer and the lack of real estate around. There.
13:57:12 Generally, I think it'd be a poor use of Sue or fundunds to then encumber properties with a transfer station. The thrust should be housing.
13:57:24 Can I? I agree with that? But can I ask a question about this map?
13:57:29 Of course.
13:57:29 What what about that area north of the sheriff's office south of the shop?
13:57:36 How many acres is that it looks like? It's probably only about 6 as well.
13:57:45 Okay.
13:57:40 Yeah. It's yeah. It's only about 4 acres.
13:57:47 Yeah, these transfer stations are they're a little bit on the noisy side when you dump a load of glass into a steel container and things.
13:57:58 So, having it backed up against Housing development, would be probably not a great idea.
13:58:05 Odor can be an issue. But I think sound is probably even a big issue.
13:58:14 And we did do a a noise study of the current facility, and we'll apply it.
13:58:20 What we found there to other subject properties, as well. And look at what the impact would be.
13:58:25 There's air quality as well. They have to consider.
13:58:29 Okay, so that's what you got on 104.
13:58:32 Then right huh?
13:58:32 Here's one! Here's 104. So the tricky thing about 104 is that in terms of material management, it's ideal, right?
13:58:43 You're all your flow is going towards this area, anyway.
13:58:48 We can't have. We can't gain access off of one.
13:58:53 Oh, 4! Directly! Dot wouldn't allow it.
13:58:57 So really what we're what we're looking at is off of center. Sandy.
13:59:02 Shore or beaver Valley room. Could it be south of one or 4 just off Beaver Valley?
13:59:09 In that location there.
13:59:17 You wanna Mike Bonnie? No really trying to I was doing a great job just direct access on and off.
13:59:27 104 is not happening with, you know, even at Sandy Shore Road it may be an existing road, but if you had a bunch of traffic to it, you're gonna have to do major improvements
at that intersection, he you know when Miles, sand and gravel built their new
13:59:43 site they had to spend.
13:59:46 I heard over a 1 million dollars building the turn lanes on 10.
13:59:50 4, and that was it. Whatever it cost a 1 million Nano costs 2 million.
13:59:57 Now, if they would even let you so, perhaps if you were coming off of an existing rabbit, it might be an option.
14:00:03 But to just put a bunch of new traffic specially with large trucks coming in and out of transfer station off of 104 is just not gonna it's not going to happen.
14:00:14 And I don't think we really want people having to pull out onto one.
14:00:17 I mean, we all know how it feels from the valley roads.
14:00:22 So right now we can have days with 400 to 500 customers.
14:00:27 So having every one of those people have to pull out on a one.
14:00:31 Oh, 4. I think it'd be less than ideal.
14:00:34 Next slide.
14:00:37 So again, in considering our inbound and outbound current material flow next slide, it could look like that which in just raw terms of managing materials and redirecting, it
is certainly better than the current arrangement.
14:00:59 But again, only one of many cases next slide. So, taking a closer look here, at properties that may be available off of center.
14:01:15 There's Dnr property to the south and to the north, but you can see that the Northern properties there, which are so north and south of Highway 104, and to the west of Center
Road those are Dnr properties, the one to the north is far from ideal given that there's
14:01:36 a stream going through it, both of those 2 streams, the one to to the east.
14:01:43 There, I think that's Barnhouse. Both of them joined chimnecum Cream.
14:01:49 So the private properties to the east of Center Road less than ideal.
14:01:58 And yeah, been there. Sorry I'm not. Okay.
14:02:03 Hmm!
14:02:06 Next slide.
14:02:11 Yeah.
14:02:13 Heidi. He's been describing a stream that goes right parallel to the road.
14:02:20 Kind of pick that up.
14:02:20 So, not not ideal candidates here, but Center Road seems like the perfect kind of road.
14:02:29 What's the access road? Right would be? So then, moving on to Sandy Shore Road.
14:02:37 As Monty pointed out, it would require an extensive traffic revision.
14:02:42 There, the property to the to the north of 104!
14:02:48 And the east of Sandy shore, not ideal with the stream running through it to the east of sandy Shore.
14:02:55 Perhaps the topography seems to work for us also.
14:03:00 To the south and west. These are rain, airair properties.
14:03:05 So obviously it would be contingent on a purchase agreement.
14:03:12 And then moving further east on 104, the visitor centers indicated there was a point of reference in purple is the 37, Acre County owned property that may be a candidate site.
14:03:29 We wanted to get feedback from the board on that, you know, the vision has long held that the visitor center would be relocated over to the other side of Beaver Valley Road.
14:03:39 So we'd like to discuss that. And of course, the Rainier property to the West, a potential candidate site for some of it.
14:03:48 It's far more acreage than we would need.
14:03:51 It's presently clear cut. The question, though, is, do you want a transfer station?
14:03:58 To be your your welcoming signal as you come onto the North Olympic Peninsula, right convenient, very convincing.
14:04:13 And I mean, as fond as I am, or the work that we do.
14:04:16 As a long time. County resident. I'm not sure that I would want that to be the greeting card I mean is that a property large enough that it, you know, would be not visible as
as you're coming in at that maybe audible but it's 37 yeah, actually we
14:04:35 did. It's on the east side of the road, east side of the road, the county on property across Beaver Valley from the Visitor Center.
14:04:50 So we we were just doodling around to see how much you know.
14:04:54 We could put on this site, and it looks fairly ideal.
14:05:00 Maybe a little constrained, but we could definitely co-locate fleet and roads with the solid waste facility, and some, if not all, of the other aspirational things that we're
hearing about.
