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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM072709~~~-~ District No. 1 Commissioner: Phil Johnson ~j~¢50N ~'p~o District No. 2 Commissioner: David W. Sullivan ~~ ~~ District No. 3 Commissioner: John Austin ~jti ~I ~ 1 d~ ~ County Administrator: Philip Morley ~ Clerk of the Board: Loma Delaney ~+S'p , i ~ \t~9~~~/ MINUTES Week of July 27, 2009 The meefing was called to order by Chairman David Sullivan at the appointed time in the presence of Commissioner John Austin. Commissioner Phil Johnson was excused to be approximately 15 minutes late. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: The following comments were made by citizens in attendance at the meeting: A man stated that he feels the rural residents and landowners of the County who will be impacted by the proposed fee for the Clean Water District will most likely be working and not available when the hearing is tentatively set on Monday, August 10 at 11:00 a.m. and asked that the hearing be moved to 7 p.m. when people can attend; a member of the State Parks Commission thanked the Board for their work in Olympia on the funding legislation for State Parks; another man stated that 40,000 square feet of light industrial space is available in Glen Cove that people would like to use but can't because of the Land Use Tables and he would like to see them changed to allow a more relaxed standard if a space stays vacant for a certain period of time; the same person commented that the Department of Natural Resources says that due to severe budget cuts they can not fight a fire if one breaks out; A citizen thanked the IT staff for implementing a new system to archive e-mails and he also said that he doesn't feel the County can charge a fee for the Clean Water District because a fee is for a service and the Clean Water District isn't providing a service which means this is a tax which requires a vote of the people; a citizen noted his concern about the proposed change to the Fire District #5 boundaries to allow a Clallam County Fire District to respond in the Gazdiner area and he feels an analysis needs to be done of the types of services provided and where they occur within that District; another citizen said that it is his belief that there isn't a water crisis in Washington, there is a cheap water crisis; and he commended the PUD for trying and find a solution to a problem without more regulatory overlay such as the desalinization project on Marrowstone Island; another person noted that the Critical Areas Ordinance has been approved and he thanked the Boazd for adopting it. APPROYALANDADOPTIOA'OFTHECONSENTAGENDA: Commissioner Austin moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. 1. HEARING NOTICE: Flood Plan for Duckabush and Dosewallips Rivers; Hearing Scheduled for Monday, August 10, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. in the County Commissioners' Chambers 2. AGREEMENT: Engineer Design Services for Willoughby Creek Bridge Repair, Upper Hoh Road County Project No. XOI $25; Jefferson County Public Works; Shearer Design, LLC 3. AGREEMENT NO. LA6849, Supplement #1: Willoughby Creek Bridge Emergency Repair, Upper Hoh Road County Project No. X01825; Jefferson County Public Works; Washington State Department of Transportation 4. AGREEMENT, Amendment No. I: Group Supported Employment; 7efferson County Public Page 1 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of July 27, 2009 w' `' ~:. Health; Skookum Corporation 5. AGREEMENT, Amendment No. 1: Pre-Vocational/Specialized Industries; 7efferson County Public Health; Skookum Corporation 6. Approval of Final Short Plat: Fern Leaf Farm #SUB06-00029; To Divide 45 Acres into 2 Residential Lots Located at 5257 Beaver Valley Road, Chimacum; Jeff and Dawn Pryde, Applicants 7. Payment of Jefferson County Vouchers/Warrants Dated July 20, 2009 Totaling $747,124.57 8. Payment of Jefferson County Payroll Warrants Dated July 20, 2009 Totaling $88,871.61 and A/P Warrants Done by Payroll Dated July 20, 2009 Totaling $15,460.51 COMMISSIONERS BRIEFING SESSION: Commissioner Johnson reported: • He attended a Marine Sanctuary meeting in Port Angeles last week on eco system management. • There has been funding donated to the School for Historic Preservation at Fort Worden Commissioner Austin reported: • The Pew Charitable Trust is willing to put funding into States that have made efforts in parenting education and early childhood education and he represented this area in a meeting on this in Seattle last week. • The event to celebrate the work done by the community at the Quilcene Community Center was very successful. Commissioner Sullivan said That he will attend a meeting to prioritize transportation work in the SR19/20 corridor (from the Ferry Terminal to SR 104) and tonight he will go to a forum for the Port Commission candidates. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Austin moved to approve the augmented minutes of July 13, 2009 with the following added on Page 1, under Public Comment after the comment about 3 letters on the in-stream flow rule not being listed on the Agenda -- (Chairman Sullivan checked on this during a break and found that it was a letter with attachments. Chairman Sullivan advised this citizen that all the documents were in the,4genda packet.) Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. Commissioner Austin moved to approve the minutes of July 20, 2009 as presented. