The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Wahkiakum County commissioners handled a variety of business at their meeting Tuesday, including:

--Commissioners met with Cathlamet Mayor Dale Jacobson and Building and Planning Director Chuck Beyer to discuss issues in the update of the shoreline management program.

Because of updates to state regulations, the town and county Critical Area Ordinances are out of date, Beyer said. The consultant working on the update, the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) had anticipated being able to do the work without also updating that ordinance, Beyer said.

There are three options, Beyer said. First, CREST could draft new shoreline provisions that adopt the critical area ordinance by reference, and any additional revisions or documentation would require a new budget and contract costing several thousand dollars.

Second, CREST or another consultant could draft new critical areas provisions for the shoreline program and at the same time create a new critical area ordinance; this could cost over $20,000.

Third, CREST would work with the town and county to document scientific information that the town and county would use to support existing critical area ordinances. This would save time and be the least expensive.

After discussing the issue, commissioners said they would prefer the third option, and Jacobson agreed on behalf of the town.

--Commissioners voted to accept an $80,000 grant from the state Employment Security Department to modify the entrance and bathrooms of the Grays River Valley Center to improve accessibility. The state will provide $40,000; the county will match with $40,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund, said Auditor Diane Tischer.

--Commissioner Dan Cothren said a representative of the US Army Corps of Engineers will attend the August 11 meeting to discuss progress on a program to place dredge spoils on the eroding East Sunny Sands beach.

--County Health and Human Services Director Sue Cameron introduced the county's new enviromental health specialist. He is Justin Hartman, who comes from Multnomah County.