Board leery of Mill Road plan

Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday declined to approve a plan to shore up Mill Road as part of a larger plan to restore wetlands along the lower Grays River.

Columbia Land Trust, a private, non-profit foundation, has purchased land between Mill Road and the Grays. As part of its long-range goal of restoring tidal wetland habitat for juvenile salmon habitat, the foundation wants to breech an old existing dike along the river bank.

Because the county road runs along the bottom land at that point, the foundation proposed installing a concrete block wall along the road to keep the river from washing over the road and flooding private property on the other side.

County Public Works Director Pete Ringen told the commissioners the plan seemed acceptable, but he had at least two concerns. One, the road foundation wasn't built to be a dike in that area and could easily erode in a freshet, and two, the road runs up to the riverbank at the end of the property and climbs onto the dike to continue downstream. That junction, Ringen said, would be a weak point that should be shored up before the dike is breached.

Commissioners cited the years of frustration people across the Grays along Kandoll Road have had with flooding they blame on another wetland restoration project and added another concern to those which Ringen expressed.

"Have they gotten approval from the neighboring landowners," asked Commissioner Blair Brady.

No, Ringen responded, the land trust wanted county approval of the plan before presenting it to neighbors.

"My advice is we wait till we have land owner approval," Brady said. "I don't want anything to be misconstrued."

Commission Chair Dan Cothren agreed. "People are still upset with what happened at Kandoll Road," he said. "I'm just tired of dealing with it. The only way I want to deal with this is if the people come in in favor of it."

Commissioner Lisa Marsyla also agreed and suggested visiting the site and holding a community meeting before proceeding.

Commissioners were also concerned that the flood wall would create a pond behind it that would be slow to drain if it flooded. No one knew what sort of drainage system existed there.

Ringen said he would respond to the land trust with the concerns.