Grange members from across Washington State will be travelling to two different locations for the 132nd annual session. Continued restrictions surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic is forcing Grangers to meet in smaller groups and come together via Zoom for their annual business meeting. Locations for this year’s business meeting are the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Port Townsend (our original convention site) and the Bee Hive Grange Hall, just outside of Wenatchee in Chelan County.
Faced with uncertainly over the Covid pandemic, the State Grange Executive Committee acted in early spring have the session in two different locations and to zoom the two locations together for the annual session. A third option is to attend the business meeting entirely via zoom, however, those attending via zoom will not be able to participate in the election of State Grange officers.
All meeting participants must be preregistered by June 15. The Grange Credentials Form serves as the pre-registration. All forms must be received at the State Grange no later than June 15. Pre-registration is required as we do have limitations on the number of people in attendance. If there are concerns over the lingering pandemic, the State Grange will utilize the most current recommendations from the Governor’s Office and the CDC in conducting the meetings.
Delegates will begin gathering at the two locations on Thursday, June 24. Registration will begin at 12 noon, where dockets will be distributed. State Grange officers, deputy masters, and spouses will assist with registration and the various tasks required for the meeting.
The gavel will fall at 2 p.m. to begin the business meeting. Officiating at the business meetings will be State Grange Master Tom Gwin of Humptulips Grange. He will be assisted by a person in charge of the business meeting in each location. Following the abbreviated opening of the meeting, the credentials committee will report on the number of delegates present to determine if a quorum is met.
The Thursday afternoon session will include the delivery of the State Master’s Address, followed by committee reports and action on those reports. The election of State Grange officers will be interspersed with the committee reports. With the exception of two Executive Committee positions, all officers are up for election this year. The Thursday session will recess at approximately 6 p.m. for the evening.
Delegates will be called back into session on Friday, June 25 at 9 a.m. Committee reports will continue until all 17 committee have reported at the session, with the delegates acting on each report. There will again be a 90-minute lunch break. Following the afternoon session, the meeting will recess at approximately 6 p.m. for the evening.
The meeting on Saturday, June 26 will again open at 9 a.m. and continue until the business is completed.
Installation of new State Grange officers is tentatively scheduled for 3 p.m., but that time may be moved earlier if business is completed. The goal is to adjourn no later than 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Convention committees, consisting of delegates, officers, and their spouses will meet beginning on June 7 in a zoom format to review and discuss each resolution and standing committee report. Please refer to the list of committee meetings elsewhere in this issue. You can find the list a partial list of proposed resolutions in the May issue of The Grange News, with the remaining list in this issue.
Normal convention activities, such as the exemplification of the sixth degree, memorial service, celebration banquet, and the talent show have been suspended for this year. Those events are all on the agenda of the 2022 convention.
Washington was still a territory when Centerville Grange #81 was organized August 29 1889. Centerville holds the distinction of oldest continuously functioning Grange in Klickitat County. Since its opening 132 years ago the Grange has served the community as its primary community center. Birthday parties, wedding, 4-H meetings and rural events have all been held in the building. Several generations of Centerville families have used the Grange Hall.
At the height of the Coronavirus last fall, that long tradition almost came to a sad end. Before the Covid outbreak the hall was used daily, sometimes even multilabel times the same day. During the pandemic, the hall went days, sometimes weeks without use. On a blustery fall morning. Darlene Witt, the building rental manager stopped to prepare the hall for a possible upcoming event. As she unlocked the door, she was hit with the stench of mold and the dreaded sound of running water. As she glanced into the basement she noted wooden chairs and irreplaceable Grange paraphernalia leisurely floating in three feet of murky water. The basement resembled an unkept indoor swimming pool, not the Grange dining hall. Further inspection uncovered a water pipe fitting had broken allowed water to seep into the basement unchecked. With the basement finally drained, it was determined the drywall was rapidly disintegrating, laminates in the kitchen cabinets were separating and all electrical appliances had been water soaked and ruined. The basement was a total loss.
Fortunately, the building was fully insured. Without that coverage the Grange would not have been able to cover the loss and the building potentially could have been razed. After months of painstaking work by both Grange members and professional contractors, the Hall has been completely refurbished and is now ready for spring events. A community Grand Reopening is planned in the near future. Everyone is welcome. Come see the newly renovated kitchen and dining area.
This is not the first time Centerville has had a disaster. On January 2, 1979 their landmark Grange Hall of 42 years burned to the ground. Everything was lost in that fire. All their records, even the original charter dating back to 1889 went up in flames. Dennis Jaekel had just been elected Master when the building burned. For two years the Grange met in the Centerville brick school house. Through sheer determination, the building was rebuilt using all volunteer labor and was ready for Christmas dinner in 1980.
Gina Mosbrucker, State 14th District Representative visited Centerville on the evening of May 17, 2018. She had assisted the Grange in a major renovation project involving both the inside and the exterior of the Hall. That night she visited with the building committee and toured the recently completed project while enjoying a typical Grange pancake and ham supper.
With support from both the community and the county Centerville Grange Hall will continue serving the community for years to come. Plan on using the Grange Hall for your next event.
State Session Should Include Lively Discussions
By Tom Gwin
State Grange
Master/President
In just one short month, we will have completed our annual state session. Again this year, it will be a zoom meeting. The two locations will zoom together to conduct the business of the State Grange.
