Commissionersseek agreements

Wahkiakum County commissioners sparred on and off through their Tuesday meeting as they made appointments and worked on a variety of requests.

Chair Dan Cothren did announce that the board will hold a special meeting next Tuesday, 3 p.m., to meet with William (Si) Garrett, chief executive officer of NorthernStar Natural Gas.

The county and NorthernStar have been negotiating an agreement in which the county would provide security to tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the proposed plant at Bradwood, Ore., across the Columbia from Puget Island and Cathlamet.

On a 2-1 vote, the board appointed Rosburg resident William Karwoski to a vacant position on the board of commissioners of the Grays River Habitat Enhancement District. He fills a position which became vacant upon the resignation of Alton George this past summer. The remaining commissioners recommended that Karwoski be appointed to the position.

County Commissioner Lisa Marsyla voted against the appointment, saying she had a problem with the appointment process, not the person who was appointed.

"I think the position should have been offered to the public, and we would interview the candidates and make an appointment," she said recalling a process the board used to fill a vacancy on the Port District 2 board of commissioners earlier this year.

Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow commented that the commission can use several different processes to make appointments, and this one was legal.

Commissioner Blair Brady noted that it's difficult to find candidates for the small governmental bodies and this process was efficient.

The commissioners unanimously appointed Marsha LaFarge as clerk of the board of commissioners. She replaces Holly Pfenniger, who had resigned to take a job in the Longview School District.

LaFarge has held a part-time job working for the Public Works, Building and Planning and Assessor offices and also subbing as commission clerk.

An effort to pass a surplus county excavator to the county's diking and flood control districts has apparently foundered, Commissioner Brady reported.

Brady said he thought districts and county officials had agreed that the excavator could go to Diking District No. 1 of Puget Island, and a fund would be established for all district to contribute maintenance costs based on usage.

However, Brady said, two of the districts had just backed out. So, he said the county could just sell it to Diking District 1 or put it up for bid.

Marsyla said she would like to see the machine go to Diking District 1, which had expressed interest in it last winter, and said she would consult with their commissioners about a possible purchase.

The board approved a road closure extension of Tapani Underground, who are installing new tidegates on the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the White-tailed Deer.

Tapani project engineer Jay Hanraty said unexpectedly high volumes of groundwater had wrecked an installation at one location.

The extension will allow the company to complete work at that location, but work at other locations will have to done in 2010 because environmental regulations prohibit the company from working in water after October 15.

Hanraty said the situation was serious, and if not taken care of correctly, could lead to a dike failure.

"To me, it's in the public interest to do a quality job," he said.

The commissioners rejected the latest proposal from District Court Judge Bill Faubion and Superior Court Judge Michael Sullivan to staff a security officer.

The courts have acquired grant money to pay for the security officer; commissioners want the officer to be a contractor, not a county employee, to limit employee overhead expenses and county liability costs.

The judges had sent to board a letter suggesting the county's current insurance umbrella could cover the officer inexpensively and commenting that "It is unrealistic to expect part-time security personnel to pay $1,000 from their own pocket for insurance, without reimbursement."

Commission Chair Dan Cothren disagreed, saying he sees contractors providing their own insurance in the timber industry.

Commissioners also refused to approve a voucher in the amount of $1,259.29 for payment for a Taser stun gun and other equipment for the security officer.

They said that they hadn't approved the expenditure, and that the purchase was made by the person the courts have proposed as security officer but who hasn't yet been hired or put under contract.

"We'll delay signing this until we get an explanation," Cothren said. "The judge needs to come up."