Loading...
2017-01-11 BOCC PW Individual Update MinutesLewis County Board of County Commissioners Public Works Update January 11, 2017 Present: Commissioner Gary Stamper, Commissioner Edna Fund, Commissioner Bobby Jackson, Public Works Director/County Engineer Erik Martin, Lara Seiler, recorder, Aaron Kunkler, Chronicle. Start time 10:25 am ADMINISTRATION PDR's-Kim Amrine- The board noted they were discussing the possibility of hiring a Public Records Officer. They will have more information in the coming weeks. RMT’s- Erik spoke about lifting the hiring freeze on the maintenance division. He also presented the board with a spreadsheet that showed unfilled budgeted positions for 2016. There were several positions that were unfilled or partially filled and the cost savings. He also showed the RMT’s that received increases in 2016 based on the RMT IV MOA. He pointed out a section in the MOA that states the area supervisor will determine the training needs and individuals will be trained on qualified or non-qualified pieces of equipment as the need arises to ensure the area and the department is able to meet its operational mission and goals. Erik said promotions have slowed down and we do not need everyone to run every piece of equipment. The lower level positions just need to be certified on one piece of equipment. Previously there were a set number of position in the shops and RMT III was assigned to a specific piece of equipment. This new MOA gives flexibility for special projects and emergencies as before they were limited. Erik noted that we need to fill 4 positions in the shops. He also said they would be filled with lower level positions as this gives young people the chance to enter into the workforce. If we wait to fill them, it will takes months for training and we need the positions filled for summer project work. ***Edna moved to lift the hiring freeze from the maintenance section of Public Works Bobby seconded Motion made to remove hiring freeze All voted in favor. CRAB Meeting- Erik noted that he recently attended CRAB training in Olympia and Jay Weber was one of the instructors. Jay was a former county commissioner. Jay will be retiring soon but offered to come visit any county and educate them on road standards and issues. Erik said we can set this up if the board was interested. North Lewis County Industrial Access- A screening workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan 31st and Tuesday, Feb. 28th with the TAC committee. The committee will flesh out ideas about different projects. The board noted they would like the progress of the project shared with legislatures such as Ed Orcutt. PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Skate Creek Cowlitz River Property Purchase- The acquisition of the property is complete. Erik received a call from Maree Lerchen and she would like to discuss Skate Creek. More specifically wants to know if something locally can be done with community groups. PSE Meeting on Jan. 25th- Public Works has a meeting scheduled with Amy Tousley from PSE on January 25th. PSE is concerned the county will hold up gas permits as we work through issues with the franchise. Erik noted that Public Works will not hold up any gas permits and wants to continue to negotiate in good faith. TRAFFIC ENGINEERING & OPERATIONS Area 5 Shop Improvements- The bid date is planned for January 24th. This shop is located in Ethel on Brim Rd and the project is to add covered bays with doors on the backside of the shop. This is an alternate FEMA project for Davis Creek. Kiona Shop- Discussion was held regarding some issues with the new Kiona Shop. The doors are thin and are made of aluminum sheeting which caused some rubbing issues. Those issues seem to be worked out now. 3R (resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation)- Erik presented the board with a chipseal list for 2017 and asked if there was any feedback on roads that may need to be chipsealed. He also asked the board if there were any roads that may need to be stripped. Gary talked briefly about Snodgrass Rd which is a gravel road. It has very few residents living on it. Erik did note that they county will get it plowed and will put together a cost estimate of what it would cost to get it chipsealed. He also said he would probably not recommend chipsealing it. ENGINEERING/CONSTRUCTION Lincoln Creek Bridge- This project is almost complete but waiting on proper weather to pave. Hwy 603- Public Works is continuing to renew temporary permits and working with BNSF on the DeKoker driveway permit. Cousins Rd Realignment- Erik noted that the county is going to rest on this issue for a while. Graf Culvert Replacement- There is property acquisitions that are tied up in court due to a property that is in foreclosure. Borst Ave- Erik will provide the board copies of the timeline when they are ready. Tim Fife will draft up a RFQ for a consultant and will put together info we need to acquire a TIB grant. TIB funds projects such as this and they have wanted to give money to the City of Centralia for a while. This type of project would be a good fit for TIB funding. Mays Bridge- There is a meeting set up with Charlie Quigg and Public Works on January 23rd to discuss the disagreement over liquidated damages. Erik noted that we are in a good position in our argument. We should come to a settlement soon on this issue. UTILITY Vader Water Reservoir- The department is working on acquiring a USDA grant which would be a supplement to the Dept. of Commerce grant of $750k. MSA estimated the cost of the reservoir to be $868k or even higher. Commerce will pay for planning but will only pay for design if we actually build the reservoir. They also said it shouldn’t be an issue getting an extension on their grant. Vader Water Rates- There is a meeting set for Thursday, January 19th at 9:00 am in Vader. Erik, Betsy and Commissioner Stamper will attend and review a proposed rate increase structure with Mayor Smith. Erik noted he would send Commissioner Jackson information on the rates. MISC Emergency Preparedness- Erik noted he is talking with a consultant who is interested in doing work for Public Works. The consultant would like to review what emergency procedures and plans that we have in place currently and where the gaps are. It is important that our department is prepared and ready for any emergency. More information will be provided to the board. Organization Consultant- Erik is looking at hiring a consultant to look at the organization and structure of the Public Works Department as a whole. We may look at changing how we do management. Erik has worked with this consultant before and liked her work. Meeting ended 11:28 am