These notes were taken by an Okanogan County Watch volunteer. Every attempt is made to be accurate. Notes are verbatim when possible, and otherwise summarized or paraphrased.
Note takers comments or clarifications are in italics. These notes are not the official county record of the meeting. For officially approved minutes, which are normally published at a later time, CLICK HERE.
The time stamps refer to the times on the AV Capture archive of the meeting on this date at the County livestream archive. To locate items in real time, the clock on the wall in the AV Capture screen can be helpful.
03.03.2025 Mon AM BOCC
Meeting Highlights:
· Planning Dept update – Farm Bureau is doing independent training regarding procedures for GMA counties. BOCC is not sure why as OK County does not plan under the GMA; discussion about properties that were identified as out of compliance due to being in the flood plain.
· Update on new morgue and Sheriff storage building.
· Fairgrounds manager update – status of parking lot (terrible); discussion about whether to provide temporary fans for livestock buildings during the County Fair.
· Emergency Manager introduces liaison officer from National Guard and they talk about ways that they can help out during emergencies.
· County Clerk gives update on new E-filing system status (temporarily delayed); announces upcoming training for all county departments regarding Procedural Justice and encourages BOCC to attend. Training will help county employees better understand how people are impacted by financial stress.
· Comm. Hover stops Zoom due to no quorum present when Comm. Neal leaves the room.
· Update from Okanogan County Community Action Council (OCCAC) on the impact of Federal budget cuts. Many eligible people will not be able to receive the food and assistance they count on. BOCC is convinced that the cuts are due to the recent discovery of waste in the Federal Govt and that if the BOCC writes a letter to the new EPA Secretary explaining that we don’t spend the money on frivolous things and that it will be going to deserving American Citizens, it will be restored. OCCAC is going to try to focus on teaching people how to grow and preserve their own food in anticipation that their funding will be reduced for a long time.