Author’s note: This represents my point of view and not the full Centralia City Council.
Centralia is a place where people still stop to talk in the grocery store aisle, where we know each other’s kids, check on neighbors, and enjoy a pace of life that feels human.
That sense of belonging is why this decision matters so much.
We were asked to approve zoning that would allow three to five more mega-distribution warehouses — each between 650,000 and a million square feet — added to the four we already have and the two more already planned.
Every one of these facilities would feed onto Harrison Avenue, even as we try to engineer truck traffic north instead of south.
People feel strongly on both sides, and I understand why. This isn’t about being “for” or “against” growth. It’s about seeking growth that strengthens us — and avoiding growth that diminishes the things we value most.
These are the questions that, after months of conversations and research, led me to vote no last Tuesday.
1. What does this scale of development mean for daily life?
The environmental review for the new building on Harrison anticipates 345 truck movements per day, plus 97 passenger vehicles. If three to five more buildings follow, all of them would feed onto a corridor already strained.
So I’ve asked:
• How will families get to work, school or medical appointments?
• What happens to emergency response times?
• What does this mean for small businesses along Harrison who depend on foot traffic?
I spoke with businesses representing about 50 jobs. Some were ambivalent, but several told me they are not confident they can survive construction or long-term congestion.
2. What do we actually know about the jobs — and what remains unknown?
A similar warehouse on the East Coast — nearly 1 million square feet — was forecasted to bring 500 jobs but produced about 100. Local warehouse wages range from $18 to $24 an hour, with specialized roles reaching $25 to $32 an hour. These jobs matter, but many fall below our median household income of just over $52,000.
We also cannot require:
• Local hiring
• Local maintenance contracts
So I’ve had to ask:
• How many jobs will truly go to Centralia residents?
• Will these jobs lift families into long-term stability?
• What happens if automation reduces the workforce over time?
We simply don’t know.
3. Are the promised traffic solutions realistic — or hopeful?
We are being asked to assume:
• Roundabout funding will remain in the state budget — even as cuts are being discussed
• Trucks will reliably travel north
• The North County Interchange — not approved, funded or designed — will eventually relieve pressure
But assumptions are not infrastructure, and Harrison already has failing intersections.
4. What is the total impact of adding three to five more warehouses?
This isn’t one building. It’s a cluster of massive facilities added to the six already built or planned.
So I’ve asked:
• At what point does this change the character of our northern gateway?
• What does Centralia look and feel like when this buildout is complete?
• Is this the identity we want for our community?
5. What does responsible stewardship look like right now?
As an elected representative, my responsibility is to weigh both the benefits and the costs — not just for today, but for the next generation.
I’ve asked:
• What will we wish we had protected?
• What will we wish we had questioned more deeply?
• What will we wish we had said “not yet” to?
The Port of Centralia has worked hard to find compromises, and I appreciate that. But the uncertainties remain large, and the impacts are permanent.
A closing reflection
Centralia will have many chances to grow and welcome new opportunities. But some decisions set a direction that is hard to turn back from, and this is one of them.
Centralia is not just a dot on a map or a convenient place to build big buildings. It’s a community with a soul, a place where we raise our kids, breathe the air, drive the roads, and look out for our neighbors.
When I think about this decision, I think about the people who will live with it long after the ribbon cuttings and headlines fade. I think about the families who chose Centralia because it still feels like a place where life can be lived at a human scale.
And I think about our responsibility — mine as an elected representative, and ours as a community — to protect what makes this place worth calling home.
My vote was not cast out of fear, but out of love for the community we are and the one we have the power to become.
•••
Kelly Smith Johnston is the current deputy mayor and the former mayor on the Centralia City Council.
