HomeMy WebLinkAboutclosed_caption09:00:51 Alright. It's like everything's good.
09:00:55 I hear the bells, it's 90'clock aligned across devices.
09:01:00 Yep, alright! Good morning, everyone. I will call this meeting at the Border County Commissioners to order on Monday, March twenty-seventh.
09:01:10 Good morning, joined by Commissioner Dean, remotely issued in DC.
09:01:14 At a conference, and we will start, as we always do, with 30Â min of public comments.
09:01:21 So we don't have any of the public in the room with us, but if you're online we would love to hear from you you can have up to 3Â min to talk about any any topic on the agenda
or off you can click raise hand or star 9 if you're on a phone to indicate
09:01:35 your interest in talking, and we will bring you on over.
09:01:45 Taddy bunch this morning. Chatty Bunch. Everyone's going outside and it's gonna be a nice day. Alright.
09:01:52 Well, we will leave public comment open. So if you are moved to comment by what you hear from us, or anything else, you can hit, raise hand or star 9 if you're on your phone,
or of course, physically raise your hand if you're in the room, with us up until 9, 30 and we can take a look at
09:02:07 another robust consent. Agenda. Any comments or questions on the consensus agenda before us today.
09:02:20 It's taking a minute for mine to load.
09:02:20 I'll say it's great, just yeah, great, to see that hiring and incentive applied and the corrections departments. It's really exciting.
09:02:30 Great to see Arpa or our our contracts come through so quickly.
09:02:39 Glad to see the bid award to the leaders for our newspaper record.
09:02:44 Local newspaper, and digging into Number One. I was glad to see it was only a 9Â h closure of West Valley Road, right on the 29, so I was like, Whoa, how long is that gonna
be?
09:02:59 But 9Â h seems, yeah, like they're gonna pack all that we're working to that 9Â h thrilled to see all of the Arpa agreements.
09:03:09 Mark. Thanks for all the work getting those out. The left.
09:03:15 And the work of Dcd. On the Grants with ecology and around shoreline master program, update I know it's been kind of being drug out for a while, but I'm glad to see we're moving
forward with getting some consultant help.
09:03:33 As we know Dcd's got capacity constraints right now.
09:03:37 Good to see that moving forward too. An advisory Point Advisory Board appointments.
09:03:45 That is great. Like to see the positive number there. Yeah.
09:03:51 Can I just call out that there is a meeting notice for meeting to discuss the new childcare projects?
09:04:01 And that's a required meeting that Usda requires us to hold, and we already did hold one big community meeting@theymca.
09:04:08 That unfortunately, was before we got our contract, so it doesn't count towards the requirement.
09:04:13 But perhaps new. You know, questions have come up since then, so just want the public to know that April nineteenth, at 6 30 Pm.
09:04:23 At the County Courthouse. We'll have that informational session and be presenting some you know, preliminary drawings of the facility and open to feedback from the community
on that.
09:04:33 And that's to secure this 1.4 5 million dollar.
09:04:37 Appropriation for that project.
09:04:41 Exciting stuff!
09:04:45 I would!
09:04:45 Is not a board of County Commissioners meeting Fyi.
09:04:48 Okay, I would move to a approve and adopt the consent.
09:04:54 Agenda for March 20, seventh, 2023.
09:04:59 Second.
09:05:00 Alright! It's been moved and seconded. I will pause one moment, just see if anyone has raised their hand and make a couple comments.
09:05:11 No hand raised. I'll call the question all in favor of approving and adopting the consent agenda, as presented today, indicate by saying, Aye, hi!
09:05:18 Hi!
09:05:20 Alright, that motion passes, and I guess we have a few minutes.
09:05:25 We have. We usually wait till 9, 30 for the the proclamations, so we'll continue that tradition and start looking back and doing a little brief.
09:05:37 I don't know, Kate, are you at a place that you can look back and let us know how your past week went?
09:05:44 Yes, just a sec here, juggling a lot of different devices.
09:05:52 Of course, with all of you on Monday, and had a meeting with okay mentioned to you.
09:06:07 Had a meeting, in the Monday afternoon hour with some of our other jurisdictional partners from the Olympic peninsula.
09:06:16 So column, county and city of city of and city of swim, all got together, and we did a draft letter, and sent to wash dots just continuing to earn mark more communication, and
really at this point really trained expressed the importance
09:06:35 of certainty, and we still don't have final dates.
09:06:39 The dates that originally announced or rescinded, and so you know, just saying that, like, we want to be partners in planning for this, which is impossible when we don't have
dates, it was a little, I think, probably less strongly worded.
09:06:53 Than we might have wanted, but with a number of jurisdictions they were not as prepared to go as far as asking for things like, you know.
09:07:01 The longer what are 2 longer closures instead of 4 shorter ones?
09:07:03 And some of our other talking points weren't widely agreed upon.
09:07:08 But you know, just trying to show a concerted voice so that that got sent to Steve Brock, also to Secretary Milan and to our website delegation at the end of last week testified,
and send it ways and means on our Point O 9 Bill this
09:07:32 is the committee where it has gone to dye the last 3 years, I think, and sure enough it is sitting there, and has not been scheduled for executive session.
09:07:42 So little nervous, and I know that our lobbyist is working on doing a a hard push. There.
09:07:50 But we might need to see if we can, anything loose there trying to wait, to hear back from our lobbyist before doing before going rogue on that.
09:08:03 Probably some strategy. Wednesday morning had a Washington State Grant Advisory Board meeting that the director of that the Washington C. Grant is retiring.
09:08:19 We've spent a lot of time talking about filling that position.
09:08:22 Be a great job for a professional, and Jefferson County one of the biggest challenges to C. Grant's work is that they have a hard time keeping a workforce in coastal communities.
09:08:34 You know, they it's often researchers.
09:08:40 And you know people with advanced degrees, and if they don't have connections in these coastal communities that they move to, they not staying for long.
09:08:48 And so their work is really affected by their inability to keep a workforce long enough to really do impactful work.
09:08:59 So a good conversation that, I think, applies to a lot of a lot of the work that we do, and some of our workforce struggles too.
09:09:07 Hmm! Met with our consultants on the strategic planning effort for the county, which is interesting.
09:09:14 I had a call with the executive director of Seattle Theater Group.
09:09:20 The group that puts on the thing Music Festival.
09:09:23 They're, of course, very concerned, and about the bridge closures, that I, you know, really feel it could be an existential threat.
09:09:31 You know they're already spending hundreds of thousands of dollars.
09:09:35 Securing that event, and there's no we have no reason to think that it won't be pushed to the weekend of that festival so they're gonna be elevating their concerns.
09:09:47 But a quick childcare meeting. I'm just trying to really hammer out.
09:09:53 We have these 2 complicated contracts, the hospitals contracting with State Department of Commerce for the childcare funding 1 million dollars from them.
09:10:04 And then Michael Mark is just doing a great job managing our end of the Usda funding I mentioned earlier.
09:10:11 So lot of details to keep track of there and really appreciate Michael's work.
09:10:17 Oh, kind of Housing Fund Board meeting, and you saw I'm not a consent.
09:10:22 Agenda, 2 new members, the Housing Fund Board fully populated, which is really great, like we had some good discussions.
09:10:35 Let's see, finalized a survey that will be going up to houseing providers. Greg.
09:10:41 That was one of my my oh, no moments of getting on the airplane and realizing I didn't have my power cord, was I was determined to finish that on the airplane.
09:10:51 Didn't happen obviously, but now I can. So I get that to you soon to review.
09:10:59 No, I might need you to report on some specifics, Greg I'm housing fun board.
09:11:09 Let's see, Thursday had a the signing of the lease for the childcare facility. So Y.M.C.A.
09:11:21 And school district are the signatories on that lease.
09:11:22 I'm very excited. With a great turnout and we'll celebration for that signing met with Aaron reading of Psychedelic Society.
09:11:33 It sounds like that's something that will be come in before us again to talk about and then spent much of Thursday at a retreat for the Economic Development Council.
09:11:39 Really trying to drill down on the priorities for the Edc.
09:11:46 And you know there's that's an organization that could be a lot of things.
09:11:50 And really needs to decide where it's gonna put its entity.
09:11:55 One of the questions. It's a bit of a chicken and egg question is, should they should they be a 501 C.
09:12:04 3, and that really drives one kind of work, or should they be a C 6.
09:12:09 Trade association, the organizational structure which drives a different kind of work.
09:12:14 So existential questions there. Friday ahead a municipal Research Service Center meeting in the morning, trying to fill some board positions.
09:12:26 There, and so so it worked really hard to get representation from East and west and city and county, and appointed and elected.
09:12:37 And so I was trying to populate it with good folks.
09:12:38 I know from the county's world.
09:12:45 And then took took much of Friday off in preparation to fly out early Saturday morning, and then got here to DC.
09:12:56 Saturday evening, where the National Association of Workforce Boards, Conferences, and kicked off on Saturday evening when we got and suspend all day yesterday in the in the
Conference.
09:13:14 And so it's going. Well, you know, the last couple of years have just been so interesting, Major shifts, and how we think about workforce, how we think about Dei.
09:13:24 Now, the economy being such an unknown, so great conversations, less to workshops, I did it just got out of one this morning about how to make the hospitality industry.
09:13:37 Actually, you know, create living wage jobs and then pathways for mobility.
09:13:42 Sorry there's a lot of sirens. I'm gonna mute for a sec.
09:13:45 We couldn't hear the sirens at all.
09:13:50 No!
09:13:50 How about now? Well, okay. Good.
09:13:53 Yeah, pretty much the microphone.
09:13:56 Wow! There's a lot of them. And actually the! As soon as I got here the presidential motorcade went by, it happens regularly.
09:14:01 So if you, I'll let you listen to that one.
09:14:05 Yeah.
09:14:05 It's very so good workshop getting, you know, trying to get the hospitality industry to adopt some pathways and some certifications that will help folks, you know, up a ladder
in that sector, and those do exist that they just tend to be used by very large
09:14:27 corporate entities. And so, you really try to identify models for how to do that in in rural areas, some good conversations there.
09:14:39 And another interesting one was on the the future of forestry and the opportunities that exist for labor in the forest.
09:14:49 For fire suppression, you know, and then the growth in the industry of cross-liminated timber and advanced timber products, you know just a a number of opportunities in the
forestry industry which is generally lost.
09:15:11 So many employees and so many jobs in the last 30 years, and yet that, you know, is that neglect is kind of seen in the forest.
09:15:21 So now that we're we understand more about fires, suppression.
09:15:25 We don't have the workforce to be doing that work.
09:15:27 So great example in California Community College having a forestry technician certification program that then, is recognized by the State of California.
09:15:39 Folks getting trained quickly and going out to work in the woods, and then that often flowing into then a forestry degree through work in the academic year, and enforcement
work in the summer.
09:15:53 So getting some good ideas. Glad to be here missing a check of the conference today.
09:16:01 But we'll go back this afternoon. Head of home tomorrow.
09:16:08 I'll get in late Tuesday, and I'm not gonna come back to Pt I'm just gonna go right to Olympia for my Wednesday Thursday meetings.
09:16:16 So sorry kind of rolling into looking ahead.
09:16:18 Yup, now, that's great. Thank you very much. Sounds like a busy week and weekend good stuff, and I'll touch more on housing fun board, id you!
09:16:27 Wanna I guess I'll make a call out just to our guests with us from the public if you'd like to make public comment, you can hit raise hand or star 9 if you're on the phone and
you can do that.
09:16:36 Oh, I see Mr. Cheers raise his hand when we bring him over.
09:16:43 I guess I can.
09:16:53 Alright. Good morning, Mr. Tiersh. Glad you're with us. You have 3Â min.
09:17:00 There you are, Morning Commissioners, one and all wanted to.
09:17:07 Well, I had. I had a couple of comments, but they're not particularly relevant at this point to the consent agenda, so we'll leave that as it is later on. Today.
09:17:19 You're having a workshop with your communications.
09:17:23 A little disappointed that there's no document to review about what that work plan it's kinda look like.
09:17:30 So you know I I would request that, you know, if there are any materials to be presented during any of these meetings, that they always be posted online and available to the
public beforehand doesn't help if you're on the telephone trying to listen to a meeting and don't have a
09:17:45 document to refer to that you might have had access to earlier.
09:17:49 So that's that's the basis for that request other than just.
09:17:53 It's just good practice to you know, compared to the the workshop with Dcd.
09:17:59 Really nice detailed work plan going out there. Same thing, central services.
09:18:05 Looks like they're well prepared for this. So little ironic that a communications person doesn't have a plan published we'll see what happens.
09:18:14 Let's see what else. Oh, yeah, I wanted to also comment on the the county's strategic planning survey, which which I took participated in.
09:18:25 I was very disappointed to see some of the comments that were made, not on the survey itself, but in the other portion of that webpage where people were just invited to leave
sort of open comments, questions about port towns and schools, questions about other things over which the
09:18:44 county has no jurisdiction like the roads in Port Townsend.
09:18:48 It just shows that to me that the community in general doesn't seem to be as well informed as they should be, and maybe that should be part of the strategic plan, and the communications
plan is letting people know exactly what it is that the county government does.
09:19:02 And doesn't do the. There are also some, not confusion, but concern, I guess, is that the category of under public safety?
09:19:15 Sheriff and fire were combined. Well, the county doesn't really do fire.
09:19:20 Look at my tax bill. No, I get separately taxed for that.
09:19:23 It's called East Jefferson are. Yes, Jefferson Fire Rescue.
09:19:27 Now so you know, kind of disappointing that the people that put that survey together also couldn't spell the word sheriff correctly in at least one place.
09:19:37 Again, spell check anyone. Finally, in terms of and then tying in with the Dcd priorities that are going to be dissust.
09:19:48 Later I was really disappointed to see in that number 14, on a list of priorities is enforcement.
09:19:54 We've got lots and lots of laws that could be enforced that would make this county a much more pleasant and safe place if it were just cleaned up.
09:20:03 If we were to, you know, just clean up the junk cars all the solid waste, all the structures built without permits, all the septic violations, illegal rentals, multiple illegal.
09:20:12 Ado ads on parcels. All that stuff that we're just fixed up.
09:20:20 Thank you. Mr. Chair.
09:20:18 It would be a much nicer county, and so I guess that's my time.
09:20:23 Thank you.
09:20:23 Thank you very much, as always. We'll respond to all public comments after we receive them.
09:20:30 Call, call anyone else like to make public comments today, you can hit Star 9 if you're on the phone or raise hand.
09:20:38 Seeing now others, I'll I guess, turn that Heidi and Kate. Any response to Mr. Cheers.
09:20:48 Let's see, that was quite the list of issues let's see, on the agenda and the communications workshop.
09:20:55 I'm imagining that's more of a conversation we haven't even had a chance to sit together with Miss Davis.
09:21:04 Our communications director. So that's probably why there's nothing in the agenda, because this is a really an initial workshop.
09:21:13 Conversation with the full board. So think that's explicit, so we can set some priorities and then develop a plan.
09:21:28 And on the Strategic Plan Survey. I've received some of the same comments, you know, noticing of sheriff being misspelled, and have been forwarding that some parts of the survey
can be Updated after it's sent and other parts cannot so it's that might
09:21:45 explain why those changes haven't been made. But technical Glitch.
09:21:50 There. And yeah, I think that's alright. Sounds good, Kate.
09:21:57 Anything to add.
09:21:59 No just good points. Thank you, Mr. Cheers.
09:22:03 Yeah, I'll just say that civics is something we need to work on as a society and understanding how these things come together, are, we often do a lot of spend a lot of time
trying to correct some of the misapprehensions.
09:22:16 People have, and they they persist. There's one particular obnoxious rumor down in Brennan that I rebutted so many times, and it just keeps coming back like welcome all.
09:22:26 So it's interesting to think that civics could be part of our strategic planning.
09:22:29 But I do appreciate the note, and I would say best practice, and one that we're trying to definitely do is to get materials posted with agenda items beforehand.
09:22:39 Sometimes stuff isn't ready, or they're doing it, you know.
09:22:40 The Friday or or over the weekend, so whenever possible, we do encourage our guests to provide materials beforehand, so we can make them available.
09:22:49 So I would just add, I'm not surprised that he people people are noticing that I forgot my comment.
09:23:03 There. I forgot my comment. Sorry, great! And you know I mean the fire and and sheriff's office. Of course.
09:23:12 Yes, we do not have control over the fire departments. But hmm!
09:23:16 It is public safety. It's probably part of the nexus between.
09:23:18 We do have the fire, Marshall. We do have a fire, Marshall.
09:23:26 Yes, no. I remembered it. Okay. The comment that people are making comments about this that aren't related to the work of the county.
09:23:29 I would just say that I personally spent a probably 15 to 20% of my week most weeks explaining, you know, that's a state highway.
09:23:40 That's a city jurisdiction issue. And then you know it.
09:23:45 Just it feels like, how do we educate the entire community?
09:23:47 Because different segments of the community tune into what we're working on at different times.
09:23:55 And so they might further educated or updated on. This is a an issue that's the county's really working on right now, or this is not in the county's jurisdiction.
09:24:05 How do you how are we? Gonna go forward? Education of the community about who's responsible for what you know?
09:24:12 It's just it's like we. I imagine you spend a lot of time talking about specific issues that are not in the county's jurisdiction.
09:24:20 And then also the issue of code enforcement and code violations.
09:24:27 Another thing, I spent a ton of time on every week is talking to citizens who have issues with something that's going on in a property in their neighborhood, or you know, and
our code enforcement staff are working on a huge list of issues at any given time.
09:24:42 So sometimes I know I haven't update for the person calling.
09:24:45 And other times, I say, well, let me talk to our code Enforcement folks about that.
09:24:47 It's it's well noted, Mr. Tears, and it is a ongoing line of work for your commissioners to pay attention to these issues that either we don't have responsibility for or need
to find out more information about.
09:25:05 So I appreciate the reminder and I think I'm drilling into this a little bit so that maybe it'll get elevated in the community community conversation.
09:25:15 Yeah, yeah. And I mean, just a reminder, we don't have code Enforcement officer.
09:25:21 We have a code compliance officer, and we're complaint driven we don't ride around, but you know, proactively identifying conditions.
09:25:30 And then pursue the land owner. And that's typically the way code code compliance programs are run in in counties like ours.
09:25:39 Right, and I think we've adopted a bit of a harm reduction model, too, you know.
09:25:43 We stopped red tagging houses, and now we work with folks that don't have appropriate septic or waste disposal to come up with a short-term solution, a long-term solution, and
the goal is to raise the floor for everyone yeah and that's yeah, I think it's called
09:25:59 voluntary compliance. Yeah.
09:26:02 Okay. Any other public comments at this time?
09:26:10 Seeing none, Heidi, you wanna go over your past Kate's the last words out of Kate's mouth were something about.
09:26:20 She was going straight from DC. To Alympia, to her legislative work, and I was gonna start there because maybe I'm pretty apologizing to Kate.
09:26:29 There's been a little dust up in Olympia about some forestry stuff.
09:26:34 There's there's a budget it's not a proviso that there wasn't a 80 million dollar program proposed in the budget for protecting older forests, and I spent much of the weekend
working with well, Friday night driving home from port angeles talking with
09:26:59 Paul Jul on the phone. But there's let's see, I have a letter here.
09:27:05 There's 80 million dollars for that's they're putting it specifically in sustainable forest management.
09:27:16 And they're talking about protecting some of the older forests with the funds, and the funding has not been defined.
09:27:27 How exactly how the funding would be used. As I understand it's not been defined, but the way I see that it could be used potentially is, it could be, it could help with some
of the replacement land issues that have come up through the trust land transfer process it could help with getting some funding to
09:27:44 the junior taxing districts. So there are. There are ways the funding could be used that it would have multiple benefits.
09:27:51 But the our Senator van der Wake has introduced 4 or 5 striker amendments to the Senate Budget.
09:27:59 All targeting either this older force work or the carbon sequestration work that we've been hearing about over the course of the legislative session.
09:28:08 So that's just my blogging those for you, and a number of commissioners, myself included, and time insert from Thurston County Kayleigh, Galloway, from Watkam County and Meghan,
Dunn from Stammers County, Drafted a letter in support of the
09:28:23 80 million dollars and using it to look positive solutions for counties and the financial impacts from some of these carbon and older forest proposals to the junior taxing districts.
09:28:37 So anyway, just one had to let you know that kind of dusted up over the weekend. So that's part of my looking back.
09:28:45 Yeah, yeah.
09:28:43 Can I ask you a couple of questions about that? Was that in the in the proposed Senate, operating our capital budget?
09:28:55 Okay.
09:28:52 Send it operating. So it's in front of ways and means right now.
09:28:59 Did it come from Ralph's?
09:29:04 Okay.
09:28:58 And I think those it came from office, the 80 million dollar proposal and the 4 strikers are coming are 5.
09:29:10 Now I think strikers are coming from senators, and I think the hearing on that is, at 40'clock this afternoon Pacific time.
09:29:16 Okay. Okay. Okay. Thank you.
09:29:19 We're hoping to testify I wasn't planning on testifying.
09:29:26 Yeah. Let's see.
09:29:28 What's the? Is it the capital, or the operating?
09:29:33 What is the hearing on? So it's not tied to a policy bill.
09:29:37 It's the Senate budget.
09:29:39 Okay. Yeah. Oh, my, computer wants to reboot now, too.
09:29:45 Oh, okay, we'll see when you get back. Okay.
09:29:45 I lose you I'll come back. Yeah.
09:29:48 So looking back. Uhhuh, before the weekend, I spent all day Friday in Port Angeles with mostly coffees from Colum County, but also Steve reviewing 4 candidates for a Olympic
peninsula, wide strategic tourism plan and it was
09:30:13 really interesting. The 4 different, the candidate entities were as different from each other as night and day.
09:30:23 So it was. It was useful and beneficial, and we came up with 2 top candidates and at a robust discussion at the end of the day, and I think we're kind of leaving it.
09:30:36 Sleep on it over the weekend, and send any further feedback to our consultant.
09:30:41 Who's coordinating the process today? So yeah, yeah, I did.
09:30:47 I mean a clear one, too, out of the 2.
09:30:52 Saturday morning, Mark Macaulay and I attended the Chamber Awards ceremony, where Mallory Weinheimer was a finalist for rising entrepreneur.
09:31:04 She didn't know she was not selected, but it was great to be there with her, and she should feel really great about having been recognized as a finalist category, and it was
a fun event.
09:31:18 And a long event, but it was we both thought we should be home by 7, and got home around 9.
09:31:26 Was? Was it 9? Mark well, you have a longer drive than yeah. No. Heidi was kind enough to pick me up, going both ways.
09:31:34 I was supposed to be 4, 30 to 6, 30, and I went until 8.
09:31:36 And a very interesting guest, speaker, Lef Whitaker. Yeah.
09:31:41 He talked about his to a sense of mount, Everest, and talked a lot about his dad.
09:31:46 Okay. 94 year old, has a twin brother who's also 94, very engaging and optimistic and upbeat presentation, and that I think that's why the event went wrong.
09:31:59 But I don't think anybody cared. And then so that was Saturday, and then I filled you in on Friday, Thursday evening I 10Â min is gonna go backwards.
09:32:16 Thursday evening I attended habitat in East Jefferson.
09:32:20 Rotary presentation about the Mason Street Project, which they're now calling the Cedar Avenue Community.
09:32:26 I think, yeah. And it was well attended. And I mean, I've been to a few of these now.
09:32:36 So it felt a little bit like replay, but every time they have a little bit more information, because a little bit more happens in the intervening weeks.
09:32:43 So that was a a great thing to attend. I'm very excited about that project, and I feel them getting more excited with every presentation I attend.
09:32:54 So attended the Swack meeting before that, and and then I got on the phone in my car and listen to the trust land transfer.
09:33:05 Hearing on my way to the habitat it was like one of those times when I'm like, I think I can listen to this on my phone.
09:33:14 So then, earlier in the day, I met with a citizen to talk about a number of issues and kind of property transitions and chemical and ideas.
09:33:25 About how to amplify the opportunity. There are a number of kind of keystone businesses for sale, and right now, and some of the other businesses are thinking, how do we?
09:33:37 How do we attract the right set of folks to these? You know old businesses that have been in the community for a long time like the Jimicum Cafe, you know, looking at Wendy,
cause maybe she and I could buy the just kidding let's see, so yeah.
09:33:54 And then I had a meeting with Barry done our strategic planning consultants.
09:34:00 Had a community foundation meeting in the morning on Wednesday.
09:34:05 I attended some of the 1 10 to 1% data meetings with behavioral health providers.
09:34:14 And this one was specifically around juvenile services.
09:34:18 We had a couple of vendors that we met with in the afternoon, and kind of heard how things are going with them.
09:34:27 Had a strategic planning check-in on Wednesday morning, and then also a workshop on the gateway.
09:34:35 Visitor Center. First thing, Wednesday, with Mark and some others to try and come up with.
09:34:42 Pass forward with the gateway Visitor Center, which I think we are staying.
09:34:47 Seeing a vision, for so we had a special meeting around service changes for transit.
09:34:58 Tuesday afternoon, just some small additions, kind of route route changes to a number of routes to one either start earlier in the morning, go later in the afternoon, evening,
or to facilitate more seamless connections to things like the Kingston, express so no no big changes or no new
09:35:21 routes with transit. Just some tunes to the schedule, and then Monday, I was here with you all all day, and Yup, that was last week.
09:35:39 Oh! And Tuesday was Greg's birthday.
09:35:41 It wasn't sure we did have strawberry shortcake in the office on Tuesday.
09:35:48 And I see we're we're past the public comment period.
09:35:52 So I'll give one last ask if anyone is stricken with a need to comment.
09:35:58 Hit Star 9, or raise hands. See no one, I will close public comment, and before I do my briefing, or we turn to Mark, let's look at our proclamation.
09:36:12 Do we have anyone from county government with us today, Dad?
09:36:22 Jokes are good for society, awkward attempts of humor make us more resilient so do they. Yes, so we just got more resilient because of your all right.
09:36:38 Does everyone have access to? Oh, have we lost Kate?
09:36:44 The screen, up!
09:36:47 Wait a moment while we bring Kate back, so we can.
09:36:51 All nicely repeat my joke.
09:36:57 You mind just giving me one more minute, and I will be back on Zoom.
09:37:01 Okay. Yup.
09:37:01 I'm just signing in. Thanks.
09:37:05 We'll just pause for a moment.
09:37:10 I will say one thing from my report, while we wait for Kate that last Monday at lunch I didn't have a meeting with folks from Kptz to talk about the county radio show.
09:37:23 I think it's to be tled county connections and what we are.
09:37:28 We're go for Fridays from 1230 to 1255.
09:37:34 And so, starting on April fourteenth, 30 tune in to Kptz on every week for one of the commissioners, and plus a guest or so so, and you sent around a a little sketch of a schedule,
but I had a bunch of ideas.
09:37:54 They have different, you know, talks about the sewer, and get really get specific about the history.
09:38:01 And so, yeah, go ahead. Mark sent that out to you, Kate and Heidi populate.
09:38:06 Just get a bunch in, and then we'll look at calendars, too rain, but we can always flip days, if people have conflicts on a pretty flexible schedule.
09:38:16 Welcome, back, Kate. We were about to win for you to dig into the proclamation on a National County Government month of April.
09:38:28 Alright. Do you have the proclamation handy?
09:38:34 Alright. We'll wait till you have it all the way up.