14:05:14 We could get organics management on there. Perhaps you know, as part of 1799 past last year, the Organics Management Act, the county is obligated to at the least designate properties
where a future food waste composting facility could go and we did on the question of you
14:05:38 know the visibility of the facility where it located.
14:05:43 Here we did next slide. Mark, please.
14:05:46 We put together this conceptual rendering of what it would look like from Sr.
14:05:52 19 is looking slightly north from the visitor center took a while to put that to go. I did. That was expensive, too.
14:06:03 Okay, the notion that co-location of some roads or fleet facilities, yeah, I mean, that's certainly worth thinking about.
14:06:17 It. But we're not suggesting. That's a.
14:06:23 You know, high on the list of things that has to happen as part of this project.
14:06:28 It's again something to think about. But there's many other considerations when it comes to fleet and roads like whether we would want to co-locate engineering in roads which
we probably wouldn't want to do way out there.
14:06:43 I mean from us standpoint of responding to road situations like snow plowing and everything else.
14:06:50 That's an ideal central location, but it's if you're talking about a future where the engineers and the administration and the maintenance folks are all in one place.
14:07:00 Maybe it's less than ideal, because you'd want it more central to what like, where the public comes like an hadlock or something like that, or current location.
14:07:09 So, again, we're not suggesting that this is something that's going to happen, or ask to happen, else just keeping the doors open to concepts like that.
14:07:18 And at this point in the conversation so. But I don't know that we'll be able to.
14:07:28 You know, complicate the discussion about what to do with solid waste, with what to do with so many other facilities all I mean, that's a lot to take on other than if you found
an ideal property you could say maybe in the future.
14:07:41 Something else could go here like fleet or roads. But we're and we're keeping that door open.
14:07:46 But we're not gonna probably have the luxury of slowing down our solid ways, planning to start bringing all these other topics into the discussion.
14:07:55 You know, other than just. Maybe we reserve some room for something in the future, except that we're doing this.
14:08:03 Yeah for facilities, county wide. And so it's good timing in terms of that.
14:08:11 But it that then it complicates it even further with marching ahead.
14:08:18 And that I mean that might be good like. If you can help answer some of those questions.
14:08:23 Is there room for other facilities on site?
14:08:28 Then we can start plugging in pieces around it, but and we've introduced these ideas to Chris.
14:08:35 Go ahead as well. Let him know where we're at in our process, and that, you know we can't stymie our process in waiting for a larger.
14:08:45 You know, capital planning process. But we'd certainly invite a discussion.
14:08:50 You know it ideally, we're gonna attain the highest return on investment that our customers ultimately are making here future facility for roads would need.
14:09:05 And then factor that into the design of your facility. And that's precisely what we're doing in this process.
14:09:11 We at the end of this process, we will. We will not have a conceptual rendering of a facility.
14:09:18 We will have an area designated for various uses to go back to this location.
14:09:24 I mean, it really goes down 10 or 15 feet from the roadway, but that's still a viable just at the far. It actually yeah, there's actually a fairly steep slope.
14:09:37 That kind of almost transmits the property. That's kind of ideal for for a transfer station, because you've got your working material at various levels. Right? Okay?
14:09:48 So the topography is appealing, great, and very few neighbors and, like their uses, smell of noise wouldn't be as big an issue.
14:10:04 So you mentioned disaster debris? Would it fit there?
14:10:04 It would. Where organics are the ideal arrangement would be to have a multiple use facility where you'd be processing.
14:10:14 Organics most of the time in the event of an earthquake or some other type of disaster, then you could shut down that operation and then process your disaster debris that way,
and as I understand it, too, the way that fema reimbursement funds come for a disaster so you have
14:10:31 to manage municipal solid waste separately from other disaster debris in order to, you know, capture that that relief funding so.
14:10:43 Can I ask a question about this one? Maybe this is more from my cause.
14:10:49 It's maybe on the roads, traffic side of things.
14:10:52 But how do we assess the increased trips on this road per day, whether it's even viable I mean Beaver Belly Road is already super busy.
14:11:03 Sometimes I mean backed up on 104 in the summer. And anyway, so I just wonder if this is even feasible on in terms of the traffic standpoint that it would increase on Beer Valley
Road.
14:11:19 Those are great points that you bring up. I mean, usually when I travel down Beaver Valley Road, it's a ghost town on this section.
14:11:29 But certainly on a summer. Weekend, when we've got backups at the Hood Canal Bridge, we need to examine how those might impact.
14:11:41 Sr. 19, at that location that's a great point, because it you have.
14:11:46 You know, people backed up here. So then no one can get to the transfer station.
14:11:50 That's not going to be very ideal, obviously. But my observations of that road is that most of the time it's pretty lightly traveled and usually when I get up to that stop sign,
there's one or 2 cars ahead, of me, of course we'll have to look at
14:12:09 Traffic projections out for the life of the facility that we're talking about here at any site.
14:12:15 So that'll certainly change the, you know.
14:12:24 Make backups. Less likely. But yeah, again, if when a site or a site floats to the top in this process, I think the traffic impacts and mitigation measures will have to be the
next thing that's really looked at closely, because those can really make or break a project the you
14:12:46 know the getting on and off, and very likely, even with, you know, reasonable traffic at this location, we'd still be required to construct, turn lanes if we built a industrial
facility at this location to come on and off of off of 19 yeah, in a center turn
14:13:10 Lane.
14:13:16 Thanks, Monty. I've had the 6 experience that you've had, but I've also had quite the opposite experience in different seasons of the year, just being backed up there, and it
just seems like a cluster to me, and that you know that exchange there of getting on Sr.
14:13:31 104 sometimes seems to it. Just feels like a little bit of a disaster waiting to happen.
14:13:39 So would want a pretty good traffic study or traffic solution for that site.
