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.
06.24.2025 Tues AM BOCC
Meeting Highlights:
Kayla Wells-Yoakum, Okanogan County Director of WSU Extension, discusses a plan for a regional director for administrative duties. The WSU Extension Director and Associate Dean and two others are considering the plan and want feedback from county commissioners throughout the state. Okanogan County could be part of the pilot program.
Raven Aae, an advocate for domestic violence victims, discusses several changes the county could make that would improve the situation for victims, law enforcement officers and the public. She explains EMVNT (Electronic Monitoring and Victim Notification Technology), a system used in Clark County.
Randy Theis, Director, Office of the Public Defender, describes a potentially expensive situation. Courts may find that co-defendants can’t be represented by lawyers in the same Public Defenders Office, as they may have a conflict of interest. If that’s the case, then the county would have to hire outside council for the many cases it handles that involve more than one defendant.
In 1996, the county damaged the Whitestone Reclamation District’s underground irrigation pipe, and last summer the pipe began to leak. The District repaired that leak, but they worry that if the pipe develops a much bigger leak, the road could be washed away, and irrigation would not be possible. The county and the federal government need to make an agreement concerning liability as quickly as possible so that repairs can begin after the irrigation season ends.
Josh Thomson updates the commissioners about Public Works. Methow Trails would like the BOCC to sign a grant agreement with the state concerning the proposed trail from Winthrop to Twisp, but Commissioner Hover wants to hear from James DeSalvo, Executive Director of Methow Trails, first.
Meeting adjourned at 11:30.