RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS
OKANOGAN COUNTY
FEBRUARY 11, 2020
The Okanogan County Board of Commissioners met in regular
session at 123 5th Avenue North, Okanogan, Washington on February 11, 2020, with
Chairman, Commissioner Jim DeTro; Vice Chairman, Commissioner Chris Branch;
Member, Commissioner Andy Hover and Laleña Johns, Clerk of the Board, present.
9:10 a.m. Jan Young, member of the public video and audio
recording the meetings for Okanogan Watch group.
Staff Meeting
Naomie Peasley, Joe
Ms. Peasley explained she attended her first FAC meeting
last night. She relayed the tension between the Beef Barn and the Little Beef
Barn superintendents because the Big Beef Barn feels they were not consulted
first prior to the Queen’s presentation to the commissioners. She said it was
very overwhelming and she didn’t sleep because it seems like they don’t know
what they are doing. Commissioner Hover explained the meeting date changes and
why. There are quite a few members who have served a long time.
Business week is coming up and they are requesting a fee
waiver same as last year.
Motion Fee Waiver Request Business Week
Commissioner Branch moved to approve the fee waiver request
for Business Week at 50% reduction of the full cost during the week of 3/16-3/20
and authorized the chairman to sign. Motion was seconded, all were in favor,
motion carried. (attached)
Ms. Peasley said she is meeting with the Falcon Gun Show.
She said this is going to be a big deal with a farmers market and a carnival
planned. The vendor has already advertised the event. Commissioner Hover asked
that the event be coordinated with the Sheriff because of liability issues and
what the group proposes for the show.
Ms. Peasley showed the commissioners the current condition
of the room dividers. She would like to replace them with new partitions but
they are very expensive. She thought covers could be made for the old ones.
Commissioner Branch thought he could check the surplus stores on the west side
and Commissioner Hover thought a Home Economics class or a youth 4-H group could
help sew them. Ms. Peasley said 4-H has a winter sewing camp. These are good
options to explore.
Ms. Peasley said she is meeting with the City of Omak about
their online payment service VISA CampLife to learn how they do it and how we
can do it here. The City only does online camping payments. Their camp host has
an iPad tablet to help process payments when campers don’t have the means to
process on their own. Commissioners discussed the transfer of one of the
Assessor’s surplus iPads to the Fairgrounds. The Clerk of the Board said a
resolution will be needed to memorialize the transfer.
Commissioner Hover remembered the ear tags will need to be
ordered. The ones left over from last year just need chips for them. There were
50 tags saved from last year. Ms. Peasley inquired where the steer barn should
put the steer poop during fair? She said they are complaining that there isn’t a
place to put it during fair. Right now, a trailer is used during fair to haul it
away and is very inconvenient. Joe Poulin said Sam Buchert was in charge of that
and he resigned the committee. Who will be responsible for moving the trailer
and dumping it? Mr. Poulin suggested that an ecology block area be created
between the barns that would be cleaned out at the end of fair. Ms. Peasley
asked about selling the poo like others do. Mr. Poulin said in the past some of
it has been spread out onto the grounds. Commissioners felt how that is dealt
with would be a staff level decision.
Ms. Peasley was contacted by OCTC and they recommended the
Fairgrounds be a member. The cost for membership is $40. Advantages of
membership were discussed.
Joe Poulin explained fairgrounds maintenance coordinator
Kyle Haugen, built 27 new picnic tables using 600 lag bolts that he donated and
the old lumber from the arena for the tables. Mr. Poulin explained he spoke to
Dave Petit about the lighting in the Little Beef Barn. He also explained another
quote he obtained for the Agriplex lighting. (attached) He said their money
would be saved by changing out high wattage bulbs with low wattage ones. Mr.
Poulin said this would be a project his staff could accomplish for the Agriplex
to change out the lights on the west side in common area courtyard, Annex,
kitchen and bathrooms. The PUD usage information is now available for each of
the ground meters.
Mr. Poulin discussed replacement of the electric stoves in
the Fairgrounds Annex Kitchen with gas stoves. Commissioner Hover reminded the
group about the Treasurer and Auditor’s request for safety windows in their
office’s and the plethora of other projects needing attention. Commissioner
Branch suggested prioritization.
