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January 11, 2021The Board of Garfield County Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, January 11, 2021 at 9:00 am in the Commissioners Chambers at the Garfield County Courthouse. Present were: Chairman Justin Dixon, Board Members James Nelson and Larry Ledgerwood, County Engineer Grant Morgan, Road Superintendent Rodney Norland Sheriff Drew Hyer, Clerk of the Board Donna Deal and the public. Present in person was Commissioner Dixon, Engineer Morgan, Norland and Clerk of the Board Deal. The rest were in attendance by phone and/or computer connection. The Courthouse is open to the public right now during Phase III and the Board meetings are public but restricted per Governor’s order. The board started the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.A motion was made to approve the minutes as presented to the Board. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Road Superintendent Rodney Norland gave the weekly maintenance report. He looked at roads and had to crew install some delineators for safety reasons. Reviewed vegetation and they will also do some tree trimming and shoulder work. Knox Concrete gave a quote for $5,664.75 to repair the sidewalk and street where they have been working to fix water issues in the Courthouse basement.Sheriff Drew Hyer gave weekly report for the Sheriff’s department. The Sheriff’s worked with the Fire Department and Snowmobile club to get the snowmobile rescue sled ready for action if needed. It has been moved to the maintenance shed just outside the Forest boundary and they are working to get keys or access available for those who would need it.Engineer Morgan talked to the Board about equipment replacement and the processes for that. He discussed the loader they want to replace and what may be traded in to help with the end cost. $315,000 is the approximately cost for a new CAT loader. $8,900 would be the added cost for a V-plow option. The D6 is worth about $18,000 trade in but could be worth more as a private sale. Morgan is going to get exact quotes for cost and trade in options.Public Health Department Director Martha Lanman talked to the Board about COVID-19 and vaccines available. Discussed active cases and testing in Garfield County. The County has been moved back to Phase 1 since we were moved to a regional group instead of a working as a county. The Board reviewed Washington’s Coronavirus Vaccine Phases worksheet. Vaccines for Phases A1 and A2 are mostly health care related and all the other groups will come in after that. The board discussed the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for Coronavirus assistance in the amount of $17,552. This grant would help eligible households with housing assistance and other items for those impacted by Covid-19. The grant paperwork had some incorrect signature lines and corrected copies will be brought forward next week for signatures.Risk Manager Adam Hodges talked to the Board about the Washington Counties Risk Pool and the County’s current coverage for property and risk issues. The County has applied to withdraw from the pool when the new year starts in October of 2021. The County’s property insurance was increased significantly by the Pool when they reviewed the flood risk and maps. The County got a quote from Clear Risk Insurance who insures other counties in Washington State. The County has until April of this year to pull our application to withdraw from the Washington Counties Risk Pool. Prosecutor Matt Newberg discussed the County Property and Risk insurance. Newberg likes the civil review assistance he currently gets from the Washington Counties Risk Pool. They reviewed the information from Clear Risk Insurance and it appears that most assistance is the same.The Board took a temporary break from 10:10 until 10:19 am.The board discussed the County’s contribution to the Health Savings Account to offset the cost of the employee’s $5,000 deductibles. A motion was made to contribute $400 per employee per month to the Health Savings Account. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.Monday January 18, 2021 is a holiday so the Board will move their meeting to Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 9:00 am.The Board discussed how to pay employees time off if they are dealing with personal Covid-19 health issues. The mandatory 80 hours sick leave funding ran out on December 31, 2020. The board decided that the County needs to follow State and Federal guidelines and the employees will be required to use their personal sick and vacation days to cover COVID just like other illnesses. The board also discussed remote work and how the county should allow or not allow employees to work from home. The Board discussed who would serve as alternates to their committee assignments and those will be created and approved next week. The meeting adjourned at 11:10 a.m. with the next regular meeting set for Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 9:00 am in the Commissioner’s Chambers at the Garfield County Courthouse._______________________ __________________________________________Attest: Clerk of the BoardChairman, Board of Garfield County Commissioners ................
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