Cowlitz County public services on Wednesday asked commissioners to authorize purchase of trailer-mounted thermal-imaging cameras to improve early fire detection at the county landfill.

Savannah Clint, public services, described two quote options: a standard package around $74,400 and an upgraded camera package totaling about $79,000 that includes AI features to reduce false alerts from hot-running equipment. "We're gonna go ahead and ask for the 79,000 price," Clint said, adding the unit is trailer-mounted so staff can place it near active fill areas.

Clint said the purchase is a capital expenditure that should come from the solid-waste maintenance capital fund and that the item had been budgeted previously but was not purchased in the last fiscal cycle. Staff indicated there should be capacity to include the purchase in the first budget amendment. County staff explained the system would be cloud-based with an ongoing annual subscription (Clint cited an annual subscription charge of $2,400 and cellular/communication options that may add annual cost). Board members asked whether the device required internal IT support; Clint said the vendor maintains servers and the county would access cloud services.

Commission members emphasized the goal is earlier detection and better alerting to reduce the frequency and scale of landfill fires, noting a prior fire that damaged tarps and citing value in early warning for equipment and emergency response. No formal roll-call vote on the purchase was recorded in the transcript; staff will finalize electronic quotes and proceed with the budget amendment process to secure funding.

What’s next: staff to provide electronic quote details, confirm cellular/ongoing maintenance costs and include the purchase in the upcoming budget amendment.