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2018-04-02 Business Meeting Minutes • LEWIS COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS(BOCC) Business Meeting minutes April 2, 2018 Present: Commissioner Fund, Commissioner Jackson, Commissioner Stamper Recorder: Rieva Lester Commissioner Fund called the meeting to order at 10:01 a.m., determined a quorum and then proceeded with the flag salute. PUBLIC COMMENT No one spoke. NOTICE ITEM Commissioner Jackson made a motion to approve Resolution 18-110. Commissioner Stamper seconded. Resolution 18-110: Call for sealed bids for the Vader-Enchanted Valley Water System Reservoir Construction. Bids are due to the Clerk of the Board by 11 a.m.Tuesday,April 24,2018. Erik Martin, Director of Public Works, spoke to the resolution. He said the project, which includes a 250,000-gallon water reservoir, has been in the works for several years. He said the plan is to have the project completed by fall. Motion passed 3-0. CONSENT ITEMS Commissioner Stamper made a motion to approve minutes from the March 26,2018, meeting as well as Resolution 18-111. Commissioner Jackson seconded. Resolution 18-111:Approval of warrants/claims against the various county departments. Chief accountant Suzette Smith, representing the Auditor's Office, said warrants 787788-788082, 788136-788237, and 788257-788338—totaling $1,234,097.54—were issued the week of March 23. She 1 noted a skip in sequence for warrants 788083-788135 and 788238-788256,which were issued on behalf of Special Purpose Districts. Motion passed 3-0. DELIBERATION ITEMS Commissioner Jackson made a motion to approve Resolutions 18-112 through 18-118. Commissioner Stamper seconded. Resolution 18-112: Approve an hourly rate increase for District Court Commissioners. Archie Smith, Human Resources Administrator,spoke to the resolution. He said the District Court commissioner's rate has not increased since 2002. He said the new rate would be $69.36 per hour effective April 1, 2018. Resolution 18-113: Amend the policies and rules of the Veterans Relief Fund (VRF). Danette York, Director of Public Health and Social Services, spoke to the resolution. She said the language has been changed from "rental assistance" to "housing assistance." She said the change will give the county more flexibility in helping veterans. Resolution 18-114: Approve the proposed acquisition of additional right of way for Bunker Creek Road in Adna. Martin Roy, interim Real Estate Services Manager, spoke to the resolution. He said the project requires right of way from three property owners and temporary easements for a fish passage structure in Adna. Resolution 18-115: Approve the proposed acquisition of additional right of way for Pleasant Valley Road MP 2.179 in Napavine. Martin Roy, interim Real Estate Services Manager, spoke to the resolution. He said the project requires additional right of way from three property owners and temporary easements from two property owners for a fish passage structure in Napavine. Resolution 18-116: Adopt the Washington State Department of Transportation/American Public Works Association(WSDOT/ APWA)2018 Standard Specifications for Lewis County road and bridge construction contracts. 2 Erik Martin, Director of Public Works, spoke to the resolution. He said state laws allow the adoption of standards. He said the county could be in jeopardy of forfeiting grant funds if it did not adopt the standards. Resolution 18-117: Ratify an interlocal agreement between Lewis County and the City of Winlock for sponsorship of a remote used oil-collection system and authorizing signatures thereon. Steve Skinner,Solid Waste Services Manager, spoke to the resolution. He said the city of Winlock has requested the oil-collection tank. He said the used oil would be tested and could be resold if it tests clean. Resolution 18-118: Award the county legal printing bid to The Chronicle. Lewis County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eric Eisenberg,spoke to the resolution. He said the county received two bids that met the requirements of the bid call—one from the East County Journal and the other from The Chronicle—which Clerk of the Board Rieva Lester read into the record March 26. Eric said The Chronicle was the low bidder. Eric said the Town Crier also apparently tried to submit a bid but that the Town Crier listed the wrong address. He said the Town Crier's envelope was addressed to the Clerk of the Court. Eric said the Clerk's Office opened the envelope, realized it was meant for the commissioners' office and then contacted Rieva. Eric said Rieva then contacted the Town Crier by phone and mail, alerting them that she was returning the bid because it had been addressed incorrectly and was no longer a sealed bid. He said Rieva informed the Town Crier that she had not opened their envelope and that they could submit a new bid if desired. He said the Town Crier did not resubmit a bid. Motion passed 3-0. HEARING Resolution 18-119: Hearing to adopt a nomination procedure for candidates of the public office of freeholder. Commissioner Fund introduced the hearing. Lewis County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eric Eisenberg gave the staff report. He said the county received a petition to place on the ballot a charter. He described the process,which places two questions before the voters: whether voters would like a group of freeholders to explore a charter form of government and who the freeholders should be. Eric said the commissioners considered having the freeholders run at large in the three commissioner districts. He said the commissioners preferred to have subdistrict elections for the freeholder positions. 