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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018/08/06 - Briefing BOARD OF MASON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' BRIEFING MINUTES Mason County Commission Chambers,411 North 5th Street,Shelton,WA Week of August 6,2018 Monday,August 6,2018 9:00 A.M. Executive Session—RCW 42.30.110(1)(b)—Real Estate Purchase Executive Session—RCW 42.30.110(lxi)—Potential Litigation Executive Session—RCW 42.30.110(1)(i)—Litigation Commissioners Neatherlin,Shutty and Drexler met in executive session for litigation and real estate from 9:00 a.m.to 9:50 a.m.with Tim Whitehead and Frank Pinter. 10:00 A.M. State Auditor Entrance Conference—Doug Peters Commissioners Neatherlin,Shutty and Drexler were in attendance • Doug handed out information and noted that the financial single audit will be done this summer while accountability will be done in the fall.This will not change the cost.He discussed what areas will be examined including,but not limited to,fee schedule increases,sewer funds,payroll,contracts,and reserve funds from various departments. The cost for this year's audit will be$98,500. 10:15 A.M. BREAK 10:30 A.M. Community Services—Dave Windom • Kell Rowen discussed the need to advertise for openings in the Planning Advisory Commission(PAC). She noted that there are multiple open positions as Marilyn Vogeler's position has expired. The board agreed to reappoint Marilyn at the August 10 meeting.The Board suggested having all PAC terms expire on the same date to cut down on confusion. • Kell asked permission to set a hearing on September 4,2018 to consider four requests for rezones and a map correction.She discussed the reasoning for the requested rezones and the map correction. • Dave said he received another application for the Environmental Health Manager position and is moving forward with interviews. • Discussion was had about abandoned properties and the bank taking control of said properties. • HOST contract is rewritten and has been submitted to Peter Jones to review with his board. • Dave noted that he and Kristopher are working to recreate the position description for a plans examiner. • Cmmr. Shutty questioned if the Housing Authority Board or Kathy Haigh have contacted him.Dave noted he has not been contacted and would attempt to speak with Kathy. 11:00 A.M. Public Works—Jerry Hauth Utilities&Waste Management Commissioners Neatherlin,Shutty and Drexler were in attendance • Sarah Grice said that on a previous approval,John Heusits was the contract signer. Because he is no longer with the County,Sarah asked to bring forward approval to have a new signer for contracts.The Board approved her coming forward at the August 10 meeting. • Loretta Swanson asked to move forward with two Private Line Occupancy permits.The Board approved both. • Bart Stepp talked about the water meter project for Rustlewood and Beards Cove.He announced that the low bid was from Oceanside Construction,adding that their bid includes the cost of the meters,and software. • Cyndi Ticknor said that the transfer station is using a 2007 loader which needs to be replaced.Replacement was planned for 2019,but now needs to be replaced as soon as possible.She explained all of the current issues,noting that the cost to repair is very high. A new loader may cost up to$250,000,but the funds are available within their budget. The Board approved moving forward.Cyndi then said the 1994 grader has a blown engine and was not scheduled to be replaced until 2021.A new engine is,at minimum, $30,000.She asked to move forward with the purchase of a new grader so she could then sell the old machine to recoup some of the funds.The board approved replacement and sale of the old grader. • Loretta talked about developing a stormwater permit.She discussed the work done between Planning,GIS,and herself. Loretta implied that if a permit was created, physical inspections would be necessary,meaning more man power would needed. • Jerry Hauth announced that he's only received two applications for County Engineer even though it's been posted for two months.He proposed creating an assistant County Engineer position for training opportunities and presented a chart with other proposed position/range updates.He suggested that a Hydraulics Engineer and technician be added under Loretta to assist with the Stormwater fieldwork just discussed.Cmmr.Neatherlin voiced concern about the need to be fair to everyone involved in the reclassification because of the jump in range for some positions.Cmmr.Drexler asked for job descriptions,and a plan to sustain two new positions. She and Jerry then discussed what training would be necessary for an assistant engineer. • An in depth discussion was had about the County Road Projects in the 2019 budget proposal and also about what projects have been completed in 2018. BREAK—NOON 2:00 P.M. Elected Official/Department Head Meeting Commissioners Neatherlin,Drexler and Shutty were in attendance along with elected officials,directors and members of the public. • Cmmr.Drexler announced that the Budget Advisory Board has two more meetings with department heads and will then move forward with budget recommendations.At this time she hopes to have a recommendation from the advisory board by October.Karen Herr stated that it was difficult to fill in the board about all the services covered in a fifteen minute time span. • Review of 2019 budget process-Frank asked if anybody has any questions about the changes and policy level requests.No questions were asked.He said that policy level requests are due by September 10*. • Cmmr.Shutty announced that WSU will be sending out a survey in September to all employees which will be anonymous.He noted that they are hoping the survey aligns the County with the goals in place.Melody Peterson asked what the Board is hoping to learn from the survey.Cmmr. Shutty answered that he hopes to learn the current culture,the goals