14:13:44 I mean, the site seems like a really good idea, but.
14:13:47 Yeah, I totally agree with that. I mean, and first blush the entrance and exit for this site would be as far north as we could get it.
14:13:58 There, you know which is how far from the intersection.
14:14:01 It's a good 1,000 feet or something. But again, you know, getting the data from Wash Dot, you know, paying attention to what happens on.
14:14:13 Well, we, you know, like you said we'd have to do a traffic study, and ideally, that would be occurring in the summer months when those kind of backups occur, and then projecting
forward for 2030 and even 40 years, and knowing that we're investing in the right you know
14:14:31 place due to that. So?
14:14:33 In my results and recommendations around Center Road and the on ramp off RAM. There.
14:14:39 And you know, because the center road is less utilized.
14:14:51 Alright!
14:14:45 Then Weaver Valley Road, and from what I've heard for getting on and off 10.
14:14:54 4, so might be something where we can encourage people to use Center Road.
14:15:00 I don't know. It's just. I'm not the traffic planner, but I see this meeting that.
14:15:05 And we have done traffic studies to date for all the kind of high level candidate sites.
14:15:14 And then, of course, we'll, you know, take our customer accounts and project that into what you know.
14:15:21 What relocation could mean for the other sites, as well.
14:15:24 So traffic is definitely at the top of our list of, you know, prime considerations for impact.
14:15:33 Thanks guys.
14:15:34 Well, I think we're not taking this off the table is what what I hear.
14:15:39 If that's your question that you're asking us, it doesn't seem like we're taking this property off the table right now.
14:15:44 Yeah, I I don't see a need to.
14:15:47 I mean, it is interesting that the like there's no residential hub here that doesn't have curbside service.
14:15:56 So actually, the draw is, it is pulling from much further.
14:16:03 Where it's both the Tr area and port towns and have residential.
14:16:06 Some residential density. Nearby. I don't know, just thinking aloud, yeah, we've we've been working with the Climate Action Committee on looking at, you know, site locations
as a means of reducing our carbon footprint and so the big question was well, is there
14:16:28 a difference between the you know the carbon footprint of self-hallers to the Utc certificated Haller.
14:16:40 You know the compactor trucks and dumps, and we did come up with some interesting numbers.
14:16:45 There's still kind of preliminary, and the Cac.
14:16:49 Is reviewing them. Look, make sure that all Staff's assumptions are correct, or if they could be adjusted, but it's nearly the compactor.
14:16:58 Loads are nearly half of the carbon footprint compared to cell phone using fuel gallons per ton as a common metric.
14:17:07 There they expand half the carbon to come in in the carbon to come in in the hall.
14:17:22 Perfect. Yeah per ton. Right? And so that's that's a consideration, you know.
14:17:29 Yeah per ton. Right? And so that's that's a consideration, you know.
14:17:32 So a truck that fills. But we're reducing like for a long hour.
14:17:43 There's definitely some offsets, you know. There's 2 ways to to reduce your customer demand for cell fallers, and there's good reason to want to the carbon footprint being one
of them and also demand on the facility.
14:17:59 So the one is with your minimum fee, and that's why almost every county has a minimum fee and the second one is location.
14:18:07 You know, most rural, solid waste handling facilities are a couple of miles past the middle of nowhere, and for good reason.
14:18:17 Ours is kind of unique, that it's really got this close proximity to one area of density.
14:18:24 So is there any correlation between the distance you have to travel to get rid of garbage and a legal dumping?
14:18:33 There could be, you know, whenever a fee schedule revision is proposed, or any change to the current arrangement, that question gets asked, are we going to see?
14:18:46 You know a lot, and sometimes there's, you know, near panic in people's voices about that potential.
14:18:52 What what we've found is that there's probably one to 2% of our population that are going to find alternative disposal means, no matter if we deliver the service for free or
for it twice what we're you know offering the service for it.
14:19:11 Matter of culture, I suppose, but whenever we've raised the fee, certainly, when we proposed for the first time ever to charge a fee for you debris, there was the sirens warning
call that we're gonna be inundated with illegal dumping and it's never come to
14:19:33 pass, you know so, but we should consider it for sure.
14:19:41 Wouldn't one more question are you anticipating any change to the quill scene site, or would that that would remain as is it?
14:19:54 Both options are on the table. Whether or not part of part of you know, in looking at highway 104.
14:19:59 Corridor location. There's a potential to close the quil scene facility with a little bit of tweaking in both the operation.
14:20:08 We're looking at making some capital improvements and some equipment and staffing revisions there that will streamline the process and bring the cost down over time.
14:20:19 But the fee schedule right now almost cool scene almost pays for itself, but it add a substanceially higher cost per ton, you know.
14:20:31 I think it's 2 80 per ton for the loose garbage.
14:20:35 At Quilcy, owing to the, you know, the additional cost of running an operation, and that's not inconsistent at all.
14:20:44 With what other county drivers are charging Kitsap counties is much higher, actually.
14:20:54 I think that yeah, we could move on. I can't recall.
14:20:57 Where at? So we did. You know we wanted to check in to make sure that a recommendation from this team.
14:21:06 Didn't come with a location that wouldn't work for the board.
14:21:11 Certainly a suboptimal arrangement can sorry.
14:21:18 Okay. Some regards. I would think that location would be driven by the you know how many features you get on the pickup truck to right?
14:21:30 So like the more kind of services that the facility might offer, the more greater importance of being close to a population.
14:21:38 Center, I would think versus, you know, just simply a kind of dump and run.
14:21:45 So is that come into the equation, too? It does.
14:21:50 I mean, you know every resident in Jefferson County has curbside service available to them.
