PORT ANGELES — Clallam County lawmakers should transform its climate change committee into a permanent “Green Team” with quarterly meetings, subcommittees and a dedicated coordinator, the outgoing chairman of the Climate Action Group said Monday.
This new committee should “foster a regional partnership to respond to multi-jurisdictional funding opportunities” like grants, said Sam Fox, Clallam County Associate Planner and chairman of the climate change committee.
Fox, who is relocating to Boise, Idaho, later this month, was asked by the three-member Board of County Commissioners to leave his recommendations for the year ahead.
He said consistency of messaging and strong leadership will be important for the county to meet its environmental goals.
Dedicated person
“Having a dedicated person to facilitate this team and to keep up with all these activities moving forward, I think, would be a worthwhile investment,” Fox said in Monday’s commissioners’ work session.
Commissioner Mike Doherty suggested a citizens’ advisory committee and the involvement of Peninsula Collage for the county’s environmental outreach.
“Once you get going in this direction, there’s no limit to what can happen, because climate change affects everything,” Fox told the commissioners.
Three projects
Fox outlined three main projects for the Green Team to focus on initially, two of which are in the Clallam County courthouse in Port Angeles:
• Installation of sub-meters at the jail complex, historic courthouse, computer server and separate floors of the courthouse annex.
These meters the will help the county pinpoint energy deficiencies and efficiencies.
• “Greening” the jail by installing a garden and compost center and by finding ways to improve its energy efficiency.
• An energy audit for the existing buildings at the Clallam County Fairgrounds to identify potential efficiencies. The 2011 county fair should be a “zero waste” fair, Fox said.
He said the county ought to explore a solar farm on existing infrastructure at the fairgrounds.
In other discussion, County Administrator Jim Jones introduced a proposal that would make Tammy Sullenger the clerk of the newly formed William Shore Memorial Pool District from July 1 to Dec. 31.
Sullenger is the administrative assistant in the commissioner’s office.
Trish Holden, clerk of the Board of County Commissioners, would serve as Sullenger’s backup in the pool district, according to the proposal.
“This is the basically the personal services agreement that we have already,” Jones said.
Sullenger and Holden would earn $33 per hour and work fewer than 10 hours per month, most likely in the five- to six-hour range, commissioner Mike Chapman estimated.
Rather than voting on the proposal, Chapman and Doherty authorized Jones to bring the proposal — and a proposal for a $750,000, 3 percent loan from the county to the metropolitan park district — to Wednesday’s pool board meeting.
Chapman and Doherty each serve on the four-member pool board, which is expected to name a fifth member this week.
Commissioner Steve Tharinger did not attend Monday’s work session.
Later in the meeting, County Engineer Ross Tyler discussed three right of way agreements to purchase easements for culvert replacement along Dempsey and Miller roads west of Port Angeles.
The total cost of the easements is $8,852.75.
Streamkeepers funding
Meanwhile, Streamkeepers of Clallam County manager Ed Chadd told the commissioners the state Department and Fish and Wildlife has ceased funding the volunteer organization that monitors water quality, effective July 1.
Jones said there are two issues to be resolved — finding alternative funds to cover an $8,500 shortfall for the remainder of 2009 and budgeting the extra $16,000 for Streamkeepers in 2010.
“It seems like there’s other places we can go for this money rather than Fish and Wildlife,” Jones said.
“It’s such important, valuable work — in particular keeping the string of data going. . . . This is one of those programs that provides significantly more benefit to the county than the cost, because of all the volunteers.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
