HomeMy WebLinkAboutHEARING Chimacum Creek Drainage JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
FROM: Mark McCauley, County Administrator
DATE: August 29,2024
SUBJECT: HEARING re: To Consider Dissolving Drainage District No. 1, aka Chimacum
Creek Drainage District
STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The Board of County Commissioners approved a hearing notice
scheduling a hearing for Friday, August 29, 2024 on the matter considering dissolving Drainage
District No. 1 aka Chimacum Drainage District. The hearing notice was published in the legal paper
of record three consecutive weeks; August 14, 21 and 28, 2024 per statute.
The Jefferson County Auditor indicated that the Chimacum Drainage District appears to have met a
number of the criteria in RCW 36.96.010 required to be declared inactive:
(3) "Inactive" means that a special purpose district is characterized by any of the following criteria:
(a) Has not carried out any of the special purposes or functions for which it was formed within the
preceding consecutive five-year period;
(b)No election has been held for the purpose of electing a member of the governing body within the
preceding consecutive seven-year period or, in those instances where members of the governing
body are appointed and not elected, where no member of the governing body has been appointed
within the preceding seven-year period; or
(c) The special purpose district has been determined to be unauditable by the state auditor;
The Auditor's notice also indicated that the Commissioners should consider declaring the district
"inactive and Dissolved." To do this, a public hearing is needed to be held to determine if the district
has in fact met the criteria for being declared inactive and further to decide whether to dissolve the
district.
ANALYSIS: Commissioner Eisenhour and Administrator McCauley have continued engaging with
key stakeholders regarding the district to determine what course of action to recommend to the
Board during the public hearing. There are several options to consider. Among those are:
• Take no action—declare the district inactive and do not dissolve it
• Declare it inactive and dissolve it
• Reactivate the district in its current form
• Change the purpose of the district perhaps adding irrigation and/or watershed improvement
to its mission
Reactivation and changing the purpose would require substantial interest by residents of the district
and would require a public vote to elect officers and impose a property tax assessment on residents.
Dissolving the district presents a host of issues such as the disposition of easements between the
district and landowners in the district.
FISCAL IMPACT: This request has no fiscal impact other than the cost of publishing the hearing
notice three times which is minor.
RECOMMENDATION: Consider information presented and decide how to proceed with the
Drainage District No. 1 aka Chimacum Creek Drainage District.
REVIE ED BY:
Mark McCa , County Administrate Dat