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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM100107 District No. 1 CommissloDer: PhU JohDsoD District No.2 ComanlssioDer: David W. SaDlv.. District No.3 CommissloDer: John Ausda County Administrator: John F. Fischbach Clerk of the Board: Lorna Delaney MINUTES Week of October 1, 2007 Chairman Phil Johnson called the meeting to order in the presence of Commissioners David Sullivan and John Austin. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: The following comments were made by citizens. Two citizens expressed concerns about the onsite sewer program proposed in the Clean Water District (CWO) Ordinance because of the limited number of qualified inspectors in the County and the costs to property owners; the County Commissioners need to manage tax revenue wisely in order to provide essential services to citizens; the Board needs to find ways to generate more revenue; a citizen suggested that the Board form a task group to work on the development of a CWO; all water monitoring data in the County should be in one database; a Fire Marshall position should be included in the 2008 budget; the County needs to encourage the State to construct a left turn lane on SR19 onto Oak Bay Road; two citizens requested that the documents in the Commissioner's weekly meeting packet be scanned and posted on the County web site; fecal coliform from animals, birds and fish can create up to 50% ofthe pollution found in streams, rivers and saltwater; and a comment was made about exceeding the meeting room capacity at public hearings per the Fire Code. APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA: Commissioner Austin moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Commissioner Sullivan seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. 1. RESOLUTION NO. 86-07 re: Vacation ofa Portion ofthe Alley in Block 123 Irondale No.5; Scott and Mia Weidner, Petitioners 2. RESOLUTION NO. 87-07 re: Naming a Private Road Meridian Way; Jan Richards, Rusty Heppell, Gary Estes, Dick & Sandy Curtis, Bud & Sue Brewer and Kevin McKee, Petitioners 3. AGREEMENT Amendment No.1 re: Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) Planning Unit; Jefferson County Public Health; Brisa Services, Inc. 4. AGREEMENT re: Design and Implement Comprehensive Natural Resource Related Public Education Programs and Trainings; WSU Extension; Cammy Lou Mills 5. AGREEMENT re: E911 Dispatching Services; JeffCom; City of Port Townsend, Jefferson County Fire Districts 1,2,3,4, and 5 Page 1 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of October 1,2007 6. Memorandum of Understanding re: Intergovernmental Cooperative Purchasing Agreement; JeffCom; Grays Harbor Communications, E911 7. Letter of Intent for Lease Transfer of Three Properties (Quimper Peninsula West 81 Acres; Quimper Peninsula East 30 Acres; and Thorndyke 45 Acres) Identified by Trust Land Transfer Legislation; Washington State Department of Natural Resources 8. Request for Full Reconveyance; Water Quality Improvement Loan Agreement No. 91-006-9 Paid in Full; Jeffery M. Larson 9. Request to Open Right of Way; A Portion of Platted N. Carnegie Avenue Located off of Prospect Avenue, Port Townsend; Louis Aissen, Application 10. Pre-Application Conference; To Develop County Property as Outlined in the Jefferson County Equestrian Park Master Plan; Located Near Cape George Road, Port Townsend; Jefferson Equestrian Association (JEA) 11. Payment of Jefferson County Vouchers/Warrants Dated September 24, 2007 Totaling $234,218.57 12. Payment of Jefferson County Payroll Warrants Dated September 19,2007 Totaling $95,539.45 and $302.07 and AlP Warrants Done by Payroll Dated September 20,2007 Totaling $17,897.07 PROCLAMATION re: Mental Illness Awareness Week: Several members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) were in the audiance when Chairman Johnson read the proclamation designating October 7 through 13,2007 as Mental Illness Awareness Week. At 7:30 p.m. on October 11 they will have a panel discussion on Veterans' Mental Health in the Wake of War at the Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve the minutes of the September 4, 2007 Special Meeting with the Port Townsend City Council. Commissioner Austin seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. HEARING re: 2008 Budget: Chairman Johnson opened the public hearing. County Administrator John Fischbach explained that the proposed budget before the Board meets statutory requirements, but he is not recommending that it be approved today. There are several issues requiring further investigation and analysis prior to adoption. The budget is balanced with existing resources. Expenses were prioritized using the following guidelines: · Priorities of Government as expressed by the public in the 2003 State of the County survey. The top three priorities are law and justice, roads, and public health. · 2008 Budget goals and objectives adopted by the Board on July 3,2007 Page 2 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of October 1,2007 The following issues