Kittitas County approves consent agenda, sets hearings on fees and airport FBO; OKs chamber funding and lease amendments

The Kittitas County Board of Commissioners approved its consent agenda Tuesday, voting to amend the meeting agenda and to approve a package of routine and substantive items that included setting several public hearings, authorizing lease amendments at Bowers Field and industrial lots, acknowledging a federal emergency management grant and approving a $180,000 personnel award to the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce.

The vote cleared a request to set a March 4, 2025, public hearing to consider suspending the county's annual docket cycles for 2025 and 2026 as part of a larger periodic update (Chad Vela, CDS director). The board also set a March 4, 2025, 2 p.m. public hearing to consider proposed amendments to the Public Works fee schedule, including a new franchise-amendment fee, a $9.72 administrative fee for road-use agreements (described as covering paperwork only, with traffic-control costs billed separately), and a separate fee for the county's purchase of the Rowan Water Bank.

Public Works staff also asked the board to set a March 4, 2025, 2 p.m. public hearing to consider an agreement with Aviation Services LLC to serve as the fixed-base operator (FBO) at Kittitas County Airport, Bowers Field. Josh Frederickson (public works) told commissioners the proposed FBO agreement would include provision of pilot lounge and restroom facilities, hangar and storage access, and a lease to operate county-owned fuel tanks.

The board approved, as part of the consent agenda, an interlocal agreement to allow Kittitas County to house inmates for the City of Mill Creek at daily rates described in the proposed contract as $110 per day and $220 per day for single-cell housing (Devin Duncan, sheriff's office). The board also acknowledged the county's EMPG24 emergency-management grant agreement (E25-236) and approved Amendment 1 to the 2025'027 consolidated contract between the Washington State Department of Health and Kittitas County Public Health Department to provide full funding for listed statements of work (Casey Knudson, Public Health).

Commissioners adopted a resolution to accept a recommendation from the regional Conference of Governments to fund Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce personnel for 2025 in the amount of $180,000 from the county's 0.09 distressed county sales-and-use-tax allocation; staff said the funds are intended to support agritourism, small-business development and chamber communications.

Staff presented and the board approved several lease amendments affecting county property at Bowers Field and in the industrial area. On industrial lots the county proposed a standard 10% rent increase every five years to replace expired CPI-based adjustments that no longer reference a published Bureau of Labor Statistics index; the board approved similar 10% adjustments for other industrial leases. On aeronautical lots, the county proposed an 8% adjustment used across airfield leases, moving one hangar rate from $0.12 per square foot to $0.13 per square foot for the next five years; one of those changes accompanies removal of a lot sold to Cheyenne Air LLC and timing of a separate hearing for that buyer.

All items on the consent agenda were approved by voice vote; the board recorded "Aye" and the motions passed. No individual roll-call tallies were provided in the meeting record.

The board held two short executive sessions under state law to consult with legal counsel about potential litigation; no action was taken on returning to open session and the meeting concluded.