The Town of Yacolt’s Public Works Department will have to move forward on projects without the help of inmate crews from Larch Corrections Center after over a decade of cooperation.
Mayor Katie Listek has been preparing for the possibility of no longer working with Larch, she said.
The Larch Corrections Center went into an official “warm closure” on Tuesday, Oct. 10, with inmates no longer in the minimum-security facility.
“That affects the majority of things out here. I know that the fire station is going to feel the loss because they’re used to fight fires around here,” Listek said of the inmate removal. “But personally, I’ve gotten to know a lot of these guys and actually worked with them, like we’ve moved dirt together to do the central park. We pick up limbs together. They help us prepare for all of our big events. So, we’re definitely going to feel the loss.”
During the pandemic, Listek was somewhat prepared for this moment as the Public Works Department was left without crews due to quarantine orders for the inmates.
“We completely relied on them. So it was a really difficult year for the public works just to stay caught up on things because [the inmates] are like part of the team. We’re used to them being here,” Listek said.
Over her four-year term as mayor of Yacolt, Listek said she got to know the Larch crew members on a personal level by asking how their families were and checking up on each other in conversation while completing projects.
“The fact that they got to come be a part of the town, I think it provided just a really great opportunity for them to be able to connect with people,” Listek said. “I’ve known a lot of people that have made mistakes and had to go serve time, and what’s serving your time if you’re just sitting there doing nothing. I mean, they were actually out there serving with me.”
Recently, the Larch crews were a leading force in building up Yacolt’s Central Park. The park has received significant advancements using the inmate crews, but it isn’t finished, and Listek anticipates completing it and future public works projects to cut into the town’s budget.
“Now, we’re probably going to have to add a few positions [to public works] permanently unless something really changes,” Listek said, adding “I don’t understand why it’s even the one that was chosen to be shut down considering [Larch Corrections Center] is such a great help to the community and the county in general because when there’s fires that surround the county, they’re often the ones that are there and called upon to help volunteer.”
Listek believes the upcoming budget workshop with the Town Council will have a big focus on Larch.
“I had already talked to council and said, ‘Hey, don’t count on this,’ but we had already put the money in the budget to account for [the inmate removal],” Listek said. “But we were honestly hoping we wouldn’t have to because we were thinking, ‘Wow, we have such a good partnership here.’ ”
On Sept. 11, the Yacolt Town Council recognized the vital role that Larch Corrections Center has had on the community in a resolution requesting the Washington State Department of Corrections continue operations at the facility.
The resolution acknowledged the inmates’ critical firefighting skills along with the significant financial burden that replacing the inmate crews will be for the Town of Yacolt,
“Whereas, LCC’s inmate work crews play a vital role in the maintenance of vegetation, creation of park features, and other various projects around the town at an affordable rate…” the resolution stated in part. The resolution closed by saying the Town Council strongly urged a reversal in the state’s decision to close Larch Corrections Center.