need further review: · Possible loss to the Road Fund and General Fund of federal Secure Rural Schools funding. · The impact of union negotiations with the UFCW regarding wage adjustments and health insurance premIUms. · Additional review of requested staffing changes. · Additional review of amounts to be transferred from the General Fund to other funds. · Additional review regarding property tax revenue. · Decision and direction regarding funding for the proposed Clean Water District. · Use of fund balance. The State Legislature increased the employer's share of retirement costs from 2.25% to 3.5% effective September 1, 2006. On July 1, 2007 there was another increase to 4.15% and another rate increase to 5.45% will take effect on July 1, 2008. These increases are included in the 2008 budget. The County Administrator listed several noteworthy items: · The proposed budget includes the retirement increase mandated by the State. · The proposal doesn't include any use of banked capacity at this time. · The 2008 level of diversion of Road Fund monies to the General Fund is consistent with the Sheriff's Office expenditures for traffic control in 2006. · The budget requests submitted by departments included a15.54 FTE increase to staffing. This proposal has been reduced to 10.25 FTEs. Several of the remaining positions require further review and more information. The Water Quality Fund has requested 4.62 FTEs which, in part, should be funded by the Clean Water District. · This proposal includes the allowable 1 % property tax revenue increase to the General Fund, the Road Fund and the Conservation Futures Fund. · It includes the base sales tax rate of 1 %. · It includes the one-tenth of$.OI sales tax for criminal justice, mental health co-dependency and J effCom. Regarding capital requests categories in the budget. · Internal services funds for replacement of vehicles and equipment. The equipment lists for the Information Services Fund and the ER&R Fund are acceptable. · Major facilities projects: There is one major and a few small facilities projects planned for 2008. · Requests for additional capital projects/purchases were made and most of them have been eliminated. Since capital purchases are usually non-recurring, it may be possible to fund them from fund balance. · The budget proposal includes the new debt service for JeffCom which was created this year, but doesn't anticipate any additions to short or long term debt in 2007. Page 3 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of October 1, 2007 John Fischbach reported that cash balances appear to be adequate and reserve levels are established by resolution annually. He thanked all the people involved in developing the budget. He also stated that written comments on the proposed budget will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Friday, October 5. Chairman Johnson opened the public testimony portion of the hearing. Joe D'Amico, Security Services Northwest, stated that the SSNW case has cost the County $109,123. The County has paid $52,731 and the Risk Pool has paid $56,392. He read the County's insurance policy and he is of the opinion that the County may need to reimburse approximately $40,000 to the Risk Pool. This should be included in the 2008 budget. He suggested that contracting the security for the Courthouse would allow more Deputies on the road. Fire services and code enforcement should also be contracted out. The County may want to look at establishing a County business license to increase revenues. Mike Mingee, Fire Chief for Jefferson County Fire District # 1, stated that he is representing the East Jefferson County Fire Chiefs Association. He read and submitted testimony regarding their request for a County Fire Marshall position. Ed Wilkerson, Fire Chief of Port Ludlow Fire and Rescue, continued to read the statement submitted by ChiefMingee on behalf ofthe Fire Chiefs Association. Dave Wheeler, Port Ludlow, stated that he is a Fire Commissioner in District #3 and he supports the Fire Chiefs' request for a Fire Marshall. He thinks that it is a matter of public safety. They are currently doing fire safety inspections in their District, but if they find a violation, they have no enforcement authority. He thinks the twenty-two Fire Commissioners in the County support this request. Brent Butler, stated that his comments address housing and economic development. Last weekend eight homes were dedicated that local families built through "sweat equity' 'because they couldn't afford to buy homes. There are no new projects planned at this time. One out of every five residents in the County is at risk of becoming homeless because they are paying an unaffordable amount oftheir income on housing. There is a three year waiting list for people to get assistance through the Housing Authority. Many HUD and USDA low interest loans granted 20 years ago have expired. Hard working families need to have affordable housing. The Board needs to encourage businesses to locate here because we need jobs in the County for County residents. Page 4 