Board of County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Welcome Washington County. It's so fuzzy on the screen. Good morning, Board of Commissioners. We are now live. Over to you, Chair Harrington. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Tuesday, April 21st, 2026 Washington County Board of Commissioners business meeting. Clerk Hodes, could you do us the formal honors, please? Certainly, Chair. The Washington County Board of Commissioners, also meeting as the board of directors for all other county service districts, is meeting in regular session on April 21st, 2026. Commissioner Snider here. Commissioner Trice here. Commissioner Fi present. Vice Chair Willie here. Chair Harrington

here. Could all of you who are able please stand and join us for the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the republic for it stands nationisible and justice for all.

Thank you. And now is the opportunity for public comment in today's meeting. This is an opportunity for members of our community to come and share their thoughts on any topic for up to two minutes and individual 10 minutes total. Clerk Hodgees, who do we have? Do not have any signups ahead of time for this public comment section. Is there anyone in the auditorium that wishes to provide any public comment for up to two minutes and any count in on any county related matter? Please raise your hand and come forward. Not seeing any hands. Is there anyone via Zoom that wishes to make any public comment for up to two minutes? Please utilize the raise hand function. I'm not seeing any hands. Chair Harington.

Thank you. Next, we'll move on to today's consent agenda, which consists of 17 items. One set of minutes, three items from Health and Human Services, one item from finance, one item from assessment and taxation, and 11 items from land use and transportation. What are the wishes of the commission regarding today's consent agenda? Move to accept the consent agenda. Second.

We have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please vote by raising your hand or saying I. Thank you. Any opposed? The motion carries unanimously. 5 to zero. Next, we'll move on to our action items. We have one action item for today. This is to vote to amend the solid waste and recycling administrative rules. Welcome, Miss Seantal.

Thank you so much. Good morning, Chair Harrington, board of county commissioners. My name is Mera Seamantal and I serve as the director of health and human services. Uh Rusty Davis, who is our solid waste and recycling manager, had a scheduling conflict, so I'll be covering the presentation today. Um and I do just want to note for members of the public, uh the PowerPoint is loaded up onto the I agenda website. Um you might not have seen it earlier today, but it, um there was a technical error and that has been resolved. All right. Um as the chair mentioned, we are here today uh to propose amendments to the solid waste and recycling rules. Um we did do this presentation in full. So uh there was more slides and more context given uh two weeks ago. Uh so if anybody wants to go back and watch that work session, um we um would welcome you to do so. Um but really what we're here to do today is to propose these administrative rule amendments. There's operational improvements um that will be included in these amendments. So including establishing call hold standards um for customer inquiries. So including call wait times and call back options. We had a good discussion about this in work session. Um so we're excited to be able to provide some standards there. Um also adding two new insurance requirements for collection service providers um for general pollution liability and cyber liability. Um removing details regarding the preparation of materials for collection. For example, the size of plastic bottles or the types of paper. Um, and preparation details would now be located on our solid waste and recycling web pages um, for the public to see. And then clarifying the minimum service volumes for multif family collection are measured using loose or uncomplicated gallons, uncompacted, my apologies, uncompacted gallons. Um, there's also some housekeeping and reporting requirements that are included in these rule amendments. So including implementing DEEQ rule changes related to the recycling modernization act or RMA as we call it. Areas to be addressed would include contamination reduction requirements and the establishment of collection lists. Also adding a new

reporting requirement for an emergency action plan to be filed with the county and then minor housekeeping changes including combining topics that apply to all customer classes of reducing the document in total from 42 pages to 33 pages. So, we hope this will make things more clear, more user friendly. Um, and then also adding definitions for bulky waste and contamination. Wanting to go over how we engaged interested parties as we went through this process of amending um these rules. So, on March 12th, the garbage and recycling advisory committee did vote unanimously to recommend your board adopt these proposed administrative rule changes. Um, we also engaged Washington counters h Washington County haulers association. So these are our certified haulers and they provided comments and recommendations over a series of different engagements. Also the Washington County technical waist shed committee members were engaged to encourage jurisdictional alignment within Washington County. And then we also have an interested parties list for solid waste and recycling and there was notification of opportunity to comment at our GRA meeting um and that was sent out to that list um but no public comments were received. So at this point um I entertain any board questions or comments and um ask your board the policy question if you approve um the amendment to the solid waste and recycling rules.