09:38:38 No, it's all right. Reboots are happening all over the place.
09:38:33 Really close, good, sorry, so.
09:38:51 Yeah.
09:38:44 Yeah, but it's a little it's a little annoying when our computers just rebuild on their own shows us how much they were when a public meeting.
09:38:55 It's like, Hold on!
09:38:59 Why don't we go? I'll go first.
09:39:01 Then Heidi, then, Kate, as we, as we move to the proclamation.
09:39:06 I'm ready.
09:39:07 Okay. So we'll read it first and then take action.
09:39:11 Proclamation.
09:39:11 Will you repeat the order? Sorry, greatly repeat the order.
09:39:14 If you're gonna go after Heidi Greg Heidi K.
09:39:17 Great thanks, so much.
09:39:19 Yup, whereas Washington's 39 counties serving more than 7 million residents, provide essential services to create health, healthy, safe, and vibrant communities.
09:39:30 Whereas counties provide health services, administer justice, keep communities safe, foster economic opportunities, and much more.
09:39:41 Whereas each year since 1991, the Washington State Association of Counties and the National Association of Counties have encouraged counties across the country to elevate awareness
of county responsibilities, programs and services and.
09:39:56 Whereas Jefferson County and all counties take pride in our responsibility to protect and enhance the health, welfare, and safety of our residents.
09:40:05 In efficient and cost-effective ways, and whereas, in order to remain healthy, vibrant, and safe, Jefferson County provides public health programs that protect against diseases,
outbreaks such as COVID-19 supports mental health programs, that help individuals cope with stress and
09:40:21 anxiety, invests in infrastructure projects that improve access to clean energy and broadband.
09:40:28 Internet promotes responsible stewardship of natural resources through sustainability initiatives, enhances quality of life through parks, trails, and libraries, and shows the
humane treatment of animals, expands access to justice for all workers regardless of income level supports workforce development programs that prepare
09:40:49 workers for changing economic conditions and fosters regional collaboration among neighboring jurisdictions, to address common challenges.
09:40:59 Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Jefferson County Commissioners do hereby proclaim April 2023, as National County Government month in Jefferson County, and encourage
all county officials, employees schools and residents to recognize the importance of county government approve this 20 seventh
09:41:19 day of March 2023.
09:41:21 Great. We had some, whereas about what we don't do, whereas county doesn't take care of city streets and no State highways, state highways.
09:41:31 Okay.
09:41:33 Yeah. Great? Any. I mean, it's it's kind of patting ourselves on the back.
09:41:41 But it's, you know, to Mr. Chair's point earlier in public comment.
09:41:45 There's a lot of work that public the counties do for the public that they're unaware of, and a lot of things that we don't do, that the public asks us with.
09:41:54 But it's really critical to keep maintaining those services and I don't know.
09:41:59 Jefferson County offers an incredible level level of service for the size of our staff.
09:42:03 So I'm always impressed. And I think sometimes people take that level of service for granted.
09:42:06 But it it comes on the shoulders of a lot of folks really hard work.
09:42:11 Amen!
09:42:11 Wilson.
09:42:14 Okay? Well, I would welcome a emotion. I will move to adopt the National County Government Proclamation that we just read.
09:42:25 A second.
09:42:27 Okay, it's been moved and seconded to adopt and and proclaim the month of April as national county government month.
09:42:35 Hi!
09:42:33 All in favor indicate by saying, Aye, bye, that motion passes right well, we have a 100'clock scheduled appointment work, update with our at 100'clock.
09:42:46 We're gonna go over the potential action on the vacation of Gusterson Road.
09:42:53 Ricky Ricky Beach drive, but why don't we keep going with briefing?
09:43:02 I started on mine, talking about the meeting I had with Kptz last Monday at lunch, and then I was with you all.
09:43:11 Did I have a I feel like I had a chamber meeting, too.
09:43:14 I did have a North Northwood Canal Chamber of Commerce meeting Monday evening, and we're starting to have speakers every meeting.
09:43:25 So Jamie Machevsky I think I'm practicing it.
09:43:33 There's an F was showed up, and they're gonna have a task.
09:43:38 Gonna do a big presentation next month about the house.
09:43:44 Repairs in that are largely focused on South County and their their additional budget capacity this year so it's good meeting then, on Tuesday I had a meeting with her, says
Consultant Digest on the Big Grant the Rcorp Grant that's been paying for the behavioral health
09:44:00 consortium, etcetera, just about what the future is, what's worked well, what hasn't worked so a little interview with Andrew Bell.
09:44:07 Then we did have the Jefferson transit meeting, and there were some great small changes to schedules.
09:44:15 More days for dialer ride, earlier times for the Brennan.
09:44:19 Bus which allows students to access West Sound Academy and then the really exciting thing was, we approved 2 new Jefferson Transit Authority board, so I know there are some
support commissioners who are interested.
09:44:35 And School Board members are also, of course, eligible, so really exciting to have that going, and we'll need to make sure to to amplify that opportunity when it goes out.
09:44:43 There on Wednesday, I met with Aaron redden from the Antigen Society.
09:44:52 Psychedelic Society as well, and talked about how we could help their cause, that I met with Matt Tyler and Monty about one of our vaguer Arpa Awards.
09:45:05 The part planning in kind of came up with a plan for that, and I'm scheduling a meeting to meet with the fiscal sponsors as well as the actual sponsors.
09:45:18 You know, this week, and I had lunch with our public Health Director Apple.
09:45:26 Was great. Wednesday, and then I did the my one on one strategic planning interview was really good.
09:45:36 Interview on Point and the Housing Fund Board Meetings.
09:45:41 We're working. Really, effectively. I think we have more.
09:45:46 We're doing needs assessment to kind of fill out the data for the Updated 5 Year Plan.
09:45:52 That's coming up. So we're starting to set those tables and sent out a doodle pool for committee members, including one of our new board members and want to welcome Julia Cochran
and Vicki Sanchez contact to that Board.
09:46:04 I think they've both been really present in the conversation already.
09:46:07 So it's a very, very natural fit. And yeah, the work continues.
09:46:13 The survey's gonna really inform some big questions like, do we use some of these funds for staff?
09:46:19 You know I had the Rfp. There was some some stacks that we got about the Rfp.
09:46:24 Process this last year and this survey is really our effort to be responsive to that.
09:46:28 And keep working towards iterative improvement that was exciting defcom.
09:46:38 Regular meeting on Thursday was good. Everything they've got.
09:46:40 A couple more people hired up. There's still a lot of overtime, you know.
09:46:44 They have the same kind of hiring incentive right now, and we're having a special meeting this week because we have 4 applicants for the executive director position, including
some very qualified applicants, some of which might cause heartburn to other organizations, locally, but you know this is the way.
09:47:02 It goes. I see, I had lunch with our Central Services Director to rave about artificial intelligence, and I raved, and then I went to that Hood Canal bridge meeting with wash
Dots.
09:47:17 Heard, when Clark gets it afterwards. Actually, she was there with the Jamestown tribe which she's with, and it was frustrating, you know, as these things go, they are.
09:47:31 I think we mentioned. They are not doing the roundabouts on 10.
09:47:37 4. This year, the the closures on 101 really are gonna shut those down traffic both ways for nearly a month.
09:47:46 The detour routes seem very unplanned, they say, as Kate indicated earlier, not like we are on a planning process with them, but that there's one way information coming, and
they are happy to hear our comments in our concerns, but they are not.
09:48:07 Interested in changing basically anything based on the concerns we raise. I guess.
09:48:13 I wonder if it's time to reach out directly to you?
09:48:16 Know the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor himself, I mean the roundabouts can wait doing it at the same time as you did the roundabout seems to make a lot of sense.
09:48:27 We've long said the middle of the summer is really disadvantageous with the other work going on.
09:48:33 I mean, there's going to be special hall trucks will not have a detour route.
09:48:37 They will not be able to come to the peninsula.
09:48:39 Oh, I guess their detour route will, you know, get to Port Angela's through Aberdeen, but there will not be a one.
09:48:45 Oh, one on the side of the peninsula for those the vehicles that can't go over that little closing bridge, or big quilting bridge, so I don't know if we want to take more serious
action just to say you know the middle of the
09:49:01 summer is incredibly destructive to our economy or not.
09:49:07 I guess that's so. It's an open question.
09:49:11 I did agenda planning with Mark, and then had a miss Communication that our first meeting about the skate park came and went, and I met with couple of residents, and then Friday
I went dropping for cars to replace my total car
09:49:30 that's all right now. No, Shawn Freud is is my friend.
09:49:34 And that was, that was my week, Mark, how did your last week let's work through this.
09:49:43 Okay. Monday. The twentieth was on our board meeting Tuesday, the 20 first.
09:49:49 I did an out brief exit interview with Jodie Adams.
09:49:54 Finally she was on her way to the Midwest.
09:49:58 Somewhere, anyway. A fruitful phone call. So I learned a fair amount from Jody and we're going to miss her.
09:50:07 I turned over my senior management team to Renee Bryant from a very done restarting.
09:50:14 Great oh, consult my calendar! Kate, saying, you're very quiet, Mark.
09:50:20 Okay, well, are we using the all again, like we did last week?
09:50:24 Can you hear? Mark? Better? Okay, she can hear you better now.
09:50:30 Okay? All right, I'm eating the mic. Okay? So on Tuesday I was saying I turned my senior management team over to Barry Dunn to interview my senior management team, and then,
for the first time in a decade, I donated blood with blood works.
09:50:45 I would recommend that anybody with a pint of extra blood floating around do that.
09:50:50 It's much needed in our community. 2. A 2 Pm.
09:50:53 Met with with a team. And that's Kevin Street from the Pd. Aaron Burg from the port and John Marrow from the city and then, for the first time in a while, I participated in
the Waston county administrators Association Monthly check and That's a subsidiary
09:51:10 of Wassak, a healthy discussion about Arpa funds.
09:51:15 We're not the only county concerned about those funds evaporating on us.
09:51:20 Oops! I jumped weeks here. Sorry not used to using my phone.
09:51:25 Then at 9 Am. On Wednesday, Heidi and I had a fruitful meeting with the Historical Society in Tcc.
09:51:33 To plan the transition between those 2 organizations for managing the Visitor Center 30.
09:51:39 We had a strategic planning project meeting, and then at one Pm.
09:51:46 I met with Wendy Davis, our communications officer, that we're here from in a little while on her plan and Sarah Mel and someone about our employee, Newsletter and I'll thank
you both for agreeing to do the Commissioner's corner.
09:52:03 Monthly on a rotating basis. Then in the afternoon, after that Y.M.C.A.'s childcare planning meeting, and then my weekly with Brent Butler from Community Development, before
he left for his two-day conference on Bart Marshall code and responsibilities then on the
09:52:26 20, third, Jeff. Con. 9, 1, one Board meeting agenda, planning with Greg at 2 P. M. And then my weekly with Chris Goy.
09:52:36 And then on Friday we had Berry done in doing a quite a few interviews.
09:52:42 We had 2 employee groups, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and then an elected officials.
09:52:48 At 1030, and I had a meeting with Brenda Huntingford and Judy Shepard.
09:52:54 Sarah Melonson talking about accruals. We're still adjusting from from gems to Munis, and we're trying to synchronize collective bargaining agreements with how we actually calculate
and post accruals to the accounts of our
09:53:14 employees, and so that was fruitful meeting, and then I met with Ld.
09:53:18 Reichert, and Louise and Coker from the Home Builders Association to talk about site, development, review process, progress, etc.
09:53:29 And then I did my one on one with Renee Bryant on the strategic planning, and I agreed it was a good interview, a very pertinent question.
09:53:38 And then Saturday, first Chamber leadership award event.
09:53:42 I attended since I arrived here. It was a good time, Mallory.
09:53:47 Yeah, she brought her dad, so I know what she was happy to be nominated and.
09:53:53 Worthy of our recognition, for sure. Nice!
09:53:58 Like mine's gonna get rebooted, I would just add that last week on Monday we talked with Dr.
09:54:04 Barry about changing the schedule of our updates.
09:54:06 To the community. Public health updates. And I think we're talking about going to monthly updates.
09:54:13 Plan. Starting in the first Monday of the month, until there's enough to report.
09:54:20 You know she's happy to come back, but you know we were getting fewer and fewer questions again, as we're we're living with Covid, I just think we should announce that as many
times as we can so thank you people like my mom, she was like oh, i've gotten
09:54:35 used to there mornings with Dr. Barry on Mondays.
09:54:40 Great. Okay. Well, mark you, wanna take a look at the upcoming weeks, or do a couple this will be super quick for me.
09:54:51 So today I'll day with that with the board tomorrow.
09:54:56 I've got a meeting with Kathy Taylor and Monty from public works.
09:55:00 Judy Shepard, our finance manager, to talk about sewer finance the stimulus for that meeting is our uncertainty regarding the receipt of the 1.6 9 to the second tranche of Arpa
revenue Sharing funds and to check in with oh, and
09:55:16 so, Stacy Prater will be there. She's back from vacation tomorrow.
09:55:22 To get an update on the line of credit that the Board approved her to pursue, just to make sure that we have Monty's back covered for liquidity.
09:55:34 And then a 20'clock 18 meeting, and then on Wednesday Budget Committee, and then a strategic planning project meeting and then I'll hit the road for Tacoma for the Risk Pool
Conference and won't be back until later afternoon on Friday right I know we've heard from Kate already but heidi
09:55:57 want to look at the upcoming week here with you.
09:56:02 Of course, all day today. Tomorrow morning we have a special Ltac meeting to talk about the gateway Visitor Center Transition with the committee.
09:56:13 There's some need for some overlap between the Historical Society and Tcc.
09:56:20 So there might be a little funding needs to cover that overlap.
09:56:26 Have a Community Foundation Board meeting. I'm having lunch with Chris Coy to talk about how his first couple of quarters here are going, and then Wednesday Budget meeting and
the strategic planning meeting that Mark just mentioned, and then I will be I might be out much of Wednesday.
09:56:49 I have friends coming from out of town unexpectedly.
09:56:53 Thursday morning. I'm gonna be compiling comments on the Snake River.
09:57:02 Dam, 4 lower Sixke River dam. Removal. Proposal for Federal Government Listing session on Friday, which I've been invited to speak at.
09:57:13 Thursday. I also have a trust land transfer work group meeting in the middle of the day, and then mental health field team.
09:57:24 Friday. I am doing the Federal listening session on the lower Sink River Dams.
09:57:32 Hope to attend the seventh haven, opening Friday at one, and then I'm meeting with some constituents about derelict vessel removal and some ideas they have about how we can
have more ongoing eyes on the water around derelict vessel removal and then
09:57:53 Saturday is the farmer's market opening in the morning.
09:57:56 I'll be going for the Gob parade first thing, and then headed straight out to headlock for the Marine Resource Committee.
09:58:03 Retreat, for most of the day. On Saturday. So that's this week.
09:58:08 Fantastic, sorry I'm still rebooting here, right back up enough to look.
09:58:14 We got 2Â min until our 100'clock, so I'll be quick, and we can always come back to it.
09:58:20 Tomorrow we're working. There's a big meeting with the intellectual and developmental Disability Advisory Board to work on school to work transition planning out at the Maritime
Center.
09:58:34 That's a 3Â h work session that on Wednesday got the Budget Committee meeting.
09:58:40 I'm gonna go try to pick up the car. That I purchased after my Friday search and then we have the seventh, even developers meeting and meeting, which the with the public Health
outreach folks to, you know, compare video Gear.
09:58:55 And then the annual yearly review of Head Start is a couple of hours.
09:59:00 Wednesday afternoon we have our special meeting of Jeffcom Board on Thursday morning.
09:59:08 At 9 Am. To go over the applicants we have for executive director, and set that process a spinning I'm meeting as follow up with a concerned residence.
09:59:20 After that work out agenda planning sometime in that on Thursday as well, and then we've got a Bh behavioral health consortium meeting that I'm meeting with some folks down
at the Quilson community Center on Thursday afternoon and then we canceled our
09:59:41 normal hood check in, because on Friday they are coming to the grand opening of Seventh Haven at 10'clock, and I will certainly be there with bells on really exciting and yeah,
that's that's great thing to end on so really excited to have that be a real thing getting people
10:00:00 to move in. And I'll just reiterate.
10:00:03 I think I've told you before, both before, but it's something that really sticks with one of the challenges we have is that people are in are not being income qualified for
the exiting from homeless into into Seventh haven that is, people that are homeless don't income.
10:00:21 Qualify for the the choice vouchers and the under 30% of it.
10:00:26 So we'll keep working on that. But it's a challenge.
10:00:29 Okay. With that we will been very efficient, and we are at 100'clock, where we are going to we can find a hearing. Is it sorry?
10:00:39 I just read the whole system restarts back in but possible action.
10:00:42 Monte, you wanna come join market table and.
10:00:48 Colette. Yes, welcome, Colette.
10:00:52 Good to have you here, and thank you. Nice to be here.
10:00:57 I don't know. Did you see we got one public comment that just came in Friday afternoon, can you respond to that as well?
10:01:06 I know, and back and forth.
10:01:12 Oh, thank you. Okay.
10:01:16 Good morning. May I begin? Please do thank you for being with us.
10:01:23 Oh, you do. Okay, my name's Colette Costello.
10:01:29 I work for Jefferson County Public Works, says the right of way representative, and I've been the project manager on these 2 right of way vacations that are in front of the
board the first one I'd like to cover is the Gustafson road. Right away.
10:01:43 Vacation, and it is. It involves a 100 foot stretch of Gustavson Road right away down at the very bottom of Bolton Peninsula.
10:01:55 And the process for road vacations was followed in terms of notifying adjacent property owners and the hearing examiner held a public hearing, in which he took testimony, and
the hearing examiner, whose decision you should have today recommended approval of the vacation with a couple of conditions one
10:02:22 of which is to ensure that the one of the properties west of the right of way that's being vacated would not be landlocked.
10:02:34 It's currently under the same ownership. And so it's not a current problem.
10:02:38 But we want something on title to notify any future owners.
10:02:43 If that ownership gets segregated, that some easement rights would be needed to be conveyed, and the other condition was to pay fees that are due administrative fees and the
praised value for the right of way, and also because the petitioner is the owner of the
10:03:06 parcel to the south of the right of way, and the right of way was actually reserved by the county when it conveyed the property north of the right of way upon vacation.
10:03:20 That right of way would normally attach by operation of law to the North property.
10:03:25 And so, in order to make the vacated right of way valuable to the petitioner that Northern property owner has agreed to quit, claim any interest in that right of way to the
petitioner to the South, so that's one of the conditions and that is the third condition.
10:03:45 Yeah, so great. And Peter just go over a little bit. This isn't a hearing. You.
10:03:50 We had a hearing with the Hearings Examiner, that we've delegate.
10:03:54 Can you just explain the nuance of what authority we've delegated to the hearing examiner?
10:03:58 And what exactly you're asking for us to, today, and what the options are.
10:04:00 The hearing examiner is authorized to conduct a public hearing, to take testimony, to hear any concerns in favor in opposition to the proposed vacation, to evaluate the criteria
listed in the County Code 1210 and to provide a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners as to
10:04:27 whether the hearing Examiner would recommend that the vacation be approved, denied, approved with conditions.
10:04:37 And so the hearing examiner's report has recommended that the Boc approve the vacation with condition.
10:04:44 But it's, you know it's the final decision of the Bocc whether to follow those recommendations or to change them at all.
10:04:55 Work, these vacation approvals in 2 steps when there are conditions to be met.
10:05:02 So the first step is to have we're recommending that the Board of County Commissioners approve a resolution today that expresses the intent to vacate the right of way.
10:05:16 If the petitioner meets all of the conditions and the petitioner has one year to meet those conditions, and when the petitioner meets those conditions we will come back to the
board with verification that the conditions have been met and asked the board to adopt a resolution which then officially would
10:05:40 vacate the right of way. So it's a two-step approval process.
10:05:42 What happens if they don't take care of the conditions within a year, if they don't meet the conditions in within a year, and they haven't asked for an extension.
10:05:53 Vacation process terminates, and but the petitioner would still be required for any administrative fees and expenses that have accrued.
10:06:04 I'm not from the beginning great, and we didn't get any public comment on this one.
10:06:10 We just on the Gusterson, and no one talked about the eagle convocation that happens down there, too.
10:06:18 It's a fascinating. It's a great place down.
10:06:20 Okay. Questions. Kate.
10:06:23 Hey, Greg, Greg, I'm confused. Weren't we talking about Gusterson?
10:06:28 Yes, and then we also have one for Ricky Davis Road.
10:06:31 Okay. Okay.
10:06:31 We have 2 in front of Ricky Davis Road.
10:06:40 We have 2 in front of Ricky Davis Road. We have 2.
10:06:47 Any questions. Nope, I don't have.
10:06:51 I mean Colette really explained it well, and of course the hearing examiner's report is the thorough document that has the maps and exhibits, and everything.
10:06:59 So we're not, you know, putting exhibits up on the screen here. Anything?
10:07:06 But I think that again the it's the key is this is the intent to vacate, and then they have the 12 months to meet the conditions, which is, that's LED to some not doing that,
and some previous ones has LED to problems where these things just last for years and years and years, and
10:07:24 that's kind of what happened with the next one we're gonna talk about.
10:07:27 Ricky Beach drive where? So we've improved the process now and made it really clear that again.
10:07:35 You know this?
10:07:38 The, petitioner will know if the Board states its intent to vacate, that they're not wasting their time moving ahead.
10:07:43 Meeting these conditions, and then we everyone knows they have a time limit to do that.
10:07:48 So this can't drag on for forever. And then when they do meet those conditions again, as Colette said, then we'll do the final actual vacation resolution, and that gets, you
know, recorded and everything.
10:08:03 So right now. So today you're looking for us to approve the resolution in a matter of an intent to vacate a portion of custodyan road right away.
10:08:11 Correct. Okay, if there's yeah, go ahead. No, I don't think so.
10:08:14 Yeah. Just wanna say hello to Colett. I don't know that if you have been before us before.
10:08:22 Not in this role.
10:08:28 Yeah.
10:08:24 Yeah, well, we're just so thrilled that you joined public works I know it's been a little while, but really great to have your expertise on these matters. So thank you.
10:08:33 Thank you.
10:08:34 And yeah, this one seems relatively uncomplicated, it seems like there's agreement from the neighbors.
10:08:41 And so I'm happy to proceed.
10:08:45 Alright, I'd welcome emotion. Someone is.
10:08:48 Okay. Emotion. I move that we approve a resolution.
10:08:53 Adopting a hearing examiner report and recommendations, and expressing the boards, intent to vacate a portion of a county right of way known as Gustavson Road, subject to petitioner
meeting certain conditions.
10:09:04 I'll second that. Okay. It's been moved in second.
10:09:08 Any further questions? No, okay. We had an opportunity for public comment just an hour ago, so I will call the question all in favor of this motion.
10:09:18 Alright!
10:09:17 Indicate by saying, Aye, hi! Alright! That was the easy one.
10:09:23 That's the thanks for starting with the kid gloves.
10:09:26 What's next? Can I just mirror what Kate, Commissioner Dean said about having Collad here is our right away. Rep.
10:09:34 We didn't have a right away rep, for maybe a year or more.
10:09:39 It was difficult to find someone, but it's then just a huge.
10:09:52 Relief for us to have a qualified person back in the position and we just couldn't find anyone more qualified than Colette.
10:10:00 I mean someone with a engineering background and an attorney's background.
10:10:05 I mean, it's like the perfect blend for right away.
10:10:08 And well, it's been just doing, you know, tons of work for us.
10:10:13 I don't know how we made it, but time without her, but work on the sewer, and all these projects that we have going as well as you know these things.
10:10:23 These road vacations and things like that that roll in. But it's just been a really key to our department to have her in this position.
10:10:33 It was. It was wonderful to see how excited the team had public works was when we accepted the position.
10:10:39 I was working closely with Bob Wheeler and communicating with landowners about various rights away in the sewer area, and he's like, Yeah, now, we just have to get this done.
10:10:50 And then it was magic. Lightning struck, and Colette came back to the team, and really grateful.
10:10:55 Well, thank you. It's been great. It really has been.
10:10:58 It's a great team over in public works. I'm really happy.
10:11:01 There, great, thank you.
10:11:05 Alright. So the termination point offshine yes, so this, as Monty says, has a lot more history history to it.
10:11:18 This was a right of way that was originally brought in 2,000 or 2,001, and it was a case where the hearing examiner heard the vacation potition and took testimony and made findings
and recommendations.
10:11:41 We missed a step in bringing it to the Board of County Committeeers for decision as to whether they had an intent to vacate excuse me, and would follow the hearing examiner's
recommendations or not, there was some attempt by the petitioner to meet the conditions in the hearing examiner
10:12:01 report, but not successfully. And so, 20 years have gone by with periodic attempts by the petitioner to settle the matter one way or another, and then last year public works
came back to the board and asked the Board to remand it back given the 20 years that had elapsed remand the case back to
10:12:27 the hearing Examiner for review again. And so this is a case of Ricky Beach drive in the termination Point Platt, which was plotted in the early sixties, and there have been
problems with landslides in that area, and they lots along Ricky beach drive have
10:12:50 been deemed unbuiltable, and everyone's on the on the water side.
10:12:57 Yeah of Ricky Beach drive, and so, but and the road was closed for vehicular access, although some of the lot owners, we understand, have been using the old right of way to
access some of the lots down there.
10:13:19 So we'd like public works would like to settle the matter one way or another as well, and they so we brought it to the hearing Examiner.
10:13:30 We ren notified all of the property owners within 300 feet.
10:13:35 We notified agencies that would have a vested interest in that right of way, and the hearing examiner submitted his findings and recommendations again, with a recommendation
to the Bocc to approve the vacation subject to the petitioner meeting certain conditions including making sure that there continues to
10:14:03 be legal access to any owners, or for any owners, or for any owners, to any lots that they have rights to down on the you know, the legal access to any owners, or for any owners,
to any lots that they have rights to down on the you know, like Jason.
10:14:24 And so public works is in concurrence with that, and we would also recommend approval of the vacation.
10:14:34 So to the conditions noted, which also included payment of administrative fees.
10:14:45 And so the petitioner has come back recently.
10:14:50 Friday, and this morning with some suggested revisions to the language.
10:14:56 On one of the access easements that the hearing Examiner had proposed specifically related to beach access in the petitioner was concerned that the wording of the hearing examiner
condition might have created a misunderstanding as to whether the petitioner was required to provide some
10:15:23 form of beach access over property, that is not Ricky Beach.
10:15:28 Drive plot it right of way. And what's before you today is whether to vacate Ricky Beach drive, not whether to provide anyone access that they have or don't have to the beach.
10:15:45 So, although we think that they, hearing examiner condition, was worded fine, we also are not opposed to adopting the petitioners suggested revision to that language which basically
makes more explicit that the condition is to provide access to the condition is to provide access to the lots along ricky
10:16:12 beach drive, but not over or across any lots that any rights like that are are between the lot owners and not the county.
10:16:26 Do you think it's a clarification of the hearing examiner's intent?
10:16:29 Exactly. Yes, so I have a revolved resolution which subitutes the language that the petitioner has suggested for that first condition condition a you have it digitally, so we
can put it up for you, Commissioner Dean, and the public to look at to do I have we
10:16:58 don't. I'm sorry. So it it's yeah.
