Board of County Commissioners - workshop

All right. Welcome back, Commissioners. Back to you, Charenton.

Great. We are back in work session, and we have just one topic left, and that is board and leadership communication. Why don't we do leadership first?

All right. I will start out because mine is very short this week. I just want to let the board know that hopefully by the end of the day today, which we're nearing the end of the day today, you will receive a memo in your inbox, just an update on federal grants and contracts and talking points that your board can use when talking to constituents. public this is regarding some of the attestations that we are seeing within federal grants and contracts and the county's ability to legally sign those so look for more information please be aware this situation continues to rapidly change so staff are prepared for this, I'm gonna call it a rolling memo. So when we release it, there may be updates that come out frequently and we will make sure that we use some type of version control so that you all can track what version you are using. And as always, if you have any questions, once you receive that memo, staff are available for one-on-ones and you always know how to reach me. In a prior board and leadership communication, Chair Harrington, you had brought up the AOC conference and how annually, dang, it conflicts with your board meetings on Tuesday and it puts THE BOARD IN A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE TO ATTEND THE AOC MEETING AND ESPECIALLY FOR NEW COMMISSIONERS WHO MAY BE GOING TO COUNTY COLLEGE. IT'S EVEN A MORE CHALLENGING KIND OF SITUATION. SO CLEAN WATER SERVICES STAFF AS WELL AS COUNTY STAFF HAVE MET. APPRECIATE CLERK MOSS IS CURRENTLY LOOKING AT HOW DO WE I'm gonna call it do board calendar jenga for that month this is going to be a unique year that we it does put us with two meetings then in November and two meetings in December so I just want to alert you that your schedules will probably be busy for those meetings but we will come back to you as soon as possible with with that update.

So what you're working on is trying to make it so we don't have a meeting that week, or you've already decided that?

No, we are trying to make it so you don't have a meeting. We think we can do that. Tuesday, if I can amend that.

I might, based upon how things go, if it gets too extreme, because we've done this once before of only having two meetings in November, and it's not pretty. We could have our board meetings on Monday.

And we are looking, and this is an item I don't like to do surprises, but Chair Harrington, we're looking at the roundtable meeting on the Thursday of November and seeing how we can use that time since you already have that scheduled on your calendar. So more to come.

But this is where you'll see I do have an updated roundtable plan that will be in the packet. because there's some additional things that we have to work on in October and November.

That concludes my update. Thank you, Ms. Angie. How about you, Ms. Duke-Dreeson? Thank you, Chair Harrington. I also will be brief. I would like to introduce you all to Mr. David Shore. Please join us. David joins Dave Lewis as one of our litigators working on the... Did you say his name was Aaron? Might as well be at this point.

We have numerous Aarons.

So now we have

A Dave in the County Council and a David. Yes, and we are working very hard to, when we talk internally, to be clear about which litigator we're talking about. So I'll turn it over to David.

A new litigator. Thank you so much for joining us.

We're excited to onboard him, let him introduce himself to you real briefly.

Yes, I'm thrilled to join the County Council's office. I'll be working closely with Dave and getting up to speed on the matters that you are currently working on and getting ready to handle the court claims that come in as well. I am Oregon born, native Oregonian, had all of my education here in Oregon, so I've never really left for any extended period. My family all relocated out to Washington County over the last few years. So myself and my kiddos are getting to know Washington County better year by year. and really excited to be joining the team here at Washington County. I'm happy to answer.

You always ask what district you live in.

And I'm supposed to remember that. I live in the...

In the where?

The Greenway neighborhood. In Beaverton. Oh, okay. In Beaverton, yes.

I think that's the... Hey, you're always in my desk. That's right.

Anyway, so we're pleased to have David, excited to get him going. He's excited to get going. So as we continue to staff up, we're... really pleased to have getting our team full.

And I live in the city of Beaverton to have since 2005. So if I can be of any use, let me know. Yes, pretty much so. Yeah, Washington County is the best. We've got great staff.

What were you litigating right before this?

So before I joined the county, I was in private practice doing insurance defense work for various insurance clients around the country. Thank you.

David, are you sure you don't want to go by Dave?

I have always been a David. Ever since elementary school, I've been very adamant that I'm a David. I'm hoping that that will help to keep it clear who is who.

Is it S-H-U-R-E?

S-C-H-O-R.

Okay, great.

I have to repeat here. Go ahead, Peter.

We have an Aaron Wardell, an Aaron Calvert, and an Aaron Doyle. Right? Just frequently working in our regular orbit.

