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Home My WebLink About2009-08-05 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, AUGUST 5, 2009 ___________________________ Present were Commissioners Tammy Baney, Dennis R. Luke and Alan Unger. Also present were Dave Kanner, County Administrator; Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator; Tom Anderson, Peter Gutowsky, Dan Haldeman, Todd Cleveland and Dennis Perkins, Community Development; and ten other citizens, including Hillary Borrud of The Bulletin. Chair Baney opened the meeting at 1:05 p.m. 1. Follow up to July 22 Meeting with the DEQ – Next Steps. Tom Anderson stated that to a certain extent not all that needs to be known is known at this time. They need information from the DEQ as to what their next steps might be. He reviewed some items for follow-up, but the larger question is what the DEQ establishes as short-term and long-terms plans and goals. Mr. Anderson said that he would like to at least get a write-up of the notes that the DEQ took at the July 22 meeting. Chair Baney said that Joani Hammond e- mailed to say that nothing is available. Dave Kanner contacted her in this regard since he was not at the meeting. Commissioner Luke said that it has not been that long since the meeting, and to give them a little time to work on this. Commissioner Unger asked if a date should be set for following-up on this item. It was suggested that they be asked in a week or so what the status is. In regard to the comprehensive plan updated on sewers, Mr. Anderson stated that if sewers are to be part of the plan for certain areas, a Goal 11 exception process must be addressed. Quite a bit of work has already been done in this regard to figure out whether this will be possible under State law. If it is to be possible in some areas, it is hoped the process can be streamlined. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, August 5, 2009 Page 1 of 5 Pages Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, August 5, 2009 Page 2 of 5 Pages Chair Baney asked whether this means the County will do all it can through the comprehensive plan process. Mr. Anderson said that the County cannot approve this but it may be possible to address some Goal 11 questions in advance. He asked Mr. Gutowsky to outline how this might be accomplished in advance of a Goal 11 request. Mr. Gutowsky said that a declaration of a public health issue has to be in place, and there has to be no practicable alternative outside of sewers. The DEQ staff and County staff discussed how to set up a process to deal with Goal 11 issues. The comprehensive plan has to designate the specific areas with a public health issue. One chapter in the plan will be water quality and quantity, and the comprehensive plan might be able to do a better job to help with the idea of sewers. The County can support this, but most of the action items would be addressed by the State. If a situation fulfills the Goal 11 requirements or if there is a change at the legislative level, the County can be as ready as possible to help. The County is not in a position to note the specific areas; this has to come from the DEQ perhaps in conjunction with the DLCD and the community. Commissioner Luke said sewers are not generally allowed outside of urban areas due to growth, and many groups oppose them for that reason. If there is no practicable alternative, one of those groups could challenge this and the DEQ or other entity would have to prove there is no alternative. Just the fact that the comprehensive plan is ready for this or there is a declaration from the DEQ, does not presuppose that this will occur if there are not adequate findings. Mr. Gutowsky said that with the materials that are available to the public, they understand the standard is very high and it will take cooperation of the DEQ to get there. The findings need to be solid. The Commissioners agreed that if done properly through the land use approval process, ways to address Goal 11 questions could be properly addressed. Mr. Anderson said that the Sunriver Sewer District expansion plans are already underway; a lot of information has been provided by the County, along with financial support for consultants to review the potential of this expansion. Regarding financial assistance, this acknowledges that at the end of the process that the DEQ comes up with, the County will work with them to decide how the funding should be distributed. If the DEQ decides that there are areas of focus that need more assistance, those adjustments to allocations could be made as appropriate. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, August 5, 2009 Page 3 of 5 Pages Chair Baney said that there is a person who is struggling financially and has a failing system. She asked how this should be handled at this point; there may be others who come forward asking for assistance. Commissioner Unger stated that he hopes the County can adjust the program to take care of these types of situations. Mr. Anderson added that a large amount was to be directed to the Sunriver project, but there are funds identified for direct assistance. He presumes that these people would not qualify through NeighborImpact is because of the loan to value ratio of the property. He would like to confirm this with NeighborImpact and figure out a way for the County to guarantee the loan. It would be a cost-deferred loan. Commissioner Luke stated that he thought that the County had considered outright grants as well. He suggested running this through COIC so that they can handle the loan process. Mr. Anderson said that NeighborImpact is the third party in this situation and he would like to meet with them on this issue. If NeighborImpact does not want to be a party to this specific situation, perhaps a different group like COIC could administer it. Chair Baney said that the funds might be restricted, however. Commissioner Luke said there is the big picture to look at, and how many properties might be in this situation. Mr. Anderson said that there is not a lot of money available for this, but could be as much as $50,000 or more each year. This is based on New Neighborhood sales and would target property owner assistance needs. Chair Baney asked if the Financial Assistance Committee had a recommendation on this aspect. Mr. Anderson said they did not come up with the idea but did endorse it. Commissioner Baney stated that there is funding available for this. Commissioner Luke said that the funds have to be prioritized, however. He asked that staff come back with some recommmenations. In regard to County participation and its role in the DEQ public process, it is unclear at this time what the DEQ plans to do. The Commissioners indicated that the County would be supportive in whatever the DEQ plans to do. Regarding the on-site permitting function, the DEQ will respond eventually to the County’s request regarding a decision as to whether this is desired or even a possibility. It may not be possible to divide the function in this way. Many customers and builders prefer to deal with one agency and not two, so this is not a decision that can be made for all customers. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, August 5, 2009 Page 4 of 5 Pages Commissioner Unger is in favor of how things are handled in this regard now. The ability of the DEQ and its plan to address other issues in the area has to be established first. This could affect more than one part of the County. Commissioner Luke agreed that he feels this aspect of permitting should be left the same as it is, but this is up to the DEQ as the County is acting as an agent for the State. 2. Discussion of Mutual Aid Service Efforts with the City of Bend Building Department. Robert Mathias and David Kloss of the City of Bend, and Dennis Perkins came before the group. Dave Kanner said that there has been a lot of discussion of shared services between the City of Bend and County. There is no monetary consideration, just an agreement for certain services. Mr. Anderson stated that this is not a new agreement, but was updated. In addition to the focus placed on this, the potential need for this is much greater than in the past. Both entities have had drastic reductions in staff and eventually they will not be able to meet customers’ needs. This gives a cushion to be able to call on each other and serve the public. It is not a cost-savings measure but more for customer services. Robert Mathias stated that permitting has picked up a little, but they expect it to slow down over winter. The current workload can be handled now, but there could be issues when activity begins to ramp up. Commissioner Unger asked if both entities use the same rules and regulations, or if there are challenges. Mr. Perkins said that with the current situation, the County applies the City’s requirements when working in the City and visa versa. It is a State code anyway, which originated at the federal level. The first impact would be on the electrical inspections. They are developing a form to use consistently to help identify properties and what was done at the location. It is not an easy process but current times force it.