14:21:57 Some, you know. Some. It's mandated. It's part of your utility Billing.
14:22:01 If you're in the city and some it's optional by subscription.
14:22:05 Certainly will be looking at what kinds of materials we would hope to divert, and whether or not bringing those services closer into urban centers is a better arrangement, a
reuse center is kind of high on our list, ideally, that'd be closer to an urban
14:22:26 Center but if it kind of becomes also a shopping experience for folks, then you know, we have plenty of residents that regularly shop and Silverdale, and you know, outside of
the county as well.
14:22:43 But for those types of facilities certainly being closer in urban centers, would be better.
14:22:49 You know, it's it's both an iterative process, and there are multiple trade-offs that will be exploring richly as we move forward with.
14:23:01 Can I ask one question? I? We have some staff with us in Zoom room.
14:23:06 Is there any need to bring Justin or Eric over anything for this conversation? Sorry?
14:23:10 Go ahead. Monday.
14:23:15 Anything. Interesting, just, you know, when we think about urban centers, I mean, you think about the city of Seattle.
14:23:20 They have transfer stations in the city of Seattle, but to get to that, transfers station from your home in Seattle is probably gonna take you longer than driving from port
towns and down to the visitor center just because of traffic and and the types of roads you'd have to travel
14:23:37 on! So I think everything's kind of relative. The experience.
14:23:42 But we have to think about all those considerations, you know, I don't think there's really a wrong location between 10.
14:23:50 4 and Port Townsend necessarily from just strictly like.
14:23:54 How many miles it is from things. It's really finding a a site that can accommodate.
14:24:00 What we wanted to do. And and where we don't box ourselves in like we kind of have with our existing one.
14:24:07 30 years after it was built, you know so. But.
14:24:13 You know, a site down here by the Visitor center might not be an obvious first choice for most people, because, again, you know, like you say, the population centers up north
everyone's used to it up north.
14:24:23 But I don't think we should write it off that quickly.
14:24:26 But again, it's just one of several sites.
14:24:30 It's being considered so great, and I mean everything else like Kate was talking about other services like the medium medium, medium risk waste.
14:24:40 You know that you're doing kind of decentralized right now, Will, that program will evolve, and that might have a home at this future location, or perhaps the remote educational
service is the way to do it.
14:24:54 That'll be. That'll be a consideration. Good information about the efficacy of the remote collection.
14:25:03 Events versus a closed facility. We've for a long time.
14:25:08 We've had remote collection events, particularly in the south end of the county, to better service.
14:25:11 Those residents. But this is our first season of offering, that as a substitute service for a now closed facility the but the first 2 events certainly speak well of using that
as a substitute for a fixed facility, you know not only do they take up some property.
14:25:31 But it's they are ungodly expensive to build Kit's App County will be building one.
14:25:39 I think they break ground next year, their estimated cost is about 4 and a half 1 million, so the I think that the most recent one that was built in the cheapest that I could
find was rated about 2 and a half 1 million.
14:25:54 So, you know. Not a small capital investment to make for a facility that realistically, you're going to operate one day a week.
14:26:01 Yeah, and don't we transfer risk more effectively by having a contractor of the periodic events completely?
14:26:10 All of the risk of yeah, you've got, you know, a you know, a facility that's housing for, you know, several months, reallyive and potentially explosive chemicals whereas, at
a collection of event, all of your risk goes down the highway in a semi
14:26:28 truck. So there's, you know, if we monetize the risk of a fixed facility, and I'm not sure how we do that.
14:26:34 But be pretty significant, so.
14:26:39 Medical evaluations for life, for anybody that's ever worked at the facility for one day.
14:26:46 So it sounds like they're building a great facility for county staff to bring us back a inner local agreement for use of their facility for our customers that can't wait in
between collection events.
14:27:09 Yeah, their new facility will be in Handsville. So, and they would, you know, at that significant investment the more customers better.
14:27:17 We would pay them their fee for for business ways.
14:27:22 So speaking of waste business waste, do when you think about a facility and think about the future of our relationship with solid waste.
14:27:35 The you know, things like the bill. 1131 this year, like producer responsibility.
14:27:42 I would guess we are headed that direction. But much of the civilized world is, yeah, is so do you anticipate there being multiple callers potentially, who would be collecting
material that they're responsible for do you build an infrastructure for storage Uhhuh, and the
14:28:04 wrap act as it's being called, that has the potential to change everything about our recycling program.
14:28:13 I was happy to see the bill got reduced from 145 pages to 131.
14:28:19 Much easier, reading, now but no, it has the potential to impact everything about what we do with recycling one being that the county may not be in the business of recycling
the producers.
14:28:33 The pros, the producer responsibility organizations that would need to be formed would contract for that service, and perhaps with Scoocum or someone else, our role would likely
be to provide the site 4.
14:28:47 A facility. However, it needs to be built with, however, the wrap act turns out.
14:28:54 If it does, I mean the pushback from industry right now is pretty vigorous from a lot of counties.
14:29:03 Yeah. Some counties have figured out how to make money from recycling.
14:29:08 I'm not sure how, because right now it's just, you know, a whole that we throw money into the commodity market.
14:29:16 You know, tanked again on us, so I think most of those counties that are either cost-neutral or somehow generating revenue from recycling have really constrained what materials
they take.
14:29:33 Just the high commodity value materials. But but I did hear in a meeting last week that there is some pushback from a couple of counties on it, as well.
14:29:43 Yeah, I mean the pushback, I've heard, has been more ideological than that.
14:29:49 They're making money off of it. But keep in mind if people throw out in the garbage, they make money off of it.
14:29:53 There, so there's no incentive to recycle, because they get the tipping fee.
