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Home My WebLink About2009-01-07 Work Session Minutes Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Suite 200, Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.org MINUTES OF WORK SESSION DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2009 ___________________________ Present were Commissioners Tammy Baney, Dennis R. Luke and Alan Unger. Also present were Dave Kanner, County Administrator; David Givans, Auditor; Dave Inbody, Assistant to the Administrator; Tom Blust, Peter Russell, Dennis Perkins and George Kolb, Road Department; Tom Anderson, Nick Lelack, Barbara Rich, Doug White and Peter Gutowsky, Community Development; and Ryan Houston, Upper Deschutes Watershed Council. No representative of the media or other citizens were present. Chair Baney opened the meeting at 1:35 p.m. 1. Update regarding Road Preservation and Overlay Projects. Tom Blust gave an overview of the projects that would use up the forest dollars as well as dollars left over from bids that came in lower than expected. In 2009-10, reserves will be added to 19th Street, totaling $2 million eventually. This will not cover the entire project, however, but may allow for a match or other means to fund the project. This allows some overlay projects to be done in the meantime. He went over the list of arterials to be overlaid that should be funded. (He referred to an exhibit at this time.) In regard to the expected federal economic stimulus package, a list of projects will be developed requesting as much funding as possible. This will be handled through the State. There are a lot of strings attached to federal dollars and the restrictions are many. These need to be projects that do not require right of way acquisition or environmental studies. If it is a project that requires paving of more than three inches, additional studies needs to be done. Therefore, the projects would need to be those that require two inches or less of pavement on existing roads. These also need to be major collectors under federal classification. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Page 1 of 5 Pages Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Page 2 of 5 Pages Commissioner Baney asked how they selected the ones to fund and the ones to delay. Mr. Blust replied that they need to be major collectors or above that do not have a lot of other criteria attached. A major arterial for the County would be the Old Bend-Redmond Highway, Huntington Road and others that get traffic from collector roads. He said it will be a challenge to get that many projects due in the timeframe allotted. The Board indicated that they are supportive of the plan as discussed. 2. Discussion of Grant Opportunity – Deschutes River Mitigation & Enhancement Program. Peter Gutowsky said there is a grant opportunity that could be used for a South County wetlands project. Mr. Houston asked if the County is interested in learning about what is available and what can be done with it. Mr. Gutowsky said that the Administrative Rule asks that permission statements be made available for those property owners who will be affected. This will help get a sense of where the wetlands are. After the data is collected, it will be assessed and at that point, another meeting would take place. The public would have an opportunity to provide input. The Division of State Lands must be made aware of any potential problems. The County has not been required to inform people of what might be on their properties, and some of those people have initiated work. These properties could be affected if the Board makes decisions about the local wetlands inventory. The State requires a wetlands delineation; a third party wetlands consultant could do a study that the DSL feels is sufficient. This could be adopted into the comprehensive plan. The second piece is where the Board would have the opportunity to develop wetlands protection measures. There are wetlands that are not currently mapped. This is uncharted planning work and the process needs to be developed. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Page 3 of 5 Pages Grant timing is favorable, with the application due in January or February. This is not being done just because of the federal government, but because it can help to not only tie into the Endangered Species Act, help to understand water quality issues, tie into the Comprehensive Plan update and other issues that are interdependent and are now being addressed. Mr. Gutowsky stated that the funding would be in kind at this point. Tom Anderson added that the County has a responsibility to address the presence of wetlands. This designation could add significantly to development costs for the property owners. Some may already be red lots. People cannot develop those at this point but some will put in a driveway or barn. However, those types of things are not allowed on wetlands. Mr. Gutowsky said that the nitrate loading management study could be used to determine how many lots can be developed. The model shows a five-fold increase in nitrates going into the river system direct from these lots. There will be ultimately four or five meetings in South County with technical experts to interact. The public will be able to respond regarding high groundwater lots, wildlife corridors, wetlands and high water areas. It may be that people will not want the high groundwater lots developed and protection measures will need to be addressed. Barbara Rich added that this would affect the value of some properties, so these questions need to be included in any community surveys. Commissioner Baney asked if a nonprofit could buy the properties. Mr. Houston stated that there are groups that can do this; however, they will look at the economies of scale and it may not make sense to buy a lot of small, individual lots. It was discussed that declaring wetlands may be the cheapest way to deal with some of the nitrate issues. There are a lot of benefits to developing a wetlands protection program that extend well beyond the local area. Federal guidelines for freshwater systems are about twenty times more stringent than those for groundwater protection. Ms. Rich said that the study would show where the vulnerabilities are and what areas might be restored. Mr. Anderson stated that this work is already in the 2008-09 work plan. At current levels, it is hoped there is adequate staffing to handle Community Development’s portion of the project. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Page 4 of 5 Pages Mr. Houston stated that many of the Mitigation and Enhancement group’s projects are small, but this would be a big one at $125,000 for the grant. Commissioner Luke said he wanted to make sure that there are not any unknown costs associated with the grant. Mr. Gutowsky replied that this is already on the work program, and they have to proceed at some level anyway. Commissioner Unger suggested that they move forward on pursuing the grant opportunity. The other Commissioners agreed. 3. Other Items. In regard to the proposed expansion of the Bend urban growth boundary decision, Mr. Gutowsky said that he is working with Legal Counsel on language that states that the Ordinances will not becoming effective until the State acknowledges the expanded urban growth boundary. If people come in for building permits or land use applications, confusion needs to be minimized somehow. It would be cleaner to have the community continue to work with the County until the State acknowledges the UGB. Tom Anderson stated that it needs to be this way from a practical standpoint. It could get appealed or remanded, and there could be other delays. Doug White said that he feels it would not be acknowledged right away in any case. He feels it will go through a larger process once it gets submitted. It was decided that the first and second readings and adoption, by emergency, should be on the January 26 agenda. There will be a work session to discuss this issue on January 21. ___________________________ The Commissioners shared that Richard Whitman of the State Division of State Lands wants to meet with them individually regarding legislation tied to the destination resort issue (possibly the Metolius Basin proposal). Commissioner Luke pointed out that he is more comfortable meeting as a group and not individually so that Mr. Whitman could get a true picture of the Board’s opinions. He added that the DSL does not come to other counties and tell them they have too much of a particular industry, and he feels this is unfair. Mr. Anderson stated that Terri Payne from his department could brief the Commissioners or sit in on the meetings if they wish. ___________________________