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Home My WebLink About2026/01/05 - Briefing PacketMASON COUNTY COMMISSIONER BRIEFING INFORMATION FOR THE WEEK OF January 5, 2026 In the spirit of public information and inclusion, the attached is a draft of information for Commissioner consideration and discussion at the above briefing. This information is subject to change, additions and/or deletion, and is not all inclusive of what will be presented to the Commissioners. Please see draft briefing agenda for schedule. Commission meetings are live streamed at http://www.masonwebtv.com/ and public comment is accepted via email msmith@masoncountywa.gov; mail to Commissioners Office, 411 N 5th Street, Shelton, WA 98584; or phone at (360) 427-9670 ext. 419. If you need to listen to the Commission meeting via telephone, please provide your telephone number to the Commissioners’ office no later than 4:00 p.m. the Friday before the meeting. If special accommodations are needed, contact the Commissioners' office at Shelton (360) 427-9670 ext. 419 Briefing Agendas are subject to change, please contact the Commissioners’ office for the most recent version. Last printed 12/31/25 at 12:23 PM BOARD OF MASON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS DRAFT BRIEFING MEETING AGENDA 411 North Fifth Street, Shelton WA 98584 Week of January 5, 2026 Monday Noon WA State Association of Counties Zoom Meeting* Virtual Assembly *This is being noticed as a Special Commission meeting because a quorum of the Mason County Commission may attend this event and notification is provided per Mason County Code Chapter 2.88.020 - Special Meetings. Monday, January 5, 2026 Zoom link available on the Mason County website Commission Chambers Times are subject to change, depending on the amount of business presented 9:00 A.M. Closed Session – RCW 42.30.140(4) Labor Discussion 10:00 A.M. Executive Session – RCW 42.30.110(1)(c) Real Estate 10:15 A.M. Support Services – Travis Adams 10:25 A.M. Public Works – Loretta Swanson Utilities & Waste Management Commissioner Discussion – as needed Mason County Administrator 411 N 5th Street Shelton, WA 98584 (360) 427-9670 ext. 419 Mason County Commissioner Briefing Items from County Administrator January 5, 2026 Specific Items for Review → 2026 Boards, Councils, and Commissions list – McKenzie Smith → Youth Connection ARPA update – Jennifer Beierle → Indigent Defense cost impacts letter – Travis Adams Administrator Updates Commissioner Discussion Mason County Agenda Request Form To: Board of Mason County Commissioners Item No. From: McKenzie Smith Ext: 589 Department: Central Services Briefing: ☒ Action Agenda: ☐ Public Hearing: ☐ Special Meeting: ☐ Briefing Date(s): January 5, 2026 Agenda Date(s): Click or tap here to enter text. Internal Review: ☐ Finance ☐ Human Resources ☐ Legal ☐ IT ☐ Risk ☐ Other (Please ensure proper internal review channels have been followed, this is the responsibility of the requesting Department) Item: 2026 Boards, Councils, and Commissions Background/Executive Summary: The Mason County Commissioners represent Mason County by serving on a wide variety of boards, councils, and commissions as noted in the attachment. Associated Costs/Budget Impact (amount, funding source, budget amendment, etc.): N/A Public Outreach: N/A Requested Action: Discussion on which boards, councils, and commissions each Commissioner would like to participate in. Attachment(s): Draft 2026 List 2026 Boards, Councils, and Commissions The County Commissioners represent Mason County by serving on a variety of boards, councils, and commissions as noted below. Commissioner District 1 – Randy Neatherlin North Mason Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Mason County Audit Committee (established per Resolution no. 77-16) Mason County Law Enforcement Officers/Fire Fighters (LEOFF) Board (1st Tuesday 8:00 a.m. Commission Chambers) Mason County Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee (VAAC) (meets when necessary, per RCW 29A.46.260(2)) Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) (2nd Wednesday 10:00 a.m.; 2940B Limited Lane NW, Olympia) Peninsula Regional Transportation Planning Organization (PRTPO) Shelton Memorial Park Board of Directors (Cemetery) (meets when necessary) Washington Counties Risk Pool – Board of Directors Member West Sound Alliance Steering Committee Gorst Area Planning & Environmental Linkages Study Group Hood Canal Coordinating Council (Voting Member) North Mason Chamber of Commerce (Ex-Officio) Commissioner District 2 – Pat Tarzwell Economic Development Council Board (term ends 2024, Chair, 2nd Thursday 7:45 a.m. at EDC) Alliance for a Healthy South Sound (AHSS) Executive Committee (meets when necessary) Criminal Justice Working Team (meets when necessary, per RCW 72.09.300) MACECOM (2nd Tuesday 3:00 p.m.; City of Shelton) Mason County Clean Water District Mason County Housing & Behavioral Health