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Public works seeks contract awards, BRIC grant application and new-road public hearing; commissioners voice frustration over erosion
Summary
Cowlitz County public-works staff told commissioners they will ask to approve a two-year countywide striping contract, will apply for a BRIC grant for a flood-alternatives study, reported 11 bids for a bypass project with a low bid about $1.234 million, and previewed a public hearing to establish a new roadway; commissioners raised concerns about erosion attributed to Corps actions.
County engineer Eugenis briefed the board on several public-works items on the consent agenda and in upcoming public hearings.
Eugenis said staff seeks execution of a two-year countywide striping contract with Construction Ahead Inc. (d/b/a Pavement Servicing Control) awarded June 2; the transcript records a two-year total beginning with '9.38' but the exact figure as spoken in the record is unclear. Eugenis said the county will present that contract on the consent agenda for approval.
Separately, staff will present a resolution to designate applicant representatives so the county can reapply for a BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) grant as a state pass-through to FEMA. The application would fund a study of alternatives for flooding on Westover and Lamar; staff noted the county was encouraged to reapply after being just below the award line last cycle.
Eugenis reported opening bids for the Toodle/Burma Road bypass project and receiving 11 bidders; the low bidder was approximately $1,234,000, below the engineer’s estimate. Staff said paperwork checks are complete and they will ask the board to award the contract the following morning to keep the schedule.
Staff also previewed a public hearing to establish a new route off Burma Road near Weyerhaeuser property that would reconnect three driveways, relocate a gun-range gate and leave a central section in gravel because geotechnical work anticipates 6 to 12 inches of settling.
A commissioner expressed strong frustration that the Corps of Engineers built the road and that erosion is causing private-property loss, saying the Corps was "washing their hands of that situation." Eugenis said the Corps will not fund repairs in a different location; rebuilding a protective wall would be two to three times more expensive and require lengthy permitting, so staff pursued an alternate alignment.
Eugenis also previewed a public hearing to adopt updates to a local pretreatment ordinance to align with a regional wastewater authority’s requirements, and said those changes should have only minor impacts on the county landfill while helping the county align monitoring for total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand and ammonia.
The board received the briefing; several items are scheduled for action on upcoming consent agendas and public hearings.
