Tuesday’s Klickitat County Commission meeting was quick and generally quiet. The biggest development was a vote to sign resolutions enacting moratoriums on the bulk storage and warehousing of lithium batteries and on the siting, installation or development of battery energy storage systems (BESS) within the unincorporated areas of the county.
The vote was not unanimous as Commissioner Jake Anderson felt the commission was rushing things and voted against the them.
Heather Jobe gave an update on the recent primary elections, noting the county had a 49 percent turnout, above the state average of 40 percent. She said the office was preparing a mandatory recount in the commissioner of public lands race. Washington uses a top two primary system, allowing the top two vote getters to move on to the general election, even if they are both from the same party. In this race, the top spot was clear, but the race for the person to face them in the primaries was so tight it required a mandatory manual recount.
The last time there was a statewide recount in a Washington State primary was in 1960, and the last time in a general election was in 2004 in the Rossi vs. Gregoire contest for governor. Jobe told the Commissioners:
“The difference was 133 votes. This one, statewide, is a difference of 51 votes, which is .0064 percent, and the RCW requires that if the difference is less than 2,000 votes, and less than one half of one percent that there be a recount.”
And although the recount will cost the county approximately $6,500, she said the state is picking up the cost because it’s mandated.
And HR Director Robb Van Cleave gave an update on the jail transfer:
“You’ve heard me talk ad nauseum about this ORI number, of which we have to have one. After developing 11 policies, 2 interagencies agreements and one management control agreement since last Tuesday with the help of a lot of good folks, we were granted a number. It’s not the end of the process. We’re probably rounding third heading home. I think we’re in a really good place; we’re getting close.”
He also said they had reviewed a number of applicants for the new Jail Administrator position, and will be interviewing them in early September.