The Port of Chehalis will continue supporting flood mitigation efforts undertaken by the Economic Alliance of Lewis County at the same amount it has annually since 2019 — $5,000. The decision came following discussion amongst Port of Chehalis staff and its commissioners during their Thursday, March 27, meeting.
Discussion about funding amounts was held after Port of Centralia Commissioner Kyle Markstrom questioned why the Port of Chehalis wasn’t matching the $15,000 being given to the Economic Alliance by the Port of Centralia and both Twin Cities’ governments at a Port of Centralia meeting earlier this month.
During the Port of Chehalis’ Thursday meeting, Port of Chehalis Executive Director Lindsey Senter broke down the payments made by both ports and both cities.
She compared the payments all four government entities made to the Economic Alliance with their gross operating revenues and what the percentage of the payment was compared to gross operating revenues.
While the Port of Centralia, City of Centralia and City of Chehalis are all giving $15,000 this year compared to the Port of Chehalis giving $5,000, the Port of Chehalis actually pays the second highest amount percentage-wise of the four entities, Senter said.
The Port of Centralia gives the most, with its contribution equal to 0.48% of its total gross revenue, while the Port of Chehalis’ contribution is equal to 0.45% of its total gross revenue. The City of Chehalis made the second smallest contribution compared to total gross revenue at 0.12%, and the City of Centralia’s was 0.06%.
Senter added that, prior to 2019, the Port of Chehalis was also giving $15,000 annually, and that the Port of Centralia commissioners had skipped contributing to the Economic Alliance in some years in the past.
“I do know that their contributions have been inconsistent. I’m not saying that’s right or wrong, just those are the facts. It’s my understanding that in fact, over time, we have contributed more overall. But, if we’re going to talk about today’s need, the $15,000 mark, whoever made that up, it doesn’t mean we can’t adjust ours,” Senter said. “But, I believe the reason we have gone down to $5,000 was because of the disparity between inconsistent payments and honestly, our budget is not a big budget.”
Since 2016, the Port of Chehalis has given a total of $75,000 to the Economic Alliance for its flood mitigation efforts.
She also said the Port of Chehalis contributes to flood mitigation efforts in a variety of other ways, including managing Lewis County Flood Control Zone District 1.
On top of managing the flood control zone, the Port of Chehalis has also contributed a total $372,911.28 in grant funding for projects and surveying in the flood control zone. Additionally, the Port of Chehalis also obtained grant funding for recently completed flood mitigation and aquatic species restoration efforts in Berwick Creek to the tune of a combined $737,182.
“Ideally, we compensate through some of the grant funding, and perhaps they (the Port of Centralia) also do. I just don’t have that data,” Senter said. “... Budget-wise, I think it’s perfectly possible we could go up some. I like to think that we compensate in other ways, however, so that we don’t have to do it that way.”
She did propose possibly adding another $1,000 in funding to their total in order to match the Port of Centralia’s percentage to be “as fair and equal as possible, regardless of our history.”
Ultimately, all three Port of Chehalis commissioners were in agreement that their port’s funding contribution to the Economic Alliance was enough for now.
“Historically, it’s been hit and miss for (the Port of) Centralia a lot. My recollection of all that, and (Commissioner) Mark (Giffey), you can speak to that too, but we have consistently supported the flood control efforts ever since I was elected 14 years ago,” Port of Chehalis Commissioner Mark Anders said.
“It’s not a fair comparison when they’re just looking at that one dollar amount, instead of the whole scope of work of what we’ve been doing here with the flood control,” Port of Chehalis Commissioner Paul Ericson added.
Senter told the commissioners they could revisit the amount later if they wanted still.
As for what the Economic Alliance actually does with the contributions it receives from both the ports and the cities, The Chronicle reached out to Economic Alliance of Lewis County Executive Director Richard DeBolt to ask on Friday, March 28.
DeBolt explained the money doesn’t actually go directly toward flood mitigation efforts, but gets pooled together and donated to One Voice Lewis County to help cover its legal fees.
Established after the devastating 2007 flood, One Voice Lewis County is a group of citizen advocates for flood mitigation efforts to protect families and communities across the Chehalis River Basin from catastrophic flood damage. One Voice supports the proposal for a flow-through dam on the upper reaches of the Chehalis River in Pe Ell. The project’s planning and environmental reviews have been propelled by the state Office of Chehalis Basin and local governing bodies.
Along with the money it collects from the ports, cities and Lewis County’s government, the Economic Alliance puts $5,000 of its own funding into the pot, then donates it all to One Voice Lewis County.
“We put our (funding) in it, and then we write one big check to cover legal fees,” DeBolt said.
The Economic Alliance of Lewis County is a public-private partnership that aims to help increase employment and economic opportunities to improve the community’s economic vitality and quality of life, according to its website.
To learn more, visit https://lewiscountyalliance.org/.
For more information on One Voice Lewis County, visit https://onevoicelc.com/about/.
