City councilors are elected or appointed to represent the people of Centralia. This is our first and foremost job. Not developers. Not outside interests. Centralia taxpayers come first — period.
I have been living in this great city for over 30 years and have watched a lot of great decisions being made that have improved the lives of the citizens. But I have also seen a lot of bad decisions being made without the input of citizens.
Right now, we are staring down a decision that could reshape our city for the worse. A massive distribution warehouse project is being pushed forward without enough planning, without enough public input and without enough concern for the input of community partners or people who live around the port.
Let’s be clear: this area is already dense. Fords Prairie has homes, businesses and a school. Families live here. Kids go to school here. And we’re about to dump another major traffic burden right on top of them. One major intersection is already failing. What happens when trucks start rolling in 24/7?
This isn’t solely about the traffic on Harrison Avenue. It’s about the quality of life and the affordability. It’s about protecting the neighborhoods we’ve built and the people who have moved here to escape the big city world.
And let’s talk about jobs. Centralia’s median household income is around $50,000 — a number that puts us near the bottom statewide. These warehouse or distribution center jobs offer low wages, and they won’t lift anyone out of poverty. They will just keep us stuck in it. Minimum wage jobs galore, so now an 80-hour work week is becoming a reality.
Worse, these jobs are temporary. Distribution centers are some of the first places to get automated due to the lack of low-wage employees. That means the jobs they promise today could be gone tomorrow, replaced by machines and algorithms.
Is that really the future we want to build?
We need to slow this down. We need to plan smarter as a community of partners. Not one side telling one side what they are doing, while not accepting alternate viewpoints, especially from the taxpaying public. Growth is coming, but it has to be thoughtful, balanced and centered on the very people who already live here — not just those looking to profit off us while ignoring the people who actually live here.
The public has a chance to speak up and demand smart growth. There is a public hearing at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at Centralia City Hall. If you don’t show up and say you’re concerned, future development could go through without serious discussion. Your voice really does matter, so let’s make sure it’s heard.
Centralia deserves better, and Centralia is not for sale.
Norm Chapman
Centralia City Council, District 1
