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POMEROY-The Garfield County Transportation Authority (GCTA) board set the 2021 budget which includes salary and wage increases based on a newly adopted policy, at the meeting November 16, 2020. The 2021 GCTA Budget was designed to include salary and wage increases based on a longevity step basis. Though more conservative than the other counties’ policies due to the GCTA being a smaller operation, the recommendation was to give the part-time drivers a 3% increase after three years of service, 3% again after five years, and 5% after 10 years. T...
POMEROY––Garfield County's General Fund and County Road District tax assessment may increase 1%, raising the liability to $1,652,584 and change. The Garfield County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) were notified of the current property tax valuation increase for property in Garfield County by the Assessor's Office. According to the notification, the current property tax assessment for the General Fund for Garfield County, which was $778,517.26, may be increased by 1% to a total ass...
POMEROY–A policy to track capital purchases over $5,000 with a life expectancy of more than one year as well as any small and attractive assets valued $1,000–$5,000 was approved by the Garfield County Fire District (GCFD) board at the November 10 meeting. Fire Chief James Cleveland indicated he has been unable to find any evidence or documentation such a policy exits. The GCFD needs to replace two aging defibrillators, at a replacement cost of $36,000–$38,000. The old units owned by the GCFD now are beyond the expected life of 10–12 years,...
POMEROY–In light of the increased COVID-19 activity in the community, the “Summer Session Athletics” program being offered by the Pomeroy School District has been suspended for two weeks beginning October 26. The increased COVID-19 activity placed Garfield County in the high-risk category, according to protocol set by the WIAA, Department of Health (DOH) and Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). To be able to proceed with the Summer Session Athletics program, the county must be at a low to moderate risk for a period of at...
POMEROY–Martha Lanman, Administrator of the Garfield County Public Health District, Jayd Keener, co-CEO of the Garfield County Hospital District, and Rachel Gwinn, Superintendent of Pomeroy School District. discussed issues evolving around the recent uptick in COVID-19 positive cases with about 30 Garfield County residents at a ZOOM Community Town Hall meeting held November 4. They addressed COVID occurrence, testing and how to avoid the spread. Lanman said the current COVID-19 statistics to d...
POMEROY–Financial good news came to the Garfield County Hospital District Board (GCHD) when Jim Heilsberg, GCHD Chief Financial Officer, presented the 2021 budget at the meeting on November 2, stating it will be much the same as 2020 with one major difference, revenue will be mostly come from tax revenue. Heilsberg reported the GCHD received a higher-than-usual amount of grant money in 2020, but the expected source of revenue for 2021 will be mostly tax revenue. The GCHD will begin collecting t...
POMEROY––The Garfield County Board of County Commissioners met Nov. 9, 2020, to discuss several end-of-year issues, including ongoing projects and 2021 budget items, to round out the end of 2020. The BOCC approved the County Employees Group floating holiday. Katie Magill, who represented the group, requested approval for December 24, 2020, to be the floating holiday. This will not affect all County employees, however, some departments, such as the Public Works/County Roads office and the Sheriff’s office, will not take a group personal day a...
POMEROY–Funding a major project involving an upgrade to the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system and an addition to the building to accommodate a new CT scanner, has hit a snag because of some funding rule changes. In an effort to improve and upgrade aging equipment, initiate new services at the Garfield County Hospital District (GCHD), new needs have been identified and as it stands, a large portion of the project will be funded through a legislative grant received by the hospital over a year ago. Another portion of f...
POMEROY–The Garfield County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved and signed Resolution 2020-12, Intent to Vacate Roads in Pataha, at their October 26, 2020 meeting. They have also decided to include all of vacated properties in Pataha in one Petition hearing on November 30, 2020, at 10 a.m. In the process to vacate a street in Pataha initiated by a new property owner, Richard Hamilton, in early October, Garfield County discovered other property assumed to be vacated, but not o...
POMEROY–Martha Lanman, Garfield County Public Health Administrator, reported at the Garfield County Public Health District meeting October 26, 2020, there were a total of 15 people in the county who tested positive for COVID-19, who have all recovered. It was later reported on October 28, four other positive cases and one pending, all over the age of 20, had been identified and are recovering at home. Lanman also conveyed counties all around Garfield County had seen increases in positive c...
POMEROY–Jim Nelson, reporting for the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, informed the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) of two deputy applicants who will receive conditional offers, pending background checks. A letter to the Shepherd Foundation was signed by the commissioners, which included four requests for the County, and one for the Garfield County Fire District. Justin Dixon, County Commissioner, advised that the installation of the new Courtroom Sound System has incurred “a little more expense” than originally estimated. The McKinst...
POMEROY–The Washington State Supreme Court overturned voter-approved Initiative 976 on October 15. The Garfield County Transportation Authority (GCTA) heard this announcement at the October 19 meeting. Washington State voters elected to approve initiative I-976 in November, 2019, which would hold vehicle license tabs to $30. In protest, the GCTA joined in a lawsuit led by Seattle-area governments to overturn the initiative that would have cut an estimated $4.2 billion in revenue over the next six years. This initiative, if enacted, could h...
POMEROY––Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers telephonically attended the regular meeting of the Garfield County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on October, 26, 2020, to touch base with the County and allow meeting attendees to ask questions about issues with which they are concerned. She acknowledged that COVID-19 certainly remains a top priority with everyone, and thanked the citizens of Garfield County for everything they have been doing to keep the community safe. She reported that additional financial help is still being worked out...
