Background:

Flood Control Districts.

Flood control districts (flood control districts or districts) are special purpose districts (i.e., limited purpose local governments separate from a city, town, or county government). Flood control districts may be comprised of land located in all or part of one or more counties and may include state and federal lands. Districts may be created and maintained to protect life and property, to preserve public health, and to conserve the state's natural resources.

Districts must be organized to provide for the control of streams, tributaries, and their systems, or to protect tidal or other bodies of water. Additionally, districts may be organized or maintained to:

provide for the collection, control, and safe conveyance of surface and drainage water, if the district is established wholly within the boundaries of any city or town;
investigate, construct, or acquire dams, dikes, levees, ditches, channels, canals, banks, revetments, and other works, equipment, and property to control and lessen the impact of floods; and
cooperate with federal and state agencies in investigating, controlling, and lessening the impact of floods.

Board of Directors.

Flood control districts are managed by a board of directors (board) consisting of three members, except that districts with territory in three or more counties may have five or more members. Initial directors of the district are appointed by the legislative authority of the county within which the district, or the largest portion of the district, is located. Subsequent directors are elected to six-year terms.

The board must elect a chair from their number, and must either elect a secretary from their number or appoint a voter of the district to act as secretary.

The board must designate a location for their office and the district's place of business within the boundaries of the district, if possible. If no place convenient and suitable is available within the district, the office may be located in the county with the most district territory. The designated location may not be changed unless specific procedures are followed, including obtaining consent from the county.

The board must hold regular meetings at their office at least once a year, and special meetings may be called at any time by a majority of the directors. All board meetings must be public, and all board records must be available for inspection.

Opening Public Meetings Act.

Under the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), all meetings of the governing body of a public agency must be open and public and all persons must be allowed to attend. For purposes of the OPMA, a special purpose district (such as a flood control district) is a "public agency." Public agencies are required to comply with the OPMA in scheduling, conducting, and taking action at regular and special meetings, and are subject to penalties for violating the provisions of the OPMA.

Installment Contracts.

Flood control districts have authority to enter into all necessary contracts to carry out the purposes for which they were created, including contracts for construction, services, or materials. Such contracts may provide that payments will be made in monthly proportion of the contract price as work progresses or as services or materials are furnished. Before a district enters into a contract or an installment payment arrangement, the state director (previously of the Department of Conservation and Development) must approve the plans, specifications, and form of the contract, or payment arrangement.

Public Bidding Procedures.

Flood control district contracts for construction, labor, or materials must be awarded at public bidding, which must meet the following:

The board must publish notice calling for sealed bid proposals in a newspaper of general circulation for a period of not less than two weeks (three weekly issues) prior to the day of opening the bids;
Proposals must be accompanied with a certified check for an amount determined by the board; and
Bids must be opened in public at the time and place designated in the notice.

The board must award the contract to the lowest and best responsible bidder; however, the board has authority to reject any or all bids and, if this occurs, the board must readvertise. If a satisfactory bid is not received, the board, with the written approval of the director, may construct the works by force account.

Contractors' Performance Bond.

Recipients of a flood control district contract for construction, labor, or materials with a total contract price exceeding $1,000 must furnish a performance bond to the state of Washington for 100 percent of the amount to be paid. The bond must be approved and filed with the state director.

Summary of Bill:

Installment Contracts.

Similar to contracts for construction, services, and materials, flood control districts are authorized to make payments on contracts for maintenance in monthly proportion of the contract price as work progresses or maintenance is furnished. Additionally, districts are no longer required to obtain the state director's approval for the plans, specifications, and form of contracts, or for installment payment arrangements. Finally, except for contracts for materials, districts are now required to withhold 5 percent of all monthly installment payments until the contract is complete.

Public Bidding and Performance Bond.

Instead of having to engage in public bidding for all flood control district contracts for construction, labor, or materials, only district contracts for construction, services, or maintenance, or purchases of materials, supplies, or equipment, that have an estimated cost of $50,000 or more must be let by contract and competitive bidding.

Also, the contract and competitive bidding procedures for districts is modified and prescribed in additional detail, including:

The notice calling for sealed bid proposals must be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least once 13 days before the deadline for submitting bid proposals (as opposed to a period of not less than two weeks prior to opening the bids);
The notice calling for bids must contain specified information; and
Bid proposal deposits must be in an amount not less than 5 percent of the bid and in the form of cash, certified or cashier's check, postal money order, or surety bond.

Contracts awarded through competitive bidding (i.e., certain contracts with an estimated cost of $50,000 or more), rather than certain contracts with a total contract price exceeding $1,000, must have performance bonds. The successful bidder must execute a contract with the district and furnish a performance bond to the district, instead of the state of Washington, for 100 percent of the total contract price or else forfeit the bid proposal deposit.

Board of Directors and Meetings.

Changes are made to provisions governing the administration and operation of the flood control district board of directors, including:

The board of directors must now elect a vice chair, in addition to a chair;
The board are authorized to elect a secretary from their number or appoint and employ a secretary;
The board are expressly required to hold meetings in accordance with the OPMA; and

Certain provisions concerning changing the location of the board's office and the district's place of business, and scheduling, conducting, and taking action at regular and special meetings are removed or consolidated.