Cowlitz County weighs options as Humane Society contract talks continue; commissioners move to form dangerous-animal review board

Cowlitz County commissioners spent the bulk of a workshop session reviewing negotiations with the Humane Society of Southwest Washington over animal-control and sheltering services and agreed to move forward with creating a local dangerous-animal review board.

The discussion opened with Jason Loreen, with the county prosecutor’s office, summarizing ongoing negotiations and warnings from sheriff’s staff that the Humane Society had proposed large price increases. Loreen said the Humane Society’s initial ask had been about $170,000 for county services; after bargaining with Longview and Kelso it had offered $111,000 for the coming year, with the cities separately negotiating per-capita rates. He said the society had also signaled it wants the county to stop using the temporary holding facility at the jail as part of negotiations.

The issue matters to the board because the Humane Society’s proposals would significantly increase county sheltering costs, and because the society’s stated condition that the county discontinue use of the jail-based temporary holding facility would remove the county’s only existing local option and leave the Humane Society as a sole-source provider. “When you remove the only significant alternative option that we do have, they are the only option and that places us in an unfavorable negotiating position,” the sheriff told the commissioners during the meeting.

Loreen and commissioners described alternatives the county could pursue if negotiations fail, including operating a county-owned shelter (alone or jointly with Longview and Kelso) or issuing a request-for-proposals to a private operator. Loreen noted other jurisdictions’ experience — efforts to find private operators are sometimes difficult — and warned the county might have little time to establish a replacement before the current extension expires.

Commissioners confirmed the county has a one-year extension option that covers services through Jan. 31 under the 2024 terms, and asked staff and counsel to reopen talks with the Humane Society to seek better terms. “If not, our fallback would be the one-year agreement,” a commissioner said; staff agreed to try one more request to the Humane Society for concessions on use of the temporary jail facility and price.

Separately, the board agreed to implement a procedure required by a recently adopted county dangerous-animal ordinance (Cowlitz County Code 6.13). Chief Spencer of the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office presented a draft process and asked the board to appoint a five-member dangerous-animal review board to provide quasi‑judicial hearings when owners contest a dangerous or potentially dangerous designation.

Commissioners asked staff to publish a request for qualifications and applications for the board. Chief Spencer described the intended makeup: at least three members representing the county’s three commissioner districts and two additional members with relevant experience (animal husbandry, veterinary or animal-behavior background). Commissioners requested training be made available for appointees on animal behavior and on due-process procedures; WSU Extension staff offered to help identify training resources.

Commissioner discussion also focused on an annual certificate of compliance that the ordinance would require of any owner who keeps an animal designated dangerous; several commissioners said they were concerned the yearly certification could expand (“creep”) over time beyond the small number of cases expected and create enforcement burdens. Sheriff’s office and county counsel staff responded that the registry and annual certification are intended to document compliance and to assist enforcement when there are repeat violations; commissioners asked staff to build clear procedures and limits into the application materials and to consider staggering initial terms for board members.

Next steps: staff will (1) ask the Humane Society once more if it will revise terms on the temporary holding facility and pricing, (2) publish an RFQ and application for the dangerous-animal review board (including proposed term lengths and training expectations), and (3) return with recommended appointments and proposed bylaws. Commissioners said they want the county to explore a county-run or multi-jurisdictional shelter as a contingency option while negotiations continue.

The meeting did not produce any formal vote on a long-term shelter contract; commissioners instructed staff to pursue the next steps described above and to report back to the board.