Commissioners weigh Humane Society contract terms, seek multi-year stability while keeping jail kennels available

Cowlitz County prosecutors, the sheriff’s office and commissioners discussed a proposed contract with the Humane Society of Southwest Washington for animal-control services after the county received an email outlining the society’s fee positions.

Jason Lorraine of the prosecutor’s office briefed the board on the society’s January correspondence, which linked a reduced first-year fee to the county ceasing use of its jail kennels. Lorraine said the society’s earlier message (Nov. 22, 2024) described a proposed $111,000 annual service cost as a minimum for 2025 and “strongly encouraged” ending jail-shelter operations; the society’s January email then tied that $111,000 figure explicitly to cessation of county kennel operations and said the county would face higher charges if it continued using the jail facility. Lorraine…