Thank you for the presentation and colleagues. This is the same information that we went over in our work session on April 7th uh two weeks ago as um Miss Mantel indicated. But do you have any questions or comments at this juncture? Commissioner Snider. I I was just going to move to adopt the resolution in order amending the solid waste and recycling administrative rules. Thank you. We have a motion second and a second. Are there any other questions or comments?

Thank you for your work. Um, so we have a motion and a second to adopt the resolution in order amending the solid waste and recycling administrative rules. All those in favor, please vote by raising your hand or saying I. Thank you, commissioners. Any opposed? The motion carries unanimously. Five to zero.

Thank you, board. And I would just um make the comment that it would be it might be insightful for our staff to um go to all of the jurisdiction pages to see how and if recycle plus is indicated as available. U my household recently checked for the city that I live in and it's not obvious. Thank you for that.

And it's a great service. So terrific. Thank you very much. Okay, next we're on to our second public comment uh period for today's meeting. This is an opportunity for members of our community to come and share their thoughts with the board for up to five minutes and individual 30 minutes total for this clerk. Do we have anyone who wishes to do so?

We do, Chair Harrington. The first two will be Megan Hill and Audriana Moreno. Sorry, there's traffic. Okay. Uh, hello commissioners. My name is Megan Hill and I'm here today as a member of Oak Hills community, but also as a survivor and as a mother. On December 3rd, 2020, I sat in this building with my daughter, a county staff member who's sitting at the back, and a victim's advocate. We were here because we received a subpoena. My daughter and I were both required to testify in front of a grand jury for different reasons, but in the same case. Because of COVID, grand juries were being held in this building in a room that felt overwhelming in every sense. Large impersonal and heavy with what we were about to walk into. This is where my daughter spent the days leading up to her brother's first birthday, where she spent the start of her winter break, her fifth grade year. And this is where she spent the days leading into Christmas at the beginning of the new year. Not at home, not with her family, but preparing to testify about a trauma no child should ever have to carry. Going into that grand jury, I didn't know the charges. I knew very little about specifics of the abuse, but it was

confirmed by a jury of strangers in a quick and unanimous decision. And just outside this auditorium, I was given the worst news a mother can receive. Senior deputy senior deputy district attorney Andy Pver told me the charges that were returned. Rape in the first degree, sodomy in the first degree, sex abuse in the first degree, multiple counts, attempt to commit a class A felony, and use of a child in sexually explicit conduct. That moment changes you. It changes how you think about safety. It changes how you define security. And it changes what you expect from the system and the people, those responsible for protecting you. And that experience stays with you. It shapes how you show up in moments like this. Because despite everything I've shared, I'm not here in opposition. I'm here because I believe there is a path forward. Since the KGW story aired last week, I've heard perspectives that I want to acknowledge because they are so valid. There are people who have said that individuals struggling with addiction deserve opportunity. That substance abuse does not make someone a violent offender. I agree with that. I deeply agree with that. People who are working towards sobriety deserve support. They deserve dignity. They deserve the opportunity to rebuild their lives. But I also know this. Communities deserve safety. Families deserve security. And survivors deserve to know that what happened to them is being taken seriously, not just in words, but in action. Those truths have to exist together. But right now, based on how this program has been designed and rolled out, that balance does not feel present. There is not a level of accountability that allows families like mine and many

others to feel that safety and security we sought when choosing where to live is being protected. I've been actively engaged in this process since the end of the summer as we approached nearly a year of involvement. What has become clear is not progress, it's continuation. And for those of us with lived experience, that is very difficult. Because when accountability is unclear and when engagement does not feel real, trust erodess. And when trust erodess, people stop believing that their safety is a priority. This is not about stopping progress. This is not about this is about doing it right. because both the people seeking help and the people already living in the community matter and right now it doesn't feel like both are being equally considered. So I'm asking you very directly to pause and ensure that safety, accountability, transparency are fully in place before moving forward further. And to be clear, I don't mean stop the project. I mean, listen, I have lived through what happens when systems fail to protect, and we have an opportunity here to do it differently. Please take it.

