Adams Co. Commissioners discuss new evidence storage facility
The Adams County Sheriff's Office is looking to improve its ability to store evidence. The current facility below the jail, pictured to the left of the refrigerators, could be improved, officials say.
R. HANS MILLER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
RITZVILLE — The Adams County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday for their regularly scheduled meeting to discuss the location of a new Adams County Sheriff’s Office evidence storage building, the temporary assignment of a law enforcement officer and an agreement with the Columbia Basin Conservation District.
Public Works Director Todd O'Brien said that the Adams County Sheriff’s Office has secured a grant to build a new evidence storage facility.
“We haven’t started construction, or really design either,” said O’Brien. “We have a consultant on board for design but we need to find where we’re going to, what location we’re going to actually put it at first.”
O’Brien said that they need to determine if they want to construct the building on a piece of property near the Adams County Fairgrounds, or on another plot entirely, which was what they were discussing with the Commissioners.
“We’re going to have the consultant help us with a master plan as to what it could look like on this other piece of property by the fairground, then we’ll make a decision from there,” said O’Brien.
Sheriff Wagner also appeared at the meeting in order to discuss the temporary assignment of a sergeant to the Sheriff’s Office. Three of Wagner’s officers — including a sergeant — were in an officer-involved shooting June 25 in Othello, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. At the regular Commissioner’s meeting June 27, Wagner requested a temporary sergeant to fill in while the three officers involved in the shooting were on leave. At Tuesday’s meeting, the Commissioners unanimously voted to approve and sign a memorandum of understanding regarding this temporary assignment.
The Commissioners also voted unanimously to approve an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement between Adams County and the Columbia Basin Conservation District for the Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP).
According to the Columbia Basin Conservation District’s website, the VSP seeks to protect critical areas on agricultural lands by enlisting landowners voluntarily in actions that protect those areas rather than enforcing regulations on those landowners. The site states that these critical areas are usually wetlands, fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas, critical aquifer recharge areas, geologically hazardous areas and frequently flooded areas, which are protected by state law.
Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com.