Columbia County staff propose shift to activity-based road crews as reserves face drawdown

Public Works Director Mike Russell told the Columbia County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 28 that the county’s 380 miles of paved roads face declining conditions and that the department is considering a shift from district-based crews to activity-based crews to get more work done with constrained funding.

"As of 2023, empirical road inspections of our 380 miles paved roads have a system wide condition rating of 52 out of 100," Russell said, and staff expect the Pavement Condition Index to fall below 50 on the next inspection. Russell said the five-year financial plan assumes no new revenue, rising personnel costs and the need to spend down road-fund reserves — including a planned $3.5 million bridge replacement that spans two fiscal years.

The plan would reorganize road maintenance into specialized crews — drainage/bridge, vegetation, surface and a work-requests/special-projects crew — and consolidate morning reporting so crews are briefed together in St. Helens. Tim Hancock, the Road and Bridge superintendent, described a work plan and map that prioritizes chip-seal and prep-for-pave projects across St. Helens, Scappoose, Rainier, Vernonia and Clatskanie and a five-year brushing and ditching cycle.

Staff framed the change as a move from a reactive posture "fix the worst first" to a proactive approach designed to extend pavement life and increase measurable output year-to-year. Russell told the board the road fund’s recurring operational revenue is dominated by the state motor-vehicle/gas-tax allocation (he cited roughly $5.2 million as the county’s recurring operational funding), with additional project-specific ODOT fund-exchange dollars and an aggregate-mining fee that yields about $400,000–$500,000 annually.

Under the five-year projection, personnel costs rise significantly — Russell estimated about a $900,000 increase over five years — and the plan assumes spending down reserves while keeping an emergency reserve target of $1,000,000. Russell cited a recent Apry Road washout that cost the county about $800,000 and said reserves are crucial to cover non‑FEMA eligible disasters.

Board members and residents pressed staff on several operational and equity concerns: whether moving morning reporting to St. Helens would increase crews’ travel time and response delays for rural areas; how after‑hours emergency callouts would be handled; whether the change requires bargaining or a letter-of-agreement with the union; and how staff would monitor, amend and — if needed — reverse the change. Hancock said the department would monitor performance and make adjustments and said after‑hours response would return to a district-based dispatch model for emergencies.

Residents, including speakers from Rainier, Vernonia and Clatskanie, strongly criticized the plan’s morning-reporting proposal and the way the change was communicated. "That seems like the stupidest plan I’ve ever heard of that you’re gonna take," one commenter, Sam, said during the public‑works comment period, arguing daily travel time would be inefficient and that virtual check‑ins could reduce unnecessary driving. Ivana Poirier, a community member representing Global Oregon, also raised questions about contracting and cost increases for crushed rock procurement.

Staff repeatedly denied any plan to close or sell satellite shops; they said satellite facilities would remain available for material storage and after‑hours access but acknowledged the perception that a lack of daily staffing looked like closure. Russell also acknowledged communication missteps and accepted responsibility for not engaging elected supervisors earlier in developing the concept.

The board did not take a final action on the activity‑based proposal at the Jan. 28 session. Staff said they will continue employee discussions, collect feedback, provide data requested by commissioners (including more detail on 2025 accomplishments and work metrics), and return with adjustments and implementation details — including labor‑agreement considerations, performance monitoring metrics and a timeline for possible changes.