County seeks options for VSP admin

The county is searching for a coordinator for its Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP) that was approved last week on Monday, Aug. 21. The approved contract is the second two-year contract and spans from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2019.

This contract is meant to cover the implementation of a plan created in the past two years during the first contract. That contract created the watershed work group that aims to protect agricultural activity and preserve wetlands, flood plains, animal habitat, aquifer recharge and geologically hazardous areas.

The VSP coordinator is going to be in charge of gathering information on erosion, existence of chemicals, miles of fence, presence of foliage and water quality/turbidity.

In a workshop meeting Monday, Whitman County commissioners discussed options for hiring a coordinator. Public Works Director Mark Storey suggested contracting the work out to a conservation district.

“It would be tougher with an employee because funding is soft,” he said.

The new two-year contract is for $220,000, and Whitman County will manage that money. Storey's suggestion stemmed from the fact that the VSP funding is not guaranteed after 2019, and he did not think it would be the best idea to hire an employee who could potentially end up being laid off.

“We should avoid that if possible because it's no fun,” he said.

Alan Thomson, Whitman County planner, said this idea is the most reasonable.

“It makes more sense that somebody who understands this actually does this,” he said.

The commissioners agreed and said they would explore the option of contracting out with a conservation district to coordinate the program.