Advisory Board, Chair Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA), alternate member Peninsula Regional Transportation Planning Organization (PRTPO), alternate member Thurston Mason Behavioral Health Organization (TMBHO) (3rd Thursday 1:00 p.m.; Thurston County Courthouse) Washington Counties Risk Pool – Board of Directors, alternate member Puget Sound Partnership’s Ecosystem Coordination Board (term ends June 30, 2025) IT Steering Committee Evergreen Coast Regional Partnership (ECRP) Board of Directors Commissioner District 3 – Sharon Trask Mason County Finance Committee (Chair is the voting member) Mason County Courthouse Security Committee Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging Council of Governments (COG) (4th Thursday 2:00 p.m.) Local Emergency Planning Committee (2nd Wednesday 8:30 a.m.) Mason County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (quarterly, 3rd Wednesday 9:00 a.m.) Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council (PacMtn) Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) WSAC Legislative Steering Committee (LSC) Washington Counties Risk Pool – Board of Directors, alternate member Washington Association of Counties Board of Directors, Timber Caucus, and Coastal Caucus (WSAC) Washington State Public Works Board, Broadband, and CETAC (appointed by Governor) All Commissioners Mason County Board of County Commissioners Mason County Board of Health Mason Transit Authority Mason County Elections Canvassing Board Hood Canal Coordinating Council (Mason County has 1 voting member, per Resolution no. 97-19) Mason County Agenda Request Form To: Board of Mason County Commissioners Item No. From: Jennifer Beierle Ext: 532 Department: Support Services Briefing: ☒ Action Agenda: ☐ Public Hearing: ☐ Special Meeting: ☐ Briefing Date(s): January 5, 2026 Agenda Date(s): Click or tap here to enter text. Internal Review: ☒ Finance ☐ Human Resources ☐ Legal ☐ IT ☐ Risk ☐ Other (Please ensure proper internal review channels have been followed, this is the responsibility of the requesting Department) Item: Update on The Youth Connection American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Award Background/Executive Summary: In November 2022, Mason County awarded The Youth Connection up to $722,000 in ARPA funds for the acquisition of its building and installation of an elevator. The original contract has since been amended to include renovation costs and to extend the project completion date from June 30, 2024, to October 31, 2026. Project delays have occurred due to the initial project costs being underestimated, and The Youth Connection is now seeking additional funding to complete the project. Associated Costs/Budget Impact (amount, funding source, budget amendment, etc.): The $722,000 award was advanced to The Youth Connection in 2022. To date, $400,796.18 has been documented as expended. The remaining balance of $321,203.82 has not yet been documented and must still be submitted to the County. Public Outreach: None Requested Action: Informational only. No action is requested at this time. Attachment(s): Email from Susan Kirchoff, The Youth Connection Director Mason County Agenda Request Form To: Board of Mason County Commissioners Item No. From: Travis Adams Ext: 530 Department: Support Services Briefing: ☒ Action Agenda: ☒ Public Hearing: ☐ Special Meeting: ☐ Briefing Date(s): 1/5/2026 Agenda Date(s): 1/6/2026 Internal Review: ☐ Finance ☐ Human Resources ☐ Legal ☐ IT ☐ Risk ☐ Other (Please ensure proper internal review channels have been followed, this is the responsibility of the requesting Department) Item: Letter to Gov Bob Ferguson Background/Executive Summary: Report to Governor Bob Ferguson on the cost impact to providing Indigent Defense within Mason County. Associated Costs/Budget Impact (amount, funding source, budget amendment, etc.): N/A Public Outreach: N/A Requested Action: Sign and approve the sending of letter to Governor Bob Ferguson Attachment(s): Commission Letter to Ferguson OPD __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1/6/2026 Governor Bob Ferguson Office of the Governor PO Box 40002 Olympia, WA 98504-0002 RE: Public (Indigent) Defense Cost Impacts in Mason County, Washington Dear Governor Ferguson, Mason County, like many counties across Washington State, is experiencing a growing and unsustainable financial strain associated with the cost of providing criminal justice services, including public (indigent) defense. While counties remain committed to meeting constitutional obligations, the current funding and policy framework places a disproportionate and escalating burden on local governments. In Mason County, criminal justice services now consume approximately 40 to 48 percent of the County’s General Fund annually, depending on the service year. This level of expenditure significantly constrains the County’s ability to fund other mandated and essential services. Compounding