We're just missing Aaron Prokovich. Data center job. We're hiring an Aaron.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Great. Okay, terrific. Now it's time for board communication. Who would like to go first?

Jason always likes to go first.

Anyway, all right. He was going to volunteer. Well, I try to not always go first, but thanks, Commissioner Willey. Last Wednesday, Commissioner Willey and I attended the Harkins House luncheon, and I specifically want to comment on how awesome it was to hear two of the users of that facility making spontaneous maybe they were planned i don't think so but they made comments about just how meaningful uh the work that's done there is and and how appreciative they were and that was the highlight for me they did a great job you know if it was spontaneous they were they were on point it was heartfelt yeah it was Last Thursday I had a one-on-one with county administrator and then that evening was the district three community engagement virtual listening session sounded to me or I listened to it. It sounded to me very similar to what has been described in some of the others with relatively low attendance and people that have regularly been very involved and making similar comments and feedback to what we've heard. But I think it was good to continue the process. Friday, I had the HB 2017 Transit Advisory Committee meeting. That work is continuing to move forward, and then also had a Region 1 Act Executive Committee meeting that afternoon. Saturday, I attended the Korean Society of America's Cultural Festival at the Reser. That was really, really interesting, and I think they were very thankful that I was there, and I had not been able to attend for a number of years, so I was glad that I was able to do that this year. Yesterday, the WEA was having its biggest fundraising event for the year. And as a board member, I did my duties there, thanking sponsors, et cetera. I was not involved in any of the other activities other than participating in the elected officials putting contest, which I did not even come close to winning. Here are liaison for For our board rep. Yes. Yep. So that's why I was there in my official capacity. This morning, we had the Jail and Community Corrections Center visioning session that was three hours this morning.

Wait, say that again?

The Jail and Community Corrections Visioning, Jail and Community Corrections Center. visioning work group. Oh, the work? Yeah, which I am part of. That's the thing you all were invited to, I think accidentally, and then uninvited.

It was just supposed to be me.

Oh, darn it. I missed it. I know. What you should know is that there was a huge amount of participation, engagement from everything from the business community to all the key leaders in our organization that are involved in those departments and Aaron Calvert and County Administrator Angie. It was really, I guess what I want to make sure you know is that there was a lot of out of the box thinking and sort of pushing for future vision that does not look like what we have now. And really the process that they're going through or that we're all, we're going to be going through in that team is like what, what do we need the building to be able to allow us to do and inspire us to do better? And so that was a lot of the conversation. The building's a physical thing, but it needs to enable us to practice and perform the way that we want to. So that was very positive. Wednesday, tomorrow, I have a one-on-one with the county auditor. And then, of course, Friday, we have the CWS board. That's all I got.

Who's next? Before I get volunteered by Commissioner Willey, I'll go next. I know.

It works.

It does. So I think, Commissioner Tracy, you weren't here last week, but I promised I will do my updates. And then I am going to quickly go over some of the sessions I attended at the National Association of Counties. the NACO conference, sorry, the NACO conference that I attended. I came back on Monday night, so I wasn't able to do my board and leadership updates. I just wanted to quickly take this moment to say, as a Vice Chair of NACO's Transportation Policy Steering Committee, I participated in the Transportation Committee meeting One of the most significant discussion in that committee focused on the Office of Management and Budget proposed rewrite of their uniform grants guidance. And the most point, I mean, it focused everywhere, but I think how counties are now moving from a government to a contractor to be considered as a contractor. was a big sticking point and NACO really did a great job of advocating and speaking up and, and, really writing briefings on these topics and how these regulations are impacted. More importantly, I brought back a lot of briefing materials. They even had a lot of information about data centers. So I brought a lot of briefings. I'm going to put it in my office. Please feel free to stop by and just go through and see what you like. I brought extra also. I think I mentioned that I attended the data center conversation in NACO as well. And then, obviously, I participated in the large urban county caucus as well as other discussions that were emerging. Now, closer to home, last week I had an opportunity to attend the District 1 community engagement listening session. We had a great group, engaged community members that joined. The staff were amazing. I just want to express my gratitude for doing an excellent job facilitating the conversations.

Is that Willie and Aika?

What's that?

Willie and Aika.

Yes. Yeah, they did a great job, Willie and Aika, on the session. And then I had a briefing with Alicia was also with Aika about what's coming to our board. I think one of you, some of you have mentioned that they're meeting with all of us. I had a meeting with the Flavor Hook Kids Coalition because now that the Oregon Supreme Court's upheld Washington County's Flavor Tobacco Ordinance, and the discussion was more on the implementation now that the ordinance, it's green-lighted, and there were questions and feedback regarding the complaint-driven enforcement. And I think the staff are working on something to bring back to the board.

