The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2026/06/23 - Regular Board of Mason County Commissioners Proceedings Commission Chambers 411 N 5th St, Shelton, WA 98584 June 23, 2026 1. Call to Order—The Chairperson called the regular meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance—Jeff Carey led the flag salute. 3. Roll Call—Present: Commissioner District 1 —Randy Neatherlin; Commissioner District 2— Pat Tarzwell; Commissioner District 3—Sharon Trask. 4. Correspondence and Organizational Business 4.1 Correspondence 4.1.1 Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board sent in a permanently discontinued business notice for Walter Dace Wines and Tuggs and Chuggs. 4.1.2 Marika Olson submitted an Advisory Board Application for the Timberland Regional Library(TRL)Board of Trustees. 4.1.3 Paula Johnson submitted an Advisory Board Application for the On-Site Sewage Advisory Commission(OSAC). 4.1.4 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC)sent in correspondence regarding the Interim Risk Reduction Measure(IRRM)Anchoring Project Seismic Stabilization Investigation and Construction Potential Failure Mode Analysis(CPFMA)for the Cushman No. 1 Development Project. 4.1.5 Department of Natural Resources sent in a letter regarding herbicide application. 5. Open Forum for Citizen Input James,Pastor for the First Baptist Church,opened the meeting in prayer. Jeff Carey commented that the public needs more information on what road vacations truly do and asked the County to ensure that property owners do not become landlocked. Bill Bruder requested patrol to enforce speeding in Timberlakes. Monte Ritter discussed a trail from Capital Hill to Mason County Recreational Area(MCRA)and shared a brief history on the Mason County Park's Comprehensive Plan. 6. Adoption of Agenda Cmmr.Trask/Neatherlin moved and seconded to adopt the agenda as published.Motion carried unanimously.Neatherlin-aye;Tarzwell-aye;Trask-aye. 7. Approval of Minutes Approval to adopt the May 26 and June 9,2026,Regular Minutes and June 8 and June 15,2026, Briefing Minutes as presented has been tabled for further review. 8. Approval of Action Agenda 8.1 Approval of Warrants and Treasurer Electronic Remittances Claims Clearing Fund Warrant#8121518-8121954 $2,251,671.49 Direct Deposit Fund Warrant# 126712-127118 126712-127118 $ 965,470.68 Salary Clearing Fund Warrant#7009734-7009774 $1,283,982.29 8.2 Approval of the Resolution adopting the updated Mason County Public Works Utilities and Waste Management Water Leak Credit Policy. (Resolution No.2026-028) 8.3 Approval to submit proposal to Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board(WSNWCB) for Fiscal Year 2027 Class A and B Designate Noxious Weed Eradication Program. 8.4 Approval of the contract with KnoxWorks for facilitation of the 5-Year Local Homeless Housing Plan—Local Plan Committee. 8.5 Approval of the Consolidated Homeless Grant(CHG)contract amendments for Crossroads Housing(Contract No.25-029 and 25-030),New Horizons Communities(Contract No.2025- 25-033),Turning Pointe Survivor Advocacy Center(Contract No.25-031),and the Youth Connection(Contract No.25-032). 8.6 Approval of the Resolution setting a hearing date with the Hearings Examiner for Wednesday August 12,2026,at 1:00 p.m.via Zoom to consider public comment on Road Vacation No. 427.(Resolution No.2026-029) 8.7 Approval of the rates for Mason County's 2027 annual budget for Internal Cost Allocations, Information Technology,Unemployment, and Motor Pool and approval for the Chair or the County Administrator to execute the order for eleven(11)replacement vehicles included in the 2027 Motor Pool Rates. 8.8 Approval of the 2027 Mason County Preliminary Budget Preparation Guidelines. 8.9 Approval of the Resolution adopting the 2026-2027 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy(CEDS)list as recommended by the Economic Development Council(EDC). (Resolution No.2026-030) 8.10 Approval of the Port of Allyn's.09 Fund request in the amount of$32,000 for the Sweetwater Creek Project. 8.11 Approval to set a Public Hearing for Tuesday,July 7 and 21 and August 4 and 18,2026,at 9:15 a.m.to take public comment on the petition to name the Senator Tim Sheldon Bridge. 