Columbia Pulp Mill starts production

DAYTON–The Columbia Pulp Mill at Lyon’s Ferry is up and running and straw pulp production will begin this week.

The economic concern, however, is it does not appear that there is any increase in school enrollment, as the people moving here to work for the Pulp Mill do not seem to have children. Plus, there is still a housing challenge for these employees moving here.

Kathryn Witherington reported that the two open houses one in Dayton and then again in Waitsburg, were successful. The National Park Service recommended the Port write up all the concerns, good, bad, or neutral that was heard. The Port was excited to know that a wide variety of people wanted to be on an email list for updates. The list of concerns will be sent out to that list.

The next community outreach will be included as part of the design charrette scheduled for October 25 and 26. Anderson Perry & Associates will be heavily involved in this workshop. The Open House portion for the public will be at the Columbia County Fairgrounds at the Pavilion on Saturday, October 26 at 5 p.m.

Touchet Valley Trail. The Request for Proposal (RFQ) was advertised for two weeks as required by state law. Six firms called for information. However, only one firm, Anderson Perry & Associates, submitted a Statement of Qualifications. This firm addressed a significant portion of the concerns addressed at the two open houses. This firm has the expertise to handle all the design, to include the bridge design, the surveying, the civil engineering, the environmental permitting. Additionally, the firm has two outside consultants that they would prefer to work with on landscape architecture. The firm suggests that airplane surveying be done because of the size of the area. This aerial survey would involve the use of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), which is a remote sensing method using light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth which can be used to make digital 3-D representations of the area. Motion was made and seconded to proceed with negotiations with Anderson Perry & Associates.

In other business is concerning the Lyons Ferry Marina. It is time to start the annual planning process and the Port of Columbia will be meeting with tenants. The Corps of Engineers has a new electrical certification requirement which cost the Port $20,000, which was the entire Marina budget for 2019.

Rock Hill Industrial have new gutters on a building, all fixed and working fine. The gutters had been leaking for a while.

The Port’s Blue Mountain Station has an Occupancy Permit for Building No. 2. There is still a need to pay to have gravel installed in the back so that occupants aren’t dealing with mud. The Port will prepare a press release to announce this. This building is planned for hemp production use. The hemp company is working on getting the electrical system inside, no production has been started yet. Hemp is a high value crop.

CWW Railroad. There has been a lot of “flack” regarding weeds on the railroad right of way as a result of the bike trail outreach. It was stressed that it is typical for a railroad to keep a certain distance from the center of the track free of weeds, about seven feet on either side, which creates a 14-foot width. The railroad does not spray for weeds on the rest of the right of way. There needs to be some reasonableness on what the expectations are for weed control on the railroad right of way. However, weeds are less tolerable on a bike trail. It was noted that the Bill Chipman Palouse Trail has an aggressive weed control program.

Lastly, Jennie Dickinson requested that for 2020, the advertising budget include working with someone to do some economic modeling that shows the economic impact the Port has on Columbia County. She stated other Ports have done this with amazing results. This would help provide the public a positive description of the economic benefit provided by the Port. There are a variety of consulting companies that provide this service. For example, a Moscow Idaho, company called EMSI, with clients across the United States and Canada, is a labor market analytics firm that can do this kind of work. Alternatively, the State has contracts with other companies that can do this work. The main point is that this study cannot cost a lot of money.

Community and Economic Development Kathryn Witherington mentioned that the State of Washington designated November 2019 as Global Entrepreneurship Month. The State desires that events be scheduled to support this. Witherington proposed that the Port pass resolution 2019-05 which would declare November 2019 as Columbia County Entrepreneurship Month. Although the Port’s existing events, such as the monthly Cup of Joe already qualify, Ms. Witherington would like to add additional events to highlight the value of Entrepreneurship. Commissioners moved, seconded, and adopted this resolution. A press release will be prepared later, but it is hoped to accomplish two things: Celebrate existing Entrepreneurs, and perhaps hold workshops on how to start a business.

The next Port meeting is rescheduled for November 12 at 3:30 p.m. Future meeting will continue to be held on the second Wednesday of each month at 3:30 p.m.