The Lewis County commissioners and other county officials visited the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds on Monday morning to see progress on a project to replace a water main.
The project manager for the work, Matt Patana, led a walkthrough of the project with Commissioners Scott Brummer, Lindsey Pollock and Sean Swope and other county staff. The tour began near the Community Events Building and made its way past the Horse Barn on the other side of the fairgrounds as Patana led the group down the midway and discussed different elements of the project.
The work, which was first contracted last year before ground was broken in the spring, is replacing the main line of the fairgrounds’ water line from the north end of the grounds to the Community Events Building. However, the walk served not only as an update on the current work but also as a chance for Patana to tell the commissioners about the need for more repairs and replacements at the fairgrounds.
“The reason for the walk and the idea of this is so that we can kind of get a larger idea of what we're about ready to get into,” Patana said. “Because we can do the water line, but there's no better time than now, really, to consider doing the drains and leveling the asphalt.”
The expanded work proposed by Patana would include replacing stormwater drains, many of which are compromised or nearly compromised, according to the project manager. The work would also involve leveling the asphalt at the fairgrounds to reduce tripping hazards and improve drainage of the low-lying areas of the grounds that have often had flooding and groundwater issues over the years.
County staff also added it would be a good chance to add some power conduits to simplify the underground powerline layout.
“That’s really a first point if we’re talking about improving the fairgrounds,” Patana said. “Getting these drains done is a big part of doing that well.”
During the walkthrough, Patana often pointed out drains that were cracked or eroding or parts of patched asphalt covered in spray paint to call attention to the tripping hazards.
The project in its current form is simply to replace the old leaking iron water main pipe in the fairgrounds with a large gauge PVC pipe that will be more resistant to corrosion in the moist soil underneath.
The call for bids on the project first went out in May 2024 when Lewis County committed $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the Biden administration to the project. The City of Centralia committed an additional $250,000 in ARPA funds for the work at the time.
The design for the project was done by Terra Vista NW, LLC, but the county awarded the bid to complete the work to KCL Excavating Inc. out of Rochester, for roughly three quarters of a million dollars, or approximately $750,000.
The project is set to be completed by Nov. 1 if left as is. But if the project is expanded to replace drains and make other improvements, the timeline could be extended into November or beyond.
According to Patana, the work would continue with the hopes of finishing before winter comes and before asphalt plants close for the rainy season. But he added that if the holes filling with groundwater becomes an issue, the team would stop the work and resume when it dries out. “There’s no point in trying to get rid of that much water,” he said.
As a result, the extra improvements, if approved by the county, may come in a piecemeal fashion with contractors replacing and completing high priority parts first and possibly leaving lower priority aspects of the project to be completed or paved later on as weather permits.
Patana also pointed out that if the expanded work went beyond the Community Events Building where it ends now, there would be a need for more permitting and inspections that might extend the timeline.
The fairgrounds are considered to be historically significant and, as a result, require state antiquities inspections to preserve any found pieces of history. That inspection has already been done on the parts of the fairgrounds that have already been dug up, but the work would need to be redone for the south end of the grounds.
As the tour neared its completion, county staff asked about the budget for the expanded project, which Patana estimated at $1 million.
While the price might be steep, Patana drove home that the work needs doing and will only get more expensive the longer the county waits to take action. Not only will the cost rise, but Patana added that going forward with the work after already breaking ground on the current project could save the county money compared to starting over from square one.
At a minimum, the county could save money on asphalt by putting off repaving and expanding the holes it has already dug. It may also be able to expand the scope of work of some of its contractors, like those conducting archeological studies, instead of paying new fees to recommission them in the future.
“I would encourage you to do it now,” Patana said as the walkthrough came to an end. “The cost later, you know, it's only going to be more.”
