2021-08-23 County Manager UpdateCounty Manager Update
August 23, 2021
10:13 a.m.
Present: Commissioner Pollock, Commissioner Swope, County Manager Erik Martin, Chris Panush, Austin
Majors, Lara McRea, Steve Wohld, Connie Riker, Alison Puckett, Becky Butler, Doug Carey, Josh Metcalf,
Katie Conradi, Lee Napier, Meja Handlen, Sherri Dokken, Tailor Arrington
Guests: Claudia Yaw, Nic Scott
Recorder: Rieva Lester
Announcements
Erik Martin said Lewis County has canceled Garlic Fest, which was scheduled for Aug. 27-29, 2021.
Steve Wohld said the county cannot secure adequate staffing for the event.
Budget
Board of Equalization (BOE) members: Lara McRea said the BOE has asked to increase its hearing day
per diem to $100, from $75. The commissioners said they would address the topic outside of the budget
process. Lara said the increase would amount to $1,800 annually. She noted that the BOE had not had
an increase since roughly 1997. She said the BOE’s hearing days generally last from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Tammy Martin said BOE members receive all of their information at the hearings. Lara outlined Tammy’s
efforts to streamline the BOE process.
The commissioners said they would postpone their discussion until Commissioner Stamper’s return.
Internal Services update
Southwest Washington Fair: Steve Wohld discussed preventive measures taken for the fair. He said
some vendors noted they’d had a record-breaking week.
Connie Riker said attendance was down by roughly 5,500 to 6,000 fairgoers but that the fair brought in
$100,000 more than it did in 2019.
Connie said the county sold 800 tickets for the rodeo. She said the Aug. 17 derby attracted 1,000
fairgoers and that the Aug. 21 derby roughly doubled that.
Connie, Steve, Erik and Chris Panush thanked all of the volunteers, employees and businesses that
helped make the fair a success.
Meeting ended at 11:33 a.m.