HomeMy WebLinkAboutclosed_caption14:00:51 Waiting for AV capture to start here.
14:00:55 Oh, maybe I won't wait.
14:00:59 Good afternoon, everyone. I will call this special meeting of the Board of County Commissioners to order on this Friday, September first.
14:01:07 We are here for a hearing to consider whether to dissolve drainage district number one.
14:01:13 . AKA the and take put in, show lack share. Oops, sorry. Let me, I'll meet that.
14:01:25 So we're gonna, we have to stick pretty closely to our agenda. So unless there is something pressing, I will I will jump right into.
14:01:35 The procedure for today's hearing. So welcome everyone to this public hearing regarding Drainage District number one, also known as the Chimpanzees District, the public hearing
is now open.
14:01:45 If you join this meeting via the phone, wish to provide hearing testimony, please stand the line. You will provide be provided an opportunity to speak during public testimony.
14:01:55 And the same if you're on Zoom. Thank you for being here before we open public testimony. We will listen to a staff presentation on this issue.
14:02:02 And Mark, are you gonna lead us through that?
14:02:05 Let me go to this phone here.
14:02:11 Yes, Commissioner Brotherton, that is the plan. Okay.
14:02:18 And, so I'm sharing my screen and I've got a short presentation that pretty closely mirrors the presentation that was made a number of weeks ago.
14:02:28 When we had the board Approve the public hearing notice for today's hearing. So as has been said, today's meeting is to discuss the Chimacum Drainage District.
14:02:44 Otherwise known as Drainage District number one. And this hearing was stimulated by a memorandum.
14:02:51 From the county auditor to our board of county commissioners. Indicating that in the view of the auditor's office, the Chimacum Drainage District met the requirements to be
declared inactive and I also pointed out that state statute required that by one September, 2,023 the board conduct a public hearing.
14:03:20 To discuss the drainage district. It's inactivity and to decide whether or not to Keep the district in place or to dissolve it.
14:03:32 And so just a few facts. About the district, it was formed in, 1919. Over a hundred years ago, its purpose was to manage a drainage and flood control system for the benefit
of the folks.
14:03:48 In the valley there, the Chimicum Valley who farmed the fields. It is known as a special purpose district and it's organized under chapters 85 dot 0 6 dot 0 1 0 and 85 dot 38
dot 1 8 0 of the revised code of Washington.
14:04:14 No district funds have been collected. Through the assessment process since the mid 1960. And the district has been inactive since, 74 when the governing board resigned.
14:04:30 So for those not familiar with the district, this is a map. Indicating the boundaries of the district.
14:04:39 Pretty good size. Kind of an interesting shape, but it, I guess it follows the watershed mostly and anyway, that So the district encompasses the people that live in it and they're
the ones that would benefit from its activities.
14:05:03 So. Just for the purposes of illuminating. What inactivity means for the listening public.
14:05:14 RCW, 36 96, 0, one, lays out the criteria. That a district must meet in order to be declared inactive.
14:05:26 So number one, it has not carried out any of the special purposes or functions for which it was formed within the preceding 5 preceding consecutive five-year period.
14:05:38 And we know that to be the case. No election has been held for the purpose of electing a member of the governing body within the preceding consecutive 7 year period.
14:05:48 Or in those instances where members of the governing body are appointed, not elected, were no member of the governing body has been appointed within the preceding seven-year
period.
14:05:58 And we know that to be the case and. The special purpose district has been determined to be unauditable by the state auditor and I think a records check with Department of state
editor's office.
14:06:13 Yeah, Commissioner Eisenhower reached out to the state auditors office and they have no record of this district being in existence.
14:06:20 It is therefore unauditable. And so the district does meet all 3 criteria for being declared inactive.
14:06:32 So the the board actually has a number of different options. And it can declare the district in active and leave it in place.
14:06:40 They can declare it inactive and dissolve it. And they could reactivate the district in its current form.
14:06:47 Or repurpose the district to add. Irrigation, slash watershed management or improvement to its mission.
14:06:57 And so the purpose of this hearing today is to take testimony from the public and have the board deliberate on which course of action they would.
