Any ordinance adopted pursuant to this chapter may require that compensation for the vacation of county roads within particular classes shall equal all or a percentage of the appraised value of the vacated road as of the effective date of the vacation. In considering the appropriate compensation for the road or right-of-way, the appraising agency may include in the valuation the transfer of liability or risk, the increased value to the public in property taxes, the avoided costs for management or maintenance, and any limits on development or future public benefit. Costs of county appraisals of roads pursuant to such ordinances shall be deemed expenses incurred in vacation proceedings, and shall be paid in the manner provided by RCW 36.87.070.

The county road engineer shall keep an office at the county seat ((in such room or rooms as are provided by the county, and he or she shall be furnished with all necessary cases and other suitable articles, and also with all blank books and blanks necessary to the proper discharge of his or her official duties)). The records ((and books in)) under the authority of the county road engineer(('s office)) shall be public records, shall be subject to the control of the county road engineer, and shall at all proper times be open to the inspection and examination of the public.

The county road engineer shall ((examine and)) certify to the board and has authority over all estimates and all bills for labor, materials, provisions, and supplies with respect to county roads, prepare standards of construction of roads and bridges, and perform such other duties as may be required by order of the board.

The office of county engineer shall be an office of record((;)). The county road engineer shall: Record and ((file in his or her office,)) has authority over all matters concerning the public roads, highways, bridges, ditches, or other surveys of the county, with the original papers, documents, petitions, surveys, repairs, and other papers, in order to have the complete history of any such road, highway, bridge, ditch, or other survey; and ((shall)) number each construction or improvement project. Records related to roads or rights-of-way annexed or transferred to other jurisdictions may be transferred to those jurisdictions. Records related to transitory or maintenance activities shall be kept according to record retention schedules. The county engineer is not required to retain and file financial documents retained and filed in other departments in the county.

The county road engineer shall maintain ((in his or her office)) and has authority over complete and accurate records of all expenditures for (1) administration, (2) bond and warrant retirement, (3) maintenance, (4) construction, (5) purchase and operation of road equipment, and (6) purchase or manufacture of materials and supplies, and shall maintain a true and complete inventory of all road equipment. Records may be physically archived with other county records that are available to the public. The state auditor, with the advice and assistance of the county road administration board, shall prescribe forms and types of records to be maintained by the county road engineers.

(1) In each county with a population of four hundred thousand or more which by resolution establishes a county purchasing department, the purchasing department shall enter into leases of personal property on a competitive basis and purchase all supplies, materials, and equipment on a competitive basis, for all departments of the county, as provided in this chapter and chapter 39.04 RCW, except that the county purchasing department is not required to make purchases that are paid from the county road fund or equipment rental and revolving fund.

(b) "Riverine project" means a project of construction, alteration, repair, replacement, or improvement other than ordinary maintenance, executed at the cost of the state or of any municipality, or which is by law a lien or charge on any property, carried out on a river or stream and its tributaries and associated floodplains, beds, banks, and waters for the purpose of improving aquatic habitat, improving water quality, restoring floodplain function, or providing flood protection.

(c) "Storm water project" means a project of construction, alteration, repair, replacement, or improvement other than ordinary maintenance, executed at the cost of the state or of any municipality, or which is by law a lien or charge on any property, carried out on a municipal separate storm sewer system, and any connections to the system, that is regulated under a state-issued national pollutant discharge elimination system general municipal storm water permit for the purpose of improving control of storm water runoff quantity and quality from developed land, safely conveying storm water runoff, or reducing erosion or other water quality impacts caused by municipal separate storm sewer system discharges.

(3) Except as otherwise specified in this chapter or in chapter 36.77 RCW, all counties subject to these provisions shall contract on a competitive basis for all public works after bids have been submitted to the county upon specifications therefor. Such specifications shall be in writing and shall be filed with the clerk of the county legislative authority for public inspection.

(4) An advertisement shall be published in the county official newspaper stating the time and place where bids will be opened, the time after which bids will not be received, the character of the work to be done, the materials and equipment to be furnished, and that specifications therefor may be seen at the office of the clerk of the county legislative authority. An advertisement shall also be published in a legal newspaper of general circulation in or as near as possible to that part of the county in which such work is to be done. If the county official newspaper is a newspaper of general circulation covering at least forty percent of the residences in that part of the county in which such public works are to be done, then the publication of an advertisement of the applicable specifications in the county official newspaper is sufficient. Such advertisements shall be published at least once at least thirteen days prior to the last date upon which bids will be received.