We received a memo.

Yeah. And then I think it's my understanding that potentially we could consider a work session on the topic. And then finally, Commissioner Megan Moyer met with myself and the staff. to discuss long-term care options for individuals living with severe and persistent mental illness and also how those services can be better integrated with housing to improve outcomes. This was also a topic that was discussed at the Association of Oregon Counties at their LBAC meeting on Friday. As soon as I get the materials, I'll share it with you. It's quite fascinating, in my opinion, and I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF INNOVATIVE IDEAS TO INCORPORATE AND TO HAVE ALL THESE DISCUSSIONS ONCE, MENTAL HEALTH AND HOMELESSNESS. AND THEN GOOD QUESTION, COMMISSIONER SCHNIDER. MARTINY KYLE, JESS LARSON AND MOLLY ROGERS AND NOR. AND I'M SO SORRY I FORGOT NOR'S LAST NAME. THANK YOU. Thank you. Those are the staff that were there. So I think the commissioner will continue working together with the Multnomah County side, and the commissioner and I will continue those conversations while engaging subject matter experts.

Only with regard to any development of our ledge agenda, not any ongoing.

No.

Correct. Yeah. Yeah. Well, no, you need to make sure that we don't have, for your ELGAC representation, for us, that we don't have five or more staff people having to meet with you multiple times beyond what is pertinent for that agenda of ELGAC.

Okay, I think there's a bit of misunderstanding, if I may clarify, if you're okay with that. So this meeting wasn't about meeting for me about the LDAC and what's on the topic there. This was a meeting requested by Commissioner Megan Moyer to meet with Washington County staff and myself.

So Ms. Angie, we'll continue to rely upon you to make sure that other county elected officials are not drawing too much firepower out of Washington County based on their desires and their .

I guess it's me. So I was on vacation last week and you didn't say . Oh, yeah. I ran out of time. Sorry. There's so many. And perhaps you can write something up. But I did read the preparation notes. I was out on vacation. I'm sorry I missed the Harkins House event. I have gone every year to that barbecue, and it's a lot of...

There was no smoke this year.

No smoke.

Oh, great.

And also, I did get a call about flavored tobacco enforcement as well, and I talked with Barney about that, and I think that the memo that she sent was very helpful. The... ON THURSDAY, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO A CONVERSATION I'M HAVING WITH TWO STUDENTS FROM MY DISTRICT WHO ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO LEARN ABOUT THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND TO HELP THE COUNTY FACILITATE MORE YOUTH ENGAGEMENT. SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. AND I HAVE A CHECK IN WITH THE AUDITOR LATER TOMORROW MORNING. THEN FRIDAY WE'RE ALL GOING TO THE CWS WORK SESSION. I DID WANT TO CALL ATTENTION TO SOME WORK THAT AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT CAME OUT OF WORK SYSTEMS INC. AND THAT IS THAT THEY HAVE INVESTED IN THE LAST YEAR 2.3 MILLION IN WORKFORCE SERVICES. AND THAT'S WITH A REAL REDUCTION IN THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT THEY GET FROM THE FEDS. THEY'RE AT A 78% REINVESTMENT LEVEL. I WILL SEND THIS MEMO. I'LL FORWARD IT TO EVERYBODY. BUT I THINK ESPECIALLY WHEN WE LOOK TOWARD A LOT OF OUR PROGRAMS AND HOW WORKFORCE IS EMBEDDED IN THOSE PROGRAMS, WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR WORK IS AS WELL AS WHEN WE LOOK AT WORKFORCE OR WORK SOURCE OREGON OR ANYBODY ELSE. SO IT'S FYI. NEW SPEAKER COOL.

GREAT. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER WHEELY.

NEW SPEAKER YEAH, I JUST GOT A NOTICE I GUESS North Plains. Only after one week, the interim city manager, Gary Marks, resigns. City council and city attorney will regroup, make determination about how to go forward. Meanwhile, the Butch Kendall Public Services building will be closed to the public due to staffing shortages. So the saga continues. I know that we were helping out there for a bit.

Wasn't there a former public person?

The former library.

Robin Doherty. Well, she was retiring, wasn't she?

Robin Doherty has left and maybe is in a different position with a different organization. So I believe she is done at the end of this week. This is her last week. With the library. With the City of North Plains.

