Minutes - Meeting of Monday, December 2, 2002

Topic

Agenda Item - Comment/Disposition

Call to Order/Roll Call

Morning Workshop Session – Monday, December 2, 2002

Chairman Don Struck called the meeting to order at 10:03 AM.

Commissioners Present: Don Struck, Joan Frey and Ray Thayer.

Workshop Session Agenda

Morning Workshop Session – Monday, December 2, 2002 (Continued)

10:03 AM – Public Works Department Update

Public Works Director Larry Nicholas said that the department received at least thirteen design proposals for the West Klickitat County Pioneer Center and he asked the respondents to provide five copies of their proposals, one for each evaluator. There was also discussion on the makeup of the evaluation team. It was decided that Chairman Struck and Director Nicholas would fill two positions with another from the City of White Salmon, one from the senior community and another independent at-large person. Chairman Struck said that he would prefer that the fifth person be from the west end of the county. Director Nicholas said that once the evaluators had provided a numerical score, the evaluations would be combined to get a short list that could be interviewed by the Board.

Director Nicholas said that he provided information to eight contractors for the Klickitat Mill cleanup and received back four bids. They varied substantially, with the highest being about $261,000 and the successful bid being $17,411 from Tom Arnold Logging, White Salmon.

Director Nicholas announced that Taylor Engineering, Goldendale, has been selected for the design work for the Wishram Rail Road Park. He said that eight design firms had been invited to bid and they received three back, with Taylor Engineering having the best overall approach in his estimation.

Director Nicholas said that a new pump would need to be purchased for the new Courthouse irrigation system because the old pump produces too much pressure, exceeding the 150 pounds per square inch rating of the new lines. He added that he will submit a change order to obtain a new pump from Person Pump, Goldendale, for about $4800.

Director Nicholas reported that he has received a request to vacate twenty feet of right-of-way along a street in Dallesport, still leaving eighty feet of county right-of-way. He said that he would prepare the necessary documents for Board consideration.

Director Nicholas stated that he has had considerable delays in obtaining business cards for department personnel and has now found an inexpensive source in White Salmon for business cards using pre-printed stock. He asked the Board for approval to order, which was granted.

Commissioner Thayer asked about the status of the Klickitat-Appleton Road project and Director Nicholas replied that the project is complete and the road is now open.

Chairman Struck asked Director Nicholas if he was planning to attend the Lincoln Street meeting in White Salmon this Wednesday. Director Nicholas replied that he would be there and ready to discuss a number of options, including the possibility of making part of Lincoln Street one-way and even installing a traffic light.

Director Nicholas said that he would like to finalize a reviewer’s list for design of the West Klickitat County Pioneer Center sometime this week.

Director Nicholas said that the department received a complaint in regard to a livestock accident in the Glenwood area (which is open range). He noted, however, that the county is in compliance with applicable state law. Commissioner Frey replied that timber and livestock patrol deputy Dave Welch is reportedly working with the parties involved to clear up any misunderstandings. Executive Secretary Cris McEwen added that some residents have the misperception that open range provisions do not apply during winter months.

Director Nicholas discussed the Dallesport Wastewater Treatment system, again revisiting the residential connection problems. Also discussed was the proposal to connect the Columbia Hills RV Park.

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11:20 AM – Sheriff’s Department Budget

Attendance: County Sheriff Chris Mace, Chief Financial Officer Glen Chipman and Goldendale resident Daniel Lichtenwald.

Sheriff Mace began the discussion by presenting a change to his previous personnel request. Previously, Sheriff Mace had requested an additional two corrections officers, two road deputies, and one administrative position to help with grant writing and other duties. He has now decided that the administrative duties could be handled by current staff and therefore is now requesting an additional communications officer in place of the administrative position. Sheriff Mace provided a letter and attached pages detailing this revised request.

Sheriff Mace then discussed his reasons for requesting the two corrections officers (to alleviate overtime) which is detailed in Page 4 of his handout.

Sheriff Mace stated that he is requesting an additional corrections officer so that he is no longer must schedule built-in overtime to cover the seven day, twenty-four hour schedule, with details presented on Page 5.

Commissioner Frey questioned previous comparisons made by the Sheriff regarding the number of county residents per deputy, stating that these comparisons don’t factor in the fact that the three incorporated cities within Klickitat County have their own police forces. Sheriff Mace replied that he is aware that the county is not the chief responder within the incorporated areas and that the city police forces in Bingen and White Salmon are willing to respond outside their city limits. However, he stated that he still doesn’t have the manpower to provide adequate coverage in all areas of the county.

Commissioner Thayer stated that Yakima County has a poorer ratio of deputies to citizens than does Klickitat County and questioned how many Washington counties meets the criteria of one deputy for every thousand residents. Sheriff Mace replied that perhaps no county does.

