Story by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
The fires over the weekend were at the top of everyone’s mind at the Klickitat County Commissioners morning workshop session yesterday.
“Thank God they got the planes on it quick. That could have been really messy. It could have turned into another Burdoin. But they did get the planes. That one is for the most part contained.”
That was Public Works Director Jeff Hunter, who came in for his own praise from County Administrator Robb Van Cleave a few minutes later.
“I’d like to publicly acknowledge Jeff Hunter and Frank and their team for their efforts this weekend, so we are in good hands, and they continue to do a good job. You know that; I know that, and the public needs to know that. And I also hope everybody is careful on the Fourth of July.”
The Lyle Hill file original estimate of 1500 acres was reduced to 232 thanks to the quick response and was listed as 60 percent contained last night.
Other topics in the morning session included the need for a courthouse rehabilitation project beyond the new coat of paint. Commissioners hope to apply for a grant to modernize the elevator, remodel the bathrooms to make them ADA compliant, add a fire alarm system and restore the original flooring.
In the ongoing bridge repair marathon, deck repairs were finished on the Tom Miller Road Bridge and Forest Highway Bridge, with work starting on the Horseshoe Bend Bridge. The Whitmore Bridge was open to traffic with only paving of the approaches remaining .
County Administrator Van Cleave said he was taking a suggestion from Commissioner Lori Zoller to adopt a “round table” to deal with serious code compliance and nuisance issues. This idea is to bring all relevant parties and departments to the table to collectively address complex problems. He suggested a particular property that borders state parks, state waterways and violates multiple ordinances as a test case.
Also in morning workshop, Commissioners discussed an application by the Assessor’s office for hiring a field appraiser, another exemption to the county’s hiring freeze, and approved it formally in the afternoon. This follows five exemptions in February and one earlier this month.
In response to a public comment question about all the hires, Commissioner Lori Zoller responded,
“I think it’s been a struggle for us, calling it a hiring freeze. I think it was kind of a misnomer to begin with and for me, it’s more of a conversation. If there is a gap where someone leaves, is that a job we could forego?”
Chair Ron Ihrig said it was a necessary tool for long-term financial planning, allowing the county to review positions through attrition to avoid potential major layoffs in the future, even though the county was not currently in a deficit.