Washougal set to get $1M in federal funds

The city of Washougal is set to receive more than $1 million in federal funds to help pay for body-worn police cameras and upgrade the city’s wastewater treatment facility.

Republican Congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler, who represents Washington’s Third Congressional District, recently announced she had secured $131,000 to fund the Washougal Police Department’s (WPD) proposed body-worn camera program in a spending plan advanced by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. The plan also includes $413,000 to improve the city of Battle Ground’s safety and emergency response capabilities.

“With the disturbing rise in crime throughout Clark County communities, coupled with cuts to policing services and a demoralized police force due to anti-police rhetoric, it’s more important now than ever to support our law enforcement officers,” Herrera Beutler stated in a news release. “This is why I went to bat and secured these community supported requests for the city of Battle Ground and the Washougal Police Department to ensure first responders in our communities in Clark County and across Southwest Washington will be well-equipped to serve citizens.”

Herrera Beutler, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, advocated for the inclusion of the community-level projects in the fiscal year 2023 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies funding bill, which is awaiting approval from the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Democratic-controlled House Appropriations Committee released the draft $85.7 billion bill on June 21, and said that, if approved by the House, the bill will “support safer communities with substantial funding for federal, state and local law enforcement, including greatly expanding gun violence prevention efforts;” address violence against women “with significant increases for Violence Against Women Act prevention and prosecution programs, as well as efforts to reduce the backlog of unprocessed rape kits;” and “confront the climate crisis with strong funding for climate resilience and research … and increased funding for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of (the Department of Justice) to help combat the climate crisis and advance environmental justice.”

Washougal is one of about 90 communities across the nation — including six others in Washington state — set to receive funds for its local police department from the bill’s Community Projects Funding.

Washougal Police Chief Wendi Steinbronn stated in a news release that the Washougal Police Department appreciated Herrera Beutler’s support of local law enforcement agencies.

“Her support for our body-worn camera program is greatly appreciated,” Steinbronn stated in the news release.

The WPD hopes to establish a body-worn camera program to “ensure high-quality service of its officers, increase transparency and openness, and strengthen trust in the community,” according to the press release, which also states that cameras will enable the agency to “document all encounters in the field and develop clearer understandings of events, which may assist in the criminal justice process.”

“We are proud of the work that our police department performs keeping our community safe,” Washougal Mayor Rochelle Ramos stated in the news release. “Our body-worn camera program will assist the department in providing services while enhancing accountability and transparency. I would like to thank Representative Herrera Beutler for her commitment to public safety in our community.”

Steinbronn also applied for a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to help fund the program, but said she doesn’t expect to hear the results of that grant until September.

“We tried a couple of cameras out for about four weeks each,” Steinbronn said, “(but) we won’t (pay for) anything else until we get word if the program will be funded.”

The WPD plans to implement the program in the spring of 2023 if it receives the necessary funding, according to Steinbronn.

Herrera Beutler announced in June that she hoped to secure $4 million of federal funding for water and wastewater treatment facilities in Carson and Washougal in a spending plan advanced by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee.

Herrera Beutler advocated for funding for the Washougal Wastewater Treatment Plant Anoxic Selector Project, as well as the Carson Water Treatment Plant Rebuild, in the fiscal year 2023 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee Appropriations bill, which now awaits approval from the full U.S. House of Representatives.

“Ensuring residents have access to clean, drinkable water as well as wastewater treatment facilities is critical to the livability of communities like Carson and Washougal,” Herrera Beutler said in a news release. “I was pleased to secure a plan to return Southwest Washington tax dollars for these priority projects that will address these communities’ water needs and lower costs for those who live there.”

Washougal’s portion of the funding ($1 million) will support the installation of a new, required anoxic selector at the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which will “enhance water quality, create a more sustainable water supply, double the capacity of the plant, and provide for the future growth and economic development of the Port of Camas-Washougal and the City of Washougal,” according to the news release.

“We are very grateful for Representative Herrera Beutlers’s support for our Washougal community,” Ramos stated in the news release. “These funds will offset the significant costs we are facing as we plan for required upgrades at our wastewater treatment facility, including an anoxic selector. This federal investment will offset the significant costs placed on ratepayers to upgrade sewer utilities, directly benefiting the residents and businesses of the city of Washougal.”