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2017-01-24 Meeting with The ChronicleMeeting with The Chronicle January 24, 2017 3:05 p.m. Present: Commissioner Stamper and Commissioner Fund Guests: Christine Fossett, Eric Schwartz, and Linda Williams Recorder: Rieva Lester Commissioner Stamper told Christine Fossett and Eric Schwartz that the commissioners will hold press conferences after each BOCC meeting. He said he wants to make sure county staff is accessible to the public and the media. Commissioner Fund said the board tried Coffee with the Commissioners but has switched gears to a press conference to help engage the public. Commissioner Stamper said the board wants to get its messages out as much as possible. Eric said there have been times that calls aren’t or cannot be returned. He said staff doesn’t take it personally. Commissioner Stamper praised the Industrial Commission. Eric said he supported the idea of a weekly press conference. Commissioner Stamper said the hope is to get the most information to the media the BOCC can. He said he knows not all news is going to be good news. Eric said the board is always welcome to submit commentaries, etc. to express views. Commissioner Fund said there has been great growth in just the last year. The group talked about there having been personnel issues in the past. Commissioner Fund said the photo of the person in the mask in 911 was staged. She said it was done as a joke. Eric asked for clarification about the email telling staff to wear masks if they felt it was needed. Commissioner Stamper said the masks were given out because the county was going to remove tiles, creating a dust issue. Eric said he would feel compelled to follow up on it. He cautioned that he would talk to the staff involved. Eric asked if were true that Paulette Young didn’t know about it. Commissioner Fund said the two-person schedule is restricted by the collective bargaining agreement. The group talked about the 911 dispatcher position being a high-stress, high-turnover position. The group talked about the county’s 13 bargaining agreements. Commissioner Stamper said that in a perfect world, everyone would be under the same umbrella. Eric said the vote of no confidence could certainly hurt morale. The commissioners said two county employees approached the board and said they were not a part of the no-confidence vote. Commissioner Stamper said that by the time the BOCC got the information about 911, the small snowball had turned into a giant one. Commissioner Stamper described the circumstances surrounding Mike Strozyk’s departure and the hiring of Dave Anderson. The group talked about the county putting monetary investments into 911 to improve technology, etc. Commissioner Stamper said his dealings with the Risk pool have shown that it’s tough statewide to attract and retain employees. Commissioner Stamper said he the board is just trying to do the best it can. Commissioner Fund said the county needs to renegotiate the interlocal agreements and create a strategic plan regarding 911. Commissioner Stamper said the county has had an interlocal agreement with all of the fire districts since 1989 or so. He said the county always kind of ran 911 and established rates, etc. He said the county was running on FEMA money rather than having rate increases. He said equipment was not upgraded as needed, etc. Eric asked if that’s the similar situation faced by the sheriff’s office. Commissioner Stamper said that’s where the county first heard about the problems. The commissioners said the interlocal agreement is key to moving forward with 911. He said it had kind of fallen to the wayside in years past. Commissioner Stamper said the Chronicle is the source for the county to get information out to the public. He said the BOCC wants to be available as much as possible. Christine Fossett invited the board to submit reader commentaries to share their messages. Eric complemented the board on the new Rivers page. Commissioner Fund said the county is on the path to find what’s next for them. Eric said the concern was not “transitioning” per say, but rather merely cutting funding and walking away. Commissioner Fund said the board could provide minutes showing that the county was trying to lay the groundwork for a transition. She said she was very encouraged by the first meeting of the Transition Team. The group talked about the Transition Team’s plan to hold meetings at various location throughout the county. Commissioner Stamper said the BOCC knew it was the county’s responsibility to make sure the senior centers were set up to succeed. He said by no means does the county want to run it. Commissioner Stamper outlined the reasons behind the board’s decision to extend funding for the senior centers through the year’s end rather than summer 2017. Commissioner Fund talked about her work with Julie McDonald on the Toledo library. Commissioner Stamper said the county wants everything out in the public. He said having more perspectives helps. Commissioner Fund said commissioners directed county staff in 2001 to look into transitioning the senior centers. Commissioner Fund said a bill in the Legislature that would allow properties used for senior programs would not have to be taxed. Commissioner Stamper said the county will lean on the Chronicle for research, etc. Eric said the Chronicle will still be vocal because the editorial board has strong feelings about the senior centers. The commissioners talked about the time constraints and stress of being down a commissioner when Commissioner Schulte was out. Commissioner Fund said that by RCW, budgeting always comes during the election cycle. She brought up unfunded mandates, such as jail medical. Commissioner Stamper talked about Jonathan Meyer’s discussion about the gifting of public funds. He said that’s not what swayed him. He said it boiled down to a budget issue. Commissioner Fund and Commissioner Stamper asked what the BOCC can do to make things better moving forward. Christine said the board needs to show its working to make progress with 911 as well as the senior centers. She also said the county should look at other avenues where the county can make cuts. She said the county shouldn’t be funding Discover Lewis County. Commissioner Fund said the county is doing a review of Discover Lewis County. Christine said county government should not be involved in tourism. She said the county should look elsewhere for someone to take over the reins. Commissioner Stamper said Packwood has suffered great job losses. He said he was the holdout on Discover Lewis County. He said he realizes it’s another government entity. He said east county fully supports Discover Lewis County. He said the county will take a look at the LTAC dollars. Commissioner Fund said the county needs to do some program evaluations. She said the county budget tops $100 million. She said 80 percent goes to law and justice. Commissioner Stamper said the county needs to make sure that Discover Lewis County is giving the region the best bang for its buck. Commissioner Fund asked for feedback on the PDR on her Facebook account. Commissioner Stamper said Tacoma Power is considering privatizing all of its parks. He said the company has made billions off its dams. He said the company only gives back when it’s forced to give back. Commissioner Fund said the county can renegotiate, but the county gets no money during those negotiations. Commissioner Stamper says Tacoma Power shouldn’t be getting rich at the expense of Lewis County. He said the county should be able to recoup its money. Meeting adjourned at 4:31 p.m.