The Cowlitz County commissioners will make the final decision on whether the Cowlitz 911 Center will separate from the county and become an independent agency at a public hearing at 6 p.m. March 13.
This Tuesday announcement was made in light of the County 911 Council and E-Board unanimously agreeing to asked the commissioners to create a separate 911 public development authority in January. If approved by commissioners, the plan would create a new 911 authority governed by a nine-person board. The board would be made up of the city managers of Kelso and Longview, a county commissioner, the sheriff, a Longview City Council member, a police chief or fire chief from Longview (they’ll switch every two years), a representative appointed by non-Sheriff/Longview police chiefs, a representative from Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue, and representatives from the other fire districts.