By John Henderer
The Chronicle
Months of work to form a Lewis County flood control district ran into a roadblock Monday, but promoters and county commissioners insist it's only a detour.
The county Board of Commissioners sidestepped a petition to form the proposed district and create a new government agency for the Chehalis River basin in Lewis County.
Instead, commissioners opted to pursue a countywide flood control zone under county jurisdiction, which could include sub-zones for individual river basins.
In a unanimous vote, commissioners agreed to pull $300,000 from reserve funds to create a new flood control fund and continue work launched by the Flood Action Council. A petition from the council prompted Monday's action.
Money from the fund will be used to complete a Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan for the Cowlitz River basin, similar to a 1994 plan written for the Chehalis River basin.
Commissioner Glenn Aldrich, reading from a prepared statement, said the proposed 900-square-mile district did not "pass the test" of benefiting the majority of lands in the area. Nor could commissioners say the proposed dam construction and Chehalis River excavation was "feasible and economical."
The action turned down the Flood Action Council's request for a public vote, which was slated for April 22.
Nearly 100 citizens packed the commissioners' meeting room at the county Courthouse Annex in Chehalis, exceeding its rated capacity of 75 people. Citizens applauded the commissioners' decision.
Aldrich called for three more public hearings, to establish a flood control zone, on March 24 and 25 in Chehalis, Morton and Toledo. The commission held three public hearings last month in Centralia, Chehalis and Pe Ell on the proposed district.
County Auditor Gary Zandell, who earlier called the proposed election "impossible" to administer because of a multitude of complexities, expressed jubilation afterward.
"I'm off the hook," Zandell said after the commissioners' decision Monday.
Forming a district would have created a new government body with unlimited taxing authority to construct unspecified dams and other projects. It would have required an election with weighted ballots, allowing up to 40 votes for owners of 200 acres of land or more.
"We have learned a lot in these last couple, three months," Aldrich said. "After 150 years of flooding in Lewis County, it seems the people have spoken."
A countywide flood control zone would not necessarily require a new government entity. Its taxing authority would fall under normal county limits.
Proponents of the flood control district expressed optimism over the new direction.
"Our interest is results," said Bill Lotto, executive director of the Lewis County Economic Development Commission and a member of the Flood Action Council. "(The commissioners) expressed a very strong commitment to see action."
EDC officials asked commissioners last year whether they would lead efforts to control flooding in the Twin Cities. At the time, commissioners encouraged the EDC to handle it, Lotto said.
"In a sense we've come full circle," he said. "Now they're prepared to take the initiative. It's in their court, not ours, so we'll cheer."
Petitioners from the Flood Action Council planned to pursue "structural" solutions to flooding the county had not previously pursued: building a dam or series of dams on the upper Chehalis River, removing part of the "hump" on the river near Centralia and installing a flood-control gate on the Skookumchuck Dam.
It's unclear how these proposals may be included in part of a flood control zone, but Commission Chairman Richard Graham said these are a "starting point."
"We do take seriously what the Flood Action Council has done," he said. "They have started the process."
Bill Brumsickle, president of the council, said he would challenge the commissioners to "pick up where we left off. I don't care who gets the credit for this."
Brumsickle said commissioners should establish a new arm of county government directly accountable to the commission, instead of adding to responsibilities of the Department of Public Services.