Courthouse restoration needed, ongoing bridge repairs update

GOLDENDALE — Klickitat County’s Board of  Commissioners discussed the need for a courthouse rehabilitation project beyond the new coat of paint during the June 30 morning session. Commissioners hope to apply for a grant to modernize the elevator, remodel the bathrooms to make them ADA compliant, add a fire alarm system and restore the original flooring.

In the ongoing bridge repair marathon, deck repairs were finished on the Tom Miller Road Bridge and Forest Highway Bridge, with work starting on the Horseshoe Bend Bridge. The Whitmore Bridge was open to traffic with only paving of the approaches remaining.

County Administrator Robb Van Cleave also said he will form a “round table” to deal with serious code compliance and nuisance issues, a suggestion from Commissioner Lori Zoller. The idea is to bring all relevant parties and departments to the table to collectively address complex problems. He suggested a particular property “that borders state parks, state waterways and violates multiple ordinances” as a test case.

Waste services update

Chair Ron Ihrig shared with commissioners that he and Public Works Director Jeff Hunter had met with Republic, the county’s recycling and waste service, and learned that Republic had been selected to move forward with a request for proposal with Snohomish, whose current contract expires Jan. 1, 2028.

“If we don’t receive that contract,” he said, “we’ve definitely got a $2 million trim by 2028 that we’d have to do. Those are kind of things we see, but we need to publicly get it out so people can understand.”

On the potential positive side, he said, Seattle has shown some interest. “I think we have a little more edge saying, ‘We return your waste in a usable product [natural gas] back to the west side.”