[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6189266,"mediaKeyId","5058101-90ae0ef493d46bfd0f18ed7077607443","parentId",5058101,"title","Cowlitz County reports $2.7 million in opioid-settlement funds on hand; officials outline allowable uses","audioSeconds",286,"startMs",6328000,"endMs",6614000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5058101-90ae0ef493d46bfd0f18ed7077607443&start=6328&end=6614","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5058101-90ae0ef493d46bfd0f18ed7077607443/thumbnail_6328000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6189266/Cowlitz-County/Washington/Cowlitz-County-reports-27-million-in-opioid-settlement-funds-on-hand-officials-outline-allowable-uses","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6189266-8bd4bcabd5ade74ea8b589dca0364e96/orig.mp4?Expires=1771157686&Signature=Mv7AbFndV2Poaa~SzpIvIGVAa1izHZWSq58BIEylwI6iLAkP5ptBsrJDYRWFfqUo4ypJmwSRKZXNmpq32i6T5~3kJZwmHYN6bylAZMYnHajFQOnUud8cEd28l2E4lXShkIwrAzviZg3DRm0lYmXpbznfdIXqExxGe~9j~vzgK8CaCou~yl9I9uxcPPVRxiiaGMNNBCp0LWSw4y36ih2b1BV-98a-qck1f~PRM5bndeeysB2Lzhr2mVsgzs53Dyr2C89KThfgruNekZtBh754fiXVnnZQTU1BI3LKyxQEHabE6Ne9pp346GPgE6UrUad-1pc~OHuS5q3WXLYexl~YEw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Cowlitz County Commissioners, Washington","date","2025-06-25T06:34:07Z","article","At the Board of Health meeting, county staff explained the status of opioid-settlement funds and how the money may be used in Cowlitz County. Carol (county staff) told the board that about $2.7 million from prior settlements is currently in the county account and that additional distributions will arrive intermittently over coming years.

“So that amount there, the 2.7, is what's in the bank,” Carol said, describing the periodic nature of settlement payments and noting that the recent Purdue Pharma settlement had been finalized at the state level but the county’s allocation had not yet been determined.

County staff and the health officer outlined eligible uses. The money can be directed to treatment and recovery services, including medication-assisted treatment and connecting people to care; services for pregnant and parenting people with substance-use issues; prevention efforts to reduce overprescribing and misuse; and strategies that support first responders or other locally identified interventions. “It can be used for treatment... connecting folks into treatment and recovery... addressing the needs of pregnant or parenting women with substance use issues. It can be used for prevention,” staff said.

County staff said they maintain an updated overview of expected settlement distributions through 2038 and that the county posts updates on its website when funds are received. Board members asked for clarification about timing and how the funds must be spent; legal review was referenced for a pending request about a particular use. No final program allocations were approved at the meeting; staff said the board would be briefed again as allocations and plans are developed.

Why it matters: opioid-settlement money is restricted to purposes tied to opioid harms, treatment and prevention. The funds represent a substantial local resource that county leaders may target toward behavioral-health capacity, overdose-prevention programs and wraparound services, but legal rules and state allocations constrain the timing and allowable uses.

