HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - BOCCGRANT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
MEETING MINUTES
Week of September 11- September 17, 2023
Commission Chambers
35 C Street NW
Ephrata, WA 98823
Public meetings were held in person with a WEBEX Conference Call/Video option available.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2023
The Grant County Commissioners session began at 8:30 a.m. with all Commissioners in attendance.
8:30 a.m. —10:00 a.m. D Stone, Grant County Public Health Briefing for Healthcare and Schools
8:30 a.m. — 8:45 a.m. Central Services Weekly Update
• Tom Gaines discussed the Centralized Services changes that the Board/accounting made in a
meeting on 9/5/23.
• Purchase of the Ephrata Family Dentistry —update
• Incident at fairgrounds related to the Ardell building and water truck.
8:45 a.m. — 9:00 a.m. Development Services Weekly Update
• They have a meeting from the Department of Commerce/Attorney General re: Comprehensive
Plan
9:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m. KSmith,. Accounting Update
• 2024 Budget is going well so far.
• Veteran Services request to move to the Fairgrounds —nothing in PMRT for position request or
equipment.
• Darryl Pheasant discussed the Veteran levy rate, this is a separate levy rate.
• HR and Technology Service Fees /Transition of Facilities and Maintenance Fees: Cost Allocation
to be done. Not all departments are being charged.
• Overage in cash
• ARPA funding —projects approved.
9:30 a.m. —10:00 a.m. B Vasquez, Clerk of the Board Update
• Pending Decisions Spreadsheet
• Employee BBQ (10/4): Email sent to All Grant County and Elected Officials for payment.
• B Lutz: move to Deputy Clerk 2: Placed on hold to discuss with HR.
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Grant County Commissioners Minutes
Week of September 11, 2023
10:00 a.m. —10:50 a.m. Department Head Annual Review Discussion
Pursuant to RCW 42.30.110(1)(g) Commissioner Jones called an Executive Session to order at
10:03 a.m. to go until 10:23 a.m. regarding Job Applicant/Evaluation. In attendance were
Commissioners Carter, Stone and Jones, and Decorah Anderson -Cook, Human Resources. The
session was continued to 10:34 a.m. Commissioner Jones closed the session at 10:34 a.m.
11:30 a.m. —12:00 p.m. M McKnight, Assessor's Office Update Commissioner Jones attended
via Webex.
• The Commissioners asked about the 2024 levy assessment rate. Melissa hopes to have it
certified on Wednesday 9/13/2023.
1:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m. Commissioners Round Table — Miscellaneous Discussion
• Review of Consent Agenda Items
o BOCC Item 3: Cannabis assumption license — send to PAO for review.
o Veteran Services Item 15: Discussion ensued on the Vet Corp position and equipment
needed. This would be funded by WDVA, except $3,.000.00. Hold until discussion with
Tony, for discussion on location (Fairgrounds or Wheeler Road Building).
• Commissioner District Updates
o RJ: Gorge Complaints/Moses Lake Base Area Road Sweeping
o DS: Shrubsteppe group meeting; PCC rail line harvest tour; Primitive Roads are in bad
shape in his district
o CC: Gorge Complaints: Cell Services, traffic backup, people getting out of their vehicles
onto private property
• RJ: Discussed Animal Outreach and decisions that need to be made. Potential location for a
new facility at the lower end of the Fairgrounds, off Paxson. New building before assessment
done? Include veterinary services? Commissioner Carter reached out to the Wenatchee Valley
Humane Society to see how much the assessment rate would be. The Board will then decide if
they build the building before the assessment or vice versa.
• Kevin McCrae briefly discussed the walk on item he will be bringing forth tomorrow. They will
discuss it further at the Prosecuting Attorney's Office update tomorrow.
• Rebekah Kaylor asked to hold Public Works item 10 until 9/18/23.
• RJ discussed an email Accounting sent to HR re: billing for services.
• Sam Castro discussed an Ecology Agreed Order that will be coming forward to the BOCC re: Final
clean up action at the Landfill; bridge 202 repairs could be up to $2 million; acknowledged
receipt of a road vacation petition the BOCC received today; Looking for emergency funding for
Bridge 202 repair; employee of Public Works passed away, spouse (also employee) is requesting
leave without pay; he would like to attend the upcoming ARPA committee meeting; potentially
hire a consulting firm to look at the Gorge Amphitheater area issues.
