June 18, 2009 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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Chamber board opposes proposed Emergency ordinance developed in
intergovernmental agreement
Continued from page A-1
ing on the matter after hear-
ing public concern over the
five-page document, which
was created by a private
consultant with the help of
both city and county staff.
Local realtors opposed
the agreement without the
inclusion of the UGA advi-
sory committee and better
definitions and some form of
timeline.
There was no
outreach or work-
shops to engage the
stakeholders to par-
ticipate, said Matt
Matayoshi, execu-
tive director of the
Economic Develop-
ment Council of Ma-
son County.
Last week the
Shelton-Mason
County Chamber of
Commerce Board of Trust-
ees also came out against
the proposed intergovern-
mental agreement. They
point to confused wording
in need of clarification and
cautioned the agreement, as
written, could interfere with
retaining local businesses,
expanding employment and
possibly drive existing em-
ployers elsewhere.
"In our opinion, while
this may be a great idea, the
agreement itself has serious
flaws," wrote the board in a
letter to this paper.
During the city's hearing
Ione Vrable said she thought
the proposed agreement, in
some ways, is a good idea
because she has property
in the county on Northcliff
Road that would benefit.
She did express some hesi-
tations, though.
"Sylvan Heights has no
intention in connecting to
city water or sewer," she
said. '~ou have more than
you can handle with the city
sewer right now."
"It's too open-ended
to give the citizen any
certainty to what they
need to do or what the
cost will be."
Vrable was also con-
cerned about who would or
would not have to hook up to
city services and vague ter-
minology in the agreement
that could give way to "law-
suits and politics."
"It's too open-ended to
give the citizen any certain-
ty to what they need to do
or what the cost will be," she
said.
Lastly, ~Vrable asked
about wha~ constitutes a
failing septic system and
who would be forced to hook
up to city sewer or water.
Steve Goins, Shelton's di-
rector of community devel-
opment and public works,
said that under the agree-
ment existing development
within 300 feet of the city
would not be required to
connect and the agreement
only applies to new develop-
ment or failing systems. He
also said that owners could
opt into the system and that
any failing systems would
be identified by the depart-
ment of health.
"The point is that
this isn't trying to
create new ground
as to what's failing
or not," Goins said.
Dave Mariano
said he had several
concerns with the
proposal.
"In a nutshell,
I'm not for it at all,"
he said. "It makes
more regulation
at a time when we
could use less regulation
and more help in creating
growth."
Mariano also mentioned
"a (local) project that had
trouble with impact fees and
last I hear they're leaving?'
and that more regulations
and bureaucracy make de-
velopment projects less fea-
sible. He also said that the
agreement could "cement"
no growth and mentioned
developers having to sign
waivers of protest to avoid
annexation.
"We'll very quickly have
annexation without a vote,"
he added.
Cobb says mental health pOney
could close the budget g
Continued from page A-1
tion saying that $763,000
was needed to gap the cur-
rent shortfall. Last week
that shortfall was said to
be $789,000 and the week
before the number was
announced as $756,000.
More than an hour passed
Tuesday before the com-
missioners were advised
that the county had origi-
nally advertised the short-
fall as $756,000 and that
they could vote only on
$756,000, or less,
in reductions
to the $26-mil-
lion current ex-
pense budget re-
gardless of the
actual shortfall.
Sheldon later
described Siegler's final
draft proposal as "confus-
ing." Additionally, Shel-
don said he did not know
anything about another
$215,304 in "available rev-
enue" listed in Siegler's
presentation or where it
came from.
Siegler wrote that the
money was available as a
result of "budget adjust-
ments and cuts previously
approved by the Board of
Mason County Commis-
sioners." Her proposed bud-
get remedy rests upon both
the mental health money
and yet-to-be publicly dis-
cussed $215,304 Siegler
says she found.
How the board will
balance the budget next
week remains unclear.
Commissioners have for
weeks been after the men-
tal health money, which
they describe as "general
government funds" - a
conclusion reached on le-
gal advice from Deputy
Prosecutor Monty Cobb.
Cobb Tuesday said his con-
clusion was based on his
initial research and that
'7 want to see how all
the numbers add up."
Judge Sheldon's legal opin-
ion may have "some accu-
racy to it."
"I didn't have the specif-
ic breakdown of the funds,"
Cobb said.
Commissioner Tim Shel-
don said that 29 special
funds, similar to the men-
tal health fund, are on the
books and being scrutinized
for any usable money.
There are at least nine
accounts that have no reso-
lution guiding the use of
monies, Sheldon said.
The only known docu-
ment guiding the use of
the mental health funds
was written by Siegler in
February 1997. At the time
Siegler wrote that the mon-
ey's only "proper use" was
for mental health services.
Last week Siegler said the
difference between now
and then was legal advice;
both the state's attorney
and Cobb said it was OI~
"It's a broader question
of state law," Commission-
er Lynda Ring Erickson
said before asking to pause
the discussion to allow time
for Cobb and Siegler to
come up with solid
numbers.