Thank you, Miss Hill. Please go ahead, Miss Marino.

Hi, commissioners. My name is Adriana Marino and I'm 16 years old and I live in the Oak Hills community. I want to start by acknowledging what my mom just shared. That story is about me. Sitting in that room surrounded by people, I've never felt so alone. I never felt so embarrassed. And even now, that doesn't fully go away. But what happened is a part of my story and it doesn't define me. I'm a student. I have friends. I go to school and I'm trying to move forward like any other teenager. I've been accepted into the Beaverton School District CTE behavioral health program. And I hope to become a social worker one day. I volunteer and stay involved in my community because I want to contribute to making it a better place. But experiences like mine change how you think about safety. They don't just disappear. And that's why I'm here. I've been following everything related to this project. CPO meetings, good neighbor agreement meetings, and board meetings. And I want to be very clear about something. I support people getting help. I believe people who are struggling, whether it's with addiction or something else, deserve support, care, and the opportunity to get better. I don't think people should be defined by one part of their story. But I also know what it feels like not to feel safe. And when I heard about a program like this without clear rules, without clear accountability, and without clear communication, it's hard. Not because I don't support the idea, but because it feels like the things that are supposed to be protect that are supposed to protect people like me aren't fully in place. That's where it becomes retraumatizing. Not the idea of helping people, but the uncertainty around safety. I've watched adults in the community show up again and again asking questions, trying to understand, trying to find balance. And it's been really disheartening to see how difficult it has been to find common ground, especially when the goal should be the same, to support people who need help and to make sure the community, including kids like me and my friends, feel safe. Those things should not be in conflict. But right now, it feels like they are. And that's what makes this

hard. I don't think anyone here wants to make people feel unsafe, but impact matters. And from where I stand, it doesn't feel like there are enough clear protections in place to make people like me feel confident in this. I'm not here to say don't do this. I'm here to ask you to take the time to do it right. Because when safety feels uncertain, it affects how people live, how they feel, and how they move through their everyday lives. And for people who have already experienced trauma, that matters even more. I want to believe this can be done in a way that works for everyone, but right now it doesn't feel like we're there yet. And I'm asking you to take the time to get there. Thank you.

Thank you. Who do we have next? Next we have Dale Fe and Jill Latray.

Go ahead Mr. Fe. Thank you, Chair Harrington. Commissioners, please don't look at that right now. Brett has handed it out to you. I sent an email to you which is part of that, but I also let you know uh well, what I want to say is at your work session today, Commissioner Thrice, you talked about Mayor Wilson in the state and you also talked about Kristoff being there in Oh, you did. Okay. He talked about Nicholas Kristoff. I'm going to let you know this morning after I sent this to you, I emailed that because I know Nicholas Kristoff and Yamhill. Met with him many times and I sent him what you have in front of you an email, but also sent him Timothy Snider's, you know, on Tyranny book. But on the email this morning, he sent out superpower suicide. Super power suicide seven minutes. And I'm not here. I thought I was all ready for this, but this is my time, so be with me. What he says is the geopolitics of our moment. Superpower suicide is a concept to help understand the approach of the Trump regime to the rest of the world. We are fighting the war for no good reason we can name, losing it, and covering our defeat with genocidal and apocalyptic propaganda. This is bad enough on its own, but I think this performance is symptomatic of something deeper. The systematic undoing of American power by Americans. In this video, and I'm going to send you the link later, and this which I sent to Kristoff, I stay close to very traditional accounts of the acclamation and maintenance of state power. All of which indicate rapid and catastrophic decline as the result of specific choices in the last year. I don't even mention one source of US power which is specifically modern. The international structures we built over decades to

