[Klickitat] 🔒 Missing Care Lands in Jails - Klickitat BOCC 6/9-6/23

This month the Klickitat County Board of County Commissioners moved a public-records job to the Prosecutor's Office, absorbed roughly four hundred thousand dollars in public-health cuts, and heard a sobering update from the county jail, all while residents pressed them on data centers and Fourth of July fireworks. We connect June's decisions to the Gorge's longer story on mental health and the justice system.

In this episode:

• Why the county is creating a Public Records Administrator, and the resident who keeps calling in to oppose it
• A candid jail update: a shrinking population but harder cases, a new local opioid-treatment partnership, and a proposed body scanner
• The Health Department's roughly four-hundred-thousand-dollar cut, and what it means alongside jail spending
• Data centers floated for the old aluminum site and Dallesport
• A fireworks survey pointing toward a partial ban with designated areas
• Backyard-cottage (ADU) rules, a Goldendale rezone, and short-term-rental tracking
• And a warm send-off for a longtime volunteer pilot

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch - https://SkamaniaDispatch.com
• Klickitat County agendas, packets, and meeting recordings: https://www.klickitatcounty.gov
• Submit public comment before a meeting: bocc@klickitatcounty.org
• Prior coverage: "Mental-Health Crisis Deepens" (Nov. 2025) and "The 2-Year Wait for Disability Services" (Apr. 2026)

Stay Connected with the Gorge

The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org.

To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to Open Gorge. I'm glad you're here for this week's Click-Atat Alert update. Today we're walking through a busy month at the Click-Atat Board of County Commissioners meetings. Four meetings, June 9th through the 23rd. And honestly, a lot of it comes down to one question. What does a small county pay for when the money gets tight? Let's start with public records, a place very close to our heart over here at Open Gorge. Right now, when you ask the county for a document, your request can bounce between departments. On June 16th, the commissioners decide to change that. They're funding a new public records administrator and moving it into prosecuting attorney's office. Think of it as one point of contact who tracks every request, sends the legal letters on time, and keeps the county out of trouble. Not everyone is sold. A Houston resident, Sherry Bousquet, called in three weeks running to oppose it. She says the job is a waste and the duty should go to someone already on staff. It's ridiculous, she said, to spend $75,000 plus benefits to hire a new position. Commissioners push back. They say records work already eats up about five full-time jobs across the county, and that a single requester can file hundreds of requests. So they see this as managing risk, not adding bureaucracy. I'll let you decide who is right. We just hope that all requests are responded to in a timely manner. So, now let's go over to the county jail. And this was the most candid update of the month from jail administrator Bill France. Here's the surprising part. The jail population is actually down to about 27 people a day, from a more typical 33. But the people there, their needs are harder. More addiction, more serious mental illness. France described one person with dementia who landed in the jail on a courthold. They couldn't be charged, they couldn't be safely released, no facility would take them. The jails, he said, become the dumping ground for that. And let's hold on to that line because it connects to our next story. On opioid treatment, the county changed course. It dropped a complicated federal grant and instead partnered with the Goldendale Pharmacy to prescribe addiction treatment medication locally. A win-win because people can keep the care after they're released. He also floated new technology, a body scanner, priced at around $170,000, to meet a new state search rule coming in September. That one's just an idea for now, and he's not asking for the money just yet. So let's keep that in mind as we get to public health. The same week, public health director Aaron Quinn walked the board through about $400,000 in budget cuts. The state ordered most of it, and the county chose the rest of where those cuts will go. And so here's what they gave back. All of their substance use and overdose money on the theory that opioid settlement dollars will now fill the gap. They trimmed immunizations, communications, emergency preparedness, and more. Quinn was careful to keep at least a little money in every category, because as she put it, if you hand back a whole bucket, you'll never see the bucket again. And she's bracing for worse. She expects the state to face another massive shortfall next year. I know we've seen these same impacts of the cut to the foundational public health services dollars across Gemania County as well. So let's step back for a second. This newsletter has reported for a year that ClickAtat's deepest health crises include addiction, but also mental health, especially for kids, in a county with zero practicing psychiatrists. Families wait for two years for disability services. So when the health side shrinks and the jail becomes the place that those folks land, it's not two separate stories, it's one. We dig into that connection more deeply in our written edition. Okay, let's shift gears to growth. Data centers came up in public comment for the first time. Residents asked about proposals for the old aluminum plant site and for Dalsport. The commissioners stayed neutral. They can't weigh in until a project hits permitting. They see a real tax upside, but also real questions about water and electricity. As one commenter, Gabrielle Gilbert put it, I can't drink a data center. Then fireworks. With the 4th of July around the corner, this one's timely. The county surveyed fire districts and community councils. More than nine in ten said that fireworks are a real risk. But most also warned that a full ban would just push people into the backcountry where it's harder to keep anyone safe. So the board is leaning towards a partial ban with specific designated areas, maybe down by the river. I know in past years we've actually seen them have a designated space down by the Bingian waterfront. So nothing will change just yet for this year's fourth, but keep an ear out. They want to hear from fire districts that haven't weighed in yet. A few quick ones before we go. On housing, the county is moving to make backyard cottages, or what planners call accessory dwelling units, easier to build, a theme we've heard across a couple counties now. Planning Commission also backed a rezone near Goldendale to steer growth towards town. And the county lined up software to finally count its short-term rentals. So, on the ledger, commissioners approved economic development grants to the regional airport and to click a tap Valley Health, plus the usual road and courthouse bills. The courthouse, by the way, is getting its first fresh coat of paint in nearly 30 years. And one more moment. The board said goodbye to Doug Harrley, a volunteer pilot who flew more than 1,400 hours for the sheriff's office. He reminded everyone how risky that work is. He said, When you're up in the upper reaches of the Clickatat River and the engine quits, it will quit. There is no place to go. So what's next? Mark your calendar for June 30th, the assessor's hiring question comes back, and a probation funding stream runs out. In July, watch for a Dallsport wastewater rate hearing held right in Dallsport. And by September, the jail has to finalize that new search policy. The full picture, the dollar figures, the names, and the links to our earlier reporting. Read the written dispatch. The link is in the episode description. You've been listening to a production of opengorge.org, home of the Schemania Dispatch, and the Click a Taddler. We believe that informed communities are stronger communities. To support our work and stay up to date on everything happening in the Gorge, head over to SchemaniaDispatch.com to sign up for our newsletters. You can also find us on Facebook at facebook.comslash open gorge. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on today's episode. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next time.