The city of Centralia is considering hiring a lobbyist for the upcoming legislative session, but only for one issue.
If the city council approves Amber Lewis of Amber D. Lewis Consulting LLC, she will champion the Mellen Street Gateway Connector to the state Legislature in hopes of bringing back some funding for improvements in the area.
The city estimates the cost of hiring her to be between $2,000 and $3,000. The matter will go before the city council during its Tuesday meeting.
The city has identified utilities and roads that need to be upgraded to support the ongoing development around Mellen Street.
“With the Centralia Station and the highway development done, there’s going to be a lot of interest in that area,” said Centralia City Manager Rob Hill. “If there’s an opportunity to get some help with that, we want to get in line.”
The city is still only exploring the possibility of the improvements, so details of a funding package for the project are still being working out. Lewis is a Centralia resident who has also worked for the Port of Centralia as a lobbyist to bring in funding for the Centralia Station project.