Clarifying details discussed at the meeting included the fact that settlement payments come in different schedules (some once a year, some multiple times per year), and that the recent Purdue Pharma settlement will add to the county’s expected totals once the state determines local shares. Staff also provided a summary spreadsheet and said the county will continue to update the Board of Health when additional settlement funds arrive.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Cowlitz County Commissioner Open Public Meetings","oneSentenceSummary","County health staff told the Board of Health that $2.7 million from opioid-settlement distributions is currently in the county account; future payments will arrive in increments and may be used for treatment, prevention, services for pregnant/parenting people and related strategies.","taxTitle","Cowlitz County, Washington","taxId",5122,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6189270,"Cowlitz County approves 10-year franchise for Lightspeed (LS) Networks to operate fiber and telecom infrastructure",744,4428000,5172000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5058101-90ae0ef493d46bfd0f18ed7077607443&start=4428&end=5172","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5058101-90ae0ef493d46bfd0f18ed7077607443/thumbnail_4428000.jpg","/articles/6189270/Cowlitz-County/Washington/Cowlitz-County-approves-10-year-franchise-for-Lightspeed-LS-Networks-to-operate-fiber-and-telecom-infrastructure","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6189270-a619642c458fb71d44cba8f40504f8cc/orig.mp4?Expires=1771157686&Signature=eyKvaW5Y7v3ZHteqNXg2oUGlCajEdoZFR9Q5dkb38d60ybZnfyTeXalae4jx8v-PH7p~HbVSDTy-lmvAz0Q0nbvePheNSF5Y2ybbimcTECVgfk1ItvwdABAQu1aEvvwsua8U5FSbpICEMQOjYiT2ho5bF6iOIs-n52xN7NwZw4xTn39BCNDzi~fXTy4x82P7asq9ruR7LBRHScebwg~WG4pbo~ObHg7pnjAZYjZOeTqptHDJ9rQXTRbPyLKSlvIE32xNkIkNg~zpiglnHw0-CpNVgpS2H0U407yhYE9gQW87ygwxmhjDpZq5Rvy8ialQXED4fPQ41I~CrvpHJSpqYg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Anna Lunde, Cowlitz County Public Works right-of-way agent, presented a 10-year nonexclusive franchise agreement for LS Networks (doing business as Lightspeed Networks / InstaStar) to operate telecommunications infrastructure in county rights-of-way. Lunde described the agreement as covering fiber, poles, vaults, conduit and splice cases, with some aerial attachments to public-utility poles and a small number of company-owned poles.

“This 10 year nonexclusive easement is for telecommunications services provided, our Internet, Ethernet, voice carrier networks, and managed services,” Lunde said, describing the equipment and the company’s prior 2013 franchise that expired in 2023. County staff explained the franchise is standard practice when private carriers use county rights-of-way or county easements.

The public hearing produced no public comment. After the hearing, a commissioner moved to approve the resolution granting the franchise. The motion passed by voice vote; the clerk recorded the vote as “Aye” and the chair declared the resolution passed.

Why it matters: the franchise extends LS Networks’ legal authorization to occupy county rights-of-way and continue providing fiber, internet and related telecommunications services in Cowlitz County for a 10-year term. The agreement regulates equipment placement and requires franchise compliance even where carriers have separate pole agreements with utilities.

No public comments were recorded at the hearing and no amendments were proposed when the board moved to adopt the resolution.","The county approved a 10-year nonexclusive franchise agreement with LS Networks / Lightspeed (InstaStar) to continue fiber, conduit and pole-based telecommunications operations including limited underground and aerial attachments.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6189275,"Cowlitz County officials, residents debate centralized behavioral-health facility; commissioners agree to workshop",1530,2843000,4373000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5058101-90ae0ef493d46bfd0f18ed7077607443&start=2843&end=4373","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5058101-90ae0ef493d46bfd0f18ed7077607443/thumbnail_2843000.jpg","/articles/6189275/Cowlitz-County/Washington/Cowlitz-County-officials-residents-debate-centralized-behavioral-health-facility-commissioners-agree-to-workshop","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6189275-e12a949662b7d3e0423f15149d284b46/orig.mp4?Expires=1771157686&Signature=WsI0dXZWLS~Ke6O6pF81S87fggcGhnWkV50bIQknDKAPKof6O1IK1IW2BlJpI-PvGxDHvHSKcSRmN9B0Lp2NXZWqyy4knVrUwuDLmzd50klOLoIv1bVy0A4akenvbIAsSQlZ3Vh4vDkvbjvfdDu~wHTU0~EuGJJOnQKh-gcR7pCa69lSYYMCU58-lnmc-1XRuJFarxS-ahFqbmxUx3pWEwXegF2l4eUj819tBtRdM0lQOFphEeG-7h1GSRWVmY2KBTIPmHDlJIwdCuVJN-yPUSAU3YX-qaorak~0E8-Rl0tuTMsa9k7gCO-aLA~7MzSKgXRz~7vzrbxtEDnxgoO7yg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a county meeting, Cowlitz County commissioners and residents debated a proposal to organize a centralized behavioral-health effort and explore a long-term inpatient treatment facility for people with severe substance-use and behavioral-health needs.

