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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-01-05 Business Meeting MinutesDeschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.org MINUTES OF BUSINESS MEETING DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2011 _____________________________ Commissioners' Hearing Room - Administration Building - 1300 NW Wall St., Bend __________________________ Present were Commissioners Tammy Baney, Alan Unger and Tony DeBone. Also present were Dave Kanner, County Administrator; Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator; Timm Schimke, Solid Waste Department; David Givans, Internal Auditor; and fifteen other citizens. Chair Baney opened the meeting at 10:00 a.m. 1. Before the Board was Citizen Input. Citizen William Kuhn stated that he has two specific questions or requests. He and his wife do not feel safe where they live due to people in the area. During the past fourteen years, they have been asking for a joint homeowners’ agreement that is required to be in place. Building permits cannot be obtained due to this. The other party is in contempt of court because they won’t sign the agreement. Mr. Kuhn said he cannot improve or sell his property because of this, and feels this is not right. He said that tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. a judicial tribunal will be held, and he asked that the Board instruct County Counsel to not represent the County then. He feels that Ms. Craghead has done things in her court presentations that are not ethical, stating things that are not true. She has said before the Board and before LUBA that the Kuhn house is a greater intrusion into the wildlife protection area than the other dwelling, but this is not true. She stated that he and his wife did not address the wildlife habitat requirements when a lot line adjustment was requested, but this is not true. They did address the wildlife issue. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Business Meeting Wednesday, January 5, 2011 Page 1 of 7 Pages Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Business Meeting Wednesday, January 5, 2011 Page 2 of 7 Pages Mr. Kuhn then asked for an investigation and an inquiry going back to 1980, when this conditional use originated. He has done everything he can in a legal process to correct the injustices done to them, but the other party always gets their way. He and his wife do not feel safe. He does not want County legal counsel to be at any further proceedings involving him and his wife. Commissioner Baney said they will look into it, probably in executive session this afternoon. Mr. Kuhn asked if he could be present, but was advised that only representatives of the media can attend. _________________________________ Yaju Dharmarajah, the new AFSCME representative, said he was not in attendance to talk about union issues. He pointed out that the members are also employees and citizens, and they would like to know if they can address the Board as citizens, if they had an issue pertaining to their working environment that affects them as employees and also as citizens. Commissioner Baney stated that they could not do this on paid time, and if it has to do with a performance evaluation or something similar, this would not be the forum. They would need to state they are there as a citizen or a taxpayer. Commissioner Unger added that everyone has a right to come and have a few minutes to talk. Commissioner DeBone said that he has no problem getting input from citizens. Mr. Dharmarajah asked if an employee or he wanted to get on a Board agenda, how could that be accommodated. Chair Baney said she’d have to have more information on the subject matter. Perhaps a work session would be good to talk on a more informal basis, if appropriate. Dave Kanner said that direct dealing with union representatives has to be handled carefully. The Board handles Step IV grievances so has to remain at arm’s length. He and Erik Kropp are willing to meet at any time. If there is a specific issue, that should be handled through him or at the bargaining table. Any citizen can talk to the Board through citizen input at a meeting. However, employees can’t come to meetings to talk about supervisory or contract issues. Commissioner Baney stated that this is not the forum for workplace issues, but certainly an issue affecting people as citizens can be brought up. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Business Meeting Wednesday, January 5, 2011 Page 3 of 7 Pages Mr. Dharmarajah said he knows that this is not the forum for grievance matters or contract issues. But he is unclear of how the Board implements suggestions made by Mr. Kanner if they affect employees and therefore them and their families as citizens. This might impact their families and others. Chair Baney stated that they can e-mail or submit testimony on their own time about any policy. It may not change the outcome, but they have a right to do so like any other citizen. Mr. Kanner stated that all the bargaining units get copies of policies, and the unions are free to review them and provide input. 2. Before the Board was Consideration of First Reading of Ordinance No. 2011-004, Amending Code regarding the Internal Auditor and Audit Committee. David Givans stated this is mostly a housekeeping item, as reviewed and recommended by the Audit Committee. The Commissioners were supportive. UNGER: Move first reading of Ordinance No. 2011-004, by title only. DEBONE: Second. VOTE: UNGER: Yes. DEBONE: Yes. BANEY: Chair votes yes. Chair Baney conducted the first reading by title only. 3. Before the Board was Consideration of Signature of Document No. 2011- 001, a Grant Agreement for Recycling and Waste Reduction Education & Promotion Services through The Environmental Center of Bend. Timm Schimke provided a brief overview of the item. He said the State recognizes that Deschutes County is the responsible party for waste management in this area. The cost of programs is handled entirely through fees. Part of this is implementation of State law requires recycling. The law requires communities of certain size to implement five program elements out of nine. