2011-08-15 Board Meeting Minutes 1
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
LEWIS COUNTY, WASHINGTON
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
August 15, 2011
The Board of County Commissioners for Lewis County, Washington met in regular session
on Monday, August 15, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. Commissioners Ron Averill, P.W. “Bill”
Schulte, and F. Lee Grose were in attendance. Chairman Averill determined a quorum,
called the meeting to order and proceeded with the flag salute. Commissioner Grose
moved to approve the minutes from the 10:00 a.m. meeting held on Monday, August 8,
2011. Commissioner Schulte seconded the motion.
Motion carried 3-0
Employee Recognition
“Employee” Above and Beyond
Chairman Averill announced the 2nd Quarter Employee Above and Beyond.
Smokey Padgett- Code Compliance
NOTICE
Commissioner Schulte made a motion to approve Notice Agenda items one through three.
Commissioner Grose seconded the motion. Candace Hallom read the items into the
record.
1. Proclamation: Proclaiming the Southwest Washington Fair’s 102nd Anniversary
and August 15-21 as Southwest Washington Fair Week.
Chairman Averill read the proclamation into the record. He stated the Lewis County Board
of County Commissioners do hereby proclaim the 2011 Southwest Washington Fair the
102nd Anniversary; and, the week of August 15-21, 2011 Southwest Washington Fair Week
in Lewis County. We encourage all citizens to embrace and participate in the fair activities
and entertainment provided for their enjoyment.
2. Notice of Compliance required by the Public Employment Relations Commission
(PERC) findings.
Archie Smith, Human Resource Administrator, stated The Public Employment Relations
Commission (PERC) recently ruled that Lewis County committed an Unfair Labor Practice
(ULP) against the Lewis County Corrections Guild (case 22324-U-09-5692). PERC
requires that the notice of the ULP must be read at a public meeting of the Board of County
Commissioners and the notice must be posted for 60 consecutive days in the work space of
the Corrections Guild. The full decision in this case is published at www.perc.wa.gov . On
March 9, 2009 the Guild filed an ULP alleging that Lewis County committed the ULP by: 1)
unilaterally changing the health plan contribution, 2) changing insurance plans offered, and
3) circumventing the union by directly dealing with employees about insurance plans in
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violation of RCW 41.56.104(4). PERC determined there was a violation on issue 3, but not
the others and the County published a notice of violation. The Guild appealed the PERC
findings on the first two allegations and PERC has reversed the initial PERC arbitrator’s
decision and ruled in favor of the Guild on the first two allegations. This public notice of
compliance and posting of the notice closes the loop on acknowledging an ULP and making
remedy therefore. He then read the notice to employees into the record.
Chairman Averill stated the 2009 finding only upheld the third issue of circumventing the
union. In this particular case it was a member of the staff thinking they were helping the
employees by letting them know there was another plan that is cheaper. He reminded staff
that we have to be very carefully when dealing with unions, that we follow the rules strictly.
There is a very fine margin when dealing with the PERC board on any ULP.
3. Call for Bids: For a pedestal mounted hydraulic excavator. Bids will be opened at
11:30 am, Tuesday, September 13, 2011. Resolution No. 11-264
Tim Elsea, Director of Public Works, stated the Solid Waste Division of the Lewis
County Public Works Department has determined that one of the excavators used at the
Central Transfer Station is in need of replacement. Specifications for a replacement
have been prepared and are attached as Exhibit “A” to the resolution. Solid Waste
management proposes a call for bids from potential vendors for the purchase of a
pedestal-mounted hydraulic excavator to replace the existing excavator. Bids are due
by 11:00 a.m. on September 13, 2011, to the Clerk of the Board of Lewis County
Commissioners (351 N.W. North Street, Room 210, CMS-01, Chehalis, Washington
98532) and will be publically opened at 11:30 a.m. on September 13, 2011 at the
Commissioners Meeting Room, 351 N.W. North Street, Room 223, CMS-01, Chehalis,
Washington 98532. This is a reissue of a previous bid. This Resolution approves a call
for bids for one (1) pedestal-mounted hydraulic excavator and authorizes the Clerk of
the Board of the Lewis County Commissioners to advertise the call for bids in The East
County Journal and the Daily Journal of Commerce in Seattle and Portland.