10:17:06 It's just condition a under the first, whereas.
10:17:24 Yeah, this. Whereas a.
10:17:30 So, if you have the letter that the petitioner submitted to the Board of County Commissioners, it had suggested language for condition.
10:17:40 A, and so I substituted in that language under a so this isn't exactly the language that the hearing examiner included in his report.
10:18:01 You want me to pull it up, Greg?
10:18:05 You don't have the new. Oh, the letter!
10:18:07 Yeah, I have that that a then the new A I could share it from the letter that's helpful.
10:18:12 Oh, well, we we have physical copy, so we can see it.
10:18:15 I just wanna bring it up for the public. But if you yeah, I guess, go ahead and share it.
10:18:21 I was gonna just scan this new one. So we had the actual document.
10:18:22 You don't have the updated resolution, do you?
10:18:26 No, I just have this a.
10:18:26 I'll see right right. So that's helpful.
10:18:30 Oh, and I see! Hmm!
10:18:31 Oh, yeah, that's good. That is, yes. So I put.
10:18:37 I substituted the language that we initially proposed by public works for the language propose proposed by petitioner.
10:18:48 So this condition requires the petitioner to form. Possibly easement, provide access for all of the owners of all of the lux within the plat in its specifically includes Lot
57.
10:19:07 Because there has historically been some opposition by the owners of Lot 57 Ricky Beach Drive to provide access to Lots 910 and 19, which are currently owned by a termination
Point homeowners Association.
10:19:25 But you'll see the petitioner specifically added that parenthetical but not access over or through such lots.
10:19:34 So the petitioner is not required. Under this resolution, or hearing examiner condition, to provide any access over lots just to the lot through some portion of their property
which is likely to be Ricky Beach, drive the vacated portion of Ricky Beach, drive that's what they've proposed in
10:20:02 the past and that's what we would expect to see in the future.
10:20:09 But the rest of the the rest of that condition is the same.
10:20:14 Yeah, I have the exact.
10:20:17 It's right there.
10:20:25 Under. No, but that's that's the Revised.
10:20:36 Under, proposed by petitioner.
10:20:40 Oh, I see!
10:20:44 Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're both 8. So I guess I made this change this morning.
10:20:56 And the Way. The Revised Resolution is written.
10:21:00 You know the whereas was to report the hearing examiners, findings, and conclusions and condition.
10:21:10 So you know. To be precise, this wording of a wasn't in the hearing examiner wasn't how the Hearing examiner phrased his condition, it wasn't how the hearing examiner, it wasn't
how the hearing examiner Board has full discretion
10:21:43 to modify, adopt, or not adopt, continue or recommendations from the hearing, exam, or, in the case of road vacations.
10:21:55 The paper is appreciated today because I computers keep rebooting.
10:22:01 I'm just one. If this resolution do we need any cleararification?
10:22:10 Just to make sure clear that this wasn't the language in the actual hearing.
10:22:16 Examiner, report.
10:22:21 I mean, see in the motion yeah. Recognizing the intent and updating the drafting a little. Yes, okay.
10:22:36 I just want the record to be clear, even though the whereas says that the hearing Examiner issued the report subject to the petitioner meeting the following conditions, that
that isn't a verbatim.
10:22:49 Quote from the hearing Examiner report as to those conditions comfortable taking that would.
10:23:00 Since we are making a change, I'll probably open for public comment before we take final action on this, but I think it seems it seems like the intent is just being clarified.
10:23:09 Any issues with this. Nope.
10:23:15 Okay, well, I would. Rebooting my computer now, but I again.
10:23:20 But I would welcome a motion on this, if you're so inclined, I can attempt to make a motion on this complicated one.
10:23:29 Yeah, make a motion to approve a resolution, a resolution in the matter of the intent to vacate Ricky Beach, drive right away, and including conditions recommended to the Bocc.
10:23:48 Which also included the updated language from the petitioner for item a underneath the fifth, whereas in the Resolution.
10:23:59 Well done! I'll second.
10:24:02 And then, since this is not book we'll open it for public Comic Yup.
10:24:07 Okay, since we have changed this slightly since it was posted last week, we will open for public comment.
10:24:16 If anyone has a comment to make on specifically this resolution in the matter of an intent to vacate Ricky Beach, drive right of way, please click, raise hand or star 9.
10:24:25 If you're on your phone, or if you're in person with us, you can raise your physical hands, and I can't see.
10:24:30 Yeah, I can't either.
10:24:34 Yeah, I'm gonna take it down or leave it up.
10:24:36 Oh, you can take it down now. I think we're we could put it back up as someone request, but I think it's pretty clear.
10:24:45 You're the only one with the computer that works right now.
10:24:50 Yeah, just so, you know. Oh, Greg's backup backup.
10:24:49 Running the show from? DC, wow, yeah.
10:24:55 Okay, so seeing no one with any public comment, I will move on and and call the question all in favor of the amended resolutions approving the amended resolution in the matter
of an attempt to vacate Ricky Beach drive right away as we have posted on the screen today indicate by saying
10:25:14 Hi!
10:25:14 aye! Hi! Hi! Alright! Thank you so much. Thanks for making it easy that to work through.
10:25:20 Colette really, really do appreciate having you there finding the right way to do the right of alright good for the jury. But.
10:25:32 Will do, we're good for you today. Alright, thanks so much, and we can put this one. Did you say?
10:25:40 For since 2,000, but this one to bed. Well, we still got a year.
10:25:50 It's exciting. I mean, it's an understandable delay.
10:25:55 Alright. Well, we have. I think we have an a time for our next agenda.
10:26:05 I mean. Well, let's do a 5Â min recess to get all our computers backlogged in. So why don't we come back at 1031 recess until 1031?
10:34:31 I guess I should get back into this meeting.
10:34:39 Alright. We'll go. Okay. Welcome back. Sorry for the delay, or still getting computers restarted and just lost track of time.
10:34:48 So I will call this meeting of the Board of County Commissioners back into session, and since we only have commission Commissioner Dean for the morning, I want to get through
the agenda as quickly as possible, so we'll move our 1130 workshop with Wendy Davis up to now so is Kate with us right
10:35:04 now. Yes, okay. Hey, can you verify that? You can hear?
10:35:14 I just make sure.
10:35:17 He is with us.
10:35:22 Welcome back. Sorry we're a minute late, Kate.
10:35:28 Okay.
10:35:27 Alright. We're gonna turn it over to to Wendy to take us through the webinar for our newest department.
10:35:38 You should be able to just share, or you're not in the meeting yet.
10:35:42 Yeah, get it. We'll need to bring Windy over to share screen. Alright.
10:35:45 I'm not even okay. We're gonna get Wendy into the meeting.
10:35:55 I will join this one already.
10:36:02 We're just coming in through one.
10:36:11 1, 2, 4.
10:36:22 Okay.
10:36:25 That's not how we're gonna see?
10:36:30 Sorry little getting our presentation ready here.
10:36:47 Zoom yet.
10:36:58 Incoming, okay?
10:37:09 Got it?
10:37:35 Lots of buttons, that's the tableau of 3 bolts.
10:37:40 Part, all side by side might be a Italian job.
10:37:46 No, we're not gonna have it, you, Brad. I know.
10:37:52 Sorry Brady, Little Brother.
10:37:55 Huh!
10:37:55 You know it's funny. Now, Hi, Dean Gregor kind of quiet.
10:38:00 I don't know if it's just me.
10:38:01 Quiet.
10:38:03 If Adl is listening, that's better.
10:38:05 Plug it into the Microsoft. It's really swallowing the mic.
10:38:09 Maybe it's maybe I'm actually losing my hearing with some way to ask myself that question.
10:38:23 You get your desktop.
10:38:26 Hmm!
10:38:33 Well, they're working on that. Maybe I'll just fill you guys in that as my husband's medical treatment ramps up.
10:38:41 I'm learning that. But the researchers at Fred Hutch pretty much.
10:38:47 Only take, console appointments on Mondays, which means I'm gonna continue to have conflicts like I did last week, where the only day we can meet with focuses on Mondays.
10:38:55 Hmm!
10:38:57 So I apologize. I'll probably have to attend a number virtually, and you know, maybe, miss some of our meetings, and and for the next 6 months or so so, not often.
10:39:10 But you know, maybe once a month, or something along those lines.
10:39:14 We will certainly work to accommodate whatever your schedule needs to do. So.
10:39:19 Thank you.
10:39:19 Thank you. At all, and I should know well in advance, too.
10:39:23 So if you guys have vacations coming, or you know and work around it, requiring issues.
10:39:27 Okay. And likewise for other things too. If you need support, just let us know I'll tell you, too.
10:39:32 Thank you.
10:39:34 You weren't. I don't not sure if you were with us.
10:39:41 Huh!
10:39:36 When when I mentioned the the British Psychological Societies, study on dad jokes that the huge benefits for kids, the father figure is willingness to embarrass himself is good
for resiliency, it teaches awkwardness and and comfort with
10:39:58 awkwardness, so I think that's that applies politically as well.
10:40:02 So I'm just gonna I'm gonna use as many cringey jokes as I can possibly come up with.
10:40:07 I'm going to interject in just to build county resiliency right?
10:40:12 Awesome.
10:40:17 Yes.
10:40:10 I think that's great, and like any shared, shared experience which I think dead jokes are good at, too, is, you know, and it's a level level.
10:40:20 The playing field.
10:40:22 Absolutely.
10:40:23 Hmm!
10:40:27 Yeah, challenge power, asymmetry that always is existent in the parental situations.
10:40:34 Although my dad's often usually on these calls. And does that open up like, is everybody gonna start doing dad jokes?
10:40:39 Yes, yeah, I think that's I mean not and not just Dad.
10:40:44 But mom's too, of course. So it's, you know, are they?
10:40:46 I think Dad's try harder and fail more often.
10:40:49 So you know, we bring, we bring that awkwardness. Okay? So.
10:40:55 With Mendy's presentation was online. Okay, I got more jokes skeleton walks in, do a bar.
10:41:12 I get a beer in a mop.
10:41:15 What's that? A skeleton?
10:41:19 And I get a beer and a mop over there.
10:41:24 Alright, and with that we'll put it over to our information officer.
10:41:29 Okay, oh, more. Just the high speed online tool.
10:41:36 And now she has to download it, converted into the Pdflets.
10:41:39 Hi, Bra Seal walks into a bar. What do you want?
10:41:44 Martin says anything but a Canadian club.
10:41:49 So where do you get these 20, they just appear out of the firmament.
10:41:48 Thanks.
10:41:53 Okay. Oh!
10:41:56 I'm gonna have to brush up on some jokes now.
10:41:58 I can't retain a job save my life.
10:42:00 Me, neither.
10:42:05 We should do a poll on what we would. The public prefer.
10:42:09 Dad jokes, or great playing the banjo.
10:42:13 You have to give them some positive, you know something they're gonna actually vote for.
10:42:18 Jeez!
10:42:27 Didn't get to that in time. Maybe.
10:42:33 Yeah, sure. And we still got 45Â min until her actual scheduled time. I bet we're gonna get this worked out by 1130. I got.
10:42:50 Gotta think about which jokes I got lots of bar jokes, but not all of them can be a really public sector joke.
10:43:00 Should we talk about boards and vacancies? You guys need a couple of minutes.
10:43:05 What's the hangup now? If you have it downloaded?
10:43:11 What's happening over there.
10:43:15 Does it go faster if we walk you through? Yes, we'll take it.
10:43:25 Yeah.
10:43:30 No worries, you're gonna have to talk into the mic. Wendy.
10:43:35 So people can hear you. Okay, my apologies.
10:43:42 Anva. Okay, so this is the beginning of the collective group planning, working on this plan.
10:43:55 So we'll we're just gonna call this a proposal.
10:43:59 At this point, and then I'll take notes on whatever your feedback is.
10:44:02 That's so, let's just get started.
10:44:10 And can I just make a distinction before you start into it?
10:44:14 Wendy, this is a little different than the work plan presentations.
10:44:18 We're going to have in the afternoon, and we've had last week and going forward because this is Wendy is really a kind of a new department directly under the Board of County
Commissioners.
10:44:28 So we're really kind of figuring out the path just for operations.
10:44:31 At this point so this is a much more speculated than the other work of county commissioners. So we're really kind of figuring out the path just for operations. At this point.
10:44:38 So this is a much more speculated than the other work plans that are continuing iterative work that has, you know, antecedents of years and even decades offering that context.
10:44:44 So obviously the purpose of what we're we want to do with this plan, in my opinion, is that we want to promote effective communications with the county in our residence between
the county and our residenceents.
10:44:57 And it's very important to us that public access is available to to government and freely shared information are the cornerstones of our process.
10:45:06 And so we need to use guidelines, policies and establish the vehicles and best practices for organizing, executing our communication.
10:45:17 To drill down a little bit. Our mission would be to, in my opinion, to provide timely, accurate coordinate information in ways the public wants to receive it.
10:45:30 Our objectives, then, would be to establish the communications role of my position, and this section of the county.
10:45:39 Develop a reputation as a communications. Friendly county.
10:45:44 I don't think we aren't known as that, but I let's try to grow that a little bit, but a little bit more robust.
10:45:51 Unsure information is being disseminated, is consistent and timely, and increase opportunities for community members to interact with city government government.
10:46:05 Pardon me, pardon me.
10:46:09 Alright, so some of the guiding principles I've come up with are deliver the information to the public, and whatever audience we decide we need to deliver info to is clear,
concise, transparent, helpful timely proactive and consistently professional, we want to promote opportunity and mechanisms to obtain
10:46:29 regular feedback through social media, receiving comments, replying to those comments and any sort of communication that that that that social media brings up for us.
10:46:43 We wanna use a variety of targeted communication and methods and strategies to be effective and appropriate. And we also want to use a coherent voice, especially as a source
of information during periods of crisis and or emergencies.
10:47:01 Pardon, there's the photo. Yeah, it's guiding.
10:47:07 Okay. It's a guiding, developing Jefferson County stock photos.
10:47:11 That's what I want to add to the okay.
10:47:17 So where do we need to do a little work to get started?
10:47:20 Besides just getting together and talking about things and figuring out what the group would like to see.
10:47:27 We want to define. So we want to define the current role and responsibilities for my piece.
10:47:34 We want to clearly define the communications objectives for the county as a whole.
10:47:39 We want to increase use of a variety of social media platforms to see what works right now.
10:47:45 We only have our department only has, or the county as a whole only has a Facebook.
10:47:50 So exploring other platforms, I think, it's important to see what works for us.
10:47:56 And then also keep in mind. This is a role that we'll need to adapt to growth, since we're just in the beginning of this we're going to learn a lot and applying best practices.
10:48:05 And what works and what didn't, I think it's going to be key to our progress.
10:48:11 I wanna? Ask you one question. Would you prefer questions at the end, or intermix throughout?
10:48:17 It's up to you. Go ahead. Go ahead right now.
10:48:20 I just wanted to make sure that you kind of studied the social media policy, and I guess I you know the new new social media opportunities are exciting and a little bit daunting
as well because of some of the kind.
10:48:36 Of the extra burdens as a public agency that we take on when we open a new social media policy.
10:48:45 Our account. Yeah, I have a a dogeared packet that I've gone over quite a bit committed.
10:48:53 Many of much of it to memory. I also have a I didn't reflect much of that in this plan, because that's already something that's established.
10:49:04 Obviously it works together, and it will be a big piece of this.
10:49:09 But it's mentioned a little bit in here. But I'm not touching on that so much today, only because let's see where we go with our plan, and we'll see what we need to apply to
policy also another thing is I'm going to a training in may for
10:49:26 a social social media, government, training. So I think I'll be learning a lot.
10:49:33 Just really nailing some, or, you know, hitting some things home as far as what other agencies do I think that'll be really helpful?
10:49:41 But anyway, I do have. I do have the policy in my pocket ready to be referenced.
10:49:47 Okay. So I laid out 3 roles, one, for the board is to provide.
10:49:57 Let's see, provide guidance and directions to this division approve periodic updates to this plan as we go forward and then consider recommendations and feedback that that I
learned from the community as well as from whatever practices.
10:50:16 I'm using what's working and what's not.
10:50:25 And then also some help in prioritizing communications work to match our available resources, which is pretty limited.
10:50:34 And that's okay. We can do a lot with what we have right now and then with the county departments.
10:50:39 I'd like a to establish a very simple standard operating procedure sort of an sop.
10:50:45 We're just sort of a form that when someone wants to disseminate information that's that form comes just a simple one comes directly emailed.
10:50:56 Likely just to me right now. The departments are fairly interested in pushing out information job openings and that kind of thing.
10:51:03 So a lot of people already pretty practiced, but I think it would be great to get sort of a very simple sop going for that.
10:51:15 Also we a couple of our divisions already have some.
10:51:18 Some communication folks, and being able to work together, you know, sort of a shared resource would be great, and we've already been doing that for our job.
10:51:30 Fair couple of other things. Coming up. We've been working together.
10:51:33 So that's been great. So support with the board and County departments, and that would be ongoing would be wonderful.
10:51:42 And then, for on my part, I start off by saying that would design specific content for our media platforms.
10:51:49 Create and manage counties, social media, profile and presence promote additional projects to support all of the county departments, needs needs as able.
10:52:00 And I want to create engaging text image and video content for the county connection.
10:52:06 Employee newsletter. I just that's my working name, and then radio show.
10:52:14 I know. Update the. This is very minor minor updates to the county website as able.
10:52:23 And it's just basically uploading this is not like an overhaul of this website.
10:52:26 I'm speaking to uploading pertinent information and timely information that basically on our page.
10:52:35 Through the main page. Just very simple, primary. We need to figure out who our primary targets are, which I think we kind of have a good idea.
10:52:46 But I want to dive in a little deeper to who are targets, who our audience is, in order to get the proper information out to them in the proper way, so that they will best receive
it.
10:53:03 And then I included an appendix, A for a lot of an example of inventory, of potential audiences just for you to peruse later, and then going through a tools and asset identification.
10:53:20 I didn't get very specific into here just yet, but as we know, a few other departments have some tools and assets and staffing, and and we have a few little pieces in bits,
bits, bits, and pieces here and there, that we can use to promote this piece of the county.
10:53:44 So then appendix list B also will dive into list of potential tools and assets.
10:53:53 There. So moving on to the legal and ethical considerations.
10:53:59 Obviously we are going to adhere to the Washington open meetings and public Records Act.
10:54:05 We are, we will make reasonable efforts for availability.
10:54:10 And then what does what do you mean by that reasonable efforts for availability?
10:54:20 So!
10:54:30 We want to ensure that the information concerning policies and programs is available to all.
10:54:38 Despite certain, you know, barriers that might come up.
10:54:41 People don't have Internet.
10:54:43 They don't have. Facebook. They don't have social media.
10:54:48 So we're working with Paul. Other ways of communication to.
10:54:55 So the publican have access to media technology language in different languages.
10:55:01 Just trying to work that into the mix.
10:55:06 And in form versus persuade. I think, that our tone should be more of a informative measure.
10:55:16 Nothing to do with persuading. So that's what I'm trying to work on it at the moment.
10:55:26 Okay. Couple of well, quite a few ideas about our actions plan to promote the achievement of these goals is convene.
10:55:37 This is sort of a big ask but I don't think it will come very often, which is convene.
10:55:42 The Board to plan for complicated messaging, so that we have one voice, and we're making sure that we give out good information that we have in the moment scheduling post debriefings
when something that that would be a follow up to number one debrief what worked what worked what
10:56:03 didn't work establish ongoing. This is for me.
10:56:07 Establish ongoing working relationships with the external communicators are you talking about other agencies or people that are responding to posts and stuff I would say, like
the news papers with the radio station?
10:56:24 Just those are. And it's also sort of a changing tide.
10:56:28 Sometimes with the papers. It's sometimes we need to the endpoint.
10:56:34 Turn over there. Get to know new people. Yeah. So keep those, keep those relationships going.
10:56:43 This is a little bit back to accessibility, identify tools to work with citizens for when okay, this is actually a little bit, when we need to, when we have something big, significant
policy program around activity changes really identify the tools that will reach those same folks the same folks that will really need to be affected that will
10:57:09 be affected by those things to sort of hyper-focusing on.
10:57:13 Who needs to hear this very important item? Can I add, just throw it specific, a hypothetical out?
10:57:21 So we had some folks come and talk to us about the lack of in of the county contacting them but the need for flood insurance because they weren't connected to a mortgage which
is a trigger for an automatic notification, so to me that's the kind of thing.
10:57:37 That you know. Just notifying people. Hey, check your fema flood zones.
10:57:41 You know this is how you do it would be a great communication to get out there, you know, a couple times a year, probably right, but it's not the kind of communication we've
normally done before, but I know that when I talked to Dcd, hey, can you also notify all these that adds a lot of
10:57:55 capacity strain onto Dcd, so I guess I'm wondering if that kind of notification that's maybe a real departmental opportunity, you know, that should fit into this if you could
help departments with that, especially with the capacity you know that should fit into this if you could help departments
10:58:16 with that, especially with and no, I think that's an excellent example of how we, what we should be doing.
10:58:24 Okay. Great. And it also builds value for the brand. Right?
10:58:28 I mean, if you can actually go to the Facebook page and find out about things that right impact your lives, more people are going to go on the regulars. Absolutely. Yeah. And
I think that's all part of what needs to be our goal is we have about 2,000 followers on Facebook that leaves about 30
10:58:46 1,000 followers. I mean, that aren't following us. So building up our numbers is really important and by doing that I think we do exactly what you said very, very helpful.
10:58:59 Information. That's timely, and noticing what people pay attention to is really interesting, too.
10:59:07 So you know that all sifts out to something that we we're working towards.
10:59:16 Okay, is develop performance tools for evaluation of what we're doing.
10:59:26 That'll be something I can work on, and I will be working on presenting to you all the developing, the process for department staff.
10:59:38 Is this sop that I mentioned earlier? And then, again, considering this plan is a work in progress, applying lessons learned in best practices, which all in works together,
and working on developing our brand.
10:59:53 And that's kind of it. These appendixes I sourced from other seemingly efficient plans from other counties.
11:00:05 So there's some ideas of places we can go and I'm sure we will come up with many more.
11:00:12 Is there a distinction between the Zeros and the dots?
11:00:16 Nope, that is, if it wasn't outline it would be ended.
11:00:21 Yes, the Zeros would be indented. Yeah, it's right.
11:00:28 That would be, and thank you very much. So. And I've wanted the question before we go to the my seatmates here, and that's the actual communication plan proposal.
11:00:39 Can we get that just to post on the minutes? Is that okay?
11:00:42 Okay. Great. So we'll put that full document that we just got late last week up there Heidi questions, comments, thoughts about this path.
11:00:52 Well, one thing I've wondered is a lot of times.
11:00:58 Communications happen kind of in the moment, or the need for communication might be kind of more emergent than you know.
11:01:06 Something we can plan for. So what's gonna be our?
11:01:09 Sop for emergent communication needs. Is it that Wendy works with one of us in?
11:01:18 Is that the I mean logically, would be the chair of the board.
11:01:21 But you know, sometimes it's hard to plan for things, and with us, not meeting with our meeting schedule being every week.
11:01:30 Then, if something comes up on a Tuesday, you know, how does she get the support that she needs to make a decision, or is it the county administrator?
11:01:41 Have you? We thought about that? Well, the best example and the most frequent that I can think of is when we have increment weather, and we have to make a call about whether
the counties gonna delay opening or shut down early or close altogether, you recall heidi just before Christmas you and
11:02:02 I got together and made the call together, and then, of course, post on Facebook.
11:02:10 And and then I update the employee phone message system and so on.
11:02:15 So. And that's, I think, somewhere in here, talking about the board chair, speaking for the collective body.
11:02:25 And so I think that would be the the preferred method that makes a lot of sense we have time to convene the full board I know if we're going to meet, we have to have 24Â h notice,
but frequently we don't have anywhere near that
11:02:38 amount of time to get information out so I think, having the board chair on emergent communication needs is the way to go.
11:02:46 I mean, I can make a one instance where we how does emergency?
11:02:51 Where we had to like huddle. It was a road closure on the West End.
11:02:56 It was the.
11:02:59 Oil. City road. Yeah. And we had to have a special meeting that because a number of residents had no way to get to.
11:03:11 So I mean, those are those are super emergent emergencies. Right?
11:03:16 But then there are other things that come up, and I agree.
11:03:20 I just wanted us to say it out loud. That makes sense that the chair would be the first line.
11:03:27 I think that the county administrator is important in that, too.
11:03:31 There's a lot of things that are emergent, but maybe not like so cute.
11:03:34 It has to be responded to this day. So you know, kind of coordinating to the county administrator means that you can interface with all 3 of the Commissioners as well.
11:03:41 I think there's value in that, too. But ultimately I agree with I guess Kate and he or Kate Heidi and Mark that the chair should be the ultimate arbiter in that sop.
11:03:53 I don't know. Hey? Any thoughts.
11:03:54 Well, just that there are issues that each of us take on. And you know.
11:04:01 So if it's a project that Heidi is taking the lead on, that you know.
11:04:06 I think it's appropriate that she has. You know, some ofity to be able to speak through Wendy as well like if if there's a clear lead from the bocc, that's you know, and I think
we all have good instincts that if something.
11:04:23 Is contentious, or political, that it should be run through couple of sets of eyes.
11:04:30 So putting that into policy or sop is a little bit tricky.
11:04:34 But I think it would include in there a layer.
11:04:40 That's is, you know, so long as there's a Bocc representative kind of appointed, whether informally or formally, on a project that they have some authority to to speak to or
approve communications also.
11:04:58 Yeah, I think it's situationally dependent. And you know, I agree with Kate.
11:05:01 Yeah.
11:05:04 Housing fun board. I wouldn't go to Heidi right I got a sure Greg or a Uk. For a quick answer.
11:05:12 Go to Greg.
11:05:12 They couldn't wait. Yeah, no solid waste.
11:05:21 Who would I go to? Greg? You're on swack!
11:05:22 I was on swaggering, either. I'm on the solid waste capital, I mean, that gets a little challenging, too.
11:05:29 So I think I'm remembering you're good to get it backs right yeah, we both have to. Heidi, and I have to have an arm wrestle about that specifically question for each instance.
11:05:38 But other than that, I think you know, building discretion in, I think, is the importance obviously, you know where we all have insights that we're happy to share.
11:05:46 So the more voices we can get. I think it depends on how.
11:05:49 How acute the issue is, you know. Do you have a couple of days to hear back from everyone?
11:05:53 Then you know, maybe that means that Wendy's contact should just be Mark.
11:06:00 And then Mark can do that extra level of delineation on who should be contacted yeah, I think that's actually okay.
11:06:10 You've been more involved in putting this program together. I think that's the plan that that Wendy and I would work closely together.
11:06:21 And but the overall program is yours, and you have to design it.
11:06:25 But I'm her primary point of contact, and I think that you have enough understanding and the ability to communicate with each of us easily, that you can make that call.
11:06:40 Oh, this should go to the chair, or this should go to the kind of the designated Bocc. Member. Oh, this is something that we should have all 3 way in on, or I'll just call myself
and suffer the consequences if there are any. How does that sit with you.
11:06:51 I really want power, Wendy, though, to just reach out directly to us, and we did create that position with that in mind.
11:06:58 Yup!
11:07:00 And so I don't want there to be a bottleneck of one person.
11:07:02 Yeah.
