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Guard added to Cowlitz County government building after complaints of finding human waste, drug materials

By Katie Fairbanks, The Daily News
Published: June 17, 2022, 9:08am

LONGVIEW — Cowlitz County increased security at its administration and annex buildings after a rise in employee complaints and safety concerns due to people wandering the building.

On Tuesday, the Cowlitz County commissioners approved an addendum to its existing contract with Phoenix Protective Corps, adding up to $25,810 for a security guard at the Kelso buildings from June 1 to Aug. 30. The guard will patrol the buildings and parking lots during the week, sweeping the buildings at the start and end of each shift, according to the contract.

The county contracts with the Spokane Valley-based security company for services at the Hall of Justice, juvenile justice building and the jail. In 2020, the county hired Phoenix to provide security guards in parts of the administration building during the election season.

Commissioner Dennis Weber said Wednesday as the weather has warmed up, more homeless people had been sleeping in the county buildings’ doorsteps and wandering through the buildings during the day.

During a March workshop, Nicole Tideman, county risk manager at the time, told the commissioners she began hearing more safety concerns from staff earlier this year. Incident reports in February and March included people hiding in the restrooms, human waste in the building, drug paraphernalia in and around the buildings, theft of a purse and an employee chased into the building, she said.

Most of the complaints are from early morning hours when staff are “coming into things they wish they weren’t,” Tideman said.

Tideman suggested adding a security guard for 13 weeks to see if it is an effective deterrent and addresses employee’s complaints.

“It is a big concern with employees and is a big concern with at least one of the unions at this point because of the number of complaints that we’re all receiving about people feeling unsafe working,” she said.

After discussing the contract in several workshops, the commissioners agreed to move forward and security guards started patrols at the beginning of June. The contract also includes security at the administration building during monthly planning commission meetings. The contract addendum approved Tuesday formalizes the decision.

Weber said the added security is already making a difference, and staff are not seeing people in and around the buildings as much.

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