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Lewis County commissioners approve road closures, interlocal coroner agreement and procurement updates
Summary
At the March 25 meeting commissioners approved notices and multiple resolutions including a Lindley Road vacation hearing date, temporary Opelt Road closure for construction, a coroner interlocal with Mason County, a chip-seal material contract award, transfer of lobbying services, and updates to department head signing authority and procurement.
The Lewis County Board of County Commissioners voted on a set of administrative actions and resolutions during their March 25 business meeting, approving notices, construction closures, interlocal agreements, and procurement updates.
The board approved two notice items (approved by voice vote 3–0) to set a public hearing for a request to vacate Lindley Road and to authorize a temporary closure of Opelt Road. Kimberly Edminster of Public Works said Resolution 25‑081 will set April 22, 2025, at 10 a.m. as the hearing date for the county engineer’s report on the unopened, unmaintained Lindley Road right‑of‑way. Wes Anderson, assistant county engineer, described Resolution 25‑082 as a closure of Opelt Road from milepost 0 to 1.72 from April 1 through July 31 to complete the Centralia Alpha Road project.
The board approved two consent items by voice vote (3–0): Resolution 25‑083 to approve warrants and payroll and acceptance of minutes from the March 18, 2025, BOCC business meeting.
The board voted (3–0) to recess Resolution 25‑069 to the April 1 BOCC meeting.
The board moved to approve Resolutions 25‑084 through 25‑088 (vote 3–0). Those items included:
- An interlocal cooperative agreement between the Lewis County Coroner’s Office and the Mason County Coroner’s Office to allow Mason County to use Lewis County’s facility for autopsies and external exams by a contract forensic pathologist; Warren McLeod, Lewis County coroner, said there would be no cost to the county and Lewis County would receive $350 for each exam performed using the facility. McLeod said Mason County averages about 100 such exams per year.
- A selection of Goods Crushing of Winlock, Washington, as the lowest responsive bidder for chip‑seal material and the county’s intent to award a contract in the amount of $282,975 for the 2025 maintenance program, as presented by Wes Anderson.
- A transfer of an existing county legislative liaison agreement from Gordon Thomas Honeywell (GTH) to Columbia Policy Advisors effective May 1, 2025, as presented by Rita Lester, clerk of the board.
- An update to department head signing authority to clarify when directors may sign contracts and to streamline approvals.
- An update to the county procurement policy to align with the department head signing authority; Graham Gammon of the Auditor’s Office noted the update does not change state or federal procurement requirements.
All listed resolutions were approved by recorded voice vote: "Aye, Aye, Aye," and the clerk announced each motion passed 3–0.
Why this matters: the approved actions set hearing dates and construction closures that affect public access, confirm the county’s contractor and supplier selections for maintenance work, and formalize intergovernmental and procurement procedures that guide how the county awards and executes contracts.
No contested votes or dissent were recorded on these items during the meeting.
