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08/02/21 MINUTES 1 <br /> <br />COMMISSIONERS' MINUTES KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON CONFERENCE ROOM/WEBEX SPECIAL MEETING <br /> MONDAY 2:00 P.M. AUGUST 2, 2021 <br />Board members present: Chairman Brett Wachsmith, Vice-Chairman Laura <br />Osiadacz, and Commissioner Cory Wright. <br /> <br />Others: Taylor Crouch, Administrative Assistant; Clay Myers, <br />Sheriff; Chris Whitsett, Inspector; Ben Kokjer, Chief Deputy; Pat <br />Nicholson, Fire Marshall; Julie Kjorsvik, Clerk of the Board; Carly <br />Brettmann, Communications Director; and 7 members of the public. SPECIAL MEETING MEETING WITH FOREST SERVICE COMMISSIONERS <br />At 2:00 p.m. Chairman Wachsmith opened a Special Meeting to discuss <br />next steps on fire danger in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. <br /> <br />Victoria Wilkins, Public Affairs, USFS initiated introductions from <br />the Forest Service, and Chairman Wachsmith initiated introductions <br />from the County. <br /> <br />There was discussion on the topic of closing public lands due to <br />fire danger. The Board asked if the closures were unprecedented. <br />USFS said it has happened before but is very rare. The Board was not <br />in favor of blanketly closing public lands for broad fire danger. <br />The Liberty area would be an area of concern due to the diseased <br />forest there. The Board asked USFS to gather more specific data on <br />where and why fires start before closing any lands. The Board will <br />work with Carly Brettmann, Communications Director on messaging to <br />the public on this topic. The County will also provide any data on <br />complaints received around this topic to the USFS to aid their <br />decision making. The Board said they would like to keep all options <br />on the table at this point. <br /> <br />Meeting adjourned at 2:31 p.m. <br /> KITTITAS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON <br /> Taylor Crouch Brett Wachsmith, Chairman <br /> <br /> <br />