Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Open Public Meetings topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident alleges Yakima County violated open-meetings rules in appointment to regional clean-air board
Summary
At the Feb. 4 Yakima County Commissioners meeting, Jean Mendoza of White Swan told commissioners the county likely breached Washington’s Open Public Meetings Act when it appointed Dr. Steven Jones to the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency board and asked the board to rescind the appointment; the board said it would follow up.
A Yakima County resident told the Board of Yakima County Commissioners on Feb. 4, 2025, that the county likely violated Washington’s Open Public Meetings Act when it appointed Dr. Steven Jones to the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency board and asked the board to rescind that appointment.
Jean Mendoza of White Swan told commissioners the appointment process lacked public notice, did not include candidate interviews in an open meeting and improperly relied on a last-minute recommendation from the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency (YRCAA) board. Mendoza said the appointment was made under Resolution 3642024 and asked that the board rescind the reappointment.
Mendoza said the county “very likely violated the Washington State Open Public Meetings Act” and criticized the timing and process for the selection. She also said the YRCAA does not have authority to nominate a county board appointee and that the YRCAA’s administrative code was not followed. Mendoza said Friends of Toppish Creek submitted an agenda request on Jan. 22 and that a prior offer by Commissioner McKinney to set a meeting with corporate counsel Stephanie Wiegand had not been fulfilled.
The speaker asked the board to rescind the appointment and offered written materials to the commissioners. The board chair acknowledged the comments and said staff would follow up.
No formal action to rescind the appointment was taken at the meeting. The item was made during the public-comment portion of the Feb. 4 agenda; Mendoza’s remarks and the board’s brief response were recorded but no vote or formal direction was made on the record.
Context: Mendoza referenced a reappointment recorded as Resolution 3642024 and raised alleged violations of the Washington State Open Public Meetings Act (RCW 42.30). The complaint centers on whether the county publicly noticed and openly discussed candidates before finalizing the appointment to the YRCAA board.
The county’s corporate counsel, Stephanie Wiegand, and Clerk of the Board Julie Lawrence were recorded as present at the meeting; the county did not announce any immediate staff action or formal agenda item reopening the appointment during the Feb. 4 meeting.
For now, Mendoza’s request stands as a public comment that the board said it would follow up on; the meeting record does not show any formal referral, investigation assignment, or vote tied to the request.