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Grant County Commissioners Minutes
Week of September 11, 2023
2:00 p.m. -3:30 p.m. K Eslinger, Human Resources Update
Decorah Anderson -Cook and Gina Saldana attended in place of Kirk Eslinger.
Sam Castro attended to discuss leave without pay for one of his employees. All Commissioners
are in favor of this approval.
Email received from Elected Officials re: Human Resources and Compensation.
Grant Coordinator and Risk Coordinator Positions: Decorah sent a comparable email to the
BOCC.
Pursuant to RCW 42.30.110(1)(8) Commissioner Jones called an Executive Session to order at
2:18 p.m. to go until 2:28 p.m. regarding Job Applicant/Evaluation. In attendance were
Commissioners Carter, Stone and Jones, Decorah Anderson and Gina Saldana, Human
Resources. Commissioner Jones closed the session at 2:28 p.m.
Pursuant to RCW 42.30.110(1)(8) Commissioner Jones called an Executive Session to order at
2:32 p.m. to go until 2:42 p.m. regarding Job Applicant/Evaluation. In attendance were
Commissioners Carter, Stone and Jones, Decorah Anderson and Gina Saldana, Human
Resources. The session was continued to 2:58 p.m. and then again until 3:14 p.m.
Commissioner Jones closed the session at 3:14 p.m.
3:30 p.m. —4:00 p.m. Commissioners Work Session (Anticipated Executive Session)
® CC mentioned that Suhail Palacios of Juvenile Court visited with Veteran Services about
potential office space. Discussion ensued about the requested move to Moses Lake and the
requirements.
Hire of new Public Records Officer, payroll requests that they start at the next pay period
10/2/23 (new pay period). (This request was denied)
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
The Chair of the Board was authorized to sign the Sotero Zuniga (Zuniga Short Plat #2) File # P 23-0185
(preliminary P 23-0081) Final Plat Submission and Review.
The Commissioners approved and signed the Public Works County Payroll Salary Fund for their
September 8, 2023 payroll.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2023
The session was continued to 8:30 a.m. with all Commissioners in attendance.
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Grant County Commissioners Minutes
Week of September 11, 2023
8:30 a.m. — 9:00 a.m. K McCrae, Prosecuting Attorney's Office Update
Pursuant to RCW 42.30.110(1)(i), Commissioner Jones called an Executive Session to order at
8:33 a.m. to go until 8:48 a.m. regarding Litigation. In attendance were Commissioners Carter,
Stone and Jones, Kevin McCrae and Rebekah Kaylor, Prosecuting Attorney's Office. The session
was continued to 9:00 a.m. Commissioner Jones closed the session at 9:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m. —12:00 p.m. T Gaines, Central Services Update Commissioner Jones attended at
11:07 a.m.
• Technology Services: Joe Carter discussed cell service at the Gorge, after review they are
recommending a potential change of providers to AT&T/FirstNet. Rubrik software
purchase- a component was missed and the vendor is trying to fix it ASAP.
• Facilities and Maintenance: new curbing installed outside of the courthouse complex;
employee stung by a hornet; work at the museum almost completed; space availability at a
Juvenile Facility for Veteran Services; Dano Building is for sale; trying a new facilities
software for work orders.
• Fairgrounds: Nobel barns will be removed as fair is over; removal of trees; partial funding of
capital requests — either approve or deny (no partial requests).
• Central Services: Update on new jail project; Coroner's Office within Samaritan Hospital —
not moving forward; error or PARs; Accounting Family overall issues; continuity is lacking
between accounting practices.
12:30 p.m. — 2:00 p.m. S Castro, Public Works Update AND Gorge Amphitheater Road Widening
Discussion
In attendance: Jerry Gingrich, Commissioners Office; Sam Castro, Dave Bren, Karen Maedke, Jajaira
Perez, Andy Booth, Bob Bersanti (Webex) Shilo Nellis (Webex) and Rob Harris, Public Works; Joe
Kriete, Kyle Foreman and John McMillan, Sheriffs Office; Jim Anderson -Cook, Assistant Director of
Development Services and Danny Wilde of Live Nation and Dave Christiansen with Crowd
Management.