11:07:03 I like. I want Wendy and I respond to Wendy like I do.
11:07:06 The press immediately I will drop something, and say, I got to deal with this like I think we should really prioritize being available to her.
11:07:13 And I'm fine with Mark being the, you know.
11:07:16 Default, but like if she knows it's something one of us is working on.
11:07:21 Yup!
11:07:19 I wanna empower her to come to us and and that we, you know, do our due diligence, and don't say something, flip into or approve something without some consideration of you
know.
11:07:33 Have we? Do we know that the other commissioners are on board?
11:07:35 Have we talked to departments, you know, depending on the situation.
11:07:36 Yeah.
11:07:38 I really want her to be free to be able to follow up with us directly and quickly.
11:07:42 Yeah. And you know that holds true for the other department directors for Monty and Chris and Apple there's nothing to prevent them from going directly to a board member if
they need to.
11:07:55 Yeah. And I think we both both Heidi and I are nodding as you're saying, that Kate.
11:08:00 So you know, we can. We want to build a flexible system that's as responsive as possible to the communication needs of the county.
11:08:06 Right? So that means, yeah, I'll pick up the phone when you call me for sure.
11:08:09 So, and I've had a couple of situations already set up.
11:08:14 For example, when the transfer station was, they were closed on a Saturday due to employee illnesses, I believe, and they had no way of alerting the public, and they didn't
so we've now since set up a process where I've given them my direct line for Saturday morning and
11:08:33 I have committed to paying attention to that, so that at the very least I can put out a post.
11:08:39 So there's some situations that I can be really helpful with.
11:08:44 At sort of odd times of the week and the day, and I'm comfortable with that and being available when I'm needed.
11:08:54 Other thoughts, comments, ideas, questions.
11:09:11 Sure!
11:09:00 Yeah, I've got a number of thoughts. And you know I should say, like, I don't think we're gonna get through this or nail it today, right like, this is the beginning of a long
cut.
11:09:13 Iterative conversation. Yeah, I think the Wendy has probably already experienced the paradox that we we need someone who is like really flexible, hey?
11:09:33 Rise, that it's going to be hard to write a policy, for in every situation.
11:09:40 And yet, like you know, she also deserves some structure, and you know, so I I think we need to work with you, Wendy, to figure out what's the what's the right amount of structure
versus flexibility.
11:09:52 That you need. And you know this relationship will require a lot of trust.
11:09:56 And you know you're a known quantity, and I'm really glad that we have that built-in.
11:10:02 And but you know that also just takes some time to develop.
11:10:05 But I wanna be sure that you feel supported cause you have a lot of responsibility.
11:10:13 And so let's keep one working on that yeah, dichotomy.
11:10:19 If some kind of bigger picture questions which Wendy and I have talked about that I just wanna call out because I think it's something that we could have some say and helping
to figure out or direct her out, I think there's some big pieces of work that are unknowns that could fall under
11:10:36 her purview that. But aren't. It's not clear that includes like, do we want?
11:10:42 You know she started the outline of an actual communications plan.
11:10:47 Is that something we really want to memorialize? You know whether that's in the form of standard operating procedures or a well laid out plan yeah, we hear a lot of feedback
that the county website is very hard to navigate.
11:11:02 And that's a big, expensive proposition to think of taking that on or structuring that differently.
11:11:06 But that's a big one, and then Wendy's role with emergency management, you know.
11:11:16 Are there times where she would serve as a Pio? And should she be representing our body in the emergency operations center when those are stood up?
11:11:29 So those are some big picture questions, and then something I'd love to dive into as a group which I don't think it is quite a such a large overarching.
11:11:39 Maybe it is, but the idea of branding and voice, and you know, what, how do we want to really?
11:11:45 Have the accounting be presenting itself through through our media sources.
11:11:51 So those are my myriad comments.
11:11:56 Yeah, it's a lot of fun. Fact, Heidi. One thing I'd love to see is a calendar that would include things like these meet.
11:12:07 I mean, just a calendar. So we can kind of identify opportunities within the calendar.
11:12:12 And then I know that we're gonna have a number of community outreach meetings coming up this summer and fall and I see those as real opportunities for communicating about them
and communicating about issues and I think we should set put those dates on a calendar and work back a month and say, what do we need to be doing to get ready
11:12:30 for that. So? And then what other these radio shows?
11:12:36 Bocc meetings obviously are opportunities for communication. Do we want to put?
11:12:43 Do we want to have a standing communications? Item on our Monday agendas?
11:12:46 Just so that we're intentional about saying, Yeah, we gotta cover these 2 things on Monday, or we don't have anything this week.
11:12:53 But just so that we're checking against ourselves. Are there?
11:12:58 Are there items that we need around communications that we need to cover this week.
11:13:03 Those are just some kind of planning thoughts that I had well, I'll react to all the ideas already out there.
11:13:11 It's exciting. It's like the frontiers before us.
11:13:15 So sorry, Wendy, this. It's hard to be in that landscape, I think, but I agree 100% that a calendars would be a really helpful tool.
11:13:23 Not sure if we need a standing communications, update. I mean, I think we should do it whenever we need.
11:13:29 But I feel like it's also about adding nimbleness to our ability to communicate.
11:13:33 So when there's something that comes up, we don't need to have it, you know, agenda, and then but we're just responsive.
11:13:40 I guess I think 2 about all the other media plans, and who's managing those, you know, we have a Youtube account that you know.
11:13:48 I created a quick media plan according to our policy, and put in in Windy's.
11:13:55 Give her the ability to manage that, and I think one place is looking at these platforms and building consistency.
11:14:00 I guess I think I feel like we're we're still a couple of steps ahead of an overarching plan like Kate's outlining.
11:14:07 But the you know, hurting the cats first and getting everyone under the same roof and starting to work in the same direction.
11:14:14 Will inform the plan in, you know, 6 months or something, so I guess I feel like just my personal brothers would be bringing all the departments in establishing those relationships
to starting to establish the standard operating procedures by trying things and failing you know and feeling what works but
11:14:36 in general. I that's like it's my only addition.
11:14:40 I think I think we're kind of pretty aligned with how Wendy's job should work.
11:14:46 Oh, I think about emergency management to answer Kate's question.
11:14:49 I mean dem has a pio. I think it's I would argue.
11:14:54 It's not appropriate to have Wendy on the Eoc where the decisions are made, but to have a direct relationship between Dms.
11:15:00 Pio and our Comms officer gets the message straight out as efficiently as possible, but that going on level up puts Wendy in the conversation where she's working through what?
11:15:13 The what the decisions are, which is what the Usc.
11:15:16 Does. But then after that, distributing the information she should be working hand in glove with the information officer at Dem is how I would see it.
11:15:25 But I'm open to other ideas. I guess I just using Wendy's limited time with the county every week and the maximum just getting communications out and making sure that we establish
consistency.
11:15:42 And then we can get our millennial brand voice down the line after we have a twitter account and everything it start slagging on. Washtad isn't washed out. The one that has
a really snappy twitter account.
11:15:55 Okay. Okay.
11:15:58 But yeah.
11:15:54 State Patrol is better. Yeah, what would you want to respond to?
11:16:01 What Greg was saying. I have a response to. But do you want to go first?
11:16:07 Let's see, I I tend to agree that we're sort of in the beginning stages, and but but I would.
11:16:17 This workshop sort of is a great line in the sand for okay, now, let's really dig.
11:16:22 Let's really start digging in. In the past couple of months since I've started I've met with almost all the electeds, many department leaders or directors.
11:16:32 I haven't really started to get a sense of who and how often and what that would mean as a hours load in that kind of thing.
11:16:42 I 100%, we'll get a calendar cause. That's it. Has.
11:16:46 We have to have one. So I'm on board with that, too.
11:16:50 Heidi, and I agree planning things out and for out in the future are going to be the A bit of a Q.
11:16:57 R success as well as the stuff. That is something more sudden. So you'll see that coming down the quick.
11:17:08 Hey? You had something to add.
11:17:09 Yeah, I just wanna dig a little more into this conversation.
11:17:15 And you know in the short time that I was managing our social media accounts, it's we happen to be over.
11:17:26 The when was the can? Ice- snow, increment.
11:17:32 Whether it's big power outages.
11:17:32 December 20, third, 20, fourth, I think. Yeah, right?
11:17:35 Well, this was. This was earlier. Like early November.
11:17:39 It wasn't. November is cold. Squall.
11:17:43 Maybe it's just winds. Yeah. Winds that took down a bunch of power lines.
11:17:45 With that northerly. Yeah. We had a big northerly, which is an unusual wind direction, and it took down a lot of trees that had not had not had experienced that wind direction
before.
11:17:58 Yeah, yeah, cause power was out for many days, and a lot of the county issues.
11:18:01 Yeah. Haven't.
11:18:03 S. Funny how quickly we forget. But the Eoc was set up was stood up, which I don't know, that it was in December, and I was participating in those, and I found it really helpful.
11:18:18 I did not get the sense that DM. Was in a position to be doing any social media posting.
11:18:25 Hmm!
11:18:25 In that emergency. And you know, that's when you like.
11:18:29 It's gotta be going out as quickly as possible right?
11:18:32 And I don't know if that's changed with other hiring that they have done.
11:18:37 But like I was, I definitely felt glad to be there and be getting the most up to date.
11:18:47 Not just information, but they actually digest, you know. Decide in the yeahoc, what is the messaging that's gonna go public.
11:18:52 So that we're all saying the same thing, not diverging and giving complicated information.
11:18:57 So unless something is changed at DM. I would advocate for Wendy being there, but you know, some of this is gonna be just relationship building.
11:19:10 And you, Wendy, figuring it out with public works.
11:19:13 Hey!
11:19:13 You know how much road stuff do they want you to be doing versus them?
11:19:18 So maybe it's yet to be determined. But you know, I think if we have a strong feeling about her role, we should probably provide that guidance.
11:19:31 Good argument. I think roads would be. I mean, I know they're pretty excited about having this outlet and I've even set up a special folder for them to start dropping in photos.
11:19:44 And videos, when and that I can share for them, they would appreciate the outlet for sure.
11:19:52 And I think, with my background, and I worked in eocs before I have quite a bit of fema training and emergency training, emergency management training and it's not that I don't.
11:20:08 I actually think, being being able to disseminate information right there in real time, I think, could be really helpful.
11:20:16 And when we have really big things that happen more often than we we think about, we forget them.
11:20:20 But yeah, we've had a lot of big weather stuff lately, and with the bridge. Who knows?
11:20:27 Yeah.
11:20:25 How that's that's gonna be like. And since this is, I'm fairly remote.
11:20:32 I can be working out of there just as easily as anywhere else.
11:20:35 The sheriff's department also was interested in some me working out of there on occasion, too, so they need.
11:20:45 They need lots of help. They have one person handling, and he he could use some support yeah, I I don't have an objection to exploring the relationship.
11:20:59 That should be with the Eoc. So argument makes good sense.
11:21:05 Do we know about the Willie was hiring someone specifically for social media? Wasn't he?
11:21:13 No, we gotta fall into your core. Coordinator, and then we'll see higher. Mark. We.
11:21:23 There was another point 5. Really, Willie Harris, you already have a DM.
11:21:31 Full of fte. But that's for volunteer or that's for volunteer Coordinator.
11:21:42 That's for volunteer or well, but she's I don't. I know the justification was volunteer coordinator.
11:21:48 Okay, she's doing much more than that, including social media stuff. Yeah, I have not.
11:21:52 Yeah.
11:21:52 And she's part time.
11:21:56 I haven't found any social media for them, and I haven't directed directly connected with them today.
11:22:05 I'll track that down.
11:22:07 Oh, that sounds good. I mean, we're just. We're at the beginning right?
11:22:12 So it's gonna be a lot of I think there'll be some faints and starts and all starts.
11:22:16 But that sounds good. One thing I've wondered, and I did this.
11:22:21 My my years, my first year as chair, so far as we did Huddle's weekly huddle, I mean, I just feel like our team is kind of growing.
11:22:31 And how do we stay integrated and updated on what's going on and I don't know if Mark or Carolyn, or when they feel a need to for check ins with the voc team on a regular interval,
maybe it's not weekly but maybe monthly or some kind of you know, like a staff
11:22:50 meeting function. But how do we keep ourselves, Gerald?
11:22:58 Hmm!
11:23:07 Hmm!
11:23:03 Especially with everyone, being so remote or frequently remote, and it would make sense that it'd be the chair doing the huddle cause.
11:23:12 Okay.
11:23:13 We can't all do them unless we are. They're probably open public meetings right happy to do staff meetings.
11:23:19 I offered the huddle though I reclassify them scrums because we want to move forward and not just stay in the one place.
11:23:26 But but there wasn't a lot of interest. Rugby balls.
11:23:28 I don't. I don't. Okay. Yeah.
11:23:34 I think that's and that's really just keep getting the team, making sure they're working together.
11:23:39 That's not necessarily Wendy's were. But I see our team growing, you know.
11:23:50 Hmm!
11:23:47 I see more kind of need keep us glued together. No, we we can certainly pursue that.
11:23:56 Alright. And what do you guys have a thought about? I mean is, who was supposed to manage our media plans? You know.
11:24:04 I mean, I just I see you as the natural person to at least be the first step, maybe official.
11:24:08 I think authorization resides with the county administrator of recollection, serves but what do you think about Wendy being like the kind of the kind of coordinator of those
programs?
11:24:18 It just seems like someone that's invested in it should be looking at those first and say, maybe you want to do this or do that, or even walk folks through. I don't know.
11:24:27 The smaps.
11:24:28 This maps. Yes, I forgot the acronym. That's yeah.
11:24:32 That's okay. What is that social media action plan? Oh!
11:24:37 Umhm.
11:24:39 Smap!
11:24:41 Yeah. No, I think that would be great cause that would also ensure maybe some consistency.
11:24:47 Consistency.
11:24:48 Yeah.
11:24:50 Yeah, I mean, I'd be happy to. I think that's a natural space to. And of course you're all be part of it.
11:24:59 So be checking in, as the plan is form where?
11:25:04 What the takeaways are. All the commissioners are at your disposal, so feel free to reach out, though working out that process with a lot of flexibility, you know, with you
know, the county administrator probably being your normal onto it.
11:25:19 But sounds like you're establishing those relationships with other departments. Cause.
11:25:24 We certainly want this to serve. All of the county needs.
11:25:27 So it sounds like the path is what we're looking for so far I mean, what are the some of the I know challenges that you've encountered so far.
11:25:38 Opportunities. Oh, I wouldn't say challenges, really getting to know department's needs like, I said. And their flow, and who I think it will boil down to one communicator per
department. Probably that's gonna be kind of what I'm gonna advocate for maybe with our newsletter.
11:26:06 In conjunction with that so the I think that'll simplify things for the departments as well as for the work so that I wouldn't call that anywhere near a challenge just yet.
11:26:19 It's been. People have really enjoyed getting their their words out. There.
11:26:25 So I think I think we're definitely on the right path.
11:26:29 And just more the same right now as we build and see what does work and what works.
11:26:35 Alright, other last thoughts, questions, things we haven't talked about I know that a couple a few press releases have gone out. How's that going?
11:26:48 The press release process. That's sometimes a more challenging thing as you're trying to get the voices and get get it out there.
11:26:53 And now that I've made it a policy to send them to Youtube for editing every single time before they go out.
11:27:03 That's a great catch for typos and things like that.
11:27:05 So that's really important to me, that seem it seems to be working.
11:27:11 Okay. Now, kind of a little. I learned the second set of eyes roll the hard way. 20 years ago.
11:27:19 But yeah, always get a second set of eyes on something.
11:27:24 Yeah.
11:27:24 I just wanted to talk a little bit about voice and branding, and you know I happen to think that he's doing a great job, and I don't know if we all look at what's going on on
social media, where I think voice is probably most important less of that in press
11:27:47 releases. But yeah, like, just trying to maybe agree on some direction to give her as she develops the voice.
11:28:00 Yeah, I've been. Go ahead, Heinny. Oh, I'm not the social media wizard in the room.
11:28:06 So I spend maybe 17Â min a week on Facebook. So I'm not.
11:28:10 We could ask my husband he sounded all the time, but got it.
11:28:16 I can't even say I've tuned into what's going on on social media, and they probably should make a point.
11:28:28 And yeah, I mean branding. You know that the only recent instance I've had of having a reaction to some was we were working on the strategic planning materials, and there was
consideration of 3 photos.
11:28:40 And I and one was really dark, and I'm like we don't want dark photos of the courthouse, you know.
11:28:46 We need, you know, blue sky and clouds, and like, you know, so I I don't know I'm happy to look at things and give my reaction to things, but I think that in general trying
to emphasize forward-looking and optimistic and and one thing I wanted to say and i've said this when
11:29:04 I was chairs, you know. One of my goals was to get as many voices in the conversation as possible as chair.
11:29:14 I was super successful at that, although we did things like extending the public comment period.
11:29:18 But I still haven't seen that many people, you know, giving input.
11:29:24 And I'm still concerned about that. And so, thinking about how we can increase constructive input into the policy that we're working on because a lot of times a policy we're
working on isn't like one and done like come to the bocc meeting and we're telling you how it's
11:29:43 gonna be. It's like some. Oftentimes we're introducing an issue at the Bocc meeting and so I don't know if we push out.
11:29:50 You know areas, we need your input this week, or how we get more people to engage, because I've found with the strategic planning process.
11:29:59 I've been pushing out the survey, and now we I mean we have a great stakeholder survey response, but it only came after each time I pushed it out.
11:30:09 We get this big spike. And so the way to get more input is to get the call.
11:30:13 For input out in front of people more. So I just don't know how we build that into your planning work.
11:30:30 Automated. I think we do. We build it in? Yeah, it's been on the list of things, even posting the licens, the zoom links will help, and we haven't done that yet.
11:30:34 Hmm! I think that will help, though, and each different platforms a little bit different about the kind of engagement that really connects right.
11:30:42 But yeah, scheduling it. That makes good sense I've looked at a little bit.
11:30:47 I don't use a lot of social media either, but I I appreciate the the visual aspect that you're bringing.
11:30:52 I think we do need to get to build a a little stock library for Jefferson County images that was never slip. When I said that.
11:31:01 So I mean, we. That's a great like I saw public works is asking people for art.
11:31:08 And I think asking people for stock stock images for Jefferson County.
11:31:12 Lots of our staff. Take great pictures of the courthouse or other other county facilities, and so, maybe collecting some of the stock images that we can use on county county
communications would be a good step to building that library.
11:31:38 I've started that you can see Carolyn's photos in that in that folder.
11:31:48 My zoom background is one of Caroline's phone.
11:31:52 Actually, it's the ferry coming in on the water.
11:31:54 Oh, nice, very nice! We're the over 50 s.
11:32:03 So we're not the social media, you know, youngsters, it's true, but I mean, like optimization is different on each of the platforms, right?
11:32:11 Building the audience. And Facebook is not the same as building the audience and Youtube, whether videos go straight on Youtube and then are shared on Facebook or whether they're
put on Youtube and put on Facebook really impacts.
11:32:23 How much, how much viewership they get right. If you put it straight on Facebook, the algorithms are going to prioritize it over you putting something that they, you know, don't
can control over.
11:32:35 Essentially, so.
11:32:35 And what about responding to comments and questions? What's been?
11:32:42 We've kind of gotten into a little bit of hot water in that in the past.
11:32:45 What's your basic? Well, we are getting a lot of comments.
11:32:49 So I'm curious about that. Is it that the posts are benign?
11:32:55 Do we want more? I would like to have more interaction.
11:32:58 So I'll work on that as well as that's top of the list.
11:33:03 Gaining followers and interacting with them.
11:33:08 So, I'm not sure if I agree with that, that I mean, that's a that's a that's a decision that's got a lot of implications so I'm not sure. If I agree with that that I mean, that's
that's a decision that's got
11:33:22 a lot on the answer to that question. I don't know.
11:33:28 I don't think that our social media policy ends up being pretty quiet on, but it's we do.
11:33:34 Wait. What does it say? No, I can't remember.
11:33:36 Well, we tried to turn off comments for a little while, and basically the case law says you can't. So.
11:33:45 Here we go! But then we weren't responding you. You could have them.
11:33:50 But when you respond it opens another can of worms right?
11:33:53 Yeah, I think Wendy's done a good job with that.
11:33:57 I've seen a few instances where she's been able to respond in a kind of positive and humble way that has his.
11:34:02 Informative.
11:34:04 Yeah, it's not triggered, you know.
11:34:08 Kind of a cascade of things. But have I missed any Wendy?
11:34:10 No, and that would. That's my goal. It wouldn't be interest in interacting negatively, right?
11:34:20 Is, there are, there's positive comments, sure definitely. And that's great.
11:34:24 We'll appreciate it. And then there's comments.
11:34:28 I have nothing to do with the post. So I definitely respond to those, because it's in my opinion, not but we don't block them out.
11:34:35 Everyone has no ability to make those calls, but so does that like Youtube, you can turn comments on or have them off as well it's a different platform.
11:34:50 I mean, Kate, is that also something that we should allow comments, even though it's a one way communication platform.
11:34:55 How long, you know. I don't know that there's any case law that includes Youtube.
11:35:09 Right.
11:35:02 So in a platform that allows, I mean, basically, Facebook stopped allowing you to turn it off, you had to buy an add on Plugin to do that.
11:35:13 So, you know. So that's really like taking an extraordinary step to limit people's speech, which is, you know, that's I think that's part of the issue.
11:35:22 So yeah, I just can't speak to Youtube.
11:35:27 I can look it up. Okay, well, good. This seems really helpful and feels like you're on the right path, and I think that I'm with Kate.
11:35:38 I haven't looked a lot, but every time I have I've been impressed with the with the angle and presentation.
11:35:47 Great. Thank you. More of this.
11:35:48 Yeah, I think. Oh, sorry, Wendy, go ahead.
11:35:51 Oh, I should say more of the same then.
11:35:53 Hmm! It's funny because I can't see you.
11:35:56 Some reason that Alice, picking up Mark and not you.
11:35:58 I wonder what the owl's not getting Wendy? Hmm!
11:36:00 Yeah, it's I can't read your anybody language, but.
11:36:06 Yeah, I, I appreciate that. Yeah, what?
11:36:09 He's spending the 3, 6.
11:36:13 It'll default. I think. So. There, it's technology.
11:36:15 Cameron. Continue, don't turn your audio on, but you can just turn your camera on and you can make eye contact with you or fake eye contact.
11:36:27 Begin your video.
11:36:27 I think the it's good to stay positive, but there will be times when we will have to put out information.
11:36:37 Right.
11:36:37 That's not positive, you know, and so it's like how how to be sure that the tone is also applicable to you know either the like stuff that we do that is not, you know.
11:36:51 Okay.
11:36:49 That's just disingenuous to be positive about.
11:36:55 Or you know someone Virgin, to toxic positivity if you were to go there.
11:37:00 So yeah, I think you're doing a good job of walking that line, even like, you know, you wanna be informative but not Wonky.
11:37:07 Alright!
11:37:07 And that was always my temptation when I was doing it. As like.
11:37:10 I always go to the Walkie, so you know it's probably one of those things that it takes going too far for somebody to say like, Oh, maybe that's too positive.
11:37:20 Maybe that's too informative. Maybe that's you know.
11:37:22 One thing I have, I do, and Wendy knows this, but I would encourage us to consider a little more consistency from departments in saying, like, you know, having 5 paragraphs
of text is not how social media works like you know, have a paragraph of checks with a
11:37:44 link for people who want to read the 5 paragraphs of information.
11:37:47 I think that's where some of the like kind of form you talked about, Wendy, that departments could use would help make that voice more consistent and and just be, I think you
know, for folks who haven't had much training in this field would be helpful for them to get their messaging
11:38:05 really clear and direct and get it into a format that is more user, friendly.
11:38:09 Like a style, guide, sop!
11:38:11 Yeah, and there. And there's a State style guide that might be worth looking at.
11:38:18 Okay.
11:38:19 Wendy. I had to get trained in that when I worked for the State.
11:38:22 Like sans serif only can we put that in the style guide my personal prejudice.
11:38:28 Whatever you like. They catch people's eyes. No, they make it harder to read.
11:38:42 Great. Well, you've given me lots of work here to move on with, and don't hesitate to ask for help. Oh, yeah, we're all at your disposal.
11:38:52 I'll make lots of videos for me. I don't like videos.
11:38:55 Hmm!
11:38:53 Okay. Will not great. I appreciate your time.
11:39:12 Hmm!
11:38:59 Okay, we appreciate you. I wasn't planning, but we've got a little time.
11:39:15 I'll just. I'll just make a call. If anyone does have a comment on this, we would welcome public comment and click, raise hand or star 9. If you're on the phone.
11:39:29 Yeah, I'll make one more request. Anyone that has public comment to make.
11:39:34 You can quick raise hand or star 9. If you're on the phone.
11:39:37 Okay, seeing none, I will close public comments, and we've mostly made it through our briefing.
11:39:43 I think we haven't heard from you yeah, Mark. No, we did hear from you.
11:39:47 We made it through, so I guess, Kate, I don't know.
11:39:51 You got a busy agenda? Are you eager to get going, or is there work that we should take care of while we still have you, or let you go on back to the conference?
11:40:01 Can I just announce a couple of things I haven't mentioned one was just a little context that I'm and just want to mention the reason I'm here in DC.
11:40:16 Is like I said, this National Association of Workforce Boards that I've been on that our Regional Workforce Board for about 6, 7 years now, and it is paid for by through our
Federal funding for workforce.
11:40:29 It is not a county capital, supported trip, and it's really beneficial in learning how to better support the staff that run our workforce.
11:40:43 And you know, just as an example, last night was able to spend some time with the deputy Director of Employment Security from the State of Washington, and he oversees all of
the work source offices, and, you know, to be able to say, like Hey, we lost our work.
11:40:56 Wow!
11:40:57 Force top this, and we have a non traditional workforce.
11:41:03 And you know, how can we continue to get services, even though we didn't fit into your very specific model?
11:41:09 Okay, so just wanted to give that context for the work we're doing here.
11:41:15 And couple of things I wanted to report out about the up coming week, cause I will be doing some some county business while.
11:41:28 In transit, and between DC. Olympia and back home.
11:41:37 Let's see, I guess we'll just want to let you guys know the meeting with Congressman Kilmer in support of Jefferson healthcare.
11:41:47 And he, you know, just always wants to check in on various county project.
11:41:52 So anyways, seeing him on Friday, and primarily Jefferson healthcare event.
11:41:57 But yeah.
11:41:57 Hey, Kate, I should just let you know that I worked with Haley, his staff person for the Peninsula.
11:42:04 I'm drafting a letter in support of a for Service Grant, that chickadee forestry and northwest logging sawmill, Corey, our pursuing for the local woodshed project.
11:42:21 So when just so, you're not caught off guard. If he brings that up when you meet with them.
11:42:24 Great. Great. Okay. Thank you.
11:42:26 And that grants for 525,000 from the Us.
11:42:32 Forest Service community would grant program.
11:42:34 Great. Okay. I think, do. We talked about it last week it was we did a letter of support to, I think, great.
11:42:38 Oh, maybe I did. Yeah, yeah.
11:42:41 Thank you for the reminder. I'm working on the fairgrounds proposal with the subcommittee that was formed to to work on that, and I have a draft to them for consideration.
11:42:57 And then there's gonna be a special meeting on April fifth fairgrounds.
