County seeks bids for new internet and phone system

The Wahkiakum County Commissioners met before the Thanksgiving holiday in a brief session. Work continues on the Hope Center as Health and Human Services settles into the building. Duncan Cruickshank asked the commissioners to authorize a request for bids to make the front entrance ADA compliant. Two offices will also be created at the center and the HVAC for the great room will be updated.

Wahkiakum Health and Human and Human Services will renew their contract with RYC Analytics for data analysis services. Their fee for analyzing health data for the county would not exceed $70,000 annually, according to Cruickshank. The analysis would make recommendations for health policy changes. Part of their work has been completed, namely, the health survey Wahkiakum residents were asked to participate in last spring. Data from the survey will be compared to epidemiologic studies and state and national standards.

Wahkiakum County Director of Information Technology Joshua Holt is seeking bids to replace the internet and phone systems at the courthouse and other county properties. County employees have been experiencing ongoing problems and the vendor of the system is not fully responsible for maintaining the system. The recipient of the new contract would be responsible for maintaining both systems. Holt said that the current systems are outdated and that a new system would be less expensive to maintain over time and would improve operational efficiency across county departments.