Motion Carried 3-0
CONSENT
Commissioner Grose made a motion to approve Consent Agenda items four through ten.
Commissioner Schulte seconded the motion. Candace Hallom read the items into the
record.
4. Resolution No. 11-265 Approval of warrants and payroll for payment.
Chairman Averill stated this approves 8 Special Purpose Warrants (Vader Water System)
for $8,421.25; and, 310 warrants issued by the Auditor’s Office for $815,750.61 for a
combined total of $824,171.86. Also, approves 423 automatic deposits, 179 warrants for
County Net Pay, and 62 warrants for County Benefits & Employee Deductions for a total of
$3,186,915.02.
5. Resolution No. 11-266 Reappointing members to the Public Facilities Board of
Directors.
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Chairman Averill stated this approves re-appointment of Pete Corwin (Centralia), David
Kuper (Centralia) and Tom Lerchen (Packwood) to the Board of Directors of the Lewis
County Public Facilities District. The terms of these three directors is about to expire and all
have agreed to serve another four year term, ending on August 13, 2015.
6. Resolution No. 11-267 Appointing members to the Southwest Washington Fair
Commission.
Michael Strozyk, Director of Central Service, stated this if for the appointment of the four
citizens to serve as members of the Southwest Washington Fair Commission for a
designated term as allowed and authorized under RCW 36.90.030 and Lewis County
Resolution 08-295. The BOCC established the formation of the Southwest Washington Fair
Commission under Resolution 08-295 which allows for a commission of seven (7) citizens
to advise in the operations of the Southwest Washington Fair and Fairgrounds. Currently
the Fair Commission has four vacancies. After a selection and recruitment process, the
following four individuals were selected to serve as members of the Southwest Washington
Fair Commission;
• Tammy Remund Centralia
• Pat Sauter Chehalis
• Richard Debolt Adna
• Ralph Hubbert Chehalis
Chairman Averill stated the Fair Commission is a very important player in the operations of
the SWW Fair and fairgrounds. As many know, last year we were faced with having a
shortfall in funds. We were looking at areas that we could get savings and not have to
release any more employees. W e looked at the $275,000.00 the County provided to the
fair. We asked the Fair Commission to work to make the fair self-supporting. He stated this
year’s fair is going to be one of the better fairs that we have had in a long time and most of
the events are being supported by the local community. The Fair Commission has done an
outstanding job.
7. Resolution No. 11-268 Ap pointing a member and an alternate member to the
Lewis County Water Conservancy Board.
Robert Johnson, Director of Community Development, state the W ater Conservancy
Board is a State Board. The purpose of this board is to process water right transfers within
Lewis County. Mr. Ron Mauel is a member of the Water Conservancy Board. His term will
expire on September 30, 2011. Mr. Mauel wishes to resign as a regular member and be
appointed as an alternate. Ms. Barbara Burres is an alternate and wishes to be appointed
to the position held by Ron Mauel. The Water Conservancy Board supports the change in
appointments. Ms. Burres will be appointed to the unfilled term and to an additional 6-year
term which will expire September 30, 2017.
8. Resolution No. 11-269 Approving the purchase of GPS equipment for the Public
Works Department.
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Larry Unzelman, Public Works, stated the Public Works Department acquired GPS
equipment for Survey and GIS Mapping approximately 16 years ago. Advancements in
technology have increased efficiencies in new equipment and made them usable in more
areas. Equipment from several manufacturers was demonstrated and tested by County field
crews and the equipment from Trimble Navigation Limited was determined to be best suited to
the needs of both the Survey and GIS Mapping Sections of the Department. Vendor bids from
GeoLine, Inc. for the Survey equipment at $80,245.39 and from Electronic Data Solutions at
$14,107.93 for GIS equipment, both of which are on the Washington State contract for
purchasing, are considered the best bids for the equipment, totaling $94,353.32. The Capital
Expenditures portion of the 2011 Public Works budget includes $86,000 for GPS equipment.
As proposed, each of the two vendors have submitted two invoices. Some accessories have
been separated and included on the second invoice. The Invoices to be paid from capital
expense are for $7,418.12 for GIS and $78,304.16 for Survey, totaling $85,722.28. The
remaining accessories are to be paid from small tools portion of the Public Works budget.