3 Eric reviewed the proposed voting precinct maps. He said each commissioner district was divided into five subdistricts of equal population. Eric said an individual who is 18 or older and has resided in Lewis County for five years would be eligible to run for a freeholder office. He said the filing fee would be $50 and that voters from each subdistrict would vote for one freeholder representative. Eric said the filing period would be May 14-18, 2018. He said the freeholders would take office as equals and would elect their chair and set their own rules. He said freeholders would be reimbursed for mileage but would not be paid. He said the Open Public Meetings Act and Public Records Act would apply to the freeholders. Commissioner Fund asked if there were any questions. Ron Averill of Centralia asked if the freeholders will be by plurality. Eric said the top vote-getter will win. Chuck Haunreiter of Chehalis asked if there would be a primary. Eric said the freeholder election would take place during the general election. Chuck said he thinks the filing fee should be lower than $50. Harry Bhagwandin of Onalaska asked how subdistricts would be reflected on the ballot. Eric clarified that only those who reside in a certain subdistrict would vote for the freeholder from that subdistrict. Harry asked if each ballot will have only its subdistrict candidates. Eric said each ballots will differ for each subdistrict so that a voter only sees the freeholder candidate for his or her own subdistrict. Harry said campaigning could be difficult because a candidate may not know who is voting within each subdistrict. Eric said subdistricts were based on established voting precincts. Eric said the subdistricts were based on population as determined by the most recent census. Erik Martin asked for clarification about whether current county employees can run for freeholder. Eric said the resolution indicates a freeholder is not a county employee. He clarified that the language does not prohibit current county employees from running for the office of freeholder. Pete Hammer of Chehalis asked where to find the subdistrict maps. He also asked if freeholders could gather signatures in lieu of paying a filing fee. Eric said it's his believe that the freeholder procedure wouldn't allow for that. Tory Graf of Centralia said other counties have run into trouble because voters may not understand that they should vote for a freeholder even if they are voting no to the charter process. She asked how Lewis County will avoid that confusion. Eric said RCW requires the yes/no vote and the freeholder candidate votes appear on the same ballot. He said he is unsure how confusion will be avoided. Commissioner Fund closed the question-and-answer portion of the hearing. Eric asked that his previous comments be adopted into the record. Eric recommended that a commissioner make a motion to amend the resolution and then pass the amended version. Commissioner Fund asked if anyone wanted to speak for or against the resolution. No one spoke. Commissioner Fund closed the hearing and asked for a motion. 4 Commissioner Stamper made a motion to amend the originally published freeholder procedure before the commissioners to match the track-change version. Commissioner Jackson seconded. Motion passed 3-0. Commissioner Stamper made a motion to adopt the freeholder procedure as amended. Commissioner Jackson seconded. Commissioner Stamper said the commissioners had considered a filing fee of$100 but reconsidered and changed it to $50. He said he feels that a $50 filing fee is fair and equitable. Commissioner Fund commended the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for holding informational meetings regarding the freeholder nomination procedures. Motion passed 3-0. GOOD OF THE ORDER Commissioner Fund acknowledged the community's efforts to help a family recently displaced by a house fire. PRESS CONFERENCE East County Journal reporter Susan DeLaire asked what would happen if no one signed up to run in a particular subdistrict. Eric Eisenberg said the filing period would be extended three days. He said that if no one filed then, the county would use the procedures outlined in the resolution about how to fill a vacancy. Susan said she remembered seeing the language regarding vacancies. Commissioner Jackson invited the audience to the 10 a.m. Friday,April 6,Transportation Improvement Conference. Commissioner Fund invited the audience to the 9 a.m. Mayors' Meeting directly preceding the Transportation Improvement Conference. ADJOURNMENT The BOCC Business Meeting adjourned at 10:50 a.m., with the next Business Meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday,April 9, 2018, in the Commissioners' Hearing Room (Room 223). Please note that minutes from the 80CC Business Meeting are not verbatim.A recording of the meeting may be purchased at the BOCC office, or video footage can be viewed at no charge at LewisCountyWa.gov/bocc-meetings. Video footage of BOCC meetings also is aired on Comcast Channel 3 at 10 a.m.,2 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. daily. Video footage also can be found on the Lewis County Commissioners'Facebook page. 5 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS LEWIS COUNTY, WASHINGTON i 'dna J. • nd, Chair ATTEST: Rob;C.Jackson,Vice Chair �/ CrlSCOUNTY�.• • - Rieva Lester,Clerk of the Board 0� <O -6:4 NISary Sta per,C.mm'sioner • •g SINCE ��o• k`8 1845 ail I . •* � w� *• O 6