Commissioners approve permit for Ralph Paynor Memorial Run; indemnity agreement to follow

Mike Russell, public works director for Columbia County, presented an application on July 9 for the 2025 Ralph Paynor Memorial and Scholarship Fund fundraising run, which will use county roads around Rainier School properties. Russell said the application was received earlier than last year and that other agencies raised no concerns.

Nut graf: The board voted to approve the event permit and also approved staff preparing a future indemnity agreement for board consideration on the consent agenda; staff recommended the permit and the board authorized the director to sign the permit once conditions are met.

Russell told commissioners that the organizers had run the event in previous years without incident and that staff did not anticipate conflicts this year. The recommended motions on the record were to approve the event permit and to have staff prepare the indemnity agreement for a future consent agenda.

During the meeting one commissioner moved approval of the event permit and another seconded; the board recorded aye votes and authorized the public works director to sign the permit and to return an indemnity agreement for a future consent item.

Ending: The board approved the event permit and the preparation of the indemnity agreement; the public works director and commissioners said they did not expect issues with the event.