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. HEARING re: 2010-2015 (6 Year) Transportation Improvement Program: Monte Reinders, County Engineer, explained that there is a change to the documents presented here and on-line and that is the pages in the financial section that discuss the six year projections from 2010 to 2015. He handed out 2 replacement pages and explained that the financial analysis shows a picture of what would occur if all 37 projects in the plan were executed. Some of the projects are not funded which means there is no outside revenue. This would require the use of the approximately $1 million of the fund's operating reserve in 3 years which is not a responsible plan. This does show that there is more need than there is money. The primary driver of that amount of need is the big culvert replacement projects. Some of these culvert replacements have been accomplished with funding assistance from salmon enhancement and other groups, but there are still many big culverts that don't fit the criteria for salmon passage funding even though that standard must be met when replacing a culvert. Page 2 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of July 27, 2009 t =t The replacement documents show what projects will actually be funded. With this plan they cross into operating reserves in year 5, but as the managers of the Road Fund the Public Works Director and the County Engineer will not let this occur. There is so much flexibility in these plans, especially as you get further and further out in years because revenue sources can develop that are not available at this time such as the federal stimulus funding for the Center Road overlay project. They update financial projections throughout the year and apply for grants, work with funding partners and look for efficiencies to meet the needs. It's all about leveraging outside funding with local funding. The minimum cash reserve is 25% of the operating budget which allows the department to fund the work that needs to be done when it needs to be done. He then introduced Josh Peters, Transportation Planner, who put the plan document together. Each year the department tries to make the document more user friendly. He explained that before the Department can do a capital project it has to be in the six year transportation improvement plan and then the Board of Commissioners must authorize each individual project before the project is actually initiated. Josh Peters, Public Works Transportation Planner, reported that there is a map on the website that shows the location of the projects. The program document includes a locator map and a detailed description of all the projects. The projects through number 19 have secure funding and the balance (20 through 32) are planned, but funding has not been secured. Projects 33 through 37 are programmatic elements such as safety projects that can be done at any time during the year. He then reviewed the sections included in the program document. This program, once adopted by the Commissioners, will be sent to County Road Administration Board, and the Washington State Department of Transportation. Commissioner Austin asked if the proposed alternate route for the Dowans Creek project is indicated by the dotted tine? Monte Reinders said that the dotted line indicates the proposed alternate route which is to the south of the current road and higher on the hillside. He then explained how the project would move forward with the issues in that area such as heavy forest and specific species habitat protection areas. There are about a dozen citizens that live above this project and if this road is washed out and isn't replaced these residents would not have access to their homes. The last time the road washed out it took about a week to build an alternative access for the residents. Fortunately, FEMA is funding the work on this road. Commissioner Johnson asked about how the intersection at Jacob Miller Road and the County Transfer Station can be improved? Monte Reinders explained that minor safety improvements to the intersection will be done this summer. The initial scope and design for a project has to be done and then it would be added to this list as an individual project. There is no funding fox such a project at this time. Commissioner Johnson then asked about the scope of the South Discovery Road project (#4 on the list)? Monte Reinders answered that this project is funded, designed, and ready to go to bid but they do not have all the right-of--way acquired for the project. They are in on-going negotiations with one of the landowners in this azea. Any alternatives to this route would be very expensive and would require negotiations with additional property owners in the area. The Chairman opened the public hearing. Tom Thiersch complimented the employees who put this presentation together. He is one of many people that live on a private, gravel road in the County which the adjacent property owners aze required to maintain. The County is spending about $400 per mile for maintenance of gravel roads per year. That is more cost effective than what it costs property owners to maintain their private road which is more like $2,500 per mile per year. He requested that the County look at what it might take on a gradual basis to try to bring Page 3 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of July 27, 2009 ~: private roads under the aegis of the County for road maintenance. This would basically bring these benefits to all the residents of the County who don't happen to live on a County road. The budget projections over six years are heading in a very bad direction in terms of fund balance. This is not a sustainable program and he asked what will be done to correct that trend so that adequate fund balance is maintained? He asked what would happen to these projections if the Road Fund used banked capacity? Monte Reinders responded that the Department is looking at using the banked capacity even though he was not able to do that analysis before this hearing. The Secure Rural School program (federal