Story by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
Klickitat County and the City of The Dalles appear to have a brewing disagreement over a project to build a special hangar at The Columbia Gorge Regional Airport in Dallesport that would be used to train aviation technicians through Columbia Gorge Community College.
The city and the county are in an unusual 50-50 joint ownership of the airport. By agreement, Klickitat County turns over the day-to-day operation of the airport to The Dalles.
But in the case of this hangar project, The Dalles agreed to let Klickitat County take the lead.
Relations have always been cooperative in the past, but at yesterday’s meeting, the county did something that The Dalles has been arguing against. That was to award a contract for the infrastructure improvements needed without awarding a contract for the building itself. A county official has reportedly said that they won’t even put the building out for bid until the infrastructure is completed.
At a time when every day’s delay sees costs rise and implementation of tariffs may amplify that problem, city officials have questioned that decision.
When asked about that during the public comment period, Klickitat County Commissioners Lori Zoller replied this way:
“A lot of misconceptions and miscommunications have been let out. Klickitat County has stayed on track. It’s stayed engaged with meetings, communications, emails up until the point where there was still a difference. There became a communication that people weren’t working together, that we weren’t on the same track. And that’s not true, and we’ve even heard from both sides’ legal counsels that we’re moving the direction we need to move.”
On another issue, West Klickitat County Judge Jeffery Baker broke in to a commissioner discussion about funding an open staff position in the county parole and probation office:
“A hundred percent guarantee you that we will have to cut services if you don’t fund this position. It’s not up for debate. We can’t continue asking these people to work at the level they’re being asked to do it at, and provide the services they’re providing, without filling the position that’s been open for a number of years. If you don’t fund it, we will cut services.”
In the discussion that followed, Commissioners Lori Zoller and Todd Andrews indicated an interest in funding the position for six months until they could find a permanent funding stream, but Chair Ron Ihrig said he didn’t want to deal with individual situations, that this needed to be dealt with as part of a much larger discussion.
More on both these subjects at coming meetings.