Clark County Council keeps SWAT access to Camp Bonneville; orders staff to pursue limited contracts and remediation talks

Clark County Council on Wednesday heard multiple public comments urging the county to stop law‑enforcement training and explosive storage at Camp Bonneville and to require remediation of contamination, and then gave staff limited direction to negotiate new agreements while preserving short‑term training access.

The most urgent appeals came from residents who said prior agreements and unauthorised uses have harmed the conservation property. “It’s time to remove all explosives and deny future access of SWAT, ATF, and the MEDU,” Patty Reynolds told the council during public comment. Anne Shaw added that the Army transferred Camp Bonneville to Clark County under a conservation conveyance and that “there are no provisions in the conservation conveyance that allows for the storage or detonation of explosives.”

The public comments were followed by a detailed staff briefing and a presentation from members of the Sheriff’s Office and the Southwest Washington Regional SWAT team.

County lands manager Kevin Tyler and Public Works Director Ken Later told the council the county has paused work on three separate draft agreements after finding prior documents that may have lacked authority and that the ATF draft agreement was the furthest along. Tyler said the paused agreements were being redrafted to prevent subletting and to tighten allowed uses. Public Works staff described current use as three categories: a shooting range (used by sheriff and some partners), a simulation/“simulation house” for tactical exercises, and a small fenced area where ATF has stored explosive‑related evidence in above‑ground containers.

Casey Casberg, special operations commander for the sheriff’s office and county SWAT commander, described the regional team’s makeup and operations and said training at Camp Bonneville supports high‑risk warrant service, barricade responses, hostage incidents and active‑threat responses. “We train to respond to active threats or active shooters,” Casberg said, adding that the team has mission and staffing limits and that training requires scenarios not available at many private ranges, including vehicle and building‑clearing exercises. He said the team qualified at Camp Bonneville after being displaced from other ranges.

Councilors expressed concern about security, environmental contamination and who has authority to make prior agreements. Staff and the county prosecutor’s office clarified that prior agreements with federal and other agencies had expired and that the county has a contractual path to require remediation tied to earlier FBI agreements.

Staff cited prior numbers and draft provisions in their discussion: Kevin McDowell, the county deputy prosecuting attorney, said a past FBI arrangement included a roughly $150,000 investment in the range; a later proposed agreement had a proposed annual use fee of about $34,000; and earlier remediation estimates discussed in prior negotiations were in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (one prior remediation figure was cited at about $400,000 and a reduced proposal at about $300,000). Council members and public commenters said the county should seek remediation payments from federal users where the record shows contamination was caused by those users.

After questions and discussion, the council gave staff the following direction (these were direction items, not final votes): - Allow Clark County Sheriff’s Office/Southwest Washington Regional SWAT to continue using Camp Bonneville for required training and qualifications while staff finalizes a new agreement, subject to negotiated restrictions and monitoring. The council asked that the agreement be time‑limited (council members generally supported a two‑year term) and include compensation and restrictions on any activity that could cause further pollution. - Continue current access for ATF to its fenced storage area for evidence/explosive‑related material while staff obtains more information from ATF about what is stored and negotiates terms; staff will seek remediation commitments where the record supports them. - Maintain the current status for the Metro Explosive Disposal Unit (MEDU) — staff reported MEDU had not used the site recently and could train without explosive detonations if required — and return with recommendations about MEDU access and contingency needs (for emergency response if a device is discovered).

Council asked staff to return with proposed contract language patterned off the FBI draft (with tighter storage, remediation and sublease prohibitions), options for fees, and a recommended term and termination/option language. Several councilors also asked for ATF and MEDU to participate in the October 22 work session with the FBI so councilors can hear directly from those agencies.

Public commenters and some councilors pressed for a permanent end to explosive storage and detonations and for rewriting the 1996 reuse plan to better reflect the conveyance’s conservation intent. Resident Greg Shaw told the council that cleanup and feasibility studies “will cost a lot of money, hundreds of thousands of dollars” and pushed for a county demand that federal partners pay for their historical use and contamination.

The council did not adopt or approve any final use policy for Camp Bonneville at Wednesday’s meeting; members emphasized the difference between staff direction and formal approval. Staff said formal agreements with non‑county jurisdictions would return to the council for approval once negotiated.

Separately, after returning from executive session, the council voted to approve and accept a release and settlement document dated Sept. 3, 2025, and authorized the county manager to sign it. The motion was moved and seconded on the record and carried by voice vote; councilors present voted in favor.

What’s next: staff will continue contract negotiations and return with draft agreements, recommended fees and remediation language. The council scheduled a work session on Oct. 22 that will include the FBI and, if possible, ATF and MEDU representatives so councilors can ask direct questions before any final contract approvals.

Votes at a glance - Motion to approve and accept the release and settlement dated 09/03/2025 and to authorize the county manager to sign — moved and seconded during the post‑executive‑session actions; outcome: approved (voice vote; councilors present voted aye).