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of October 1, 2007 Jim Hagan, Cape George, stated that he agrees that housing and economic development is important. He also supports the request for the Fire Marshall position. It is a challenge to have revenues keep pace with expenditures with a limit on property tax and the loss of Secure Rural Schools funding. The decline in real estate excise tax presents significant challenges. Unless the County can increase revenue, he doesn't see how requests for additional employees can be granted. In 2006, the population projections from the State Office of Financial Management were down and this trend is likely to continue. The Board has to find ways to bring in additional revenue to support the services requested. Bob Henderson, Quilcene, stated that the future of the County is important for the children. There is a new water system in Quilcene but they still need a new water reservoir. Mike Belenski, suggested that the proposed budget should have been posted on the County website in order for people to review it before this hearing. He has concerns about how the fire code is interpreted especially when there is potential for overcrowding at public hearings. Public participation is important. Someone needs to be in charge and in control if a public meeting needs to be shut down. Auditor Donna Eldridge explained that the budget process includes publishing a hearing notice on the proposed budget in the newspaper for 2 weeks. The notice states that any citizen can contact the Auditor's Office if they want a copy ofthe document. Tom Thiersch, stated that there is a Water Quality division of Environmental Health listed in the budget that includes a Clean Water District. The Board hasn't adopted a Clean Water District yet and there is still concern about how it will be funded. He doesn't think this should be included in the budget at this time. Bob Pontius, Fire Commissioner for Port Ludlow, stated that he supports the addition of a Fire Marshall position in the 2008 Budget. Illegal bums and fire code violations need to be addressed for public safety. Mike Porter, Fire Commissioner for Port Ludlow, stated that the real issue here is safety and the Board and the Fire Commissioners need to make sure that the public is safe. The Fire Marshall position is about enforcement of rules and regulations. The Fire Chiefs do inspections, but there is no one to enforce violations. The Board has to establish priorities. Bob Wilson, Fire Chief of Fire Districts #2 and #5, stated that he supports the addition of a Fire Marshall position. The Fire Districts and the County need to work together to accomplish this goal. Weare currently working on the 911 locator ordinance and J effcom as a partnership and we can work on the Fire Marshall position as a partnership. The Director of Community Development is the current Fire Marshall and he doesn't have time to do the job with his other responsibilities. He asked the Board to support this position. Hearing no further comments for or against the proposed 2008 Budget, Chairman Johnson closed the public hearing. Page 5 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of October 1, 2007 The County Administrator stated that these comments will be taken into consideration. Within the next two months, there will be budget meetings with the departments and the Board. There will be a recommendation to approve the 2008 Budget the next time this comes before the Board. briefing. · Proposed resolution regarding affordable housing. · Clean Water District. · NACo prescription drug cards. · UGA Sewer Update. · Legislative Priorities for 2008. · Evergreen Forest Group - Skagit County · Secure Rural Schools Funding. · Meetings with the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe and the Quinault Indian Nation County Administrator Briefing Session: The following items were discussed during the NOTICE OF ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Sullivan moved to adjourn the meeting at 2:35 p.m. Commissioner Austin seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS z::J?!:::: cmc Deputy Clerk ofthe Board Phil Jon, Chair I/J' '~ '/~ ~ Davi W. Sullivan, Member ~ Page 6 t3~\- hCJ 1011101 HEARING RECORD PUBLIC COMMENT Jefferson County Board of Commissioners October 1. 2007 From the East Jefferson County Fire Chiefs Association As you are in the fmal development stages of the Jefferson County 2008 Operating Budget we again ask that you consider the necessary funding and/or organizational changes to assure that the position of Fire Marshal is meeting the needs of the local fire service and the citizens you serve. This will be the second year that our Association has asked for this position to be fully recognized. As executive officers of our Independent Fire District we fully understand the fiscal constraints that you are under and the tough job of setting governmental priorities for our County. We also face the same constraints. We would offer one old adage that has stood the test of time. