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Cowlitz County staff and commissioners signaled support for 1-year lease extension with Cowlitz Game & Anglers
Summary
County staff recommended and commissioners indicated support for a one-year extension of the Cowlitz Game & Anglers lease to allow county staff to better understand gun-range operations and volunteer support; staff will draft paperwork and handle a separate one-year sublease for the sheriff’s law-enforcement range.
Cowlitz County staff asked commissioners to approve a one-year extension of the county’s lease with Cowlitz Game & Anglers to give staff time to better understand operations at the county gun range and to coordinate volunteer and sheriff’s office involvement.
Savannah, a county public-services staff member, told the board that staff met with Cowlitz Game & Anglers and recommended extending the 2019 lease by one year so county staff could "get involved and entrenched in what's going on at the gun range," including attending the group's board meetings and working shifts to learn operational procedures. She identified Steve Otto as the organization’s president and Jason Hamers as its vice president, and said both signaled support for a short extension.
A county attorney/staff member explained the 2019 lease runs through December 2025 and that, historically, the law-enforcement portion of the range has been subleased from Cowlitz Game & Anglers to the sheriff’s office. "So we will also be needing to do that aspect of it to amend the sublease to be another, a year as well," the attorney/staff member said.
A member of the public asked how annual range passes sold at various times of the year would be handled if the lease is extended for only a year. Savannah recommended the county honor passes sold to date: "The annual passes...are good for a year. We would continue to honor those to the community, as they purchase them," she said.
Staff said they would attempt to have the sheriff’s office and legal counsel available as backups and that county staff will draft the lease-extension form for commissioners’ review. Commissioners voiced general support for the approach but did not record a formal roll-call vote during the public meeting.
What happens next: Staff will draft the extension documents and a one-year sublease amendment for the sheriff’s law-enforcement range and return them to the board for formal action.
