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2021-06-01 Business Meeting Minutes LEWIS COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS(BOCC) Business Meeting minutes June 1, 2021 Present: Commissioner Stamper, Commissioner Pollock, Commissioner Swope Recorder: Rieva Lester Commissioner Stamper called the meeting to order at 2 p.m. and determined a quorum. At 2:01 p.m.,the meeting paused due to technical difficulties(audio).The meeting resumed at 2:02 p.m. Commissioner Stamper proceeded with the flag salute. PUBLIC COMMENT Scott Crossfield of Toledo expressed concerns regarding the fast-tracking of a gravel pit on Mandy Road in Toledo. He noted that Good's Quarry had to meet SEPA and other requirements. He asked why the Mandy Road gravel pit is not being held to the higher scrutiny.Scott said DNR indicated it did not know whether the Mandy Road pit would have to get county approval. He said the county has not stepped in to abate the noise of the Mandy Road pit, as it did with the Good quarry. Caleb Huffman said he wanted to weigh in on Resolution 21-209. He said Drug Court is not a silver bullet that helps the supermajority. He raised concerns about a commentary Jonathan Meyer wrote in The Chronicle. Commissioner Pollock made a motion to amend the Business Meeting agenda to include Resolution 21- 213: Adopt a mask mandate. Commissioner Stamper seconded. Motion passed 2-1,with Commissioner Pollock and Commissioner Stamper voting in favor of amending the agenda and Commissioner Swope voting against it. NOTICE ITEM Commissioner Swope made a motion to approve Resolution 21-207. Commissioner Pollock seconded. Resolution 21-207: Notice of Hearing for Ordinance 1326,amending LCC Title 15-Chapter 15.05 Building Codes.The hearing will take place in the Commissioners' Hearing Room at or after 2 p.m. June 22, 2021. 1 4 Community Development Director Lee Napier discussed the resolution. She said the ordinance would adopt the amended 2018 edition of the International Building Code (IBC). Motion passed 3-0. CONSENT ITEMS Commissioner Pollock made a motion to approve minutes from the May 25,2021, meeting as well as Resolution 21-208. Commissioner Swope seconded. Resolution 21-208:Approval of warrants/claims against the various county departments. Chief accountant Grace Jimenez, representing the Auditor's Office, said warrants numbered 842,259 through 842,451 and direct disbursements numbered 3541, 3542 and 3546 were issued in May for payments against the county totaling$1,185,860.47. She said payroll/tax deposit warrant numbered 795,831 and Automatic Deposits 26,156 through 26,732 also were issued for payments against the county totaling$1,077,752.87. Grace noted a skip in sequence for warrants 842,227 through 842,258, which were issued on behalf of Special Purpose Districts. Motion passed 3-0. DELIBERATION ITEMS Commissioner Swope made a motion to approve Resolutions 21-209 through 21-212. Commissioner Pollock seconded. Resolution 21-209: Establish the Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney's Drug Enforcement Fund No. 1610 for certain purposes consistent with RCW 69.50.505. Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eric Eisenberg discussed the resolution. He said the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) can seize assets and proceeds from the unlawful manufacturing or distribution of controlled substances. He said the Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has a contract to represent JNET in forfeiture actions. Eric said Fund No. 1610 would be established as the dedicated account for those forfeited funds. Eric noted that the resolution is not related to the Blake decision. Resolution 21-210:Approve an MOU between Equity Institute and Lewis County to provide COVID-19 outreach and vaccine opportunities to Spanish-speaking residents of Lewis County. 2 Public Health &Social Services Deputy Director John Abplanalp discussed the resolution. He said the MOU would provide vaccination outreach to Spanish-speaking residents. Resolution 21-211: List the bids received and contractor selected for the County Safety Program-Phase 2 Project, HSIP-000S(553), Federal Aid Contract No.TA-6895,CRP No.2191B. Public Works Director Josh Metcalf discussed the resolution. He said the county received five responsive bids and that Janke Trucking was the lowest apparent bidder at$884,913.62. He noted that the engineer's estimate had been $808,536.00.Josh said the resolution would award the bid to Janke Trucking. Resolution 21-212: Reappoint three members to the Lewis County Solid Waste Advisory Committee. Public Works Director Josh Metcalf discussed the resolution. He said the resolution would reappoint Ed Lewis,Tom Rupert and Bob Taylor for terms ending June 1, 2024. Motion passed 3-0. Resolution 21-213:Adopt a Mask Mandate Policy. Commissioner Pollock made a motion to approve Resolution 21-213. Commissioner Stamper seconded. HR Director Chris Panush said the commissioners have two options regarding the Mask Mandate Policy: one would include giving employees the option of providing a signed attestation,whereas the other option would eliminate the attestation option. Commissioner Swope expressed his concerns with approving a mask mandate that would allow some employees to go without a mask. Commissioner Pollock said she views the policy as a path for employees to go without masks.She said she does not like the option that includes the attestation. Commissioner Stamper said he feels more discussion is needed. Motion failed 3-0. Commissioner Pollock made a motion to approve Resolution 21-213,excluding Policy option B,only providing options 1-4.The motion failed due to the lack of a second. 3 COVID-19 Nathan Weed,the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response for the state Department of Health, discussed the state's creation of a quarantine and isolation center at Centralia's Lakeview Inn. Nate said the state took the action under RCW 43.70.130. Jonathan asked which subsection of the RCW applied. He also asked what the state thinks Lewis County is doing wrong, prompting it to intervene. Nate said the state has not implied that Lewis County has fallen short in its COVID efforts. John Abplanalp said Lewis County's current COVID rates are considerably higher than the state's average. Nate said the center's cases would not count against the county's totals. Jonathan said the hotel is not zoned to allow for the state to provide medical services. Nate said the vast majority of the individuals using the facility are from shipping vessels. Nate guesstimated that there were 23 patients at the facility. Nate said the bulk of the patients were from a shipping vessel in Whatcom County. Commissioner Pollock noted that Whatcom County has 751 physicians,whereas Lewis County has far fewer. Nate said the main factor in selecting the Lewis County facility was the willingness of the owner to house the state facility. Nate apologized for the state's lack of outreach to the City Council, the county and the community. Nate said the state hopes to identify a more permanent solution by July. Commissioner Stamper and Commissioner Swope noted that the state was supposed to update the county regularly about the number of cases, etc., at the facility and that the state has not done so. Nate said the state can provide daily updates to Lewis County. ANNOUNCEMENTS Commissioner Stamper said Tacoma Power Public Utilities provided an annual report regarding the Riffe Lake levels. He said Tacoma Power indicated it has lowered the lake 30 feet. He said Tacoma Power has indicated it is working on its seismic standards and plans to retrofit the dam accordingly. He said the company indicated it could take many years.Commissioner Stamper said he worries about the lack of recreational opportunities. He said Tacoma Power needs to extend the boat ramp so the lake can be used year-round. 4 PRESS CONFERENCE No questions. ADJOURNMENT The BOCC Business Meeting adjourned at 3:41 p.m.,with the next Business Meeting scheduled for 2 p.m.Tuesday,June 8, 2021, in the Commissioners' Hearing Room (Room 223). Minutes from the BOCC Business Meeting are not verbatim. Video footage can be viewed online at no charge at https://lewiscountywa.gov/offices/commissioners/bocc-meetings/. 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