The Lewis County Public Facilities District Board has reached a milestone in the long process of identifying a project to partially fund with $8 million in state sales tax money.
The board met in executive session for close to an hour Tuesday at the Lewis County Courthouse as a group of investors presented a business plan for what they are tentatively calling the Newaukum Center.
It’s the first time that the state-approved board has been provided a business plan from any potential investors. Tuesday marked the “drop dead date” imposed by the board for both the Newaukum Center, which would be tentatively located off Exit 71 in Napavine, and the proposed Southwest Washington Regional Equestrian Center on Exit 63 near Toledo.
The so-called REQ Center, promoted by Larry Hewitt and property owner Phil Smith among others, appears to have been eliminated as a possible location for a facility. Board Chairman Tom Lerchen confirmed after the meeting Tuesday that the location is officially no longer under consideration.
Board members say that Hewitt has not attended recent PFD meetings or prepared any reports, and that he is no longer involved with the process.
Smith was indicted by a federal grand jury in Seattle in September for four counts of Clean Water Act violations. The indictment alleges that between August 2005 and February 2008, Smith knowingly dumped fill material into the wetlands that covered his property between Winlock and Toledo.
Out of the dust of the Southwest Washington REQ Center collapse comes the Newaukum Center, the name given to the project being pushed by a WWF Group, a compilation of investors and supporters led by Toledo resident Warren W. Freece.
Tom Crowson, one of several investors that comprise the group, said the Newaukum Center will be a multi-use facility with an equestrian focus, meaning elements of the REQ Center will live on. He said the goal is to bring jobs and economic development to Lewis County, along with a new facility that fills a gap.
“This is something they don’t have in their arsenal,” Crowson said of the Newaukum Center.
Aside from the name and brief description, though, not much is known about the composition of the proposed Newaukum Center. Investors say they will come forward and present their plans publicly when and if a contract is signed with the Lewis County PFD board.
In a meeting last month, an appraiser estimated the value of the 100-acre property in Napavine at $2.6 million as is and $6.1 million with proposed improvements that would pave the way for the construction of the actual facility. The land would tentatively be divided with a 40-acre parcel designated for the project.
To qualify for the state money, ground must be broken by Jan. 1, 2011.
The county was given permission by the state to create the Public Facilities District Board in 2007. State Rep. Gary Alexander, R-Olympia, championed that legislation and was present Tuesday for the executive session and business plan presentation.
He said the district is further along than ever in identifying a project to potentially match state funds with. Alexander said he was “pleasantly optimistic” with the progress and thinks the process will move more quickly now that the board has a proposal to mull over. He said he keeps the 2011 deadline “close on hand” and that he is encouraged by the arrival of the Newaukum Center as a potential project.
“I think that’s the closest they’ve been all along,” he said.
The Public Facilities District Board plans to hold a second meeting and executive session with Newaukum Center investors next week.
Eric Schwartz: (360) 807-8245
