Commissioner
selection postponed
The board interviewed
the three applicants for the vacant District 5 position on the board of
commissioners but voted to postpone selecting a new commissioner until its March
12 meeting.
The three applicants
are Dale Barrett, Matt Samuelson and Lianne Thompson.
The position opened
following the Jan. 31 resignation of former commissioner Debra Birkby. District
5 covers southern Clatsop County including Cannon Beach, Arch Cape, Jewell,
Elsie and Hamlet and portions of Seaside.
Septic program
funding approved
The board approved
funding and hiring authority for the county Public Health Department to take
over the onsite septic sewer inspection program under contract from the Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality beginning July 1.
The changeover is
intended to address inefficiencies and gaps in service under the state’s
administration of the program, which regulates the siting, design, installation
and ongoing operation and maintenance of wastewater septic systems. Under the
county’s control the program is expected to provide quicker response to
customers.
The $15,000 in
funding approved by the board will pay for start-up costs; once in place, the
program will operate through permit and service fee revenue alone with no county
tax dollars.
Franchise ordinance
tabled
The board voted to
table a proposed ordinance regulating cable television franchises in the county.
The ordinance was drafted and presented to the board in November 2013 as an
alternative to a proposed franchise agreement that has been the subject of
lengthy but mostly unproductive discussions between the county and cable
provider Charter Communications since 2011. After the board conducted the first
reading of the ordinance in November, county/Charter discussions made progress,
County Manager Scott Somers told the board, and staff now believes a final
accord on the franchise agreement is within reach and recommended that action on
the ordinance be tabled.
Federal law requires
cable television providers to obtain franchise agreements with local
jurisdictions to operate in those areas, including fees for using rights-of-way
for cable infrastructure. Charter has never had an agreement with Clatsop
County.
Animal measure to
voters
The board voted to
place on the May 20, 2014 election ballot a measure restricting the use of
certain circus animal tools.
The measure would
prohibit the use of bullhooks, electric prods, whips and other devices to cause
physical injury to elephants, felines and primates on display. It would apply to
the unincorporated area of the county.
Zone change
approved
The board approved a
zoning designation change for an 11-acre parcel of land on U.S. Highway 26
southeast of Elsie from Open Space, Parks and Recreation (OPR) to Forestry-80.
Community Development staff discovered last year that the land had been given
the wrong designation when the county adopted zoning for the area in 1983. The
land is owned by Longview Fiber and has been managed for timber production for
several decades.
Other
Business
In other business the
board:
-Adjusted the 2013-14
budget to account for $2,300 in additional state grant revenue received for the
county’s Veterans’ Services program. The money will augment a $10,000 grant
funding extended outreach efforts by Veterans’ Services Officers Phil and Buffy
Simmons.
-Approved a services
agreement with Otak Inc. for development of a stormwater plan and biological
assessment and with Pacific Habitat Services to develop a wetland mitigation
plan for the North Coast Business Park in Warrenton. The two plans are required
to allow fill activity at the business park in order to gain recognition of the
industrial property as marketable, project-ready land under the state’s
Certified Industrial Lands program.
No comments:
Post a Comment