Grant County commissioners must stay within legal authority, they say

EPHRATA — Grant County commissioners don’t think they have the authority to lift restrictions on movement and business imposed by Gov. Jay Inslee in an effort to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. Commissioners issued a press release Monday afternoon saying that while they understood residents’ frustrations, the commissioners cannot act unilaterally.

“It’s not our call. We didn’t close it down — the governor did,” Commissioner Richard Stevens said, in an interview Monday.

Inslee issued an order restricting movement and business statewide March 23.

“We are trying to do what we can,” said Commissioner Cindy Carter also on Monday. “But we have to follow the law. We cannot supersede a decision the governor has made.”

Carter said commissioners have been trying to work with the governor’s office to ease restrictions where possible, but progress has been slow.

“It’s been so frustrating,” Carter said. “We are trying to do what we can to open. We have been working on getting something moving. Anything.”

Carter said she has been contacted by county residents who are furloughed from jobs, who have lost jobs, whose businesses are affected by the restrictions.

”This is just — painful. Painful to watch,” she said.

Carter and her husband own cherry and apple orchards and raise hay and alfalfa, and the shutdown has affected their ability to run their business.

“We own a business. We can’t keep this up for much longer,” she said.

Farming is designated as an essential business, but it’s still a struggle, Carter said.

Inslee does not have close personal experience with the economic impacts of the shutdowns, Carter said.

“We’re seeing it. We’re seeing it, we’re feeling it. It’s real,” she said.

“People are getting really frustrated. I’m frustrated staying home too,” Stevens said.

Also on Monday, commissioners sent a letter — the latest in a series — to Inslee, asking for more details on his plan to remove the restrictions. Commissioner Tom Taylor said Inslee has not responded to earlier requests from commissioners, not only in Grant County but around the state, for more cooperation between state and county officials. But Inslee found time to announce plans to coordinate with the governors of Oregon and California, Taylor said.

Inslee has not responded to previous letters, Taylor said, and he didn’t know if Inslee would respond to this one.

“We’re getting pretty tired of guessing what he’s going to do,” Taylor said.

Stevens said he also didn’t know if Inslee would respond to the commissioners’ Monday letter.