The Okanogan County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on April 4, 2006, with Chairman Don Hover, Commissioner Andrew Lampe, Commissioner Mary Lou Peterson and Brenda Crowell, Clerk of the Board present.

Update – Planning
Greg Wilder, Ben Rough, Nick Christoph, Chris Parsons

Freedom of Information request from USFS for methods and procedures for Roadless Areas’ meetings. Commissioner Peterson suggested that he attend or ask for the minutes of the Forest Service Meetings being held at the Chewelah Grange. The Eastlake Sewer project is moving along and have been getting inquires to connect; mostly from individuals and not developers.

Discussion – Fish & Wildlife
Steve Dauma Acting Regional Manager for F&W.; Matt Monda, and Chris Parsons, for F&W Region 2; Greg Wilder, Planning Director

Chris Parsons, Habitat Manager, explained that her department and staff work primarily under RCW 77.55 regarding any construction that may affect water. This pertains not only to government but also individuals and requires a permit. An emergency HPA can be issued when there is a declared emergency and does not require a SEPA check list. Usually my verbal communication but is followed up with written documentation.

Commissioner Hover explained that he appreciated the response that was provided by Connie Iten. However, toward the end of the emergency she was disappointed with the county for not placing an end date for the emergency. He stated that he would hope that WDFW would be more respectful and understanding that the county will do what it takes during an emergency.

There are several pamphlets that are available for aquatic weeds and for gold mining. She is working with the Department of Ecology in developing a Habitat Mitigation Plan for the Kinross Gold. The final supplemental DEIS should be available by August.

She is working on prospectors 5 year HPA for the rally in Oroville in August and will be meeting with the project proponent to determine where the dredges can be set up.

Commissioner Peterson said that she wants to make sure that there are not any surprises like last year with the Fresh Water Mussels.

The agency is in the process of conducting a survey on the Similkameen to study the impact on the mussels this summer. Ms. Parsons agreed that the mussels are not officially an endangered species. They are not listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act but need more data on the population. If can’t get enough people willing to do the study here the Plain, Washington area has a healthy population of mussels

Commissioner Peterson asked about the cost for the study. Ms. Parsons replied that there is $20,000 for Phase I to do an HCP for the hydraulic approval process and how it impacts fish life. The study results may change the pamphlets that are passed out.

Commissioner Hover explained his concern that some people’s philosophies influence and control certain activities such as mining even though the mussels are not threatened or endangered. These types of things have had an impact on the various industries throughout Okanogan County. The taxpayer’s money is being misused if the study isn’t necessary.

It was explained that some mussels can be over 200 years old and there is little information on mussels in Washington. He explained a previous study that found that salamanders were everywhere and therefore not threatened.

Commissioner Peterson stated these kinds of things have a domino effect that impacts the county.

,. The mitigation for removing the log jam from the Enlow Dam was to place a large portion of those logs back into the stream. An HPA was issued to make a redistribution of the logs. The Re-licensing will be less than 5 megawatts so she doesn’t know what will happen but they are not supporting fish passage.

Fish and Wildlife have added 4 new people to address weed concerns as a result of the Commissioners’ concerns. Information on the Fish & Wildlife’s land acquisitions were provided to the Commissioners.

Commissioner Peterson explained her concerns with land purchases and specifically addressed Driscol Island. She stated that the Commissioners previously suggested that the county partner with F&W on the Driscol Island Project but nothing happened. The Commissioners stressed that these land purchases are killing the economy of Okanogan County. The Board doesn’t see very many joint projects for the benefit of the public.

Commissioner Hover stated that he appreciates the public lands we do have but as the Methow is becoming the dumping ground for all fish mitigation measures he would rather see the land stay in private hands and perhaps conservation easements. Once F&W owns all the land the county it becomes subject to F&W rules. He encouraged the department to work with the landowners to keep the land in production which is key to providing habitat for deer.

Public Hearing - Code Enforcement - Commissioners
Commissioner Hover opened the public hearing for the proposed Code Enforcement Officer ordinance, stating that everyone will get a chance to comment. He explained the purpose of the Hearing is to gather thoughts from the public about the proposed ordinance. He indicated that Nan Kallunki and Paul Waterstrat would say a few things first before the start of the hearing.

Nan Kallunki introduced herself and explained reasons for establishing the code and how it will help deal with complaints received by the county. The situations will be a civil matter instead of criminally to help people come into compliance.

Paul Waterstrat provided a slide presentation that illustrated situations where property owners had heaps of garbage on their property and evidence of animal cruelty. He explained that there is a very distinct process the state uses to regulate these situations. Each month the Department of Health holds a public health meeting which anyone can attend. The board is comprised of a six member board. Members come from Oroville, Okanogan, and Brewster. There is a process in which a complaint is handled. Some situations are because of economic reasons and the Health Department will work with people those people to get the situation resolved. Between 2001 -2005 approximately 156 thousand tons of garbage was picked up and the Health District received about 175 complaints. There have been 90 complaints already since June of this year. Paul continued to show statistics of various complaints and explained how they were resolved. Many of them were solid waste issues. The Health Department offers environmental health and food safety programs. It deals with life, death and human misery that affect all citizens. Funding for these issues is minimal. The code compliance officer would essentially help the Health, Building and Planning Departments deal with the complaints they receive.

