🔥 Wildfire Prevention or Rescue Gear? Skamania Weighs Title III Priorities - BOCC Recap for 8/19/25

🏛 Skamania County Commissioners Recap – August 19, 2025

Commissioners covered routine approvals, contracts supporting child development and disability services, and two workshops on how specialized county funds should be allocated.

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📝 Consent Agenda

• Public Safety – Renewed contract with the WA Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs for the Registered Sex Offender (RSO) program, which manages address verification and registry compliance.
• County Facilities – Approved contract with Wilson Architects, PLLC for architectural services.
• Child Development – Renewed agreements with ESD 112 to continue providing early childhood development and education support.
• Disability Services – Renewed contracts with Entrust Community Services and WR Business Directions for supported employment and community inclusion programs for adults with developmental disabilities.

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📊 Department Head Reports

• Transportation – Updates on Highway 14 projects:
  • WSDOT has scheduled paving and culvert work near Cape Horn in late August, expected to involve alternating lane closures.
  • Additional guardrail and slope stabilization near Stevenson is set for September–October, with brief traffic delays anticipated.
    Commissioners noted the importance of public communication so residents and emergency responders can plan around these disruptions.
• Community Health – Staff shared updates on housing and support services, including the new homeless housing funds approved last week, which will bolster rental assistance and emergency shelter support.
  • 🏠 Homeless Housing Funds – Staff confirmed the county’s newly amended Department of Commerce contract added dollars to the local Consolidated Homeless Grant. These funds will primarily support rental assistance, emergency shelter costs, and case management for residents at risk of losing housing.
  • 💊 Behavioral Health Services – Commissioners heard about ongoing challenges in meeting demand for rural mental health and substance use treatment. Staff noted that Skamania still relies heavily on regional providers, and transportation barriers remain a problem.
  • 🥗 Nutrition & Outreach – The department highlighted continued programming under SNAP-Ed, offering nutrition and cooking workshops in partnership with local schools and food banks.
  • 👶 Family Support – Updates included positive feedback from parenting education workshops and efforts to expand outreach to families with very young children.

The overall theme was that additional funds are welcome but do not close the gap — demand for housing assistance and behavioral health support continues to outpace resources.

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🛠 Workshops & Discussions

• Title III Applications – Commissioners reviewed projects proposed for Secure Rural Schools Title III funding, which Skamania receives due to its large share of federal forest land. Projects under review included:
  • Firewise community outreach and education to improve wildfire preparedness for homeowners.
  • Search and rescue training and equipment for the Sheriff’s Office.
  • Fuel reduction and forest health work on county-managed lands near residential areas.
    Discussion focused on balancing immediate public safety needs (like search and rescue capacity) with long-term wildfire resilience.

The debate centered on balance:

Firewise education drew support as a relatively low-cost option.

“Outreach doesn’t cost much compared to heavy equipment, but it helps people protect their own property. That’s worth something.”

Others stressed the importance of wildfire prevention and fuel reduction.

“Every dollar we put into prevention saves us tenfold when fire season comes. We can’t keep waiting for the crisis to hit before we act.”

Some commissioners argued that search and rescue capacity should take precedence.

“We’ve had more rescues this year than any year I can remember. If we don’t have the equipment to respond safely, then all the rest doesn’t matter.”

No final allocations were made, but commissioners acknowledged that limited funds force tough trade-offs between immediate safety needs and long-term resilience.

• Encumbered Lands Funds – Commissioners considered allocating part of this dedicated fund to Hospital District #1. These dollars are set aside from timber-related revenues and can only be spent in certain ways; the proposal under discussion would direct them to support local healthcare services. No final decision was made.

📚 What is Secure Rural Schools?

The Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program provides funding to counties with large amounts of untaxable national forest land. These dollars help cover costs for schools, roads, emergency services, and community safety projects.

• 🏫 In Skamania, SRS funds have historically supported both education and public safety. But lapses in congressional reauthorization have created uncertainty — most recently contributing to the closure of Wind River Middle School in Carson after years of budget instability (OPB).
• 🏛 Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has urged Congress to extend the program, calling it a lifeline for rural schools and counties (gluesenkampperez.house.gov).
• 🌲 Locally, SRS also supports programs like WSU Extension’s Forest Youth Success (extension.wsu.edu), which gives teens paid hands-on training in forest stewardship.

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📬 Participate & Stay Involved

💻 Join future meetings on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88906321210
📞 Dial-in: 1 (346) 248-7799 | Meeting ID: 889 0632 1210
📧 Submit written comments: commiss@co.skamania.wa.us (due by noon the day before a meeting).