Resident group urges county-led behavioral health facility; asks commissioners to lead planning

Larry Wood, representing Cowlitz County Concerned Citizens ("4 C's"), urged the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners to take immediate leadership on behavioral health, arguing the county needs a locally controlled, comprehensive mental health treatment facility.

Wood told commissioners he and collaborators spoke with mayors, law enforcement, judges, the prosecuting attorney and other local leaders and found near-universal agreement that county-level leadership is missing and that services are fragmented. "We need a locally controlled comprehensive mental health treatment facility," Wood said during public comment, and he presented two papers, A Better Path for Public Safety in Longview and Behavioral Health: Cowlitz County Roadmap, to outline proposals and next steps.

The paper, Wood said, recommends the county accept leadership for behavioral-health process and programs; assign one commissioner to act as a focal point; hire a project manager to drive information, process and decision-making; and make behavioral health a permanent agenda item at Tuesday Board of Commissioners meetings. Wood asked the board to add the agenda item beginning the following week and left packets of his studies for commissioners and the public.

Commissioners and commenters discussed the proposal but did not take a formal vote. Commissioner comments included concern about concentrating authority in a single commissioner without strong transparency safeguards: "When you get one commissioner running things ... it has to be very transparent because we don't operate autonomously," one commissioner said. Another commissioner said while public safety is important, protecting rights and liberties is a top priority and noted state efforts to open more mental-health beds have reduced some jail holds, though not enough.

Several other speakers supported Wood's call for a comprehensive approach. A commenter who identified himself as Bill, with decades of experience in mental-health work, said previous federal deinstitutionalization promised community funds that never materialized and that the county needs a coordinated system that aligns funding, NGOs and services to produce measurable outcomes. Another commenter suggested a management position to reduce overlapping services from NGOs and improve coordination.

Board members and speakers also flagged related operational questions Wood raised: who will pay for a local facility, whether the county should expand government scope, whether the county can sustain beds that the state now manages, and whether a regional approach (beyond county boundaries) might be needed. Commissioners requested more information and indicated a workshop or special sessions and additional staff reports would be appropriate next steps. No formal motion or commitment of funds was recorded during the meeting.

Wood asked the board to accept his recommended leadership steps and to consider a project manager and weekly agenda item so the county can move from symptom-based responses to more integrated, outcome-focused services. Commissioners said they would continue the conversation and examine workshop and Board of Health agenda options to develop more detail before making funding or structural decisions.

Ending

Wood left printed copies of both studies for the commissioners and public. Commissioners agreed the topic merits further study and public workshops but did not adopt a formal plan, vote, or budget allocation during the meeting.