Columbia Valley recovery center set to open March 2026; county funding and operations still unresolved

Construction for the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery is on track to open in March 2026, committee chairman BJ Olsen told the Franklin County Board of Commissioners on July 9. "Construction is on track to open March, 2026," Olsen said, adding the original target had been December or January and that state requirements delayed the schedule.

The update outlined operations, staffing and budget assumptions but left several key financing and contracting questions unresolved. Olsen said the center’s primary programming partner will be Comprehensive Health Care but that a final operations contract with a provider had not been signed: "They are still in negotiation on that. They've agreed to the general outline. They're still working on particular budgets," Olsen said. Commissioners pressed for firmer numbers and for clearer detail on how county revenue might be used.

Why this matters: the center is intended to expand local crisis and recovery capacity for the Tri‑Cities region. Commissioners raised concerns about the county’s potential long‑term financial exposure…