14:29:58 If the recycling ends up in the garbage.
14:30:01 So it's yeah. We know the incentives are all upside down in this business.
14:30:09 Yeah, what they call that. Yeah. Double edged. I was trying to combine the china sword.
14:30:15 Now? What is it called?
14:30:24 Are you watching the time? I just know we have transit in half an hour.
14:30:30 It is at least a little bit of washed out. Yup!
14:30:33 Yup, for sure. All right, well, yeah, you guys have what you need.
14:30:37 I think so, okay, Nope, that's it. Discuss that site yep, I think we're open to, you know all the sites that you talked about the least appealing one to me was the headlock
site.
14:30:50 Really. So we're not wanting to introduce that concept to the little Leaguers, either.
14:30:55 Yeah, yeah, well, and I was, I just thinking that visitor center, it's the timing's little funky cause we just did the Rrfp for the Visitor center.
14:31:07 But like, I really think we need to really be considering the role of the visitor center in that county on property as part of that larger capital planning.
14:31:18 So yeah, timing, great. Alright, thank you for your time. Thank you so much.
14:31:23 Very informative.
14:31:25 Thank you. I'm sorry I appreciate it. You. Obviously we could talk about.
14:31:36 Thank you.
14:31:40 Distracted with the sewer myself.
14:31:55 Yeah. Thanks. To Justin and the crew to keep it going.
14:32:02 Usually a once in a career opportunity. You're so lucky.
14:32:07 Yeah, waste facilities and sewers that'd be great.
14:32:17 Yeah, I have no problem with that just because I'm trying to coordinate this meeting with wash that I love it. Yeah, let's talk about that first plan.
14:32:27 So we're talking about the meetings coming up this Thursday yes, and I want to give washed out an idea of what we're thinking.
14:32:36 We have a number of part community partners that are lined up and prepared to join in the meeting, but we only have an hour.
14:32:43 I have a feeling Sue's gonna want to do his presentation because it answers a lot of questions and demystifies a lot of this is Steve Work, and is that who we expect from washdown?
14:32:55 Yes. Okay. We'll be Steve. So I think an hour is going to go really quickly, especially if we're doing any public comment.
14:33:03 We know there's going to be a lot of interest from the public so I'd like to kind of agree on an agenda and our the talking points, Monty, I would love that little a primer
on what kind of well, I think the 2 of you actually had were in a meeting with
14:33:22 washdad. And and also kind of what we asked for and what.
14:33:27 So what was like, not not taken into consideration, that I'm not familiar where I don't remember.
14:33:34 Well, just briefly, you know, we first found out about this.
14:33:39 Last spring, because they were planning and doing this project in 22.
14:33:47 And you know we the concern came to us through some folks in Port Ludlow.
14:33:56 Actually, it's surprising we don't hear about these things earlier, directly from the Commissioner.
14:34:16 Brotherton and I through email correspondence, pointed out to the dot that they were probably auto reach out a little bit more to to cause.
14:34:27 That was gonna have a big impact on businesses and the tourism season, which this county depends on for its economy.
14:34:38 And and about that time they say, Well, now, it looks like the project is going to happen in 23, so we'll have a meeting in the spring at 23, and we indicated that they probably
should start meeting with people sooner than that because maybe some festivals
14:34:56 might want to even change their dates of when they're gonna have these festivals based on the D. O. T.
14:35:02 Schedule, but we really at least I didn't. Greg.
14:35:05 I don't know about you. I didn't. We didn't get a lot more back from them at that point.
14:35:10 It was kind of stated that you know the projects going to happen, and we have to have good weather and a certain amount of time to do this work.
14:35:18 You know, that's just how it's gonna be.
14:35:21 But we strongly encouraged that they.
14:35:26 Think about the impacts to the community, although we all command and appreciate Washdot's efforts to keep that bridge in good working order and understand that it needs to
be maintained and everything.
14:35:41 But there were never any specifics about what weekends would be best, or how they might schedule this to have the least impact.
14:35:48 We did bring up that the wooden boat Festival is probably the largest festival that occurs here.
14:35:54 Which is early September, and said, that would be, you know, one to definitely schedule around which, when didn't hear much back.
14:36:03 But now the current plan is august closure, so apparently it's not gonna happen during the wooden boat vegetable.
14:36:09 So that's kind of nice and then I believe the board at some point did do a letter.
14:36:18 Suggesting the same, and it's hard to find those we did.
14:36:23 Yeah, I think we use their template, at least. And it listed all the different events that are both in so that's the background.
14:36:33 We didn't hear a lot, you know, through the intervening timeframe.
14:36:38 Other than that, you know. The project was still in the in development, and you know again, I don't.
14:36:43 Wanna again. I appreciate washed out and the people at work there, and all they do to keep access on the Peninsula.
14:36:50 But you know that there is. That's a that's not an easy month to have 3 or 4 weekend closures.
14:36:59 So that's what the current discussion is about.
14:37:04 As a transportation engineer that works for the county.
14:37:06 I don't have a lot to do. I don't have a huge role here right?
14:37:10 I mean I don't tell washed out what to do, and I'm not connected with the needs of the business community as strongly as you guys are.
14:37:21 Here to Ed Sword on Thursday.
14:37:26 Commissioner, Dean, you've had some recent conversations.
14:37:28 There might be some flexibility there to adjust some of these dates, and so I think it's you know your porch to carry here to see if there's something that works better for
the community that washdock can live with.
14:37:46 And it sounds like a lot came out at the Tcc.
14:37:48 Meeting that I think you attended right with. You know.
14:38:00 Start diving into this and Icg right? Oh, sorry.
14:38:04 Yeah. So I mean 3. 3, I think all in one day.