14:07:05 I prefer to take.
14:07:09 And so.
14:07:13 Staff recommendation and this is in consultation with Commissioner Eisenhower would be to declare the district inactive and keep it in its current form.
14:07:25 And beyond that to continue to gather information regarding the district and what residents of the district wish to happen.
14:07:32 And scheduled another public hearing for a final decision. Oh, I'm sorry. Now that last recommendation piece was from the hearing notice meeting and I should have I should have
deleted that.
14:07:46 So, you know, that's my error. So that the other public hearing for a final decision.
14:07:54 That's the hearing we're having. Currently. So With that, Commissioner Brotherton, I'll turn it over to you.
14:08:01 Great questions or comments before we take public testimony?
14:08:09 Go ahead.
14:08:08 Since this is hiding since the society and since I've been the kind of the lead on this issue, There have been a couple of conversations with the conservation district and other
interested parties.
14:08:24 About the potential for utilizing the drainage district in the future, but there's not a current plan in place to do that.
14:08:33 So it's the interest of folks to have time, and so we're thinking between now September 1, 2023 and.
14:08:42 September 1, 2024. To do that due diligence and have those conversations. To decide whether we.
14:08:50 Does that keep the drainage district dissolve it or change it into a different form?
14:08:55 So, this. The the recommendation is based on the desire of stakeholders. On this issue to have more time to deliberate and come up with a plan for the drainage district.
14:09:10 Okay, Kate, did you have your hand up?
14:09:13 Yeah, and how do you covered some of that I was just hoping to hear kind of what the process has been.
14:09:21 I know stakeholders have been meeting. Could you say, Heady? I think there's been a consultant working with the stakeholder group.
14:09:29 Is that right? And can it who who is convening that? And under what umbrella?
14:09:34 We have a consultant on contract. Do you want to talk about that, Mark? Yeah. So we've, we retain peak sustainability.
14:09:44 They're the consultants that have been helping us with outreach on this. And we've had a number of meetings with a variety of stakeholders and there's more work to do there,
but.
14:09:53 But as Commissioner Eisenhower said, there is a fair amount of interest in keeping. The district active and further investigating what its future form ought to take
14:10:07 Great. And how many, landowners would you say have been involved in that process?
14:10:13 So far, not many because the process has been talking about an outreach plan to engage landowners.
14:10:20 So we've had 2 meetings. And both of those meetings have been largely focused on. How to best engage landowners in the drainage district.
14:10:28 There have been so far, I think, you know, 3, maybe 3, landowners involved in the 2 conversations we've had.
14:10:37 Okay, great. Thank you.
14:10:37 One because she's a staff at the Drainage District and because she offered to organize to do this facilitation earlier.
14:10:46 And we engage peak sustainability. So Christy Kissler from Penrover Farms been. At both of those meetings.
14:10:54 And you said staff at the drainage district, but did you mean conservation district?
14:10:58 Sorry, conservation district. Yep.
14:11:00 Okay, great. Thank you.
14:11:03 And I was wondering kind of what how. Big it is now and with any of these future decisions, you know, assuming we Do they take no action?
14:11:13 Alternative, which seems like what you're recommending right now. I mean, there's like 400 or so landowners in that area, but only.
14:11:22 I don't know, 30 or 30 to 50 or something that are on the creek itself. I'm just curious.
14:11:26 Can the size of the drainage district evolve as part of this process or is it a kind of a yes up or down on the outer boundary of it and how it impacts.
14:11:39 I guess how that, you know, the tax assessment would impact folks.
14:11:43 The size question is a good one. I don't know the answer as to whether it can be changed or not.
14:11:49 Right now it's everything in West and East Chimican Creek that drain. In the Chimican Creek.
14:11:57 So it's about Just under 400 tax parcels and 300 and something landowners and I did look and it's a majority of the landowners at least mailing addresses are in Chemicum.
14:12:11 Oh, Port Hadlock or Port Townsend. So there are mostly local landowners.
14:12:19 And we do.
