Franklin County commissioners review committee assignments, plan follow-up after missed notifications
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Summary
At a workshop, Franklin County commissioners reviewed organizational appointments and agreed to verify committee memberships and meeting notifications after several commissioners said they had not received invites; staff will contact external entities and return with confirmations at the Jan. 7 meeting.
Speaker 1 (Chair) called a Franklin County Board of Commissioners workshop to order and the board approved the workshop agenda by voice vote.
The meeting’s main discussion focused on county representatives to regional boards and advisory committees. Speaker 4 opened the conversation by saying the list should be on the commissioners’ radar and that the workshop was an opportunity to discuss trading or reorganizing seats: “get this on your radar,” Speaker 4 said. Multiple commissioners reported they had not received meeting notices for boards where the county is listed.
Speaker 2 said Brian had been standing in for him on Benton County Emergency Services and recommended formally assigning that seat to Brian because the meetings frequently occur alongside another regional meeting. Speaker 2 also said he had not received information about the Ben Franklin Council of Governments’ urban surface transportation steering committee: “I never as far as I’m aware, I never got any information,” he said.
Commissioners identified several committees with unclear representation or absent notifications, including the Ben Franklin Community Health Alliance, Juvenile Justice Advisory Board, Franklin County Law and Justice Council, local emergency planning committee (LEPC), Hanford-area committees, Tri Cities regional boards and Visit Tri-Cities. Speaker 1 noted that the Ben Franklin Transit Operation and Maintenance Committee appears to have been streamlined and is no longer meeting.
The commissioners discussed specific reassignments: Speaker 2 agreed to add his name to several BF COG entries; Speaker 1 and others agreed to confirm who represents the county on boards that may have consolidated their agendas into a single COG meeting. Several commissioners asked county staff to check contact information after new phones were issued to ensure the county receives external meeting notices.
Commissioners also raised a longstanding concern about local access to regional funding: Speaker 1 said the CRAB (County Road Administration Board) seat is “very instrumental in bringing funds back to Franklin County for roads,” and asked that the county follow up on why a recent CRAB application was denied.
No formal reassignment or appointment was made during the workshop. Speaker 4 offered to reach out to the listed external entities, and commissioners agreed to bring clarified membership and any suggested reassignments to the regular meeting on Jan. 7 for formal action.
Next steps: staff will contact outside organizations to confirm meeting schedules and membership lists, fix notification/phone issues for commissioners, and present confirmed appointments at the Jan. 7 regular meeting.