this pressure are newly implemented statewide public defense standards that require a 10 percent annual reduction in allowable defense attorney caseloads. While the goal of improving defense quality is understood and supported, the practical effect of these standards is unavoidable: the County must contract with more attorneys to perform the same overall volume of work, driving costs upward without any corresponding reduction in demand. These impacts are further exacerbated by a widely acknowledged statewide shortage of qualified public defense attorneys. In a constrained labor market, attorneys will understandably gravitate toward jurisdictions offering higher compensation and more favorable caseload limits. Smaller counties such as Mason County are unable to compete on either front, creating a serious and escalating risk that we will be unable to attract or retain sufficient counsel to provide constitutionally adequate indigent defense under the current model. As a result, Mason County is approaching a point where continued absorption of these costs is no longer feasible without materially impairing other core county functions. As existing public defense contracts expire, the County anticipates significant difficulty renewing those contracts within available resources. Without structural changes, additional public defense costs will necessarily displace funding for other legally required services, increasing the risk of service degradation across the organization. The County has engaged with the Office of Public Defense and is aware of ongoing litigation and policy discussions related to public defense standards and funding. However, counties continue to bear the immediate financial exposure while long-term solutions remain unresolved, placing local governments in an untenable position. Mason County respectfully requests your leadership in advancing a workable, statewide solution. Upon exhaustion of locally budgeted public defense funds, the County will reasonably expect either additional state funding sufficient to meet mandated requirements or a transition of responsibility for indigent defense services and associated costs to the State. The current trajectory is not sustainable. Sincerely, BOARD OF MASON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ___________________ Sharon Trask Chair ___________________ Pat Tarzwell Commissioner ___________________ Randy Neatherlin Commissioner MASON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 1ST District RANDY NEATHERLIN 2ND District PAT TARZWELL 3RD District SHARON TRASK Mason County Building 1 411 North Fifth Street Shelton, WA 98584 (360) 427-9670 ext. 419 Action Items: Discussion Items: • Amendment to Annual Construction Program and 6-Year TIP – brief next week • Consider City of Bremerton MOU revision request • Vacancy/Recruitment Update Commissioner Follow-Up Items: Upcoming Items: 01/12 Quarterly Ecology meeting 01/14 TIP-CAP 01/20 Tahuya River Bridge grant award meeting with HCSEG 01/27 Chehalis Basin Flood Response coordination meeting MASON COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSIONER BRIEFING January 5, 2026 Mason County Agenda Request Form To: Board of Mason County Commissioners Item No. From: Loretta Swanson, Director and Richard Dickinson, Deputy Director Ext: 450 Department: Utilities & Waste Briefing: ☒ Action Agenda: ☒ Public Hearing: ☐ Special Meeting: ☐ Briefing Date(s): January 5, 2026, October 28, 2025 Agenda Date(s): January 6, 2026 Internal Review: ☐ Finance ☐ Human Resources ☒ Legal ☐ IT ☐ Risk ☐ Other (Please ensure proper internal review channels have been followed, this is the responsibility of the requesting Department) Item: Memorandum of Understanding with City of Bremerton for Sanitary Sewer Service Background/Executive Summary: The Board approved signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Bremerton on November 25, 2025. Staff received a response from City Engineer, Ned Lever, on December 16th respectfully asking that Recital I. be amended as follows: An email from the Department of Commerce was included with the request, explaining that the work described above (“feasibility”) is not eligible under the grant program. Associated Costs/Budget Impact: The cost associated with assessing feasibility is yet to be determined based on the scope of work, schedule and who is performing that work. Public Outreach: Extensive outreach has occurred in a variety of platforms including Commission briefings, workshops, and actions, along with media coverage and community discussions/presentations. Requested Action: Request the Board consider whether to authorize the Chair to execute the Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Bremerton for sanitary sewer service, based on the most current version of the document. Attachment(s): City of Bremerton 251216 Memorandum of Understanding – requested amendment Email from Department of Commerce