County moves to proceed with $138,000 in tenant improvements including jail medical, jury office and juvenile repairs

Cowlitz County staff asked commissioners to approve a set of prioritized tenant-improvement requests totaling roughly $138,000, and commissioners gave general verbal concurrence to include the items in the 2026 budget and to move forward with design and procurement. Staff noted that even if approved now, most work would not begin until 2026.

Savannah, presenting the CTIP package, said the top-ranked project is a jail medical area remodel intended to support the jail’s Medicaid/medical funding requirements. She said the remodel would reconfigure existing space for medical offices and storage to help the jail meet program requirements.

The second highlighted item is a jury office redesign that adds a transaction window to limit public access to staff workspace; staff said the modification will improve safety and public flow and also serve as temporary hotel space during the Millig project. Several juvenile projects were also included: an atrium/vestibule repair and replacement of flooring (estimated about $33,000) tied to water damage and roof leaks; lobby and courtroom carpeting replacement (about $43,000) because the carpet is worn and rippling; and a shed rehabilitation for the juvenile work-crew (about $20,000) to replace siding and repair the overhang.

"If we don't do something about the atrium leak, it's going to cost us more later," a commissioner said; staff responded that the atrium repair had been expanded in scope to address water intrusion and avoid repeated replacement.

Staff said the CTIP committee scored and prioritized the requests and that the total presented for board consideration (line 17 in the five‑year plan) is approximately $138,000. Commissioners indicated they were comfortable moving forward and staff said they would treat that concurrence as approval to proceed with the listed CTIP items; staff reiterated that work would generally not start before 2026.

Why it matters: several items are safety- and function-oriented (medical area, jury office transaction window, water-damaged flooring) and staff indicated some projects — particularly the juvenile atrium repair — are more time-sensitive because continued water intrusion would cause greater long-term damage.

What’s next: staff will carry CTIP items into the December budget package, begin procurement planning for prioritized projects and return with scopes and any additional cost detail as needed.