Tri County Economic Development District

TRI COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT TEDD/RTPO BOARD OF DIRECTORS WEDNESDAY, April 23, 2014

1. Call to Order Tri County Economic Development District (TEDD) Chairman of the Board, Commissioner Wes McCart, called the meeting to order at 1:09 p.m.

Introductions TEDD/RTPO Board Members in Attendance Fran Bolt – Town of Marcus Mike Blankenship – Ferry County Debra Hansen – WSU Extension Sue Harnasch – Stevens County Terry Knapton – Kalispel Tribe Dorothy Knauss – City of Chewelah Greg Knight – Rural Resources Barry Lamont – Private Sector Rick Larsen - Pend Oreille PUD Mike Manus – Pend Oreille County Wes McCart – Stevens County Frank Metlow – Spokane Tribe Char Kay – WSDOT – via GoTo Mtg. Sue Poe – Edward Jones Ray King – City of Newport – via GoTo Mtg. David Windom – NE Tri County Health District

Guests Jamie Wyrobek – Pend Oreille EDC – via GoTo Mtg.

Staff Rob Willford, Executive Director Mallory Conner, Office Manager Tamer Kirac, District Planner

2. Consent Agenda Approval of Agenda Approval of January 22 nd Meeting Minutes Approval of March 26 th Meeting Minutes Approval of Gen. Fund & Loan Fund Expenditures & Transfers  March 2014 General Fund – Benefits and Voucher #’s 8104-8114; 8272-8274; 8588-8591; and 8708-8711 totaling $26,670.46 AND February payroll in the amount of $16,756.66 for a monthly total of $43,427.12. Loan Fund – Voucher # 8271 totaling $187.77 and an electronic funds transfer in the amount of $20,850.00 for a monthly total of $21,037.77. Fran Bolt made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Debra Hansen seconded the motion. The motion passed with Sue Harnasch abstaining.

3. Executive Director Report -Rob Willford informed the Board that Tamer Kirac will be leaving TEDD at the end of May. We thank him for his invaluable service to the organization; he will be greatly missed. -Rob also talked about a recent economic development meeting in Ferry County. The reality of the Kinross Buckhorn mine closing is leading people to really focus on what needs to be done, economically to stay alive and keep people, and jobs in the area. He said that about 80 people attended the meeting and there was a lot of good discussion, including extensive talk about recreation and tourism. Rob went on to talk about his desire to make TEDD’s Recreation Specialist position a full-time position. County representatives will be approached regarding extra financial support for the position (approximately $30,000 more is needed, annually, to fund the position full-time). Our hope is to get a Tri County Economic Development District / RTPO Board of Directors Page 1 of 4 April 23rd, 2014 Meeting Minutes three year commitment for financial support. Terry Knapton stated that tourism is a very important part of our regional economy; he also mentioned that partnering with Okanogan County on recreation and tourism efforts may be beneficial as they are very successful in that regard. Wes McCart inquired as to why TEDD does not have an actual economic development committee that focuses on implementation of economic development strategies and plans. Mike Blankenship talked about the roles of our past Economic Development Specialists; their positions encompassed more of that implementation aspect, but we haven’t had full-time employees in those positions in years. Terry Knapton mentioned that Okanogan County EDC has an Infrastructure Committee that focuses on actual implementation and they have been very successful. Discussion continued, surrounding the need for an economic development and/or infrastructure committee, TEDD’s role in recruitment, etc. Wes McCart asked that the discussion continue at the May meeting, and that staff look back and provide a list of current Board committees and committee membership.

4. Committee Reports Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Enhancement / Transportation Alternatives -There was no written update from Ferry County; Rob Willford informed the group that the ribbon cutting for the trestle decking and overlook work that has been completed thus far is scheduled for this coming Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to attend. A few pictures of the completed pieces were provided by the Rail/Trail group and staff forwarded them to members earlier in the month. -Rob briefly mentioned that the new MAP21 rule, stating that trails will no longer be eligible for Transportation Alternatives Program funding, has been clarified/revised, and the “trail” definition does not apply to rail/trail projects. So, the Ferry County Rail Trail will, in fact, be eligible to apply for future TA funding. -Rob Willford mentioned some concern with the initial application (the Scope of Work) and the bid package for the Town of Marcus’ handrail project. WSDOT is asking for some clarification (on paper) in regard to work on a kiosk that is included on the Scope and in the bid package, but is not something that enhancement/TA funds are paying for. WSDOT wants to make sure that the NEW RTPO is aware of the actual scope of the project and what the TA funds are convering. Mayor Fran Bolt will present a revised scope of work (not including the kiosk) and offer a short presentation explaining the changes at the next TAC meeting; the TAC and the Board will need to approve the revision and that should eliminate WSDOT’s concern. -The City of Chewelah’s project is still on schedule; they are currently waiting for confirmation from WSDOT in regard to fixing the obligation issues discussed at the March meeting. -Rob briefly mentioned the county-specific Federal funding obligation issues. At this point, Stevens County is the only one who has met its target obligations (deliverables) for this year. Ferry and Pend Oreille counties need to deal with their obligation shortcomings; luckily, the obligation deadline has been extended to August 31; this allows the counties more time to address the issues before the potential of having funding revoked. Transit Committee / CPTHSTP -Rob Willford informed members that Carole Richardson attended the morning’s Transit Committee meeting. It was a very well attended meeting, including several providers. Providers supplied Carole with a lot of valuable information for the Plan; NEW RTPO staff also turned over the 300+ transit needs surveys that were completed last spring/summer for use in developing the Plan. Things are off to a good start; public meetings are going well and the draft Plan should be completed by September. -Rob mentioned that the NEW RTPO may be asked to manage the Okanogan County CPTHSTP as they are still having issues within their own RTPO, in fact, there is still a possibility that they may join the NEW RTPO.

