From left, councilors Bob Spahr, Dennis Dawes, Daryl Lund, Chad Taylor and Tony Ketchum deliberate at a Chehalis City Council meeting in this January, 2018 file photo. Not pictured are councilors Isaac Pope and Terry Harris.
Chehalis city councilors got a look Monday at the areas of the city’s Urban Growth Area that could be next in line to be drawn into city limits.
Sections of the UGA to the north, east and west are being considered by city planners, though the eight parcels outlined in a report to the council would be unlikely to be added all at once.
The additions are designed to “even out the lines,” according to Mayor Dennis Dawes. Four of the plots sit on the Market Boulevard/Jackson Highway Corridor on the east side of town, and two more straddle I-5 to the west.
To the north, a large wetland area near the airport would expand the border from the east side of I-5 to the Chehalis River. Another small parcel would bring Alexander Park into the Chehalis fold. Both of these areas are already on Chehalis-owned property.
“This is just an early review of the areas in our UGA that we are looking to annex first,” said city manager Jill Anderson.
The council gave its approval to proceed, essentially just a nod to Anderson’s staff to continue studying the issue before returning with a narrowed-down, formalized proposal. The process of annexation, once initiated, will require many notices, hearings and opportunities for citizen protest.
“It's time to finish up the studies, makes sure it makes the right economical sense,” said Dawes. “It's not going to happen overnight ... It's trying to take small systematic steps that make sense.”
The report presented to the council estimated that annexation of the eight areas would only lead to a 1.2 percent increase in calls for Chehalis police and fire responders, though the locations could come with concerns about response time.
Other considerations include taking on responsibility for the maintenance of various roads, as well as potential revenue generated by adding areas to the Transportation Benefit District, a sales tax approved by Chehalis voters last year.
Some utilities provided by the city also come with a surcharge for users outside of city limits, so residents drawn into the city boundary would no longer have to pay that fee. That would lead to an annual revenue loss of $57,400 for sewer services and $12,600 for water. Meanwhile, Chehalis would gain $11,500 in annual revenue for expanded stormwater service.
The report provided no overall bottom line of the fiscal effect of annexation.
“The presentation on Monday was really to start the conversation to let the council know what our initial assessment was of what those areas should be,” Anderson said. “The process is lengthy.”
She said the eight parcels in the initial report would likely be divided into two or three annexation moves, instead of all at once. It will likely be six months before the city has a formal annexation plan to present to the council for approval.
