Columbia County transit director to revise drug and alcohol policy after ODOT review

Columbia County Transit Director Chris Wheatley told the Board of County Commissioners the department will revise its drug-and-alcohol policy following a review by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and a contractor, RFS and Associates.

Wheatley said the review recommended small language changes and one change to testing language: “they changed the urine to make it say to include oral fluid because we're gonna have that test hopefully pretty soon.” He said the draft will also remove references to railcars and trolleys that the county does not operate and will clarify that pre-employment testing does not require breath alcohol tests.

Wheatley said the department conducts these reviews roughly every three years and that the changes are primarily wording and regulatory‑reference updates rather than substantive operational changes. He told the board he would draft a resolution to adopt the amended policy and place it on a future consent agenda; the transcript records that the resolution may not appear until a subsequent meeting.

Commissioners directed staff to prepare the resolution for formal adoption and to place the amended policy on a future consent agenda for the board’s consideration. No vote to adopt the policy occurred during the meeting; the action described in the transcript is preparation and placement of the resolution rather than final adoption.

Wheatley and the board agreed the changes are routine regulatory updates tied to ODOT’s review and that staff will return with the formal resolution and an item for the board’s consent calendar.