Cowlitz County Commissioner Open Public Meetings

At the Cowlitz County Board of County Commissioners’ public meeting on November 11, 2026, commissioners approved the consent agenda, which included Public Works calls for bids scheduled for November 30 for rental equipment, sign materials, and culvert pipe and drainage-system materials for 2027 projects. The agenda also included Change Order No. 2 for North Cascades Excavating’s Dyke Road project, increasing the contract cost by $193,001.35 for additional roadway material encountered during pulverizing; the transcript’s stated revised contract total was garbled. Commissioners also approved Supplement Agreement No. 2 with PBS Engineering and Environmental, extending the unmanned aerial surveying services contract through December 31, 2027, and adding $50,000 for landfill topographic surveys. Rust Construction’s bond in lieu of retainage for the Shadow Mountain Water System project was also included in the approved consent agenda.

Commissioners reported that approximately $250,000 in capital costs had been designated for a county animal-control kennel, with permitting delays pushing the anticipated opening to around April. Animal-related operating costs had been under $20,000 to date, and the county expects to budget $35,000 next year, compared with Humane Society contract costs described as having risen from over $200,000 to more than $300,000 over three years. No new kennel contract or permit action was approved. In a later workshop, Great Rivers Behavioral Health representatives described regional crisis-service contracts and planned work to improve transportation and information-sharing technology; no related spending vote or procurement award occurred. Great Rivers reported a biennial budget of approximately $48 million, with administrative costs capped at 10%.