Kittitas County commissioners approve multi-item consent agenda, award transportation and water-rights contracts

Kittitas County commissioners approved a sweeping consent agenda during their Dec. 17, 2024, business meeting, authorizing a mix of contracts, interlocal agreements and grant awards and ratifying a recent water-rights purchase.

The board voted to approve the meeting agenda and later approved the full consent agenda by voice vote after routine presentation of each item. Speaker 3 moved to approve the agenda and Speaker 1 seconded; the consent agenda passed on a voice vote with ayes recorded.

Among the items the board approved was a memorandum of agreement with Washington State University Extension for $114,365 for 2025; Speaker 1 said the amount "reconciles to what we put in the 2025 adopted budget under their professional services." The board also approved the annual renewal of the interlocal agreement with the EMS and Trauma Care Council and a 2025 payment agreement for $120,129, presented by Sheryl Burrows.

Public health staff announced a request from the homelessness and affordable housing committee to open an application window for proposals to allocate funds from the document recording surcharge and the affordable/supportive housing sales and use tax. Andy Lockford said the application period will run Jan. 2 through Jan. 24, 2025.

Public Works presented several transportation and procurement items. Cameron Curtis said the county, as lead agency for the STBG program, recommended an award to the City of Ellensburg to help complete a shared-use path on University Way and Vantage Highway; the scoring committee recommended increasing the city award slightly, to a staff-requested total of $1,878,207. Curtis also presented a 2025 fuel bid recommendation (one bid incomplete), recommending award for Schedule A and E to the named low bidder.

Arden Thomas, the county water resources manager, asked the board to award a contract for design, fabrication and transport of a 40-by-16-foot steel modular bridge required for the Whiskey Creek siphon project and said staff recommended award to low bidder ConTech Engineering Solutions LLC. Thomas also said the chair had signed a purchase-and-sale agreement on Dec. 3 for the Roan water bank for $174,876 (to be paid from the water-resources 403 fund) and requested ratification in business session.

Other consent items approved included a third renewal of a PSA used at the jail for credit-card bail processing, agreements to house inmates with the City of Ellensburg (with updated per‑day rates noted by Devin Dundee), annual agreements for library services with partner cities, annual senior-center funding, renewal of public defense contracts and an interagency agreement with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to fund development of a wildfire recovery plan template.

The meeting included an announced executive session under RCW 42.30.110 to evaluate applicants for public employment and review employee performance; county staff said no action was anticipated. The board reconvened after the executive session and stated no action was taken.

Votes at a glance: - Motion to approve meeting agenda: passed (voice vote). - Consent agenda (all listed items above): approved (voice vote). - Individual awards and approvals called out during consent: MOA with Washington State University Extension ($114,365) — approved; EMS interlocal payment agreement ($120,129) — approved; STBG award to City of Ellensburg ($1,878,207) — approved; Roan water-rights purchase ratification ($174,876) — approved; modular bridge contract to ConTech Engineering Solutions LLC — approved; fuel bid award recommended to low bidder — approved; other annual agreements and renewals — approved.

No formal roll-call vote tallies naming individual commissioners were recorded in the transcript; outcomes above reflect the board's voice approvals as recorded during the session. The board adjourned after closing executive session with no action taken.