Commission Briefs

Justice Center design study

Mason County commissioners approved a request for qualifications for a community justice center design and development at its Aug. 15 meeting.

According to the information packet, the county received $1,030,000 in grant money through the state Department of Commerce to study and design a Community Justice Center composed of a jail, mental health facility, and a substance use disorder facility.

The Mason County Sheriff’s Office worked with experts in the county Public Health and Community Services Department to establish criteria within the request for qualifications. The projected response date to the requests is Sept. 22 and the deadline for requests is 5 p.m. Sept. 22. Submissions should be sent to county Administrator Mark Neary.

Mason Matters contract

Commissioners approved signing the Mason Matters contract through June 30.

According to the information packet, the contract expired and the contract updates terms, which will run retroactively to July 1 and continues through June 30. The cost of the contract is $25,000.

Mason Matters provides community support through health forums, grants and leadership to improve the health of the community by partnering with multiple community partners and sources of money.

Money to flex account

Mason County added $5,000 to employees’ flexible spending accounts after commissioners approved the move at their regular meeting.

According to the information packet, the commissioners approved a resolution in June to create a bank account for the Mason County FSA. Navia Benefit Solutions debits the account for employees that elected to make use of the FSA. The account is funded twice monthly on the 10th and 25th from payroll deductions. Debits to the account take place throughout the month.

Mason County Treasurer Lisa Frazier recommended the county fund a cushion to the account for $5,000 to all for a fund balance to keep the account from becoming negative and incurring fees. Human resources will be responsible for maintaining the balance as necessary, reconciling the account and providing reconciliations to the county treasurer.

Interns approved for court

Mason County commissioners approved paying $40 per hour for Rule 9 intern rates for remote district court cases involving probation violations.

According to the information packet, finding attorneys has been difficult, and in conjunction with the Mason County Prosecutor’s Office and with permission of the court, public defense is working on making the probation violation docket be all remote. The move would allow for paid Rule 9 externs from Seattle University instead of attorneys, which are likely easier to find, according to the packet. As the court is remote, externs would not have to travel to Mason County, which had previously been the bar to use interns.

The move will likely reduce expenditures from the current rate of pay of $75 per hour for attorney’s currently, but it is anticipated the Rule 9’s will use more hours. The budget effect may be negligible as a result, though after data collection, a reduction in expenditure levels may occur.

Revised park host program

The Mason County Park Host program was adopted by county commissioners.

According to the information packet, Mason County parks receive a lot of use each year and in many instances, park visitors have requested additional maintenance, customer service, security and staffing.

The use of park hosts at selected county parks provides additional customer service, maintenance, site security and safety. Volunteerism and the park host program was reviewed and minor updates were made to the program.

To read all the updates, go to pages 71 to 78 of the commissioner’s packet at http://www.tinyurl.com/jatw4zmv.

Grant hearing Sept. 12

Mason County commissioners scheduled a public hearing for Sept. 12 to review final project performance and close out the state community development block grant for the microenterprise assistance program.

According to the information packet, the program funded through the state Department of Commerce is ending after the funding cycle. The program has operated the past three years, providing training to Mason County residents who are operating or interested in operating a small business.

Forgivable microloans and grants were provided to nine eligible Mason County businesses to assist in managing and recovering from the impacts of COVID-19.

Juvenile deputy reclassified

The 2024-25 Office of Civil Legal Aid contract and the reclassification of the juvenile deputy position was green-lighted by county commissioners.

According to the information packet, the OCLA contract provides money for child representation in dependencies.

It would place additional training and administrative requirements on the juvenile deputy that the current job does not require. To accept the 2024 contract, the job description for juvenile deputy needed to be reclassified.

The 2024 budget will be in effect with an additional $152,784 in revenue and reclassifying the juvenile deputy will cause an additional expense. The amount will be known once the contract is complete.