PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County commissioners wrapped the year by finalizing several contracts, including one to address the county’s indigent public defense services.
During Tuesday’s regular meeting, county Administrator Todd Mielke told the three commissioners about the contract with Clallam Public Defender for indigent public defense services.
The county’s current contract for those services is set to expire today, Mielke said.
“We are waiting for more clarification with regard to a couple of different things,” he told the commissioners. “One is what the state Supreme Court is doing definitively with case weighting standards, and they have continued to issue different rules and decisions pertaining to that process, some of them as late as earlier this month. So we’ve been waiting to see how that impacts our contract for public defense.”
The other issue is the county’s continued negotiations with the cities of Port Angeles and Sequim for criminal justice services, including public defense. The commissioners voted to extend the existing contracts for those criminal justice services into 2026 for continued negotiation.
For the indigent public defense services contract, Mielke said the county decided to extend its existing contract through the end of February.
“At that point, we think we’ll have a better idea to enter into a longer-term agreement for these services,” he said.
The commissioners approved that contract extension as well.
Another contract Mielke presented to the commissioners was with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to provide funding to improve screening and passage conditions to comply with WDFW standards at the McDonald Creek water diversion site.
“Additional site assessment is needed after a mud slide and consequent management actions affected slope stability at the site,” according to the agenda memo. “A time extension is needed to assess the bank (geotechnical engineer) and create new designs.”
The commissioners’ action to approve the contract extended the time period from Nov. 30, 2025, to April 2, 2029. The scope of the work and the cost would remain the same, according to the agenda.
Mielke also discussed with commissioners a personal services agreement with the county’s Health & Human Services department and the county’s Parks, Fairs & Facilities department for the Clallam County Fair Accomodative Initiative.
“The purpose of this program is to improve accessibility and inclusion to the Clallam County Fair and other county festivals and events in order to better support individuals with disabilities by enhancing community information activities and community inclusion services,” Mielke said. “This is to really provide better opportunities for individuals who experience these disabilities along with other vulnerable populations and their families and support to attend these public events.”
The agreement timeframe is from Thursday through Dec. 31, 2027, with a maximum program agreement amount of $86,469.
Health & Human Services Director Kevin LoPiccolo told commissioners the program is to enhance or augment sensory needs at the fairgrounds by providing sensory equipment as well as equipment for changing stations for adults who have disabilities.
“This is essentially in concert with Project SAFER and anything else that happens out at the fairgrounds,” LoPiccolo said.
The program will include sensory inclusive training and certification for fair and festival staff, first responders, volunteers and caregivers, according to agreement.
Also included in the agreement are location-specific modifications, dedicated sensory relief space, mobile sensory relief unit, loaner sensory-inclusive bags, a comprehensive outreach plan, wayfinding solutions, sensory-inclusive entertainment and a universal changing table.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