8.12 Approval of the FY25 Emergency Management Performance Grant(25EMPG),Contract E26- 303,awarding$31,408 from Washington State Military Department(EMD)and US Department of Homeland Security to Mason County for the performance period of June 1, 2026,through September 30,2026. (Contract No.26-024) 8.13 Approval to terminate the Consolidated Homeless Grant(CHG)contract with The Youth Connection. (Contract No.25-032) 8.14 Approval of the Resolution updating the Mason County Personnel Policy Chapter 20- Lactation Accommodation and Sanitary Construction Worksite Policy. (Resolution No.2026- 031) 8.15 Approval to appoint Connie Lovelace as Cemetery Board Commissioner Position No. 3for a term expiring December 31, 2027. 8.16 Approval for the Chair and/or Public Works Director to execute all documents necessary to accept and administer the Commerce grants for the North Bay Facility Plan and Beard's Cove Water System Improvements projects. Cmmr.Neatherlin/Trask moved and seconded to approve action items 8.1 through 8.15 with the removal of Item 8.10,8.13,and 8.16 for separate discussion and vote.Motion carried unanimously.Neatherlin-aye; Tarzwell-aye; Trask-aye. Item 8.10 Cmmr.Neatherlin shared this item is for approval of the Port of Allyn's .09 fund request in the amount of$32,000 for the Sweetwater Creek Project. Travis Merrill,Port of Allyn Executive Director discussed how the acquisition and development of the Sweetwater Creek Project is in line with Port's statutory purposes and provided Revised Code of June 23,2026 1 Page 2 of 5 Washington(RCWs)as examples.A professional arborist identified the trees of concern(hazard trees) and removal of the identified trees has been done.Mendy Harlow,Executive Director of the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group(HCSEG),added her appreciation for consideration of the project. Jeff Carey discussed the adopted Belfair Environmental Impact Statement(EIS)which identifies a need for a certain amount of acreage for the project to be fully functional and shared concerns on the scoring matrix that was adopted for.09 Fund projects that is not being utilized. Judy Scott,Port of Allyn Commissioner,shared her support of the.09 Fund request and added that many of the issues that Ken VanBuskirk has brought forward are being addressed.Tourism is very important for the community. Cmmr.Neatherlin shared his history as a Port of Allyn Commissioner and shared that the facility does fit RCW 67.28.120. Neatherlin/Trask moved and seconded to approve the Port of Allyn's.09 Fund request in the amount of$32,000 for the Sweetwater Creek Project.Motion carried unanimously.Neatherlin- aye;Tarzwell-aye;Trask-aye. Cmmr.Trask added that she is a big advocate for people working together and encouraged Port of Allyn to work with those who have concerns. Item 8.13 Melissa Casey and David Windom shared that this item is to terminate the Consolidated Homeless Grant(CHG)contract with The Youth Connection(TYC).Mason County is the lead grantee for the Department of Commerce CHG and is accountable for ensuring programs are operating as intended. The recommendation to terminate the contract is based solely on the department's inability to verify compliance.A meeting with TYC is scheduled for later today at 2:00 p.m. Susan Kirchoff,Executive Director of TYC,shared that she has a different account of what happened and that the documents provided do substantiate reimbursement.Necessary documents have always been supplied when requested and have been given multiple times. Susan asked how it is not in the best interest to continue a partnership and what does fair oversight look like?TYC has never been placed on a formal corrective action plan or received an audit fmding related to the misuse of grant funds.Numerous times TYC asked for assistance and clarification,and it was not received. Mary Robillard,Board Chair of TYC,watched the organization grow while remaining focused on its mission as well as Susan Kirchoff dedicating herself to ensuring the organization's success.TYC successfully completed annual audits to ensure accountability