Sam Castro, Public Works Director opened the discussion on the issues that occurred at that the
Gorge Amphitheater related to roads and traffic.
Dave Bren, County Engineer, discussed the Right of Way permit that is submitted each spring from
Live Nation. RV usage is increasing and taking longer for security inspections. Area residents and
Cabe B users are utilizing opposing lanes to get home. Need an Engineer Traffic Report.
Communication will be key between Public Works and Live Nation. Mr. Bren went over the projects
he's presenting.
Potentially route concert attendees to the George exit, instead of the Silica Road exit.
Currently, Public Works has an LTAC application in for $600.,000.00 for Baseline Road widening.
They will submit a request for REET funding for Silica Road widening. This will be submitted to the
9/19/23 Consent Agenda.
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Grant County Commissioners Minutes
Week of September 11, 2023
Danny Wilde stated Live Nation is continually reviewing the process and trying to make
improvements. Live Nation is also looking to purchase property to alleviate the traffic stacking
issues.
Joe Kriete stated he would like to have a 5 -year plan meeting, an ongoing meeting. They can no
longer have overlapping shows at the venue due to roadway and safety issues. They would like to
be invited to all upcoming meetings and continue with the discussions.
Rob Harris stated that the 9/8/23 concerts were "the perfect storm". Two separate concerts going
back-to-back was a big issue.
• The State of Washington Department of Ecology Litter Cleanup Program (Sam)
• Grant Agreement, US Department of Transportation (Dave)
• Reimbursable Work for the City of George (Dave)
• American Rescue Plan Funding Application (Dave)
• Gravel to Oil Local Agency Standard Agreement Authorization (Dave)
• Resolution Initiating County Road Project CRP No. 23-09 (Dave)
• 202 Bridge Update (Sam) —Susan Kovich and Dave Bren reviewed the bridge damage and
determined the scouring has been occurring for years.
• Vehicle Usage (Sam)
2:00 p.m. -3:00 p.m. Commissioner's Meeting
® Call to order
• Open Forum for Citizen Input (3 minutes per person, 15 -minute time limit)
o Bonney Helvey of ARFS Animal Rescue Board member came to discuss animal rescue
issues and requested that the BOCC implement an ordinance to limit pets allowed in the
County. Classify puppies as dogs at 3 months. Utilize the county work release building
as an animal control facility. Get a county employee to run the facility. Adams County is
receiving numerous calls from Grant County to take animals. Review of animal abuse
and neglect regulations. Spend the assessment money on a Trap Neuter Release (TNR)
program.
o Jerome Wawers discussed the improvements discussed at the last meeting at the Gorge
Amphitheater and gave his recommendations.
• Approval of Agenda A motion was made by Commissioner Carter, seconded by Commissioner
Stone, to approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed unanimously.
• Correspondence (i.e. Emails that have come in that need response, letters of support etc.)
o Email request to sign -onto the Plastic Free Washington letter. No
o Request from Catholic Charities Housing Services (CCHS) to approve their Relocation
Plan. Hold until 9/19 Consent Agenda.
o DS: Email from constituent of County's lack of code enforcement.
• Commissioners Roundtable —Miscellaneous Discussion
o Insurance Invoice for claim from Development Services flooring inspection.
Commissioner Carter stated the $10,000 invoice should be paid by the department
through Current Expense.
Page 6 of 10
Grant County Commissioners Minutes
Week of September 11, 2023
o Walk-on items presented: Prosecuting Attorney's Office Engagement Agreement for
Legal Representation with Gordon Tilden Thomas Cordell in connection with the
Redwine lawsuit; Memorandum of Agreement with Public Employees Association Public
Works Unit re: Heavy Equipment Operator.
o DS: mentioned the two -buoy limit at Sunland Estates as implemented by the Grant PUD.
