Contractor seeks
better skilled workers than union provides
Bill Myers
staff reporter
About 30 picketers from a laborers’ union waved signs to passing motorists May 30 and June 1 along roadsides near the construction site of the SR-502/I-5 interchange.
The signs said, “Kerr Contractors, Inc. does not have an agreement with Laborers Local 335.”
Dave Ritchey, business manager of Laborers International Union of North America Local 335 of Vancouver, said Kerr Contractors, a company from Woodburn, OR, won the contract to build the interchange and has started work. But Kerr has not contracted with the local union for laborers, said Ritchey. He said members of the local union counted on this job for employment, but it appears that Kerr plans to bring in laborers from Oregon.
“This isn’t about wages and benefits,” said Ritchey. He said the contractor is non-union but must pay prevailing wages and benefits because the interchange is a government job. “My concern is to keep work here in our community,” he said.
Brent Kerr of Kerr Contractors said half of his current work force are new hires from the Clark County area, and several sub-contractors are from Clark County as well.
Kerr said he has about 20 employees on the job at the present, and is looking for 10-15 more people to hire. They must be skilled craftsmen, he said.
Kerr said that he operates in a similar fashion to Tapani Underground and Nutter Underground who don’t sign agreements with the laborers’ union either.
Kerr said his company interviews applicants, tests for drug use and physical strength and conditioning, and hires skilled workers. He said he hires another company to help evaluate applicants for employment.
If he used the laborers’ union, said Kerr, he would have to take whomever they sent and not be able to pick and choose. He could end up with people who use drugs, he said, people with back problems, and so forth. “They would just supply people,” said Kerr, not skilled craftsmen.
Steve Leishman, a member of the Union from Vancouver, asked, “Why are none of our workers here?”
Union organizer Bill Hoffman said it is a standard practice by out-of-town contractors to hire laborers from unions near a job site. “If I went to Tri-Cities to do a construction job, I would get labor help from the local union, not have them drive in from a distance,” he said.
The picketing effort had an effect. Three Quest communications workers arrived to install communications equipment, but refused to enter the job site. Their manager, Tom Nixon, said he doesn’t cross union picket lines.
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) regional engineer Bart Gernhart said Kerr has hired several area sub-contractors, such as Lakeside Industries, a paving company, Double Check Erosion Control, Cascade Bridge Co. and Mill Plain Electric, Inc., and others, for the interchange project. Most workers for these companies probably live in this area, he said.
Gernhart said the state encourages contractors to respond to inquiries, but can’t force them to do so.
Kerr listed other area sub-contractors that he has hired, including an electrical contractor, and a sub-contractor for rock.
“It’s the laborers’ union that is triggering all this,” said Kerr, suggesting that union officials have to do something to satisfy their members.
Kerr said it would cost his company less money to hire union laborers than it does to hire a more select crew. Neither company nor union officials claimed that the picketing was about wages or benefits.
Kerr said he is part owner of a union electrical company. “I’m definitely not anti-union,” said Kerr.
Kerr said the pickets could remain throughout the entire construction period if they want to. “It’s been a long time since we had a problem like this,” he said.

Alcohol at fair not yet resolved
“The issue is not over from our standpoint,” said Clark County commissioner Steve Stuart in reference to attempts by the commissioners to delay the serving of alcohol at the Clark County Fair pending further consideration.
Stuart said the commissioners hope to settle the matter through discussions with interested parties rather than taking stronger action.
The Fairgrounds Site Management Group (FSMG) oversees operations at the county fairgrounds under a contract with the county. “We want to make sure they (FSMG and the Clark County Fair Association) understand that our concerns are about this year,” said Stuart.
Stuart said the commissioners want to take a collaborative approach on the matter while maintaining a good relationship with the Fair Association.
“A little work up front may preclude drastic action being taken,” said Stuart.
Stuart said that there are actions the commissioners could take so that alcohol could not be served at the fair. He said the commissioners hope to avoid taking such steps.
The Fair Association decided in April to serve alcohol at the fair as a means to bolster revenue.
