BOCC Meeting - May 11

All three commissioners were there for the entire meeting.

1. During the public comment period today there was entirely too much drama - even for me!

- Nancy McMahon attempted to ask the commissioners whether they stood to benefit financially in any way from ADAGE coming to Mason County. Tim Sheldon asked the Chair (Ross) to reign things in stating that this was not an interactive time. So Nancy then told them the questions that she would have asked had she been allowed to: did they stand to gain financially from ADAGE and had they received campaign donations of any kind from ADAGE or it's affiliates? Then she sat down.

- I was appalled at Tim's "over the top" reaction to Nancy's questions and told him so during this same public comment time. I've been going to these meetings for nearly two years and the public comment time frequently is an interactive dialogue between citizens and the commissioners. Later in the meeting he apologized to Nancy and said that he was feeling overwhelmed by all of the ADAGE opposition.

- While I had the floor I asked the BOCC to schedule a Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) meeting so they could get Harmony Hill funded. They claim that no "revenue generator" in the community wants to sit on the LTAC. This may or may not be true. Apparently Terry Oliver who lives in Union and owns a lodging facility has applied to sit on the LTAC. Ross told me later that he will look into this. Meanwhile I made the case today for more at-large members to help bring some diversity to the LTAC.

- Officer Michael Sargent spoke about the commissioners' plan to force the Sheriff to absorb the settlement costs resulting from the agreement with the jail and corrections staff bargaining unit. He told them they made the decision to accept the contract and that now the BOCC should provide the money to cover this unbudgeted salary increase. He went on to give them a hard time for declaring the 2010 budget a balanced budget when they knew the labor contracts were under negotiation and that they had to be funded. Ross responded to the officer by saying, "Maybe there will be a supplement to fund the additional labor costs as negotiated or maybe not". Then he reminded him that the real problem is 2011. That's when the increase of over $200k for this small 40 member bargaining unit will be more than double what we're seeing in 2010. Lynda appeared to be threatening to eliminate WSU Extension and Parks in order to fund the Deputies Guild contract increases. (Recall that we've been told the Deputies Guild could be as high as $1M.) Nothing like pitting one department/elected official against another.

-I failed to mention in yesterday's briefing notes that Lynda announced she's been working with the Auditor's Office and has a secret plan on how to fund all of the contracts still to be negotiated. Made me think of Richard Nixon when he told us that he had a plan to end the Vietnam War. Gosh, I hope she really does have a plan. Can't wait for the plan to be released to the public. Lynda, don't make us wait for you to return from your vacation.

- It's worth noting here that one citizen who made an effort to be recognized during the public comment period was ignored by the BOCC for about 10 minutes. Former County Commissioner Annette McGee (the first female Mason County Commissioner) came to the podium after raising her hand but the three commissioners kept their eyes glued on the papers in front of them. Annette just stood there and waited. Ross refused to recognize her or allow her to speak. In the time he spent being so stubborn about not allowing her to speak, she could have had her say and left Ross looking like a well mannered public official. Oh no, we had to watch as he sat as chair of the Mason County legislative authority wielding his power. The thing about power is that it can be taken away just as it was given - on the ballot by voters. By ignoring Annette and then refusing to let her speak, Ross made a huge mistake today in my estimation.


2. Two consent agenda items were tabled.

-The American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) agreement was tabled until June 8 because the BOCC still doesn't know how much this is going to cost. Ross can't vote on this agreement because his wife is a member of AFSCME and Lynda is going to be on vacation from May 18 through June 7. Tim asked that all AFSCME employees, supervisors and elected officials write back to him with their opinion on the proposed settlement. Can anyone help me spell "potential unfair labor practice"? Tim also asked the Auditor's Office to provide an analysis of what the proposed agreement will cost the county.

- The appointment of Gary Yando to the Stormwater Management Task Force was also tabled because neither the Public Works staff nor the BOCC could say whether he'd indicated a conflict of interest on his volunteer application. This item was tabled until May 18.

3. The public hearing for Peninsula Topsoil LLC to rezone about 70 acres of land from Rural Residential 20 to Rural Residential 10 had no decision today. The public comment period was closed and the commissioners will reconvene this public hearing for a decision only on June 8. The Prosecutor's office was not there today to answer some legal questions the BOCC had.

4. As usual at the end of the meeting, the commissioners reviewed their calendars for the past week and told us what they had planned for this week. During his calendar review Tim mentioned that he'd met with DNR last Friday. I asked him what that was about and he responded that he was getting a burn permit to burn slash on his property. Later I thought what a waste to burn slash right about now when there's all of this concern that ADAGE might not be able to secure enough slash to keep their incinerator running that 24/7 cycle. What a waste that Tim is burning his slash rather than waiting for ADAGE to be up and running. But then maybe Tim has accepted that ADAGE won't really be coming to Mason County.

That's all, Mason County.

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