HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-06-27-minutes-consider-a-memorandum-of-agreement06/27/2018 MINUTES 1
COMMISSIONERS' MINUTES
KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON
COMMISSIONERS AUDITORIUM
SPECIAL MEETING
WEDNESDAY 6:00 P.M. JUNE 27, 2018
Board members present: Chairman Laura Osiadacz; Vice-Chairman
O’Brien; and Commissioner Paul Jewell.
Others: Julie Kjorsvik, Clerk of the Board; Mark Cook, Public Works
Director/Interim Engineer; and approximately 35 members of the
public.
PUBLIC HEARING BOWERS FIELD AIRPORT PUBLIC WORKS
At 6:00 p.m. CHAIRMAN OSIADACZ opened a Public Hearing to consider a
Memorandum of Agreement with Central Washington University of Co-
Sponsorship at Bowers Field.
CHAIRMAN OSIADACZ explained how she’d received communication from
members of the public requesting to postpone consideration of the
Memorandum of Agreement until a new Commissioner had been appointed,
since Commissioner Jewell will be leaving office at the end of this
week. She said it would allow the new person a chance to weigh in on
the issue. COMMISSIONER O’BRIEN felt it would be a disservice to the
public process to continue the issue to a later date and would be
against continuing consideration of the proposed Agreement.
COMMISSIONER JEWELL said he had been working with Central Washington
University since last November on the proposed Memorandum of
Agreement. He explained how he is still a Commissioner for a couple
of more days and was elected by the people and intends on making a
decision on the issue this evening, if the Board chooses to do so.
MARK COOK, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR/INTERIM ENGINEER explained how he
had been working with Commissioner Jewell and representatives of
Central Washington University over the past several months exploring
co-sponsorship of the airport. He provided a power-point
presentation on options for the Boards consideration.
KATHERINE FRANK, PhD PROVOST/VICE-PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC & STUDENT
LIFE provided information on what is offered by the Department of
Aviation; growth of their program and commitment to aviation
excellence. She urged the Board to approve the proposed Memorandum
of Agreement.
THOSE PRESENT & TESTIFYING: STEVE LATHROP felt the airport is a
valuable asset to the County but was in very poor condition and not
being protected or promoted. He thought the proposed MOA was a
horrible document and if the Board goes forward with the draft MOA
06/27/2018 MINUTES 2
it would be a breach of the public trust and urged them to not turn
over operational control to a State Agency. ARLEIN ANDERSON said
matching money is available for repairs and too much money is being
spent on questionable things. She felt with one Commissioner leaving
in 3 days and another at the end of the year they should table the
issue until a county-wide committee had an opportunity to review
ideas which would be open to the public. RON MITCHELL agreed with
Mr. Lathrop and is concerned with the process. He was offended with
talks going on since last November and how there was no knowledge of
it by the public. He thought the Board is making a mistake by not
using the Airport Advisory Board for their advice as they do not
have direct knowledge of aviation. DWIGHT LEE BATES said by judging
from CWU’s latest performance they cannot manage the airport and
thought new business should be encouraged to come into the area. TOM
BULL agreed with postponing the issue until there are 2 new
Commissioners onboard. TERRY LaRUE asked the Board to defer any
decision on the MOA as he felt the process had been without
transparency. He felt there was no vision for the future and was
concerned about the Airport Advisory Committee on the proposed
Memorandum of Agreement. JOHN DOBSON, WASHINGTON PILOTS ASSOCIATION
offered to assist the County and reviewed his previous experience of
managing airports. He asked the Board to delay making a decision on
the proposed Memorandum of Agreement. DAVE RATCLIFF expressed
concerns with the airport operations & with CWU being in charge of
them. He said they are users of the airport and not managers. He
encouraged the County to hire an Airport Manager who could run the
airport inside/outside the fence. STEVE WILLARD said it was a gift
for the County to have Ron Mitchell and Midstate Aviation in the
past years. He said the Board needs to evaluate the risk of delaying
a decision, and would not want it to jeopardize the aviation program