timber subsidy) is about 25% of the Department's operating revenue, but this funding is scheduled to decline to phase out over the next 3 years. They are hoping that the rural counties will have enough support to show that this program needs to continue. The program presented today represents business as usual for maintenance with higher costs anticipated for oil, diesel and chip seal. They may have to look at service cuts in the future. They have already changed the cycle for grading gravel roads and chip sealing roads and have reduced staff levels through attrition over the last four years. The banked capacity analysis will be done and brought before the Board during the 2010 budget process. The County is not in a position to take on private gravel roads but there are some programs to help citizens to improve their roads on their own such as forming a Road Improvement District. It can be expensive to bring private roads up to County standards. Hearing no further comments for or against the Transportation Improvement Program, the Chairman closed the public hearing. Commissioner Johnson asked about the Secure Rural Schools funding phase out? Monte Reinders reported that SRS is a 4 year phase out and we have already received the first year payment, with a reduction of 10% for the next two years and then it may be 50% of the original amount in the fourth year. Commissioner Austin and the other Boazd members echoed Mr. Thiersch's compliment on the quality of the presentation. Commissioner Austin moved to approve RESOLiTI'ION NO. 42-09 adopting the 2010 to 2015 (6 year) Transportation Improvement Plan. Commissioner Johnson seconded motion which carried by a unanimous vote. HEARING re: Proposed budget Apprapriatious/Extensions: Second Quarter of 2009: County Administrator Philip Morley explained that the second quarter appropriations and extensions submitted by various County Departments in the General Fund include $337,000 in additional revenues that were not included in the adopted 2009 budget and an additional $570,000 in expenditures, for a net additional expenditure out of General Fund unreserved fund balance of $232,000. There are also appropriations for 6 other funds outside of the General Fund that include $90,000 in revenues and $848,000 in expenditures with the difference to be taken out of unreserved fund balance for each of these other funds. He then reviewed the requests for the General Fund. There are several departments that have received grant funding not anticipated previously and some of those departments had additional expenditures beyond the grant revenues received. Emer enc~Mana eg ment secured a grant for $39,000 (both revenue and expenditure). Prosecuting Attornev's Office received a STOP grant for $97,500 (both revenue and expenditure). Sunerior Court has new revenues of almost $28,000 (reimbursements from the State) and expenditures of almost $120,000 ($88,000 in expert services and $32,000 in additional conflict Page 4 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of July 27, 2009 ;~/_~ attorney fees) for a net impact on the General Fund of almost $92,000. Non-Departmental there is a $3,000 expenditure for the County to participate in the State purchasing collective. Sheriff s Office has an additional $173,433 of revenues and $310,835 in expenditures fox a net impact on the General Fund of approximately $137,402. Sheriff Tony Hernandez reviewed the revenues they have received from grants and other sources in the total amount of $173,433. Part of these revenues came from the State mitigation funds for the Highway 101/104 emphasis during the bridge closure. Grants were also received for the Methamphetamine Initiative and the Burn Grant for Search and Rescue; Reimbursements have been received from the State for Park and Ride security and start up costs from the Hoh Tribe for a one year contract to provide law enforcement services. The additional expenditures, Sheriff Hernandez continued, includes an increase from the settlement of the Teamsters Union contract with the Deputies; medical expenses in the jail are at an all time high; there has been a major criminal investigation this year; and an unresolved bill to JEFFCom was recently paid. There aze still about $800,000 in federal stimulus grants that have been applied for but he hasn't heard yet if the County will receive them. Anne Sears, Budget Consultant, explained that an amount was set aside when the 2009 budget was adopted for the Union contract settlement but it was not put directly into the Sheriff s portion of the budget. Philip Morley then explained about the savings in the 2009 budget that the Sheriff made previously which amount to $184,805. By holding the Undersheriff, a clerical position, and a Corrections Officer position vacant he has projected to save $136,000 in salaries and benefits in this year's budget. The Sheriff s Department is contributing to the County's fiscal health. Commissioner Johnson asked why the savings aren't greater from holding positions vacant? Sheriff Hernandez reported that there isn't a full year of salary savings for these positions because they are positions that weren't filled when an employee left. Sheriff Hernandez explained that they are doing what they can to get through this year, but they cannot sustain this level of staffing in the future. The County Administrator then reviewed each of the Other Fund requests which will be taken from the fund balance for each of these specific funds. Auditor's O&M Fund: The Auditor explained that this expenditure was for an upgrade of their recording system hardware and software. This has been planned and there is the money in fund balance to cover these costs. JeffCom Emergency 911: These expenditures had been planned in the long