Commissioners confirm April 15 agritourism hearing plans amid scheduling conflicts; urge public comment on state tax proposals

Yakima County commissioners discussed potential quorum conflicts for an agritourism hearing scheduled for April 15 and asked staff to check whether the hearing time could be adjusted so commissioners could attend in person or by Zoom. The matter came up under new business at the board's April 1 weekly agenda meeting.

Julie, the clerk of the board, told commissioners she wanted to confirm that a quorum would be present for the April 15 agritourism hearing and noted scheduling conflicts: Commissioner McKinney has interviews for a sergeant position and Commissioner Lindy has a quarterly meeting tied to the EPA. Commissioner Lindy said she planned to Zoom in but preferred to attend the work session if the schedule could be adjusted; Commissioners asked staff to "give me a couple more hours" to check with YSO about pushing their meeting start time so the agritourism hearing could proceed as scheduled.

Separately, Commissioner McKinney used new business to call attention to proposed state legislation that he described as "monumental proposed tax increases," and he encouraged residents to register their views with the governor's office and their state legislators. He said that comment submissions made to the legislature are tallied and noted the value of constituents registering positions on bills.

No formal scheduling decision was recorded at the meeting; staff committed to follow up on whether the agritourism hearing time could be adjusted so commissioners could attend. The meeting adjourned after commissioners moved to close the agenda meeting.