at CWU going away and have the airport close. HERMAN GENTRY felt
there’s been a lack of oversight of what’s been going on at the
airport and County needs more control. He expressed concerns
relating to flooding; low flying and noise from the aircrafts over
populated areas. TOM NISBET explained how the Airport Advisory Board
is a blend of local people who’ve contributed a lot of time and
effort over years. STEVE MOORE said he was worried about the
process and if it would create a situation to follow. He questioned
why the County wouldn’t want to hire an Airport Manager instead of
turning it over to another entity. PETER NISBET said it was
extremely important to have 2 taxiways as a safety factor. He
encouraged the Board to think strategically for over the 25-30 years
and to step back and take a breath before taking any action. ALAN
FALTUS felt the airport is a great asset, but didn’t realize how bad
it had gotten over the past few years. He didn’t feel the County had
been working on attracting new businesses and that it would be
premature to make a decision on the proposed MOA. KEN LINDSEY said
he moved to the area a couple of years ago and was surprised to
learn about the limited facilities. He spoke to the demands of
critical and trauma care services and how there is difficulty
06/27/2018 MINUTES 3
transporting patients out of Bowers Field in the winter. MIKE
LUNDEEN felt the County should make hiring an Airport Manager a
priority as they could assist with planning and looking ahead. LEO
OLTMAN said he was a small business owner and County is going to
continue to grow tremendously and the airport is an important asset
and to not lose it. THERE BEING NO OTHERS REQUESTING TO TESTIFY, THE
PUBLIC PORTION OF THE HEARING WAS CLOSED.
COMMISSIONER O’BRIEN said when additional revenue has been needed at
the airport, the renters/lease holders claim they don’t want to pay
anymore. He said by closing runway 725 it was because it had not
been maintained for approximately 30-40 years and it is dangerous
for aircrafts to be using it. He said he understood the need for an
Airport Manager and felt the proposed MOA is appropriate. He said
the Public Hearing was part of transparency and would like to
partner with CWU to find ways of funding the airport. COMMISSIONER
JEWELL noted a letter of support they received from the Washington
State Department of Transportation and how they would like to be
involved. He said the proposed Memorandum of Agreement had been
approved by the State Attorney General’s office and the County
Prosecutor’s office. He explained how CWU was a major user of the
airport with their aviation program, and without them there wouldn’t
be one. He felt it’s a tough, complex problem but the conversation
needs to start somewhere and urged the Board to approve the
document. CHAIRMAN OSIADACZ said it was a mission of the Board to
mend fences with CWU and appreciated the work done by Commissioner
Jewell and representatives of CWU. She indicated she was unsure if
the proposed MOA was a solution or that if something else would be
better. She reviewed the funding challenges for the maintenance at
the airport but would like to see a plan in place which included
funding alternatives to the challenges being faced.
COMMISSIONER JEWELL moved to approve the Memorandum of Agreement
between Kittitas County and Central Washington University regarding
Co-Sponsorship of Bowers Field Airport, and to amend Section 2,
Provision a(3), line 9 by striking the word “six”. COMMISSIONER
O’BRIEN seconded.
COMMISSIONER O’BRIEN felt it was good to have a plan in place to
begin moving forwarding and with a MOA they could see what could be
worked out and have parallel options going as well. He encouraged
anyone to bring ideas forward if they have any, but was looking
forward to keeping the process moving.
CHAIRMAN OSIADACZ said her vote against the proposal wasn’t
necessarily due to the MOA itself, but listening to public testimony
and communication from citizens, it has persuaded her to look at
other options whether it’s forming a committee to begin looking at
options or something else. She felt it was a little premature to
move forward with only one option without looking at alternatives.
06/27/2018 MINUTES 4
Motion carried 2-1 (CHAIRMAN OSIADACZ voted against the motion).
The meeting was adjourned at 8:03 p.m.
KITTITAS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
CLERK OF THE BOARD KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Julie Kjorsvik Laura Osiadacz, Chairman