endure are certainty which the Trump people are undoing. Many of American fundamentals are still very sound. But a better future or any kind of future at all will depend on a sobering reckoning with the present moment. Superpower suicide. I'll send you the whole talk. Now you can look at what I'm going to read to you. Okay, this is by Robert Rich or whatever you want to do. What you can do now, the 10 most important ways to resist Trump now. In light of Trump's increasingly, I have to beware of time cruel and bonkers behavior toward Iran, toward the Pope, his post, his bottomless vengeance, his continuing ICE raids, his continuing use of the Justice Department to target his enemies, his shameless corruption. Many of you want to know what can I do now? Here are 10 recommendations in rough order of importance. And I am wearing a vest. I was late to your work session. Well, no, I was early to work session because I participate in a safety watch in Forest Grove protecting high school preschool kids all the way up through high school. My wife and I do this seven days, five days a week from 7 o'clock until about 8:35. and I left early uh to come to the work session. So protect the decent and hardworking members of our community which are most are vulnerable. That's what my wife and I are doing and many volunteers are doing that in forest grow. And if you read and open the email I sent to you all these are elaborated on these 10 points. Protect them against bigotry and hate. LGBTQ immigrants hyphenated Americans and people of color. Three, help protect officials in impunity or state whom Trump and his administration are targeting for vengeance. Four, organize and mobilize for the midterms. Five, participate in organized boycots of companies that enlabeling the Trump regime, including

Elon Musk X and Tesla, Amazon, Meta, Facebook, and any company companies that advertise in X or on Fox News. Six, to the extent you are able, fund groups that are litigating against Trump. Seven, spread the truth. That's one of the 20 lessons in Snyider's book, Stick to Truth. Push for progressive measures in your community and state. Call your members of Congress. Keep the faith. Number 10, keep the faith. Do not give up on America. America has deep problems to be sure which is why we can't give up on it or give up the fights for social justice, equal political rights, equal opportunity and the rule of law. The forces of Trumpium, repression and neopasium would like nothing better than for us to give up than they did win it all. We cannot allow them to do that. We will never give up. Beyond these, please be sure to find room in your life for joy, fun, and laughter. And man, do I love taking my eight-year-old granddaughter to her music lessons I did that Monday night. Is total joy. Do not let Trump and his darkness take you over. Thanks for listening. Read more detail. I'll send you uh super super power suicide. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Fe. Go ahead, Miss Latre.

Good morning, Chair Harrington and commissioners. My name is Jill Latrae, a resident of Washington County. It's time yet for another election. Overseas and military ballots went out on April 3rd. Out of state ballots went out yesterday, April 20th, and incount ballots are set to go out on April 29th. When you receive your ballot, please remember to look at the QR code on the top of it, and compare it with the QR codes on the ballots of other members of your household. As we mentioned before, you will see that each ballot has what elections manager Dan Forester rightly referred to as a unique identifier, which can tie you and your ballot and detect your voting choices. ORS 254.400 states, "An elector has the right to cast the elector's ballot in a confidential manner. The QR code, the unique identifier, potentially violates our right to a secret ballot." Now, one may say we have no proof that it happens, but because of the lack of transparency in our elections, we have no proof that it doesn't happen. We are told not to worry because the print house located in Bend, Oregon, signed a contract stating that they would destroy the list that links the voter to the QR code. Even if the printer does not does follow through on their commitment, the master list was provided to not developed by the printer and therefore it must exist somewhere. Aside from the potential violation of the secret ballot, there are other vulnerabilities the QR codes on our ballots create. The Washington County election system contains many devices with built-in internet capabilities with both wireless and Ethernet ports per the clear ballot purchase contract. The six tabulators, each connected to a Dell laptop, also are equipped with both wireless and Ethernet ports. We have been assured that our election

of computer system is not connected to the internet and that it is airgapped. An airgapped is a security measure that involves isolating a computer or network to prevent it from establishing an external connection. I would like to share statements made by witness Mark Cook at the Tim Sipple versus Washington County trial from September 22. Mark Cook is an expert in the field of computer software and a cyber security and forensic elections expert with over 40 years of experience. During his testimony, Mr. Cook was asked if there are ways to bridge an air gap. He stated you could embed a trigger code in a QR code on a ballot and the program and program the system to watch for that. That embedded code could trigger a different code to run in the system completely external to even an air gap. Mr. Cook was asked if it could trigger something like turning on the wireless modems. He answered absolutely and said once you have access to the system you can make it do absolutely anything you want. Mr. Cook stated the fact that there are wireless devices in the systems at all is absurd. Saying devices are disabled by software is not good enough. Software easily can be disabled and it can be enabled as well. He emphasized, "If you have a system that shouldn't have wireless devices, then they physically should not even be there." In reference to security concerns such as nefarious actors, nefarious software, layers of security, and air gaps, Mr. Cook stated, "With a very high value target like US election system, the most sophisticated hackers are looking to manipulate it. They will do it in a way that is so sophisticated we can never see it. The election officials couldn't

