The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON—The Columbia County Commissioners have signed off on the City of Dayton’s proposed lawsuit settlement agreement regarding prosecution services. Commission Chairman Merle Jackson signed the agreement during a budget workshop meeting on Dec. 5.

“The agreement is settled with the city and we can move on,” Jackson said.

On Dec. 8, Judge Jackie Shea-Brown ruled that the county is not responsible for County Prosecutor Rea Culwell’s legal fees associated with the lawsuit, because Culwell could have represented herself, at no cost.

The majority of discussion in the commissioners’ chambers the past few weeks has been devoted to an $86,755 revenue shortfall in the preliminary budget for 2017.

Revenue is down by 46% in the District Court, and state funding for law and justice has been down, because of lower than normal filings, according to Commissioner Dwight Robanske.

To a degree, the county’s monetary legal obligations associated with the city’s lawsuit have also added to budget woes, said Robanske.

Cuts have been made in all county departments as the commissioners continue to work on the budget issues.

Funds in the Sheriff’s budget to hire another deputy have been cut, and the legal assistant position in Culwell’s office will go unfilled, according to Robanske.

County officials also said that Deputy Prosecutor Dale Slack’s position will likely be cut.

Culwell said that she has been asked to trim her office budget from $400,000 in 2017, to $328,000 in 2017. She said there is no money in her budget to retain Slack.

She also said that the number of hours her department is open to the public and to county staff will be shorter.

Culwell’s department will only accept calls from law enforcement personnel during non-open times, she said. She also said that her office will be prioritizing civil matters to ensure the most pressing matters are addressed.

In other business, the commissioners adopted the Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program, which identifies the top 20 road projects for the county for 2017-2022. Funding has been identified for the first seven projects on the list, according to County Engineer Andrew Woods.

Phase III of the Tucannon Road project, to correct some horizontal curves, widen the two lane road, perform full depth reclamation, pave, and upgrade the bridge rail, is first on the list of priorities for 2017. That project has been sent out to bid, according to Woods.

The South Touchet Road project, to improve the intersections of Harting Grade Road and Robinette Mountain Road with the South Touchet Road, is next on the list. The existing two-lane road will be widened. Improved drainage, and full depth reclamation and paving will also be performed. Woods said the South Touchet Road project would begin soon after Labor Day next year.

The Vernon Bridge replacement project and the Starbuck Bridge replacement projects are slated to begin in 2017, he said.

The commissioners also approved the County Arterial Preservation Program for 2017. “We are concentrating on the western part of the county, Woods said.

Projects include Wilson Hollow Road from the county line to McCown Road, Payne Hollow Road, from Lower Hogeye to Harting Grade, and Lower Whetstone Road from McKay-Alto Road to the county line.

A proposal to accept a grant from the U.S. Department of Interior for acquisition and processing of lidar data for use by the Columbia and Garfield counties’ public works department was also approved at the Dec. 5 meeting, as was a resolution restricting certain county roads from use during the winter months.

Commissioner Jackson said the conversion from Pacific Power and Light Co. to Columbia Rural Electric Association took place at the courthouse and public works facilities, and there were “no hiccups.”