As I read about the upcoming construction of Centralia Station, I couldn’t help feeling a bit like the Grinch who stole Christmas.
Everybody’s excited about the 43-acre development near Interstate 5 and the Mellen Street interchange. I’d love to see a Fred Meyer Shopping Center and other new stores and restaurants in Centralia, too. The city will receive more tax revenue. People will have more options for shopping and jobs as the development is expected to employ 535.
The Port of Centralia bought the property and, in March 2017, signed a real estate purchase agreement with developer Powell Investment Co., LLC.
The port plans to develop soccer fields, trails and other recreational opportunities. Some of the buildings may be used by Centralia College and local medical providers.
The Legislature allocated $3.1 million for a new Interstate 5 off-ramp and street extensions. The Centralia City Council has supported the project.
But then I think about the people who lived at the south end of Long Road when the Chehalis River inundated their homes in December 2007 after overtopping dikes and breaking levees. One man, overwhelmed by health issues and the devastation, killed himself.
The port purchased many of these once-flooded homes for Centralia Station and it has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on studies to make sure that the property won’t flood.
WEST Consultants, hired by the port, “found that Centralia Station can be developed without increasing flood risk in the Chehalis Basin and without increasing flood risk to the town or surrounding areas,” said Molly Lawrence with the law firm Van Ness Feldman.
“Modeling and calculations will be ongoing as Powell Development refines its site plan for the proposed Fred Meyer development,” said Lawrence, who described Federal Emergency Management Agency floodplain maps as dated. “However, local residents can be assured that any refinements to the site plan will be reviewed to ensure that they will not increase potential flood risk in the Chehalis Basin or create flood risk to the town or surrounding areas.”
Kyle Heaton, executive director for the Port of Centralia, has promised Centralia Station “will have zero rise and zero impact.”
But during high water, where will the water go?
It’ll cover the acres of soccer fields, which will help alleviate any overall rise in the area’s water level. A stormwater facility will be constructed to protect Centralia Station, with help from $750,000 allocated by the state Legislature. But will excess water be pushed into the surrounding neighborhoods? Will it flood nearby homes?
The port and its consultants say no. I’m a bit skeptical, though.
Citizens of Centralia pay taxes to the port. They pay taxes to the city of Centralia. They pay taxes to Lewis County. They pay taxes to the state of Washington. They pay federal income taxes.
They elect people to represent their interests over all these governing agencies. Those are the people who must make sure that their homes won’t flood with this new development. Those are the people who should be held responsible if water does inundate their homes later.
Elected officials representing Centralia residents are:
• Port of Centralia: Dan Keahey, Julie Shaffley and Peter Lahmann
• Centralia City Council: Peter Abbarno, Joyce Barnes, Lee Coumbs, Susan Luond, Cameron McGee, Rebecca Staebler and Max Vogt.
• Lewis County commissioners: Edna Fund, Gary Stamper and Bobby Jackson.
• State legislators: Sen. John Braun, Rep. Richard DeBolt and Rep. Ed Orcutt.
• Federal legislators: U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler.
I remember driving north on I-5 in 2002, watching workers move earth for construction of the Walmart store and thinking, “Don’t they know it floods in there?”
Yes, dikes work. But during the December 2007 flood, a foot to 18 inches of floodwater seeped into both Walmart and Home Depot, causing millions of dollars in damage to the stores and merchandise.
We do need jobs. We need tax revenue.
But at what cost?
•••
Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at chaptersoflife1999@gmail.com.
