Commissioners' Report

During their meeting Tuesday, Feb. 17, the Wahkiakum County Commissioners unanimously approved a Museum Service Agreement between Wahkiakum County and Wahkiakum Historical Society in the amount of $2,000 for funding for 2026. The Wahkiakum County Historical Society is recognized as “a licensed nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of Washington,” and the contract is meant to “provide a museum for the general health and benefit of the residents of Wahkiakum County, which has been declared a county purpose by the Washington State legislature,” according to Tuesday’s packet.

The commissioners then unanimously approved an annual contract with the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce in the amount of $1,666.67 per month ($20,000 total). According to the packet, per the budget workshops and the 2026 county budget, this contract “reflects an increase from 90 percent to 100 percent of the revenue accrued in the County Tourism Development Fund.”

Emergency Technology Coordinator Beau Renfro then sought the approval of a Request for Proposal (RFP) to provide a “list of spare parts for the Wahkiakum County Emergency Radio Repeater System.” According to Tuesday’s packet, the service level agreement (SLA) with Communications NW requires the department to have the equipment on standby. The funds are available in “Fund 127,” identified as the “Radio Communication Fund.” The commissioners unanimously approved the RFP, which will be published in a future edition of The Wahkiakum County Eagle.

During his individual report, Commissioner Lee Tischer said, “From the legislators, the bills are frantically moving back and forth from the Senate to the House and vice versa,” and that 5 p.m. Tuesday was the deadline. Tischer noted the legislators have been “working long hours through the weekend and into the wee hours of the night,” add that he would “keep a close eye of what moves forward.”

As far as diking district news, the Army Corps review of the dikes on the island is that “the diking district must remove blackberries to the toe of the iron dikes.” Tischer said, “If you have property on a dike, it’s a heads up that you have until the end of August to remove blackberries. The diking district has a contract to have them sprayed in September.”

In his report, Commissioner Mark Letham noted being “in full swing” of the Microsoft 365 GCC (Government Community Cloud). “It is in motion and has a final completion date of March 29, 2026,” said Letham. Sharing the results from the Fair’s crab feed, Letham noted the sales for tickets were $5,620; the raffle brought in $2,326, which was down from last year; the crab sale was at $210 (up from last year); the live auction brought in $5,680 (up from last year); and the donations were $324 (down from last year). The total brought in was $14,160. After expenses, they were able to net $10,293.12 from the event

During his individual report, Commissioner Chair Dan Cothren noted students from Washington State University (WSU) were “looking at some of the projects that we have here.” Cothren noted he had talked with the students about “different partnerships” and some of the flooding issues the county has had. Cothren also noted having to “make a speed run” back to town to testify regarding grant funding for the Community Forest. Cothren attended a Community Forest meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 11 during which they “talked about the structure,” and “how they go about getting that all set up and ready to go next month.” Cothren said, “We’re still weighing the different options that we have.”