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Home My WebLink About2021/06/07 - Briefing BOARD OF MASON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' BRIEFING MINUTES Mason County Commission Chambers,411 North 5th Street,Shelton,WA Week of June 7,2021 Monday,June 7,2021 9:00 A.M. Executive Session—RCW 42.30.110(1)(i)Potential litigation Commissioners Neatherlin, Shutty and Trask met in Executive Session from 9:00 a.m.to 9:30 a.m. Also in attendance was Tim Whitehead,Nichole Wilston,Richard Dickinson and WA Counties Risk Pool staff. 9:30 A.M. Support Services Commissioners Neatherlin,Shutty and Trask were in attendance via Zoom. • Draft 2022 Budget Guidelines were reviewed. Jenn will make some minor changes and remove the 1%levy increase for Current Expense and Roads Fund and bring forward for a final review next Monday. • Take Home Vehicle Request for Jeremy Seymour was delayed because Jenn is waiting for paperwork from Public Works. • Jenn reported that one response was received in response to the RFP for Poor&Infirm Veterans Services. The response was from North Mason Resources. Jenn stated this program could work if reimbursed on a quarterly basis. Jenn will bring forward a contract. The Board asked Jenn to track the amount of staff time this contract takes to know it is cost effective. • Jenn presented changes to the Financial Reserve Policy. Cmmr. Shutty suggested that if the County exceeds the 25%of reserves to consider making debt reduction payments. Cmmr. Neatherlin suggested this be presented to the Audit Committee. Jenn mentioned another option is to build capital reserves. Leo Kim will schedule an Audit Committee meeting. • Annexation between PUD 1 and PUD 3 for Alderbrook Golf&Yacht Club. Approval to place on the June 8 agenda setting the hearing on July 6. • Kelly Frazier reviewed space needs for Therapeutic Courts. The Board agreed to relocate Therapeutic Courts into the back end of the Superior Court Modular Courtroom building. • Ross presented information on a R-ZERO Arc UV Light Disinfection machine that can clean a room of viruses. The cost is approximately$26,000 and an annual maintenance fee. The Commissioners would like a demonstration. • Cmmr.Trask brought forward a recommendation from Memorial Hall Committee to not rent out the Hall to the general public because the regular users including the veteran groups use the hall for the majority of the time. Cmmr.Neatherlin asked to see a calendar and he stated that if we are allowing non-profits to use the hall,we need to allow all non-profits. 10:00 A.M. Community Services—Dave Windom Commissioners Neatherlin,Shutty and Trask were in attendance via Zoom. • Approval to place the Medicaid Transformation Project(MTP)partner contract on the agenda. • Kell reviewed the Lean Process that Community Development staff went through on the permit intake and issuance process through the State Auditor's Office. The team identified 12 major tasks with 47 subtasks. Kell will forward the report. Cmmr.Shutty asked that the Board send a thank you letter to the SAO. • Approval for Community Development to close offices to the public on August 25 for training. • Alex requested an additional temporary Environmental Health Specialist until 12/31/21 at which time they will reevaluate the need. The Commissioners are supportive.Cmmr.Neatherlin stated he would like to invest in the code enforcement program. • Dave Windom brought up masking/unmasking procedure,according to current DOSH Directive, for Mason County employees.Options are to show your vaccination card;sign an attestation that you have received your COVID vaccination or continue to wear your mask. There was discussion about what will happen when the state reaches the 70%vaccination rate and the state is opened up. For now,the directive was to continue wearing masks.Windom will solicit feedback from other elected officials and bring this back next Monday. Board of Mason County Commissioners' Briefing Meeting Minutes Week of June 7,2021 • Windom brought up creating a panel to discuss the community moving forward coming out of Covid. 10:45 A.M. Public Works—Loretta Swanson Utilities&Waste Management Commissioners Neatherlin,Shutty and Trask were in attendance via Zoom. • Request to approve contract amendment extending the Kennedy/Jenks consultant agreement. • Mike provided an update on improvements to gravel roads. Cmmr.Neatherlin asked for a cost report on improvements. The meeting adjourned at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday,June 9,2021 1:00 P.M. Prothman Consulting Services Support Services Director Position Commissioners Neatherlin,Shutty and Trask were in attendance via Zoom. • Sonja Prothman introduced herself and stated Prothman Consulting Services was hired to assist with filling the Support Services Director position. Prothman conducted interviews last week with the Commissioners. Two Commissioners support creating a County Administrator position;one Commissioner supports keeping a Support Services Director. Philip Morley provided information on the process and summarized the pros and cons that came out of the Commissioner interviews. Cmmr.Neatherlin does not support an Administrator position;he believes this would separate the Commissioners from staff and the public;if the Commissioners'job duties change,he believes the salary should also change. He will support whatever is decided and is prepared to move forward. Cmmr. Shutty is supportive of Administrator position;believes personnel policies and implementation should not be political and best left to administrative staff;believes the County has come a long ways and improvements can be made;doesn't alleviate the Commissioners' workload;will lead to efficiencies and doesn't believe the county would lose anything. Cmmr.Trask doesn't believe the Commissioners would give up any responsibilities;Mason County will grow and an Administrator will help the county move forward and bring the departments together. Mr.Morley noted there is no wrong answer,the goal is how to best serve the county and constituents. Cmmr.Shutty brought up the severance clause in an Administrator contract that Cmmr.Neatherlin brought up as a con. Cmmr.Neatherlin believes it doesn't serve the county well. Mr.Morley stated it protects the organization because the severance pay is tied to a release of any claims,so if the person is let go,there is no risk. Cmmr.Neatherlin stated it will be hard to keep an Administrator position in their boundaries. He asked what local organization are the other Commissioners trying to emulate. Cmmr.Trask is not trying to emulate any local organization but wants the best county government and with growth,a quicker timeline is more efficient. Mr.Morley pointed out the Board consists of three full-time members which is different than a part-time Board and this position is accountable to the Commissioners. Cmmr.Shutty stated he is interested in what the structure will do for the county;not interested in imitating another jurisdiction. It comes down to how we recruit and hire for this position. Cmmr.Trask stated the Board spends a lot of time on HR issues and believes her time could be better spent on other issues. The Commissioners agreed communication needs to be improved within the county and with outside agencies. Mr.Morley stated it is important to do an annual review and give honest feedback,setting clear expectations and priorities and holding the person accountable. Frank stated this is an opportunity for the County to change its organizational structure. He recommends the person have a high level of public administration;able to deal with high stress; and have great communication skills and work with the different personalities. Board of Mason County Commissioners' Briefing Meeting Minutes Week of June 7,2021 Sonja stated that based on the needed skills,we would get better candidates if we recruit for a County Administrator. The Board agreed to move forward with recruiting for an Administrator and asked Prothman to work with Frank to bring forward a job description and salary range. Information will be available at the June 21 briefing. 3:00 P.M. Closed Session—RCW 42.30.140(4)Labor Discussion Commissioners Neatherlin,Shutty and Trask met in Closed Session for a labor discussion from 2:37 p.m.to 3:18 p.m. Frank Pinter was also in attendance. No action was taken. The meeting adjourned at 3:18 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Diane Zoren,Administrative Services Manager BOARD OF MASON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS At\ A4eoonn,� - I — R dy Nea n Sharon Trask K vin Shu Chair Commissioner Commissioner