Sheriff Mace also described other mandated duties requiring department personnel. These included process serving and Courthouse security. He also noted the increased incidence of child abuse and drug cases that increase department workload. Sheriff Mace also stated that training requirements continue to increase and if training is not provided then the department runs a greater risk of litigation, explaining that failure to train personnel is the biggest reason that law enforcement organizations are sued.

Chairman Struck questioned how other counties can afford law enforcement costs (with the implication that Klickitat County has landfill revenues to make up for revenues that were once provided by Washington State). Commissioner Thayer noted that the Sheriff’s proposed budget is over 3 million dollars while all property taxes collected by the county is expected to be only about 1.8 million dollars. Commissioner Thayer also noted that voters in Asotin County were asked to pass a special levy to enhance law enforcement, but it failed by a wide margin.

Commissioner Frey stated that she would like to discuss potential litigation and personnel issues in Executive Session.

Executive Session

Executive Session – Potential Litigation and Personnel Issues

The Board convened into Executive Session at 12:04 PM with Sheriff Mace to discuss potential litigation and personnel issues.

The Board reconvened back to Regular Session at 12:24 PM.

Lunch Recess

The Board recessed for lunch at 12:24 PM.

Call to Order/Roll Call

Regular Meeting for Monday, December 2, 2002

Chairman Don Struck reconvened the meeting at 1:03 PM.

Commissioners Present: Don Struck, Joan Frey and Ray Thayer.

Agenda

Business Agenda

Approved (M/Thayer, S/Frey. Passed unanimously) the Business Agenda with one addition under New Business: a county lease agreement with the Goldendale Chamber of Commerce for use of the Courthouse lawn for a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.

Citizen Comment

Gene Herin asked if the Board had approved his subdivision proposal and the Board replied that they had approved it several weeks ago (October 21, 2002). Mr. Herin thanked the Board and then stated that he would like to build homes in the community of Roosevelt. Chairman Struck suggested that Mr. Herin talk to Mid-Columbia Housing Authority. On another topic, Mr. Herin asked about the status of the Calpine Energy Project. Chairman Struck said he was uncertain, but did note that a public hearing has been scheduled by the Washington State Department of Ecology to gather public comment on Calpine’s request to relax their sulfur emission requirements. Mr. Herin said that he is concerned about these emissions, especially when there is a temperature inversion that would tend to create stagnant conditions. Mr. Herin also expressed his opposition to wind power projects.

Miscellaneous Reports/Comments

Regional Landfill Marketing Activities Update

Attendance: Solid Waste Director Tim Hopkinson; Jim Hodge and Geoff Starin of TAU Marketing, LLC.

Jim Hodge began the briefing by reviewing the activities of the past year, noting that their business year is from November 1 to October 31. He also stated that as TAU gets more involved in larger projects, they will need to update the Board more frequently:

• Mr. Hodge stated that several new programs were put into place and volume delivered to the Roosevelt landfill went from slightly over 1.9 million tons last year to 2.1 million tons for the year just completed.
• He stated that it would have been higher but for the fact that construction debris was down about 100,000 tons. He believes that this will be reversed because negotiating with King and Snohomish Counties to more strictly enforce their contracts will reverse "leakage".

Several developments involving dredge sediments were discussed. It was also noted that receiving dredge sediments adds needed moisture to the Roosevelt Landfill, having the beneficial effect of creating more methane that can be converted to electricity:

• Mr. Hodge said that a preliminary contract has been signed to receive dredge sediments from the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma. Mr. Starin stated that these sediments should be shipped between July 2003 and February of 2004.
• In King County, 200,000 to 250,000 tons of dredge sediments from the Todd Shipyards will be sent to the Roosevelt Landfill. This should start in July of 2003 and could continue for up to three years.
• Another potential project, is Thea Foss, also from Tacoma. This could contribute 600,000 cubic yards of dredge sediments over a period of three to four years.
• There are also ten or more dredge sediment projects that could potentially contribute a total of 20,000 to 150,000 tons per year.
• Mr. Hodge said that he has talked to the Washington State Department of Ecology regarding the possibility of an interlocal agreement between Washington State and Klickitat County to ship dredge sediments to Roosevelt. He stated that a major advantage would be more efficient scheduling of these projects.

Mr. Hodge forecast that 2.2 to 2.3 million tons of waste would be shipped to Roosevelt in 2003, of which one-half to one million tons would be dredge sediments.

Mr. Hodge talked briefly about the possibility of a recovery plant being built at the Roosevelt Landfill. This plant would recover primarily steel and aluminum from auto bodies, but other materials, such as zinc, can also be recovered. The plant would employ perhaps 20 people per shift.