and compliance with funding.Mary's biggest concern is the amount of time,effort,and taxpayer funded resources that have been used for this process without a clear resolution.Expectations need to be clear and consistent for an organization to move forward successfully. Cmmr.Neatherlin stated that the County is not accusing TYC of misuse of funds or lack of integrity. David added the issue is compliance.Cmmr.Neatherlin asked if there would be an issue if the motion was to terminate the contract upon mutual agreement with TYC. Tim Whitehead shared that there is no requirement for mutual agreement. Cmmr.Neatherlin/Trask moved and seconded to approve by mutual agreement to terminate the Consolidated Homeless Grant(CHG)contract with The Youth Connection.Motion carried unanimously.Neatherlin-aye;Tarzwell-aye;Trask-aye. June 23,2026 1 Page 3 of 5 Item 8.16 Loretta Swanson,Public Works,asked that the requested action be revised to say recommend Board to authorize the Chair and/or Works Director to execute all documents necessary to accept and administer the Commerce grants for the Beard's Cove Water System Improvements projects.This removes the North Bay Facility Plan. Neatherlin/Trask moved and seconded to authorize the Chair and/or Works Director to execute all documents necessary to accept and administer the Commerce grants for the Beard's Cove Water System Improvements projects.Motion carried unanimously.Neatherlin-aye;Tarzwell- aye;Trask-aye. 9. Other Business (Department Heads and Elected Officials) Auditor Steve Duenkel shared that last week in Belfair they completed three-day sign-up event for frozen deeds,over 40 individuals attended.The job opening for Elections Technician has been posted. 10. 9:15 a.m.Public Hearings and Items Set for a Certain Time Please see above options to provide public testimony. These options are available only while COVID-19 OPMA meeting restrictions are in place. 10.1 Public Hearing to inform citizens of the availability of funds and eligible uses of the state Community Development Block Grant(CDBG)and receive comments on proposed activities specifically funding the Community Action Council of Lewis,Mason,and Thurston Counties (CAC),as well as receive comments on the 2025-2026 program. Staff:Jennifer Beierle Mason County coordinates with the CAC on an annual basis to apply for,receive,and provide services through a PS-CDBG grant administered by the Washington State Department of Commerce(D0C).For the 2026 program year(July 2026-June 2027),up to$103,000.00 is proposed to be available to Mason County and CAC-Mason,Lewis Counties to fund public services that principally benefit low and moderate-income persons.For the 2025 program years,Mason County and CAC-Mason,Lewis Counties received$105,000.00.As a part of the PS-CDBG application process,applicants are required to solicit public input on the proposed activities and services to be provided as well as receive comments on current programming. No action needed. 10.2 Public Hearing to consider and approve supplemental budget requests and budget transfers to the 2026 budget.Staff:Jennifer Beierle This hearing is to consider approval of supplemental appropriations and amendments to the 2026 budget.Appropriations in the General Fund are an increase of$164,551 and in funds other than the General Fund are an increase of$444,854 as provided in Attachment A. Cmmr.Neatherlin/Trask moved and seconded to approve supplemental budget requests and budget transfers to the 2026 budget with appropriations in the General Fund as an increase of$164,551 and in funds other than the General Fund as an increase of$444,854 as provided in Attachment A.Motion carried unanimously.Neatherlin-aye; Tarzwell- aye;Trask-aye. June 23,2026 1 Page 4 of 5 11. Board's Calendar and Reports—The Commissioners reported on meetings attended the past week and announced their upcoming weekly meetings. 12. Adjournment—The meeting adjourned at 10:44 a.m. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ATTEST: MASON COUNTY,WASHINGTON moMJQSAC, McKenzie Smi , Clk of the Board Pat Tarzwell,Chair Randy 1T atherlin,Vice-Chair Sharon Trask,Commissioner June 23,2026 1 Page 5 of 5