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Cowlitz County staff seek direction on proposed sheriff storage building after bids climb and stormwater costs emerge

Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners ยท November 5, 2025

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Summary

Staff briefed commissioners on a proposed 60-by-100-foot sheriff storage building at the fairgrounds to centralize evidence, boats and vehicles. Early bids exceeded prior budgets and the City of Longviews stormwater requirements could add $50,000 to $75,000; the sheriff's office will present more detail at the November 10 meeting.

Cowlitz County staff told commissioners that bids for a proposed sheriff storage building have come in above earlier estimates, and that stormwater compliance in the City of Longview may add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost.

Sean (county staff) said the project began before the COVID-era price surge and was initially budgeted at roughly $150,000 (as described in earlier planning), then increased to about $300,000; recent bids have climbed to about $400,000 without design details. The project as described is a roughly 60-by-100-foot building on county-owned land at the fairgrounds/expo lot.

"The latest number we got from the City of Longview on stormwater is between $50 to $75,000," staff said, and commissioners were told the sheriff's office will appear Monday to discuss whether to reduce building size to avoid the stormwater threshold or reallocate funds from other sheriff budget lines.

Staff said the building is intended to consolidate scattered evidence storage, leased storage units and equipment currently kept across county facilities, including several boats and trailers. Commissioners asked about current rent costs and whether county-owned space upstairs could be used; staff said they will have rent figures and additional details when the sheriff's office presents on Monday.

No final funding decision was made; staff flagged the project as a priority in the five-year capital plan and asked for direction on whether to proceed, downsize to avoid city thresholds, or identify alternate funding sources.