Port 2 seeks Main Street grant

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Wahkiakum County Port 2 Commissioners adopted a new employee compensation schedule and got a quick update at their meeting on Tuesday.

The new compensation schedule is in response to the state minimum wage law and salary rules that the Department of Labor and Industries put into effect back in July of 2020, Port 2 Manager Sam Shogren said.

The new mainimum wage effective Jan. 1, 2024, is $16.28 an hour.

Assistant Manager Terina Davis said Vista Park was shut down on Saturday because of the weather. Staff were continuing to check on things and they would make a decision to open back up when they felt it was safe.

“We thought it was best to keep everybody off the roads because you couldn’t see the roads,” she said.

Shogren is continuing to look for ways to fund projects at Port 2. He said he was in dialogue with an aide from Washington State Senator Jeff Wilson’s office on a capital budget request of $380,000 for the purchase of three additional yurts at Vista Park and the platforms to support them.

He also said that over the Christmas break he worked on a grant proposal with the Chamber of Commerce for a National Main Street Program E3 grant (Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystem) which would provide additional resources to build small businesses in Wahkiakum County and Cathlamet. He said they were waiting to hear if they would be selected as one of three pilot sites in Washington State.

A grants workshop is planned at the Appelo Annex on Jan. 31, and Shogren said over 50 people expressed interest in attending and the last he knew 28 people had signed up. He and a grant writer from Longview will be teaching.