Port of Chehalis commissioners and members of the public gathered at the port for the commission’s regular meeting on Thursday morning. The first major order of business was Chehalis Foundation Executive Director Jenny Collins giving an update on Recreation Park and Penny Playground.
“We have one more feature that will be added sometime in the next month, it’s kind of an ode to (former Chehalis City Manager) Dave Campbell. It’s a communication wall and it really is geared toward kids that are non-verbal or have some form of autism or other impairments that prevents them from communicating with the people around them,” Collins said.
She added that the playground is meant to be a destination playground, not just for the residents of Chehalis, but for people in other surrounding communities as well.
“There’s a little group of people who like to go to playgrounds in Washington and Oregon. They talk about it in their Facebook groups, and it’s been kind of fun seeing other communities evaluate our playground. One of the things that we think is really special is it does have a lot of functions and equipment that is geared toward all kids,” Collins said.
Collins said most of the playground equipment was designed to accommodate kids with disabilities.
The foundation has also finished work on four new baseball fields next to the park.
“That has really brought a lot of people to our community. The City of Chehalis estimates that it brings in about $1 million of additional tax revenue to the area. They (the fields) are booked months in advance with the city. It’s become a destination place to play,” Collins said.
Field re-turfing and upgrades are also planned at W.F. High School’s baseball field. When completed, the project will include upgraded dugouts and bullpens as well as a new entrance.
“We plan to dig in the dirt the day after the last home game in the spring,” Collins said.
The W.F. High School project is currently still in the permitting phase.
Another project the foundation is planning is building a new indoor tennis and wrestling facility. Although $900,000 in funding has been secured from the budget appropriations committee for the state of Washington, construction costs have been heavily affected by inflation. The original $4 million project price tag has now almost doubled. Collins said the foundation is currently considering building a smaller facility that additions can be made to later.
Finally, the Chehalis Foundation Gala is returning this year and scheduled for Nov. 19.
Port of Chehalis Executive Director Lindsey Senter also discussed the port’s upcoming 2023 budget, although it is still in the drafting phase. One of the biggest issues the budget committee is facing is cost-of-living wage adjustments for port staff.
“People have to be able to afford to work here if they live here. The idea is to keep that if we can, and this year (the cost-of-living adjustment) is quite a lot higher than we’ve done in the past,” Senter said.
While it is just preliminary, the proposed cost-of-living adjustment for port employees is 10.1%. The goal of the increase is to raise staff retention rates. Senter added that the final change probably won’t be that high and said her own personal salary wasn’t going to be included in it.
“Most likely by the end of the year the actual whole (cost-of-living) adjustment will be closter to 8.9%,” Senter said.
Budget service costs will likely increase next year due to inflation, and the economic alliances contract will most likely be altered as well. The full 2023 draft budget will be reviewed at the port’s next meeting.
“It’s an inflationary period. We’ve just gotta watch how our revenue comes in and just try to control our expenses,” added Port of Chehalis Commissioner Mark Giffey.
