Centralia Mayor Susan Luond shared a letter with the city council on Tuesday evening addressing the plan by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to acquire 9,600 acres of land owned by TransAlta.
“We are requesting that this property be marketed along with the property designated as IPAT for the possible interest from private industry before it is simply transferred to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife,” the letter read.
Lewis County commissioners have expressed their concern with the proposed project stifling future economic development and have asked cities to sign a letter in opposition to the proposed project. The Centralia City Council opted to write their own letter on the topic.
The 9,600 acres, which are proposed to be transferred to WDFW, excludes the 100-plus acres of land in the Industrial Park at TransAlta (IPAT) which is zoned for industrial, manufacturing and commercial development but has seen little interest.
Luond said that the city does not know all of the options until all of the land owned by TransAlta is marketed to possible buyers.
“Before TransAlta bought it, who would’ve thought that something like that would move in there at some point — I just wish someone would take a look at it before it goes to the state of Washington,” Luond said.
The letter addressed concerns surrounding non-native endangered species being introduced to the area citing “great economic loss due to the spotted owl controversy in the 1990s.”
“This is not a simple land transfer from one entity to another but a transfer that could have unintended and irreversible consequences to the citizens of Centralia and Lewis County,” the letter read.
