Lewis County will officially open a long-discussed project to rebuild a law enforcement presence on the east end of the county this week.
On Wednesday, the Lewis County Board of Commissioners will host a grand opening of the new East Lewis County Sheriff’s Substation, located at 8911 U.S. Highway 12. Sheriff Rob Snaza, County Commissioner Scott Brummer and County Manager Ryan Barrett broke ground on the project last October.
The budget for the new building was $300,000 and was funded with money from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund.
The structure is 12 feet wide by 36 feet long and has four car bays.
According to a previous Lewis County news release, the structure will be staffed by “support staff several days a week.”
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office previously operated a substation 20 miles up U.S. Highway 12 in Packwood. The substation was open two days a week but closed in September 2018 as a cost-cutting measure. At the time, the services offered at the substation were transferred to the Lewis County Law and Justice Center in Chehalis.
While running for re-election in 2022, Snaza said the closure was “not by choice, that was by need," according to previous Chronicle reporting.
At the groundbreaking, Snaza said the work to reopen the station was “in the process for over six years.”
Tours of the new substation will be available from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
