Notice: Undefined index: HTTP_REFERER in /home/stparch/public_html/headmid_temp_main.php on line 4394
Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
December 31, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
PAGE 15     (15 of 48 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
 
PAGE 15     (15 of 48 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
December 31, 2020
 
Newspaper Archive of Shelton Mason County Journal produced by SmallTownPapers, Inc.
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information
Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader




Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 - Shelton-Mason County Journal Page A—15 Mason County Public Utility District 1 Board President Ron Gold, General Manager Kristin Masteller and Commissioner Mike Sheetz were among those recognized for the PUD’s COVID-19 response. Courtesy photo . PUD 1 awarded for COVID response By Kirk Boxleitner kbox/eitner@masoncounty. com Mason County Public Utility District 1 was honored Dec. 15 for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic at a virtual national “Special Districts Summit” intended to recognize innovation and leadership within special district agencies, which includes port authorities, utility districts, transits and park districts. Hundreds of submissions were submitted from agencies across the United States, and Mason PUD 1 General Manager Kristin Masteller was invited to be a panelist at a virtual summit in August, joining panelists from the Orange County Transporta- tion Authority in California and Pinellas County in Florida. “I am very honored and proud that our small public agency out here on the Hood Canal was recog- nized alongside giant metropolitan districts like Orange County and the New York Power Authority,” Masteller said. “It doesn’t seem now like the actions we took when the pandemic started were that innova- tive, but they were extraordinary at that time.” Masteller noted the PUD closed its doors to the public for the first time in 85 years, and while plenty of other agencies have since followed suit, she said the PUD was the first to do so in Mason County. “It was scary to take that leap,” Masteller said. “We didn’t know how bad this pandemic would end up being, and were wary of appearing like we were overreacting, when we sent people home and,split up our crews.” Masteller credited those moves with helping the PUD maintain a healthy workforce and reliable service. The PUD’s pandemic response plan was developed as an offshoot of the existing emergency response plan. “We did not have any type of pandemic response plan, prior to March,” Masteller said. “We have an emergency response plan that we exercise annually, but it was geared for earthquakes and natural disasters.” ' Aside from a supplemental leave policy drafted and shared by the Clallam PUD, the bulk of Mason PUD 1’s plan was developed by its employees during extended sessions that spilled out of the manager’ office and into the PUD’s parking lot. ’ “They were all really great about rolling with the changes,” Masteller said. “We would decide to do something one way, then someone would have a better idea two days later, so we’d pick up and change course.” PUD 1 Board President Ron Gold recounted how the board of commissioners approved a pandemic leave policy to allow people to stay home if they were exposed, and to set up office staff to work from home so they could continue to work. “The hardest thing we had to work around was the telework stations for our administrative personnel,” said Masteller, pointing out that not everyone could work remotely because not everyone had high-speed internet at home. “We didn’t have enough office phones to send home. We didn’t have VPNs. We don’t have an in-house IT department. We tried to bring' everyone back this summer, only to have the COVID cases spike again and send everyone back home.” Masteller cited the ingenuity and commitment of the PUD’s operations crews in coordinating their shifts and crews to avoid any threat of cross-contam- ination, commending them for “arranging their home lives around their work schedules, as they often do.” Gold commended PUD staff for putting extra effort into keeping the public informed and working to secure grants and other aid to help customers strug- gling to pay utility bills. _ The PUD’s initial actions in March included the suspension of disconnections and late fees, the allow— ance of long-term payment plans and the postpone- ment of planned rate increases. The utility secured and disbursed more than $57,000 in CARES Act funding to 148 customer accounts in Mason and south Jefferson counties. According to Masteller, many of those measures were motivated not only by the growth in COVID cases through February and March, but by the absence of guidance. “I kept waiting for someone else to jump first and take action, but no one did,” Masteller said. “The infor- mation we were getting from the federal government was contradictory and uncoordinated, and it didn’t mesh with what state and local healthdepartments were recommending.” Masteller recommended, and the PUD commission agreed, that Mason PUD 1 should take the leap and figure it out as they went, rather than get caught flat- footed by sick employees or a shutdown in its supply chain. , “We did not expect that the Governor’s Office would implement a moratorium on disconnections,” Masteller said. “We did it because we knew it was the right thing to do. We know who we work for. I expect many of us will continue several of these measures long after the moratorium is lifted.” V The PUD also joined with local businesses to provide supplies such as hand sanitizer, personal protective equipment, bleach and peroxide for water- system testing, and paper products. Masteller praised the PUD’s customers and community partners as much as its employees for contributing to the success of the utility’s efforts. “We’ve made a big emphasis on supporting our local economy and residents by making deals with local stores for supplies, plus fuel for our fleet from the gas stations in our system, and the distillery for hand sanitizer,” Masteller said. “Local restaurants have delivered lunch to our offices so we could stay isolated. We still order lunch from local restaurants at least twice a week, for those of us working on-site, and we preordered all our yearly printing at once from local print shops to keep them working a little bit longer.” PUD employees have also kept local auto detailers and windshield repairers busy, she said. “If businesses and individuals who have stayed working can look for ways, even once a month, to support each other, it all adds up and can make an impact,” Masteller said. “We have to look out for one another.” I AAA SEPTIC portable restroom rentals 360.427.6110 360.275.6460 1.877.978.6700 auu.sepiicmnkpumping.com Visit us at www.cuasepticlankpumping.com Open Mon.-Sat. 2pm-8pm Full Menu Available For Take-out, Including Growlers of Beer Cider. Wine by the bottle! 221 W. Railroad Ave 360-868-2500 - railroadtapstation®gmaiLcom YOUR [ML 8. TllllSl'El) mu sxrms ron 25+ mas: ’ Sh°°k3 Exhaust ARWS:::::-... TIRE 81 REPAIR Repairs 22 South First Street 0 Shelton 360-426-9762 MONDAY-FRIDAY 8:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M. MWC‘ZQ Lake Limerick Golf Club 8. Café 360.426.6290 - 360.545.2896 Thursday 9am—3pm Friday-Sunday 7:30am—3pm (breakfast lunch) Curbside Pick Up Thank you for your support, Happy Holidays 81 1 E. St. Andrews Drive, Shelton, WA 98584 LakeLimerickGolf.com .1. GolfPro@LakeLimerick.com