So that's the same person you were talking about?

No. So Bill Reed was the city manager. Bill Reed separated with the city. Robin Doherty was the administrative services director slash library director. She was placed in an acting city manager while they found an interim placement. Robin submitted her resignation notice, I believe she gave three weeks. And then Marks started in his interim position. He was the previous city manager of Lebanon and then was the public works director for most recently one of the metro area communities. I forget where. He started last Wednesday and resigned this morning as of 9 a.m. Staff, we have had conversations with North Plains. We did offer... IGA services to our understanding. They have gotten other services to support them. They got an essential engineering contract through because their engineering contract had lapsed. Also, they have a contract with Sherwood to share clerk services now because their clerk is on FMLA and they have some other interruptions. We have also asked North Plains, given their current operating state, if there is any automatic turn back of services to like the county, if they can't perform those services, their city attorney has indicated not to their knowledge at this time. So, and we have not been contacted for any help or support because as the board knows, our plates are full too. And with just operations at the county, but we did have that productive conversation with them.

Five business days from start to resignation has got to be close to the record in Oregon.

Can you remind me what the public, what the public safety, what the relationship is between the sheriff's department and North Plains. Contract city.

Contract to follow North Plains laws and code.

So it is contract. And building services is contract as well. To their community. Correct.

So here's some additional information. The mayor's public works director already quit. His library director retired early. His assistant city planner has put in notice. And his city recorder is out on stress leave for a long time. How skinny can they get and still run the city?

Well, they're at risk, clearly.

What is going on? Do we know?

Yeah, we do know. Yeah, we're not going to be talking about that. So I got one minute left. By the way, that should be on Tanya's. Oh, wow.

Go ahead. I was giving you the lifeline. I'll give you the lifeline.

I know. I know. That's my timer.

So, no, everybody, we already talked about the Harkins House event. That was great. I am having actually additional meetings with Seminbury Trail Foundation. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AS WELL AS THE COAL PACK EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE SO EVERYBODY'S KIND OF WORKING ON SPECIAL THINGS. WE GOT ALL THESE EXTRA MEETINGS GOING ON. I ATTENDED THE CITY OF HILLSBOROUGH SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING YESTERDAY AND TESTIFIED ON MY PERSONAL BEHALF ASKING THEM TO SEPARATE THE BATTERY STORAGE COMMUNICATION FROM THE DATA CENTERS. THEY DID NOT DO THAT. THEY HAVE 120-DAY MORATORIUM ON BOTH AS IT CURRENTLY SETS. YEP. I WAS AT THE WEA WEST SIDE SCRAMBLE YESTERDAY. IT WAS A GREAT DAY FOR THIS. LOTS OF PEOPLE. I HAVE ANOTHER COPAC MEETING, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING TOMORROW. AND LET'S SEE. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE FAIR. I've driven by the fair. I haven't gone into the fair yet, but I've gone by a couple of times, and the parking lot is jammed, and the weather couldn't be more perfect for a good fair. So I'll get some more information from Leah, see if maybe we can get a mid-report, because we are halfway through, I think, our 10-day fair. And then, of course, we've got CWS on Friday. That's all I've got.

Great. Thank you for the fair reminder, because I thought being on vacation last week, I missed the whole thing. So really appreciate that reminder. I'll be going tomorrow to the Clackamas County Recovery Campus opening celebration, more to see what they have compared to what we've got. A reminder, Next Thursday, we have our roundtable. You will see on that agenda and we'll be getting information from our staff about the county, state of the city with some recommendations for us. So please take a look at that in advance. And then Thursday evening, as your two board liaisons to the urban services framework topic, That topic will be before us on Tuesday at our work session. And then Commissioner Snyder and I, who have each paid attention to the city council presentations in Beaverton and Tigard, will be hosting a town hall for the city electeds that evening. You're welcome.

More broadly than just those two cities.

Yes. But it's to all city counties.

Yes.

You're invited to listen? Yep. Yep. So it's all noticed and all that jazz. So our staff has done a good job. I have an additional vacation planned, but it's just leaving on Friday, coming back on Sunday for a third family vacation. wedding of the summer so good good positive event so other than that i'm around which which week is that or sorry you don't have to look at it no it's like the last weekend before labor day weekend yeah Yeah, what did I say? The wrong month, probably.

Oh, you didn't say April. You didn't say January.

She said summer, so she was covering the whole time.

Okay, that's it from me. So I think we've reached the end of the work session. So thank you. We'll see you at the CWS business meeting at 530.

Thank you.