term but were not originally budgeted for this year. This includes a contract with Microdata Systems as well as some additional software and hardware costs associated with the GIS mapping to allow first responders to more accurately find the locations for response; they had to move servers to a new location and install a new HVAC system to keep them cool; and there are also some tower site lease costs. Sheriff Drue Investigation Fund: A drug case property forfeiture generated $84,000 in revenue and the Sheriff is spending $36,000 of this for some equipment for the bicycle patrol and other programs. Conservation Futures Fund: $415,000 for doing conservation easements and other protections. Solid Waste -Yard Waste Education Fund: This includes both revenues and expenditures of $6,000 to fund yazd waste education pursuant to an agreement between the County and the City of Port Townsend. Unemployment Reserve Fund: Because of the layoffs the County made last December and this Page 5 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of July 27, 2009 ~'~ '° month in Community Development, the County's unemployment claims have been higher than usual. Joe D'Amico stated that the Sheriff is doing the best he can and he needs a number 2 guy (Undersheriff) to help him out. He is correct in what he said about burn out and hiring and getting deputies to the academy and ready to go out on the road on their own takes a long time. He feels it is important for the County to find some alternative sources for funding to help out the Sheriff. The Auditor noted that Sheriff Hernandez and his assistant have asked that the currently vacant positions be included in the 2010 budget. The positions have not been eliminated, the Sheriff has just not filled them. Commissioner Austin moved to adopt RESOLUTION NO.4309 approving the second quarter 2009 budget appropriations and extensions as requested by various County departments. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried unanimously. Discussion and Possible Approval: Establishing Goals and Objectives for the 2010 County Budget: County Administrator Philip Morley reported that this draft resolution is to set budget goals and fiscal objectives fox putting together the 2010 budget. Each year the Commissioners adopt goals and objectives and in the past there was a programmatic focus in this document. It has been trimmed down this year and focuses more on the budget itself and budget preparation. It is appropriate for the Commissioners to dialogue with the other Elected Officials and the Department Directors to look at setting programmatic direction but since that dialogue has not yet been done it is premature to include that in this document. He then reviewed the proposed objectives outlined in the draft resolution. The 2010 budget process will start with the Auditor putting out the budget call on August 3, 2009. He noted that a significant change for the 2010 budget prepazation is that any new staff above what was originally funded in the 2009 budget must be accompanied by corresponding new revenues and/or cost reductions, or will require a substantial justification and a funding source approved by the County Administrator. Clerk Hire and overtime line items should be budgeted at the origina12009 budget level. Non-personnel operating costs for the General Fund departments should be kept at the revised 2009 levels. Once the preliminary budgets are turned in they will be reviewed against the budget goals. It is anticipated that there will still be additional costs reductions and/or additional revenues needed to bring the budget into balance. At that point there will be a meeting of the Elected Officials and Department Directors to discuss targets for balancing the General Fund budget and strategies for getting to that point. He will also meet with each department to understand their individual budgets in more detail and discuss departmental specific goals and strategies. Based on those meeting he will work to put together a draft, proposed 2010 balanced budget for the Commissioners public hearing in early December. Chairman Sullivan asked when a decision needs to be made about taking the banked capacity in the Road Fund? County Administrator Philip Morley answered that this decision would be made when the levies are set during the budget adoption process. At this point it is anticipated that they will be staying with the I% limit on the Road Fund, in anticipation of the information that the County Engineer is going to bring forward in the near future. Page 6 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of July 27, 2009 Commissioner Johnson moved to approve RESOLUTION NO. 444409 establishing goals and objectives for the 2010 County budget as presented. Commissioner Austin seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. Discussion and Possible Approval of Hearing Notice for Clean Water District Ordinance: Philip Morley, County Administrator, explained that the discussion of adopting this fee is timely with the fiscal issues that have just been discussed and the need to find reliable and secure funding sources for services, particularly those that are not mandated. Neil Harrington, Environmental Health, Environmental Health Supervisor, explained that part of the budget priorities that were just adopted by the Board were to protect public health and to protect and enhance natural resources. This proposal falls in those priorities. He explained that he is asking the Board to approve a hearing notice to amend the Clean Water District Ordinance to add a fee. In 2007 the Commissioners established a Clean Water District within the County but the fee portion of the ordinance was removed at that time. The ordinance established boundaries and activities for