14:12:18 Okay. It was described in the Greater Conservation District report as pear shaped and it did not look pear shaped in that map.
14:12:27 Is there something I'm missing? It's not evolved, has it?
14:12:30 No, it's nope.
14:12:32 Okay.
14:12:36 I don't know where your shape comment came from.
14:12:36 Okay. I don't know, I thought I read that and I was kind of going through the conservation district report.
14:12:43 Historically, sounded like it was a peer bales quote, I thought. Okay. Any other questions before we open up for testimony?
14:12:55 All right, well, let's start in the room. It sounds like we might have people there.
14:12:59 Heidi, would you mind managing those folks in the room to get them up for testimony.
14:13:02 Nope. So are there folks in the room interested in making testimony? If so, raise your hand.
14:13:11 Okay.
14:13:09 Oh wait, I should I should let me open first. Okay. As your elected officials, we want to hear your testimony on this issue.
14:13:17 Your testimony will help inform our deliberations and decisions. I'll now open the hearing to listen to your public testimony.
14:13:22 If you join the meeting via the Zoom link, please click on the raise hand icon located at the bottom of your screen to raise your hand and you can sit star 9 if you're on the
phone to click raise hand.
14:13:32 That's the one call upon, please address your comments to the board, not to the audience.
14:13:37 Also, please be respectful of opinions by others that may differ from your own. Each person will have up to 3Â min and because this is a hearing, please identify yourself and
where you live.
14:13:48 Oh, I see Barbara has joined us. Barbara, did you have anything you wanted to share before we?
14:13:53 Take testimony.
14:13:59 Here I am somewhere. Let's see. Hey, I just turn on there.
14:14:01 Yeah. Coast in the machine here, huh?
14:14:06 Yeah, good afternoon, everyone.
14:14:11 Did
14:14:10 Yeah, I think Barbara has drafted a resolution for us to consider after the hearing.
14:14:17 Okay, but there wasn't anything that you needed to say before we listen to testimony, Barbara.
14:14:21 No, no, I was just, I'm just here for questions if you have them.
14:14:26 Okay, thank you. Well, I'll turn it over to you. How do you wanna manage those folks in the room that might want to give testimony.
14:14:32 Yeah, and I saw Roger's hand go up before. You, I opened the hearing. So Roger, do you want to come up?
14:14:38 Yeah. It looks like Kevin's ready to help you. Always ready to help.
14:14:44 I see our folks at the peak consulting are with us too. Maybe we should bring them over into to be a panelist.
14:14:52 Yep.
14:14:49 What are their names? Oh, Vivian? Is that one of What about Sierra? Vivian's the peep consulting person.
14:14:58 Bizarre Sierra. And Sarah raises her hands. Or Joe, is their hand.
14:15:03 If they wanna make testimony.
14:15:05 Okay.
14:15:06 We're ready for you. Go ahead, Roger. Everybody. I'm Roger Short.
14:15:13 1720 Center Road Chemical. I've lived on Chimican Creek.
14:15:17 For 77 years. I know, probably know more about what's happening in those last years and anyone's still alive.
14:15:28 I feel kinda. Church because no one's really come to try to get an idea of what I want, what would be best for the creek.
14:15:38 But since 1980, I've taken the attitude. I didn't want to activate the drainage district or do it because there was taxation involved with it.
14:15:48 I do not think that drainage district at this point would ever stand for any type of taxation, any of the parcels.
14:15:55 I kind of think the landowners can be responsible for it if they're taking some of the restrictions from fish and wildlife.
14:16:03 In riparian areas, you're kind of taken away from it. I like, comments about, let's keep it activated, but.
14:16:13 Don't dissolve it at this time. We reason we don't want to dissolve at this time is because there's an access for maintenance along the creek.
14:16:22 And if the drainage district is dissolved, that access. For maintenance will be lost. And that's the main reason that.
14:16:31 I have for the drainage history this time, I think we totally need to revamp how it's put together and divided into smaller sections to take care of certain areas.
14:16:42 There are problem areas, so we're not alienating. The other, 36.
14:16:46 450 landowners. Because it won't fly that way.