14:38:08 Maybe a substance of meetings on this topic, but I wanted to get input from all of you in preparation for Thursday to be clear about I think it'd be easy to spend the whole
time talking about impacts.
14:38:23 But that is less important in the short amount of time we have that I think, really communicating what we see as alternatives or mitigations, and we probably should be prepared
with some of both.
14:38:37 You know it's impossible to get 32,000 people together and have them vote on what's the best way.
14:38:43 I mean the Commissioner, the elected officials, are elected to speak for the people in a certain way.
14:38:51 I think you're probably best.
14:38:55 Place, to go, to try to come up with a coordinated response.
14:38:59 As a city city elected officials. Because, you know, a lot of these, the impacts are going to occur in the city, and the festivals that occur in the city and the merchants that
operate in the city.
14:39:11 So getting on the same page with the city might be the best thing that can happen in a very short amount of time.
14:39:17 Here. Yeah, they've they've been providing input.
14:39:19 It's a little complicated, too, because, of course, you know, we're not the only county on the Peninsula, and so and Steve did say his.
14:39:28 He's willing to reconsider the dates, but he wants to know that there's buy-in from like as many of the entities as possible.
14:39:38 Yeah.
14:39:39 Hey, Kate? So what's specific questions do you have for us?
14:39:43 I mean, I have some like before I.
14:39:46 Pause it. Some solutions, I wanna know, like what are their constraints?
14:39:53 Why do they need 3 full days? Do they really need 3 full days?
14:39:58 Could they only do nighttime closure. So you know, for a whole week or so I mean, what are the I?
14:40:04 I don't understand the then the nonstarters for them, I guess.
14:40:11 Yeah, so definitely, whether it's relatively short. Window may to end of May to mid September.
14:40:20 Is there? Window? The it sounds like there's some flexibility in terms of how the closures are structured, but they want to get it nailed down soon.
14:40:31 It's a particular particular mill rights that have to be on site to be measuring.
14:40:39 Picking the pieces that have to fit together. They were using data, you know, that showed.
14:40:50 Well, it's interesting it. Well, they basically, you know, working from the assumption that visitors to the Peninsula have flexibility commuters don't.
14:41:03 And you know, kind of essential services that a lot of businesses run on. Don't.
14:41:07 When I think is not entire, you know it doesn't really reflect our community that well, because we have a lot of businesses that rely on visitors and some people.
14:41:18 Yup, and there's actually more traffic on the weekends than there is on the weekday.
14:41:27 Their data even shows that. Yeah, okay, so they aren't even looking at total volume.
14:41:32 So those are the main constraints. I heard.
14:41:34 It's a good question for Steve, but I didn't hear him say like, you know, I'm cause I I said in Prtv like, could we do one long closure with scheduled openings that allowed
say, transit emergency?
14:41:52 You know who knows how they can operate commercial, you know, have some sort of queuing system that prioritizes some of those I haven't heard him say that things are totally
off the list of possibilities.
14:42:07 They were really going, based on this list of festivals which maybe we signed on to.
14:42:14 But like it doesn't include centrome. It's very clumsy.
14:42:19 We've signed on, too, but like it doesn't include centrum, it's very might have had it on to it.
14:42:21 Yeah, I mean, it's funny. The what some of the stuff that was considered the tandem bike rally in Squam like I've never heard of that or the Wanda puka festival which gets 250
people from out of town like there's there's
14:42:37 some weird, weird events that were considered so I think longer. You know.
14:42:44 Would a longer closure work spreading out the impact on week and week, weekend weekends.
14:42:52 I!
14:42:52 Yeah, the the. It's not a problem. I don't know.
14:43:03 Yup! Yup!
14:42:59 They're doing the agit pass right now. Early mornings and late nights yeah, no, they're doing the agit pass right now. Early mornings and late nights. Yeah, a lot of project
paving projects are might cost a little bit more. I don't know.
14:43:21 But well, and especially that time of year where you know, even if you could do, I think I get past their doing like 6, 5, 5 to 7, and then am.
14:43:33 And then you know some I that's probably hardware.
14:43:36 The crew. Yeah, I mean, we've got long evenings, too.
14:43:43 So, Kate, the one I just wanna share the one thing I I can kind of characterize the one piece of input I've been getting from a number of businesses is that August really represents
when you're like the squirrel collecting.
14:44:00 Yeah.
14:44:00 All the nuts for farmers, for bakers, for restaurants, for all the small businesses that characterize our community.
14:44:09 That's the month that you earn all the money that makes you capable of surviving through the winter.
14:44:14 Yeah 100%.
14:44:14 Literally. I mean, it's the biggest impact to our economy.
14:44:18 Yeah, yeah.
14:44:19 And so that's one thing I've been hearing over, and I mean probably 5 times, but from significant businesses in our community.
14:44:28 Yup!
14:44:28 And I think that that I hope that point is made on Thursday.
14:44:33 I mean, I plan on being there, but it's the thing that is impact or kind of impacting me. Most.
14:44:41 The other thing I've been hearing down the list slightly is elderly folks concerned about medical, I mean, people don't have air.
14:44:50 What are the air flight, or the the helicopter?
14:44:51 Subscriptions. How do they? How do they get off the peninsula?
14:44:56 If they have, you know, complications. So you know there, are maybe Dt, as a plan for that, I don't know.
14:45:03 But those are the 2.
14:45:04 I. They have not mentioned it, and we do have Chief Black and someone from Jefferson.
14:45:08 Healthcare coming on Thursday, so that if we do land on some possible alternatives that they could weigh in on that issue too. We should talk a little bit about format. We won't
have another opportunity to talk about that. And I you know I think Steve will undoubtedly wanna make a presentation. We're gonna have him for an
14:45:27 hour, and then we just wanna you know, we've got lots of players at the table, so I don't know if it's just a you know.
