GOLDENDALE — Klickitat County Commissioners’ Oct. 28 meeting could be described as a “two-fer.” That is, there was a bare quorum of two commissioners present on the three-person panel. With Chair Ron Ihrig taking some time off to chase wily elk in the back country, Commissioner Todd Andrews slid into the chair position to run the meeting. As is the practice in such cases, Commissioner Lori Zoller made the motions, and Andrews stepped down to second the motion, before resuming his role as chair.
There was a mixed bag of news in the morning workshop session. The good news came from Public Works Director Jeff Hunter, who told commissioners the bridge on Schrantz Road over Wood Gulch Creek was going to be repaired at no cost to the county.
“The Wood Gulch preventative maintenance project, CRP 388, will be fully reimbursed by one of the green energy utility companies,” he said. “They need to use the bridge and it has to be fixed prior to them using it. That’s part of their road haul [agreement].”
That company is Bluebird Solar Power LLC, a subsidiary of Avengrid Renewables. Avengrid operates the Big Horn and Juniper Canyon wind farms in Klickitat County. Road haul agreements, compensates the county for wear and tear on the roads due to increased contractor traffic.
On the negative side, there was word from a meeting last week of the insurance pool used by the county that rates for the coming year would go up 30 percent, rather than the 20 percent the county had originally planned to include in the budget.
That subject was also mentioned in the afternoon session when Andrews and Zoller were asked what news items they thought were currently the most important at the county:
“I guess insurance is going to be more this year, as always,” Andrews said. Zoller echoed that thought. “Our risk management insurance is increasing,” she said, and added praise for Planning Director Scott Edelman’s report. “He’s moving forward with the comprehensive plan,” she said, “A lot of people are interested in it, and the critical area ordinance and shoreline management plan are coming along. So the planning commission has been busy, and we have some things to come to our desk pretty soon. That’s encouraging.”
Commissioners canceled the workshop scheduled for Oct. 30 and adjourned the meeting until the Tuesday, Nov. 4 morning workshop session at 9:30 a.m. (after print deadline).
Under the consent agenda, commissioners approved:
• A contract with Herrera for the Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Plan
• A certificate of Appreciation to Craig Stephens for many years of service on the KlickitatvCounty Water Conservancy Board
• A resolution appointing Rob Niemi to a regular position on the Klickitat County Water Conservancy Board
• A resolution appointing to the Klickitat County Water Conservancy Board
• A resolution to Improve the following projects and amend the 2025 Annual Construction Program:
• Fairgrounds Road Sidewalk, CRP 386
• Snowden Road Overlay, CRP 387
• Schrantz Road Bridge, CRP 388
• Resolution in the Matter of an appointment to the Hood River-White Salmon BridgevAuthority
• Ordinance adopting amendments to the Energy Overlay Zone (EOZ)
• Request for Public Hearing - Extension of BESS Moratorium
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