see it. Most of the people that use these systems couldn't see it. Some people might know about it. But the level of skill that can be used to manipulate election systems from the outside would very easily give people a lot of false sense of security while bad actors are able to manipulate them in ways that are virtually undetectable. A QR code on each ballot is not necessary. They have only been added in recent years. Individuals and households and neighborhoods with identical ballot styles do not need unique identifiers. These QR codes, unique identifiers on our ballots, potentially violate our right to a secret ballot. They also enable another way in which our election system could be manipulated undetected. If the election systems can be manipulated undetected, our election results are not trustworthy, and they're not verifiable. We request that this board take the steps necessary to make our elections in Washington County transparent, accurate, trustworthy, and verifiable.

Thank you, Miss Latree, for sharing your opinion with us. Clerk Hodgeges, do we have anyone else who wishes to do so? The last inerson sign up ahead of time was Mary Hakopoulos.

Morning.

Good morning, Chair Harrington and commissioners. I'm Mary Kopalos, a 24-year resident of Washington County. In January of this year, Secretary of State Tobias Reid announced that 800,000 inactive voter records would be removed from the statewide voter roles. His press release stated, quote, "After the initial 160,000 inactive records are processed for cancellation, there will be approximately 640,000 inactive voter records left on file. these records currently do not meet the federal and state standards for cancellation. These records will be addressed in future directives. End quote. In short, 20% or 160,000 records would be removed right away and the remaining 80% would be removed later. Well, let's see how they did. Prior to any announced changes, the January 11th, and I'm sorry, that should say January 5th, 2026 Washington County voter roles showed 52,398 total records. 398,123 were active and 104,275 were inactive. Three months later on the March 2nd, 2026 Washington County voter roles, 491,317 total records were shown, 400,000 of which 5 400,523 of which were active, 90,794 were inactive. So it appears 13,481 inactive voter records, or about 13% were removed. That sounds like a good start. Let's take a closer look. Of the 90,794 inactive records on the March rules, 68,64

are in clear violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, NVRA. That is the voters did not cast the ballot in at least two of the last uh consecutive general elections. Of those, 37,334 have not voted in Washington County or in Oregon over the last 10 years. As we reported previously, even though inactive voters quote don't get a ballot, end quote, a person can go online and change their status with no voter ID or show up at the elections office, give a name, and not be required to show ID and get a ballot. Now, let's take a detour and see what we find with the active registered voters. The January 2026 Washington County rolls showed 398,123 active voters. That number increased to 400,523 active voters in the March roles. Of those 400,523 active voters, we found 59,215 NVA violations of those not voted in at least the past two consecutive general elections. Of those, 16,815 have not voted in Washington County or in Oregon over the last 10 years. To summarize, out of the 491,317 total Washington County voter records on the March rolls, 127,819 records should have been removed prior to this upcoming election. To say these records remain because they quote currently don't meet the federal and state standards for cancellation

end quote is grossly misleading. The state simply did not follow either state or federal requirements for removing these records. After the last general election, confirmation cards should have been sent to those not voting in the last two general elections. A response in 21 days would result in a record update or no response would result in removal of the record. The 127,819 active and inactive records that should have been removed amount to 26% of the current voter role. This does not include others who need removal such as non-citizens, deceased individuals, non-existent voters, or those who are registered at bogus addresses. Once again, we see that the current statewide database is corrupt. Our voter roles are a disaster and our elections are not trustworthy. We once again request that Washington County maintain local control of our voter roles and local management of our elections. Thank you.

Thank you. And colleagues, I think we have time for one more. Clerk Hodgeges, is there anyone else in the auditorium that wishes to provide public comment for up to five minutes on any county related topic? I'll give you just a moment to raise your hand and come forward. Not seeing any hands. That being said, we will go to Jeff for via Zoom. Jeff, can you uh can you hear us? Jeff, can you hear us? Can you unmute yourself? Yep, I can hear you. Great. Please go ahead.

