HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Council October 7 20031 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
2 Special County Council
3
4 October 7, 2003
5
6 The meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m. by Council Member Sam
7 Crawford in the Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
8
9 Present: Absent:
10 Barbara Brenner None
11 Laurie Caskey-Schreiber
12 Seth Fleetwood
13 Sharon Roy
14 L. Ward Nelson
15 Dan McShane
16
17 1. SPECIAL PRESENTATION BY SHIRAZ VIRA, ASSISTANT
18 WASHINGTON STATE CONSERVATIONIST FOR THE USDA AND NRCS,
19 REGARDING RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
20 COUNCIL (AB2003-342)
21
22 Crawford stated Skagit County has approached Whatcom County with this
23 idea that could potentially receive federal funding. They are considering including
24 San Juan and Island counties to participate. It is a multi -county jurisdiction.
25
26 Gary Rowe, Skagit County Administrator, stated he made this presentation
27 to the Northwest Regional Council in March because all the counties were at that
28 meeting. At that time, Executive Kremen suggested making this presentation.
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30 Skagit County feels that a Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D)
31 Council will benefit Skagit County and the entire Northwest Region. This council
32 will provide better focus on the effort. This council would include private
33 enterprises in addition to the counties' efforts.
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35 Shiraz Vira, Natural Resource Conservation Service, provided a history of
36 the RC&D program. The RC&D Council is a partnership between counties, tribes,
37 cities, and non-profit conservation organizations. There are seven councils in the
38 State of Washington right now. He described the process of establishing council.
39 The purpose of the RC&D Council is as a link between the existing conservation
40 districts and economic development councils. The partnership and strength of the
41 council gets things done locally. The council is not designed to duplicate any
42 existing activities. It brings an extra resource to leverage existing resources. It is
43 designed for rural areas, but as there is more interface between rural and urban
44 areas, the need has expanded to more urban areas.
45
46 Caskey-Schreiber stated this sounds wonderful. She asked how they make
47 it happen for Whatcom County. Vira stated they need a County Council
48 representative to sit on a multi -county steering committee to set the boundaries
Special Whatcom County Council - Resource Conservation & Development Council,
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1 for the RC&D Area. The steering committee would also determine where the office
2 would be located. The NRCS will work with the committee to develop by-laws for
3 the RC&D Council. There has to be non-profit status. When they seek grants, all
4 actions of the RC&D Council will have to be approved by the RC&D Council. The
5 RC&D Council and its coordinator will assist a new facility or business entity. Once
6 completed, the RC&D Council will move on to a new issue.
7
8 Nelson asked how the RC&D process is funded. Vira stated the U.S.
9 Department of Agriculture funds office space, a full-time coordinator, part-time
10 clerk, and other expenses. The decision -making process is the RC&D Council's.
11 The coordinator is to carry out the RC&D Council objectives. The individual
12 members of the RC&D Council is not paid.
13
14 Nelson asked what happens if the RC&D Council wants to promote a new
15 particular industry, such as a mushroom composting facility. Vira stated the RC&D
16 Council would begin helping with things like a feasibility study.
17
18 Nelson asked what happens if the public is opposed to the proposed
19 industry. Vira stated it's up to the RC&D Council. Hopefully, the RC&D Council is
20 receptive to the public.
21
22 Nelson asked the local control for land use decisions would be in terms of
23 this RC&D Council. Vira stated the RC&D Council includes one representative from
24 each of the local jurisdictions.
25
26 Crawford stated the whole point is to propose projects that people want.
27
28 Nelson stated worst -case scenarios occur. He's trying to understand the
29 whole process. The best way to understand a process is to use a worst -case
30 scenario. He asked the land use authority the local entity, such as Whatcom
31 County, would have to stop the RC&D Council from promoting an industry that the
32 public in Whatcom County doesn't want. Federal agencies would be working on
33 promoting the industry. Vira stated the decision -maker will be the RC&D Council.
