Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Should an amphitheater be included in the first phase of development at Cathlamet’s planned Waterfront Park? Members of the town council debated that question at their April 17 meeting, but decided no. At a previous council meeting on March 20, the group had approved removal of several elements from the park’s design: a wildlife viewing outlook, fire pit, and lighting. The council deemed the revision necessary due to inflation. The cost of materials has nearly doubled since the grant design was originally submitted to the state Recreation and...
Cathlamet’s elected leadership is planning ahead. Town council members spent the bulk of their April 3 meeting in workshop mode to discuss the first draft of a new comprehensive plan. The 80-page draft was prepared under contract with the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments. It replaces a previous plan approved back in 2002. Once updated and officially approved, a new comprehensive plan will require updates every 10 years. Council members discussed the document’s introduction and chapters on land use and a community profile. They will con...
The Town of Cathlamet has a new council member. After interviewing applicants Kaden Anderson, Joseph Baker, Holly McKeen, and Michael Severson, the council voted 3-1 to appoint Baker to the vacant Position #3. Council member Laurel Waller cast the lone dissenting vote. Position #3 is up for election this fall, and Baker will be required to run for election to continue past the nine-month appointment. Baker and his wife relocated to Cathlamet in 2021 after residing in Auburn for many years. He formerly managed the theater at Green River College...
Cathlamet town council members will be looking for an additional member to join their ranks in 2023. At their December 19 meeting, the council declared a vacancy in Council Position #3, formerly held by CeCelia Raglin. The action was taken in accordance with municipal code after a council member misses three consecutive meetings without requesting excused absences. Council members present at the meeting expressed gratitude for Raglin’s service. Information about the process for filling of the vacancy is forthcoming. In other business, the c...
By Jamie Nelson At its September 6 meeting, Cathlamet’s town council dealt with a water line issue related to the Sunnyfield subdivision on Greenwood Road and discussed ideas for a gateway arch to welcome visitors to Cathlamet. Richard Erickson attended the meeting as a representative of the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber hopes to install a “Welcome to Cathlamet” gateway arch at the intersection of SR 4 and Main Street, he reported. Erickson and Mayor David Olson plan to meet with representatives from the Washington State Depar...
Cathlamet is two steps closer to having an electric vehicle charging station at the Butler welcome lot site after Tuesday night’s town council meeting. The town had solicited bids for installation of an electric vehicle charging station and for construction of a paved parking lot at the corner of Butler Street and Main Street. After review of the proposals, council members unanimously voted to award the Butler Welcome Lot electrical bid to Hamer Electric of Longview and the parking lot development bid to Advanced Excavating Specialists LLC o...
Cathlamet town council members celebrated local cheese when they met Monday, and also considered various inedible items. Mayor David Olson began the night with a proclamation recognizing August 2022 as Little Island Creamery Brie Cheese Month. The honor was given in recognition of the local dairy’s win in the brie division of this year’s American Cheese Society competition. “There’s an awful lot of cheese lovers trying to pronounce Cathlamet right now,” Olson joked, adding that Lori Dietz, head cheesemaker for the creamery, is raising m...
Members of the Cathlamet Town Council acted on Main Street zoning concerns when they met Monday night. At a previous meeting, council members had asked town attorney Fred Johnson to prepare an interim zoning control ordinance intended to pause conversion of Main Street storefronts into residential rentals. While considering the ordinance, council members acknowledged the lack of affordable housing in the community alongside the goal of maintaining a Main Street commercial core. During public comment, Main Street business owner Patty...
After a 30 year career at the post office, Libby Whitney is ready for retirement to deliver its rewards. Tuesday was her last day on the job, which began in 1984 when she started working as a substitute postal carrier, filling in a few hours every other week. Originally, her husband David applied for the position, but then-postmaster Mary Lang suggested that Libby consider applying instead since the minimal hours would make it difficult to provide for their family. In 1994 she transitioned from driving to working as a clerk. When she started,...