the Clean Water District but it did not establish a new governmental structure. These activities have been carried out primarily by the Water Quality Division of the Public Health Department with some activities subcontracted to the Conservation District. This District was established because in early 2007 a portion of the Discovery Bay commercial shellfish growing area was downgraded and at that time the County was required to establish a Shellfish Protection District (also known as a Clean Water District) under RCW 90.72. This could be a local district (watershed or sub-watershed) or a more regional area. Experiences in other Counties were reviewed and the decision was made to go with a more comprehensive district based on threats to water quality in other areas of Eastern Jefferson County, in particular, Mats Mats Bay and Hood Canal. The ordinance was based on Kitsap County's water quality improvement program. The County has been very successful in getting Centennial Clean Water Fund monies to focus on several azeas of the County including Mats Mats Bay, Hood Canal, Discovery Bay and the Chimacum Creek watershed. The area originally downgraded in Discovery Bay was re-approved for shellfish harvest last yeaz. The shellfish industry generates $18 to $20 million per yeaz in Jefferson County. Activities that would be funded at least in part are water quality monitoring, pollution identification and correction, and on-site septic system education for homeowners. Many of these activities are currently funded by the Centennial Clean Water Fund grants. The 25% match for those grants currently comes out of the General Fund. The fee would also allow for a fairly limited long term capacity for a clean water program to identify and address problem areas into the future and avoid downgrades looking beyond the life of the grants which is 3 to 4 years. This type of program emphasizes prevention of pollution. The proposed fee should raise approximately $88,000 per year. This would offset the current amount that is required for the grant match which is $1 for every $4 spent on these programs. The fee would be $5.00 per pazcel and there would be exemptions for areas that have sewer and storm water control including Port Townsend and Port Ludlow, designated and timber Open Space, timber parcels, and for property owners enrolled in the low income and senior and disabled exemption program. The west end of Jefferson County is not part of the Clean Water District and those properties would not be paying this fee. Page 7 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of July 27, 2009 t ~s Commissioner Austin asked if the $88,000 factors in the exemptions? Neil Harrington said that is correct and noted that these fees must be spent on activities that have a nexus with protecting and improving water quality that could impact shellfish growing areas which is why this is considered a fee and not a tax. The amended ordinance would establish this fee and they are asking that this hearing notice be published in the Leader this Wednesday setting the hearing for August 10, 2009 at 11 a.m. Chairman Sullivan asked if something could be added to the hearing notice that people can submit written comments by e-mail or letter and set a deadline for the receipt of those comments. He noted that there was a request that the hearing be set at a time other than 11 a.m. but there really isn't a time that is best for everyone and he would like to make sure that people know that they can participate by submitting written comments. Commissioner Johnson asked if there could be a limit on the number of parcels in single ownership that would be charged a fee? Neil Harrington stated that he has researched the number of owners that have 20 or more parcels and there is 27 individuals in this situation. There are 37 individuals who own betweenl0 and 19 parcels, and 180 people own between 5 and 9 parcels. Chairman Sullivan reminded everyone that when the Clean Water District was established the Board went through the logistics to make changes suggested by the public and there was an advisory boazd to review those suggestions to see what could be done that was fair without undue costs and complications and it proved to be a very difficult task. After discussion of an appropriate deadline for comments so that they can be included in the Commissioners meeting packet, Commissioner Austin moved to approve the hearing notice setting the heazing for August 10, 2009 at 11 a.m. with the addition of wording to the notice that outlines the deadline for written comments which is Wednesday August 5, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. fox e-mail or hand delivered comments or that mailed comments must be postmarked by that date. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. COUNTYADMINISTRATOR' BRIEFING SESSION: County Administrator Philip Morley reviewed and discussed the following with the Commissioners: Schedule coordination Calendar and budget update • Clean Water District fee discussion • Banked capacity for County Roads • Parks • Community Development Miscellaneous topics • Letter to Parks Commission Chair on Tomanowous Rock • JeffCom update Page 8 Commissioners Meeting Minutes: Week of July 27, 2009 NOTICE OE'ADTOCIRNMENT: Commissioner Johnson moved to adjourn the meeting at 2:50 p.m. until the next meeting on Monday, August 3, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Commissioner Austin seconded the motion which carried by unanimous vote. MEETING AD iJRNED _~._ra .. F ~ My EAL,- ,~ a ~, ~ . ~- ~, ~. , ~. a~ s. >~ i w ! t ~.-~'c~ ~ # ~'~ Loma L. Delaney, CMC Clerk of the Board JEFFERSON COUNT BOARD OF OMMISSIONERS / _ /.~~~~.~ David Sullivan, Chair i f ~ v / V~ PhilJohns Member ~, Jo Austin, Mem'Ger 1 Page 9