Commissioner Hover opened the hearing to public comments.

Gary Spandel apologized for being so skeptical, but thinks this whole idea is a sham and a ruse. He handed out his own facts versus myths sheet (attached). He read them and commented. He believes county government is an autocratic system. He believes that the code would give more authority to the building inspector to pick and choose who he inspects. Chapter 19.02 on public nuisances is also based on an autocratic total totalitarian system. He thinks that the Building department will be able to revise the code, but no rights are given to the public to deal with the charges of an appeal. Gary looked at the commissioners and said, "You were elected to serve the people of the district." The fine for every single violation is $750 and with every new occurrence it is another $750 fine. Instead of enforcing these codes Gary suggested giving the district a fire department because they live in a rural area this is a real need.

Don Grey was born and raised in Eastern Washington. Our county has clean air, low population and wide open spaces, but people have a "park bench mentality". It is time to follow the will of the people of the county.

Gary Super, from Tonasket, feels that lumber and cars lying around shouldn’t be an issue, who cares? He does have a problem with turds on the ground. He has a personal complaint about it. Why can’t Paul Waterstrat take care of the sewage problem before it gets out of hand? Why does it take less time for Frank Rogers to get a search warrant and a posse together to investigate a call about a marijuana grow than it takes to get someone out to deal with sewage and a garbage spill? This ordinance won’t help because the existing rules aren’t being followed. Gary said why another layer of bureaucracy? It won’t help to solve the problems. Gary explained that he could leave the building and find violations in five minutes.

Roger Kay explained why this ordinance shouldn’t be passed. These codes have existed for years. Somebody should be responsible for the clean up of the garbage and he feels it should be the land owner.

Dan Isaac noted that he attended three previous meetings on this proposal. He explained why he considers the plan to be ill conceived and asks how the county intends to deal with Vector Control, Hanta Virus, West Nile virus and other health issues. The1^st thing to do would have been to contact the tribe since they are a sovereign nation. The concept of the ordinance was shabbily presented. The citizens need to be part of the process and not alienated from it. If Dan was a commissioner he would have spent time getting the facts before succumbing to the problem. From what he has heard today the people have said no to this plan.

Ralph Arnold noted that the issues presented didn’t look like building issues they looked like health issues. Out of the140 complaints received only one was a building issue. He is opposed to expanding the bureaucracy. He feels this proposal will not benefit the people. It appears that Commissioner Hover is running the whole show and stated that he wants to hear what Commissioner Peterson has to say. He said she will suffer at the polls for her silence.

Mike Hallett said he hasn’t seen one cotton picking thing done about the shoreline management plan. The issue is bigger than in the corridors and buffer zones. The county can’t go after people with no money. Mike explained that he is a Mt. Hull resident and that he sees lots of garbage in the area. He has not seen the Health Department cleaning anything up. By authorizing this code, Mike thinks, the commissioners will be getting rid of the low income people (riffraff) in the county and helping the big corporations and developers get into the county for the economic benefit to the county.

Brian Kirshner thanked the commissioners for the opportunity to comment about the proposed ordinance. The newest draft seemed to be a little more involved than the original was. He believes the commissioners presented the proposal well. If they hadn’t presented it well people wouldn’t have showed up for the meeting. He recommends that a citizens committee be put together so citizens can be apart of the process. The problem lies with the developments who are selling the land cheap to people who trash it. Brian said he would like the developer to clean up the mess. He noted that the Motocross track went in even though the majority of the people did not want it. Thank you very much for not giving the people a chance to speak.

Sam Reese handed in a "petition". (attached) He feels that the hearing is restricted to comments. He asked the attendees if the commissioners are doing their job. Some said yes and some said no. After Sam read several RCW’s and a list of reasons not to approve the proposed ordinance. Commissioner Hover asked Sam to wrap up his testimony so others could testify but Sam continued. Commissioner Hover stated that his time was up; however Sam continued and argued that if he could not continue to speak that he wished to be arrested and removed. Sam was allowed to continue after he stated he had only 6 things yet to read. After more time was given, Commissioner Peterson explained that none of them wanted to see him removed. Sam continued for a few more minutes until the crowd shouted to let others speak.

Bob Heinaman would like Paul Waterstrat to give a precise explanation of how complaints are handled. Paul explained that when a complaint is received, owners are contacted, and the issues are forwarded to the proper agencies. Bob said he sees the problem as lack of man power in the Health Department. Paul explained that if he got more help then the other departments would need more as well.