11:43:03 Board and Association Evening of Heypril fifth.
11:43:08 Fyi! So that's still moving forward. I will be at the opening of 7 Haven on Friday, looking forward to that.
11:43:19 Yeah, a few other small meetings, but just wanted to report out on those few things.
11:43:25 Alright. Well, do we wanna take care of maybe a little ledge update?
11:43:29 It's kind of a hey is fast and furious, and finish off last 15Â min, and then we'll let you go.
11:43:36 Yeah, I'm in the position again of, you know.
11:43:41 Be there? Well, I guess. Well, in a few days, day after tomorrow.
11:43:47 So my May information at this point is not really well fleshed out.
11:43:52 I am. I am curious, Heidi, about the the 80 million dollars and the hearing on that I just don't have.
11:44:05 I could I?
11:44:11 Yeah, so I can forward you a couple of emails. And I think I was, I think you may have gotten one already from Jessica Randall.
11:44:21 But I can forward you the letter that we send the 4 commissioners I mentioned, and we were very explicit about saying we were only signing this letter as individual commissions,
not on behalf of our counties, and then I can send you the letter the testimony that Paul duel.
11:44:38 Also provided on the 80 million. So you can see kind of kind of I mean, it's it got introduced so late.
11:44:47 In the game that people were completely caught off guard by it, and I feel like there's there is a lack in the in the and completeness of the communication. But I'll forward
you those 2 pieces, and that should give you enough context to at least understand what some of the concerns
11:45:07 are, and what some of the pros are.
11:44:03 A lot of information. But like, I'm guessing, if that needs support, we are one of the, you know, a small handful that would be.
11:45:11 Yeah, that's it. A lot of money to not have policy, legislative policy attached to it?
11:45:19 And so I'm you know I'm like, should we support it, or does that mean we shouldn't touch it or?
11:45:29 Do you have a you don't think we should support it in hearing?
11:45:39 I mean the optimistic side of me thinks that we should support it, because I do believe that some funding in that that big bucket of funding could be applied to compensating
our junior taxing districts for the set asides of some of the older forests and that would be a good thing because the
11:46:04 rotations on those forests. I mean, if if they're rotating at the rate they are now, they're in a lot of cases 80 to a 100 years.
11:46:12 So it could be cash, infusion for some of the junior taxing districts, and I I haven't had the opportunity, because it's all happened on Saturday and Sunday, amidst other things,
to really drill down if that pathway is there to get it that but i've heard people say that
11:46:29 and Paul says that in his letter, but there's also, you know, I said, well, maybe the some of the 80 million dollars could be used to purchase or compensate Dnr.
11:46:40 For some of the trust land transfer parcels that are forested like Eglon and get up county, which is the number one parcel on the list.
11:46:57 Hmm!
11:47:00 Hmm! Alright!
11:46:50 Devils like, because trust land transfer is only current proposed at funding at 10.4 million dollars so that doesn't even get us doubles like so basically, eggline will get
funded and a part of some other project, even though devil's like is number 2 on the list, that we forward it to the
11:47:10 Hmm!
11:47:11 legislature, so I see it. There are opportunities within the 80 million dollars, and it's just that they're not really defined.
11:47:21 And so I've said the things I just said out loud here and the letter that I mentioned earlier that Hayley and Megan and Ty and I talk about some of these upsides of this.
11:47:37 Program and protecting some of the older forests that we've been talking about for the last couple of years.
11:47:44 Now, so I but I don't know exactly what we're supporting.
11:47:48 If we support it right?
11:47:50 Right. You know the status of the carbon bill.
11:47:55 Well, one of Kevin's striker amendments takes funding away for the carbon sequestration program that Dnr.
11:48:07 Hmm!
11:48:06 Is proposing because there was funding put in the budget, obviously, to fund that work and the strikers take the funding out for that work.
11:48:16 So I don't know the status of the policy Bill right now.
11:48:21 Yeah.
11:48:24 Oh, jeez! It's complicated.
11:48:27 Yeah.
11:48:30 I mean, it would be good to check your with Paul about it.
11:48:32 Okay.
11:48:33 We had a really good conversation on Friday about this stuff.
11:48:36 Okay. I just got a call from a little bit ago. So maybe that's what it was about.
11:48:40 Yeah.
11:48:41 Okay. I wonder if we wanna talk more about.
11:48:47 Yeah, I think that be appropriate.
11:48:48 Not specifically legislative session, but certainly intergovernmental.
11:48:55 Yeah, so we wanna be firmware about our issues with the somewhere closures.
11:49:03 Well, I mean I don't remember who which one of us it wasn't me, but well, one of us in this room heard the rumor that the schedule could stretch longer, which gets into thing
festival and wouldn't vote, for and I'm super concerned about
11:49:20 that I mean, what's okay? So if there's saying that the schedule might stretch longer in some venues, what are they thinking?
11:49:27 How long is it going to be one of the, you know?
11:49:31 Give these partners the opportunity. I mean some of these events, as you mentioned with Stg and Thingfestival.
11:49:38 They're already spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. The same is true for the Northwest Maritime Center in the Wood Boat Foundation for the festival, and so and they have
no sense right now.
11:49:48 Festival, especially that that this bridge closure could be impacting them.
11:49:55 Yeah.
11:49:55 Although I did speak with their festival director the other day, and said, Now we're hearing shifting timeframes.
11:50:05 Yeah.
11:50:06 Really concerning I mean, who would we speak to the Secretary of Transportation?
11:50:11 I guess.
11:50:14 Yeah.
11:50:12 And the Governor's office. I think yeah, he's an appointee, and I mean, I mean no disrespect to Steve work and staff at.
11:50:22 No!
11:50:23 Washed like they have an important job to do. I was reminded.
11:50:27 I don't know if you guys saw the blog post that washed out put out right after the news story about the branch, you know.
11:50:36 They, of course, chose the most salacious remarks that I made to broadcast.
11:50:42 Right.
11:50:42 Olivia doesn't listen to rural communities like ours.
11:50:49 So they, you know they did a blog that talked about how this project was first scheduled for 21 was delayed, due to Covid. I don't remember.
11:51:06 Last year it was workforce or supply chain, or something delayed at 22, pushed it to 23.
11:51:12 But like I'm I don't know that it's in our best interest to ask them to delay it.
11:51:19 I'm just. It sounds like there's a legit safety concern at this point that you know I don't.
11:51:26 Right, so!
11:51:24 We probably don't want to be on the wrong side of history on that one, especially with, you know, intensity of weather events increasing before our eyes.
11:51:35 Which is the issue there. So you know, I think we would wanna be strategic.
11:51:46 And what we're asking for, I think certainly.
11:51:49 Well with within our authority to call out certain dates and say, these are non-negotiable.
11:51:57 The tricky thing is, of course, Labor Day sits right in the middle of thing and wouldn't vote, and you know, so if we say not those 2 that really means Labor Day should be one
of the weekends, which is, you know, has a huge impact.
11:52:16 On the tourism, and and much after that, you get into the inclement weather risk increasing pretty exponentially.
11:52:26 So!
11:52:27 And they've and that they have told us that they can't do it in June, because they don't have time to order the concrete or whatever it's supplies that they needed right.
11:52:37 So, I mean, I knew this was gonna happen since 2021.
11:52:43 So I you know, I that's a challenging to me.
11:52:48 But it doesn't sound like there's an ask that we could make that would actually help go past those 4 weekends.
11:52:53 It's going to be because they have to, and there's no better weekend.
11:52:58 Are we gonna choose winners and lers out of the you know, events that are on every single subsequent weekend, I mean, whether it's Labor Day with a huge influx of tourist dollars
or you know, one of the big festivals, you know, I mean, wooden boat festival would probably be a bigger impact.
11:53:13 But probably you know, if thing was impacted, it would be the last thing that we had.
11:53:20 So I mean, like the downstream impacts are significant, regardless.
11:53:25 But I just feel like there's no ask if we're not.
11:53:28 If we don't want to, as you say, you know, potentially put ourselves on the wrong side of history and ask to kick it to early, late late spring, early summer next year, with,
you know, aligning with with the roundabout work I mean that's the only ask that I would feel strongly
11:53:46 about making to the Governor's office, I guess. Otherwise I just don't know what's going.
11:53:53 I mean, we could admit that we are not highway engineers like we don't have all the information.
11:53:59 They've not been super forthcoming with all the information in reading their recent material, they make it sound like it's very pressing and timely.
11:54:14 So I don't know how much to question that.
11:54:20 I mean, I think one question we have to ask ourselves is, what's the risk of taking a really strong position in working with these 4 other jerseys in the rather milk toast letter
that we did agree to.
11:54:37 You know, I definitely had the strongest feelings and didn't didn't feel like we had a lot to lose, like, you know.
11:54:43 I mean we can keep a polite tone, but, advocate, for you know our positions.
11:54:54 So I'm willing.
11:54:54 What were the, what were the risks that other partners oh, do you think that like we would get that would be poor communication on future road projects they're just gonna we're
gonna stop taking care of 101 and North Olympic peninsula. I mean that's not you know
11:55:09 they've got duties to uphold.
11:55:11 Yeah, exactly. I couldn't I couldn't come up with any, but they just seemed less willing to.
11:55:17 I mean, maybe the sense that they didn't have the same the support from their constituents to take a strong position and or safety concerns.
11:55:29 Maybe working relationships. I'm not sure I mean something.
11:55:34 We, you know another? Ask. We could still be pushing on.
11:55:36 Is the additional ferry support.
11:55:43 Pretty sounds, specific.
11:55:45 Only additional input or communication loop. I've been in the last week about.
11:55:50 This is between East Jefferson fire and Rescue.
11:55:54 And just concerned about getting people off the Peninsula if needed.
11:55:58 And there's ideas of a boat, you know, but they need a certain vote because we did talk about sound express.
11:56:09 But they need a boat they can drive an ambulance onto.
11:56:10 And so global diving and salvage has a few of those so these are the only conversations that I've been part of in the last week.
11:56:18 Specific to this issue was around first response and getting people off when we need to.
11:56:27 But it's a huge concern of mine, you know.
11:56:30 I mean, I'm sure it's a huge concern of all of ours.
11:56:34 I'm not trying to. I'm the one who cares about getting, you know.
11:56:37 Life support. But not everyone has life light, or you know the stickers on their cars, helicopters and the waiting to come. Get them.
11:56:49 Yeah, I mean requesting mitigation it'd be an option to like.
11:56:56 I've also been following that requests and conversation between sheet black, and I think it was the port level.
11:57:06 Yup! Yup!
11:57:08 And something I'm guessing without mitigation funds that would be really difficult to secure a privately owned vessel.
11:57:20 Contracted viewers, so that might. That might be something we could.
11:57:19 For to sit here for week or month.
11:57:24 Yeah.
11:57:24 We could go to the governor with a request for.
11:57:28 I mean, I think we have to have a specific request more concrete than we have today.
11:57:34 I don't know. I mean, just startping our feet and saying, This won't do, isn't going to do anything.
11:57:39 Obviously my impression from all the meetings that I've been in is that Mr.
11:57:44 Work, and all the the engineers at washed out are just moving forward.
11:57:47 You know they need to listen to objections, but I there's not a lot of dialogue going on.
11:57:56 Hmm!
11:57:54 I don't think it seems like pretty. The power asymmetry is complete.
11:57:59 You know where they are just engineers doing their job building this road are repairing this bridge, and if we do want something to change, we need to go to the kind of the
elected representatives or at least that the secretary but I just don't know what we'd ask cause I mean.
11:58:17 Even if we have longer opening periods that just increases the likelihood that it's going to impact for the weekends.
11:58:25 I mean, anything that we ask has a real dams to it as well.
11:58:28 I mean, I don't know if we shouldn't just our hands up and say we did all that we could cause.
11:58:33 I'm not sure what else we can do.
11:58:39 I don't know. It doesn't feel like throwing our hands up at this point is the right.
11:58:46 Path, forward!
11:58:51 Hmm!
11:58:51 Coming up with the finding out from our first responders what they're planning.
11:58:57 There was a request at one of the meetings we were on asking for what was it called?
11:59:04 Incident, command.
11:59:05 And sending command, incident, command, plan, incident, plan, wash.
11:59:16 Dot seemed barely receptive to attending those meetings, but, as they said to us, They're not gonna convene them or manage them.
11:59:25 Or are you any of that? So so if we are?
11:59:34 I was there.
11:59:28 I didn't. I think one happened. What was the one scheduled for last week and watch that was gonna participate?
11:59:39 We watched that participated, but it was just the same informational meeting that we had basically to the emergency responders is how I would characterize it.
11:59:47 I was there. Yeah, Monty was there as well, and you know, at the end of it, you know.
11:59:46 Oh, you were there. Okay? Sorry. I missed. Okay, okay.
11:59:53 Monty shared my opinion that they're not. They're not looking to work things out.
11:59:58 They're they're working off of inputs that they aren't, you know, revealing all of them to us, you know, they've got like job and contractor realities that are more important
than us, saying we don't have emergency access for via, for you know, healthcare so if
12:00:21 Yeah.
12:00:21 that's the fact. Maybe we do have to come up with our own plan for that.
12:00:25 And that's what we need to ask for financial support from the State, from is for that mitigation, so that we can have things in place when you know the emergencies happen cause
it's irresponsible to not have that conversation.
12:00:39 It feels like to me I mean, that's a request that we could make.
12:00:43 We, you know this is gonna have huge impacts. And we recognize, you know, your dealing with a lot of variables that we aren't privy to.
12:00:54 But the impacts to our emergency services are as well as to our, you know, touristic industries and your own data.
12:01:04 Of course, shows that there's, that is, when the absolute most traffic on July and August weekends is the highest impact of traffic.
12:01:14 So we really need some mitigation funds to be able to address emergency operations and see if we can't come up with something that would help our own.
12:01:24 I mean, economic engineer. Steve Shi Lily talked with Pete Hanky at Pew to sound express, and he shared the.
12:01:30 It was about $10,000 a day to contract one of their votes, so if we wanted to contract one of the Pit of sound express boats, one of their fast fairies, or the red head, or
something for those weekend Friday to Sunday, or whatever I mean we should have a plan, in place sooner than
12:01:55 later. I mean, those aren't passenger fairies.
12:01:57 So that's you know. They are. That's what they are. I mean, they're not car fairies.
12:02:06 A 150 people, maybe 300 people a day. Right?
12:02:08 It's like a 2Â h journey or something. Well, if we could get a fast one of the faster ones.
12:02:16 Hour. Journey. Yeah. Each way. Yeah.
12:02:20 But it's their busy season, too. Right? The Ps. Express.
12:02:26 Yeah, but they were. I mean, Steve shared that they were open to the idea.
12:02:31 Having the conversation.
12:02:33 Hmm!
12:02:37 So yeah, I don't know. Requesting mitigation.
12:02:40 Funds would be the. That's the only ask that. I can see that it's easy to support.
12:02:44 Although keep in mind, we haven't hmm sorry, but keep in mind.
12:02:50 We haven't like given this any of our talking points to the mayor or Secretary Malar.
12:02:56 The governor. Yeah.
12:02:56 So, you know, we yeah, sorry. So we could be, you know, I think, reiterating some of our other talking points, knowing that it's not, you know, we're really imploring people
higher up to consider. And they have not been hearing this presumably.
12:03:23 What we're. We're past 12 now. I don't think we're gonna come to a specific message, but maybe we should all kind of put ourselves in caps on this week and come back with recommendations
for any communication to jump jump the chain of commands next week.
12:03:40 Okay. Sounds good.
12:03:42 That sound. Okay, we could reach out to Chief Black and Steve he's really been thinking of this on the tourism front, see if they have more specifics that we could put in a
letter.
12:03:55 Okay. Sounds good.
12:03:56 I heard that some weddings are being canceled at Port Ludlow already and same thing just on certainty.
12:04:06 Yeah, we heard that.
12:04:10 Right.
12:04:03 You know, people have to make travel plans and who's gonna set up their family for thousands of dollars and airfare. You know, it's really hard when we don't have dates.
12:04:15 You just have to make a stop. The first part of the wedding is gonna happen in Olympia.
12:04:20 Oh, yeah. Yeah. Progressive.
12:04:23 Alright, I'm being slipped. No one likes alright awkwardness.
12:04:27 Make bills. Resiliency. Okay? So we're not gonna see you this afternoon.
12:04:34 Is that right, Kate? Okay, so sorry you're okay with us.
12:04:34 Correct. Yeah. But I will.
12:04:39 Yeah, no. And I mean, I think it's yeah.
12:04:43 The material is such that I can go back and listen, so happy to do that.
12:04:47 Okay. Well, if you have any questions you want to, you know put to the screws, you can send them on to Mark, and we'll make sure that they're asked for the 3 groups we're seeing
this afternoon.
12:04:57 Great. Thank you.
12:04:58 Yeah, it feels this afternoon feels big to me. Okay, well, with that I will reset this meeting at the Board of County Commissioners.
12:05:14 I wish held in basement with the mask on.
12:05:07 Will return at 1 30 with with Commissioner Dean stepping off to other duties, Green, some Kate Green, some Alright.
12:05:19 To be sure!
12:05:19 Oh, yeah, I was there. I was there.
12:05:21 Hmm, hmm!
13:30:55 And so that when I say I'll add to you, okay, I'm gonna send you an email public session.
13:31:01 So I then I'm like, I can send an email.
13:31:06 Hello, Brent! Alright! Now we can start. Alright. I will we're going on avian capture.
13:31:14 We'll call this meeting of the Board of County Commissioners back to Session.
13:31:18 Good afternoon, Commissioner Dean. Is it a conference this afternoon?
13:31:21 So will not be with us. But it's hold this already that she will follow up and watch this.
13:31:27 So you know you're speaking the do time travel to Commissioner Dean at the same time that you're talking to us we've got a couple of workshops going this afternoon, and the
first of those is Dcd.
13:31:39 And we have the director and the deputy director, Brent Brett Butler and Josh Pete is with us today.
13:31:44 So gentlemen, really glad to have you here. Thanks for the the document ahead of time, as well it's very appreciated, and I'll turn it over to you.
13:31:54 Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you. Members of the Board of County Commissioners.
13:31:59 We're here today to discuss the agenda, and I wanted to highlight that.
13:32:07 What we have in our packet that was submitted is really of the focus of our discussion today.
13:32:16 We might embellish or provide additional information that wasn't available at the time of the packet being submitted.
13:32:23 I'm joined by Josh Peters, the deputy Director and Unified Development Code Administrator and Sepa Administrator.
13:32:38 Yes. Would you pull up the presentation? That would be great.
13:32:44 And while we're waiting to pull up the presentation, I would point out that our agenda, which is on Tuesday, page 2 of the of the presentation, identifies the topics that we're
going to discuss you can fast forward to the next and our first is really to
13:33:08 just highlight one of the components of our discussion which was emerging issues.
13:33:14 What are the emerging issues that you should be aware of that are impacting the delivery of services to the community?
13:33:25 And then, after we go through those emerging issues, we'll discuss the projects and provide an overview and ranking and prioritizing, and next steps can I ask you one question,
Brent?
13:33:38 Yes, that's just. Would you prefer us to wait for our questions till the end, or interject questions through the presentation?
13:33:44 If there is, I think it's good to interrupt us at the current time.
13:33:51 Okay? And yeah, we'll be more flexible.
13:33:51 Yeah, okay, for that. Thank you. So emerging issue and number one is, we have capacity site development review, the new permit tracking software.
13:34:05 And then the economy. So I'm gonna move on to the next slide.
13:34:09 And that really looks like we've unfortunately, I've had a significant uptick in resignations.
13:34:15 I, and this is the largest number of resignations during my tenure as the community Development director.
13:34:23 One of the things that I can say about resignations is that we have a lot of persons leaving the team just as we're saying some data we're going to talk about this later.
13:34:36 An emerging issue, the economy that persons are leaving just as the economy seems to show signs of changing.
13:34:45 And that typically means that. And I've experienced this before my previous government in the city of East Palo Alto, where we had no change whatsoever during the recession.
13:34:56 And then during then, when the recession ended, everyone that could had the opportunity of moving closer to where they lived, they did that, or for more money.
13:35:07 And so we're seeing that now, I think this is probably the last of the change based upon some of the data that I'm seeing.
13:35:17 What we're seeing also is that of the nature of the of their loss.
13:35:24 For persons going to. I'm sorry 6 persons going to 4 governments, meaning that 2 governments are poaching 2 of our staff members and it looks primarily related to what we're
seeing of our staff members each. And and it looks primarily related to what we're seeing and pretty significant
13:35:42 differential in what they can pay versus what we have been able to.
13:35:45 We've been able to work with some staff and keep some longer.
13:35:52 But it hasn't been something we can do on a regular basis, and this isn't a sort of showing that.
13:36:00 And so the biggest impact of this is that it's gonna have a pretty significant need for us to change our focus.
13:36:09 We had been able to focus almost exclusively for a while.
13:36:12 There on permits, and planning. And that's gonna make a change.
13:36:17 We're gonna have to focus on recruitment again.
13:36:20 Anything you wanna add, Josh, yeah. One thing I'll add is that now we're anxiously awaiting responsibility from our bargaining units.
13:36:31 The border that we hope to sit down with us here and negotiate reopening the current agreement.
13:36:37 We've not yet heard from any of them, and our hope was that that we could improve compensation in the current year.
13:36:50 And in the 3 subsequent years to help address some of the causes of losing promising staff.
13:36:57 One of our staff members that went to a sister government here in town earning $2 more an hour for those same work.
13:37:09 And so our hope is that we can make ourselves more competitive over time.
13:37:16 Other factors in that department are just the monumental workload that they're under right now with the Sdr process, and.
13:37:25 Yeah, so it's it's a tough night.
13:37:30 And we're working on that. Thank you. Thank you. Then I'm gonna pass the baton to Josh so he can talk about next emerging, which is one B next slide.
13:37:43 I guess before, before you go into that, I have one question.
13:37:46 I mean, do we have capacity to go on to any other emerging issues or priorities right now, with the capacity issues one solution, we're examining is a use of consultant talent.
13:38:03 Okay, and you know, next week we're going to sit down and review the organization of the department and examine what resources we can bring to bear on some of these very important
agenda items.
13:38:18 I think, subsequent to that process, we may be coming to you during the supplemental budget process.
13:38:24 To ask for resources to fund those efforts. Would it be better to do this workshop after you guys meet to assess the org structure of the department?
13:38:35 Alright! We are able to give you some.
13:38:41 That process, that this would be the first one.
13:38:45 2 workshops. There's some other any issues. And.
13:38:51 Wish to just bring to your.
13:38:55 Notable. And okay.
13:38:59 Okay. So, Josh, you're gonna be.
13:39:08 Good afternoon. I'll be brief. Brent just wanted to show that we've been continually working on the process associated with our new programs Site Development Review and legal
lotter record determination that started last October and we brought in a recommended lean 6 Sigma consultant
13:39:28 to work with us. We've had sessions with our colleagues and environmental public health and public works.
13:39:35 You talk about the process and.
13:39:39 It is disappointing, in a sense that some of the news that Brentt just mentioned about losing other folks only because we felt like we were just getting really up to speed with
the new team.
13:39:49 But so that said, we're obviously gonna do our best to continue that progress, while also reinvisioning things.
13:39:57 Okay. Josh, have you found what the lean consultant, helpful?
13:40:02 You personally.
13:40:08 So in terms of raw numbers.
13:40:13 The latest numbers that we've got today are that.
13:40:18 In 2022 we had a 178 applications for Site Development Review.
13:40:25 At least I want to just estimate that about half of that was latent demand that I've been waiting for the moratorium to be lifted for one reason or another.
13:40:34 Some of those applications, perhaps, could have been submitted before the moratorium, or during the marching, I should say because of some of the amendments that the Board made
to that initial moratorium in the septic designer.
13:40:45 Community in particular. Perhaps that message wasn't delivered or I'm not sure what happened. There.
13:40:50 But nonetheless. In the first month or so a lot of those applications were for septic designs.
13:40:56 We've done some things to try to deal with the transition process, including allow people to apply for development permits like building permits or septic permits or rot approaches.
13:41:06 Once you apply for an Sdr. So we're still in a transition phase that's going to last.
13:41:10 I wasn't estimating July first, and we'll have to when the dust clear is here in the couple of weeks.
13:41:16 We'll see if there's a change in that.
13:41:17 But I know that at a certain point, when I talked to the team about projecting ahead and dealing with the backlog, they felt confident they could deal with that Sdr.
13:41:26 Backlog, the ancillary issue, however, is that we have other development premise land use permits, subdivision is shortline permits.
13:41:34 What have you that we're in the queue already?
13:41:36 And just the succession of sort of our veteran or quasi veteran planners sailing on to other shores.
13:41:45 It means that that those Cas loads have to be redistributed.
13:41:48 So just today, are just, I'm just back today from a break.
13:41:51 But learning that Helena, one of our up and coming promising, is, has told us that they're moving on to the city.
13:42:01 That's why Brand was mentioning other governments.
13:42:03 So our friends at the city look like they're they've convinced, Helena, that there's greener pastures over there.
13:42:09 And yeah, I wouldn't doubt that the job that they're able to offer would at the wages is attempting.
13:42:15 So anyway, Helen, add 52 cases, and so we have to red distribute hell in those cases as well.
13:42:20 So 106 last year than 103. So far this year.
13:42:25 Slow down a little bit then, but still there's a stream of Sdrs.
13:42:29 That's 281 total. We finished 87.
13:42:32 I got to my inbox today and saw that they were 23 Sdrs. Waiting for me to sign.
13:42:38 So that was work that was done while I was away. So it's good.
13:42:40 There you go. We started a process, and it was working so hopefully over a 100.
13:42:44 Then by the end of today, or maybe tomorrow, if I if I can review those and sign those so so there's some good news in there.
13:42:50 But clearly there's a workload issue that has been described already by Brenton. Mark.
13:42:58 Unless there's any questions. We're gonna move on to the next slide.
13:43:01 Give it back to back, and then our next significant concern has been, and for us it's almost like that fish show the most dangerous catch.
13:43:14 I think they call my deadliest catch. We have a perfect storm.
13:43:20 The process changes that have occurred where the first that we've addressed this issue since this millennium, since really the advent of the Growth Management Act, and so now
we're coming to terms with what other governments other counties have done decades ago at the same time we
13:43:41 have historic change in our permit software. The last time that we had a software system that predates this one there's no one in the department that can recall it.
13:43:56 And so the oldest or the longest term team members are about 22 years.
13:44:01 So that says a lot in itself, we've identified the training issues.
13:44:08 Some of these issues come from. We've had some fairly expensive training, virtually all those that participated in that are no longer here.
13:44:18 No frustrating. We also did not. Yeah.
13:44:23 We also have that as an issue. It's an awesome issue.
13:44:26 We have reconfiguration issues. Some decisions were made that if we were to revisit them we might not make the same, and then we have final.
13:44:40 This is interoperability issue that we assume would not occur.
13:44:43 But it has not yet been fully addressed. And so this is creating a significant drag on the department.
13:44:52 Dissatisfaction by the community members. And so we've reached out to Mark.
13:45:00 And we've had a team meeting. And so some solutions are moving forward.
13:45:06 And I wanna talk about the economy. So this is what you look at is the single family homes.
13:45:13 That's the first row. And then if you look at the next row, that's every we get a lot of mechanical permits, we get a lot of really small permits next week.
