Shortline to be Reinstated Between Dayton and Walla Walla

DAYTON—At their meeting last week at the Lyon’s Ferry Marina, Port of Columbia County commissioners Fred Crowe and Earle Marvin signed a three-year lease agreement with rail operator Frontier Rail LLC, to maintain and operate the rails for the newly named Columbia/Walla Walla shortline, between Dayton and Walla Walla.

Port Manager Jennie Dickinson said that all the wording issues in the lease had been resolved.

“I feel very good. I think I understand the lease very well,” Dickinson told the commissioners.

Once the agreement is filed with the state, Frontier Rail crews can begin making repairs to the eight bridges and thirty-nine miles of track between Dayton and Walla Walla, and the company will begin to work on building a new customer base.

Dickinson said that Seneca Seed Company is just one of the businesses that will use the newly reopened rail lines to ship seed.

A new building is also in the works for Phase II at the Blue Mountain Station, that will offer four businesses with good access to the railroad siding, Dickinson said.

Dickinson said the Port has been awarded a second grant from the State Rail Bank for the siding at Blue Mountain Station.

Port officials expect the rail service to be reinstated by the end of 2016.

Improving moorage at the Lyon’s Ferry marina

Jim MacArthur and Angela MacArthur who manage the Lyon’s Ferry marina, the KOA campground, and the Snake River Grill at the marina, talked with the commissioners at last week’s meeting about some of the pros and cons of running the business at the marina.

“We’ve had a really good early spring. Things are going really well,” said Jim MacArthur.

Business is up 15% this year over the same time last year, MacArthur said.

The septic and well are completely metered, monitored, and recorded for usage, he said.

MacArthur said camping and RV usage at the marina is up, but moorage is down, and that they have been turning people away due to the inability to accommodate larger boats.

The width of the slips needs to be increased to accommodate thirty-five to forty-five foot boats, MacArthur said.

MacArthur suggested to the commissioners that the timing is good for the Port to take a look at improving the moorage since the twenty-five year lease between the Port and the US Army Corps of Engineers is coming up for renewal in 2016.

He also said he would like to build three rental cabins, but that he would need to see the new lease agreement before he commits to making any more improvements at the marina.

“I’m not afraid to get funding for improvements,” Dickinson said, about his request to improve the slips.

Dickinson said she will need up to a year and a half in order to get in on the 2018 funding cycle for grants.

In the meantime, Dickinson said that she will put the Corps on notice regarding the magnitude of the required improvements, and she and the commissioners will begin to explore the draft lease with the Corp.

Also at the meeting the commissioners signed a contract with the Washington State Department of Commerce to allow the Port to gain access to funding for work the Port does, directly.

In January, 2015 the County commissioners opted out of the Southeast Washington Economic Development Association, saving the county a substantial annual fee. Now the Port can contract with the state directly, and Dickinson said she is happy about that.