# Cowlitz County Commissioner Open Public Meetings


**Body:** Cowlitz County Commissioners 
**Date:** November 11, 2026
**Jurisdiction:** SLED

**Tags:** Construction & Infrastructure, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Physical Infrastructure


Cowlitz County Commissioners’ open public meeting, November 11, 2026: Public Services requested that the county move up the planned rebuild of a landfill CAT 836 compactor, originally budgeted for 2027, because it is now out of service and would otherwise require tens of thousands of dollars in repairs to return to operation. The full factory rebuild, including work on the chassis and undercarriage, is expected to take three to four months and cost about seven cents per dollar compared with buying new equipment. Commissioners discussed the request, but no motion or vote was recorded. The meeting also began with a 15-minute executive session for contract negotiations; no details were reported afterward.

The IT director gave an update on cybersecurity, network and court technology upgrades, a planned ticketing system, and other department work. Commissioners discussed a $126,000 grant and whether grants should be brought to the board for approval so potential ongoing costs are understood; the discussion described workshops and subsequent consent-agenda action as a common approach, but no policy decision or vote was recorded. They also asked about the county’s PeopleSoft contractor: staff were generally satisfied with its work but raised concern about the pace of billed hours, and the county’s five-year plan is to consider migrating away from PeopleSoft. No contract award or other procurement approval was recorded.

**Source:** Cowlitz County Commissioners