The county commissioners urged the Association in a May 17 letter to hold off on the serving of alcohol until a more complete assessment of community interests was conducted.
The Association should respond to public comments about the alcohol idea and solicit comments from various groups and the public, the commissioners wrote.
The Fair Association responded a day later with a letter saying they were going ahead with the beer and wine garden plan despite the views of the commissioners.
Fair executive director Tom Musser said alcohol would be served in an area east of the grandstand and west of the carnival. While visible, the alcohol facility would not be in a central area, he said.
Musser said the decision to sell alcoholic products was made in part as a response to public requests.
“We suggest that the fair board develop a proposal for the 2008 fair and call for public comment on the specifics of that proposal,” wrote the commissioners.
The Fair Association countered that suggestion, arguing that the 30-member fair board itself represented a spectrum of public opinion. The board had voted 15-6 in favor of selling alcohol at the fair.
In 1994, following expiration of a contract between Clark County and the Fair Association, the county created the Fairgrounds Site Management Group, a 5-member organization responsible for general oversight of the activities at the fairgrounds, excluding the Amphitheater.
County budget officer Paul Scarpelli currently chairs the group. Membership includes two other county appointees who are Chris Palmer and former county commissioner Judie Stanton, plus two representatives of the Fair Association who are Sharon Crouch and Scott Horenstein. None are paid.
Scarpelli said it is not clear to him whether the FSMG has the authority to halt the sale of alcohol at the fair even if it wanted to. And, he said, he doubted that a majority of the FSMG members would vote against alcohol anyway. He votes in the case of ties, he said.
Scarpelli said the FSMG has the right to decline tenants. But, he said, whether the FSMG could derail the Fair Association, a tenant at the fairgrounds, from selling alcohol is “a difficult question.”
The FSMG hires people to manage various aspects of the fairgrounds, including activities that go on at times other than the Clark County Fair. The salaries of nine full-time employees are paid with revenues from all events at the fairgrounds, including the fair itself.
The contract between Clark County and the FSMG contains no reference to alcohol. It gives the FSMG general oversight responsibility of events at the Fairgrounds. Scarpelli noted that the contract charges the FSMG with operating the site “in the public interest” while creating positive economic impact and stimulating economic growth.
Stuart said the commissioners have discussed the matter among themselves but have not placed it on the agenda for a public session.
“This is something that should not have snuck up on us,” added Stuart.

La Center resolution
says “no” to tribal casino
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Two La Center City Council members will hand deliver the city’s objection to a proposed tribal casino at the junction of I-5 and La Center Road to officials in Washington, D.C.
Council members Dale Smith and Bob Smith will deliver a resolution calling the final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) inadequate and stating that the city is opposed to the casino proposal.
Dale Smith said that a date for the trip has not been set, but his goal is to visit Washington “within the next month.”
The council members will deliver the city’s message to the U.S. Department of Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and members of Washington’s congressional delegation, Dale Smith said.
The council voted unanimously on May 23 to pay travel expenses up to $5,000 for the two council members.
The resolution says that the city’s comments on the casino impact were “not accorded proper weight” and that the FEIS does not provide “adequate mitigation” for potential impacts of a tribal casino on the city.
La Center is home to four card room casinos. Council members have consistently said that a Cowlitz tribal casino will have a negative impact on the card room business and cause the city to lose much of its income. The city stands to lose about 66 percent of its gambling tax revenue, the resolution states.
The resolution promises legal action if the city council’s concerns are not adequately addressed.
“Unless and until either the federal government or the Cowlitz Tribe provides adequate mitigation to the city and addresses these impacts and issues, the City of La Center remains opposed to this project, and will pursue all legal means available to the city to seek resolution,” the document says.
La Center is the second Clark County city to formally oppose the casino proposal. Vancouver passed a resolution in early May urging the federal government to turn down the Cowlitz request.
La Center’s resolution says the FEIS “fails to address adequately” traffic, school district and law enforcement impacts, as well as “socioeconomic impacts.” It also says that the development of a casino will “induce additional growth and urban development in the area.”