Several of you have asked about participating as delegates from home. You will be able to do that. You will be able to participate in the discussions and the voting on committee reports. Unfortunately, you will not be able to vote for the election of officers. The Washington State Grange Constitution and Bylaws are very specific regarding elections. The delegates have remained adamant that we must protect the integrity of our Grange election process. The State Grange Executive Committee discussed this topic and we would be unable to follow our bylaws if we were to make a change in the process. Of course, the delegates may come up with something that will work in future years. Those delegates desiring to attend the business session via zoom must contact the State Grange Office as soon as possible. We need your credentials form and payment prior to June 15.
The first set of resolutions and most standing committee reports have been sent out via email to those desiring to see them in advance. Shortly after our next Executive Committee meeting on May 27, we will send out the remaining resolutions and the Good of the Order Standing Committee report. The Good of the Order Committee needed a second meeting to complete their work, thus the delay in sending out that report.
Session committee work will begin on June 7. The schedule of committee meetings is included elsewhere in this issue of The Grange News. Grange members may attend any committee meeting, but only those assigned to a committee may vote at the committee meeting. Like last year, the committee reports will be completed prior to the business meeting and included in the delegate dockets.
There will be plenty of business to keep us busy for the two plus days of our session. As of this writing, we are at 18 resolutions, plus nearly 130 recommended changes to our legislative handbook and 20 updates to the constitution and bylaws. We also have a full election of officers with 15 offices to be filled. Our days in Port Townsend and Wenatchee are sure to be lively with ample opportunities for discussion.
The next piece of exciting news is the possibility of our state opening up again on June 30. If we do, indeed, get to open up, our Granges will be back to regular operation. I still hope you will take the precautions necessary to protect your members until we are completely through this pandemic. I find it better to take slow steps forward, rather than giant steps forward with that occasional large step backward. We can and will get back to our normal pace of activities in due time.
My best wishes for a fruitful and productive summer in every Grange across the state!
Conflict, Controversy Continue On After End Of Session
By Heather Hansen
Legislative Lobbyist
The 2021 legislative session is over, but that does not mean conflict and controversy are over.
Last month I wrote about good news for rural broadband. Two bills passed allowing public entities (PUDs and ports) to provide retail broadband access in rural areas. The bills conflict with each other in that one limits public entities to providing service to those who currently do not have access and the other allows public entities to compete with private companies in providing service anywhere. Now, PUDs and ports are afraid to move forward with providing broadband service because the conflict leaves them vulnerable to lawsuits.
Normally, when two bills deal with the same subject, the legislature merges them into one and resolves any conflict. In this case, both House and Senate committees passed the bills without solving the problem. The Governor could have dealt with the issue. Instead, he chose to make it worse by signing both bills at the same time. Now it appears rural citizens may have to wait for a court decision before any new access can begin.
The legislature also passed both a low carbon fuel standard and a cap-and-trade bill. Both will increase the cost of fuel in Washington. Implementation of both was tied to passage of a new 5 cent per gallon gas tax that was to be included in the transportation budget. That budget did not pass, but Governor Inslee vetoed that portion of both bills. Legislative leadership immediately pointed out that the veto exceeded the Governor’s authority, and they will ask the court to step in. The legislature may come back into special session to pass a transportation budget.
The legislature also passed a 7% capital gains tax. Contrary to what you may have read in the news, the capital gains tax does not exempt all real estate sales. In some scenarios, land owned by an LLC, partnership or corporation will be subject to the tax when sold. A lot of farmland is held by such entities. In spite of the fact that legislators said they did not want to tax farmland, and repeated pleas from the agricultural community, the language was not changed. The new tax will go into effect Jan. 1, 2022.
Before the legislative session began, legislators from both parties expressed frustration with the Governor’s handling of the pandemic and the continuing shutdowns. Several bills were introduced to limit the governor’s sole authority for deciding when and where an emergency exists and how long it lasts. Nearly every other sate limits the governor’s authority and brings legislators into the decision-making process. In Washington, none of the bills were allowed a hearing.
The bill dealing with ag overtime, ESSB 5172, passed and was signed by the Governor. It stops the threat of lawsuits for back wages of time and half but did not include a provision for seasonal labor needs. Beginning in 2022, Washington farmworkers must be paid overtime after 55 hours. The threshold for overtime pay drops to 48 hours in 2023 and to 40 hours in 2024.
There were a few bright spots this session. Funding for agricultural fairs will increase as follows:
- $2 million in fiscal year 2021 (current amount);
- $2,750,000 in each fiscal year 2022 and 2023;
- $3,500,000 in each fiscal year 2024 and 2025; and
- $4,000,000 in fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter.
$8 million will be available for grants to fairgrounds to improve buildings and other infrastructure. Several urban senators voted against the fair funding bill at every step in the process.
$45 million was allocated to the Columbia River Water Supply Development program for Odessa groundwater replacement and other irrigation improvements in the Columbia Basin.
The Washington State FFA Foundation received $2 million to support agricultural science in schools.
Washington State University got funding to demolish Johnson Hall and begin a new plant bioscience building.
The department of agriculture got funding to eradicate Asian giant hornets and Japanese beetles and $1.4 million to do research on the control of burrowing shrimp in Willapa bay to support shellfish cultivation.
The department of agriculture also got $3.6 million to work with conservation districts or other entities to provide access to meat and poultry processing and inspection. Funding may be used to establish a mobile slaughter unit. Additional funding was provided for the department to assist small and midsize farms and meat processors to expand capacity for processing meat and poultry for sale and for direct marketing.
Keep in mind that all of this was brought to you by the largest budget increase in the history of Washington State. The 1,100-page, two-year operating budget spends $59 billion, includes many new taxes and fees, and drains the rainy-day fund.
Happy Spring!