County commissioners take 1st step for Surfside deputy

Published 6:07 am Tuesday, July 9, 2024

SOUTH BEND — The two stop action items for the June 25 Pacific County Board of County Commissioners meeting came down to a deal within reach to resupply Surfside with a deputy and the county forgoing project funds for a bridge.

After reaching an agreement with the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office, Surfside is on track to again have a dedicated deputy. The deal came to fruition after negotiations between the Surfside Homeowners Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the sheriff’s office.

“This has been all-year work to get this done and go through our legal and their legal,” Sheriff Daniel Garcia said. “So, we are excited to get this set up so we can start a talent search.”

“I am sure the residents out there will be very happy this is on its way,” Commissioner Lisa Olsen said.

The agreement is only between SHOA and the sheriff’s office deputy guild and will still require a separate contract between the county and the SHOA for the actual service. SHOA contracted with the county for a deputy for many years and came close to an agreement in March 2020, but those talks ran headlong into the disruptive covid pandemic.

Besides the development for Surfside, the county’s downward spiral of projects hit a new low due to the lack of an engineer on staff at the Public Works Department. The commissioners voted to de-obligate funding earmarked for preliminary engineer work on the Niawiakum Bridge.

The Washington State Department of Transportation lists the bridge as structurally deficient and needing replacement. The bridge sits along Old South Bend Palix Road, a dirt road from South Bend to the outskirts of Bay Center on US 101.

The project was funded with federal grant funds that required the certified agency heading the work to have an on-staff engineer.

No attention was paid to the topic during the meeting, and it was part of the consent agenda that was motioned, seconded, and quickly passed.