County approves $143,000 contract to modernize food‑safety database, funded by public‑health grant

Cowlitz County commissioners approved a contract with GovPath to implement a modern food-safety program into the county's permitting and inspection database.

Gina James told the board the project will update the system used for restaurant and temporary-event permits, inspections and invoicing. The contract is for just over $143,000 and will be paid from the county's public health infrastructure grant. James said the vendor expects a roughly four-month implementation timeline and that the work will help streamline issuance, inspections and billing across environmental health, building and planning functions.

A commissioner moved approval of contract 26-07, which the board approved by voice vote. The county's public-health staff said the upgrade had not been updated since 2005 and that the new system would align food-safety workflows with other county databases.