John Hayes testified that we are a Country of laws and that we need to abide by them for many reasons although health and safety are main items the commissioners enforce. A group of people can not just choose to disobey the laws. What are people afraid of? If you comply with the law there is nothing to be afraid of.

Ken Westman has lived in the area 40 years. Stewardship has not been addressed during this hearing. He personally feels a sense of pride in leaving things the way they were before he got there or better. He commends the standards in which wells go in and has peace of mind that the water is safe to drink. A class B well permit is hard to get but people should be confident that no one will get sick from drinking the water.

Ms. Barney believes that there is a personal responsibility that we should leave the land the way it was or in a better state than the way they found it. She does not think that a one package deal should be given to the people because it is what county thinks is needed. She explained that no one should have the right to come on to her land and tell her how she should live when she is not hurting the environment or other people. She questioned the time of day the public hearing was held because most people work during the day. She thinks there is another reason, like money. She thinks that corporate greed will take away her right to live a life she prefers and that rights will be taken away if she is not hooked up to the electrical grid.

Birdy Nelson compared the proposed ordinance to a story about a special space she kept all her things in when she was growing up, and how when her brother went in and messed up her stuff she would beat the crap out of him and he would go tell on her for beating him up. When he tattled on her, she would be the one to get in trouble.

Albert Hudson responded to John Hayes’ question about what the people are afraid of. What the people are afraid of is tyranny and oppression. Albert said we need to take care of the problems that exist now and let the people come up with their own code. He would like to see a plan that is flexible with out conforming to the way the state dictates. He doesn’t want the rights of the people to be stepped on and would like to find another way to come up with solutions. He proposed that a group of citizens get together to form ideas for a code.

Terry O’Donnel commented that the permitting process is a crock saying that if a business has a permit they can dump sewage on the ground. He remarked that he thinks the Health Department is doing a good job. He asked who can determine what junk is since old cars are not junk to him since he loves to restore old cars.

Barbara Arnold agrees that the pictures of the garbage demonstrate that something needs to be done. However, the cost is too high for most people. She would like the commissioners to provide a way for those who cannot afford the expensive garbage fees a way to dispose of it such as incentives for getting rid of it.

Christopher Williams asked if his dad would get into trouble if his cars were on his dad’s property. He was told that he would. He feels there should be a place for people to take their garbage

An unnamed person interrupted saying that there is a higher creator that owns the land and said the commissioners are not worthy to read Psalms 109.

Bruce Prichard stated that it seems that most of the issues are health related and feels that even building permits can not address the health issues involved in property buildings and land. He agrees with the need for water testing and would like to see the $103,000 spent on the health issues.

Brian Kirchner asked what department is responsible for animal enforcement and was told that the sheriff handles animal violations. He commented on the prolonged process he encountered when applying for a permit to build a fruit stand. He could not get it completed for this year’s crop and now he is selling his fruit out of his motor home

Gary Super, during his second comment, stated that the county is using the proposed ordinance as a revenue generator. He remarked that the job description should disclose that they may face violent confrontations. He stated that his property is posted and that a phone call would be necessary before coming on his property; without it there would be a life and death threat. He doesn’t want to see this turned into a civil issue and wants to keep it as a criminal violation. Why should we hire someone whose healthcare benefits are equal to or greater than most people’s monthly income? He stressed that he has violent episodes because he is a Vietnam Veteran and God help anyone who comes onto his property unannounced.

Jeff Berg, a farmer stated that he is trying to see the reasoning behind the county proposing the ordinance since in our area you will not find a farm without some junk on it.

Ron Thompson thinks it is a waste of money for this person to get dental, medical and vision.

Commissioner Hover closed the public hearing for public comment.

Commissioner Peterson addressed those in attendance saying we need to treat each other with respect and not threaten people. She remarked that all the people she has spoken with regarding this issue have been respectful. Many folks seem to think that you have to live in Okanogan County a long time in order to have any say about things. She remarked that the citizens of her district have spoken out along with others from other Commissioner Districts. She explained that several meetings were scheduled around the county to get citizen input. The proposal came out of many public complaints regarding garbage, etc. She has concluded that the ordinance is too much of a regulation and she doesn’t want to pass anymore laws. She has spoken to private business about the possibility of providing car crushing that the people can not afford to do it themselves. In addition, a recycling program is needed but the details need to be worked out, such as the possibility of an exemption for low income people to be able to dump their garbage at the landfill. A citizens committee is a good idea.

Commissioner Hover stated that the public meetings were held so that the commissioners could gather sentiments and ideas from the people and it appears that 95% of the people don’t want the proposed ordinance. There does have to be some sort of order through this process. We do need to go back to the drawing board to find a solution these issues.

Motion – Code Compliant Coordinator – Commissioners
Andy Lampe moved to reject the ordinance as proposed. Motion was seconded and carried. The commissioners urged those present to sign up to serve on a committee to try to find a solution to the problem.