The discussion centered on how the county should organize leadership, focus existing resources and create treatment capacity that currently does not exist in the county. Resident Larry Crosby pressed the county to name a single leader and hire “a project manager” to coordinate day-to-day work and bring weekly updates to the Board of Commissioners so the effort would remain public and accountable. “You need the need what I'm what I'm defining as a project manager. Somebody that can actually go out and do the day to day coordinating all of the groundwork, keeping everybody on board, and getting getting all of the comments, getting them assembled, and then bringing them back to the individual in charge,” Crosby said.

Why it matters: speakers and commissioners said the county lacks long-term inpatient capacity and that continuing to operate without a plan shifts costs and caseloads to emergency rooms, jails and other systems. County Health Officer Steve Kreger recommended a community health assessment and a community health improvement plan as tools to identify priorities and coordinate resources. “A community health assessment... is a way to filter all of that. Look at all the data, talk to our community partners, do community surveys,” Kreger said, adding that an improvement plan should create concrete strategies and bring multiple organizations together.

Discussion highlights included a range of views from residents and service providers. One speaker urged caution about duplicating existing services and emphasized the work of local public-health staff: “I think that she does a great job,” a resident said about public-health staffer Gina James, urging commissioners to consider existing capacity and constraints. Other commenters argued for stronger, more assertive approaches—such as involuntary treatment programs used in other states—while some speakers urged prioritizing the practical question of where to place people when a clinical or legal decision is made to remove them from the street because the county has no dedicated facility.

Commissioners said they have been in talks with other counties and local partners and acknowledged the situtation’s complexity. “Ultimately, there’s gonna have to be some consent from the public as to what path needs to be taken,” Commissioner Kelly said, noting conversations with other county leaders and county staff. Commissioners and public-health staff described existing funding and programs already spread across multiple agencies and suggested a benefit in consolidating resources into a focused effort.

Formal action and next steps: the board agreed to schedule a workshop to examine feasibility, organization and potential next steps for a county behavioral-health roadmap and possible facility. The commissioners asked that the proposal materials presented to the board be distributed to Board of Health members and invited stakeholders. No ordinance, contract or funding decision was made at the meeting; the workshop was agreed as the next step to develop options and gather broader input.

Background and context: speakers repeatedly raised that the county currently sends some people to hospitals or detains them in jails when longer-term clinical placement would be more appropriate, and that those placements can be costly and do not always provide the treatment needed. Several speakers urged using existing staff and agency resources more efficiently rather than immediately creating a large county-run program, while others argued the county needs new inpatient capacity. County health staff noted prior community health assessments exist but are dated and recommended updating or supplementing those data before finalizing priorities.

The discussion continued in both the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Health portions of the meeting; commissioners asked staff to coordinate scheduling for the workshop and to circulate the written proposal that had been presented to the commission.","Residents and county leaders at a Cowlitz County meeting debated a proposed centralized behavioral-health program and long-term inpatient capacity. Speakers urged a single project leader and a standing public update; commissioners agreed to organize a workshop to assess feasibility and next steps.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Cowlitz County reports $2.7 million in opioid-settlement funds on hand; officials outline allowable uses

Cowlitz County approves 10-year franchise for Lightspeed (LS) Networks to operate fiber and telecom infrastructure

Cowlitz County officials, residents debate centralized behavioral-health facility; commissioners agree to workshop