(5) The bids shall be in writing, shall be filed with the clerk, shall be opened and read in public at the time and place named therefor in the advertisements, and after being opened, shall be filed for public inspection. No bid may be considered for public work unless it is accompanied by a bid deposit in the form of a surety bond, postal money order, cash, cashier's check, or certified check in an amount equal to five percent of the amount of the bid proposed.

(6) The contract for the public work shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. Any or all bids may be rejected for good cause. The county legislative authority shall require from the successful bidder for such public work a contractor's bond in the amount and with the conditions imposed by law.

(7) If the bidder to whom the contract is awarded fails to enter into the contract and furnish the contractor's bond as required within ten days after notice of the award, exclusive of the day of notice, the amount of the bid deposit shall be forfeited to the county and the contract awarded to the next lowest and best bidder. The bid deposit of all unsuccessful bidders shall be returned after the contract is awarded and the required contractor's bond given by the successful bidder is accepted by the county legislative authority. Immediately after the award is made, the bid quotations obtained shall be recorded and open to public inspection and shall be available by telephone inquiry.

(8) As limited by subsection (10) of this section, a county subject to these provisions may have public works performed by county employees in any annual or biennial budget period equal to a dollar value not exceeding ten percent of the public works construction budget, including any amount in a supplemental public works construction budget, over the budget period.

Whenever a county subject to these provisions has had public works performed in any budget period up to the maximum permitted amount for that budget period, all remaining public works except emergency work under subsection (12) of this section within that budget period shall be done by contract pursuant to public notice and call for competitive bids as specified in subsection (3) of this section. The state auditor shall report to the state treasurer any county subject to these provisions that exceeds this amount and the extent to which the county has or has not reduced the amount of public works it has performed by public employees in subsequent years.

(9) If a county subject to these provisions has public works performed by public employees in any budget period that are in excess of this ten percent limitation, the amount in excess of the permitted amount shall be reduced from the otherwise permitted amount of public works that may be performed by public employees for that county in its next budget period. Ten percent of the motor vehicle fuel tax distributions to that county shall be withheld if two years after the year in which the excess amount of work occurred, the county has failed to so reduce the amount of public works that it has performed by public employees. The amount withheld shall be distributed to the county when it has demonstrated in its reports to the state auditor that the amount of public works it has performed by public employees has been reduced as required.

(10) In addition to the percentage limitation provided in subsection (8) of this section, counties subject to these provisions containing a population of four hundred thousand or more shall not have public employees perform: A public works project in excess of ninety thousand dollars if more than a single craft or trade is involved with the public works project, ((or)) a riverine project or storm water project in excess of two hundred fifty thousand dollars if more than a single craft or trade is involved with the riverine project or storm water project, a public works project in excess of forty-five thousand dollars if only a single craft or trade is involved with the public works project, or a riverine project or storm water project in excess of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars if only a single craft or trade is involved with the riverine project or storm water project. A public works project, a riverine project, and a storm water project means a complete project. The restrictions in this subsection do not permit the division of the project into units of work or classes of work to avoid the restriction on work that may be performed by public employees on a single project.

The cost of a separate public works project shall be the costs of materials, supplies, equipment, and labor on the construction of that project. The value of the public works budget shall be the value of all the separate public works projects within the budget.

(11) In addition to the accounting and recordkeeping requirements contained in chapter 39.04 RCW, any county which uses public employees to perform public works projects under RCW 36.32.240(1) shall prepare a year-end report to be submitted to the state auditor indicating the total dollar amount of the county's public works construction budget and the total dollar amount for public works projects performed by public employees for that year.

(12) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, counties may use public employees without any limitation for emergency work performed under an emergency declared pursuant to RCW 36.32.270, and any such emergency work shall not be subject to the limitations of this section. Publication of the description and estimate of costs relating to correcting the emergency may be made within seven days after the commencement of the work. Within two weeks of the finding that such an emergency existed, the county legislative authority shall adopt a resolution certifying the damage to public facilities and costs incurred or anticipated relating to correcting the emergency. Additionally this section shall not apply to architectural and engineering or other technical or professional services performed by public employees in connection with a public works project.

(17) This section does not apply to contracts between the public stadium authority and a team affiliate under RCW 36.102.060(4), or development agreements between the public stadium authority and a team affiliate under RCW 36.102.060(7) or leases entered into under RCW 36.102.060(8).


State of Washington	64th Legislature	2016 Regular Session