An aerial view of the Port of Chehalis.
Port of Chehalis commissioners have given their approval to move forward with a long-term lease with the Greater Lewis County Habitat for Humanity for a property on Northwest State Street in Chehalis that will house a storage facility for the nonprofit organization.
On Thursday, representatives from the local Habitat for Humanity spoke at the port commission meeting on their need for some kind of building that would house donations the organization receives.
Randy Mueller, chief executive officer of the port, said there is a property, located at 243 NW State St., that is not developed and although owned by the port for many years, a viable productive economic use for the lot has never been found.
“One thing we try to do is reduce our expenses as much as we can,” Habitat President Jay Myhre said. “One expense we currently have is storing equipment, supplies and items that get donated to us.”
Habitat is currently paying a monthly fee for a storage container, but has outgrown it and needs more space.
“We could build a storage structure that would meet our demands and it would be in the area we typically do our construction at, so it would serve us well as we wouldn’t have to travel miles to go get a piece of plumbing equipment,” Myhre explained.
Port commissioners were in support of creating a long-term lease similar to the one they have for the property where the steam train runs, for the cost of $1 a year.
The lease would include certain protections to hold the party responsible for cleanup and if they defaulted. Habitat would also have to pay for the structure.
Myhre said another benefit to the property would be that Habitat could have office space in the building.
Commissioners gave Mueller the approval to move forward with a lease, with the stipulation that if the Greater Lewis County Habitat for Humanity organization dissolved, the lease could not be transferred to another Habitat organization.
Port commissioners also looked over a draft contract with the Lewis Economic Development Council. In years past, the contract renewed automatically, but now it will have to be approved with a vote each year.
There are no major changes to the contract, Mueller said. The port would pay the EDC $18,000 for services that include business recruitment, business retention outreach and help in the pursuit of grant funding.
Next time the contract is renewed, Mueller said, the amount of the contract would likely increase.
With advice from the commissioners, Mueller said he would finalize the contract and bring it back for approval.
One of the benefits of the partnership with the EDC is that they help the port with leads, Mueller said, while other times the EDC is sought out for their expertise in courting companies.
One example of the partnership includes a project dubbed “Project Desert.” The Port of Chehalis is now one of two finalists for the biotech company that would provide 200 jobs initially, with more in the future.
The port recently received a $100,000 grant and $665,000 loan from the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board for the Pinnacle construction project. The company’s name has not yet been publicly released by officials involved in the project.
Mueller said the company is expected to make a decision on where they will locate this summer.
The project is funded in part by $1 million in .09, or distressed county funds, allocated by Lewis County.
Commissioners also received an update on their regional general permit renewal, a process that has been ongoing since the permit lapsed in September of last year.
The permit is required for the filling of wetlands on Port of Chehalis property, and has allowed the port to use wetland credits at its Pleasant Valley Mitigation Site, which is used to offset development in wetlands elsewhere.
Mueller informed the board the additional documents the port submitted have been reviewed. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently consulting with the Environmental Protection Agency on concerns they voiced. Mueller said there is still no timeline for when the permit will be renewed. Prior to the permit decision being finalized, the Quinault Indian Nation, which also submitted concerns earlier in the process, will have an opportunity to comment on the renewal in a government to government meeting with the Corps.
“They are nowhere close to being able to share with us a permit decision because there are still certain questions they have to go through,” Mueller said of the Corps, adding there is no timeline for when a decision will be made.
If the permit is not renewed, and the amount of wetland credits the port can use are not increased, individual permits can be used for certain projects, Mueller said, addressing concerns from commissioners.
In the only action item on the agenda, commissioners awarded a contract for asbestos abatement at a residential property it owns at 2686 Jackson Highway. The property is the last rental home in the port district and is set to be demolished. A contract for $23,500.40 was awarded to Advance Environmental Inc. for the asbestos removal.
Staff from the city of Chehalis provided commissioners with a presentation on the city’s floodplain fill policy passed last year. The zero rise policy was put into place to ensure the base flood elevation is not increased with projects built in the floodplain.
