Port 2 considering Coffee Pot offer

Commissioners of Port District No. 2 of Wahkiakum County on Tuesday agreed to consider accepting a gift of real estate, Coffee Pot Island.

The couple owning the island, which lies between Puget Island and the Wauna pulp mill, offered to donate the island to the port district in July.

Commissioners Brian O'Connor and Kayrene Gilbertsen--Commissioner Carlton Appelo was delayed by road construction and missed the discussion--said they could see the island as an asset for the district. It lies across a channel from the district's Svensen Park Boat Launch, and increased recreational use of the launch to access the island could generate more revenue from launch fees, they said.

However, they also expressed concern about the cost of adding the island to the port's liability insurance policy and said they wanted to analyze that issue before making a decision to accept or reject the offer.

Gilbertsen said she had queried Island residents in that area about their feelings on the issue. Most comments were positive, she said. Two were negative, commenting that local government would lose property tax revenue if the port district owned the land and also that there might be hazardous materials left there from the time that ships were decommissioned following World War II.

Gilbertsen noted that people are already using the island--many people boat across and fish off the island's beaches.

"All in all, nobody strongly opposed it," she said.

"We're going to have to investigate this," O'Connor said. "We don't know what it would cost to insure it. There would be an increase in revenue from the boat launch."