Hello, commissioners. My name is Jeff for and I'm resent, excuse me, representing the Oak Hills community. I want to start by being very clear. We are not opposed to solutions. We are not opposed to helping people. Many of us are actively trying to engage in thoughtful, sustainable approaches to addressing homelessness. What we are deeply frustrated by is the process. My wife Megan and I have been engaged on this issue since August. The first time Megan spoke directly with director Jess Larson was at the Good Neighbor Agreement meeting on March 31st, seven months after we became actively involved, provided testimony multiple times, and consistently made ourselves available for open and constructive dialogue. While we appreciated the opportunity to connect, it's difficult to understand why that level of engagement did not happen earlier. And candidly, it did not feel like an authentic engagement. We have raised real concerns around safety, operations, oversight, and long-term sustainability. These are not abstract concerns. They are practical questions that deserve clear, consistent answers. Instead, what we are experiencing a process that feels fragmented and at times performative. I want to address something that is further contributed to that erosion of trust, the inconsistency in communication. On October 20th of 25, Megan spoke directly with Commissioner Pam Trice while I was present. During that conversation, she asked a very direct question. Is this a lost battle? Her response at the time was encouraging. She acknowledged that while the project would likely move forward, she did not believe our request, specifically around background checks and exclusion criteria for violent and sexual offenders were a lost cause. She also expressed appreciation for the community's engagement and willingness to continue working with us. However, on March 10th

during a board of county commissioners candidate forum at our CPO meeting, we heard something very different. Commissioner Tree stated she was not in support of potential barriers to access for this project, including limited uh individuals with violent or sexual offenses. This is a direct conflict and the impact of that inconsistency is significant. It creates confusion. It creates doubt. It makes it very difficult for the community to feel that there is an authentic support behind the conversations we are being asked to participate in. I want to specifically address the good neighbor agreement meeting on March 31st. This was structured as an open house, not a discussion. There was no shared dialogue, no opportunity for the community to hear the same information, no space to ask questions in a way that allowed for transparency or accountability. I will say this plainly, we care far more about safety than we do paint colors, but the format prioritize surface level input over meaningful conversation about safety, security, supervision, and operational accountability. That is not meaningful engagement. At this point, the process feels like a check the box exercise, not a genuine effort to partner with the community. And that is deeply concerning because when the process last, excuse me, lacks integrity, it erodess trust regardless of intent. There is also a broader concern about how our community is being treated. Oak Hills is a community that shows up. We engage. We ask questions. We are trying to be part of the solution. And yet many of us have experienced interactions where we are not acknowledged, where we are dismissed, or where disagreement is met with distance instead of dialogue. We should be able to disagree respectfully and still be treated as though our voices matter. Right now,

that's not the experience. I also want to speak on intent. On February 4th, Megan expressed interest in joining the Washington County Homeless Solutions Adv Advisory Council, not to oppose, but to contribute and help shape better outcomes. To date, she has not received a response. At the same time, she reached out to the behavioral health council and received an email, an immediate uh reply. So, we will assume good intent, but we will be clear about the impact. It does not feel like community members who want to engage constructively are being welcomed into the process and that matters. I also want to acknowledge those who did show up and engage. Commissioner Wley's presence was appreciated. Commissioner Fi communicated proactively and followed up which we valued. Additionally, two candidates for this board attended and were engaged and uh one of the representatives took time to listen. The level of engagement matters and it does not go unnoticed. But broader engagement from this board is still needed because it is not just about a site. This is about how decisions are made, how communities are engaged, and whether partnership is real or simply stated. We are asking for a process that includes structured consistent information, real dialogue, not fragmented conversations, clear operational plans and accountability. Thank you,

Mr. four four. Thank you. And that is it for our second public communication period for today's meeting. Next, we'll move on to board announcements. Uh first, if we might uh at our work session today, we asked uh to receive a update at this meeting on the River Road uh construction project. So, we've asked our land use and transportation experts to come and give us that brief update report.

