County staff propose land-use and recreation planner; commissioners ask for more detail and return in a month

Kittitas County Community Development Services staff proposed creating a combined land-use and recreation planner position to implement the county'021 Recreation and Tourism Plan and to coordinate recreation activities across jurisdictions and agencies. Commissioners asked staff to refine the position scope, funding and interagency coordination and to return to a future meeting for further discussion.

Chad Bayless, director of Community Development Services, recounted the plan's history and said the county adopted the Recreation and Tourism Plan by Resolution 2021-116. Bayless said the proposed position would help implement priority actions identified in that plan, including trails, parks and open-space strategies, and would serve as a liaison with other agencies, utilities and neighboring jurisdictions.

"This person would be our liaison between that and attend those things and comment on those proposals," Bayless said, describing recent participation in Grant County PUD—fforts and the county's interest in monitoring proposals that affect Kittitas County. Bayless said the position could review land-use projects and spend a larger share of time on recreational lands and partnerships while continuing some land-use review duties.

Commissioners pressed staff on cost and backfill questions. One commissioner noted the financial component is important; another asked whether an existing planner could absorb the work. Bayless said the department has three planner 1 positions and one senior land-use planner with significant recreation experience; he said hiring the new position would require backfilling a planner 1 role and that staff has begun comparing salaries and job descriptions from other jurisdictions.

Public comment at the meeting included a statement from Pat Kelleher, identified in the record as a resident, who urged caution about creating a new county position. Kelleher told commissioners the county had experienced deficits and said, "expenses exceeded revenue by over $4,000,000 last year" and that the county currently has "28 vacancies," remarks recorded as public comment to be added to the meeting record. Those figures were presented by the speaker and were not verified by staff during the session.

Staff and commissioners discussed possible funding sources, with Bayless noting grants, general fund adjustments and prior references to the county's REIT funding as possible avenues. Commissioners suggested coordinating the position development with Public Works and HR and recommended returning with a refined scope and funding plan in about a month. No formal hiring decision or budget appropriation was made at the session.

Bayless and department staff said they will continue interagency coordination, refine the position description, identify funding options and return to the board with a proposal and potential timeline. The board suggested adding the topic to a future HR study session and meeting again in mid-May or at the next CVS meeting to continue discussion.