Lanman resigns at Columbia County Commissioners meeting

DAYTON-The Columbia County Commissioners met for a regular meeting on October 4. Commissioners Rundell and Hall were present at the meeting. Commissioner Amerein was absent from the Monday morning meeting. The commissioners' meetings will be moved from Monday to Tuesday starting this month.

Charles Eaton reported on behalf of the Columbia County Public Works. He presented a resolution to award the Bosley Bridge Emergency Repairs consulting contract to Anderson Perry & Associates of Walla Walla. He said there was a detailed report regarding the selection process, which included interviews with qualified consultants.

Commissioner Hall inquired about a dollar amount for the contract, and Eaton explained that Washington state law requires that a consultant be contracted, and then the dollar amount is set.

"There is a clause in there; if we can't agree on a price and scope, then we can go to the second most-qualified," Eaton explained.

The commissioners approved the resolution as presented.

Eaton presented a lumber and construction materials supply contract with Walla Walla Building Supply for the Pavilion restroom remodel at the Columbia County Fairgrounds. Eaton said that Walla Walla Building Supply was the only bid they received out of five sent out. The commissioners approved the supply contract.

Eaton provided a FEMA funding update after talking with the county's FEMA rep. FEMA's environmental branch is currently holding up flood abatement efforts. In two weeks, he will be meeting with the rep to re-evaluate the projects to determine the best financial decision for the county and the best flood control efforts.

Commissioner Hall suggested that Eaton budget as if the county would not be receiving FEMA funding, saying he would rather have to face an amendment to add money than to remove money.

"I'd rather have to do a budget amendment for unexpected income next June than a budget amendment for unexpected expenses," Hall said.

Eaton also gave a brief golf course and fairgrounds update, sharing that the fairgrounds are closed and that the golf course has switched over to winter hours, starting October 1. He said that Public Works is down to one employee in that division and that they are working on winterizing the grounds.

Public Health Administrator Martha Lanman provided a brief update on the COVID-19 situation in Columbia County. She said that there continues to be a lot of ongoing testing, and the Public Health office is still busy receiving calls for testing. As of Saturday morning, there are 16 active cases.

"Our numbers aren't going down. They are staying about the same- sometimes going up a little bit," she said.

Commissioner Hall inquired about monoclonal antibody treatment availability, saying that he knew two people who had experienced great results with the treatment. Lanman said that it is widely available and highly encouraged.

"The supply is still up and down, but as far as I know, we have plenty of supply here," Lanman said.

She shared that one employee had reached the end of their six-month probation period, and she was very happy with the progress and overall work of the employee. She recommended ending the probationary period and giving the employee a two-step increase.

Lanman gave her 30-day notice to terminate her employment with Columbia County Public Health without compensation. November 4 will be her final day.

"We appreciate your service to the county and wish you well in the future," Commissioner Rundell said.

"These last few months have not been easy on anyone, so we thank you," Commissioner Hall added.

After Lanman exited the meeting room, the commissioners expressed that the resignation was 'unexpected,' but no further discussion was held.

Ashley Strickland, Emergency Management Director, provided a brief update on the rolling denial of service (DDoS) cyberattack that occurred last week, targeting phone lines and affecting internet services across the state. The hacker targeted the service provider, Bandwidth.com, which made the attack's effects sporadic.

"The attack wasn't sending out a virus," Strickland explained. "Just as an example: If you have ten phone lines, they have nine people trying to call those lines at the same time. Your call may go through, but the next nine will not. That's what a denial-of-service attack does- it just floods the system."

He noted that there was a fiber optic cable that was cut near Waitsburg that affected services as well.

The commissioners exited to an executive session regarding personnel.