The latest developments, decisions and changes coming out of our summer board meeting, held in Port Angeles.
The full board meeting minutes will be available once approved.
DEVELOPMENTS
- 2025 Meeting Dates The board set 2025 meeting dates for January 29-30 (Olympia), May 1-2 (Olympia), July 31- August 1 (Cowlitz/Clark) and October 23-24 (Yakima).
- County Engineer Appointment Jen Tetatzin, P.E. assumed the duties of County Engineer effective August 16th. Pierce County is a charter county and operates through delegation of authority. Shawn Turpin, P.E. was appointed as the Garfield County Engineer on Sept 3rd, filling the position vacated by Kevin Poole, P.E. who had been serving on interim basis.
- County Engineer Vacancies There are three active vacancies in Asotin, Pacific, and Walla Walla counties. Asotin County has a consulting firm providing interim county engineer support, with a recent six-month extension through November 31, 2024. Pacific County Engineer duties are being handled by an acting CE team of Jennifer Oatfield and Richard Drake through March 15, 2025. Matt Rasmussen, P.E. of Benton County is serving as interim County Engineer for Walla Walla County through March 7, 2025.
- Special Guest Speaker Washington State House Transportation Chair Fey shared on upcoming legislative challenges and priorities.
DECISIONS
- Certified Resolution 2024-008 - Apportion RATA Funds to Regions which authorized the accrued amount of $5,452,428 deposited to the RATA for July, August and September 2024 be apportioned to the regions by the established 2023-2025 biennium regional percentages after setting aside $214,209 for administration.
- Project Board Action Regarding Okanogan County The county's request to waive payback funds with conditions was approved.
CHANGES
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Proposed WAC Changes Discussed A public hearing was held regarding changes to the Standards of Good Practice regarding the maintenance of county road logs (WAC 136-060) and the Rural Arterial Program (WAC 136-161).
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RAP Visual Arrays and Summary Steve Johnson shared with the Board which projects will be likely funded, based on current budget forecasts, and county priorities. These are ordered by project type and scoring. 64 projects total is fewer than we usually see, but the total RATA request remains similar to previous years.
COUNTY OVERVIEW & PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
Columbia (Washington) and Umatilla (Oregon) Counties were each invited to present to the Board an overview of their Public Works Departments, CRAB funded projects (where applicable), and challenges they’re currently facing. Columbia County Engineer Grant Morgan, PE and Umatilla Public Works Director Tom Fellows both presented. It was our first time having a speaker from a bordering state come and speak and it was very informative given the roads which go over each state border and how Umatilla and Walla Walla had to work together.