13:45:25 But if you don't go ahead, 23 is year to date.
13:45:28 Oh! And this is, we're only looking at, or is this projected?
13:45:32 No, this is only this is compared every first 3 months.
13:45:39 Okay, up until 20 every year at same point every year. So I wanted to make sure we're comparing Orange.
13:45:44 So if you go to the next slide you'll see that that second, that the where we are currently we have the lowest number of single family housing units submitted, since before,
since the last 5 or 6 years.
13:46:01 So this is a concerning, and I've already indicated in the agenda request.
13:46:07 You'll see that I've highlighted the report from the Washington Center for real estate, and they've also identified a decline year over year, and for the fourth quarter.
13:46:21 That's the last quarter that they have available. So this is trothing what they have documented.
13:46:28 It seems to be accurate. Next slide.
13:46:32 Now this is all of the range of permits that we issue, and you can see that there has been a continuual decline, with the exception of we're seeing some pre application comperences
that that are larger.
13:46:51 But overall, and we've added the Sdrs.
13:46:56 So those were the ones for Tuesday. And so what we're we'll be tracking this really closely because it has implications on what budget we have next slide.
13:47:09 Oh, and before I go here I just wanted to point out there was one emerging issue that was not identified, and it only became only really only became aware of the significance
of it by attending the training Thursday and Friday we're having our three-year Update of
13:47:30 the Icc Codes, which are 15 codes, that prescribe how we approve mechanical plumbing permits, and they're sort of a family of codes.
13:47:41 And Icc stands for the International Code Council, and so I attended the training in Lynnwood, which was set forth by the Washington Association of Building, a fifth, and at
that training there were 2 specific regulations that I'll be significant in increasing expense in time for applicants now one of them has to do with
13:48:07 the energy code, and then the second one has to do with the wild and urban interface.
13:48:13 Regulations that are being promulgated. We are striving to understand the ramifications, and we'll be working with the home builders of Jefferson County to assist them.
13:48:29 But my first overview of this is that it'll be significant.
13:48:36 Change a deviation from the past, and that we will need to provide some types of assistance or consultants available for community members to address these new regulations or
consultants available for community members to address these new regulations.
13:48:48 They become effective. July first, of 2023. Cause most of our code adopt the Icc.
13:48:56 By reference, so it would automatically change as the Icc. That's correct.
13:49:02 So, the Dcd work plan. So one of the things I always like to do is to go back and talk about.
13:49:07 When did we come to the board before? So we had really 3 different touch points.
13:49:11 One of them predates me, and that was the May 20, fifth, fourth, 2021.
13:49:16 And there was a discussion before the Board and and at that point they outlined, or with the Board's direction, a group of projects were outlined.
13:49:25 We did come back on July eleventh of 2,022 with that information, and we reordered them and looked at what had happened in the interim period, and we also share with you some
lessons learned one of those was that we should withdraw that concept of a subaria plan for
13:49:46 the there was some concern about that in the community, and so that was one of the actions that was taken, and additionally we looked at what other areas are important from
the community standpoint.
13:50:02 And we added that to the list, and then finally we came back November seventh, and at that point we recognize that we were having significant problems even before the staffing.
13:50:16 The resignations that we've received.
13:50:20 So we came to you November end, indicating that it was still a high number of permits.
13:50:28 That was a little. The interest rates really were hat or raised significantly.
13:50:34 And so it's even though it's 4 months ago.
13:50:38 I think the climate is different today. So, Brent, we just mentioned that the Uga in the sub area plan part of that conversation included a or a thought that it might be good
to review the use table for the uga, just based on some of the housing affordability issues that are allowed on the current
13:50:58 iteration of the use table. When we talked about that before, and I don't.
13:51:03 I mean not trying to add to the mountain of work, but just wanted to refresh the that conversation a little bit and say there was interest in looking at the uga, use table and
kind of ground truthing it for affordable hous housing affordability and multi-family housing and those types
13:51:26 of things, right, and if I remember one of the things that we came out of that with was the realization that we wanted to be cautious about the uga until the permitting for
the Seward is in and over, and at sunset, once we've got the sewer done we would revisit
13:51:45 that we were also going to look to see if there were more significant changes that would affect all properties through the sewer done, we would revisit that we were also going
to look to see if there were more significant changes that would effect all properties through the county not specific to the Uga like Parking reduction that might have an impact for
the
13:52:12 uga like parking reduction that might have an impact for the ug.
13:52:14 So thank you for that. And next slide.
13:52:20 And then this is the status of everything that was on that 2021, so that Uga subaria plan was withdrawn.
13:52:30 But we're still looking at those other areas to incentivize growth and development.
13:52:36 And one of them that's moving forward comes from a property owner in that area that is rarely concerned about their ability to finance their affordable housing project.
13:52:46 So that is the cpaper program. They've been really vocal advocates of that.
13:52:50 And so that is moving ahead. So that will have some beneficial impact in that area.
13:52:55 The affordable housing study was recommended again by the Planning Commission Unified Development Code.
13:53:03 That's been incorporated into the Comp Plan cycle, and it says, incorporated into 2022, that's a mistype.
13:53:11 It should say 2020, threethree. My apologies on that, and then we have some policy changes, code interpretations that are being finalized.
13:53:22 We're also looking at the incentive programs.
13:53:26 So one of those incentive programs I've just mentioned is the cpaper.
13:53:30 But there are others that we could advance to interns that might help us, and so that's one area that we're looking at.
13:53:39 And then this is short-term housing regulations, and I wanted to thank both Commissioner Eisenhower for putting us in touch with Commissioner.
13:53:47 I think it was Bogart yeah. And also our Commissioner Dean provided some assistance on this so we haven't really moved it to the staff level yet.
13:54:05 And also Commissioner Dean, provided some assistance on this, so we haven't really moved it to the staff level yet, just because of capacity.
13:54:08 But we've acknowledged the work that's already been done, and there was a pathway that was presented to us by essentially having a third party like potentially Granicus or another
party carry out that work on behalf of the
13:54:20 county, that work on behalf of the county. So that, just given the capacity issues that we've noted, it seems to be the most viable pathway and the temporary housing facilities
that was adopted by the Board the lot of record was adopted by the
13:54:32 Board the Shoreline Master program. We have a new star and I might admit stuff today, and that is Josh Peters.
13:54:40 He successfully worked with shoreline to get an additional $50,000 $50,000 for the team, so that we can complete the code.
13:54:51 So I really wanted to thank Josh Fors $50,000, $50,000 for the team so that we can complete the code. So I really wanted to thank Josh for helping do that. I know we were originally
going to come to the board and ask for funding but we have another pathway
13:55:02 so we're really thankful for that. Yeah, that's right.
13:55:05 We still probably after that I'm sure that.
13:55:11 And then mineral resource overlay. That was a prior component amendment that's still moving forward.
13:55:19 And then the green burial Text amendments was withdrawn, because we, as a county, cannot designate what can happen in areas that allow cemeteries on our youth, youth, used table.
13:55:33 If the use table says you can have a cemetery, you can have a seminary there.
13:55:37 We cannot let legislate what can occur? What type of cemetery?
13:55:43 But for many of the types of Greenberials as long as they conform to industry, standards, and the residue matter of of human remains is is small enough.
13:55:56 It can be disposed of outside of areas that are classically defined as semitaries.
13:56:02 Next slide.
13:56:05 I mean, I've we sort of did a crosswalk.
13:56:10 So those are items in. Bold are the ones that the planning commission recommended that we had.
13:56:15 We moved forward on. That was a lot of record, and we are working on that.
13:56:20 They've also gone ahead and recommended the short-term rental coordinates they've also recommended a affordable housing study.
13:56:28 The mile, sand and gravel, the mineral overlay, and then the temporary housing ordinance, and then the smp, and then the stock plants. What's the reprise on the temporary housing
ordinance like making some the a few changes yeah.
13:56:45 Exactly thank you for that. It was a lot of that was definitions.
13:56:49 And so we had a joint meeting with the for Townson Planning commission, and we also looked at the 58 definitions that are in the Five-year Plan to end homelessness.
13:57:02 And so we brought all of those together, and we also looked at the lease, for Caswell Brown, so that we don't have definitions working against each other.
13:57:11 And so that was the goal. And so and so that's the primary objective of that and what's the I forgot the ultimate goal of the affordable housing study?
13:57:22 What is it? What is it? Measuring? So what does it was the goal.
13:57:34 And so that's the primary objective of that. And what's the I forgot the ultimate goal of the affordable housing study? What is it? What is it measuring? So what a community
does an affordable housing study? It usually precedes?
13:57:39 What is from a benefit cost ratio? What would deliver the best bang for the buck, so that it would help inform, and what what requires the most resources so it's like a needs
assessment.
13:57:49 It's not a code code assessment. It's not what requires the most resources. So it's like a needs assessment.
13:57:57 It's it's not a code code assess, and it would help identify.
13:57:59 What would one have the greatest impact for the least effort? And then and so forth?
13:58:07 What has more effort, but also has a high impact. So an affordable housing study would lay out everything this I think there are maybe as many as 40 different activities we
could undertake given the staff, given, the staff right?
13:58:23 And so and so it would look to determine of those forty- different activities.
13:58:28 I have a list of 11 or 11 revenue generation activities.
13:58:35 Then there's affordable housing preservation activities so I look at so all of those that would look at that and make a record.
13:58:45 Okay.
13:58:47 And any other questions. Okay, next slide, I guess I did have one.
13:58:55 I mean, you had the one site specific comp plan, amendment.
13:58:58 We had last year that we're still wrapping up, but I see we have.
13:59:01 What is it? 5 more sit-specific comp plan, amendments that are on the docket?
13:59:06 We have 3 more I'll just 3 more, I mean, that's a pretty significant staff capacity drain as well.
13:59:18 These sites specifically.
13:59:20 Right? So so in our code, every year we have an annual comprehensive plan.
13:59:25 Amendment cycle. My understanding is, there have been years in the past where the Board has suspended the cycle for specific reasons.
13:59:32 Perhaps because it coincides with a required periodic update from the State on our growth management plans and policies.
13:59:41 That said, we have a cycle, and there is discretion on the Board's part to move from a preliminary docket to the final docket, and you will be receiving briefings on this shortly
and then have a decision to make about what to put on the final
13:59:55 docket for 2023. However, site specific rezones essentially, are something that we offer through our code.
14:00:03 And it's a paid service. So it's not just a suggestion about a policy from somebody or a group.
14:00:08 It's from an individual, usually a property owner who wants a different zoning.
14:00:12 And so we have 3 of those, and so those would be assuming all the paperwork is in order.
14:00:18 And what have you then? Those are part of the docket.
14:00:20 There's one of those actually in the urban growth area which will start the process.
14:00:26 Commissioner Eisenhower Right of revisiting some of the assumptions and the numbers that went into the urban growth area, planning because in order to address the site, specific
comprehensive plan ofment or the reasonable proposal, we need to analyze some of those numbers so I basically crack
14:00:42 the books but back open on the urban growth area.
14:00:44 So, whether we like it or not, that will be sort of an impetus to start that process, and the planning commission.
14:00:50 May weave in other aspects even this year, during the cycle, one of the things the Commission is doing is just making those final touches on what?
14:00:59 Howing related policy and code amendments. The Commission wants to put forward this year as opposed to continuing to do homework on those on ideas, and then propose something
specific for next year, or even after that.
14:01:15 So, as you might remember from the workshop you had with the planning commission.
14:01:20 Essentially housing as an overall topic, was one of the top, if not the top priority but there were just so many different aspects of that Brent just listed, several of them.
14:01:29 So right now you will expect to see on the preliminary docket.
14:01:32 Some specific proposals for code changes that the Planning Commission is working on to address some of the housing aspects, and then others that they expect to continue to work
on this year to present specific proposals next year.
14:01:49 And then can I ask a question about that when you say the Planning Commission is working on?
14:01:56 Is it like subcommittees of the planning come, I know there's like a Arlene Arlene has talked to me about a couple of groups that she's involved with.
14:02:04 How is that work completed? Do they have a staff person assigned to them to help or?
14:02:20 Sure I'm gonna pass it to Brent on the subcommittee. In a moment.
14:02:23 But I will say that on this facility we're putting the docket together and the planning Commission has presented several ideas recently, and I believe some of those ideas have
been worked on for the past couple years, even for some of the Long Standing Commissioners to address different aspects of the Housing issue and
14:02:43 so at the last meeting, which was longer than a normal 2Â h meeting, my understanding was 2 and a half hours.
14:02:49 I happened to be in Bryn in that same evening, so I couldn't attend the planning commission that's right. But I heard that the planning commission conversation went well, and
there was progress made, and so Joel Peterson, who is the lead planner to the planning Commission is helping planning Commissioners
14:03:03 formulate those ideas into proposed code amendments, so he is helping the best he can.
14:03:09 However, Joel is also working the whole process, including some of the Udc.
14:03:14 Or Unified development code amendments that Staff is putting forward a few fixes here and there.
14:03:19 I'm on our code. Some more scenarios, and he also still has some other things on his play, including finishing that process of the mineral resource lands overlay designation
that the planning committee did make a recommendation on late last year, and still needs to come before the board so it
14:03:32 is a tricky process. I have to say, but we are trying to work with the Commissioners to put their ideas into proposals that then could be considered as part of the document
cause I know there was something about the class or Dnr timber salle review and I think that was decided to not be a
14:03:53 priority, but something that I feel like I hear about a lot expect it'll come up again, but just wasn't prioritized.
14:04:03 Okay. And then, with regards to Subcommittee.
14:04:07 So there are 2 subcommittees of the planning commission.
14:04:09 One is an outreach committee, and then the other is the stock plans.
14:04:16 And so I've been supporting the stock plan, and there's some relationship to the outreach because it really needs to get out to the community.
14:04:24 So I've been meeting with some of the the planning commissioners.
14:04:29 The 3 of them that were expressed in interest in that I've been helping them in that process, and I've also been coordinating what we did, what we're doing with the city of
Port Townsend, so that the submittal of stock plans might be beneficial to outside and
14:04:46 inside the city limits. Can I throw out a little bit more potential work for the planning commission?
14:04:50 I'm sure that's exactly what you guys were hoping for.
14:04:54 Really on the affordable housing study seems to me one of the things that really needs to happen.
14:04:58 First, and that we're already working on a little bit with the Housing Fund Board is that needs assessment that I referenced earlier you know what is the need for workforce
housing for transitional emergency Service housing.
14:05:14 So we're forming committees and already have started on the ones that are kind of outside the Planning Commission's Ballywick with the emergency shelter and transitional housing,
permanent supportive housing.
14:05:21 But we want to form a needs kind of a needs.
14:05:23 Assessment Committee to for kind of workforce housing, building that sort of thing that I think the planning commission would really be what they have the right skills set for,
and the right into our kind of our planning process.
14:05:39 So, I'd love, and I'd be happy to come to a planning commission meeting and talk to them too.
14:05:43 But I I was hoping to kind of test this task.
14:05:48 Some of them, if they're volunteer, if they volunteer to be part of that workforce housing and kind of market rates, needs assessment.
14:05:57 What is the need for Jefferson County that'll go into the Five-year Plan.
14:06:00 Give us, you know, can't measure it. Try to manage it.
14:06:03 So understanding what the need is to inform other processes, I would point out that some of what you mentioned appear to be almost exactly what is going to be asked of the new
housing element, and so there's a real good connection to the work that the planning Commission would necessarily have
14:06:25 to do so. I appreciate that.
14:06:30 Onward. Okay? And then. So at our last meeting, one of the items that the board clearly identified is that priority number one should be current planning.
14:06:43 That's our bread and butter. That's where we need to stay focused.
14:06:46 And so we heard that loud and clear, and we I put that up here.
14:06:51 Just recognizing that.
14:06:55 The question. That sort of outstanding is the office of the fire.
14:06:59 Marshall. I think that what I should do is set up a separate workshop to talk about the needs for the office of the fire.
14:07:09 Marshall, because there's going to be some pretty significant new code regulations that really are going to increase the need for that office to have the technical competency
necessary to fulfill its role and also to influence the need for that office to have the technical competency necessary to fulfill its role and also to influence the community wildlife
the community wild wildfire protection
14:07:41 plans and cwps because some of the Cwpp deliverables address some of the Fema emergency declaration requirements as well as potentially.
14:07:53 Some of the buildings, and so I didn't realize how much of a connection there was until I attended the training and reading your report.
14:08:00 It seemed like just my guess me putting everything together.
14:08:04 It seemed ultimately like the people that are doing the building inspections should be kind of deputized fire marshals, or just the inspection process needs to start including
the fire marshall duties as well is that accurate.
14:08:19 Yes, but there's some nuances that I'm still becoming aware of.
14:08:25 Because we haven't been fulfilling that role, that other counties have.
14:08:30 There's a question that I needed to verify that.
14:08:32 So we've put this condition in new permits like short term rentals.
14:08:35 You are opening up your home to visitors, so we're going to require there to be annual inspection of the fire suppression system that you have the required CEO and smoke detectors.
14:08:55 But that typically falls only to commercial establishments.
14:08:59 But since that is closed in the commercial interest, we decided to include that in as well as with those more commercial projects like Pomona woods, that would necessarily be
included.
14:09:14 But at the same time the question that is being asked is the program in Thurston County?
14:09:21 They go around their 1,700 businesses and once a year they come and they inspect it, and it's usually to make sure that the sprinklers, the modes, if you eat grass it can be
done really quickly.
14:09:33 And so their program is the model that I see us following.
14:09:39 We don't have as many businesses, so it wouldn't be would have to figure out the financing for them. We have 400 Airbnbs, or something like that, right?
14:09:49 If you're talking about putting sprinkler systems in yearly inspections on, not sprinkle systems.
14:09:54 But it's just a fire extinguisher, and the smoke detectors, because sometimes their deactivated or they remove the fire.
14:10:03 Extinguishers or they're not up to date the fire extinguishers.
14:10:08 And so, and then we wanna make sure that frequently we see the secondary mode of egress is blocked.
14:10:14 So those are the types of things that occur during an inspection generally.
14:10:20 So stay tuned. I'm gonna talk to Mark about scheduling a workshop on that next slide, and then another.
14:10:30 The priority number 2 is really the site development route process implementation and integr.
14:10:37 We see those emerging issues as being significant, in that all of our resources, after current planning should be devoted here can I share a pro Sdr.
14:10:48 Complaint. Okay. Yeah. It was still a complaint. But they were complaining that the Sdr process wasn't in place when they bought their property and they got in, you know, into
a pickle.
14:11:02 So it was backhanded compliment, but I appreciate the Sdr.
14:11:10 Process wasn't in place when they bought their property, and they got in, you know, into a pickle.
14:11:13 So it was backhanded compliment. But you know appreciation from some of these challenging parce the absence of the Sdr.
14:11:15 Permit process is noticed as well, and I think that it speaks to the the proof of concept.
14:11:21 I guess to me that that it is something that we really need to get.
14:11:25 Get in the right order, and I think that we've done that, though we, of course, have challenges.
14:11:29 So thank you. Let's put a positive spam on that for yes, and then next slide, and then other third area where are Grant supported activities of which there are 4, and I believe
that I saw that the Board adopted the consent agenda item, and so that last item, is showline master program
14:11:53 that additional support is going to be really generally needed by the Department.
14:11:56 We appreciate that. And then we also have 3 other grants.
14:12:03 One of them was also connected to today's, and that was the 3 other grants.
14:12:13 One of them was also connected to today's, and that was the excuse.
14:12:13 The typo showline users, guide the Zoom Phone users, guide.
14:12:24 And then the F. Cap stands for the Flood Control Assistance account program, and we've received a grant for characterization of the big and little one of the rivers had been
done before, I think, in 1998, and that was the big quill scene the little Kil scene
14:12:37 was never characterized. And so we're revisiting the past data.
14:12:41 And we evaporating that, and we have quite a few people in the community actively.
14:12:47 And and then we also have a sea level rise study that's underway.
14:12:51 And so those 3 really are connected to the biennium that's closing June thirtieth of 2023. So Donna is feverishly working to get that work.
14:13:08 And then the fourth item is our accountrehensive plan amendment process and so we put that as priority number 4, and the board will receive a recommendation, and in that recommendation
we look at capacity, and so I haven't.
14:13:27 I don't know. I think it's Josh.
14:13:29 I don't know if you've seen it yet.
14:13:31 I haven't seen it, but in that the recommendation about what we do is based upon what we have received, and and looking at our resources. So that's coming your way.
14:13:44 And then priority number 5. I have a list of some 30 projects, and what we assume is that a Dcd.
14:13:58 Would recruit summer interns or clerk hire to move at one or 2 of them.
14:14:06 Not a significant number one of the challenges that we have is that we've got a lot of projects on that list.
14:14:15 Not everyone's interested in every project. So when I submit a list, I might submit 8 projects that we identify as critically important, we may get no takers, or we might get
take this for 2.
14:14:30 So what I find is that it's better to have a larger list, so that you are responding to those community members or, I should say, graduate school students that might have an
interest.
14:14:43 You have a better opportunity of finding someone but some of the projects in that list of 30 are ones that we just reviewed.
14:14:52 Correct, like stock plans and I see them on that. Yes, some. Some of those projects are going to be beyond the scope or abilities of any intern.
14:15:04 Some of them are purely consultant, based, and then some of them are ones that this we're gonna have to handle in-house.
14:15:14 And so what I would identify from the list of projects here is those that we think could be handled by a an intern or a clerk hire, and there are quite a few that would not
be able to be handled by a so that's what I was saying is that some of the projects on this list are ones that you just
14:15:35 reviewed that you're working on like the stock plans and the you know, the stock price short term rentals.
14:15:41 Yeah, the short term we're thinking that would be more consultant.
14:15:45 The stock plans. We've got volunteers.
14:15:48 The Planning Commission has been doing a stellar job in assisting in that.
14:15:54 And so those 2, I don't think we would need an intern, but the fire, Marshall identifying where all the businesses are creating a map, creating a program that one could use
an intern like a lot in lot of record that would need a lot of work.
14:16:13 It is sort of complex enough that I think that that would, and I would, defer to Josh on that.
14:16:22 But I sense that that having the team here handle that in Dcd makes the most sense.
14:16:29 Joshua is sure thinking. I mean, maybe we can get outside consultants, but I'm not sure about.
14:16:40 I guess I'm I'm gonna think here, Commissioner Eisenhower, that Brent was picking up on a table that we had originally brought to you last summer, and then we've been working
on.
14:16:51 So I'm not clear on what the project would be. There.
14:16:53 I know we've obviously still in the transition period and so that's what I'm focused on, almost on a daily basis.
14:16:59 So, okay. So I was just trying to figure out how they interrelated.
14:17:07 What are, I think is that if the Board identifies any projects that you feel that should not move forward, if we get an internal, that would be the most helpful cause, then
we won't.
14:17:19 We won't addvertise that. And so I think that would be the easiest for us.
14:17:25 If you see anything on that list of 30 projects that make no sense that would as opposed to to the other way.
14:17:36 And then the next slide.
14:17:40 Yeah, I think that we're in the questions great. And we it looks like all of central services is here for our next scheduled event.
14:17:50 So I don't know I think there's a lot to talk about.
14:17:51 Still, with Dcd. So I'm not sure what the timeline is.
14:17:54 I don't want to start peppering you guys with questions or suggestions, but I feel like this.
14:17:58 Conversation is just starting. Yeah, so, maybe we'll talk to Mark a little bit, and just work with you guys just to have more of a question and answer.
14:18:10 And conversation period in the coming weeks, to just kind of dig into some of the challenges. The Dcd.
14:18:16 Is going through that sounds appropriate. Mark, yeah. And to the degree that we talk about organizational, restructuring or augmenting staff with contractual help, will certainly
have a discussion with the Board about that totally.
14:18:30 I mean, that's the first thing right? I mean the 30 plans sound great, but if we can't take care of the priorities, one or 2 that you listed, and I think identified our intentions
correctly, then you know, we gotta focus on that.
14:18:42 First. So yeah, we do appreciate the board support during this very challenging time.
14:18:46 Yeah, we got your back for sure. Thank you. Alright. It's just sorry.
14:18:51 One last part of that support in my mind.
14:18:55 It's just helping to communicate with the public about expectations, including applicants.
14:19:00 And it's going to be a difficult message, because we've already, since I rejoin the county last summer, have had this sort of message out there that we're going through a transition
we have with enterprise principally, and then with our new site development review program and so now that message is
14:19:17 only been exacerbated. Really? Which is, I'm sure, frustrating for everybody involved believe me, it's frustrating for us.
14:19:23 But I imagine that the folks who have been waiting for permits because of that backlog that was in existence already are gonna probably be in a position to be waiting a little
bit more than they are expected to be, because they're going to hear once more that oh, my assigned planner has been reassigned and
14:19:37 that's a frustrating message for them. Sometimes it's good, because things get cleared up because that new person has capacity.
14:19:43 But in this case all the new people have already have their permit.
14:19:47 Queues so I feel there's nothing more frustrated.
14:19:50 In my fourth plan, or on the same project. So I think next time when we're trying, let's make that a main focus of conversation is, how can we help you?
14:19:57 Because we certainly when people reach that level of frustration, they reach out to us.
14:20:01 So you know, we're in that that point, anyways, and I think aligning our message with what would be most construct for the department.
14:20:07 Seems like it makes a lot of sense. Alright good to see you guys. Thanks for coming out.
14:20:13 Should have had facilities put out more tables. All right.
14:20:21 Well, we'll move on with our workshops, Commissioner Dean's at a conference in Washington, DC.
14:20:26 But she's assured that she's going to watch this, and well, I'm sure have questions afterwards.
14:20:30 So come on up, Chris, and take us through the Central Services work, plan.
14:20:35 Good afternoon, everyone.
14:20:39 First off. I just wanted to thank my team for being here in the short time that I've been with the county.
14:20:46 It's become abundantly clear that we are exceptionally lucky to have the folks on Central services that we do.
14:20:54 Their consummate professionals, and I'm proud of their public service.
14:21:00 So I just wanna say that I locked out.
14:21:05 Let's put it that way. And so did the taxpayers.
14:21:07 Jefferson County.
14:21:10 Hmm lose birthdays today. So he gets passed.
14:21:16 We checked in last week, and and we're very happy that he gets to spend some time with his family today.
14:21:22 Nice is Mark. Gonna share your deck, you all here!
14:21:27 Yeah, I do have it, but I can share my screen on any path, but it'll be.
14:21:35 We had a chance to look through it, so I don't know if you intended to show it, as you're going through.
14:21:41 If you can share, if are you in the meeting?
14:21:46 A Powerpoint, otherwise this is all I have. Carolyn. Do you have it in your end?
14:22:00 That emails are coming through now.
14:22:10 I got it. Okay.
14:22:12 Thanks. Greg.
14:22:24 Beautiful. Thank you very much. Alright, I'll try to be efficient as possible with your time.
14:22:32 For folks who are unaware who might be joining us Central Services Conference Rooms, a number of different departments of the county.
14:22:41 So, while we often work in silos relative to each other, we complement each other wherever we possibly can, and work really well together as a team.
14:22:49 So this is our current organizational chart. I will go through each individual division and highlight.
14:23:01 Any staff changes that are relevant or worth your attention.
14:23:04 But wanted to be able to refer back to this a number of our biggest changes have been all positive, have been happening on the next slide.
