GOLDENDALE — Did your business suffer substantial loss in the Burdoin Fire? If so, the Klickitat County Emergency Management Department would like to hear from you.
Filiberto Ontiveros, who serves as chief of operations and 9-1-1 coordinator, told Klickitat County Commissioners Sept. 9 that even though not enough homes were lost to qualify for FEMA aid, it would still be possible to get assistance through the Small Business Administration.
“We need five businesses to have sustained 40% loss or more,” he said. “We know there’s a winery, we know there are some orchards, we don’t know if there are other home businesses in that footprint along with the agricultural part. It seems like it’s a goal that could be attainable. We just need that information from anybody in that area that has businesses that sustained 40% loss, or any loss, period. That would be good to know so that we can continue looking through other assistance programs.”
He also reported on some of the ups and downs recently experienced by dispatchers.
“Over the last month or so, it has been quite a stressful workload,” he said, “going from the Burdoin Fire to the Snyder Canyon Fire to the Bickleton Fire ... Then shortly after that, we dealt with the passing of Chief Nolan from Wahkiacus. That was a big hit for our team and for the community. It’s a small department. They’re going through a big drastic change right now and working through that.”
But there are positives as well.
“The last two weeks we have had two baby birth calls,” Ontiveros said. “Those are very rare in our service. However, they’re apparently not so rare in Klickitat County anymore.”
He said in the most recent call, the delivery was completed by EMS services and he got to be part of that team.
In the earlier event, he said, a communications officer was able to provide assistance delivering a healthy baby girl.
“That telephone call went through the entire full transition of that delivery and you get to hear baby’s first cry as well,” he said. “That’s pretty neat, and emotions are running a little positive now with that.”
He said mom and baby planned to visit the dispatch offices this past Friday.
Prosecuting Attorney David Quesnel told commissioners that his office was short-staffed with one employee on medical leave until January. He reminded them that in 2015, they had reduced the number of assistants from six to four to save money. The downside, he said, was that it left the department with a very lean operation, especially with multiple felony cases pending.
He received permission to advertise for a 90-day temporary position, on assuring the commissioners that there was enough money to cover the temporary position.
In the afternoon session, Treasurer Greg Gallagher proposed a one tenth of one percent criminal justice sales tax to fund law enforcement, corrections and probation services. He estimated it would bring in $325,000 a year. Ten percent would go to the county off the top, and the 90% would be distributed between the county and the two cities on a population basis. He said there in order for it to take effect on Jan. 1, it had to be passed by Oct. 17. A public hearing would be required, and he said if there were a request for a hearing ready to be approved at next week’s meeting, there would be time to get the notice for a public hearing on Oct. 7, with an approval vote on that date or the following week.
Under the consent agenda, commissioners approved:
• Phone trunks for new 911 system
• Advertising for a part-time Legal Administrative Assistant I position for East District Court in Goldendale.
• Request for Short Plat extension of SPL 2022-24, Schroder
• Request for extension for Short Plat SPL 2022-30, Speelman
• Request for extension for short plat SPL 2023-08, Cox
• Grant offer for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) for the Columbia Gorge
Regional—The Dalles Municipal Airport
• Local Agency Federal Aid Project Prospectus for the Bundle – Preventative Maintenance– Deck Repair project, CRP 376.
• Local Agency Agreement Supplement for the Bundle – Preventative Maintenance – Deck Repair project, CRP 376.
• Subrecipient Agreement for Document Recording Fee Backfill
• Behavioral Health Carelon Facility Participation Agreement—Amendment 8
• Environmental Health Memorandum of Understanding Regional On-Site Sewage System Loan Program
• Request to schedule Public Meeting for Short Plat SPL 2024-14, Jana Jones Trust
• Request to schedule a Public Meeting for Short Plat, SPL 2025-01, Blackburn
• Request to Schedule Public Meeting to approve Boundary Line Adjustment, BLA 2025-05 Miller
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