Washington County commissioners on Tuesday, Aug. 18, approved a design engineering contract for the Herman Road Complete Street Project and updated the county's procurement rules, among 13 actions taken at their regular meeting in Hillsboro.
All votes passed 4-0, with District 3 Commissioner Jason Snider absent.
The Herman Road project, which runs from 124th Avenue to Cipole Road in the North Bethany area, will be designed by AKS Engineering & Forestry, according to county meeting minutes. The contract was one of 11 items on the consent agenda, which also included a 77-day temporary truck restriction on Old Cornelius Pass Road and a contract for Motorola public safety communications equipment.
A Hillsboro resident, Sam Richards Davidson, submitted written comment on Aug. 13 asking commissioners to pull the Motorola item and the AKS contract over surveillance technology concerns. Davidson argued the procurement rules contain no definition of surveillance technology or biometric identification, and that expansions of such systems don't require a board vote. The items were not pulled.
Procurement rules updated
The board separately voted to approve updated Rules of Procurement, effective immediately. The update included removing the word "equity" from a section where it had not been previously corrected.
Assistant County Administrator Ann Ober and Chief Financial Officer John Styer presented the item and addressed questions District 1 Commissioner Nafisa Fai had raised at a prior work session.
"I was comfortable with the answers they provided," Fai said at the meeting.
Vice Chair Jerry Willey also voiced support before the 4-0 vote.
Housing bond update
Commissioners received a quarterly update on the Affordable Housing Bond and Supportive Housing Services program. No vote was taken. Presenters included Assistant Directors Jill Chen and Jes Larson and Ernesto Fonseca, CEO of Hacienda CDC.
District 2 Commissioner Pam Treece asked why the Cedar Grove project was not included in the presentation and requested it be added in the future. She also raised community reaction to the Aloha Housing Pods.
Chair Kathryn Harrington asked staff to add a slide showing how Supportive Housing Services funds are helping residents find stable housing.
During public comment, Meghan Hill thanked Housing Services staff for a community meeting about the Cornell Road Transitional Housing project, a planned facility at the former hotel at 15402 NW Cornell Rd. near Highway 26 in the Bethany area. According to Cedar Mill News, the facility will offer on-site recovery services and 24/7 staffing, with Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers managing operations. A community meeting on the project was held Tuesday evening at the Bethany Library Annex, 4888 NW Bethany Blvd.
Other actions
The board also legalized a portion of SW Carpenter Creek Road as a county road after a public hearing with no testimony, and authorized recruitment for vacancies on county boards and commissions. Applications are accepted through Sept. 29.
The county's next regular Board of Commissioners meeting date has not yet been posted. Residents can find upcoming meeting dates and agendas at washingtoncountyor.gov.