14:16:54 I have new ideas on what could be d10, to maintain drainage, but, at this time, I've dissolved my hands from, trying to do anything for maintenance.
14:17:06 We have not done anything for the last 2 years. And as a result, we have about 50 acres of water.
14:17:12 On the land right now that is no longer able to pasture without the ecology. Gal coming along the highway and saying, your cow is on the highway.
14:17:21 How is it in there? Water, you have to get them out. Well, I say keep your damn water at home in a bit.
14:17:29 They'd be out of the water. So, anyway. I available for comments later on if you need them or questions.
14:17:35 But I know a lot of the history of what's been going on. Thank you. Thank you.
14:17:40 Roger.
14:17:44 Anyone else in the room interested in making comment? Jeff, Jeff Chapman. County assessor.
14:17:51 I'm Jeff Chapman the county assessor as Heidi just pointed out and We have currently in the county we have 7 different benefit assessment districts.
14:18:02 We have noxious weed, we have conservation district. We have 2 fire ones and the fees are very low and they're based on what benefit property owners receive.
14:18:16 We do have experience with another drainage district, which is the Port Ludlow Drainage District.
14:18:20 Which has worked very well for 10 years. It was an assessment that was set up by, and is maintained by Public Works.
14:18:28 And we apply it and decide how much each parcel shall be charged. We've had no appeals on any of these because you know They they work very well and I and again I think if it
does come down to having an assessment we can set this one up so that the property owners will be satisfied with it.
14:18:48 Thank you. Jeff. Anyone else in the room? Trying to make public comment, Mike.
14:18:55 No. Anyone online who wants to make public comment today?
14:19:02 That seeing any hands, Greg.
14:19:04 Okay, I'll make one more call online if anyone would like to make Public testimony on this hearing.
14:19:10 We would love to hear from you. I see the Director of the Conservation District Joe if you'd like to come over with.
14:19:18 Already benefited from a lot of your work in in the research for this so You have anything to add?
14:19:24 We'd love to hear it from you.
14:19:27 Alright, I'll make one more call. Oh, looks like it's coming over.
14:19:33 He coming over as a speaker or as a testimony giver.
14:19:37 I don't know. Let's ask him. Hi, Joe. Thanks for joining us today.
14:19:40 Hey, did that work?
14:19:42 Love to hear either your testimony or you know if you have something that you want to add as a staff the conservation district that would be fine too.
14:19:49 Okay, I'll just, make a comment that, the conservation district is working on a management plan.
14:19:58 We just started that and that's thanks to the Jefferson County. Environmental health with they got a ecology grant and as part of that grant from the Department of Ecology that's
helping to fund this effort to develop this management plan, which is being done in concert with the outreach efforts that the county is doing with peak sustainability.
14:20:24 So those 2 processes will go hand in hand. One hopefully will inform the other and We'll figure out, 2 things.
14:20:32 What, are the biggest problems and how, should they be addressed? What opportunities are there for restoration and who?
14:20:41 Which organizations are best, wants to lead that effort. So that's, what we're hoping to do there.
14:20:48 And then, Commissioner Brotherton, your comment about the pear shaped district. I think I don't remember for sure, but I think you're coming about the pear shaped district.
14:20:56 I think I don't remember for sure, but I think that's in reference to the watershed shape.
14:20:59 The.
14:20:57 Not the, so the, drainage district is, is within the watershed, but, the 2 are not exactly the same.
14:21:06 Gotcha. Okay. Thank you. For clarifying my mistake.
14:21:09 Yeah.
14:21:11 All right, thanks a lot, Mr. Holtrip. Anyone else like to make testimony before I close this hearing and we deliberate.
14:21:22 All right, seeing no other hands, I will. Close public testimony And to do the public hearing is now closed and will deliberate and make a decision.
14:21:39 So it's pretty that I think the options that are outlined are pretty easy, right?
14:21:47 We can Does all of it, we can do the take no action alternative that I think Heidi and staff have all recommended.
14:21:54 And I think that's what testimony lean to as well. It seems like there's definitely plans in.
