2017-08-09 BOCC PW Individual Update MinutesLewis County Board of County Commissioners Public Works Update
August 9, 2017 Present: Commissioner Bobby Jackson (conference phone), Commissioner Gary Stamper, Commissioner Edna Fund, Erik Martin, Tim Fife, Lara Seiler, recorder
Start 10:35 am
ADMINISTRATION Erik noted that we are wrapping up work on the budgets and they will just need a final review before submitting. The roads fund 117 is looking to have a 3.6 million fund
balance at the end of 2018. This is on the low side and we are looking at how much we
need in reserves for cash flow purposes. There are assumptions put in the Vader budget and this would include changes to the fee schedule. There will be an increase in fees for late payments, shut offs, delinquent
and door hanger fees. It is labor intensive for field crew and fiscal when a customer
does not pay their bill and the fee increase will capture these internal costs. The USDA loan/grant for the reservoir has strict requirements and one of the requirements is that we need to capture $16k a year for capital improvements. The $2.50 surcharge for capital improvement project will not be enough for this cost and need to increase the
amount to $4.00. Gary would like to go back to the council to present this information
when it is ready. Erik noted that we can use the $16k for future repairs. Position Adjustments- Erik reminded the board that there are three positions which Archie is in support of
making adjustments to. These positions have existed for a while but the board would
like to wait until they have reviewed the budgets. Public Works openings and recruitments- The Traffic Engineer/Transportation Manager closes on the 15th and there are 3
applicants so far for the Fleet Manager and this position closes on the 15th also.
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT
Levy Shifts-
Erik said that when members of the County Road Administration Board visited a few month ago, they recommended that roads have meetings with the board to educate them on various issues such as levy shifts.
Tim explained to the board how a levy shift was done in Franklin County where he
previously worked and how shifts are done currently. Tim noted that you can use the money from a levy shift on whatever service you want. It doesn’t have to be just spent on Traffic Policing like a diversion.
Erik informed the board that if they wanted to have more conversations with the Assessor regarding levy shifts then he could facilitate this.
Diversions- Currently we are doing a diversion from the roads fund in the amount of 1.3 million dollars. The revenue does hit the road fund and is transferred to the general fund quarterly.
Payment for Services- In this scenario the Sheriff would send an invoice with some level of detail and Erik would sign off on the invoices. They would be sent monthly or quarterly. This method would provide more detail on the services provided.
Erik provided the board a county road levy summary sheet and it shows the method of how each county does their diversion. This table came from the CRAB website. Erik asked how much the board wants to divert to the Sheriff and how much accounting
detail should the Sheriff be providing to the roads department.
Erik noted that Bruce Kimsey wants to meet and discuss the chip seal program and how their department is serving us out on the road. Erik said he will get with Bruce today. Chip sealing will be coming to an end soon and Erik would like the discussion to start in
the springtime before the program begins.
Erik said from a budgetary standpoint a small amount won’t be a huge impact to the fund but a larger amount will affect the department and we may need to cut something out.
CVO Deputy- Erik noted he hasn’t talked to Thurston County yet about how their roads department houses a CVO Deputy. He said this position is the responsibility of the Sheriff as the individual will have to be deputized and their department also needs to be comfortable
with the person. Erik would rather have this person report to the Sheriff as we need the
most help only in the summer months. Gary said that the lines of communication need to improve and we should be able to get top priorities done.
Erik said the crews want to be able to call one person. What he hears now from the Sheriff is that his staff is busy and makes it seem like our work on the roads is less important. If the LCSO is proactive about where we are working and they make contact with PW then Erik said he is fine with this. It worked well with Tim English as he would
check in regularly. He will meet with Rob and Bruce to discuss the issue more.
Tim noted that in Franklin County the Sheriff wanted another traffic position and they kept track of tickets. The Sheriff wanted to prove that the revenue they brought back in could pay for the new positon.
Erik would like the Sheriff to be proactive in sharing data with the roads department.
GOOD OF THE ORDER Erik noted he is reviewing the applicants for the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control
Authority Advisory Committee. This will be discussed at the flood meeting later in the
afternoon.
Ended 11:25 am