Title
AN ORDINANCE authorizing the executive to enter into an interlocal agreement between King County and the King Conservation District; and declaring an emergency.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. The King Conservation District is a governmental subdivision of the state of Washington, organized under chapter 89.08 RCW to protect and conserve natural resources throughout King County.
B. The King County council has responsibilities under chapter 89.08 RCW to approve a system of assessments, where those assessments, in the judgment of the council, do not exceed the benefit received by the land from the activities of the district, and where the public interest is served by the imposition of the assessment.
C. The county and the King Conservation District each have an interest in acting to preserve the natural resources of the region, and have numerous cooperative services and programs intended to support that purpose.
D. The county and the King Conservation District are authorized under chapter 39.34 RCW (Interlocal Cooperation Act) and RCW 89.08.341 to enter into cooperative interlocal agreements for the purpose of engaging in cooperative efforts to promote, facilitate and undertake programs and activities relating to the conservation of natural resources.
E. The county and the King Conservation District have historically expressed their cooperative relationship through use of these interlocal agreements which have described the processes and mechanisms by which they were to carry out their respective roles.
F. The county and the King Conservation District continue to share a mutual goal of providing a stable and predictable source of funding for the district's conservation programs and for the district's support of the Water Resource Inventory Area forums' implementation of salmon habitat recovery plans in King County, and local jurisdictions' natural resource conservation programs and activities, so that the district, the county, and member jurisdictions, the watershed forums and other stakeholders can implement long-range plans for natural resource conservation. The attached interlocal agreement provides for such stability and predictability as to funding needs.
G. The attached interlocal agreement also provides a framework for the county and the King Conservation District to continue to cooperatively undertake and fund natural resource conservation programs, projects and activities that are consistent with and reflective of the priorities that each attaches to these important endeavors.
H. The King Conservation District and the county have negotiated the attached interlocal agreement, with extensive involvement from affected city governments. It has required a significant period of time to weigh the various interests of these many parties and for the district and the county to comply with the numerous requirements of state law related to the special assessment. Unless this ordinance is enacted as an emergency ordinance, it may not be legally effective within the time needed for the parties to execute the agreement before subsequent timely decision on imposition of a special assessment for natural resource conservation purposes by the county. Enactment of this ordinance to support and preserve natural resource conservation funding for the conservation district, the watershed resource inventory areas and local government in the coming year is necessary for the immediate preservation of the of public peace, health or safety and for the support of county government and its existing public institutions.
SECTION 2. The King County executive is hereby authorized to enter into an interlocal agreement with the King Conservation District, substantially in the form of Attachment A to this ordinance, that establishes the roles and responsibilities of the county and the King Conservation District in cooperatively undertaking natural resource conservation programs, projects and activities under funding obtained through a system of special assessments.
SECTION 3. The county council finds as a fact and declares that an emergency exists and that this ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace,
health or safety or for the support of county government and its existing public institutions.