34 Most likely, the people interested in forming the industry would come to the RC&D
35 Council with a request. The RC&D Council would review the request, considering
36 all the existing federal, state, and local statutes. The RC&D Council is not a lobby
37 group. It is an action group to get things done on the ground.
38
39 Rowe stated Skagit County is pursing this because there are limited
40 resources for agricultural or other natural resource communities to pursue items
41 for further development. This resources would provide a staff person who would
42 do studies and other types of things necessary to evaluate a project. Part of that
43 evaluation would be to answer the questions Councilmember Nelson brought up.
44 He hoped they wouldn't be in conflict with the regulatory agencies by providing a
45 resource for the members.
46
47 Nelson stated it may be a good tool to get processors into the county to help
48 the agricultural community, for example.
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2 Rowe stated the agricultural community has asked his economic
3 development association to be more supportive of agricultural activities. This is an
4 opportunity to find resources from the federal government to make that happen.
5 Most of the councils have set up a token amount of dues for participation.
6
7 Vira stated councils typically put in a couple thousand dollars per year for
8 grant application fees and other fees that come up. The individual RC&D Council
9 decides the amount that will be contributed by each member.
10
11 Caskey-Schreiber stated Whatcom County has individual farmers who don't
12 have the means to come together to bring about change. This is a great vehicle
13 for a farmer cooperative project. She asked Whatcom County's next step to make
14 this happen.
15
16 Vira asked for a representative member of the County Council to join the ad
17 hoc steering committee.
18
19 Crawford suggested requesting the Executive's Office to draft a resolution
20 for the Council to approve. They could even dedicate some money to it. He asked
21 if the USDA will consider programs only funded through this organization, or if
22 there is a requirement that some other kind of funding be a part of the program.
23 Vira stated there isn't anything that a group can't do themselves. They can apply
24 for any program they want to by themselves. When they have a partnership of
25 many agencies, they get things done sooner. It carries more political weight.
26
27 Crawford stated the projects done by other councils seem very specific in
28 terms of location, for being a multi -county entity. He asked if any of the councils
29 have experience with one member getting all the programs. Vira stated it happens
30 sooner or later. Usually, the benefit of the community and regional alliance
31 outweighs the individual needs. The by-laws can address that issue.
32
33 Bruce Williams, Natural Resource Conservation Service, stated the RC&D
34 Council goes through the process of developing an area -wide plan that would
35 encompass the number of counties included in the RC&D area. In that process,
36 they set broad objectives and goals that the RC&D Council would like to address in
37 three to five years. The RC&D Council also develops an annual work plan, which
38 targets the project that come the RC&D Council. The RC&D Council prioritizes the
39 projects, which helps the RC&D coordinator to work on that behalf. It's a
40 structured process. The conflict should be neutralized with that kind of approach.
41
42 Fleetwood asked if Mr. Olason has an opinion.
43
44 Kraig Olason, Senior Planner, stated it sounds like something Whatcom
45 County really needs. When he talks to farmers, there is always an issue of how
46 the farmers would collectively do something. This would provide some structure,
47 funding, and dedicated staff. They are always falling short on that issue. There is
18 no one on task to do that right now.
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Rowe stated the Skagit County Commissioners gave him authority to put
this together. He's happy to do that for Skagit County and Whatcom County.
Island and San Juan will be invited too, although there only has to be two counties.
If the Whatcom County Council and County Executive agree to proceed, he'll be
happy to coordinate it.
Crawford asked if the County Council agrees to request the Executive to
pursue this option and advise the Council on the formation of the RC&D Council by
producing a resolution or whatever it takes to formalize action.
The Council unanimously agreed with McShane and Roy out of the room.
Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, stated the Executive's Office would be
happy to work on this project.
OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business.
The meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.
Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
These minutes were approved by Council on November 5 , 2003.
ATTEST:
Dana Brown -Davis, Council Clerk
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Special Whatcom County Council - Resource Conservation & Development Council,
10/7/2003, Page 4