Jim Anderson -Cook discussed the Shoreline Master Plan and the rules allowing buoys in
the area.
o Amendment of 8/14/23 amended minutes. Will be amended to add a Sheriff's Office
Settlement Agreement with Brian Kisler.
• Consent Agenda — (Items 1 through 15) All items are considered routine and will be enacted by
one motion of the commissioners with no separate discussion. If a separate discussion is
desired, that item September be removed and placed under Board Discussion/Decision. A
motion was made by Commissioner Stone, seconded by Commissioner Carter, to approve
items 1-9, which include the amended 8/14/23 amended minutes to also include a Settlement
Agreement with the Grant County Sheriffs Office, Teamsters Local Union No. 760 and Brian
Kisler that was signed 8/14/23, and 11-14, and hold items 10 and 15 until the 9/19/23
meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
AUDITOR'S OFFICE
1. Payment of vouchers certified by the auditing officer as required by RCW 42.24.080, and those
expense reimbursement claims certified by the auditing officer as required by RCW 42.24.090,
as recorded on a listing, and made available to the Board. (In the amount of $1.,100,,766.82)
COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE
2. Approval of Commissioners August 14, 2023 AMENDED, and August 21, 2023 Minutes. (The
Commissioners amended the 8/14/23 amended minutes to include a Settlement Agreement
with the Grant County Sheriff's Office, Teamsters Local Union No. 760 and Brian Kisler that
was signed on 8/14/23)
3. Cannabis license application for Eastside Canna, LLC in Royal City, WA, from the Washington
State Liquor and Cannabis Board.
4. Reimbursement request from the Grant County Housing Authority on the Department of
Commerce Consolidated Homeless Grant (CHG) No. 24-46108-10 in the amount of $48,579.20
for the month of August 2023 expenses.
5. Interagency Agreement with Washington State University Extension to formalize the
longstanding relationships between Washington State University and County Government. The
term of the agreement is January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2028. (Resolution No. 23 -102 -
CC)
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6. Out-of-state travel request for Abraham Tapia to attend the annual Crime Victims Conference in
Keystone, CO., October 2-4, 2023. The total cost of travel is $2,,492.55.
7. Out-of-state travel request for Kristina Crowder and Abraham Tapia to attend sexual assault
training in Hillsboro, OR., October 9-10, 2023. The total cost of travel is $748.50 per person.
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Grant County Commissioners Minutes
Week of September 11, 2023
8. Out-of-state travel request for Becky Garcia to attend sexual assault training in Hillsboro, OR.,
October 9-10, 2023. The total cost of travel is $1,152.77.
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9. Authorization request for the Public Works Director to sign Department of Ecology Amendment
No. 1 to agreement No. SWMCLCP-2325-GrCoPW-00081 between the State of Washington
Department of Ecology and Grant County Public Works. The purpose of Amendment No. 1
increases Litter Pickup and Illegal Dump Clean up to $113,700.00.
10. Local Agency Standard Consultation Agreement -Architectural/Engineering Agreement with
Varela &Associates, Inc. d/b/a Varela Engineering &Management for the 2023 Grant County
Gravel Roads Upgrades Prioritization. Term is upon signature, with a completion date of
December 31, 2023, in the amount of $46.,888.00. (This item is being held until the 9/19/23
Consent Agenda)
11. United States Department of Transportation Grant Agreement No. 693JJ32340338, Under the
Fiscal Year 2022 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program, in the amount of
$280,,000.00.
12. Request to the County Road Department for reimbursable work for the City of George crack seal
work to be completed no later than November 11, 2023, and not to exceed $20,,000.00.
13. Resolution No. 23 -104 -CC Initiating County Road Project Designated as CRP No. 23.09 for the
Dodson and Road 12 -SW Intersection Improvements in the amount of $450,000.00.
RENEW
14. Held from the 9/5/2023 Agenda: Amendment to the Provider Services Agreement with Molina
Healthcare of Washington, Inc. and Grant County (Renew) to provide services to Medicaid
clients.
