Cowlitz County adopts 2025–2030 homeless housing plan; Kelso asks commissioners for $40,800 annual support
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Summary
The Cowlitz County Board of County Commissioners unanimously adopted a five‑year local homeless housing plan required by the Washington State Department of Commerce and heard a Kelso School District request for $40,800 per year to sustain a McKinney‑Vento liaison that county staff say could be funded through consolidated homeless grant or document‑recording fees.
The Cowlitz County Board of County Commissioners on Dec. 10 adopted the county’s 2025–2030 local homeless housing plan and heard a Kelso School District presentation asking the county to contribute $40,800 a year to sustain a McKinney‑Vento liaison who connects unhoused students and families to housing and wraparound services.
Gina James, director of Health & Human Services, told the board the draft plan reflects both the task force’s recommendations and components required by the Washington State Department of Commerce and must be submitted to Commerce in December. "This is our second time kind of taking a look at this plan," James said, adding that plan alignment matters because local document‑recording fees must be spent in ways consistent with the plan.
The plan lists three primary goals: increase training and job‑skills opportunities; support a homelessness system focused on self‑sufficiency; and increase access to affordable housing. James said the document includes appendices with resource inventories and required analyses and that some language is intentionally broad to preserve flexibility when matching projects to available funds.
Marybeth Tack, superintendent of the Kelso School District, and Gunnar Gethormsson, the district’s student services director, described an expanded McKinney‑Vento program the district says has produced strong outcomes. "We have 100 percent of our graduate graduation rate" for McKinney‑Vento seniors in recent years, Tack told the board, and the district reported 20 graduates last year among a larger cohort of identified students. The district said it currently identifies about 262 students experiencing homelessness and estimates the $40,800 request would cover roughly 30 percent of a staff member’s salary devoted to housing stability work.
Commissioners questioned how "units" and "beds" are counted, how recidivism and completion of court‑ordered treatment are tracked, and what portion of the $40,800 would be eligible under state consolidated homeless grant rules. James said the state indicated parts of the school district’s expanded work could be eligible under the consolidated homeless grant while more academic functions could not; she said staff will work with Kelso and the state to precisely define eligible activities and any up‑to dollar amount in a contract.
Members of the public and service providers generally supported the plan and Kelso’s request. Jordan Wisdom of Community House on Broadway said her organization backs the plan’s goals and the district’s model of combining accountability with wraparound services.
The board voted to adopt the 2025–2030 local homeless housing plan by voice vote. James said staff will continue to work with the Kelso School District to draft a contract that specifies duties, eligible activities and funding sources and will return that draft to the board for review and public comment.
What’s next: staff will draft a contract for the Kelso request and bring it back for formal consideration; the county must submit the adopted plan to the Department of Commerce this month.
