Camas City Council gears up for 2022

The Camas City Council met with several department heads earlier this month to discuss some of the biggest issues facing the city in 2022 — including “unsustainable” staffing shortages at the Camas-Washougal Fire Department; the completion of Camas’ six-year Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces (PROS) Comprehensive Plan; and the possibility of subarea planning in the city’s historic downtown area.

The Council met remotely on Friday, Feb. 11, for the second day of its annual planning conference. The Feb. 11 meeting featured presentations from several city department heads, including Camas Parks and Recreation Director Trang Lam, Planning Manager Robert Maul and Camas-Washougal Fire Department Chief Nick Swinhart.

The Council kicked off its annual planning conference on Jan. 28, and will meet again remotely, on Zoom, at 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 25, for a third remote planning conference.

Following are a few of the key issues the Council discussed with department heads during the Feb. 11 planning conference:

Staffing shortages causing mandatory overtime at CWFD

Swinhart said staffing issues caused by workers on leave for everything from military reasons to injuries and illnesses are taking a toll on Camas-Washougal firefighters.

“There is a tremendous amount of mandatory overtime,” Swinhart said. “We have to force people to work to keep the fire stations open.”

The problem has grown so acute, the fire chief said, that the average frontline CWFD firefighter is now working an average of 60 hours every week.

“The group is at a breaking point,” Swinhart said, “working 60 hours a week is not sustainable in the long term.”

The fire chief said he hopes getting seven people into the April fire academy will help alleviate some of the staffing woes, but warned that it will take some time before those new hires are up and running at full speed.

“The fire academy is three months … and it can take up to a year after the fire academy through field training to (get to the point) where they can work on their own,” Swinhart said.

The chief said he also hopes city officials will consider allowing him to “over-hire” firefighters who might be able to fill the gaps when other frontline staff are away on military or other long-term leave.

“We have three personnel off on long-term leave with no known return … and that’s low. Last year we had seven to eight people off on long-term leave,” Swinhart said. “We may want to look at hiring for at least one position to cover for these long-term leaves. When they’re on L&I leave for on-the-job injuries, we’re required to pay for that leave. Anothing thing driving mandatory overtime is military leave and we have about six people on military call that are deployable, so we may want to look into doing an overhire (to cover for staff out on military leave).”

Swinhart said he will likely talk to the city council in the future to see if there is funding for those types of “overhire” positions “to make sure we’re staying level, which is something we’ve struggled with year after year.”

City Councilmember Don Chaney pointed out that the city is paying double-time for people who are working mandatory overtime hours.

PROS Plan on track for March approval

Lam told the city councilmembers she will provide more information about the city’s 6-year Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces (PROS) Plan draft during the Council’s Feb. 22 workshop.

“This is the guiding document for how Parks and Recreation would like to move forward in the next six years,” Lam explained.

The city council is expected to approve the final PROS Plan in March.

Lam said the PROS Plan, which covers all aspects of the city’s parks, open spaces and recreational opportunities – including not only its physical spaces but also its recreational programming and maintenance needs – has 23 goals and 62 actions her department would like to focus on over the next six years.

The parks director said her team “is really lean” and must often rely on consultants for bigger projects, including the PROS Plan, which has gone through several rounds of community input and will need to gain approval from the Parks and Recreation Commission later this month before heading back to the city council in early March.

“Consultants are a big part of this, but we also need someone to manage them,” Lam said. “The PROS Plan was developed by consultants but led by me. It is as much of an effort by the project manager as it is with consultants to develop a good product for our city.”

The city and its PROS Plan consultants reached out to the public throughout 2021, and have come up with a list of three top priorities: to maintain what Camas already has; fill in the gaps and improve trail connections; and develop and improve existing parks.

The plan lists several possible projects meant to fulfill its top three priorities, including:

• “Preparing an open space management plan to guide the care, maintenance and stewardship of city-owned open space;
• Improving shoreline and water access;
• Assessing sports fields to plan for drainage and field improvements;
• Upgrading and enhancing the existing concrete skatepark;
• Exploring pilot programs to broaden the range of youth recreation program choices;
• Acquiring easements and corridors to create comprehensive linkages for Camas’ trail system;
• Developing larger trails desired by the community;
• Coordinating with residential developers to include public parks in new subdivisions;
• Installing at least one spray pad/splash pad;
• Developing fully accessible, all-inclusive play areas;
• Improving existing parks to offer universal accessibility of park features and grounds;
• Planning for a pump (bike skills) track and connecting flow track;
• Coordinating with the city of Washougal for an off-leash dog park;
• Pursuing options for mountain bike trails at Green Mountain; and
• Exploring options and partnerships for access to additional, flexible indoor recreation space to accommodate programs, classes and fitness.”

Parks staff have warned it could take years to implement any of the projects mentioned in the draft PROS Plan. Following the city council’s approval of the PROS Plan, the city’s parks and recreation commission will prioritize the projects mentioned in the plan. The city council will then need to incorporate funding for each project in its budget process.

“Once funding has been identified, we’ll begin planning, design and permitting, which may take several years, especially if the project is in or near water or other sensitive areas,” city staff have stated on the PROS Plan website. “After planning takes place and permits are secured, bidding and construction can begin. This may take one or two years to complete, depending on how large the project is.”

To learn more about the PROS Plan, visit engagecamas.com/parks-recreation-open-space-comprehensive-plan.

Subarea planning in downtown Camas

Maul, the city’s planning manager, addressed councilmembers’ questions about the possibility of having a subarea plan for the city’s downtown area, much like the subarea planning happening in the city’s North Shore.

“Subarea planning allows cities to have a sharper focus on what can be done in that particular area: from design standards to infrastructure, transportation corridors, civic centers, all kinds of things can be done,” Maul said. “We have some really cool opportunities in downtown (Camas).”

And while the city already has a “good starting point” in the downtown infrastructure needs assessment overseen by Camas’ public works director, Steve Wall, in 2020, Maul said “there are a lot of things to do (in the city’s downtown), and none of it’s cheap.”

“Our (city) facilities are in dire need of repair or at least revisioning,” Maul said, but added that the fact that the city has such an engaged downtown business community is a potential benefit for Camas if it moves forward with a downtown subarea plan.

“That’s not always the case,” Maul said of a city having an engaged downtown business community. “So we do have a wonderful place to build off of that.”

Some things to consider if city officials want to consider funding a subarea plan for Camas’ downtown, Maul said, include: “timing and expense.”

“Staffing is important for even managing a consultant group and we’re down two key positions in planning,” Maul said. “We could do subarea planning, but we also have to do the comprehensive plan update starting next year, which is a mandate, and there will be a lot of asks in it.”

Maul added that the city’s North Shore Subarea Plan will likely be completed by July or August.