9. Resolution No. 11-270 Approving an agreement with the Department of Social and
Health Services (DSHS) Division of Developmental Disabilities.
April Kelley, Social Services, stated the purpose of this contract is to fund employment
and related services for people in our county with developmental disabilities. The Division of
Developmental Disabilities has traditionally contracted with counties to provide these
services in our local communities. This contract provides funding for the following items:
• Administration
• Training Expenses
• Community Information
• Consumer Support
• Infrastructure
Funding will be available in the amount of $716,690.00. These funds were anticipated for
the July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 fiscal years.
10. Resolution No. 11-271 Approving a Collective Bargaining Agreement between
Teamsters 252 representing the Combined Group.
Archie Smith, Human Resources, stated this contract will be a one year agreement dating
from 01/01/2011 to 12/31/2011. For the 2011 calendar year the Employer Health and
Welfare financial contributions were not changed. The current monthly employer
contribution for medical insurance is $839.03. There is no COLA for the year and Step
increases are provided. Other issues that were addressed during negotiation were:
• Increased the hours of compensatory time in lieu of overtime payment from 40 hours
to 120 hours.
• Use of compensatory time may be used in 15 minute interval instead of one hour.
• Developed the Environmental Services Supervisory position. Those duties that are
part of the Environmental Manager position are still work possessed by management
right.
• Clarified the layoff and recall language.
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• Transition of the group from WCIF into Teamster Welfare Trust Fund for medical
Insurance. This transition was approved by the BOCC in a separate resolution in
2010 to allow for the change at the beginning of the 2011 calendar year. The
language has now been placed into the contact.
Basic housekeeping procedures were not listed as changes. These types of items
generally are spelling errors, grammatical errors, and other items of similar nature. Also,
clarification of policy is not listed as a policy change or modification since the essence of
the policy is still the same.
Motion Carried 3-0
HEARING
Commissioner Grose left the meeting due to another conflict on his schedule.
Hearing: Open Space
Chairman Averill announced the hearing and asked for a staff report.
Dianne Dorey, Assessor, stated Open Space Timber is a taxation program that allows
people between five and twenty acres to grow commercial timber and harvest it for the
betterment of the State of Washington in order to help keep Washington green. We have
some individuals who have applied for the Open Space Timber classification. Some of
these properties have less than five acres.
Chairman Averill stated these applications have been going down as we have moved into
growth management and gotten out of our moratorium. Generally speaking in timber land
you need to have at least five acres unless you have a contiguous piece that you want to
add to the timber program.
Chairman Averill asked if there were any more questions. There were none. He closed the
question and answer portion of the hearing and opened the formal hearing.
Dianne Dorey asked that her previous comments be adopted into the record.
Chairman Averill asked if there were any other statements for public testimony. There
were none. He closed the hearing and asked for a motion.
Commissioner Schulte made a motion to approve Resolution No. 11-272. Chairman
Averill seconded the motion. Candace Hallom read the item into the record
Resolution No. 11-272 Applications of Classifications of Various Land Parcels Under
RCW 84.34.
Motion Carried 2-0
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Hearing: Ordinance 1225- Imposing a Moratorium on Community Marijuana Gardens.
Chairman Averill announced the hearing and asked for a staff report.
Glenn Carter, Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, stated during this past legislative session
the Washington Legislature enacted a measure permitting community gardens to raise
marijuana for authorized users. The Legislation stated the gardens are subject to
community zoning regulation. As you know the United States outlaws the cultivation and
use of marijuana in all but very limited circumstances. Generally, with respect to controlled
substances, federal law is the law of the land therefore causing a conflict with federal law
and state law. Staff has requested the moratorium before the board to allow an opportunity
to review federal law, review the state legislative action, and if possible to reconcile federal
and state law on this issue. We will return our recommendation to resolve this matter within
the next few weeks
Sheriff Steve Mansfield commended the Board for taking the position they are taking
today. The proponents of this legislation mounted a huge effort the last two years to push
this thing forward. They are organized and have all the legal help that they need to push
this as far as they can. He believes that more harm than good is going to come out of this.
