PORT ANGELES — After weeks of discussion, Clallam County commissioners today will consider establishing a trust lands advisory committee to examine how the state manages county forests.
Commissioners Jim McEntire and Bill Peach said they favor an ad hoc committee that will focus on arrearage — timber that the state Department of Natural Resources identified for sale but didn’t sell in the last decade.
Commissioner Mike Chapman has said voters should decide whether the committee is a good idea.
As proposed in a resolution that commissioners will vote on today, the trust lands panel will have 14 representatives from a wide range of backgrounds.
Appointees
Its appointees will come from and be chosen by the Port Angeles School District, School District Association, junior taxing districts, Society of American Foresters, granges, League of Women Voters, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Olympic Forest Coalition, North Olympic Timber Action Committee and the city of Forks.
Each commissioner will also appoint one representative from their district.
“When we have multiple granges, multiple taxing districts, school districts, multiple environmental groups, my preference would be that those organizations figure out who their appointee is going to be,” McEntire said in a board work session Monday.
“I would really not like to pick and choose.”
After the committee is formed, McEntire will recuse himself from its dealings because he represents Clallam and 20 other timber counties on the state Board of Natural Resources, which sets policies that guide how DNR manages state lands.
McEntire’s recusal is to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Last week, Peach and pro-tem Commissioner Donald Hall hired former Clallam County Commissioner Phil Kitchel as a consultant to the trust lands advisory committee.
Kitchel will compile information about arrearage and the amount of money that junior taxing districts are losing because of it.
“That information should be incredibly useful to this committee,” County Administrator Jim Jones said.
The Clallam County Charter Review Commission voted 10-4 in July to recommend a trust lands committee to study the feasibility of the county taking back the management of its timberlands.
If county management is not found to be in the county’s best interest, the committee will encourage DNR to manage trust lands more effectively, according to the Charter Review’s recommendation.
Peter Goldmark, state commissioner of public lands, has said increased protection for the marbled murrelet, land transactions for future revenue, staff shortages and the economic recession all contributed to lower annual harvest levels from state trust forests.
Interim report
McEntire suggested that the advisory committee prepare an interim report by Feb. 15. A final report will be due Dec. 31, 2016.
Last month, McEntire suggested that the political parties be removed from the committee roster.
He said he has since been swayed by Forks City Attorney and Planner Rod Fleck and would support political representation.
Fleck made the case last week that the committee will have a political component because it will likely deal with state legislators
Reconveyance of state trust lands would require action by the Legislature and Gov. Jay Inslee’s signature.
Peach, a retired forester, suggested that a DNR representative be invited to serve on the committee or at least attend its meetings.
“I absolutely think that they ought to be plugged in — they DNR — be plugged in,” McEntire said.
“Should they want to have an actual voting membership, that would be just fine with me.”
Public hearing
In other board action, commissioners today are expected to call for an Oct. 13 public hearing on a policy change that would pave the way for a citizen’s advisory committee on elected officials’ salaries.
Like the trust lands panel, the salary committee was a recommendation from the Charter Review Commission.
“I feel it’s important for us to respond to the Charter Review in a concrete manner,” Peach said.
The proposed committee would recommend salaries for the county assessor, auditor, Community Development director, commissioners, sheriff and treasurer.
State law prohibits changes to an elected officials’ salary in their current terms.
Most of the county’s elected positions have terms that expire in 2018.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