Good morning. Uh, good morning chair and uh, commissioners. My name is Stephen Roberts. I'm the director of land use and transportation. I'm joined by Stacy Shler, your county engineer, and we wanted to just, as you requested, provide a quick update on the status of the River Road uh, closure. So, if you'll recall, that closure was prompted by uh the need for a developer to install a deep sewer line to serve a new urban growth boundary expansion area that's located in the city of Hillsboro. Your board uh ultimately approved a six-month closure. Um, and we are nearing the end of that six-month period. I think Friday or Sun Saturday will be the date for the road to reopen. Um we just found out quite recently that the um developer contractor uh was delayed a little bit with some other utility conflict that needed to be resolved and had requested a two-eek extension of that closure. Unfortunately, the request was not timely in terms of being able to package that up and bring it forward to your board for approval. And so at this time, the direction that our staff have provided is that the road should be reopened on schedule and that would require then some additional uh work to be done under flagging. The contractor's estimate of the flagging duration is about four and a half weeks. And um I would just advise that um under flagging there are some challenges with uh ensuring that the work zone remains safe um and that uh traffic can continue moving. So, we would just certainly want to advise the public that there will be significant delays should be expected and continue to encourage people to use alternate routes, but actually have the road open to some uh vehicle passage. And then I'd like to just turn it over to Stacy just to make sure if there's any additional information he'd like to share or clarify. Thanks.

Yeah, thank you, Stephen. Stacy Shler, county engineer. And I think just the thing to add would be that, you know, when the contractor expressed some safety concerns, um, we advised them that if it they felt it was unsafe, then they should open the road and then come back with a new plan for staff and the board to consider if if another short-term closure was going to be needed. But at this point, the direction is do the finish the work under flagging. This is what um the expectation was of the contractor when we approved the the closure was that it would be six months, no extensions, additional work would be done under flagging. Thank you. I'll just say my concern is that often what community members are looking for in transportation is something that's reliable. And it's hard to weigh is uh a a reliable two week further delay where folks can count on the fact that they need to use the detour better than at least four and a half weeks of um unreliable uh and the adjective you just used substantial or significant delay with flagging. Um so um I think this is our last meeting for the month of April.

Uh there will be a meeting on the 28th actually. Yes.

So this would be your last meeting prior to the scheduled end of the closure. So, um, board members, I'm wondering if we might want to give direction to our staff to work with the contractor and the utility to find out about uh the certainty of two weeks or not and then we can come back to this on the 28th. But what are your thoughts? It's just an idea. I mean, practically, I think that probably would have been good, but it sounds like the request wasn't timely. The therefore the notices haven't been provided that would have been required. Like, there's a whole slew of things you all have to do, right, in a time manner that now is just not possible because of what they because they didn't make this request timely.

Yeah.

Which I wonder though, was that based upon delayed response they were getting from the utility? Well, the utility work is scheduled to be completed today and so under that uh timeline, the two weeks is pretty certain as far as what's been communicated to me. Because of that uh work will be done. Then they'll be able to continue their work. There's about 600 ft of trench left to do and then they factored in the the rest of the work as well. So I think that two weeks is pretty certain. I guess since we're having this discussion, do we have the authority to make a different change now? I mean, it when something's been closed for 6 months, adding two weeks versus four weeks of flagging that to me doesn't make a lot of sense, which is I think what the chair's point is, but um I guess I worry we don't have the process or the authority to even just make a a change without all the prep work being done. I don't know. Can you walk us through that? If the board decided right now we want to just approve that extension, do we have the ability to do that?

I'm I'm looking at county council. Um, so I think there's there's sort of a procedural element uh that we probably need to talk through about how that could work. Um, and I would just say, Commissioner, to your point, I think we can obviously message very quickly that the closure would be extended, but we have not yet engaged with partners like the school district or emergency service providers who are are working under the assumption that the road would be reopening this weekend. Um, but I believe because they, to your point, they already have their contingency plans are in place and they've been doing that for about six months that I I suspect that continuing that would not be an undue burden. But I don't have the ability to speak for them either.

