Commission Briefs

Commissioners honor Tim Sheldon

Mason County commissioners honored state Sen. Tim Sheldon at the Aug. 16 regular meeting.

Commissioners signed a proclamation to declare the day ‘Tim Sheldon Day” in Mason County.

Commissioner Kevin Shutty thanked Sheldon for his years of service and said it was a pleasure to work with Sheldon while he was a staff member in the Legislature.

“You were very gracious to me as I considered running for this seat in 2016 as you retired from the county and I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the conversation you and I had up at the tree farm sitting on some old stumps overlooking the canal talking about the county and your work here and your deep affection for our part of the county but the county as a whole,” Shutty said.

Commissioner Randy Neatherlin talked about the time he ran against Sheldon for county commissioner.

“I want to point out that people don’t see it out in the audience but there’s a wall that we face that has about 100 commissioners on the wall and 150 years goes by and some of these commissioners have served some different terms,” Neatherlin said. “There’s only three I believe that’s ever served three terms in a row and you’re one of those up on that wall that’s done that in 150 years. There are people that have called me through this process, they don’t like this, but you know what, you were always elected because they thought and felt you did them right and that is the greatest honor that you could have is to feel and to know you did them right, regardless of what one or 10 people might say.”

Commissioner Sharon Trask said Sheldon is one of her favorite people with his guidance and mentorship.

“What you’ve done for Mason County, you’ve put Mason County on the map,” Trask said. “I’m on some state boards and state committees and people love you. They know you and they know that you love Mason County so I want to thank you for your guidance, your leadership and for being such an important part of Mason County.”

Sheldon stepped up to the podium and thanked the commissioners for the recognition. He said he had the good fortune of being born in Shelton and his family being involved in the timber industry for a long time. Sheldon recalled running for county commissioner as an independent and the process it took to get elected to the county commission.

“We had a lot of fun here and it’s great to see old friends and people I worked with for many years,” Sheldon said. “…I think it was 2006 right after I got elected, we had a big winter storm and we lost the Tahuya River bridge, it was a big deal. Same storm, Finch Creek bridge in Hoodsport, demolished, Hunter Creek bridge in Skokomish Valley was so damaged they had to turn it to one lane. There was one in Grapeview and I think there was one other, I think we lost five bridges in that storm.”

“Then the next year, the recession hit, and I think we went from 400 employees down to 300 employees. It was tough times then and of course, that can all turn around and happen again but still, I always tell people, there’s only five counties in the state with one incorporated city and we’re one of those counties. The adjacent counties like Lewis have nine, Grays Harbor has nine incorporated cities, all kinds of incorporated cities in Pierce and Thurston counties. So we didn’t have those sewer systems or bridges, all the things that the larger, the more populated counties have so it makes it rural and it makes it fun, too. People appreciate the rural lifestyle we have in Mason County. Thank you for the proclamation and recognition, it’s great to reminisce and see old friends again.”

Roof replacement scheduled for four county buildings

County buildings 6, 7, 8 and the Church-House will have their roofs replaced after action from the Mason County commissioners.

According to the information packet, the roofs on each building have not been replaced for more than 20 years. The need to replace the roofs was discussed at the commissioners retreat July 19. Three quotes were solicited from Evergreen State Roofing, Cogent Construction, and Ascend Roofing. Commissioners approved the contract with Evergreen State Roofing in the amount of $89,775 plus tax for roof replacement.

County requests real estate services

Mason County has put out a request for proposals for Mason County real estate professional services.

According to the information packet, Richard Beckman Realty Group has been under contract with the county since October 2016. The contract is set to expire Dec. 12.

The county is seeking real estate services on a competitive level for 2023-25 with an option to extend for two more years. Real estate services desired are for contractor to market and offer for sale current Mason County surplus properties and additional services as necessary. The deadline to submit a request for proposal is 4 p.m. Sept. 30.

Birth, death certificates service contract approved

The county has approved a contract with Permitium for streamlining birth and death certificates.

According to the information packet, Permitium offers an online option for ordering vital records from the health department. Customers can log in, request birth or death certificates, and pay for certificates. The Sheriff’s Office uses Permitium for concealed carry permits.

County amends reserve, contingency policy

Mason County commissioners approved another amendment to the reserve and contingency policy.

According to the information packet, the commissioners adopted Resolution No. 58-17, setting a reserve and contingency policy for the County’s General Fund. The resolution was amended in 2019 and 2021 to expand on general fund reserves and to include reserves in other funds.

In this resolution, the changes made include removing outdated wording from the second paragraph of the policy and to include a General Fund Capital Facilities Reserve. Adding a general fund capital facilities reserve to the current reserve and contingency policy will allow the county to better align with the capital facilities plan.

Commission increases coroner’s office budget

Mason County commissioners approved an increase to the Mason County Coroner’s Office budget at the Aug. 16 meeting.

According to the information packet, an interlocal agreement with Kitsap County for per month autopsy and external examination will be terminated Sept. 1 due to Mason County’s increase in cases overwhelming the pathologist and Kitsap County tried to hire another pathologist but was unsuccessful. The pathologist can only do 300 autopsies per year or be at risk of losing accreditation. The pathologist does more than 200 autopsies per year now and Mason County had 83 autopsies in 2021. As of Aug. 4, Mason County has had 60 autopsies.

Thurston County has three doctors who offered to take Mason County’s autopsy cases and charge a per autopsy and external examination plus rental fee, which would cost $1,700 per autopsy, $900 per external examination and a facility rental fee of $350 per body. Based on the autopsies and externals from July, the cost to the county would have been $19,800.

Lift assistance to and from Thurston County has received support from the local fire departments. The change in assistance was requesting an amount of $37,000 to fund but has been lowered to $15,000. The request is to add this to on-call and extra help Deputy Coroner fund, which will allow the coroner’s office to call out a second deputy to assist on scene when needed for lift assists, scene assistance, investigating and transporting out of county for autopsy. The assistance will also help the office respond to multiple calls at once.

The budget was increased $61,000 for pathology services and $15,000 for on-call and extra help for lift assist, transport and scene assistance for 2022.