Upon return,
Cobb said the men-
tal health money
was indeed general
government fund-
ing and the board
could assign it to close the
budget gap. There are no
use restrictions in the fund
resolution that created the
fund, Cobb said.
The discussion ended
when commissioner Ross
Gallagher offered a motion
to move the mental health
money into the general fund
as planned. Ring Erickson
stopped the process, saying
more time was needed and
the board should have the
"leisure" of talking more
about the action.
"I want to see how all the
numbers add up," Ring Er-
ickson said.
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Continued from page A-1
the state's Open Public
Meetings Act, adding that
the executive sessions fell
under "possible legal ac-
tion" status because a
simple online search of the
word "moratorium" would
reveal page after page deal-
ing with lawsuits over mor-
atoriums.
"The only way to do it
is if you don't tell anybody
you're going to do it, essen-
tially," Haggard told the
commissioners.
City Administrator Dave
O'Leary later said that the
ramifications of the mora-
torium, which he and city
staff have been working on
for "several months now,"
necessitates secrecy.
"There aren't very many
circumstances under which
you can prepare something
in secret, as we've done
with this ordi-
nance," O'Leary
said. "We don't
like to do that
and we're pretty
open. On the oth-
er hand, if you tell
the world, 'We're
about to put in a
moratorium,' you
get a rush to the
counter. Every-
body then wants
to come in and
get their sewer
connection before you say
you can have no more con-
nections."
O'Leary also emphasized
that a public hearing on
the ordinance, which is dic-
tated by state law, will be
held at the commissioners'
evening meeting on July
20. The moratorium has
been set up to last one year,
but can be revisited by the
commissioners at any time
to shorten or lengthen it.
During this week's meet-
ing, though, O'Leary told
the commissioners that
there wasn't really a choice
when it came to enacting
the moratorium.
A January 28 adminis-
trative order by the Wash-
ington State Department
of Ecology noted that in a
two-year period, from No-
vember 2006 to December
of 2008, the city reported
36 violations of its National
Pollution Elimination Dis-
charge Permit.
At the time, ecology or-
dered the city to submit
designs for a new plant and
to secure financing within
a two-year period of the
order. The design work is
now complete and the city
is waiting for word out of
Washington, D.C., on fed-
eral stimulus funds.
Officials now say that
they hope to have improve-
ments to the treatment
plant completed by June
2012.
During the meeting,
Commissioner Dawn Pan-
nell spoke about protecting
the environment, especial-
ly when it comes to Oak-
land Bay, which is home to
one of the nation's leading
shellfish industries.
"The (staff) report is ab-
solutely correct," she said
Monday night. "A number
of folks made the comment
that this is about the en-
"There aren't very many
circumstances under
which you can prepare
something in secret, as
we've done with this
ordinance."
vironment. We can't re-
sponsibly put ourselves in
the position of polluting a
valuable resource we have
here."
Pannell said she first
"heard the moratorium
word eight years ago" and
noted that the city now has
a design and funding for
improving the sewer sys-
tem.
"We just can't get
around the fact that we
have 30-year-old plant,"
she said. "We don't want to
be on the news like Bain-
bridge Island was or other
communities have been
where they're spilling raw
sewage. I would hate to
see Shelton on the news for
that reason."
Commissioner Mike By-
rne said the moratorium
was necessary to cover the
city's legal, safety and envi-
ronmental risks.
"Moratoriums are very
difficult legislation and I
take it very seriously," By-
rne said. "None of us want
to be here, but we are and
we're going to be proactive,
as we have been in past
years and will be the com-
ing few years."
The moratorium does
grant some exceptions for
connecting to the sewer, in-
cluding a small number of
applicants that have filed
fully complete applications
with the city for building
permits, preliminary plat
or short plat approval. That
group represents a total of
18.6 equivalent residential
units (ERU) out of a total
of 40 ERU that will still be
available.
'~/ou have people who
have made investments by
way of land-use applica-
tions or building applica-
tions and a sewer connec-
tion," O'Leary said. "Is it
really right to tell those
people who
have a reason
to believe they
can develop, is
it right to tell
them they can't
connect? On
the question of
who's in and
who's out, our
judgment was
it's fair to those
people who have
land-use appli-
cations."
In addition, the ordi-
nance notes that some
"building permits for alter-
ations to existing commer-
cial or residential struc-
tures or accessory uses or
new commercial or residen-
tial structures which will
not increase the impact on
the Plant as determined
after an eValuation of the
facts and circumstances by
the Public Works Director,"
could be approved.
Also up for approval are
applicants who put up pri-
vate funding of public sew-
er infrastructure without
increasing impact on the
plant, some on-site systems
and some connections to
the city, s satellite plant at
the applicant's expense.
"A part of this morato-
rium could be a lot of rede-
velopment of derelict prop-
erties and that could be a
very nice side effect," City
Attorney Haggard noted
during the meeting.
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Thursday, June 18, 2009 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-7