14:22:01 In the offing already with peak and the conservation district.
14:22:08 And I.
14:22:07 So, or we could of course spin it up, if we would decide. Go ahead, Kate.
14:22:14 Yeah, well, take no action is a little misleading because it's still requires us to declare the district inactive, correct?
14:22:24 Yes.
14:22:25 Okay.
14:22:24 Yes. Yeah, Barbara prepared a resolution to that effect that I can put on screen. If that would be helpful.
14:22:34 Please do because I don't think it's part of the packet. No, it was not.
14:22:37 How?
14:22:38 So while Mark's doing that, I can, say that it sounds like there is, good work underway that is going to help.
14:22:47 Determine next steps. If any so it sounds to me like the to clearing the district in active and not dissolving it as the prudent thing to do today.
14:23:04 Right, so the resolution has 3 sections. That are on the screen.
14:23:12 Maybe.
14:23:12 Mark, a period at the end of section 3 if you want to add that.
14:23:19 Okay. Yeah. And I promoted Carolyn to clerk of the board, not deputy, and I added her certification as well.
14:23:30 Great. And I'm fairly comfortable even though we didn't have this before we heard testimony. It's literally for beta and from what the other text that we had and everything.
14:23:41 So as long as you guys are okay to move forward, I think considering this resolution seems great. Maybe we can go back to the beginning of it so we can see the name of the resolution.
14:23:48 Sorry.
14:23:50 I'm happy to make a motion that we adopt a resolution determining that the Chimicum Drainage District is an active pursuant to chapter 36.96 of the revised code of Washington.
14:24:05 . A second
14:24:06 Okay, it's been moved and seconded to approve the resolution determining the Timicum drainage district is an active pursuant to chapter 6.9 6.
14:24:18 Of RCW. Any further questions or comments? All in favor of the motion on the floor indicate by saying aye.
14:24:24 Aye.
14:24:24 Bye.
14:24:24 Hi. Any opposed? Alright, that is unanimous. Thank you, Heidi.
14:24:30 Thank you, Barbara, Mark, Joe, everyone for all their work. I know this is many hands went into this.
14:24:35 So and thanks for the auditor for making sure that we're. You know, go in the line and.
14:24:40 Comporting our business on the up and up. Vivian, you, Vivian, I think you didn't have a chance to speak.
14:24:47 I don't know. I was there anything that you wanted to say to the the work that's going on before we in this meeting, I don't know if you want to shed any light on the timeline
or anything.
14:24:58 Yeah, I think. A lot of what we've been doing is just trying to gain some insight from folks within the district on like Commissioner Eisenhower said how to engage and so we
haven't start talking, talked about the what.
14:25:14 But just really thinking through, what's gonna work best for the landowners within the district in terms.
14:25:20 Like what time to have meetings and stuff. Yeah, literally.
14:25:23 Yeah, really trying to make sure that we get the logistics and the place, right, so that people feel like we're really there to engage them, hear them, and get the feedback.
14:25:36 That will allow a meaningful decision next year based on that feedback.
14:25:41 You start in February, everyone's free in February.
14:25:47 Okay, thank you.
14:25:44 Yeah, yeah. So. You're welcome.
14:25:51 Any other last thoughts on this topic before we adjourn this special meeting?
14:25:56 Yeah. Okay. You did not dissolve, but you just. We're gonna continue.
14:26:03 Enacted for a year and then. Discuss it again. We declared it inactive, yes.
14:26:09 It's inactive. We're not dissolving it. Yep.
14:26:17 Yep.
14:26:14 Yep. Like we're all aligned on it today. Happy day. We have a consensus opinion across our testimony as well.
14:26:22 So. Okay, if there's nothing else, we can't talk about anything else today, unfortunately.
14:26:28 Kate, did you have something?
14:26:29 Okay. So as a reminder, we have Labor Day on Monday, so we will be back here for our regular meeting on Tuesday.
14:26:38 So everyone have a great Labor Day weekend and this meeting is adjourned. Thank you.
14:26:43 Thanks everyone. Thank you.