The Cowlitz Tribe has proposed an agreement with La Center that would have the tribe pay the cost of extending sewer lines to the I-5 junction and pay half the cost of wastewater treatment plant expansion, estimated at $13-$14 million for phase one.
The council has asked the city’s tribal affairs committee to study the proposed agreement and look for other ways to provide sewer service to the junction.
Steve Horenstein, attorney for the Cowlitz Tribe and for other landowners at the junction, said the offer will expire 60 days after it was made. The draft agreement was presented to the council April 21.
“If we haven’t heard (from the city) by the end of 60 days, we’ll assume the answer is ‘no,’” he said.
“We will need to get going on getting an on-site system,” Horenstein said. “We’ll be in the ground in a couple of years.”

Hanson fails drug test, jailed by judge
A Clark County Superior Court judge jailed former Ridgefield city council member Scott Hanson for seven days May 24 and issued a “last warning” not to violate conditions of his release again.
Judge Robert Lewis issued the jail sanction and warning after reviewing evidence that Hanson violated conditions of his release when he tested positive on May 9 for cocaine use in a random drug test.
Hanson is charged in Superior Court with unlawful possession of cocaine, and in District Court with DUI, hit and run and reckless driving stemming from a Dec. 7, 2006 collision on I-5 south of the Ridgefield interchange.
Hanson resigned his city council position soon after the accident.
Lewis also found that Hanson violated conditions of his release on May 9 when he returned to a California treatment center without notifying Clark County corrections officers. Hanson was discharged from treatment on May 16.
Earlier this year, Hanson pled not guilty to the charges. He was granted supervised release and ordered to submit to periodic random testing for drug use. At the May 24 hearing, judge Lewis added an additional six weeks to Hanson’s random drug testing schedule.
Hanson spent six days in jail, from May 24-29. He was given one day off for good behavior.
Hanson’s trial on the charges is scheduled for Aug. 1 at 9 a.m. in Superior Court.

BG skatepark grand
opening deemed a success
Brandy Slagle
Staff reporter
Summer weather warmed the crowd that gathered for the grand opening of Battle Ground’s skatepark.
A June 2 ribbon cutting celebrated the efforts and support of Battle Ground’s citizens, city council, staff and elected officials.
Bonnie Gilberti, executive assistant to city manager, helped coordinate presentations for the event. She said the events was very well attended with as many as 2,000 visitors during the busiest time of day. Throughout the day she estimated that 4,000-5,000 people came to park.
Skateboard and BMX demonstrations took place throughout the day. Representatives from Manik Skateboards, Rebel Skates, Bacon Skateboards, Northwest Show and Skate and the Mukilteo and Northwest Crew all performed for the crowd. The Fakies performed live music.
Gilberti said she heard nothing but positive feedback from the community.
“I didn’t hear one complaint about anything,” she said. “Not even the parking. It was packed with people and was just a wonderful event.”
Dennis Osborn, Battle Ground city manager, said he also received positive feedback from the community.
“This is a vision that city council has had for a few years because they want to supply amenities to the community,” he said “This is not just an amenity, but a world class structure.”
Osborn said the skatepark has already drawn people from around the Portland metro area, He said he has heard reports of people coming to the park from Canada last weekend to skate.
The 25,000 square foot skate park is one of the largest on the West Coast.
“This is a fantastic facility that is being used at all times of the day,” he said.
Staff from Fire District 11 handed out free helmets to parents and children. About 500 helmets were given away to children under 18 years old at the department’s public education booth. Private businesses donated money for the helmets.
Tamara Bailey, public education coordinator for Fire District 11, said the booth was popular.
“At one point, there were 250 people in line,” she said. “One woman told me that she had waited an hour-and-a-half for a helmet.”
Children who received helmets were asked to sign a behavioral contract agreeing to wear their helmet each time they skate or ride.
“We wanted them to be accountable,” she said. “We didn’t want it to be a free for all. They had to agree not just to wear the helmet in the skatepark, but anywhere else.”
Bailey said the fire department wanted to encourage injury preventions and to utilize the skate park grand opening to promote safety.