14:23:14 If you wouldn't want mind. Sorry to direct you. So information services, information, technology there's a lot of data on each of these slides.
14:23:25 So I'll try to be quick and highlight the stuff that I think is most interesting to you both to all 3 of you. R.
14:23:33 Recent progress includes enhancing our customer service by identifying a ticketing system that allows greater transparency when submitting requests, is intended to improve our
response.
14:23:46 Time as well as building institutional knowledge over time with a smaller team.
14:23:53 If a member of their team goes out of the office unexpectedly, and is in the middle of handling a project, it better allows us to transition from one staff member to another,
so overall, it's something that we've kicked the tires on a lot we're really
14:24:07 proud of. So we're on the cost of rolling that out what software did you guys choose service engine?
14:24:16 I believe is the name of it. There are a subsidiary of Zoho, which is a very large company, but service engine is the name of the product itself, and I think we got a good deal
on it.
14:24:29 Yeah, obviously, we've been continuing to support the role out of the implementation of municipality we're very pleased to announce that Sarah Mcintyre is being designated as
a team lead.
14:24:44 It's it's a role that she's performed admirably for some time.
14:24:50 We're glad to recognize her. Her ability to call balls and strikes within her.
14:24:56 Within her cohort of 5 specialists. And I'm just grateful for her leadership, and that we're able to recognize it.
14:25:07 Additionally, Mikey Forville was hired within the past years, and network technician 3.
14:25:11 He continues to bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm and professionals into the role Scott, Carpenter is another excellent hire that I think a lot of people are really excited
about.
14:25:25 Scott was hired as a database specialist, and as I put here, there are a lot of needs throughout the county but we decided to triage those at health and Dcd.
14:25:39 With respect to the energy of implementation as well as other things, and the feedback that we've been getting from all of our customers.
14:25:45 With each of these staff moves is that people are incredibly grateful for the quality of life, that there's contributions are improving.
14:25:54 I think that's a good question there, how's that worked out interdepartmentally?
14:26:10 The use of his services. Kind of dedicated to those that to the Intercove project.
14:26:17 Yeah, yeah. So our thought there was that he needs to be building capacity and his ability to work with teams here at the courthouse as well as spending the lion share of his
time on Wednesday he's here with us.
14:26:29 He's taking time to meet with various department heads, and better understand what future projects might be.
14:26:36 And then what we've done is set up regular meetings between Dcd environmental health, public Health, and Scott and myself to allow folks to play in the sandbox nicely given
that there's too many needs for him at any given time.
14:26:52 So that he feels it feels like he doesn't have to over promise.
14:26:56 But the truth of the matter is, he's a constant professional who's been in the business for 2 decades.
14:27:00 He has the ability to manage up quite well, and is very capable of setting a healthy balance.
14:27:08 You would hope for that from the database manager he needs me a lot less than I would have expected, and that's a good thing.
14:27:14 Thank you. Yeah. So, as you all know, we're relocating our server equipment over to the county jail.
14:27:24 That is primarily for the purposes of protecting county data and continuity of service during power outages our backup equipment.
14:27:34 There is much more robust, so that's a multi-department effort that involves facilities.
14:27:40 It, and other folks and there's more to come there.
14:27:46 Supply chain issues have been difficult and we're doing everything we can to get past those.
14:27:53 But nevertheless, I've been incredibly proud of the work that folks are putting in there, and it's taking a team effort for sure.
14:27:59 We're gonna be a lot stronger from a resiliency perspective.
14:28:03 As a result of that project being completed. So thank you for your support on that.
14:28:06 Another important thing to highlight is the county's been relying on Microsoft Exchange 2013, and on premises version.
14:28:16 Since 2013, and the time has come for us to transition to Microsoft Exchange online.
14:28:22 So you'll be seeing an appropriation request we from a taxpayer perspective.
14:28:28 We got every ounce of juice out of out of that that version that we possibly could have.
14:28:35 And it just so happens that now is the time that Microsoft has decided to transition us away from that.
14:28:39 So we wanna make sure that one of our most important services is continues to operate.
14:28:47 Seamlessly. So that's that'll be a request that you all see sometime soon, and we engaged Mrc.
14:28:58 Is it the acronym? Thank you to make sure that the the contractor that we went with is the best one that we possibly could on a number of criteria?
14:29:07 And we had the team score that themselves. One other thing to mention we consulted with the State Auditors office to do a cybersecurity audit essentially.
14:29:21 And identify any low-hanging fruit, fruit, also medium and and high hanging fruit that we could do to better strengthen the counties, cybersecurity.
14:29:32 There are a number of small things that folks in the county are gonna have to are gonna be getting used to things like auto lockouts and things of that nature that are culturally
different but are important for us to make sure that we're able to protect our vital
14:29:50 infrastructure, so can I just say, I love the two-factor authentication.
14:29:54 I feel so much more secure with it. So I really support these things, even if they end up taking a little more time.
14:30:00 Yeah, I feel so much more secure with it.
14:30:02 So I really support these things. Even if they end up taking a little more time.
14:30:07 Yeah, there's there's going to be some growing pains here.
14:30:07 But I mean the overarching narrative of everything that's happening in info services is that we're taking a really proactive with it. So I really support these things. Even
if they end up taking a little more time. It's yeah, there's there's gonna be some growing paint here. But I mean the overarching. Narrative. Of everything that's happening. Info services.
14:30:25 Is that each and every one of us is taking the time to not only do the best that we can today, but think about the future as well so I'll move on I don't see any AI on other
than that perfect automated intelligence is very much a thing and
14:30:39 oh, yeah, yeah. I asked, Chat Gpt to do this whole presentation for me.
14:30:44 So gis, there's a lot here, Commissioner Eisenhower.
14:30:48 I know you care deeply about our Gis capabilities.
14:30:53 I won't go into too too much detail here. But our Gs team is just excellent.
14:31:01 I've worked with teams in the past, and in much bigger cities, and that the capabilities of our much smaller team are frankly equal.
14:31:12 So I'm very proud of the work that they do they've been doing a lot of work to update our our online information as we implement intergov, and we are wrecked we recognize that
things are not exactly the way they were in terms.
14:31:27 Of partial lookups and things of that nature. But we're doing the best that we can to address those as soon as possible.
14:31:33 I know that's that's a customer service feature that for a lot of folks who've gotten used to.
14:31:39 So we're doing the best we can allow you guys a second to see if there's anything on here that raises questions for you all I mean, I have one question publicly facing data
about permits.
14:31:57 And personal information is that integrative data and look at Kevin.
14:32:02 Now gonna be integrated into the Jas layers.
14:32:13 I am working with Scott on right now. I just have a a static download, a permits.
14:32:20 That's a couple of weeks old. I'm just playing around with to get just some real simple permit information link, together with Gis.
14:32:29 I don't know how it's gonna go with you know how we used to have a link that would pull up a list of permits.
14:32:36 That was all custom. The Tablesen develops. So when there is a public facing portal for I wanna find a way to seeamlessly link Gis with that so but that's all.
14:32:50 I work in progress, but I think we're close to having just some simple, you know.
14:32:56 Permit. Numbers, dates and types, and that sort of thing linked to Gis.
14:33:02 So you can get some simple information. But yeah, working.
14:33:07 Thanks. Kevin.
14:33:09 Any other questions on Zoom.
14:33:14 Alright. Next slide if you wouldn't mind information services record man records management is represented by Jenny Matter.
14:33:26 Matter. Okay. Sorry. 2 important things that we've done recently.
14:33:29 We don't do an annual destruction process in compliance with, okay, man, thank you.
14:33:37 Which went well. Normally we have people asking for a lot of exceptions and going later than we would like them to, and Jenny did a really good job cracking the whip this year,
and then obviously supporting the ongoing implementation of enter
14:33:56 Gov. There's a lot of stuff there that can go wrong without a watchful eye from a records perspective.
14:34:04 And so Jenny's been particularly helpful in making sure that what we set up is something that is gonna be sustainable.
14:34:12 One of the things that we'd like to accomplish going forward.
14:34:16 This is a great example of cross team collaboration.
14:34:18 You might not necessarily think of records, and it working all that well together, or meeting to work that well together.
14:34:26 There are limits to what our our file storage and utilization rates are.
14:34:31 As a county, and as we get higher, if we are in the midst of a power outage before the transition over to the jail, and we're not able to see if we take down the the network,
there are risks the higher our utilization rates are as as far as
14:34:48 storage is concerned, so getting in the habit of doing an annual destruction, so to speak, in.
14:34:53 As spring cleaning process from a digital perspective is something that Jenni is, gonna be helpful with moving forward it's something we haven't done before.
14:35:01 But there's a lot of old files that we don't need anymore.
14:35:04 And how do you do that? Well, and how do you do that in compliance with the law?
14:35:08 And so that's an example of a pro proactive cross team collaboration that we're going to be working on in year ahead.
14:35:16 And then is that like metadata like you store the record, the record schedule in the metadata I mean, there's an employees that don't that aren't with the county anymore.
14:35:32 Who you know I the lowest paying for this stuff that's more than 10 years old.
14:35:34 That's that's that's more than 10 years old. That's that doesn't need to be retained for any reason.
14:35:36 But there's large video files and all sorts of stuff that we don't really have a policy or process in place for.
14:35:43 So a lot of folks, you know, put it on the back burner in terms of cleaning up their departmental files.
14:35:48 But with the right kind of direction, I think we we could do a lot to sort of clean house a bit.
14:35:54 So we're grateful for her leadership on that.
14:35:56 And that's multiple people happening simultaneously.
14:36:02 Let's see here anything else that is highly relevant.
14:36:07 Oh, I another thing to mention here briefly, so it's not necessarily the record records management teams job to to carry the weight of a department in terms of implementing
public records laws.
14:36:23 But it is our. It is our job to make sure that they're well informed about what those laws are, and to help guide them in creating policies and Dcds are really good example
of where Jenny's knowledge set has end.
14:36:36 Leadership has and organizational skills has been really helpful in helping them get to a place where they can reduce records, costs, and also better organize themselves.
14:36:46 And you know, especially in departments where there's lots of turnover it's super helpful to have institutional knowledge to come in and say, here's a really good way to organize
your records management process.
14:36:56 And if you saw that the spreadsheets that you put together to help them guide them and creating their own policies, you'd be very impressed. So that's an example of how we're
doing stuff sort of above and beyond in records management to just help other departments work better nice.
14:37:14 Anything else. Jane!
14:37:18 Alright information, services, public records, administrator. This one's fairly straightforward but there's a lot here.
14:37:24 These are just some basic numbers last year, pulling out the county public records requests separate from the sheriff's department sheriff's office.
14:37:35 There was 371 and calendar year 2,022.
14:37:38 The sheriff's office had 599 it's quite a lot, and that's being handled by a very small number of people.
14:37:47 So there's one thing that's an important thing that I think Ken would want highlighted are completion rate is something that we should be very, very proud of.
14:37:59 It's exceptionally high. Given that most of these people are double-hadding in the responsibilities to clear public records requests within their department, as well as many
other duties, and Ken's doing a really good job of helping build staff capacity, so that they can
14:38:14 do these things efficiently. In addition to all the rest of their jobs.
14:38:19 I apologize for this graph being small, but or illegible cause of how small it is, but and does a really good job, at not only managing his own requests for central services,
which is sort of a catch all for things that don't easily fall into one department but in helping other
14:38:37 departments who are, who have limited capacity to help clear these things quickly overall a completion rate of 94%, I think, is exemplary.
14:38:48 And then one thing to highlight is, ken plans to implement twice annual staff public records, act trainings that didn't happen before just so that we're as we're bringing new
people into to our universe.
14:39:02 They're at least they have a better understanding of the public records, acts as they go forward into the world, so that we can frankly avoid errors, and I think that about
covers it, for public records.
14:39:16 Administrator. If you wouldn't mind going to the next slide.
14:39:18 Are the Commissioners under Central services, and that by chart I just a surprise.
14:39:22 I feel like we get a lot, and I don't see them listed at all.
14:39:26 Yeah. Yeah. So anything that goes to ken directly would be handled under central services.
14:39:32 Oh, oh, perfect! Yeah. Are you okay to bring them over?
14:39:42 Hi Ken! Thanks for being with us. Chris was just extolling us with your virtue.
14:39:46 Do you have something to add to this conversation?
14:39:52 We can't hear you if you're talking. Ken got to unmute.
14:39:59 Okay. Yeah. Hey? Hey? It's I've been following along.
14:40:05 We can. Yes.
14:40:03 You can hear me now, I assume. Okay, just to clear up that answer your question.
14:40:10 Greg, and clear up that little, that little circle graph a little better.
14:40:16 Yeah. Central, the Bocc requests all come under central services.
14:40:20 Part of it's just a way this. I just shot this out of gust.
14:40:26 Qa, so it's sort of dependent on the way that I assign it to different records, liaison, and different departments.
14:40:32 So it, these numbers that graph isn't terribly accurate, and that the central services portion of it is abuse.
14:40:42 Some community development, some prosperity attorney, some public health.
14:40:46 Gotcha. Okay, thanks for the clarification. Still helpful.
14:40:51 Thanks ken.
14:40:52 Yeah, no. Problem.
14:40:54 Any questions on that before we move on.
14:40:57 Okay. Next, slide. Please. Okay. Fleet services otherwise known internally as Ernr Lou and his team have done exceptional work.
14:41:10 I think one thing in particular to highlight, fleet, and facilities are places where you really start to see the supply chain issues affect our performance.
14:41:22 And in particular, if if you look at the second bullet point under recent progress.
14:41:27 14 replacement units complete with with upfitting have taken place in the past 12 months, I believe, is the measure, and that's significant, because they're oftentimes waiting
a really really long time putting in orders from previous budget years.
14:41:43 That are being satisfied in subsequent calendar years.
14:41:49 So the fact that we're able to sort of plan ahead for what we're gonna need, in spite of the fact that we're having several month delays or like year plus delays, just really
speaks to their ability to like know?
14:42:03 The county well, and know what we need. So they completed over a 1,000 pick repair orders that include training a new employee.
14:42:13 The parts in inventory program is up and running greater transparency is always a good thing, and things that we didn't necessarily always have in the past.
14:42:22 And then Mccall was brought on as a mechanic.
14:42:25 One, and seems to be working out great. He's got a lot of energy remains really curious about the job, and we're really happy to have him things that I think that the Commissioners
would want us to provide highlight as far as goals for the next year.
14:42:40 The headlock shop has been in need of a roof replacement since I it's it's been decades and lose leading the process to put that out to bid.
14:42:53 There are additional 15 vehicle and equipment replacements that need to be done, and he's put in request for everything that we have the budget to do to put in request, for
there's some stuff that the host shop needs fuel take replacement.
14:43:10 Heating upgrades, and a generator installed to keep our facility out there in tip, top shape under the river to that's that's a thing.
14:43:19 Yup, that we're doing our best to make sure that the folks in the West End continue to have the high Quality service that folks in East Jefferson County expect and deserve as
well.
14:43:30 So solar and backup power is something that we're aware of in Fleet across the board.
14:43:37 I know it's a priority for the Board to begin thinking about how we can electrify the fleet.
14:43:43 The sign shop is a good small example of how we can begin to apply values as a county at the micro level upgrades that are necessary.
14:43:55 There could allow us to begin to do that. And then, with regard to electric vehicles, Commissioner Eisenhower, and others have highlighted some excellent opportunities for us
to apply for grant funding, we are doing the best that we can to envision and a clean energy future
14:44:15 for our purchasing, so that, like, I said, are values, reflects the dollars that we spend the devil's in the details.
14:44:22 You know. What if a a snow plow breaks down and it's and it's got an electric motor in it, do we have?
14:44:30 Do we have a charging truck that can that can go out to reachcharge it right?
14:44:35 Things of that nature that we've never had to consider before.
14:44:37 So we're having those conversations now. And we want to make sure that as we implement these things we're doing it a thoughtful way that folks can rely on our vehicles to work
correctly even when things go wrong, any questions on fleet and my thought, with the electrical I just saw that
14:44:54 grant opportunity. Come across and send it to you was, maybe it's not so much for our internal fleet, but it's for the public, you know, if we can put charging stations in front
of the courthouse and have opportunities.
14:45:08 Yeah, Luz provided some leadership there, as you know, we installed a charging station for county vehicles outback and what we're doing now is we're in the final stages of getting
a essentially a scalable cost estimate for installing a vehicle for public
14:45:25 consumption that would run electricity from like a wire, and from that point we'll have a an understanding of how we could multiply that to apply to areas across the county.
14:45:38 So we're sort of just waiting on a few additional quotes, and then we'll be in a position to better project.
14:45:44 What larger scale estimates could look like?
14:45:47 Okay, okay, facilities is next, let's move on.
14:45:52 Yeah, so a couple of key things to highlight from our facilities.
14:45:58 Team in particular, we filled a position for capital projects, facilities, maintenance, technician, Damon Row is on our team now and continues to excel overall.
14:46:11 I just want to say that we're really really lucky to have the talent that we have.
14:46:16 In facilities. It's a great group of people who really are Cape, their coverage on a daily basis.
14:46:23 And are creative problem solvers things like identifying water leaks that, you know help save the county tons of money doing roof replacements at the quilting and try our community
centers.
14:46:39 I did want to highlight those opportunities specifically, because wherever we have the ability to identify roof, replacements in the future, we're going to use those opportunities
to do some creative problem solving with respect to identifying solar opportunities unfortunately, there was a great opportunity
14:47:00 that passed that would have been great for those 2 upgrades.
14:47:04 But timing is everything, and we'll get him again next time.
14:47:08 I wanted to highlight that for Commissioner Dean, who will be listening later.
14:47:14 Obviously facilities is helping with the sewer server room relocation.
14:47:18 We've got a couple major outgrades that need to be done at community centers.
14:47:23 In particular, Port Townsend and Brennan are at the top of our list, so we're going to continue to update update the board as we move forward.
14:47:32 And what they can expect. We wanna promise what we can deliver on, but know that we, we understand that those are high value assets for both of you.
14:47:43 Without glossing over stuff. Is there anything facilities related that you see here that you have questions for me or Ben on what Renee?
14:47:54 I think no, I mean, I I see you guys all working so hard all over the courthouse, and I mean, I just I love this building.
14:48:03 So I appreciate all the care that all of you but into taking care of this facility and our other facilities.
14:48:11 But this is the limited all the time, appreciate all the work that goes out. Yeah.
14:48:14 And it was built in what? 1898. So, yeah, and I really appreciate the conversation we had a couple of weeks ago, with facilities too.
14:48:24 So I feel like we're on a better path to understanding the challenges that we're we have internally to get some of these goals that we share.
14:48:31 Yeah, thank you for that. Without belaboring the point.
14:48:35 If you wouldn't mind transitioning to the I think the last slide.
14:48:42 Yeah, things that don't necessarily fall into any other category that I just wanted to bring to your attention.
14:48:50 We completed the Rfp. Process for the community of Wildfire Protection plan, affirmative action plan. A firm was selected that we're all really excited about and we're in the
contract review process so I don't wanna go too much in a detail.
14:49:02 About that right now. But we're really excited about that.
14:49:06 We obviously conducted the Bocc workshop that you were just referring to, and more to come and in the days and weeks ahead, in terms of the leadership that we can use from the
board and making that and sending a committee up.
14:49:24 Oh, I just wanted to reflect a value that I think has been very much expressed throughout all of our departments, which is empowering self-directed teams.
14:49:33 A lot of our teams operate horizontally and do a lot with a little.
14:49:38 And so one of my values is simply to reflect the pride that the employees that we have already are already operating with and making sure that they have the tools they need
to use their best judgment and create a problem solve on their own, and that's I think a value that's
14:49:56 reflected throughout throughout our team. So that I wanted to highlight Humane Society.
14:50:01 I'm on it. The capital facilities, planning committee, cybersecurity.
14:50:08 We talked about. We've got some stuff, really, to the county code.
14:50:13 That I will be getting to in the weeks ahead. Various priorities we're in the fact finding stage now.
14:50:21 So it's important to engage our the key stakeholders before bringing recommendations.
14:50:27 Obviously we care deeply about getting a lot for a little.
14:50:31 Season, grant opportunities where they exist, and being available for informed policymaking.
14:50:37 That's it. Great thanks, Chris. Thanks so much. Any questions for us.
14:50:43 Lot of information packed, I mean, I've got got. I don't know.
14:50:47 Do you have any questions? Pressing questions? I I appreciate the revitalization, or I mean at my time. Here.
14:50:55 I haven't seen a Court House safety. Can I be?
14:50:57 Or and I, as I was leaving the maritime center, I was implementing a you know, a regulars, drills, safety drills and boy thought we should really have those in the courthouse
so appreciate that you're lifting up that mantle and it's an important thing that we do for
14:51:14 the our community in this building, and then at Castle Hill, too, so that every one knows where to go.
14:51:21 It certainly wasn't created or revitalized by me.
14:51:27 But it's incredibly important for both visitors and for our own employees to feel safe in our facilities.
14:51:33 And we're going to maintain that as a value.
14:51:36 For sure, I just really appreciate the work plan. Appreciate this Spita core demonstrated here today, too.
14:51:41 So yeah, thank you all very much. Alright, thanks, folks good to see you.
14:51:52 Close the door on the way out. Please, Apple Veronica, welcome!
14:51:59 Sorry to keep you waiting for a minute.
14:52:04 You guys can share that much microphone. We can bring you another one, too, if you both are, gonna be talking a lot.
14:52:11 Okay.
14:52:13 And we're at 8 91 parts per 1 million in here so you're not a Co 2.
14:52:18 There is a window open.
14:52:22 I know it still seems warm. It's super stuffy after so much.
14:52:27 Okay. In charge of temperature. Moderation, right?
14:52:34 That's a fantastic yeah. Get in the meeting.
14:52:47 The zoom links. Not for the did you turn off my share.
14:52:51 Thank you. I appreciate it. You want a mouse.
14:52:58 This is supposed to hit.
14:53:08 Is it so much?
14:53:09 Recording a note to Mister Huntsucker, and I guess, Pinky, that will probably be a minute or too late to exact.
14:53:25 Right. I got the last couple of days.
14:53:28 You drive, and then down here.
14:53:36 Thanks. Mr. Technology, yeah. And I can all learn new tricks.
14:53:51 Jokes aside. Let me get into.
14:54:03 There we go, like the sky outside. Let's see, I need.
14:54:12 Let me see my notes!
14:54:21 On the website.
14:54:27 You can see him, too. I want that. Okay, yeah, that's the presentation.
14:54:36 Not the Powerpoint Master?
14:54:42 That when I have 2 screens I get.
14:54:55 Yeah, at the bottom, right there by the zoom in zoom out you.
14:55:07 With notes, the presentation right.
14:55:15 I don't need too many notes. The room, the notes.
14:55:32 I think I'm just gonna do it in presentation mode is this, presentation speaks for itself.
14:55:40 Well, hello, everyone. Thanks for having us. I know you guys have had the departments come and share their work plans for the year.
14:55:48 So I wanted to say, Thank you for the invitation. I don't know that the departments have done this in the past, so I think that's representative of you all as a board and you're
interested in interest in being engaged with us, and what we're doing I know that we have quite
14:56:03 a bit of interaction through the Local Board of Health every month.
14:56:08 So you're familiar with what public health is about, what our values are and what we do.
14:56:13 But this is an opportunity to sit here together and share it with the voc proper.
14:56:23 And then I let you know the Commissioner Dean is in a conference, and she plans to watch after the fact but asked for us to continue with this and I let you know the Commissioner
Dean's in a conference, and she plans to watch after the fact, but ask for us to he went
14:56:34 to our social pinpoint site for our strategic plan made some remarks about some of the commentary you know the little virtual sticky notes that have been placed there.
14:56:45 How some of the people in the county believe that we're in charge of schools, and we're in charge of State highways and whatnot.
14:56:53 And so I think these work plan presentations to the Board, or helping inform the public, or at least I would hope they're helping inform the public on what the county actually
does.
14:57:02 6 of them. I'm sorry well, in the interpretation of what the public or other partners imagine is going on behind the doors of a various departments, is sometimes wildly different
than what it's actually doing.
14:57:18 So it's a really important opportunity to provide transparency.
14:57:20 About how we work and how we be together as a staff. And that's how we are able to enable doing all this complex work that we do. So I'm going to share a little bit more with
you about that.
14:57:33 Something I want to really emphasize in this particular discussion and you've heard it before.
14:57:39 But the idea that we've been in an emergency and we're coming into a phase of emergence is something that we're focusing on at public health.
14:57:49 Everybody was impacted by the pandemic in various ways, and this county.
14:57:55 This county government worked really hard together to try to make sweeping.
14:57:59 You know, decisions and support of our various departments in all the ways of the pandemic, affected our workforce and our way.
14:58:08 The well-being, our families, and our work-life balance.
14:58:12 Among other things. So we appreciate that this is really a time for us to re ground ourselves.
14:58:19 And you might imagine that cause you've seen our work through these last 3 years.
14:58:25 So I wanted to sort of share the crisis mode. So, responding to a global crisis for the last 3 years, you're all familiar with that.
14:58:34 The front line work that we did in public health with our staff.
14:58:38 The ability to move our staff from all forms of discipline into covid response, where you have somebody who may have been working in solid waste is suddenly now doing contact,
tracing, and case investigation.
14:58:54 So that sort of mobilization is huge. It really takes flexibility.
14:59:00 And resilience in the people that that come to work.
14:59:05 And it wasn't just those people who were physically moved from one program to the other.
14:59:11 Impacted finance. Big trickled through every every layer of our organization.
14:59:19 And then sustain that way for 3 years longer than anybody would have.
14:59:25 I'll move on and just say that in this year, since this is a year we're looking at for our work plan.
14:59:30 We're really in reset mode, and to us that means that we were really trying to phone in and settle our staff after being through 3 years of immense change which I'll talk about
in the next slide.
14:59:46 We have many people retire. They have planned to retire, but many of them happened in the period of the pandemic, and we've been recruiting a lot, and, as you know, recruitment
has been challenging through the pandemic.
14:59:59 We have a lot of other challenges that I think the county strategic plan is illuminating that are just challenges in the county to bring people here to bring brain power.
15:00:12 And but folks who want to live here for longer term and find affordable housing, and be able to sustain lifestyles.
15:00:20 Here we also are really hopeful that in this this year the rest of this year that we are able to manage what's called a steady state, and as some of our managers have said,
That's not a particularly sexy thing to say it's not that alluring it's
15:00:38 not that cutting edge, but in order for us to take the oxygen mask and put it on ourselves first, before we can really addequately help others, which is the business we're in,
we really have to take stock and get back to the basics so that we can grow some of the efficiencies that
15:00:58 are vital to making our department function best. We need to take stock of each other.
15:01:03 We need to make sure that we're a whole team, that we have full staffing.
15:01:09 So we're working on that. We've been working on that a lot.
15:01:12 And it's it's coming to fruition.
15:01:13 But it's it's never a linear experience. I was hoping that steady state was now that you were fully staffed.
15:01:19 Now, that would be a nice, not quite. That's where he's at as well we know that with DM, I've talked to him about that.
15:01:35 Yeah, that is true. Back to the basics doesn't mean anything less.
15:01:40 That means we need to come back to what we're all ready great at, and then we have some muscle.
15:01:46 We can flex that we learned from being through a crisis that can really help us. Streamline.
15:01:52 It helps us show up for the work differently. It's made our bonds within the staff stronger and get back to the really good, complex, and effective work we've done before, and
we will build on that.
