Chehalis Port Commissioners Updated on Three Sites as Busy Months Begin

As the Port of Chehalis gears up for its busy summer work months, Chief Executive Officer Randy Mueller provided commissioners with an update on three of the port’s properties, including one that has received the largest grant amount in the history of the port, during a meeting on Thursday. 

Maurin Road Industrial Site 1, a triangle-shaped piece of property, has been approved for more grant funds after the project timeline was delayed.

The goal is to make the property ready for construction by filling and preparing the site. Last year, the port announced it would receive a grant in the amount of $2,577,800 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Since the grant application took so long, the construction estimates changed from last year to this year, increasing the project total and putting the port on the hook for more money than it originally planned on spending.

After asking the EDA to increase its grant to once again cover 80 percent of the funds for the project, the port received a letter announcing that threshold would be met.

The EDA increased its grant to $2,798,648 to cover the majority of the $3,498,310 project that will include the construction of two building pads that would be able to support a 136,000-square-foot building and a 120,000-square-foot building.

That was the good news, Mueller reported, stating there is also some bad news. He said the money is not yet available, but the port should receive an award letter in July or August. That would delay the construction period a year because it will push the project out of the dry months when the work needs to be completed. 

The port is unable to spend any of its funds on the initial work because then it likely wouldn’t meet its match requirements. However, once the money is there, it will be good for the federal fiscal year, Mueller said, adding that the dirt work could be completed next summer.

If all goes well, the project will go out to bid next February, Rick Rouse, senior director of operations at the port, said. 

Mueller also provided commissioners with an update on Maurin Road Industrial Site 2 where the port plans to build a regional stormwater pond under the Bonneville Power Administration’s power lines that currently cut through the property. 

The pond will be funded by .09, or distressed county funds, awarded by the county. 

Mueller said creating the stormwater pond on the property is the best use of the site since no buildings can be constructed underneath the power lines. The remaining two sections of the property that are not under the powerlines can later be developed into something else. 

Rouse said the port is currently going out to bid on the project. RB Engineering has submitted for a discharge pollution permit for stormwater and the grade filing permit has already been submitted to the county. The bid opening is tentatively scheduled for June 20 and the project could begin as early as July or August. 

Commissioners also received an update on its Dawson Road Site, which is currently being eyed by a biotech firm the port is courting. The Port of Chehalis is still one of three finalists for the project that has been dubbed Project Desert.

“The port commission's desire in order to recruit the company is to provide an as shovel-ready of a site as we could and offer it at a long-term land lease to wow the company to the area,” Mueller said.

The improvements are estimated to cost $2.1 million and include stormwater capacities, parking and the landscaping. The county has committed $1 million to the project in .09 funds — $200,000 of which is available immediately, while the other $800,000 would be awarded if the port secures the company, which would bring 200 jobs initially and 300 within five years. 

The port has completed its environmental and archeological reports, wetlands work and a traffic study with the .09 funds.

Mueller will be making a pitch to the Community Economic Revitalization Board on Thursday, May 18, for a $100,000 grant and $665,000 loan that would fund the port’s share for the work that needs to be done. 

“If we get that then we have all the money for the identified site improvements,” Mueller said. 

If the port is not successful in obtaining the biotech company, the work will still be applicable for new development, Mueller said.

At the end of the meeting, the commissioners worked to revamp the port’s mission statement. The process has been ongoing.