[Klickitat] 🚱The Flood They Can't Discuss - Bingen July 2026

Bingen City Council spent thirty minutes in July listening to its own residents and legally could not answer a single question. Four downtown businesses have been closed since a contractor struck a water main in April, one of them is now closed for good, and the city says it cannot lend a dollar to fix it. We walk through both July meetings, plus a rail Quiet Zone that just slipped by a year.In This EpisodeWhy the city attorney told a packed room "there will be no response, and that goes for everybody here"The constitutional rule that makes a city loan illegal, and why "just help them" has no legal formThe contractor the city would not name, which the newspaper had already printedThe city's July 20 press release, the July 6 estimates, and the resident who called it a lieMugs Coffee is not reopeningThe BNSF Quiet Zone diagnostic visit finally happens, and the timeline slips to two summers outBingen writes its first fence rulesBoth Public Works employees retire within a day of each otherThe public comment box that quietly went nowhere for eight monthsResources & LinksRead the full written Dispatch at SkamaniaDispatch.comBingen agendas, minutes and meeting recordings: bingenwashington.org/AgendaCenterNext meeting: Tuesday, August 4, 2026, 6:00 p.m., in person and by ZoomOur prior Bingen coverage: https://skamania-dispatch.ghost.io/a-green-light-for-the-quiet-zone-bingen-june-26-round-up/ and https://skamania-dispatch.ghost.io/water-main-breaks-red-rag-clog-mystery-in-bingen-april-26/Columbia Gorge News reporting cited in this episode: Sean Avery on the July 7 meeting, and Nan Noteboom on the July 21 meeting, at columbiagorgenews.comStay Connected with the GorgeThe Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org.To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.