Town receives check for wastewater plant

Cathlamet Mayor George Wehrfritz gave his predecessor, Mayor Dick Swart, credit for success in funding a new wastewater treatment plant for Cathlamet during a celebration Tuesday marking receipt of a $7,483,000 check, representing an approximately $2.5 million grant and $5 million loan package from United States Department of Agriculture.

Wehrfritz read a message from the former mayor who was at the dentist in Astoria during the presentation.

The sewer plant will move onto land purchased from the Wahkiakum School District across SR 4 and will function with easements granted by St. Catherine’s Catholic Church and the Cathlamet Assembly of God Church, Wehrfritz said.

Mario Villanueva, state director for Rural Development of USDA, commended USDA Rural Specialist Bruce Whittle for the years he worked with the Town on the project.

Whittle said, “I’ve been involved (with the Cathlamet project) for the past five years, but I know Gray and Osborne (engineering company) was involved for five years before that. I came down here for many (town council) meetings, and we sat talking until 10:00 at night, and I would think, it’s a long way back to Olympia.”

Since 2004, the town council has considered options, hoping to leverage the waterfront site into high value projects and income.

In 2007, the town council voted to seek a consultant to advise them on the merits of redeveloping parts of the town and its waste water treatment system. At that time, Councilmember David Goodroe outlined a developer’s proposal that would turn the town’s current waste water settling ponds into a second marina. A complex with a hotel, retail shops, residential units and other uses would be nearby, and townhouses would circle the existing marina.

Local planners hoped benefits to the town would include obtaining the new waste water treatment plant in exchange for land, new short and long-term jobs, a doubling of the tax base, and a boost to a tourist based economy.

Wehrfritz said the town will work with Port District 1 to develop the area when the treatment plant moves.

Both Wehrfritz and Swart referred to the existing plant as failing. However, Pat Bailey of Washington State Department of Ecology clarified that the plant is not failing.

“It could fail, in the event of an earthquake or if a big boat ran into it, ” she said.

“It is reaching the end of its usefulness. It takes $100,000’s to pump out the solids (in the lagoon). Most small towns can’t afford that.”

“Oh, good--when I heard it was failing, I wondered what are we doing wrong,” said Cathlamet Public Works employee Kevin Patching, who stood with public works employee Terry Vik, discussing the start up of the new plant with Bailey.