Wahkiakum County commissioners met with county department heads on Tuesday for a workshop to discuss possible pay raises for non-union employees. Other than elected officials, most county employees are on union contracts. However, most departments have a deputy department head who is a non-union employee. These non-union staff members work in salaried positions not eligible for overtime or the same step raises that come to union employees. An undersheriff and a chief civil deputy serve under Sheriff Mark Howie. The only raise that they have...
Ballots for the Wahkiakum School District’s replacement maintenance and operation levy will be mailed to voters within the school district boundary on January 24. The district board of directors has asked voters to replace an expiring levy in order to help the district pay maintenance and operation costs not covered by state or federal funding. The levy would collect $997,000 in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. The assessment rate is estimated at $2.73 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The current rate for the expiring levy is $2.75 per $...
Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce is moving house. After several years of working out of the Julia Butler Hansen House at the intersection of Butler Street and Main Street, the chamber is moving its offices to the other end of Main Street and back into its former quarters in the Scarborough Building. The move will occur before February 15, Chamber Director Ashley Turner announced at the group's meeting on January 14. The primary reasons for the decision to move were the high maintenance and heating costs associated with the JBH House and a desire...
Wahkiakum County commissioners heard an update on tax levies and approved a request to add additional security measures to county emergency communications infrastructure when they met January 7. Assessor Bill Coons updated the commissioners regarding levies for 2014. The commissioners had indicated that they did not want levy rates to increase when they approved levy limits at a recent meeting, Coons said. Having calculated levies throughout the county on a preliminary basis, he observed that all the property tax levy rates in Wahkiakum tax...
Wahkiakum Port District No. 1 commissioners and staff continue to discuss the need to dredge the entrance channel to Cathlamet’s Elochoman Marina. The commissioners and staff recapped the situation during a June 13 meeting. As it has in many areas of the Cathlamet channel of the Columbia, shoaling has occurred, and the shallow waters are difficult for some boats to navigate. One possible quick fix is prop washing the area, a term which refers to using the force generated by a boat’s propeller to remove the built-up silt. The improvements wou...
It’s back to work on building a brewery at Cathlamet’s Elochoman Marina. After rejecting bids from an earlier round of bidding that were higher than expected, Wahkiakum Port District No. 1 commissioners have gone to bid again with a revised scope of work. Drop Anchor Brewery, LLC partners provided an update to the original scope of work which they requested for constructing the 36-by-40 foot building which they plan to lease from the port. The commissioners reviewed the document with Port Manager Jackie Lea when they met June 6. “They have take...
Wahkiakum PUD’s electrical crew will soon have a new bucket truck to use when working on overhead power lines, the utility’s commissioners decided at their Tuesday morning meeting. The PUD received four bids for the replacement of its current aerial lift-equipped vehicle. The commissioners chose the low bid of $99,429 which came from Versalift Northwest. The expenditure was originally budgeted at $120,000. In addition to the bucket truck, the utility also recently acquired a laptop and projector, which PUD Manager Dave Tramblie dem...
The effort to construct a building to house a proposed brewery at Cathlamet’s Elochoman Marina has stalled for a few weeks. Wahkiakum Port District No. 1 commissioners met May 24 to open bids for construction of the building. Three were submitted; all were rejected due to the prices, which ranged from $77,564 to $138,415. Drop Anchor Brewery partners had solicited an estimate from a local contractor which they included with their proposal to the port commissioners. Since then, the size of the proposed building has increased, and the c...
With no pressing business to act on, Wahkiakum PUD commissioners met briefly Tuesday morning to sign vouchers and to hear reports. PUD Attorney Tim Hanigan told the commissioners that he had been present on Friday at the opening of bids for a new bucket truck. Four bids were submitted; they ranged in price from $99,429 to $109,831. PUD Manager Dave Tramblie, who was out of town on Tuesday, is reviewing the bids and will give his recommendation, Hanigan said. The budgeted amount for the purchase was $120,000. Commissioner Dennis Reid noted that...