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". That is to say that if the County public safety infrastructure is inadequate, and life safety issues are not addressed by the County as required under the Revised Code of Washington (36.43.030), all of the other issues of exposure would be minimal in the light of a finding that public safety was inadequate. As this County grows, albeit slowly, and as the demographics change we believe that is not an issue of "if' but rather an issue of '"when". Daily you can read about litigation where government has failed to provide for public safety and is paying the cost for that lack of required oversight. Weare not talking about junk cars, noise or even shellfish; we are talking about things that kill citizens and firefighters. As stated in a previous letter to the County Community Development Director we believe that the Fire Districts have taken on a large portion of the work load of a Fire Marshal and Fire Prevention Office. Your local Independent Fire Districts have responded to unauthorized burning activity and in the majority of times received voluntary compliance. This has been without any assistance from the County. Two of the more populated and staffed Fire Districts have been performing life safety and fire prevention inspections in high life safety hazard occupancies in the County for nearly a year now. Not because we are required to do so but because we believe that prevention of fires and adherence to life safety codes is a high priority. This also has been performed solely by the Fire Districts. The County does partner with the Fire Districts on the Arson Task Force. I would like to commend Deputy Brian Tracer for his dedication to that team. The County also uses a Fire Code consultant when reviewing commercial construction drawings. We would encourage you to continue to fund that consultant. The fact is that Fire Districts do partner already by committing a large amount of staff hours without any request for reimbursement from the County for the County's statutorily required responsibility. In our opinion what the County lacks is an enforcement arm for the Fire and Life Safety Code. We as Fire Service leaders have no one established that we can refer matters of non-compliance to and be assured that the issue will be resolved. This is not only in regards to burn violations, but to all ongoing fire code violations. The Department of Community Development does correspond with us and attempts to address these issues. However, due to lack of staff, we believe our requests do not receive the high priority they deserve. I have just a few examples of this lack of oversight and / or enforcement within a short distance from this Court House that I will leave with this Board. . A fuel dispensing operation without required placarding, secondary containment, fire extinguishers and set backs. Biodiesel is classified as combustible liquid. . An occupied housing development without street signage. . A high hazard commercial occupancy without the required Fire Department access aisle. . A number of public occupancies where we have been denied entry for the purpose of life safety inspections even though the County has adopted the International Fire Code that allows for such activity. Let me conclude by stating that if we had the silver bullet to fix this issue we would gladly share it with you. You have a tough job as elected officials to set government priorities through funding. Please, for the sake of the citizens and visitors to this County, prioritize public safety. Which we all believe is government's first responsibility. Thank you for allowing us a time to address you on this issue. ~ q~\; 30) 6~ H:3 TOJh rYlOl~ hr~ Ch\~'0 Qs;'n (hI Ke. \") I ~/ Eel W~~Dn r , CHARLESTON, SC -- When the building's owners expanded the store 12 years ago, city of Charleston building officials gave owners a choice of installing a fire door or a sprinkler system. They opted to install a fire door, a company spokeswoman has said. Last week, the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration came down on Sofa Super Store for failing to adequately protect its employees on the night of the fatal fire. The store was fined $32,775, one of the largest penalties ever assessed against a small business in the state, for having padlocked exit doors and malfunctioning fire doors and for failing to a have an emergency action plan in place. The store's owners have not indicated whether they plan to appeal the state's findings. BOSTON, Mass. - The West Roxbury restaurant where two firefighters died Wednesday in a blaze fueled by built-up grease in the ceiling had a history of code violations for greasy equipment and vents and was eight months overdue for a health inspection that would have included a review of the ventilation system. HAMLETT, NC -- Twenty-five people were killed and 54 injured in the fire as they were trapped behind locked fire doors. Due to a lack of inspectors, the plant had never received a safety inspection in 11 years of operation,ill and it is thought that a single inspection would have easily prevented the incident mll ~~ .." ~ -- .~ ~~ ~~}~~;~t~~~ '-"'~" ""," - .' -, ;