Commissioners' Report

During its meeting Tuesday, March 17, the Wahkiakum County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a letter of support for the Cowlitz Tribe’s request for an alternative funding arrangement from the Environmental Quality Incentive Program for the Grays Headwaters Restoration Project. According to the letter, the Tribe “has been intensely focused on restoring floodplain connectivity in the Grays River headwaters since 2018.” The letter also states the Tribe “has purchased $2.5 million of local timber, placed nearly 9,000 whole trees, and installed five miles of habitat complexity and channel spanning logjams in the East Fork Grays, Mitchell Creek, and a Left Bank Tributary.” The letter goes on to describe the project as “another step in the focused effort to restore the natural processes that create productive fish habitat, restore critical salmon and steelhead populations, and increase employment opportunities, while reducing future flood risks for the County and residents in the lower watershed.”

The commissioners then unanimously approved a memorandum of agreement between Washington State University (WSU) and Wahkiakum County for $15,000 “to support Extension activities.” According to Tuesday’s agenda, the $15,000 would be taken from the County Continuing Resolution (CR) Interlocal Cooperative Fund.

Following an explanation by Public Works Director Chuck Beyer, the commissioners unanimously approved Supplemental Consultant Agreement 2 with Portland project management firm Otak for “continued design and permitting for Covered Bridge Road-King Creek Culvert project, and East Valley Road-North Fork Creek crossing washout. As a result of a “significant storm,” road failures were caused on Salmon Creek Road, Covered Bridge Road, and East Valley Road, and Otak was selected for the project in January of 2023. According to Tuesday’s agenda, there will be no change in the stipulated amount from the original agreement of $609,027.79. The agenda states, “matching funds will be needed from the county road budget after Washington State Emergency Management Department covers a portion of the match” and “FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) will cover 80 percent of the design cost.”

Wahkiakum County Treasurer Marissa Longtain provided a financial report, stating that revenues are currently at 29 percent while expenditures are at 14 percent. Longtain noted the current expense cash balance is $1,308,587.06 and the total invested funds for the county and all junior districts are $20,822,715, with the County’s portion of that totaling $11,711,900. During the financial report, Commissioner and Chair Dan Cothren reported the timber sale was approved. “There was one board member who voted against this, and this guy represents the schools,” said

Cothren. “The problem is he doesn’t really care if there’s forest money that comes to the school as long as they could tax the public for school funding. He just really upsets me…He sits on the board…Just remember that elections have consequences, and this sure doesn’t benefit us here.”

In Commissioner Mark Letham’s report during last week’s meeting, Letham mentioned he had met with Skamokawa residents who lost their dock during December’s storm. One of those residents, Norma Sasaki, spoke before the commissioners during the Tuesday, March 17 meeting. Sasaki noted she was in the process of applying for permits to replace the dock but the shoreline access, which is county property, is completely blocked by an overgrowth of blackberries and a boat that has been parked there for more than six years. “Getting that area clear is going to be essential to getting our dock,” said Sasaki, who also mentioned erosion along the creek line. “Every year, we have to refill behind our bulkhead and we have to repair our fence...We have no control over that because it is county property.” When asked by Letham what her tentative plans are for putting in the dock, Sasaki said she’s “waiting on the builder.”

Once Sasaki thanked the commissioners for hearing her, Letham said, “We want to be good neighbors. We do want to do what we can do within the cost range. Obviously, with the environmentals and all that, you’re talking some big money and we don’t have it…but I do think we could be a good neighbor and help you get those blackberries down.”

During his commissioner’s report, Letham notified the board that the IT Committee has recommended they discontinue using their current Know Be 4 software used for security awareness training, as it creates a “false sense of security.” Letham said, “Unfortunately, we do not have anybody who is monitoring it…My fear is if something happens with a records request that was to go into there, nobody would know and it could cost us dearly.” As moving forward with the alternative software issued by More Power would require being put on the agenda for a future meeting, Letham motioned to cease and desist the use of Know Be 4. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved by the commissioners.

During his commissioner’s report, Tischer noted that despite all the “bad news coming out of Olympia,” included in the final budget is $980,000 for a one-time get right for our ferry. Tischer thanked the transportation chair, as well as Senator Jeff Wilson and Representative Joel McEntire for working with them on the matter. Tischer noted the money could be used in the public works and that it doesn’t have to be directly to the ferry.

During his report Cothren thanked Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for coming down to meet with him and Pacific County representatives last week. Cothren had discussed the Community Forest and other matters with Perez, including private ownership of land impeding public access in certain parts of the County.

The March 17 meeting will resume on Tuesday, March 24 at 8 a.m. “for the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments (CWCOG) regional information forum meeting” before being adjourned prior to the regularly scheduled meeting at 9:30 a.m. that day.