KCAA Board Members Testify at Final Year of the Rural Public Hearing

On Monday, November 10th, the KCAA Board showed up in numbers to comment on the proposed changes to the Year of the Rural 2.0 Deliverables Draft. The public hearing was held at the Kitsap County Commissioners’ Hearing Room in Port Orchard, and KCAA Board President, Bob Geballe, read KCAA's official statement to the Board of County Commissioners. Board Members Karissa Holcombe, Jeremy Anunson, and Scott Hall also made comments as individual stakeholders.

Bob Geballe

Karissa Holcombe

Jeremy Anunson

You can read KCAA's public hearing statement below, and then continue on for our full statement on all of the YOTR Draft 2.0 Deliverables.

"Hello, I'm Bob Geballe, and I'm the Board President of the Kitsap Community and Agricultural Alliance. Our mission is to support agriculture through the county and foster connections between the larger community and the agricultural community. Implicit in that is the understanding that agriculture is crucial to a viable and delightful environment for all residents of Kitsap County. I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you, and I want to express appreciation and amazement at the amount of work that Heather has done. The KCAA acknowledges all of her hard work this year.

First, we have a number of comments that we have submitted through the website and Heather will provide those to you, I'm sure. But I want to talk specifically about the description of the Agriculture Advisory Council. We see that as crucial going forward. Right now, the current wording in the Rural and Resource Land Strategy 5C reads as follows: "Form an Agricultural Advisory Council to inform the agricultural community about the development of future policies and regulations and act as a resource to farmers regarding incentives and other assistance programs."

To use an agricultural term, that is ass-backwards. The reading should be something closer to this:

"The Ag Advisory Council would advise commissioners and staff on key agricultural matters, including policy, land use and economic opportunities while serving as a collaborative forum for stakeholders to shape the long-term sustainability and reliance of the county's agricultural community." We hope that you adopt that and alter the wording in version 2.0. Thank you." Click HERE for KCAA's full comments on“Year of the Rural” (YOTR) Draft 2.0 Update Deliverables.