VETERAN SERVICES
15. Request to relocate the Veteran Services Department from the current location to the Grant
County Fairgrounds Sheriff Office to support the rapid growth of the program as well as an
additional employee. (This item is being held until the 9/19/23 Consent Agenda)
Board Discussion/Decisions Items (Items to discuss and items that were removed from Consent
Agenda. These items will be acted upon together) A motion was made by Commissioner Carter
to approve the 2 walk-on items as presented. Commissioner Stone seconded and the motion
passed unanimously.
o Walk-on items: Prosecuting Attorney's Office Engagement Agreement for Legal
Representation with Gordon Tilden Thomas &Cordell LLP in connection with the
Redwine lawsuit
o Memorandum of Agreement with Public Employees Association Public Works Unit re:
Heavy Equipment Operator. This will assist with the recruitment and retention of Heavy
Equipment Operations.
• Adjournment
Page 8 of 10
Grant County Commissioners Minutes
Week of September 11, 2023
3:15 p.m. — 3:30 p.m. Open Record Public Hearing, Ordinance Amending Ch. 2.72 of the Grant
County Code titled "Public Records"
The Commissioners held an Open Record Public Hearing to consider an amendment to the Grant
County Code Ch. 2.72 titled "Public Records".
Rebekah Kaylor, Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney discussed the proposed amendments:
• Pg. 2, section 2.72.040: Remove Grant Integrated Services and replace with Renew
• Amend the PRA Fee Schedule to add the fee for Body Worn Camera recordings and
audio/video redaction costs.
Mike Sperline, Public Records Officer discussed the costs relating to the redactions of body cam
videos. They would like to charge $.65 per minute spent redacting. 1 minute of video usually
takes 7 minutes of staff time.
A motion was made by Commissioner Carter, seconded by Commissioner Stone, to close the
public comment portion of the hearing. The motion passed unanimously. A motion was made
by Commissioner Stone to amend the ordinance with specific amendments under Section
2.72.130 fees and the striking of Grant Integrated Services from pg. 2 and replacing it with
Renew. Commissioner Carter seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The hearing
adjourned. (Resolution No. 23 -103 -CC)
3:30 p.m. — 3:35 p.m. Open Record Public Hearing, Prop 1 Sales Tax Budget Extensions
The Commissioners held an Open Record Public Hearing to consider a budget extension request
from the Auditor's Office to the Prop 1 Sales Tax Funds:
• #311.001 in the amount of $2.,530,.833.00 for a prior period adjustment
• #117.000 in the amount of $15,.821,,156.00 for bond payments and wages
Emili Wash, Accountant, gave a brief overview of the request.
A motion was made by Commissioner Stone, seconded by Commissioner Carter, to close the public
comment portion of the hearing. The motion passed unanimously. A motion was made by
Commissioner Carter to approve the budget extensions as presented. Commissioner Stone
seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The hearing adjourned. (Resolution No. 23 -105 -CC)
4:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m. R Jones, Position Management Review Team Meeting
7:00 p.m. -8:00 p.m. RJones, Warden City Council
Page 9 of 10
Grant County Commissioners Minutes
Week of September 11, 2023
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2023
10:00 a.m. — 10:30 a.m. D Stone, LEOFF — 1 Disability Board
11:00 a.m. —11:30 a.m. D Stone, PCC Rail Authority Executive Session
11:30 a.m. — 2:00 p.m. HEARINGS EXAMINER
4 -!;Q M. VeteFamr- Adwicnrw Rn=_d IVARI h41nipting
I . %A55.0 & %%AV@%.w%05 y Iwo 1L.11 (Actual meeting is 9/14/23)
6:00 p.m. — 7:30 p.m. D Stone and C Carter, Grant County Health Board Meeting
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
9:00 a.m. —10:00 p.m. R Jones., Multi -Agency Communications Center (MACC) Meeting
1:00 p.m. — 2:20 p.m. TOURISM COMMISSION MEETING
1:30 p.m. — 3:30 p.m. C Carter., Area Aging/Council of Governments Meeting (East Wenatchee
Office)
2:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m. B Fode, Celebration of Life (Fairgrounds)
4:00 p.m. — 4:50 p.m. Veterans Advisory Board (VAB) Meeting
6:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. FAIR ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING (Huck Fuller Building,
Fairgrounds)
7:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. R Jones, Moses Lake School Board Meeting