Port considers property proposals from family businesses

DAYTON – Port of Columbia Commissioners held its regular meeting on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at the Port of Columbia conference room and on Zoom. Commissioners Genie Crowe, Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, and Executive Director Jennie Dickinson were in attendance.

Port Director Dickinson gave an update on the ongoing scheduled State audit. She said the Port staff works remotely with the state auditors, who expect the work to be completed in January.

Dickenson estimates the cost may be $8,000. The audit cost is less than the budgeted amount of $10,000 due to work being done remotely.

Dickinson reported that Lyon's Ferry Marina is working with the Port on KOA-sponsored pull-through RV spots. The new spots require electricity and patios required by Koa. Anderson Perry verified adequate capacity in the drain field for the new spots.

Watts asked what stake KOA has in the project other than their name. Dickenson said they provide marketing. KOA campsites pay royalties from overnight stays for KOA marketing and to be included in its extensive online network.

Dickenson introduced Robert 'RJ' McNichol and his father Robert of Cedar Rain Spirits, a tenant at Blue Mountain Station. The distillery leases suite A, which is 1,500 sq ft, and would like to expand into the building's remaining 4,500 sq ft.

The McNichols told the commissioners that the company has grown since opening in 2019. They have opened a tasting room in Walla Walla and planning on opening a mobile bar and BBQ at Bluewood Ski Resort. The company wants to expand its retail offerings at the BMS to bring more business to the area.

They have added new products, including a "well vodka" with over 60 wholesale accounts. The increase in production requires more space. The larger, less finished portion of the building would be used for production. Their current, more finished suite would serve as a tasting room and retail space.

McNichol said he wants to expand retail operations at BMS and hold concerts and other events at the distillery.

The commissioners expressed appreciation for the company's plans and success.

Cedar Rain would like to take over the new space before February or March. The Port need s to provide upgrades, including an HVAC system; once completed the rent would increase from $.40 to $.50 per sq ft.

Dickenson introduced the Columbia Rail owner, Paul Didelius, who has asked to purchase the track and right-of-way owned by the Port. She said since it is a significant community asset, a sale must be part of the Comprehensive Plan. It is not in the current plan; however, the Commissioners are working on updating the plan for 2023.

Didelius said Columbia Rail recently met with Union Pacific about service to the barge terminal at Wallula. After initially giving approval, Union Pacific withdrew Columbia Rail's use because the track configuration was inadequate. CR is working to shorten the line, improve automated controls, and looking for short-line grant funding.

By owning the line, the company would be able to better control its costs, improve the track, and balance liabilities with assets. Didelius said they had put 92 miles of track back into use in eight counties around Washington.

With the ability for the company to make necessary improvements to the line, Didelius sees future use to include shipping wheat out of Prescott. He also mentioned passenger activity between Dayton and Waitsburg.

Didelius said he appreciated the Port's letter of support for Washington Department of Transportation (DOT) grant applications which he said, "would help us provide or host seasonal special event passenger activity on the track between Waitsburg and Dayton."

Dickinson gave an update on the broadband project. Some fiber equipment sources and parts need to be changed, and the Commissioners approved the necessary changes.

The Port sent letters to residents without an overhead power source, explaining that the fiber would need to be brought to their homes underground. This would at no cost to the residents.

Dickinson said construction bids for the broadband project are due, and a public meeting will be held, on January 5, 2023. After bids are reviewed, the Commissioners will select a contractor before the regular meeting on January 14, 2023. Dickinson also expects to have another public meeting in late January to allow the public to ask questions to the contractor the commissioners select.

Dickenson opened discussion on the proposed sale of Port property to Table Rock Meat Co. for a meat processing facility. She gave a brief update on the property's appraisals and specified details the Commissioners would need to address for her to write the resolution. The resolution must be written and made public by December 28, so a public hearing can be held in January.

Michelle Shoun and Cheyenne Reed from Table Rock Meat Co. presented a video by Temple Grandin on humane slaughter operations. The video can be seen on YouTube at tinyurl.com/table-rock. The mother and daughter assured the public their operation would be humane, clean, and in compliance with all city, county, state, and federal regulations.

Shoun said most of the proposed processing is now handled at their Main Street location without complaints. With the proposed facility, all the processing work would be done in the new building. The only difference from the current activity is that the animals would be slaughtered on-site and inside the building. They expect to process up to four beef cattle daily.

Shoun said that since this is not a large operation, animal transport would not include large trucks or semi-tractor trailers.

The property is two acres, and the proposed plan has perimeter fencing, landscaping, and additional fencing at the unloading and containment areas. Animals are not going to be held there for over 24 hours. The owners said the goal is to keep animals as calm as possible, going from the trailer to the building in a direct path.

A member of the public who lives near the property objected to the facility being built within city limits, saying, "I struggle with this being within city limits for many reasons. Having grown up on a working farm, I understand that not everything goes according to plan A, and your plans are superb, but plan A doesn't exist. You're usually on plan H, I, or J, at least in my experience working with livestock."

The commenter expressed concern about property values and asked, "Have you been to the plant at Wallula or even seen the people driving into and out of that plant? It's a section of society that do the dirty jobs. I would ask for a large measure of screening those people, background checks, to make sure we're not bringing in people who could be potential hazards."

Shoun said their operation was much smaller, and the property they wanted to use was purchased to bring business to town. She said they screen their employees and do not have any issues with the quality of their staff. One advantage to their current location, and the proposed site, is employees do not need cars to come to work and can go into town to grab a snack. If the plant were rural, it could be harder to attract employees.

Shoun said, "of all the places that we have looked, in everything that we've tried not to have it in the city, this is still the best location for this plan."

Referencing the low impact of livestock kept at the Columbia County Fairgrounds, Shoun gave assurances that the general public would not even notice their operations.

The Port staff has worked with the owners, and the proposal is comprehensive. It covers concerns over animal handling, offal and blood disposal, sewage, and neighborhood impact. The proposal, other documents, and the resolution will be included in a packet released to the public online by December 28. If all the requirements are addressed, the public hearing will be on January 11.

At the public hearing, the commissioners may choose to adopt the resolution. If it is adopted, there would be a 20-day appeal period. After that period, the resolution becomes the sales agreement, and the sale would be complete after closing in January.

Before the meeting adjourned, Bryan reported on attending a recent Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA) conference. He shared WPPA discussions about the future, carbon footprint, electric vehicles, miniature energy plants, and the effects of environmental changes over the next 30-40 years.

He said they "talked a lot about environmental changes over the next 20 to 40 years, and the impact on ports."

Bryan said, "The biggest takeaway is preparing for the changes that will be mandated as far as electric energy and fossil fuels and that sort of thing. I never thought we would get to this point, but it looks like we will."

He said one of the roundtable discussions was about disaster planning. Dickenson said the port has policies but will be part of the review in January.

The second roundtable taught commissioners how to use the "WPPA Port Governance and Management Guide." Bryan said the guide is much more user-friendly than reading through the RCWs, which he said he has been doing a lot of lately. He highly recommended the guide and asked if the other commissioners or port staff had copies. Dickenson said they did and offered one that evening.

The "WPPA Port Governance and Management Guide"i s available at tinyurl.com/wppa-guide.