PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County commissioners will consider voiding testimony from Monday’s hearing on a proposed shooting range ordinance after county officials rescheduled a continuation of the hearing to allow more people to be present in the same room.
Commissioners are expected to decide this coming Monday if they will strike verbal testimony on the draft Commercial Shooting Facility Ordinance from the record because county officials said they heard concerns from some that the hearing last Monday evening at the county courthouse violated the state Open Public Meetings Act.
The continuance that had been scheduled for tonight has been canceled and a new hearing date set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24 at McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden.
Oral testimony from last Monday’s public hearing may not become part of the public record although written comments provided during the hearing will be accepted.
County officials have sought legal clarification on the matter. County commissioners will discuss the issue when they meet at 9 a.m. Monday in their chambers at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend.
Among those who objected to last Monday’s hearing was Greg Overstreet, attorney for Joe D’Amico, who aims to create a shooting range near Tarboo Lake.
Overstreet said Monday night that “if people were turned away it may make this meeting null and void.”
No one was turned away, said Mark McCauley, Jefferson County central services director, although some had to wait to be seated and testimony was live-streamed to those who could not be present in the hearing room.
D’Amico, who left after waiting for a few minutes, said that people were turned away.
“A number of people have complained about how people were turned away from entering the courthouse, or placed in different rooms where they could not hear or see what was going on in the Superior Courtroom,” D’Amico said.
“We look forward to being in a public meeting space where everyone gets to see and hear the same things at the same time.”
An estimated 325 people came to last Monday’s public hearing on the proposed law regulating outdoor commercial shooting ranges in Jefferson County which was held in the Superior Court courtroom in the county courthouse.
No room in the courthouse was large enough to accommodate the crowd, so people also were seated in the District Court courtroom, the commissioners’ chambers and the first-floor conference room. Real-time video of the proceedings was streamed into the rooms from Superior Court courtroom.
Jefferson County Administrator Philip Morley said that despite the accomodations, concerns were raised about the venue offering the same experience to all.
Asked David Sullivan, president of the county commission: “What does it mean to attend a meeting? Is it enough to speak, to see it on video, to hear it in a room, or outside?”
Both Sullivan and Morley said that any who spoke at last Monday’s hearing will be welcome to speak again at the Oct. 24 hearing.
“Peoples’ time was not wasted if we have another hearing,” Morley said. “We have been listening. We have heard a lot about how important this ordinance is. We encourage people to read the ordinance, the community comments and the staff report.”
Sullivan said the intention in rescheduling the continuation of the hearing is to be inclusive and transparent.
All written testimony received about the proposed ordinance on or after Sept. 12 will be included as part of the public hearing record for the new hearing. Anyone may provide oral and written testimony for the new hearing on Oct. 24.
The original deadline for written comments was Friday; a new deadline for written comments has not been decided.
Morley said the current moratorium on shooting facilities ends Dec. 17, and a new ordinance is expected to be in place by that time.
“We’ll make a good faith effort to make further progress,” Morley said. “If we can’t, there are ways to extend the deadline.”
Julia Towne, secretary of the Jefferson County Sportsmen’s Association in Port Townsend, agreed with the change of venue.
“They should have done this in the first place,” she said. “There’s a significant amount of deflation after this. It takes a lot for people to get up and express their views.
“The first half hour’s power point presentation made no sense because people heard only words. Also, the [public address] system was garbled and not clear.”
Peter Newland, board member of the Tarboo Ridge Coalition (TRC), which opposes D’Amico’s proposed shooting range said his organization just wants a well-crafted ordinance.
“In a broad sense, TRC does not care how long it takes, how many meetings it takes, as long as they get it to the right spot, where they have an ordinance that we have placed into the record,” Newland said.
”We have a lot of patience, and we’ll work with them to get it done.”
Morley said reservations for McCurdy Pavilion were made Wednesday and the county will pay for its use.
Security for the event is currently being discussed. The venue holds up to 1,300 people.
The state Open Public Meetings Act,RCW 42.30.030, says: “All meetings of the governing body of a public agency shall be open and public and all person shall be permitted to attend any meeting of a governing body of a public agency, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.”
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com.