Mr. Poulin said he spoke with Divco about a quote to do the
mini splits and they said we would need multi-heads and so they are looking into
what that will look like, learn the integrity of the building, learn which units
work best for the different floors, and measuring the rooms to be served for a
quote. Divco will be on site next week to look at the units to be replaced.
Surplus auction is scheduled for Saturday April 18 at the
Fairgrounds. The Clerk of the Board is working on the auctioneer bid packets and
advertisements.
Commissioner Hover explained an amendment is needed for
resolution 23-2020 as it didn’t include an effective date or rescind the
previous resolution.
Motion Resolution 23-2020 Amendment
Commissioner Hover moved to amend resolution 23-2020 to
include an effective date of February 10, 2020, and rescind the prior resolution
7-2016. Motion was seconded, all were in favor, motion
Commissioners discussed a draft thank you letter to the
Fair Queen for her presentation and future plans for the Little Beef Barn. The
Clerk of the Board suggested that it would provide the memorialization of the
BOCC for going forward with the project as proposed by the Queen. Commissioner
Hover did attend the early part of the FAC meeting last night and told the group
about the BOCC being in favor of the project. It was well thought out plan.
Motion Thank You Letter Fair Queen
Commissioner Branch moved to authorize a thank you letter
to Ms. Whitney Wilson the 2020 Okanogan County Fair Queen. Motion was seconded,
all were in favor, motion carried.
Commissioner Branch requested that the Clerk of the Board
not take notes when there is no quorum present. He feels it is a risk management
issue. Make sure the minutes reflect when there is not a quorum present.
The Clerk will acknowledge in the minutes when there is not
a quorum.
Update – Treasurer – Treasurer Leah McCormack
Treasurer McCormack CANCELLED the Treasurer’s update this
morning.
Update – Auditor -Auditor Cari Hall
Jamie Groomes
Ms. Hall explained today is Election Day with school levies
on the ballot. She hopes there will be a lot in the ballot boxes. February 21st
is the presidential mailing day and certifying that day and mailing ballots out
thereafter. Two elections going at the same time.
Jamie Groomes said February 19 & 21 she will need a
commissioner to canvas. She brought the delegation of authority forms to be
signed by Commissioner DeTro for both Wednesday and Friday. Commissioner Branch
said he would Wednesday and Commissioner Hover said he would on Friday as
Commissioner DeTro will be absent both those days.
Ms. Hall explained the process for collecting ballots from
the ballot boxes and where they are located. Ms. Hall said she is working on
additional spots for box placement. She will keep trying to locate. She is
working closely with the Tribal council and will go to the cities chamber of
commerce.
The biggest complaint is the $30-tab fee which the county
does not control.
Working on the annual report. The challenge is there are
many new people doing a portion of the report, changes the State Auditor made
must also be incorporated. The scheduled of financial awards will be done by
her. The report is due in May and May is the only month open for staff
vacations.
Candidates may file online and is a convenience we like to
offer.
The Dept. of Licensing sub agent for Twisp is now open. Jim
Grinnell is the agent and he is qualified to operate on his own. The office is
located at Filer Plumbing.
Update - Public Works – Engineer Josh Thomson
Kent Kovalenko
Solid Waste
Mr. Kovalenko explained Department of Ecology has chippers
they are disbursing. He explained there are quite a few entities who expressed a
need for a chipper, but there are quite a few logistics involved. He said he
came up with an idea to create a co-op of those within the Okanogan River Air
shed. That way they could share a chipper instead of each trying to get their
own. Commissioners believe the idea to be a good one and encouraged moving
forward with it.
DOE Leachate Testing Request
DOE sent a letter requesting Leachate testing for certain
synthetic chemicals in the landfill and there were over 3000 produced in the
1940’s. This will be a fact finding test. He spoke to Stevens County as they are
up to their neck in leachate and they are letting DOE come and test. He doesn’t
see any issue with them testing our leachate. That way we are on the up front to
see if there is anything there. It is like any other chemical but they do wish
to create a benchmark. The chemical is real prevalent in manufacturing
industries, he doesn’t feel it will be that prevalent here.
A mandate will likely come from the testing’s that would be
applied to everyone. Commissioner Branch encouraged cooperation with the agency
in this matter. Tracking such contaminants is very important.
Maintenance & Road Conditions
Engineer Thomson explained a few more roads were placed on
the emergency restriction list. Last week there was a lot of snow in the
Oroville area at around 8 inches.