for each office versus the goals of the county,and if the goals need to be updated to meet the expectations of the citizens. • Updates of Elected Officials/Directors- o WSU Extension-Dan Tutenburg talked about the volunteer time at Grays Harbor County Fair,adding that the Master Gardners recently harvested a few hundred pounds of produce for the local food bank.Dan suggested each department name the top three goals they are working towards to see if there is a possibility of partnering with other departments. o Public Works-Jerry Hauth said summer construction is underway and discussed some current projects.He then talked about the GIS department,suggesting the use of maps in most departments is underutilized. o Assessor-Melody Peterson announced the Assessor's office inspections are complete and they are working on their analysis of values and hoping to have change of value notices out within the next three weeks. She agreed that GIS has many uses,and praised Jason for his work,but asked that perhaps the County hire more employees lighten the load on departments. o District Court-Victoria Meadows announced another staff member left due to the high volume and high stress of working in the office. She then voiced concern over one candidate who believes Judges salaries should be cut. She noted that their salaries are set by Legislation and cannot be changed.Patsy Robinson stated that District Court is so short staffed that they are falling behind once again,and need to have their open position filled immediately. o Auditor-Karen Herr announced as of this morning,based upon the ballots received,voter turnout is almost at 30%. o Community Services-Dave Windom said the online permitting program is going smoothly and should be done by the beginning of 2019 to accept permit applications and building plans.Permits are running at 65 days to approval.He noted that people are having difficulty getting into the building with the construction,and are walking through the construction even though signs are posted. o Cmmr.Drexler reported that they are still working with the city of Shelton on the permits for the mental health center. o Cmmr.Neatherlin recapped the following topics for the next Elected Officials/Directors meeting:All departments need to list three goals in which they may be able to partner with other departments,come up with suggestions on how to make GIS better,and traffic issues/accessibility due to construction. 3:00 P.M. Support Services—Ross McDowell Review of 2018&2019 Information Technology Projects Review of 2018 and 2019 Facilities&Parks projects Commissioners Neatherlin,Drexler and Shutty were in attendance • Review of 2018&2019 IT Projects-Ross McDowell first discussed the 2018 projects for Information Services and how they've been handled.Cmmr.Drexler questioned the savings in changing phone systems.Frank said the bill has been reduced from$100,000 to$80,000 per year.Todd Cannon said they will be looking at other providers for lower billing,but wanted to wait until all bugs were out of the system,which looks to be complete. • Ross went through a handout detailing a list of tentative projects and their funding sources in 2019. • Review of 2018 and 2019 Facilities&Parks projects-Ross explained this report began April 15'x,not January I".He and Frank discussed completed projects and those in the works.Ross then went through REET 1 and 2 projects.Cmmr.Neatherlin asked that handicapped parking be expanded at Sandhill. 4:00 P.M. Support Services—Frank Pinter Commissioners Neatherlin,Drexler and Shutty were in attendance • Frank Pinter asked that the reclassification requests be discussed first because members of the Sheriffs office were present.Dawn Twiddy passed out a draft resolution amending resolution 59-18 to change the Chief Administrative Deputy position to the previous title of Finance Manager.Cmmr.Neatherlin questioned the difference between this reclassification versus that of Community Development. Frank explained the differences in the job descriptions.Due to missing items in the current job description,Cmmr.Neatherlin asked to table the discussion for a week until more information could be obtained. • Frank addressed the Washington Department of Transportation request to surplus properties.Cmmr.Drexler suggested that recommendations come from Facilities after internal review. • Dawn Twiddy asked to send Nichole Wilston to the PRIMA institute training in Florida, November 6-7. She said The Washington Counties Risk Pool will be providing$1500 towards the cost of the trip,while the rest can come from the HR budget.This training will certify Nichole to take over her position as Risk Manager.The Board approved out of state travel. • Annual liability insurance-Dawn reported that the County's annual liability insurance will increase by 21%.The county's deductible is$25,000.If the deductible were changed to$50,000 per claim,there would be a savings of$75,900 in the premium. She discussed both the positive and negative aspects of changing the deductible.Dawn explained that Mason County should add additional coverage to the crime insurance for items such as Computer and Funds Transfer Fraud,Money order and Counterfeit currency.The Board approved moving forward. • Frank discussed the 2019 Commissioner Preliminary Budget.Cmmr. Shutty stated that his recollection was that the travel expense line was supposed to be$500 for 2018.Frank said he would look into it,and make sure it is changed for 2019 if it is not already. • Ross McDowell presented a letter of recognition for Ben Ramsfield in IT.Ross discussed how he has assisted with Terascan which was a large undertaking and asked to present him with a green star.The Board approved moving forward. No Commissioner discussion was had. Respectfully submitted, Melissa Drewry,Clerk of the Board BOARD OF MASON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Ra y Neatherlin Terri Drexler Kevin Shutty Chair Commissioner Commission r