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Cowlitz County approves consent agenda including landfill flare bid and five-year jail pharmacy contract
Summary
Cowlitz County commissioners approved a consent agenda that included a call for bids to replace a landfill flare, the purchase of a work truck, and a five-year pharmaceutical-services contract for the county jail; the corrections director clarified that the county assumes medical responsibility for people booked into custody.
Cowlitz County commissioners approved their consent agenda Tuesday, calling for bids to replace the flare at the Tenet/Tenant Way closed landfill and awarding a five‑year pharmaceutical services contract for the county corrections facility to Westwood Pharmacy.
The move to open bids for a replacement flare is scheduled for April 20, 2026, at 1:30 p.m.; county staff told commissioners the existing flare, installed around 1992, is being downsized because gas production has declined as the landfill has aged. The county noted the project will be paid from previously set‑aside closure funds for the landfill.
Commissioners also reported a Washington State Department of Commerce allocation for the county was adjusted to $9,875,009.29 from an earlier higher figure, and the county authorized Public Works to purchase a 2024 work truck after identifying about $10,000 in savings by buying an available vehicle out of state.
The corrections department’s pharmaceutical services contract was awarded to Westwood Pharmacy under a five‑year agreement the county described as having fixed pricing for commonly used medications and no annual increases. "When someone's medical care becomes the county's responsibility on intake, we provide necessary prescriptions and bill external insurance when applicable," Brynn Fox, director of corrections, said, explaining how prescriptions are handled after booking. Fox added county physicians reevaluate prescriptions and the county typically covers care that becomes its responsibility.
A member of the public asked whether existing private insurance such as Kaiser Permanente continues to cover prescriptions when someone is incarcerated; Brynn Fox said the county bills private insurers where appropriate but that private insurance is uncommon among people admitted to the county’s facilities.
The consent agenda also included contract completion letters for road and fish‑passage projects and vouchers totaling $4,757,009.84. Commissioners moved and voted to approve the consent agenda by voice vote.
The Board of County Commissioners recessed to convene the Cowlitz County Board of Health at 10 a.m.