Statler Bridge Replacement Project
Engineer Thomson reported the project moving along slowly.
Girders were supposed to go in on the 26th with several weeks afterward before
opening the bridge.
Purchasing Policy
The policy was sent out last week to departments for
review. It generated some comments. For the emergency situation it was suggested
that the commissioner whose district the emergency is in would be called first.
Public Works Policy Updates
Types of policies: Complaint handling, work for others,
priority programming.
Engineer Thomson said CRAB is wanting to review our
policies and procedures, so he will work on making sure they are all up to date
before submitting to CRAB.
Engineer Thomson explained the timeline and how the MDO
funding required the funds to be obligated. Existing goals of the whole MDO had
to be met prior to award of new projects. To help the situation, the rule was
changed and now individual goals must be met. We are individually on our own and
not lumped together.
Engineer Thomson explained how redistribution works and the
grace period allowed prior to sanctioning. The county’s MDO has not met our
target for several years, and they are city projects. It is difficult to manage,
so he is reviewing the information as it appears we will not meet our target
again this year. We need to do another call for projects from cities and towns.
(FTP?) STP funding awards was discussed for full projects. Engineer Thomson is
telling cities if they have a complicated project that they seek initial funding
for plans and specs before an award of the construction funds can be made+. He
will start the process for that.
Legislative Bills
Legislative bills were discussed. One would allow triple
trailers on the roadways.
Commissioner DeTro would like a report of Cherry Lane as
there are construction businesses on that road and he feels there is the
possibility the road will need to be widened.
Commissioner DeTro discussed cattle guard franchises and
who is responsible for maintaining the cattle guard. He asked when does the
county become involved with repairs of cattle guards when the guards start to
fail. Engineer Thomson said Public Works notifies the owner when a guard is
observed to be in disrepair or damaged. The owner must then arrange for the
repair. The county can make the repairs if needed, but the franchisee is charged
for staff time. If the guard is rusted out and failing the owner is notified to
replace it. The franchisee is responsible for maintaining the guard.
Board of Health-1234 2nd Ave S-Okanogan
Commissioners attended the board of health and returned at
3:00 p.m.
Update Risk Management/HR-Tanya Craig
Commissioners asked Ms. Craig to update the board early as
they returned from Board of Health meeting earlier than expected.
Ms. Craig explained an Audit was done by North West
Administrators Inc of the Teamsters Trust plan. In working with the audit team,
the Trust appears to be a secondary retirement plan that the county pays into on
top of the PERS plan the county also pays into. Ms. Craig relayed that she is
disputing results of the audit on items she disagrees with.
Ms. Craig explained that the Seattle Times submitted a
public records request which is similar to the Freedom Foundation’s request that
many counties received. A third-party email went out to county employees due to
the records requested. Ms. Craig explained what is applicable to us.
Ms. Craig updated the board on the Teamsters Union road
group having voted yesterday and another group that hasn’t voted yet.
Ms. Craig explained to the Board she received a shipment of
2020 Vested Interest in K9 calendars that she is giving away. Vested Interest in
K9’s Inc. is a group that has been providing police K9’s with protection vests,
Narcan, and other special items for many years. Ms. Craig is the group’s future
president.
Approve Commissioners Proceedings – February 3, 4,
2020
Commissioner Hover moved to approve the commissioners’
proceedings of February 3 & 4, 2020. Motion was seconded, all were in favor,
motion carried.
Approve Consent Agenda
Commissioner Hover moved to approve the consent agenda
items 1-6. Motion was seconded all were in favor, motion carried.
1. Proclamation Invasive Species Week February
24-28-Noxious Weed
2. Approval of In-County Food Purchase Noxious Weed
Re-Certification Classes and Tours in 2020
3. Dispatch Service Agreements- Fire #3, Fire #7, Aero
Methow, Conconully, Riverside, Winthrop, Pateros, Coulee Dam
4. CDBG Public Services Grant Req #7 for Jan-2019 $7,072.01
5. Resolution 20-2020 Authorizing Change Fund Fairgrounds
6. Resolution 21-2020 Fair Advisory Committee 2020 Policy
and Procedures Adoption
Commissioners asked Mr. Worden to discuss with the Board
the Communications/Dispatching contracts to explain how the contract between the
EMS Districts would be handled. He said he sent the contract to the
jurisdiction. The jurisdiction then pays the dispatch fee. In that case all
contracts would need to be redone for the EMS District because the county
commissioners are the board of directors for the Methow Valley, Tonasket, and
Oroville Rural EMS Districts. Operational cost doing business for the District.
