GOLDENDALE — If the government shutdown continues much longer, it’s going to get all too real for some Klickitat County residents. Public Health Director Erinn Quinn explained at the Nov. 4 Klickitat County Commissioners meeting that between the shutdown and federal cutbacks, the Women, Infants and Children program known as WIC only has funding for a few weeks.
“We have approximately 430 individuals involved in WIC,” Quinn said. “This program costs me approximately $11,000 a month. The contract is October through September, the federal fiscal year. Our contract was going to be about $130,000. So far our contract amount for that period is $19,000. That would mean my program would run out of money, if nothing changes, potentially by the end of November.”
On the positive side, Quinn reported that she had received a number of calls, some of whom identified themselves as “former WIC moms,” who offered the agency help and support.
Also in the afternoon session, the board approved a bid for two 10-unit T-hangars at the Columbia Gorge Regional Airport, following approval by airport co-owners the City of The Dalles the night before. The winning bid of $2,289,750 was from HB Hansen Construction, Inc. of Lynden, Washington. Funding for the project came from a $1,690,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation, plus a $360,000 loan from The Dalles and $180,000 each from The Dalles and Klickitat County.
There is a substantial waiting list for hangars and the rental revenue will help the airport become financially sustaining.
The board expressed support for the Senior Services department to apply for the Sandy Williams Connecting Communities Program grant to fund a bus shelter and improve safety in Wishram Heights.
The grant application for the Wishram bus shelter was supported by the fact that Wishram is considered “one of the highest rated overburdened area on the map,” which gave the application a “pretty strong standing.”Safety was also a key justification for the proposed Wishram bus shelter grant, aiming to create safer crossings and access for transit riders.
During the morning workshop session, commissioners heard from interim economic development director Richard Foster that Klickitat County Public Development Authority (KCPDA) had decided to hire a consultant to develop policy recommendations on community benefit agreements for the county planning commission.
Foster cited the proposed Goldendale pumped storage project as an example of a community benefit agreement:
“They have a signed agreement with the labor unions up to provide 10% or 20% of all of their apprenticeship numbers to local community members here in Klickitat County,” he said. “It’s a phenomenal opportunity, having an apprenticeship program, being able to go from apprenticeship up to journeyman on the same job site and local. That’s just an example of the kind of the things you can put into a community benefit agreement.”
Commissioner Lori Zoller pushed back, expressing concern over allowing KCPDA, as an outside entity, to direct work for the planning commission. Since it’s an advisory body to the commissioners, she said any effort to direct its work should come internally from the commissioners to avoid jurisdictional confusion and maintain proper oversight.
Ultimately, commissioners agreed to hold a workshop in December to review KCPDA’s draft RFP and discuss the proper legal and administrative process for before moving such an initiative forward.
The board and public works staff discussed and scheduled public hearings for the Six-Year Transportation Program for the first week of December, deciding on both an afternoon session and an evening session in White Salmon to improve public access. They are tentatively set for Dec. 2.
And the Public Works department reported that the cost of the special paint used for road striping had increased dramatically.
“We used to do about a half the county a year; now we’re down to probably about a third,” Public Works Director Jeff Hunter said. “And we’ve also changed our paint from oil base to a water-based paint, which doesn’t last as long and we’re still seeing cost increases.”
Under the consent agenda, commissioners approved:
• Renewal of the administrative services agreement for the employee flexible spending arrangement (FSA) plan.
• Advertising for a vacant seasonal temporary snow plow operator position.
• Advertising for a casual office manager position in the noxious weed control department.
• Contracts and contract bonds for the curve warning signs and guide posts project, CRP 381.
• Administrative offers for rights of way along several parcels for the Long Road reestablishment, CRP 354.
• Short plat, SPL 2024-31 Woodruff/Pearson.
• Short plat, SPL 2023-18, Kolander.
• Boundary line adjustment 2025-11 Ross/ Locinkar.
• Boundary line adjustment BLA 2025-01 Fitzsimmons.
• Boundary line adjustment BLA 2025-06 Lowry.
• Boundary line adjustment BLA 2025-09 Wood/ Hollenbeck.
• Appointing William Weiler to the Senior Services advisory board.
• Reappointing Dan Lee to the Open Space advisory committee.
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