14:45:34 All right, state your grievance and state your grievance.
14:45:37 I think that doesn't do a lot of good. So what I have told the folks that have expressed an interest in being there so far, which is a fairly curated group of people like cheap
black transit centrum, Monty was on that email but I did tell people like basically if like
14:46:00 a minute to talk about the impacts, your organization, and a minute to talk about best alternatives or mitigations that would help you.
14:46:07 So try definitely trying to get people like well, I mean, I think Heidi hit the nail on the head that shutting down 4 weekends a row in the middle of summer is it could be a
death knell for a bunch of small businesses.
14:46:22 Especially coming out of Covid. I mean, we're just waking up.
14:46:25 Yeah, yeah, no. It is what puts businesses in the black.
14:46:29 Every year. Well, I think you know again nighttime. That's which Commissioner.
14:46:36 I rise now, Roy, up, that would be a great solution if it works for wash dot sounds like, perhaps earlier in the season, could be better than August.
14:46:46 June, yeah, May and June, like Memorial Day, weekend.
14:46:51 But you know, early June may not be a good weekend, but you know early June, although even Memorial Day weekend, if they're talking Friday to Monday like that's not a lot of
people are people are actually off always on Monday often on Friday.
14:47:06 So like that would have less than 2 tourism traffic coming and going from the Peninsula.
14:47:13 That's a big there is more flexibility built into the holiday weekend.
14:47:17 50,000 people, though that weekend I mean, and they got week earlier than that. But pretty pretty localized, too, though right?
14:47:26 I know Ben Thomas was a little worried about. We've there's Rody and irrigation back-to-back.
14:47:32 I think those might even be earlier than was that can do.
14:47:35 And all the oh, that was great! It was buses of marching bands and stuff, but I it, and that's a little on the early end.
14:47:43 So I think we might. June that last weekend in May it's Memorial Day, so you'd wanna you know.
14:47:50 Be cautious there and then. June, yeah, I mean every that's why it'd be nice if we could spread it out among weekdays, too.
14:47:59 So it's not just a couple festivals taking a huge hit.
14:48:03 The North Olympic discovery. Marathon apparently is 5,000 out of town folks.
14:48:10 Yeah.
14:48:10 I mean, if it happens, I won't be here, for Monday's in August, cause I gotta work the Sunday Ballard Farmers Market in August.
14:48:18 Yeah, that's okay. It'll open again at 5. A.
14:48:21 M, yeah. You come straight here. Yeah.
14:48:24 Oh, in my pjs, with carrots holding my eyes up.
14:48:29 And mitigations are the other thing that we should consider maybe a little bit.
14:48:32 You know I've heard down in the South End. Some people are looking at it. Well, probably we'll get a lot more traffic through Brennan, as people look for another route in maybe
looking for some more signage around those hazardous curves.
14:48:49 Around Mount Walker and down near Brendan, that I know Chief Manly has been fighting for for ages.
14:48:56 So that's you know, if you're gonna do the traffic, you know.
14:49:00 Maybe mitigation can be addressing some of these safety issues that we've been talking about.
14:49:05 They're also 3 projects plan for what we're going to do.
14:49:16 3 projects plan for what a one! And no, there's some watch that ones, too, though.
14:49:24 Yeah, those are watchdog to keep all the scheduled straight, I think, Eric, same.
14:49:25 Yes. The closest schedule we have be pulling that up, mark or but there's projects on one.
14:49:33 Oh, 4! There's projects on 101, yeah. There's project on Sr, 19, yeah. Fish barrier projects that are all going to have impacts for sure.
14:49:50 And the 2 roundabouts that are all going to have impacts. Interesting though, that there are no dates on that in the 3 page info sheet they sent out the routerabs or the fish
barrier removal or the bridge.
14:50:07 Yeah. And I think that'd be a great thing to maybe bring up in the meeting.
14:50:12 Be helpful, but some of them some of those dates, are still up in the air.
14:50:16 I mean.
14:50:18 If you go to their web page right now, it's says that that they are going to awarded contracts for those roundabout projects, and they still haven't even finished the design
or gone to bid on them.
14:50:31 So they're definitely so. I don't know when those roundabout projects they were gonna be this summer.
14:50:37 They're starting. But the the last time I checked on the Dt's website was not up to date.
14:50:45 Now they've recently started publishing and making available some.
14:50:50 Public outreach specific to the Olympic peninsula.
14:50:53 As a result of some of the feedback they've been getting.
14:50:58 So I just don't have it memorized right now.
14:51:01 But.
14:51:04 In terms of other mitigation. You know. I think there's requests for yeah.
14:51:10 Have it, adding the second boat back to our service. It's gonna be tricky.
14:51:15 When the bridge was closed before they did a I put Barry to Seattle, but also a few, once a night said for trucks to be able to get off the Peninsula, so I think we should talk
about that.
14:51:26 There's also the idea of kind of subsidizing a private provider like you did sound express again.
14:51:32 They probably make all their money, those same weekends go into the islands.
14:51:37 You know they did a ferry, and so White Center des Moines.
14:51:42 Okay.
14:51:42 I feel like it would be ideal if they just did this at night.
14:51:48 Right? We'll go out and hold lights for them.
14:51:53 I mean, there are lights. This is not rocket science, but there may be some technical reason for a needing 48Â h to do whatever they are doing, and that's that, was my initial
question.
14:52:03 Sorry top tides is part of it. Yeah, they're gonna be working under one.
14:52:09 But the tides are, yeah.
14:52:11 I have divers in the water is that I have no idea.