15:02:05 We'll, but this year is a really a reset into steady state.
15:02:10 Catch our breath. Can I ask, just comparing this to the I guess the budget landscape where you know public health more than a lot of departments is impacted by external grants?
15:02:22 You know the Concon and I'm just wondering how are you?
15:02:25 See that I mean with foundational public health coming. That seems like great, and it seems so far like it's giving you the resources, you being public health resources to get
back to basics, do.
15:02:38 But do you see that 5 years down the line, or I'm just afraid it's all gonna get snatched up in a year?
15:02:42 Well, we can't know for sure we can't know for sure from a state perspective.
15:02:48 So, I'll get more into it soon but the financial public health money is across Washington States within 39 jurisdictions like ourselves and otherwise, and the ability for that
to grow.
15:03:00 It's it's intentionally meant to grow in a stepwise faction in terms of amount over time.
15:03:14 Alright and Varana. You gotta use a mic when you talk, so we'll so otherwise Kate won't be able to hear you when she comes back later.
15:03:25 You can have you both. Yes.
15:03:28 So first of all, let's talk about our staff.
15:03:34 Fantastic people who are really, really dedicated to what they do, and their work has dramatically, ically changed over the course of the.
15:03:43 I wanted to give you some numbers, and I'll kinda temper them a little bit.
15:03:47 We currently have 63 employees. So that includes fires or people who work I'm looking at the years 2020, through 2023 as sort of a litmus to how we arrive today.
15:04:02 In what's important. So we had management changes within this last 3 years.
15:04:08 We had a management team of 6. We added a seventh this year with the chip program manager, which brings Chip deeper into the department as a whole, and then is able to be deployed
across the division.
15:04:26 We've had at least 5 of. Now. The 7 people are different in the management team, and in 2019 steady state Veronica Shaw and also Mike Dawson.
15:04:45 Right. So having a management team do a full reversal like that is, is it a big impact?
15:04:52 And one of the silver linings of the pandemic.
15:04:55 Is that okay? Convened and conversed and made decisions together.
15:04:59 As a the whole management team, every step. Okay, we meet every week, and we walk through everything together.
15:05:07 Been a fantastic way to join our team and make the presence of that work together.
15:05:12 Decision-makings together really frequent and consistent, and.
15:05:19 We've had 48 new hires.
15:05:22 When I saw that number, I couldn't quite believe it.
15:05:24 That's over from 2020 to 2023. Now we don't have all those same people on staff at this moment.
15:05:30 There's turnover right. But just in the number, I think it's worth capturing that we do a a ton of work in Hr.
15:05:41 We have one.
15:05:44 It's a heavy lift, and we try to do it as well as we can.
15:05:48 And we're also trying trying to innovate that process a lot as well.
15:05:56 Did I hear that Nina had retired? Oh, sorry if I'm you know everyone.
15:06:03 I've gotta be happy for people when they retire.
15:06:04 I guess that's like it's the goal. Better suite, too.
15:06:09 I like me an awful lot. Yeah, but she's still living in the community.
15:06:12 So retirements, which were mostly expected. These are people who worked at the department between, you know, 20 and 32 years.
15:06:23 So that's a lot of longevity.
15:06:25 That's a lot of commitment, and that's a lot of institutional knowledge.
15:06:28 We expected, with one at some point, but when so many happen at once, for a brief 3 year period, it's been a lot.
15:06:37 So we.
15:06:39 With that we've also onboarded telecommuting as an option, and she won't.
15:06:44 And that seems to be working really, really pretty well. And it's, you know, it's also a lure in recruitment to have people work for for those positions that it makes sense.
For. Course it's not that.
15:06:58 Are those 4 or 10 telecommunications that are pretty much full time telecommuting positions that are pretty much full.
15:07:08 2 days home, 3 days in, or vice versa. Gotcha.
15:07:15 And then I just wanted to reiterate what our staff stands for, our values that I've been committed always we're learning to be even more resilient, though they were.
15:07:24 We're constantly following collaboration internally among teams between staff with management, and then also externally with you all, with community partners.
15:07:38 The various tables. Okay, others. We support one another, and we value diversity.
15:07:45 So this is our organizational chart by program, and I'm sorry.
15:07:51 That's very tiny.
15:07:53 But probably what is worth saying is that everything in blue is is staff doing programs.
15:08:00 So there's about 40 on this page. So that gives you an idea of the myriad and sort of immense quantity of things that we're responsible for.
15:08:12 And that continues to grow, I think, as I said earlier, finding a steady state means always being present, and at the table to talk about what what's next, but also maybe capturing
that we stick with what we have, and we hone it in.
15:08:31 And we make sure the processes that support each of those programs are also being made more efficient, connecting deeper are involving staff at the other levels than only.
15:08:43 The service, etc. So if you look on our program code list, apple, I'm sorry I'm just I'm gonna be the mic police.
15:08:57 Can you bring that that little ones gotta be really close? So you can keep using that one and dedicated.
15:08:59 But just, I'm just always, always afraid that we won't be audible on the online portion.
15:09:04 I can hear you fine, though.
15:09:08 Thanks. Yeah. So I think this is really just to reiterate that our programs are have grown some.
15:09:15 And they were large. To begin with, we have a 130 program codes that we code to across our staff.
15:09:21 You should see our timesheets. They're quite complex, and I wanted to stop here with regard to the sort of.
15:09:30 Variable nature of the things that we do to let you know that the Fbhs funding foundational public Health Services Funding is really meant to bring the governmental Public Health
service Network across the State up to a basic functional State whereas in decades past we've been in the red we've been in
15:09:55 the basement. We've been underfunded, and it's difficult to have resilience in the system. I.
15:10:03 E be able to recruit staff to do emergency response.
15:10:09 For instance, when our bench is so thin, Umhm and our staff are doing so many programs at once.
15:10:19 So the Foundational public health services is not the answer.
15:10:23 It's really just to bring governmental public health up to a level where we could really then hope to build on that.
15:10:34 And it's also not guaranteed right.
15:10:37 So we have to be conscientious about that. So we are expanding our capacity in many ways, and we are looking into the expenditure of the funds for next year.
15:10:48 2024, 25, and we're able now that we're not in crisis mode with the pandemic, we're able to really step into the for thinking and the planning of how that money can be used
most adequately to make sure that foundational services and public health are available
15:11:05 to everyone everywhere. So that's the motto.
15:11:11 Just wanted to also point out that we are still seeking new grants.
15:11:14 That's how all the time we're doing a lot of work in equity and seeking grants around that to kind of fine-tune.
15:11:21 Some of our communication strategies and the reach that we have with populations that are typically more marginalized and maybe don't seek our services.
15:11:31 We are giving funding out to communities directly whether that's through the prevention related.
15:11:38 Mini grants that we recently gave out, or whether it's supporting the schools to have mental health counselors in each of the districts for a certain number of days every week.
15:11:48 So that there's consistent coverage, so we continue to do that.
15:11:52 And then the return to input-person services is big for us.
15:11:56 So many of the things we did had to be remote.
15:11:59 Telehealth, and otherwise, we have several programs that that have taken a while actually to move back into the home visiting realm where you're actually meeting people where
now that we can be safer and engage our clients more.
15:12:14 So what are the programs that are still remote? They're kind of transitioned back? A good question.
15:12:21 Actually, Wic is still remote, but that is coming to an end.
15:12:23 That's been a slow process, and that follows some Federal guidelines because of how lick is structured.
15:12:29 But interestingly, we've learned a lot about retention of wic clients through the ability to have only remote services, so their ability to show up more actually was improved
through these through these times, where we have limited in the action in person, so we maintain a hybrid option I mean
15:12:51 can you? Wanna? I mean, the goal is ultimately to keep them engaged right?
15:12:57 And I think that is coming. Okay, yeah. One thing I wanted to say, because you mentioned school based mental health.
15:13:04 I had a conversation with the superintendent of Chemical schools recently about.
15:13:10 There's some sort of funny they have currently that underwrite some of the capacity they have around school based mental health, which apparently will be going away in a year
or a year and a half, and so it might be something good to lean in and help them plan for that
15:13:30 transition, because we are funding some of that work through the behavioral Health Advisory Committee but I don't know how they're gonna backfill.
15:13:41 The capacity that they're anticipating that they're going to be losing.
15:13:45 We're also contributing through our prevention funds as well.
15:13:47 Yeah, that's that's an important question to address, you know, cause behavioral health, like, we only behavioral health advisory committee don't necessarily know the whole
picture around school based mental health that might be good to get everyone involved in that Hi, together.
15:14:07 At some point, just to talk about it. Another excuse me.
15:14:13 Another source of funds that could be looked at and I'm not sure about this yet.
15:14:16 But fun once-thirty has been funding.
15:14:20 I think the sheriff's department matching that Grant I'm not sure if that Grant is still continuing.
15:14:25 But if it's not, that's also something to look at.
15:14:27 Is that the navigation? I think that's the idea is, the wasp keeps renewing that.
15:14:34 Well, I guess the bottom line is that to fund mental health in schools in a consistent way, which is, there's a huge need for that is complex.
15:14:45 And it seems like it's been pretty chisel together from different sources.
15:14:52 Yes, and so it does seem like a discussion with the school districts on how the community and themselves internally how, what, what can be done to be to have more sustainable
for this part of what they provide, it was so challenging to get going having it?
15:15:08 Laps, even for a 6 months, would doom it.
15:15:12 It seems like. So it's we've been at the door of that lapse.
15:15:17 Yeah, definitely, it's critical on the behavioral health front.
15:15:24 It's been the issue. I've been engaged in the most conversations about right from schools, from within the behavioral Advisory committee and in the community.
15:15:34 I mean, it just feels like something that we should circle the wagons around a little bit well, I think what I can say to that.
15:15:42 In addition, is that one of the one of the missions of public health is prevention.
15:15:47 And so where we can infuse more support, more attention, and more funding into our prevention work with regards to youth, I think public health is then serving one of the pillars
to making sure that we're able to have a more.
15:16:05 You know, a well functioning and a healthy community where kids, we'll struggle and do struggle and can seek support.
15:16:12 But we're also working as the layers of parents and parenting and starting with programs that are in utero where we're working on strong relationships and the building of health,
so that.
15:16:27 Prevent some of the need for this. But yes, we do need mental health.
15:16:32 Support our schools.
15:16:35 So could you send that information to us? You know, if you have anything regarding like when they're gonna lose that or anything, I can look back.
15:16:47 So I just want to give a a heads up to some things we're working on this year.
15:16:51 By division and program and I wanted to sort sort through it briefly, we have an administrative team, and they've got several things that are on their docket.
15:17:06 This is just a like a thumbnail version of what there is to come again.
15:17:10 We're trying to create steady state so that we can invest time and energy in making sure that our systems are working properly and that we've got good communication within our
department.
15:17:23 And that we're able to onboard new things as we need and do them with efficiency.
15:17:30 So we're supporting the ongoing growth of our communications team, which actually rests in the administration portion of our department.
15:17:39 And they're really innovating in a lot of ways.
15:17:41 Okay, talk about in a few slides, but supporting that and growing that team is really valuable to the mission of public health.
15:17:49 To reach a public health, and also the vitality of how the public engagement.
15:17:58 We're reconvening some committee meetings.
15:18:01 That sort of got a little less attention during the pandemic, so I can see that reconvening that here and the courthouse is important.
15:18:09 The Safety Committee, and then doubly for us, and we have quite a few safety issues that have come up over the pandemic that are really giving.
15:18:18 Us pause to kind of assess and.
15:18:24 Enrich or deepen our staff's ability to have a safe place to work, to engage the public.
15:18:31 In safe ways, and then to know what to do when those circumstances arrive.
15:18:37 That right? We're also working on fine-tuning our human resources mechanisms within public health.
15:18:46 So we do a lot a lot of information, just a few staff that are involved in that.
15:18:49 But we're working to train more people and help make the process more fluid, so that it's not as number.
15:19:00 Somewhat problem. We're engaged in human resource work.
15:19:05 We've got our fiscal department, so we are looking for a finance manager and we have recruited for that meeting.
15:19:12 Pass, and we're going to recruit for it again.
15:19:15 We'd really love to get that filled so that the finance team can offer.
15:19:20 Functionally and go back to the business of really helping each team within our department understand their budgets, understand their bodily, be more active in interpreting
how those funds are used, but also to see what decisions need to be made along.
15:19:42 And we've we've we've had to put some of that work aside, managing good response.
15:19:50 So we're gonna get back to that we're going to pursue more of the territory within Munis.
15:19:57 I think we've got just now. We're launching into the Grants portion the Grants module.
15:20:08 Right. So onboarding mutus in multiple ways thus far has taken time, and I think I think it's overall going.
15:20:15 Pretty well, but we're gonna be adding modules to it.
15:20:18 Order to have it be a full service. And then, as I mentioned earlier, we are reestablishing these updates from team to our management team as well as the team scattered throughout.
15:20:35 So in community health again, you're gonna see some trends contract and budget tracking by programs engaging staff in the process to be more involved in that each division,
whether it's community health division or the Environmental Health division is looking at fphs funding and how
15:20:58 that's going to be laid out over the next few years.
15:21:01 So, that's a big part of our planning.
15:21:05 Then we are seeing that some of the smaller teams are focused teams around topics.
15:21:11 So in this case, that's bunch of acronyms soup up there.
15:21:14 But that's the family health services team. That's the sexual reproductive health team.
15:21:20 And that's the communicable disease team which basically comprised the and each team is wanting to rethink what their thrust is how to make efficiencies with a lot of them have
new staff.
15:21:36 Just to the teams in. Where they're headed.
15:21:40 Another thing is that we're also doing the strategic planning for the county.
15:21:46 And I wanna live through that process, and then be sure that we indicators from that that help guide some of what we also think about in internally.
15:21:59 We have environmental health. So working on fhs, alignment again, big topic making sure touches.
15:22:08 I mean, it touches every part of our business operation trying to make sure that it's engageable and successful, and that our staff is well versed in it, and that our connections
with other departments also in aggregate.
15:22:23 Well, that's gonna be on I'm going through the year also focusing on implementing the legal lot of record from the septic standpoint.
15:22:31 So that's something we no folks are that this year in water quality, identified and correcting pollution in the Chimneckan watershed.
15:22:43 Monitoring throughout East Jefferson County, and then, of course, ongoing, keeping shellfish, beds, lakes, and beaches open for recreations, is sort of to that season.
15:22:54 Again, in natural resources. You've heard from Tammy before, but maybe not recently.
15:23:00 So just a quick update on. She's got Rfps out and she wants the successful distribution of the North Pacific Coast Marine resources.
15:23:12 Completing conservation, future, spending the funding round that we're in, and then the acquisitions thereafter, and then progress on the Dosi wallups, and how flip with the.
15:23:26 The next item. I want to be sure you are familiar with is our human services element, and that's got a lot going on in human services.
15:23:38 There's a few things listed there. I don't need to read them.
15:23:43 I'll try to hurry up here, but I just want to make sure that you're aware that there's there's a lot of work being done for our accessible communities for inclusion in the community
for stigma reduction.
15:23:57 And then, obviously, our human services branch holds as well the Bhac, which then is the.
15:24:11 And we're we're in a big year this year because it just started the next 2 year cycle.
15:24:17 So Anna's got all her contracts. Now we're folks who got this Rp's and we're working forward on those.
15:24:25 How's it going on hiring the epidemiologist?
15:24:28 What's going? It's a long process getting a new position onboarded within the county takes some time, but Sarah's been really helpful, and Barb Barb Jones are new manager.
15:24:43 She's really taken the lead on that. So it's good timing.
15:24:47 Could we have used a epidemiologist yesterday?
15:24:49 Yes, of course, and I think we've grown our notion about how these.
15:24:56 Will be part and parcel of the success of Chip.
15:24:59 But will be a central.
15:25:03 Sort of a sieve for all of the desk.
15:25:06 The department is grappling with. Just haven't had that sort of bandwidth, as you know, we've contracted with, and some kids have it's been really encouraging of us to onboard
our own epidemiologist, which I think they'll be part and parcel of
15:25:24 maybe helping train. And that person.
15:25:30 But I think we have. We have all the we have, all the details set in motion that will happen.
15:25:34 That person, succeed. We'll just have to goes well, what's the app?
15:25:42 Yeah. It's the Youth age band. So that's Barb is activating that group more than it was.
15:25:53 But it was one of the last it was one of the ones standing through the pandemic from the former iterate of the chip, and the other issue bands.
15:26:04 The the Youth Age Band, which we're referencing here.
15:26:06 The Working Age band, and the older they her attempt will be to resume those, and then to have an eventual trial that will inform.
15:26:16 The work within those aged fans the whole time. Again.
15:26:24 So I just wanted to speak quickly about our workforce well being, I think that's really important to share just who we are.
15:26:32 As a as a team, a large, the health team. And I think these things are pretty self-explanatory.
15:26:40 We're really getting on track with regular performance reviews, which I think maybe.
15:26:48 Went on hiatus for a little while. While we were busy working on the front lines.
15:26:53 Reflective supervision seems to be something that's really been effective in our culture at public health.
15:26:58 We are have a place for folks to share insights and talk about their own.
15:27:06 Way that's productive and helps helps the employee be reflective and it's meant to reduce burnout.
15:27:13 So it's obviously it's a tool be used with.
15:27:17 And the managerial level with.
15:27:21 To support that.
15:27:24 Inclusive work. Culture Trauma informed, approach many of our staff are trained in that we have a lot of collaborative decision-making that we do.
15:27:35 We're encouraging people to get back into training and professional since we've kind of all.
15:27:39 But didn't have any of that one word.
15:27:45 We've been encouraging and flexible works schedules. We.
15:27:51 Okay.
15:27:58 Constantly trying to celebrate good news, positive energy to our staff.
15:28:03 Right cause. I have a staff that feels like they're taken care of, and it's a safe place to come is a place where people want to work, and also in the meetings on our monthly
general staff meetings.
15:28:18 We promote, you know, like just agenda items that promote engagement.
15:28:25 And you know, I think, that our staff are well engaged, and appreciate.
15:28:31 You know the efforts that management takes. You know, I really do believe that absolutely. Yeah.
15:28:47 Okay, I just wanted to make a nod to some of the work that we're doing.
15:28:58 Can be theoretical, and it can be practical, and racism was was noted as a public health crisis.
15:29:06 I think it's not necessarily the public health. Little P.
15:29:10 And a capital H. It's a crisis of the public. And we are all in this together, looking internally, doing some self-assessment, learning how to talk about these things, understanding
where oppression it gets help, disparities, and.
15:29:27 Disparities to help people have access to the things that they're entitled to have, and to have that access with respect and be welcoming.
15:29:38 So we're looking inward. We're doing trainings.
15:29:41 We have a formal group that's meeting pretty regular.
15:29:45 Address these issues, and that is the work that we do with ourselves as a, as a team.
15:29:53 That work is mental also to get better work in the community so that's sort of the trajectory that we're on is making sure that we're nurturing staff to have an opportunity
to have these discussions and then think about what we do can be changed to be more inclusive to be more
15:30:13 accessible to notice ways in which we maybe deliver services that have an oppressive element that we have an implicit it's a biased for.
15:30:24 So we're investing in that. We're also doing some surveys.
15:30:27 And some community assessment around.
15:30:32 Trying to find indicators of how public health can be more trust trusted in the in the public's eye.
15:30:39 Really big time in our our history, where the perception of public.
15:30:45 Wide, ranging. We actually are known more. Bye, everyone.
15:30:50 But we need to be sure that we're working to build trust by being inclusive as we can, making sure that our services are available, and we don't have doors.
15:31:06 Did that last cohort of the training Phillip.
15:31:11 It's not quite full, but it's it.
15:31:14 We're working. Okay. Well, I I was tempted that I was leaving the space for the public health team.
15:31:19 First, so it felt like my priority, but well, by all means.
15:31:24 Okay, yeah, and we do have quite a few folks from around the county who agreed to come to so.
15:31:31 And that was the case in the last cohort as well. It's really nice to have.
15:31:36 Folks, join us.
15:31:39 Partners as well. Cool. Yeah.
15:31:44 Oops. That's nice here. So I just wanted to make a quick nod to the fact that we're getting out and about we're trying to be more engaged in the community.
15:31:55 We're trying to be more physically present in the community after these last 3 years.
15:31:59 We are doing things like job fairs, we're showing up at celebrations in the community like pride, etc.
15:32:08 I got a button maker. Yeah, I'm loan to your team for buttons, for pride.
15:32:16 Yeah, I'll be wondering what they what kind of buttons they make excited about.
15:32:19 Yeah. And I'm also highlighting the fact that we host a lot of events, too.
15:32:25 So we're busy doing, you know, propagating what it is that we serve the communities through events so that have a chance to know more.
15:32:33 What we do. So we have a few of Food Security Summit coming up tonight.
15:32:38 There's a town Hall in Quilston about possession and substance.
15:32:43 Use disorder, and then, a few months back, we had a marine trade seminar, so just a variety of things that we're doing to engage the community.
15:32:54 And then I wanted to highlight our media and messaging with regard to our communications and just the platforms that we're using on social media.
15:33:00 But also these innovative ways to make our digital content more accessible.
15:33:05 So we are using, you can see in the smaller image there at the bottom, we're using a mobile app on the smartphone well, that's that's the other.
15:33:18 In one of the person in the blue. So we're also using more accessible for folks with disabilities.
15:33:24 And we're growing the notion what those features can regard to how people interface with us.
15:33:33 And I think I think we we are no shortage of ideas.
15:33:39 To make sure that we're either leading by example and or we're collaborating with other to help push forward the the value of me.
15:33:49 This content as accessible?
15:33:54 I just want to quickly say some next steps we're trying to get to full capacity, so we can operate with a with a complete staff.
15:34:02 As you've seen a trend. We're doing a lot of planning around the use of Fbhs funding, especially now, and for the next year.
15:34:12 What's really important to me, and I think our staff, with this is raising visibility about public health and being in the community.
15:34:22 Anyways refining how the public interfaces with our services online.
15:34:27 Well, okay, but there are other ways that well, that are really kind of evolving our services and strengthening our regional connections.
15:34:40 We. We have a great Olympic region, where we do a lot of partnerships.
15:34:44 We have contracts with other counties in our region, we we come to similar tables that are set for decision making around the account, and I think I think the regional collaboration
here are stellar I think it's actually a that's looked at by a lot.
15:35:02 Of other reasons, in terms of interest, flexibility, and solving problems together, even though each of our counties are different, we're gonna continue to prioritize lean projects.
15:35:18 That's part of like steady state. It's just making sure the systems we have are fine-tuned.
15:35:26 And then supporting staff to make, you know, make their work as meaningful as possible.
15:35:33 People work at the top of their licensure to help people.
15:35:39 Manage the breadth of their work in ways that's just more for all.
15:35:46 I think that's something we is how to, how to have that happen, and how the man, how management can think about strategically.
15:35:54 That helps that balance, and speed has struck a little better.
15:36:02 And that's it. Do you have any questions?
15:36:07 We've been asking them as we go through. But I really really appreciate this.
15:36:12 And and then the work of public health. You know, we have definitely, we've been working a lot with public health in the last couple of years.
15:36:19 So I think the you're right that your presence here then the knowledge of your existence is really growing around the community.
15:36:27 I think public health has responded really appropriately and with some strength, so it could work well.
15:36:35 If you ever have any sort of sense of a gap in your understanding about how something aligns are connected, and I appreciate that.
15:36:45 You've always been receptive, and you go been encouraging to really communicate a lot with you.
15:36:51 The more the more communication the better, and that's that makes for.
15:36:57 Really the ability to solve problems together. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I just wanna add, you know, the support from Mark and the board.
15:37:09 It means a lot you know, and I've seen it where we haven't had the support of the board.
15:37:14 And it makes it far more challenging. Yeah, so thank you so much.
15:37:20 Yeah, I'm glad to hear the morale. Seems like it's pretty strong right now, and the team is functioning well together.
15:37:25 That is so critical to that help the organization. It's absolutely fabulous.
15:37:37 We're still learning. We're still learning to work together because we have new management.
15:37:41 But it's going very well awesome. That's great to hear.
15:37:47 You can sense it, I I was a while ago you said something, and I was thinking, it's kind of like an outward bound course.
15:37:55 Yeah. You go through this. The pandemic has been you guys really rose to the occasion and had all the ores in the water and figured out how to make it work, and troubleshooting
and moving forward, had to move forward and come through stuff like that and you're
15:38:11 just, you know, stronger together. It's like you, just you. You just end up stronger.
15:38:25 Well, we are moving on as well, so I appreciate you having us reflect on how it's been, and then we're moving on as well.
15:38:36 So, yes. Okay. Well, thank you guys so much. We will move on to our next agenda.
15:38:45 Item, a little bit late. We had an executive session planned at 3, 15.
15:38:49 All of our presentations. Kind of went a few minutes longer, because we can't contain ourselves from making it a dialogue.
15:38:56 But so now we will go into executive session I know, Karen, do you hear?
15:39:02 If there's still there, is, they respond alright. Well, I's all still on.
15:39:10 Okay. But we only need 15Â min for this we'll give ourselves an extra 5Â min, just because we've might take a minute to Marshall the troops.
15:39:18 So we're going into an executive session with the county administrator.
15:39:21 The chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney, and environmental health manager regarding potential litigation, exemption as outlined in the open public Meetings Act, Rcw.
15:39:30 42, point 110 parentheses, one parentheses.
15:39:34 I we will go in at 3 40, and let's just say we'll come out at 40'clock.
15:39:43 No, it wasn't a half hour.
15:39:46 It was only on the 15Â min, so we might come out and extend.
15:39:52 But that'll be the plan.
16:01:27 Alright! Oh, sorry!
16:01:38 Okay, we are coming out of executive session with no action taken, and I believe that is the end that we can talk.
16:01:52 I guess, about. Let's see. No action taken we're not gonna have a public comment, since there's no action we've already cut talked about the legislative updates.
16:02:03 Do we have any urgent issues on boards and committees?
16:02:08 Yeah. But I mean, it's just the list keeps getting longer.
16:02:17 So I'm saying.
16:02:23 Unless you want to now. No, we just we were doing it once a month.
16:02:25 We bring this to the agenda every month, so review the list, and think about who's sitting out in District 3 neglected my duties of getting someone to that.
16:02:38 Not just weed board. I don't know why. I've just.
16:02:44 I I have a guy for Pif. I think someone I've been suggesting so.
16:02:51 Solid walls, solid waste advisory committee district 1, 2, and 3 are all vacant.
16:03:01 Alright. The Mrc. Needs a district 3. Person, 2 vacancies in District 3 on noxious weed is oh, what do you mean to just?
16:03:24 Alright, I'm gonna get this filled. I'm gonna do it.
16:03:26 Okay, all on our website. Anything else for the good of the order?
16:03:35 It must be something fine. We can end the day just kind of.
16:03:41 Good day. It's been a whirlwind day.
16:03:42 Yeah, it feels I'm exhausted.
16:03:47 Nope, I don't have anything else, Mark. I'm good.
16:03:51 Okay, well, we I will adjourn this meeting. The Board of County Commissioners will be back next week, and we will not.
16:03:59 We will have Dr. Barry with us at our for our monthly now infectious disease Update.
16:04:06 So we will see everyone here on is that date April third. Alright!
16:04:13 Have a great week. Everyone.