Story by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
If the unfortunate government shutdown continues much longer, it’s going to get all too real for some Klickitat County residents. Public health director Erinn Quinn explained that between the shutdown and federal cutbacks, the Women, Infants an Children program known as WIC only has funding for a few weeks.
“We have approximately 430 individuals involved in WIC. This program costs me approximately $11,000 a month. The contract is October through September, so the federal fiscal year. Our contract was going to be about $130,000. So far our contract amount for that period is $19,000. So that would mean my program would run out of money, if nothing changes, potentially by the end of November.”
On the positive side, Quinn reported that she had received a number of calls, some of whom identified themselves as “former WIC moms,” who offered the agency help and support
During the morning workshop session, commissioners heard from interim economic development director Richard Foster that Klickitat County Public Development Authority (KCPDA) had decided to hire a consultant to develop policy recommendations on community benefit agreements for the county planning commission.
Foster cited the proposed Goldendale pumped storage project as an example of a community benefit agreement:
“They have a signed agreement with the labor unions up at the state to provide 10 percent or 20 percent of all of their apprenticeship numbers to local community members here in Klickitat County, which is a phenomenal opportunity, having an apprenticeship program, being able to go from apprenticeship up to journeyman on the same job site and local. That’s just an example of the kind of the things you can put into a community benefit agreement.”
Commissioner Lori Zoller pushed back, expressing concern over allowing KCPDA, as an outside entity, to direct work for the Planning Commission. Since it’s an advisory body to the commissioners, she said any effort to direct its work should come internally from the commissioners.
Ultimately, commissioners agreed to hold a workshop in December to review KCPDA’s draft RFP and discuss the proper legal and administrative process for before moving such an initiative forward.
Her position was that since the Planning Commission is an advisory body to the Board of Commissioners, any effort to direct its work should originate internally with the commissioners, not from an external entity, to avoid jurisdictional confusion and maintain proper oversight