14:52:16 I don't know. Okay, well, it sounds like I'm on the right track to keep planning this as is, I.
14:52:26 Just I felt like I was getting a head of my skis without checking in with all of you.
14:52:30 Nope!
14:52:30 Yeah, how many guests are we gonna have? Like, some will be virtual.
14:52:39 The city hasn't responded. If they're coming, I have the some comments from them.
14:52:47 So maybe 6. I think the public will be very interested. The public will be interested.
14:52:53 The public will also want to comment. Maybe some 1Â min comments for 15Â min or something.
14:52:59 Just so we can 10. Yeah, I mean.
14:53:00 30Â s!
14:53:03 I mean, maybe 30Â s is appropriate, actually, and then 10.
14:53:06 I'm not. I wasn't kidding.
14:53:10 I wasn't. I wasn't getting.
14:53:08 No, I never know you're kidding, but I mean, yeah, yeah, no, I I take your point.
14:53:15 I think that's you can still register. Register your opinion, and that much time although so they're also having a public webinar, which I think, yeah, we can definitely point
people to.
14:53:26 I haven't heard if they're doing public comments at that.
14:53:35 But that might help us decide if we, you know, if we wanna provide that forum, yeah, I think we should provide a little bit of that forum.
14:53:44 We don't have a lot of time. So.
14:53:48 And I'll let you share all that fun. Stuff!
14:53:57 Yeah. Do you want me to lead the conversation? This has been, or do you wanna do?
14:54:04 Yeah, make sure. Everyone's voice is heard. Great! Alright, thank you.
14:54:14 Nice work, Commissioner Dean. Thank you.
14:54:11 I feel better moving forward. All right. Yes, well done. Thanks for putting it together.
14:54:19 And I just saw the chef con meeting that is always scheduled a little late, came up as well on that day, but that's the same time.
14:54:28 At 9. I don't know. Do! Are are you we still interested in starting it early?
14:54:35 That's the one other I think it would be good to have executive session, not on this topic.
14:54:46 Okay, I can check out on you can. Okay? So we wanna although you've been involved in the other topic, let's just do that next Monday, is it that time critical?
14:54:58 The exact session.
14:55:02 I think we need to be prepared to respond. Okay, so yes, we could do it half an hour.
14:55:16 It's just 2 separate. Okay?
14:55:20 Sure. Let's do it. 9, and let's just skip the Jeff Kom meeting.
14:55:32 I'll see what the agenda looks like.
14:55:33 Okay. We'll let Mark finalize that and do half hour or hour depending on.
14:55:40 But we'll do a separate meeting, starting on either 9 or 9, 30.
14:55:44 Thank you. Okay. Busy, busy. We haven't gotten your own halfway through your briefing for the last week.
14:55:53 I haven't gotten mine. I don't think we're gonna get to that.
14:55:57 We have to adjourn it. 3 day we won't have a quorum in transit.
14:56:13 Okay. We'll just.
14:56:14 Congressionally directed spending. Isn't there? A February 20 eighth deadline for that?
14:56:20 Right, is that Monty and I were talked about connecting onto yeah.
14:56:26 But still after the 20, seventh, next meeting will be on the 20 seventh right.
14:56:31 You have one thing.
14:56:32 Yeah, I mean, I think in terms of Monty, you are saying like, we got to figure out how to spend the money we have currently, and that you are bowing out.
14:56:44 But yeah, yeah, about. And out of what the federal appropriations this. Oh, I call for this for the next cycle, for this Congressional session.
14:57:00 Yeah, I think we've thanks to your work money that we receive for the sewer through both.
14:57:03 Well through the efforts of all Senators and our Congressman.
14:57:08 So. Oh, we got, you know, quite a bit of work lying down for the next couple of years. But other.
14:57:13 Okay, I'm assuming, though, for, like the child care center and the wellness center of the pool, the city was, Take the lead on.
14:57:21 Those? Are you working with them?
14:57:23 We got one. We got the one for the account for the child care center.
14:57:29 Okay.
14:57:29 The county did, and the city signs the lead on the Wellness center.
14:57:32 Okay, those are, I mean, when when I put it out there last week or a few days ago, I was just like those were the things I was thinking about.
14:57:39 Yeah, I don't know if we have an obvious, an obvious ask.
14:57:45 I mean the shelter. We have other asks already in the fire.
14:57:54 I'm not sure I don't know. I can't think of another one.
14:57:56 I'll stop my head. In some ways. It's I think it's good to rotate.
14:58:05 Yeah, yeah, okay.
14:57:59 Kind of take turns to. You know the hospital has one so if we don't have anything obvious, we should support those efforts.
14:58:12 Yup, totally.
14:58:11 And then, you know, amplify, do our chips for next next funding still looking for money for their waterline relocation?
14:58:22 I mean, that's when the county could certainly support, you know, cause the Olympics, the Olympics Discovery trail go on top of location and stuff.
14:58:32 Yeah, benefits us, even though it's not ours.
14:58:37 Okay. But we really have to go to give us a moment to get into our next meeting.
14:58:42 So sorry we did not get to everything. We'll deal with the do we have time in the morning?
14:58:46 Do you think? Just look at Arpa. And on the 20 seventh we'll look okay.
14:58:52 Well, we'll we'll prioritize it I need to repeat that thing.
14:58:57 We still are waiting for 1.6 9 2 million. So it's not like we can distribute right?
14:59:03 The 8 35 tomorrow. There's no real real emergency.
14:59:09 I'm sure that all the 48 applicants feel some urgency, but they're we'll just have to deal with that next week.
14:59:15 So we are adjourned. Have a great day and now we're going over to Jefferson. Transit.
14:59:19 So join us there.