Significant flagging is not probably going to make them much happier. I think that's a valid point. Correct. That's what we're trying to weigh. I think

right. So colleagues, um would we like to see the road open under flagging after this upcoming weekend with variability or do we want to allow the certainty for two weeks? I thought I heard a request somewhere in there where you need to have a conversation with county council maybe like I'm trying to figure out like how do we learn more so that we can make that hard decision

because it is frustrating. I agree and um I think when we first were having this conversation I think it was contingent though they will finish on time right so I think they're now meeting with that so I like to know what's in our authority I think that was a brilliant question commissioner Snider asked uh so how do we come back and then make that decision is that the evening meeting board meeting we have coming up so that is the question to council yeah I I like to I like to wait the evening meeting. Go ahead

to your board. Um if that would work.

Come back. Yeah. I support that chair. Yes. come back next Tuesday with more information as one I I want to go with what this is a very important point it's understanding the distinction between the word direction and the word decision yeah we give I'm supportive of the giving staff direction to come back to us next Tuesday to tell us more information so that we can make a decision on better serve our community members chair yes commissioner

I would support that as well. But during that time period, do you have the capacity to contact the school district and significant other users of that road for their their view on this?

Yeah, I I would say yes. I think we certainly can do that outreach. And if your board were inclined to provide us that direction to come back on t next Tuesday on the 28th, um one thing that I might seek would be confirmation of your support for extending the closure at least through the 28th. Um and that would be just a a direction as opposed to a decision in some ways. But if we had the ability to go ahead and message that we're going to extend the closure at least through the 28th at which time the board would consider uh an additional potential twoe extension and I think that would enable us to move ahead with the direction that you've suggested here. And I also take from your response that you've not done the outreach to those very same partners to see how they feel about uh a decision you've already made for a 4 and a half week flagging solution that's unpredictable.

I think that's correct. That's correct. Yeah. Other commissioners. I move that we extend it to the 28th and ask the team to come back with a plan and that the commission generally supports two weeks get it done. Second. Commissioner Willie, you haven't spoken yet and I want to give you the opportunity. Well, no, I I agree with the conversation. I think two weeks is certainly better than four weeks. And as you've pointed out, um I believe a two week closure uh would work much better for the school districts because they're not going to get be able to get through the flagging at any timely process. So

yeah, two weeks would be better. So I agree with the the conversation on this. Great. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please vote by raising your hand or saying I. Thank you commissioners. Any opposed? The motion carries unanimously 5 to zero. And I want to thank Commissioner Trees for her leadership in asking the question and bringing this forward for our consideration today at this meeting.

For further board announcements, uh next Monday, April 27th, we are hoping all of you in our community will join us for a meeting that starts at 6:00 p. M it will be all of our budget committees uh convening in one meeting. that will be on the Washington County budget which includes the Washington County Service District for lighting number one budget committee, the urban roads maintenance district and enhanced sheriff patrol district combined budget committee and the very small and specific North Bethany County Service District for roads budget committee. This is where we will hear about the um new proposed upcoming fiscal year budget from our county administrator who is also our budget officer, Miss Tanya Angie. The following day, Tuesday, April 28th, will start with our board work session at 100 pm. Uh, and then the a clean water services work board work session will immediately follow the county board work session. Then, uh, we'll end that no later than 5:00 pm. So, we have a short dinner break before we convene at 5:30 for the Clean Water Services Board of Directors business meeting, followed by the Washington County Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. On Tuesday, May 5th, we'll have our Washington County work session starting at 900 a.m. We'll pause that and then have our housing authority board of directors meeting at 9 with the county

board of commissioners business meeting immediately following the housing authority board meeting. Then on Tuesday, May 12th, we'll start with a Clean Water Services Board of Directors meeting at 9:00 am. And following that, uh, we'll have a Clean Water Services Board of Directors work session. Then no later than 11:00 am, we'll have a board of Washington county's work session meeting starting at 11 am. Uh you can also look at the Washington County website, our meeting portal to see the uh subsequent budget committee meetings that uh occur in the following week in the month of May. That's it for me from board announcements. Anything else from my colleagues? I'll note that we will be reconvening in the board of commissioners work session at 11 a.m. uh with our um topic two presentation to the board on the supporting supportive housing services annual work plan update. That's it for today. Do we have a motion to adjourn today's business meeting?

Move to adjurnn. Second. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please vote by raising your hand or saying I. Thank you, colleagues. Any opposed? The motion carries unanimously. Five to zero. We are hereby adjourned.