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Business Meeting Wednesday, January 5, 2011 Page 4 of 7 Pages These range from recycling containers, picking up recycling at the curb, education and promotion, institutional recycling and composting and a variety of programs. A recent article in the Bulletin accurately stated that there are no penalties associated with not reaching diversion goals. However, five program elements are required to be utilized. Noncompliance could cost the County up to a $10,000 penalty per day. He provided some additional numbers on recycling education and promotion. He said that a strong campaign like this is an important part of recycling programs. The diversion rate went from 15% in 1992 to 45% in 2009. This extends the life of the landfill by about 6 years. It is unclear what will happen when Knott Landfill has to close. Transportation costs will be a big part of that. This computes conservatively to about a $7 million savings in transportation costs during those six years. He feels the investment in education is money well spent. He explained how the program works and its impact on the community. A solicitation went out for providers and only two bids were submitted. The local choice was much better than the one from another state. Commissioner Baney asked if there is a mandate on how much needs to be spent on the programs. Mr. Schimke said during the budget process a decision is made on what is felt to be a suitable amount, and they then go to other local entities to see how and if they are contributing. This cost is about 2.5% of the Solid Waste budget. Mike Riley of the Environmental Center stated that the program as a whole includes in-school programs in three counties, with 7,500 student contacts. They help the schools with recycling programs as well. They are trying to increase recovery at big events as well. They do a lot of work with businesses in the area. A big part of what they do is letting people know what they can recycle and where. They are working on some of the larger sources of the waste stream, construction. There may be ways to recover that waste that makes sense here. They work well with the garbage collectors, the Bend Downtowners, the Central Oregon Builders’ Association, and others. They seek grants from a variety of sources to help with these programs, which are often a match to County dollars. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Business Meeting Wednesday, January 5, 2011 Page 5 of 7 Pages Extending the life of the landfill is a main goal. There has to be a way established to deal with the cost of operating the landfill and what to do when a new one might be needed. The cheapest opportunity for the community is to keep the existing landfill operating as long as possible. Mr. Schimke said that the agreement covers about two years at a time. It has been modified over the years. The nonprofit Environmental Center has been the only viable entity to do this, although solicitations have been made. The others that expressed interest are primarily public relations firms that cannot provide an equal level of service. Commissioner Unger said that the Environmental Center is unique. He would like to see more focus on this issue during the budget process to make sure that the funds being spent are justified. Keeping the landfill open as long as possible is beneficial, and society needs to know how to recycle and reuse and not be as wasteful. Commissioner DeBone asked if Commissioner Unger is asking that this agreement be shortened. Commissioner Unger said they should support what is already in the budget. Commissioner Baney said an open procurement process was followed. Mr. Schimke said the agreement needs to be renewed as of January 1, 2011. Commissioner Baney said it could be reviewed during this year’s budget process, since some tough decisions need to be made. Mr. Kanner said they have been working under an expired contract, which either needs to be extended or a new one signed. The money is already budgeted, but a contract is needed to proceed. The Board indicated that the contract should be authorized for six months. Mr. Kanner said it might be simpler to just extend the existing contract. Mr. Riley stated that he would prefer the proposed agreement be adopted, with a limitation to the timeframe, so as to include the programs as developed thus far. DEBONE: Move extension of the contract through June 30, 2011. UNGER: Second. VOTE: UNGER: Yes. DEBONE: Yes. BANEY: Chair votes yes. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Business Meeting Wednesday, January 5, 2011 Page 6 of 7 Pages 4. Before the Board was Consideration of Signature of Document No. 2011- 004, a Lease Agreement with the Bethlehem Inn. Commissioner Baney asked that this item be removed from the agenda. She wants to make sure the best process is being followed, and would like more discussion on this issue at a work session. Commissioner DeBone asked that if an agenda item is going to be removed from the agenda, that it be done at the beginning of the meeting so that citizens don’t have to sit through the meeting up to that point just to learn that the item of interest won’t be addressed.. Before the Board was Consideration of Approval of the Consent Agenda. Consent Agenda Items. 5. Signature of Document No. 2011-008, an Amendment to the State Agreement regarding Behavioral Health Services 6. Signature of a Letter Accepting the Resignation of Cheryl Howard from the Deschutes County Weed Advisory Board, and Thanking her for her Service 7. Approval of Minutes: ƒ Work Session of January 3 ƒ Business Meeting of December 27 There were no vouchers to approve this week. 8. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA Mr. Kanner stated that the meeting room is booked on the third Wednesday of the month for most of the first part of the year. It was decided that it is not necessary to have a regular Board meeting on those dates unless there is an urgent reason to do so. Being no further items brought before the Board, the meeting adjourned at 11:00 a.m.