by Richard Uhlhorn
Chelan County Commissioners held constituent meetings in each of their districts with Commissioner Brad Hawkins meeting with his district residents on October 1 at the Chelan Fire Hall.
In his opening remarks, Hawkins stated that 80 percent of the county is publicly held. “A small percentage is in private hands,” stated Hawkins. He told the 20 people In attendance that the county is still working on its 2027 budget. “Public safety is about half of our budget,” he said
Hawkins doesn’t feel that the Forest Service has done a good job in Manson and Chelan for two decades. “We need significantly more investment in forest management,” said Hawkins. “We need a quick response to put fires out rapidly.” He added that the federal government has been great to work with. “They have been very responsive.”
He introduced his three department heads to the attendees including Deanna Walter – Community Development; Eric Pierson – County Engineer; and Mike Kaputa – Department
Eric Pierson remarked on the construction work that has been done in Manson. Currently the county is conducting a survey on school safety access for students and last year received a federal grant to study evacuation routes in case of an emergency situation. “Manson is a very special place,” state Pierson.
Deanna Walter stated that her department handles all building permits. “We have to be familiar with all five segments of the process… it’s a tough chore. We are also the liaison for code enforcement.”
She added that the department is close to finishing its annual Comprehensive Plan Update required by law. She said that the department is committed to a 10 day period for building permits.
She also stated that there are still opportunities to comment on the comprehensive plan. Hawkins added that there are still a lot of opportunities to comment on the plan.
Mike Kaputa stated that his department is working on a number of programs and projects including Stehekin’s Community Plan and with the National Parks Service on the valley’s road issues.
“There is a lot of work going on in Lake Chelan too,” said Kaputa. He mentioned the $130,000 grant to study the woody debris situation in the lake. “We are expecting to come up with a plan on how to handle it in the future.”
In addition to that issue, the Natural Resource Department in conjunction with the Lake Chelan Collaborative is working on a variety of lake issues including a plan to keep invasive aquatic species from the lake. Water supply has also been an ongoing issue. “That little slice of water left is being gobbled up.” Currently, there is approximately 5,000 acre feet left out of the 65,000 acre feet deeded for public use by the PUD.
Brad Hawkins answered a question by Chelan Fire Commissioner Mark Donnell on where the county is on Tax Increment Areas (TIA). Hawkins stated that the Malaga issue with the Port District is huge. “The potential impact on county revenue is large,” said Hawkins. “That is why we have to come up with an agreement. We are challenging their (Port) formation. It is a very complicated situation.” Deanna Walters added that a city or county can only have two tax districts
A question was raised about the disposition of the Lake Chelan Barge land out at Moonlight Bay. Walters said the issue was a DOT issue. “They didn’t want to grant the barge company access off the highway,” she said. The barge company has an emergency permit to use the land because of the on-going wildfire issues up-lake requiring major barge service. “The Holden road issue will continue the emergency permit into the future.”
County contacts:
If you have a question for the county, here is the contact information:
- Website: co.chelan.wa.us
See “Contact Us” (left side columns) - Public Works
Eric Pierson@co.chelan.wa.us - Community Development
Deanna C. Walter@co.chelan.wa.us - Natural Resources
Mike.Kaputa@co.chelan.wa.us
Commissioner Meetings
The commission meets on Monday and Tuesday. Monday’s meeting begins at 9 a.m. with public comments shortly after the beginning. Tuesday’s meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. in board chambers, 400 Douglas Street, Wenatchee.
The weekly agenda, board packet and ZOOM login are available on Friday before the meetings on the commissioners webpage: co.chelan.wa.us/board-of-commissioners.
The county is active on social media, including Facebook, Instagram and on its YouTube channel.Public Information Office
If you have a question, you can email or call the county’s public information officer, PIO Jill FitzSimmons who can be reached at jillm.fitzsimmons@co.chelan.wa.us or by telephone at 509-667-6545.