Commissioner Branch would like to know if we as a county agency say we will
provide services to another agency then that is our cost to them for doing
business. The dispatch cost is always separate from law enforcement agreements.
Commissioners approved the Aero Methow Dispatch Agreement
in the consent agenda as the wrong board. There is also a question to be worked
out with the service provider in addition to changing the signature template
from BOCC to Board of Director of Methow EMS.
Motion Amended Motion Consent Agenda
Commissioner Hover moved to amend his previous motion and
removed the Aero Methow Dispatch Agreement from the consent agenda approval.
Motion was seconded, all were in favor, motion carried.
Commissioners would like to discuss the agreement with Aero
Methow and asked that a meeting be scheduled to discuss who would be responsible
for the dispatching fees. In reading over the agreement with Aero Methow for
Ambulance services, Commissioner Branch observed that the contract says in part
that “costs and expenses not reimbursed by the District shall be paid by Aero
Methow by its own sources of income including fees…...”
Motion - Voucher Approval - Commissioners
Vouchers certified and audited by the Auditing Officer as
required by RCW 42.24.080 and those expense reimbursement claims certified as
required by RCW 42.24.090 have been recorded on a list, and made available to
the Board. As of this date, the Board did vote, by unanimous vote, to approve
the regular vouchers in the amount of $383,448.39. Warrant numbers as cited on
the attached blanket voucher list. Motion seconded and carried.
Motion - Voucher Approval - Commissioners
Vouchers certified and audited by the Auditing Officer as
required by RCW 42.24.080 and those expense reimbursement claims certified as
required by RCW 42.24.090 have been recorded on a list, and made available to
the Board. As of this date, the Board did vote, by unanimous vote, to approve
the settlement voucher in the amount of $13,000. Warrant number as cited on the
attached blanket voucher list. Motion seconded and carried.
Bid Opening -Building Dept. Pick-up Truck-Dan
Higbee
Commissioner DeTro opened the single bid received at 11:21
a.m. from Sunrise Chevrolet for a Building Department pickup truck.
The bid total was $34,443.33 including 8.5% sales tax for a
2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Dbl Cab 4x4.
The group discussed why Jess Ford might not have submitted
a bid as one was expected as they usually submit.
Dan Higbee has been discussing the new job descriptions
with the board as they have been drafted. Ms. Craig said they do not need to be
adopted by the board. Commissioner Hover said the justification for the changes
were due to a salary survey done by Ms. Craig that showed disparity between the
work and the compensation. Because one position is a new part time Permit Tech
at grade 16 it is not in the system. The discussion was to create both a Permit
Tech and an Administrative Assistant position at grade 16. The Clerk III
position that would be vacated is currently part time and is proposed to be left
open and unfilled. That person would be promoted to Permit Tech but would still
be part time.
Motions Building Office Administration Staff
Commissioner Hover moved to direct the HR Director to
create a resolution to create a Building Permit Tech position at grade 16.
Motion was seconded, all were in favor, motion carried.
Commissioner Hover moved to direct the HR Director to
create a resolution to create an Administrative Assistant position at grade 16
within the Building Dept. Motion was seconded, all were in favor, motion
carried.
Commissioner Hover moved to direct the HR director to
create a resolution to promote Melissa Eylar of the Building Dept. to the Permit
Tech position at grade 16 step five. Motion was seconded, all were in favor,
motion carried.
Commissioner Hover moved to amend the previous motion to
include language in the resolution that the vacated position of Clerk III be an
authorized but unfilled position within the Building Dept. Motion was seconded,
all were in favor, motion carried.
Commissioner Hover moved to direct HR Director to create a
resolution to promote Deborah Featherly of the Building Dept to fill the Admin
Assistant position at grade 16 step 5 and do away with the Administrative
Secretary position. Motion was seconded, all were in favor, motion carried.
The only thing left is the actual budget to the wage and
benefit lines that will be needed for the increased cost.
The board adjourned at 5:00 p.m.