Jackson County hearing brings safety, contracting questions after Parks crews' trench photos

At a public hearing before the Jackson County Public Works Committee, union representatives urged the county to limit in‑house excavation and plumbing work and to use term and supply contractors when appropriate after photos showed two Parks + Rec employees standing in a trench that union speakers called unsafe.

The testimony centered on a repair at Longview Marina that Parks + Rec officials described as a ‘‘pinhole’’ leak patched with a stainless‑steel sleeve after staff used a mini excavator to expose the pipe. Matthew Harris, business manager for Plumbers and Gasfitters Local 8, said his union’s agents found two county workers digging in wet soil with spoil piled close to the trench and asked whether the workers held OSHA cards or excavation training. "At any point in time, this could ended up being a news report of a body recovery instead of us just going out and finding something wrong," Harris said.

Why it matters: Committee members and labor leaders said the photos highlight risks for county employees and the public and raise questions about whether Parks + Rec should call term and supply contractors for certain repairs. County staff said they balance safety, response time and cost when deciding whether to perform minor repairs in‑house or contract outside firms.

County response and site details

Michelle Newman, director of Jackson County Parks + Rec, told the committee the crew first noticed bubbling water at Longview Marina, shut the line off and submitted a Dig Right locate ticket before digging. "Dig Right came out that day. They did all the markings off," Newman said. She said an in‑house locator also marked private lines, and that the marked conduit visible in the photos was a fiber line, not electrical. Newman said the crew began work about 1:30 p.m., secured the site with orange fencing and did not complete the repair the same day to allow the ground to dry.

Newman said Parks + Rec determined the leak was a pinhole on the bottom of the pipe and that the trench was under 5 feet deep, a threshold at which Parks staff said mechanical shoring would typically be required. "If mechanical shoring had been needed, we would have contacted our term and supply plumbing contractors," she said, naming term vendors the department uses in other situations. Newman also said the department does not stock shoring materials and that most of the excavated material in the photos was clay, which staff said is less prone to collapse than saturated soil.

Union and safety testimony

Kevin Gard, business manager for Plaster and CMN Masons Local 518, and Aaron Brown, business manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 101, both urged greater use of trained contractors and apprenticeship‑trained workers. Brown said the trench photos showed ‘‘about 15 things wrong with it’’ from a heavy‑equipment operator’s perspective and warned that trenches can "cave in and those guys would be buried alive."

Legislator Smith cited federal excavation rules, reciting the OSHA standard: "29 CFR part 1926, subpart P," and detailed elements the standard requires — soil classification, protective systems, sloping or benching and distance for spoil piles. In the hearing record, Smith noted OSHA guidance that an unprotected trench deeper than 5 feet requires a protective system unless a competent person has examined the ground and found no indication of potential cave‑ins.

Procurement, contracting and overlap with in‑house work

Speakers also discussed how Jackson County advertises and awards term and supply contracts. Kevin Gard and others urged broader use of minority‑ and women‑owned contractors and local apprenticeship graduates. Barbara Casamento in the purchasing office said vendors can register on Bonfire to receive bid notices and offered to share vendor registration information with interested contractors.

Procurement staff provided a list of common construction term and supply contracts the county uses, including asphalt/concrete delivery, crushed rock, electrical, HVAC, plumbing and earthwork. Casamento told the committee that out of the 10 contract categories she listed, only one contract carried the RBO affidavit language because Jackson County began requiring RBOs in 2024; she said most of the county’s construction contracts include wage determinations, performance‑bond and insurance requirements.

Officials said departments routinely weigh speed, cost and safety when choosing in‑house performance versus external contractors. Public Works and Parks + Rec leaders said the county performs substantial internal work to maintain 21,000 acres and roughly 200 facilities and that they contract out when a task is beyond in‑house capability, requires special equipment or exceeds departmental standards (public‑works staff described not installing culverts over 36 inches internally, for example).

Follow‑up requests and next steps

Committee members asked Parks + Rec and other departments to provide written follow‑ups, including a roster of which staff hold OSHA 10/30 training, the department safety committee’s standard operating procedures, a complete set of photos and a list of term and supply contractors currently on file. Legislators also asked the administration to explore a unified incident‑reporting view across departments to identify trends and to consider whether a centralized safety position or other countywide measures are appropriate.

Quotes and attribution

"We carry a license for a reason," Matthew Harris said, arguing that licensed plumbers should handle plumbing issues. Michelle Newman said Parks + Rec staff "take safety very seriously" and described steps her crew took before and during the repair. "If mechanical shoring had been needed, we would have contacted our term and supply plumbing contractors," she said.

Ending

The committee closed the public hearing after roughly an hour of testimony and discussion. Members agreed to receive the requested follow‑ups from Parks + Rec, Public Works and procurement and to continue discussion of how to balance in‑house capabilities, safety training and the use of term and supply contractors.