Chelan County - Board of County Commissioners - Board Meeting
(November 10, 2020) - In Brief

During their weekly meeting, the three elected Chelan County Commissioners met with the Director of Community Development to discuss code enforcement actions and confirmed that the County Fire Marshal had not performed a required annual inspection of marijuana processor extraction equipment in over a year.

• During the Community Development Department update, the Chelan County Commissioners hosted an executive session to discuss litigation and “matters relating to agency enforcement action” for at least the third week in a row.
  • Community Development Director Jim Brown and County Prosecutor Marcus Foster asked for an "executive session to discuss, with legal counsel present, matters relating to agency enforcement action." Initially scheduled for 20 minutes, the closed discussion was extended three times before Commissioners reconvened their public meeting after 35 minutes.

• After returning from executive session, Commissioners discussed the “pro forma” protest letters sent to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) in response to licensure of local marijuana and alcohol businesses - and mentioned their efforts to change applicable statutes at the Legislature.
  • Brown noted, "we have been receiving some of the typical notifications we receive from the Liquor and Cannabis Board about liquor license applications and we have been objecting to those that are connected to unlawful land uses associated with the same property." He said, "we've been denying, well we can't deny 'em, but we've been objecting to those." Board Chair Doug England replied, "Same like we [inaudible] marijuana - gee, thank you, however, we really want to support the local people. However, I have no grounds for non-renewal and they're not giving us any right to administrative appeal of the decision." County Commissioner Bob Bugert agreed that the County was replying with "pro forma letters." Brown concluded, "I wish there could be a better outcome through their process, but it does seem a bit tilted."
  • England went on to say, "We've asked [former Chelan County Commissioner and State Representative] Keith [Goehner] also to work on that and he said it's surprising the pushback that he gets from the other legislators and I don't understand, you know, why there's that problem. Because they're saying by RCW, they're not calling it an illegal activity. And so that's the only grounds that they can deny it and I think, 'good grief'."

• Chelan County’s Fire Marshal visited with the County Commissioners, and provided his perspective on the inspection of cannabis processor extraction equipment required by the WSLCB.
  • During his update on Fire Prevention and Investigations activity, Chelan County Fire Marshal Bob Plumb was pointedly asked by County Commissioner Kevin Overbay, "I know that you are getting requests, I think, from marijuana producers to inspect their extractors?" Plumb replied, "I hadn't had anything since we had our discussions about a month ago, or two months ago, when I requested a special session. I haven't heard anything from any of the marijuana producers now for at least a month and a half."
  • Overbay continued, "Maybe you can help this board out: is that a requirement by Liquor and Cannabis Control that those be inspected by the Fire Marshal?" Plumb confirmed, "It is. Before the State is supposed to sign off there was supposed to be a local approval from the authority having jurisdiction which would be the fire marshal. It's a code requirement to have a permit that was put into the fire code. And then the section in the WAC has a specific outline of the requirements for each facility. The ones that I've been in were pretty close, and that was back when we were starting to do conditional use, the pre-apps for conditional use permits two years ago. But I haven't been in one for over a year."
  • Overbay followed up, "Are those an annual inspection?" Plumb replied, "It's an annual inspection with an annual permit. There were only two facilities left that had extractors to the best of my knowledge: one in Malaga and one in Monitor. And I don't know what the status of those businesses are. I've heard that they may not be able to continue with the Monitor, I think it was Evergreen [Production] in Monitor, just because of the zoning. And I'm not sure what's going on with - the business in Malaga."
  • After England confirmed the Malaga-based business was Double Delicious, Plumb added, "They were pretty insistent. They wanted me to come and do an inspection and I was pretty insistent that I couldn't until they actually got through the process." England concluded, "We appreciate that, because that's our understanding, too."

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