He believes that the general population of Lewis County and across this state feels that this
is not a good idea.
Chairman Averill noted that when we made the announcement two weeks ago that we
would be holding this hearing the moratorium started at that time. We are reinforcing today
that we want this moratorium for an additional 60 days. The Governor backed off of the
original proposal in the legislation, which had dispensaries, after the Federal Attorney
General’s office out of Seattle wrote a letter telling people that this was an illegal operation
and that state employees and local officials who allowed such dispensaries to be
established might be subject to prosecution. That however did not walk over to the
gardens. He asked Glenn why we are not seeing a letter on the gardens.
Glenn stated he does not think there was a necessity for another letter because the letter
provided would include those actions by County officials to permit what is otherwise illegal
under federal law. There are circumstances under federal law were the cultivation of
marijuana can be permitted. That is what we will be looking at.
Commissioner Schulte stated it is his understanding that we are going to try to balance
federal and state law. If you have community gardens and the product is close to harvest
are you looking at security issues. His fear is each one of these gardens would become a
flash point as outside individuals would try to raid those places. Are we allowed to look
under zoning and require they provide some kind of security.
Glenn stated to the extent that it is permitted, then zoning considerations do have a place
here. Among those zoning considerations are security concerns.
Sheriff Mansfield stated the drug culture is filled with violence, whether legal or illegal
drugs. It involves huge amount of money and when you put those sorts of things together
you are going to have problems. It is one of the draw backs to the legislation and the
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people pushing this law. However, their minds are made up and now we are faced with
something that we are going to have to deal with. You will see this product on the street like
you have never seen before. There are some people that are going to be helped medically
by it but the people that are going to be harmed by it, or families harmed by it, are far and
beyond from those that will benefit from it.
Ryan Schould, Chehalis, state what can we do to resolve this issue and get along. There
are different places, for example Ellensburg, that will have community gardens and there
are not going to be problems. He wants to know how we can benefit everyone and work
together on it. He wants to make this work for the patient. He stated medical marijuana
has helped him and it is working.
Sheriff Mansfield stated this is exactly why we are looking into this now so that those who
do need it can be helped.
Chairman Averill asked if there were any more questions. There were none. He closed the
question and answer portion of the hearing and opened the formal hearing.
Glenn Carter and Sheriff Mansfield asked that their previous comments be adopted into
the record.
Ryan Schould stated he takes a handful of pills every day and knows it is harming his body
more than medical marijuana. He stated he feels this is the right thing to do for helping
medicated patients.
Chairman Averill asked if there were any other statements for public testimony. There
were none. He closed the hearing and asked for a motion.
Commissioner Schulte made a motion to approve Ordinance 1225. Chairman Averill
seconded the motion. Candace Hallom read the item into the record.
An Ordinance of the County of Lewis Relating to Land Use and Zoning and Imposing
a Moratorium on Receipt of Applications for Development of Community Medical
Marijuana Gardens Upon Declaration of Emergency. Ordinance No. 1225
Chairman Averill stated it is bothersome that at the federal level, if this truly is a helpful
product, that the federal drug administration can’t put it on a list so it could be dispensed
through a pharmacy and handled properly. This is a moratorium so we can look at this
issue and decide where we are going to go. He is concerned that in the legislation that the
Governor vetoed a substantial piece of that legislation and then left in this particular piece of
the issue. Yet we are sitting with a letter from the Attorney General’s Office suggesting that
if we do the wrong thing then we could be subject to prosecution. We have to provide
ourselves and our employee’s protection and have time to determine what this law requires
and what is best for Lewis County.
Motion Carried 2-0
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There being no further business, the Commissioners’ public meeting adjourned at 10:58 am
on August 15, 2011. The next public meeting will be held Monday, August 22, 2011, at
10:00 a.m.
Please note that minutes from the Board of County Commissioners’ meetings are not
verbatim. A recording of the meeting may be purchased at the Commissioners’ office.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
LEWIS COUNTY, WASHINGTON
ATTEST: Ron Averill, Chairman
Karri Muir, Clerk of the Board P.W. Schulte, Commissioner
Lewis County Commissioners
F. Lee Grose, Commissioner