POMEROY–A preliminary Port of Garfield 2021 budget was discussed at the recent Board meeting. Diana Ruchert, Port of Garfield Director requested a merit wage increase of four percent for Tina Keller, stating she has taken on more responsibility by assisting Doug Leuck with some of his duties, as well as assisting Ruchert with the additional sanitizing of the USFS offices according to COVID-19 requirements. Ruchert added there was enough extra work to justify hiring another person, but because Tina has pitched in, there was no need. She e...
POMEROY–The Garfield County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) gave Grant Morgan, Garfield County Public Works Director approval to move forward with the purchase of conferencing center multi-media units costing $16,357 at the October 19 meeting. Morgan had been asked to seek some references of the specific conferencing center multi-media units being considered for purchase. He reported he spoke with a community college that had purchased the same type of equipment and had been using it for quite a while and were pleased. The purchase price o...
POMEROY–Landowners, vehicle accessibility, purchase prices and taxes owed will determine how and when the Garfield County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) will proceed on the petition to vacate a street in Pataha. The BOCC heard discussion over a petition received to vacate a street in Pataha during the meeting October 13. Grant Morgan, Garfield County Public Works Director, stated that according to regulations, whenever vacating streets, the first responsibility is to ensure no l...
POMEROY-Garfield County Fire Chief James Cleveland advises the Garfield County Fire Department (GCFD) Board of Commissioners of the upcoming Washington State Survey and Rating Bureau assessment, the State Audit, a change of EMS reporting protocol, and identifies needed essential equipment upgrades and repairs, during the meeting on October 13. The Washington State Survey and Rating Bureau will be here sometime next year to assess the town for the purpose of setting a rating for fire insurance pr...
POMEROY–Garfield County Hospital District Co–CEO Mat Slaybaugh informed the Garfield County Hospital District Board of Commissioners on October 5, the Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) upgrade and CT scanner housing project budget is estimated at $3,055,000 and expected to reach approximately $3.5 million with the purchase of the CT scanner. Co-CEO Mat Slaybaugh presented to the board the architect cost projection of $3,055,000 for the proposed HVAC upgrade and new CT Scanner project, which includes the construction of an add...
POMEROY–– Recommendations for Halloween celebrations and how to identify those locales following the suggested safety measures have been issued by the Washington State Department of Health (WADOH), Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Garfield County Health District (GCHD). All three agencies continue to recommend the use of cloth face covering, one that fits snugly over the nose and mouth; avoid confined spaces, outdoor activities are safer; avoid crowds and poorly ventilated indoor spa...
POMEROY–A City Park make-over and Gazebo restoration project donation of $5,000 was presented to the Bank of Eastern Washington customer representative Ashlyn Deatherage by Susie Bowles on Oct. 7, 2020. Bowles and daughters, Heather and Erika Bowles, decided together to make the donation in honor of Larry Bowles, because the gazebo holds such fond memories of their late husband and father. The former Garfield County Sheriff spent more than 30 years performing as the master of ceremonies for the...
POMEROY––Progress on the construction of the Port’s broadband system–underground and overhead portions of work–is approximately 75% complete, reported by Port of Garfield Director Diana Ruchert, at the October 6 meeting of the Board of Commissioners. Contractor ZeroDB has been visible all over town and was said to be making great progress. The new deadline set for the project, after switching contractors, is December 31, 2020. However, representatives from ZeroDB contend they will be completed by early December, if not earlier. Ruchert a...
POMEROY–The Garfield County Employees Group presented the Garfield County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) with a request for wages and insurance benefits for 2021, during the meeting on October 5. The premise for the request came from an increase in insurance premiums from the Washington Counties Insurance Fund (WCIF), from $56 to $155 more per month, per employee, depending on the employee's chosen coverage (i.e., for self, self and spouse, or entire family). Currently, county employees pa...
POMEROY– Since in-person classes began on August 31, 2020, students and staff are meeting the challenge of following the new safety requirements and guidelines, Pomeroy School District Superintendent Rachel Gwinn said in updating the School Board (PSD) at the meeting on Sept. 28, 2020. Gwinn stated teachers are balancing teaching students in the classroom as well as those participating in distance learning. The elementary school has 15 distance learners, and the junior high/high school has s...
POMEROY– New rules regarding birth and death records are being implemented, said Martha Lanman, Garfield County Public Health District administrator, (PHD) at the September 28 meeting. Vital records can only be requested by a family member effective January 1, 2021. There is also an increase in fees to $25 per copy associated with ordering those certificates. The PHD will be amending its 2020 Budget at the next regular meeting in October, to include the additional funds received and extra expenses incurred due to COVID-19. The County’s sup...
POMEROY–Sarah Myers with Quality Behavioral Health, and Jim Nelson, Pomeroy’s School Resource Officer, gave a presentation to the Pomeroy School Board, for the approval of the Healthy Youth Survey scheduled to be given to Eighth–Twelfth graders the week of October 5, 2020. This survey is generally administered by the State of Washington every two years to all Junior and Senior High School students across the state through a pencil-and-paper survey, which is collected securely and all answers are kept anonymous. The data is then compiled and r...