Mr. Hodge stated that the Cedar Hill landfill, which is the last big landfill in western Washington, is scheduled to close in 2012. However, there is the possibility it could close by 2005 and he would like to see some of the 900,000 tons it receives go to Roosevelt.

Finally, Mr. Starin discussed potential remediation waste that Roosevelt could see from the Sound Transit light rail project between Everett and the Sea-Tac Airport. He stated that this is potentially a very big project.

Consent Agenda

Approved (M/Thayer, S/Frey. Passed unanimously) the Consent Agenda in its entirety:

1. Memorandum from the Planning Department scheduling public meetings for 1:30 PM on Monday, December 16, 2002 to consider the Planning Commission’s recommendations for the following:

Approval for Rezone Request No. ZON2002-00001, the applicant being Jim Rutledge, and

Approval for Preliminary Plat No. SUB2002-00006 the applicant being Del Matthews.

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2. Resolution #24402 scheduling a public hearing to be held at 1:30 PM on Monday, January 6, 2003 to consider a county road name change for Major Creek Road.

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3. Budget transfer between BARS categories within the WSU Extension 2002 budget in the amount of $40,365.00.

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4. Resolution #24502 and letters appointing members to the Klickitat County Public Economic Development Authority for the 2003 calendar year as follows:

Port of Klickitat Wayne Vinyard

PUD #1 Dan Gunkel

City of Bingen Brian Prigel

City of Goldendale Mark Sigfrinius

City of White Salmon Roger Holen

County-at-Large Jason Spadaro

County-at-Large Jeff Eiesland

County-at-Large Dale Connell

County-at-Large Jim Riley

County-at-Large Bill Link

County-at-Large Russell Rasmussen

County-at-Large Miland Walling

Executive Director Dana Peck

Road Permits

Permits Approved:

P120202 and P120202-1

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P120202

Al Fountain, Pasco, WA – Relocate existing water main and manifold across Hale Road, County Road No. 46180, at M.P. 0.60.

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P120202-1

Sprint, Kenneth Hansen, Hood River, OR – Place and maintain a wood mounted pair-gain unit on the west right-of-way of Enyeart Road, County Road No. 24200, at M.P. 2.80.

New Business

Lease Agreement for Chamber of Commerce Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

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Approved (M/Frey, S/Thayer. Passed unanimously) a County Property Lease Agreement with the Goldendale Chamber of Commerce for use of the Courthouse lawn for the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and waiver of the $25.00 fee.

Payment Approvals

Voucher Certification and Approval

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Approved Warrants (M/Frey, S/Thayer. Passed unanimously):

Accounts Payable: (#118570 – 118645, 93291, including cancelled warrants #118521, 117298 & 102803) for a net of $63,204.21.

(There were no payroll/benefit warrants requiring approval at this time.)

Road Department Payments

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Authorized (M/Thayer, S/Frey. Passed unanimously) the following change orders:

No. 7 to IMCO General Construction adding $25,931.85 to the Dallesport Wastewater Treatment Facility project, and

No. 8 to IMCO General Construction adding $59,599.14 to the Dallesport Wastewater Treatment Facility project, and

No. 9 to IMCO General Construction adding $318,162.96 to the Dallesport Wastewater Treatment Facility project.

Adjournment (3:20 PM)

There being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned until 6:00 PM on Wednesday, December 4, 2002 where there will be a joint meeting with the City of White Salmon regarding proposed improvements to Lincoln Street.

Call to Order/Roll Call

Regular Meeting Extension – Joint Meeting with the City of White Salmon Regarding Lincoln Street

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White Salmon Mayor Roger Holen called the council meeting of December 4, 2002 to order at 6:08 PM.

County Commissioners Present: Don Struck and Joan Frey. Commissioner Ray Thayer was absent.

Also present was Klickitat County Public Works Director Larry Nicholas.

White Salmon Councilmembers Gaddis, Gookin, and Stone were present. Councilmember White-Morris was excused. Councilmember Benedict was absent. Staff present consisted of Wil Keyser, Director of Public Works/Planning; Margie Ziegler, Deputy Clerk-Treasurer; Deborah M. Phillips, City Attorney, Chief of Police Ned Kindler, Shirley Cox, Planning Commission Chair; and Jesse Burkhardt, The Enterprise. Audience consisted of 50 people.

Mayor Holen opened the joint meeting and let the audience know that people will have an opportunity to speak and that we will be collecting information and no decision will be made at this meeting.

Public Works Director Larry Nicholas presented maps and traffic counts from a July 2002 survey and provided explanations and answers to questions.

Chief of Police Ned Kindler discussed the speed limit sign.

There were eighteen citizens offering comment.

The joint meeting was adjourned at 7:35 PM.

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Reference Document on File