Roll call

Review and approve agenda

Public comment on topics, which are not listed on the agenda

Approval of minutes

7:20 PM

Flood Control Zone District, SWMM, & Storm Water Management Program - Joanna Richey, Assistant Director of the Water & Land Resources & Parks WLRD - Joanna began by giving us the definition of stormwater. Stormwater happens when the land is cleared or results from rain falling on hard/impervious surfaces. Floods happen seasonally, and rain on snow events are the biggest flooding that we have in our area. Stormwater management is considered a local service, and they provide service to Unincorporated King County. Cities have similar programs within their jurisdictions.

The WLRD provides four services:

1. They regulate to reduce the amount of stormwater and pollutants leaving newly developed or re-developed lots. This comes from the Surface Water Design Manual.

2. They use best management practices for source control, water quality audits, and drainage problems.

3. Capital projects to repair damage caused by uncontrolled stormwater events and install treatment for pollutant removal.

4. Engineering studies and monitoring to help prioritize problems and perform water quality audits. Together these services meet stormwater permit requirements. Stormwater is regulated through a permit system, and is governed by the Washington Department of Ecology under the Federal Clean Water Act permit authority. Joanna mentioned that it wasn’t until the 1990’s that we really understood how to monitor and control the runoff.

King County levies a stormwater management fee that is flat on all developed parcels in Unincorporated King County, and is $111/yr. Fees are based on the relative amount of impervious (hard) surface on a parcel. Fees are variable based on impervious area for commercial parcels, and forested lands pay no fee. There are ways that citizens can apply for discounts if they are controlling their surface water management. This year King County has collected just under $20 million dollars. As cities annex, the annual revenue will be reduced to $11 million. A question was asked: What they do when runoff impacts more than one jurisdiction? Joanna answered that the efforts are coordinated between the two jurisdictions because the State monitors these efforts. We have about 40 cities in the jurisdiction so we are all sharing each others stormwater. Cities also levy SWM fees, and some cities levy higher fees than others. North Bend, Carnation and Snoqualmie are not currently a part of this system. Fees are also levied against roads, and Federal roads are not exempted.

The question of stormwater management ponds came up, and how these benefit runoff and SWM. Joanna said that the ability to actually filter and control the temperature is much better than it used to be in prior years. Some of the ponds will actually control oil runoff. There is a requirement to monitor the sediment in these ponds, and we have contracted with a company to remove the contaminated sediment. The fees collected help with the cost of inspection. One of the biggest problems is how to retrofit areas that were developed before 1990 particularly in the area of roads. Joanna said that in order to go back we will have to look at funding from both the State and Federal Government. About $6 million of her budget goes to Capital projects.

Flooding

Joanna stated that the University of Washington has indicated that climate change will actually increase the number of disasters we have. Flood control is a major concern annually, and King County provides the following services to manage flooding:

1. Regulations to prohibit development in flood prone areas.

2. We have a countywide system of levees to protect regionally important businesses, infrastructure, and public safety along major rivers.

3. Home elevations and flood buyouts along major rivers.

4. Flood warning, emergency response and damage repair.

5. Maintenance of countywide flood facilities.

6. Complete engineering studies and monitoring on large rivers.

The question was asked: Why we are being assessed another 10 cents per $1000 assessed value? The answer is that we are not doing a good job of managing our levees. Our structures are simply unsafe. The additional fee is to update our facilities. Another question was asked: Why did we create another district instead of having the SWM department control this? Rivers flow through multiple districts so the State wanted certainty that the moneys would be spent to protect the safety of the citizens. (206) 296-6501 is the complaint hotline. Lauren Smith was also in attendance.

8:40 PM

Cedar Hills Capacity/ Bill Beck – Bill is a former member of the Greater Maple Valley Area Council, and spoke to us about the life expectancy of Cedar Hills. Bill mentioned that the landfill has been scheduled to close around 2016. You can call (206) 296-4490 to make reservations for a one-hour tour, and there will be a meeting on Cedar Hills after the next tour.

Bill noted that R.W. Beck did a study on capacity and waste export to determine the best way to dispose of our waste. The principle objectives were:

1. Currently it is less costly to dispose at Cedar Hills than export.

2. If we can extend the life of Cedar Hills, then other options might be possible.

3. Is it possible for Cedar Hills to become a cash cow for King County?

Bill noted that Cedar Hills is not owned by the Solid Waste division, and that it is owned by King County. In essence King County can charge the solid waste division to deposit at Cedar Hills. It is possible that additional pits can be dug, and some of the current areas can add additional waste because of settlement. There is a concern that we should not let Cedar Hills reach capacity in case there is some kind of emergency that closes the rail and exporting is delayed. The solid waste division currently owns the Fischer Flour Mill, and this could be opened for solid waste disposal.

9:10 PM

Ravensdale Park Review/Gordon Moorman – Gordon provided maps that can be found on the GMVAC website that illustrate the accomplishments of the Ravensdale stakeholder groups. The major stakeholders are the Greater Maple Valley Unincorporated Area Council, Friends of Rock Creek Valley, the Maple Valley Soccer Association, Citizens for Rural Ravensdale, and the Cedar River Baseball Council. There were only about four citizens who had concerns. The Citizens for Rural Ravensdale were very happy because there will eventually have a Cultural Center. This will be paid for by the Parks Community Partnership program. This is currently a 10 year plan, and the citizens of Ravensdale wanted to maintain the through road through the park. This road will be rerouted, and the design of the road itself will slow people down. Gordon will continue to be involved with the group, and help identify grant monies with the help of TJ.

9:25 PM

Committee Assignments – Steve received thank you notes from the groups we donated money to from the train show.

9:30 PM

Adjourn