Cowlitz County reviews water, sewer, stormwater and solid-waste budgets; large reserves and ARPA projects highlighted

Cowlitz County finance staff on Monday walked commissioners through operating and reserve fund results for water, sewer, stormwater and solid waste, emphasizing healthy reserve balances alongside planned capital work funded in part by ARPA and other grants.

"We have collected 2 point just shy of $2,300,000 in revenues of our budgeted 2,580,000.00," said Sean Roe, presenting the water and sewer operating fund. Roe said the fund includes approximately $400,000 of accruals that will come back, and that personnel costs have been lower than budgeted this year because of open FTEs.

Roe said the operating fund cash stood at about $2,350,000 and the reserve fund at just over $5,300,000. He identified the largest supply cost as purchased water for resale (about $330,000) and noted ongoing purchases for treatment chemicals such as chlorine and flocculant used in wastewater treatment.

On the reserve and capital side, staff described reclassifying some ARPA money into intergovernmental revenue (roughly $3.8 million). Projects discussed included closeout of the Toodle water pump station and Toodle wastewater treatment plant (ARPA-directed dollars to be fully expended on closeout), the Camelot loss replacement project (ARPA allocation described as $900,000), the Shadow Mountain extension and pump station (staff said all property is secured and a final EPA permitting checkbox remains), and the Riderwood emergency water supply project, for which USDA funding is being finalized.

Solid-waste staff reported strong interest income and accruals: operating revenues included roughly $398,000 in interest income and about $3.8 million in accruals expected later in the year. The solid-waste operating fund’s current cash balance was reported around $13,000,001.47, with an anticipated transfer of $9,000,000 to reserves in the coming weeks. Planned capital work includes restarting a paused vertical-well project and a planned cell expansion (cell 10 estimated around $14.5 million) and equipment purchases such as a compactor (over $2 million).

Staff repeatedly noted that large capital projects depend on a mix of county reserves, federal and state grant programs (including EPA- and USDA-related funding) and that some projects will go to bid in spring. Commissioners asked whether reserve levels would allow the county to cover typical cost-share percentages in the event of a catastrophic failure; staff said federal and revolving-fund options exist and that maintaining reserve balances is a planning priority.

The presentation did not include formal votes; many items were informational or on tomorrow’s consent agenda for final action.