NOTE: ARCHIVED ARTICLE FROM CITYOFCAMAS.US ON DAY OF ITS ORIGINAL POSTING.
Decision based on input of public health director, Camas City Council and staff; extra COVID-19 precautions have been added
CAMAS, Wash. (April 15, 2020) – Today, the City of Camas announced that after a two-week construction stoppage, it will proceed with the Lake-Everett Roundabout and four other essential public projects: improvements to Brady Road, construction of the 18th Avenue Reservoir, construction of the Lacamas Creek Pump Station and improvements at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. All are authorized under Governor Inslee’s original March 23, 2020, Stay Home, Stay Healthy proclamation.
All contractors, consultants and City employees are required to follow COVID-19 safety precautions and guidance provided by Labor & Industries (L&I) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) while on the construction site. Noncompliance may result in the temporary suspension of work. To meet the requirements, several changes have been made:
Contractors have expanded and improved their own COVID-19 Response Plans in accordance with CDC, OSHA and L&I guidance and recommendations for the type of work being performed.
Contractors’ plans are being reviewed by a certified industrial hygienist who not only has expertise in COVID-19 and illness prevention, but also in job-site safety planning and prevention. Contractors must submit final plans prior to starting work.
All staff inspectors, project managers, consultants and subconsultants have received training from the industrial hygienist on the contractor’s plan, their own protection and COVID-19 compliance.
The City has designated an experienced construction inspector to serve as a COVID-19 safety inspector who will visit job sites, monitor safety and check COVID-19-procedures daily.
The City will continue to track all COVID-19 news and updates and will react accordingly on all projects. For an up-to-date listing of changes to City programming and operations during the COVID-19 crisis, the public is encouraged to visit www.cityofcamas.us/ourcommunity/covid-19.
For full Lake-Everett Roundabout project details and ongoing construction updates, the public is invited to visit www.cityofcamas.us/lakeroadconstruction. Information on other capital projects is available at http://www.cityofcamas.us/projectsalerts.
According to WSDOT, who is still on hold across the board:
"WSDOT has been working closely with our contractor, labor and industry partners to develop COVID-19 response plans that would protect all of the people working on our projects by meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, it is not possible to meet the guidelines while maintaining construction."
https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/about/suspending-construction-covid-19
The city of Camas needs to share this newly discovered COVID-19 expertise with the entire state, and with the world for that matter... What are the odds that we found someone with an "expertise in COVID-19 and illness prevention, but also in job-site safety planning and prevention", so lucky!
Speaking of the expert, I found a photo and some background information I think. Seems their name is REDACTED and they have REDACTED years of experience. They work for a company called REDACTED which has worked on projects like REDACTED, REDACTED and REDACTED. The city of Camas has decided to pay them REDACTED for their unique work, and the length of their initial contract is REDACTED. There is a really encouraging quote from the expert I also found, it's simple but meaningful - Last year, while speaking to a packed room at the annual REDACTED, the expert said, "REDACTED". The crowd laughed, and cried, for REDACTED minutes upon hearing that one.
Here is their photo by the way. Don't worry Camas, we got this!
(experts wardrobe provided by REDACTED. Brown Paper bag by Hugo Boss.)
“Expertise in COVID-19” is amazing!!! Someone should let Dr. Brix and Dr. Fauci know there’s an expert right here in Camas with expertise in COVID-19 and industrial hygiene. Surely, such rare expertise with a virus but a few months old would be far more valuable on The White House Coronavirus Task Force trying to get the country safely open for business instead of overseeing a small town traffic circle. @WATCH Camas Staff have you tweeted this valuable information to
anyone on the Task Force?
If anyone is moved to do so, you can contact Governor Inslee through this form for violations of his construction safety proclamation. Takes about 30 seconds to fill out the form.
https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/09349a1c56844b539fea1c2cabd16d56
You can also contact Camas city officials here directly if needed:
Mayor Barry McDonnell (Term ending December 31, 2023) bmcdonnell@cityofcamas.us City Hall: 360.834.6864
Councilperson Greg Anderson (Term ending December 31, 2023) ganderson@cityofcamas.us Home Phone: 360.834.3426 Cell Phone: 360.281.3918 City Hall: 360.834.6864
Councilperson Don Chaney (Term ending December 31, 2023) dchaney@cityofcamas.us Home: 360.834.3242 City Hall: 360.834.6864
Councilperson Steve Hogan (Term ending December 31, 2021) shogan@cityofcamas.us Home: 360.834.2046 City Hall: 360.834.6864
Councilperson Ellen Burton (Term ending December 31, 2021) eburton@cityofcamas.us Cell Phone: 360.597.5339 City Hall: 360.834.6864
Councilperson Bonnie Carter (Term ending December 31, 2023) bcarter@cityofcamas.us Cell Phone: 360.281.6117 City Hall: 360.834.6864
Councilperson Shannon Roberts (Term ending December 31, 2023) sroberts@cityofcamas.us Cell Phone: 509.637.5192 City Hall: 360.834.6864
Councilperson Melissa Smith (Term ending December 31, 2021) msmith@cityofcamas.us Cell: 360.624.3199 City Hall: 360.834.6864
Public Works Director Steve Wall
swall@cityofcamas.us
The city has updated it's second lake road website with the following. It includes new "contractor's safety plans".