Josephine County approves short-term contract to catch up on drinking-water inspections

Josephine County commissioners voted unanimously May 26 to approve a short-term services contract to complete overdue public drinking-water system inspections.

Public health staff said the county now regulates about 212 public drinking-water systems, up from roughly 160 when the current inspector began. Janet, the department lead, told the board the contract work “does not come out of county funds. This is from our grant.” Environmental health inspector Diana described the contract as covering up to 29 system surveys; staff said the contractor has already completed other surveys this year and the county has 14 surveys with paperwork outstanding and three left to schedule.

Staff said the contractor, identified in the packet as Jeff Frein of Roy Environmental, will make several visits over the contract period and perform inspections that can take one to three hours each, with variable time to complete written reports. The contract term runs through the end of December and is intended as a one‑time measure to help the county get current for its triennial review; staff estimated the full contract payment would be slightly under $20,000 (staff cited figures around $18,600 to $20,000 depending on completed surveys).

Commissioners asked for longer-term fixes. The motion approved by the board included direction that public health return to the board in one month with a five‑year plan showing staffing needs, projected counts of water systems, and options for contracting versus hiring. Commissioners also asked staff to research other qualified contractors and whether the county should periodically include such work in future budgets rather than rely repeatedly on short-term contracts.

The board recorded the vote as: Commissioner Richardson — yes; Commissioner Martin — yes; Commissioner Smith — yes. The motion carried 3–0.

Background: County staff said two full‑time environmental health inspectors handle a wide range of duties, including restaurants (biannual inspections), hotels, pools, schools and daycare centers, RV parks (which become public water systems), and that the rising number of systems has strained the two‑inspector staffing model. The contract is funded from the department’s modernization grant, not the general fund.

What’s next: Public health will return in approximately one month with a proposed five‑year plan and additional research on local or nearby contractors that could assist on future inspections.