Rezones may seem to be among the more mundane actions of local government. But, to some residents of Mineral, an unincorporated community north of Morton, such an action would be “unacceptable” or could even “eviscerate the very essence” of the area.
Six people from the town appeared in front of the Lewis County commissioners on Tuesday to express opposition to a rezone of 500 acres on the north shore of Mineral Lake during a public hearing on the topic. The decision is one of several proposed changes to the county’s comprehensive plan, which are reviewed all at once on an annual basis. The county picks up the process again next Tuesday for deliberation and a vote to adopt, amend or deny the changes.
If approved, the YMCA site change would signal the next step toward the establishment of the YMCA of Greater Seattle’s first new overnight summer camp in over a century. The rezone was approved unanimously by the Lewis County Planning Commission, a citizen advisory committee, despite significant backlash from community members during a hearing.
According to previous presentations from the YMCA, the full buildout of the camp is set to happen slowly over about 15 years. It would be staffed by 100 people and host 400 campers.
Most of the eight people who spoke in favor of the move were former or current representatives of the YMCA. They said the camp would enhance outdoor educational opportunities for youth of Washington, increase employment opportunities for young adults and said the YMCA’s ownership of the property would prevent it from being subdivided and sold as lots for lakeside mansions.
The process of the hearing, by law, must be quasi-judicial. This means commissioners must make their decision solely from staff presentations and what is said or written by the public during the hearing. So far, Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope seemed unconvinced the eventual project would offer the educational benefits the nonprofit touted. After asking for more information on the organization’s curriculum, he claimed modern education is “more of an indoctrination of different ideas.”
Notable speakers in favor of the rezone included the former nationwide president of the YMCA, who said he grew up in Olympia, and a cultural teacher from the Nisqually Indian Tribe, which has offered written and financial support of the proposed camp. The latter spoke about the camp safeguarding outdoor education for children in the Nisqually River watershed, as the river is just north of Mineral.
After both of them wrapped up their two-minute testimonies, Swope asked: “Are you from Lewis County?”
He did the same for a few others who spoke on behalf of the YMCA.
Speakers in opposition were mostly against the possible effects of the camp on the lake and town, rather than being against the YMCA as an organization.
“I understand the YMCA does good things and all that, but they need to go somewhere else so they can do it somewhere else. It’s not gonna work,” said Mineral resident Mike Heinz, who mentioned the lack of infrastructure and noted the town’s volunteer fire department is already strained.
According to the 2020 census, 135 people live in Mineral. Among them is lifelong resident Ron Nilson, 78, who heads an organization he calls Friends of Mineral Lake. The property, which is currently zoned as forest resource land, is a favorite fishing and hunting area for him.
Nilson said he feels he can speak on the population’s behalf with the belief that a YMCA camp on the north shore of the town’s beloved lake is “unacceptable,” he said.
Asked if he’d prefer the summer camp to housing developments on the land, Nilson said both plans were “equally unacceptable.”
His track record confirms this belief. For decades, when groups eyed this property, Nilson has led the charge against new development. In 2012, The Chronicle reported a proposal — for 20-acre “spaghetti strip lots,” as Nilson called them, that would offer lakefront property for each landowner — was shut down after backlash from Nilson and petitioners.
He brought that up in front of the commissioners Tuesday as he recounted the times he said Mineral “won” against development plans on the lake. After the meeting, he again recounted these “wins” to a reporter and said if the camp does get built: “We will leave Mineral.”
Two people gave Nilson their testimony time, allowing him a total of five minutes in front of the county commissioners to express his disdain for the proposal. Referring to the YMCA as just “Seattle,” throughout, he calmly called upon the commissioners to go to bat for Mineral the way they once did for proposals of windmills in Boistfort, an airport in Toledo and a water bottling company in Randle.
Several residents also brought up concerns that the camp would negatively affect the area’s aquifer. In 2006, Lewis County studied wells in Mineral, which are mostly hand-dug, and discovered naturally-occurring arsenic, according to Lewis County Public Health. Nilson said at the time, the county’s water specialist and an engineer proposed a group water system run by the county for the town, but that was rejected by the community. There was a feeling the water system would bring about the establishment of sewers and other development eventually leading to “all the expenses that come with living in a city,” he said.
Last November, in a presentation to the community, Aspect Consulting water rights specialist Jill Van Hulle said a study on the aquifer showed the YMCA’s interest in rights to 17.75 acre-feet of water per year would have minimal impact to the shared water supply in the area.
“And of that, the amount that’s actually leaving the system is considerably less,” Van Hulle said at the time.
Deliberation and votes on the rezone and other comprehensive plan changes will take place at the Lewis County Courthouse on Nov. 8. Written testimony will be accepted on all changes through Nov. 4.
