Cowlitz County commissioners approve emergency sewer repair declaration, award water‑main bid and authorize bond refunding

The Board of County Commissioners approved several staff motions Tuesday, including a declaration of emergency to repair a damaged sewer gravity line on International Way, a low‑bid award of $1,549,631.76 for the Tower Road water‑main and Juanita Way booster pump stations, and authorization for the county treasurer to proceed with refunding a previously issued PFD bond.

County Engineer Susan Eugeneis told the board crews responded after the Port reported sewer problems and found a damaged 15‑inch main buried more than 9 feet deep. “We entered into an emergency contract with concurrence from the Chairman with AES, Advanced Excavating Services, that is located here in Kelso,” Eugeneis said, explaining the county set up a bypass, worked through the weekend and used a contractor with shoring and heavy equipment to make repairs.

The board voted to declare an emergency so crews could act quickly; Eugeneis said the county will return to the board with the contractor’s final costs for formal approval. The repair was managed as a forced‑account project, using agreed hourly rates for contractor labor and equipment and invoiced rental costs under WSDOT contracting provisions.

On procurement, public works opened 11 bids for the Tower Road and Juanita Way work. Eugeneis said the lowest responsible bid, from Rachi Incorporated, totaled $1,549,631.76, well below the engineer’s estimate of roughly $2,600,000. She told commissioners the top four bids were within about $20,000 of each other and that the second bidder was roughly $5,000 higher than the low bid.

The board also approved a resolution authorizing the refunding of an existing PFD bond and designated County Treasurer Deborah Gardner as the county’s representative to execute refunding documents. Gardner said the refunding plan was reviewed by the county finance committee, which includes the auditor and finance staff, and that bringing the resolution to the full board was a formality of the process.

Earlier in the meeting the board approved minutes from the Jan. 13–15 meeting and passed the consent agenda, which bundled multiple contracts, agreements and administrative items. The consent list included two annual professional service agreements with PBS Engineering & Environmental LLC (one for surface emissions monitoring at Headquarters Road and Attentway/Attentway Landfills not to exceed $150,000 and another to analyze ground and surface water samples not to exceed $161,612.30), submission of a Title VI annual accomplishment report to the Washington State Department of Transportation, several appointment letters to advisory committees, a recorded possession and use agreement for Shadow Mountain Reservoir project 2953, and vouchers totaling $3,219,763.87.

Votes were taken by voice; no roll‑call tallies were provided on the record. Several commissioners spoke during routine items and committee updates but did not register recorded roll‑call votes in the transcript.

Votes at a glance: • Approval of minutes (Jan. 13–15): motion approved (voice vote). • Consent agenda (contracts, appointments, Title VI report, vouchers $3,219,763.87): approved (voice vote). • Resolution declaring emergency for International Way sewer gravity line (item 9): approved (voice vote). Contractor: AES, Advanced Excavating Services (Kelso). Damage: 15‑inch main; pipe >9 feet deep. Cost: to be determined and returned to board. • Bid award — Tower Road water main & Juanita Way booster pump stations (item 10): awarded to Rachi Incorporated, $1,549,631.76; 11 bids received; engineer estimate about $2,600,000; approved (voice vote). • Resolution authorizing refunding of existing PFD bond and designating County Treasurer as representative (item 11): approved (voice vote).

What remained open: the county will present final contractor costs for the emergency sewer repair at a future meeting for formal approval, and routine follow‑ups on bid contracts and bond closing steps will proceed through procurement and finance staff.