Tri County Economic Development District / RTPO Board of Directors Page 2 of 4 April 23rd, 2014 Meeting Minutes RTP Update -Tamer talked briefly about the RTP process and EWU’s continued work on the Plan. The group was informed that the initial meetings with the three counties, as well as with the CCT and the Kalispel Tribe have been held. The initial meeting with the Spokane Tribe is being scheduled. Additional meetings will be in the works soon. He also mentioned that they will be coordinating with Carole Richardson with Plangineering on the transit specific areas in the RTP. The importance of public involvement was stressed, there are state requirements that must be met in regard to public input and participation; all meetings must be well-documented. Work on the draft has commenced. The current draft should be available online for initial review within the next few days. A final draft should be available for review, by WSDOT, the TEDD/NEW RTPO Board, and the public (via the website and notices in the local newspapers), in May, with final approval by the end of June. Tamer also talked about a recent meeting he had with USFS officials regarding the RTP and the CNF Plan and the lack of / potential in coordinating efforts. Tamer and members talked specifically about OHV use, and county/USFS jurisdiction (and swapping jurisdiction). Apparently, the USFS has plans for an OHV park of some sort in/near the City of Chewelah, but they weren’t inclined to discuss it; the City of Chewelah has indicated that he knows nothing about a plan of that nature. This really drove home the point that coordination with the USFS is of growing importance in our region. The USFS indicated that they would be interesting in attending TAC and/or TEDD/NEW RTPO Board meetings. It was the general consensus of the TAC that USFS reps would be welcome as members if they are indeed interested. The Board was asked their thoughts on inviting the USFS to participate in TEDD and the NEW RTPO. The general consensus was that a letter of invitation, signed by the Chairmen, should be sent regarding both TAC membership and TEDD/NEW RTPO Board membership. UPWP Update -Rob Willford talked about the UPWP review meeting that was held on April 18th. Chairmen of the TAC and Board attended, in addition to reps from WSDOT, Plangineering, and EWU. WSDOT was very pleased with the draft SFY2015 UPWP; very few changes were requested. Staff will be sending out the draft, again, for TAC and Board review and we’ll plan to approve the final at the May meetings. Other -Discussing some beneficial outcomes of the UPWP review meeting, Wes McCart talked about WSDOT offering to coordinate discussion regarding important cross-border issues affecting our region. -He also mentioned veteran public transit failings and how TEDD/NEW RTPO and WSDOT can address some of the coordination issues surrounding those short-comings. -Rob Willford spoke very briefly in regard to US Bike Route 10. TEDD/NEW RTPO did send a letter of support, as approved at the last TAC and Board meetings. John Pope has extended his gratitude. We’ve heard nothing else on the potential designation.

5. Action Items  Approval of 2014 Loan Committee Membership An up-to-date list of the 2014 Loan Committee members was provided for review. Mike Blankenship made a motion to approve the 2014 Loan Committee membership. Greg Knight seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Tri County Economic Development District / RTPO Board of Directors Page 3 of 4 April 23rd, 2014 Meeting Minutes 6. Updates from Members & Related Organizations -Jamie Wyrobek informed the Board that Teck Cominco is reopening the mine in north Pend Oreille County. They should be in full production early next year. With the reopening comes approximately 240 new jobs! -Rob mentioned the MSA addendum to the CEDS. The addendum/update will be sent out for review and the 2014 CEDS update should be ready for approval at the May meeting. He also informed the Board that Stevens County Assessor, Al Taylor, has decided to waive property taxes for TEDD, for the offices at 986 South Main, beginning in 2015. The incubator facilities at 247 and 285 West 2nd will still be taxed as they are a revenue source. This will save TEDD $6000+ annually. -Debra Hansen mentioned the small business networking classes that the WSU Extension is sponsoring. It is a series of 4 classes; 2 have been held so far and have been well-attended and very successful. She handed out a flier detailing the series. -Terry Knapton talked briefly about KCTC and their partnership with Salish Community College and the Spokane Tribal College. They are now offering a 2-year program focused on educating local kids and keeping them in the area through gainful employment. -Mike Blankenship talked more about the USFS and OHV issues. He asked why regional OHV groups haven’t heard anything about this potential OHV recreation area in Chewelah. Why does the whole thing seem so secretive? It seems the USFS has done everything possible to stymie OHV use in the National Forest and hotels and hunting in the area are suffering because of it. He suggested that we do proceed with adding a section in the CEDS regarding the OHV issues; it should be included in this update, along with the MSA addendum.

7. Adjournment As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted: Mallory Conner, Finance Manager

Attest

Wes McCart, Chairman Mike Blankenship, Secretary

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