Commissioners make committee assignments

Chairman Justin Dixon named committee assignments in the first commission meeting of 2021 this week.

Dixon will continue as chairman in addition to representing Garfield County on the Washington Counties Risk Pool, Washington Counties Insurance Fund, Blues Intergovernmental Council, the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board, and the Noxious Weed Board.

Commissioner Jim Nelson will cover the Washington Association of Counties, the Legislative Steering Committee, Public Health District, Council of Governments Aging and Long Term Care and the Greater Columbia Behavioral Health Organization.

Commissioner Larry Ledgerwood will serve on the Workforce Development Board, SEWEDA, Fair Board, Puget Sound Energy Blue Mountain Mitigation Fund, and, when Garfield County’s status is confirmed, the Blue Mountain Community Foundation.

Rachel Anderson will be asked to serve as designee to the Blue Mountain Action Council, and Dixon discussed involving Morgan as either a designee or working in conjunction with a commissioner on the Palouse Regional Transportation Planning Organization.

Alternates will be named at a later meeting.

In other business:

-Obtaining additional snow plowing equipment was discussed by Rod Norland, Road Superintendent, specifically a V plow to make opening drifted roads go more quickly.

-Water is coming into the Sheriff’s Office and contractors are being asked to find the source and address it.

-A security camera was adjusted and it was found that the cabling to the camera is faulty. Further looking into replacing the wiring and the cost will take place.

-Sheriff Drew Hyer reported on two new hires and that they will attend academy in Spokane beginning February 25.

-A recent need for search and rescue in the mountains brought up the subject of the S&R sled, which can not be towed by any snowmobile. Hyer wondered if the county needed to find an older snowmobile that would be capable of pulling the S&R sled. “Our Search & Rescue teams who, on their own snowmobiles, go up there and grab it and go, and pull, either a dead body up there, or the deputy up to the scene to do the coroner work, or roll the medical guys up there and bring them back, we’re just trying to all get together and make the thing work,” Hyer said.

- Dixon asked Prosecuting Attorney Matt Newberg to review the county’s use of CARES Act funds to help compensate employees up to 80 hours because the health department had quarantined them due to COVID. These provisions ended December 31, 2020, and the county is currently in limbo, Dixon said. The county’s first payroll will be in February, allowing time to find out about state policy and make adjustments, Dixon said. At this time, there is no funding to back that policy, he said.

- Denny Ashby Library trustees recommendation of Eric Argyle to be appointed to fill the vacancy on the Library Board was unanimously approved. His term will expire December 31, 2025.

-Dixon brought up possible amendments to the county’s health coverage and that it should be approved or modified within the next two weeks.

-The new county website will include agendas and eventually, approved minutes of meetings. Morgan and Board Clerk Donna Deal will be working on processes to make those additions. By consensus, Ledgerwood was appointed to represent the board regarding website development and maintenance.

- The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday will move the meeting to Tuesday, January 19, unless the meeting is canceled.