By Erica Hall, The Chronicle, 2/7/1998
OLYMPIA - Manufacturing companies might be lured to Lewis County if a bill sponsored by Rep. Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, designates the county for a pilot project. House Bill 3099 currently does not specify a county for the pilot program, which would designate agricultural land for industrial development. But Rep. Bill Reams, R-Olympia, House Government Reform/Land Use committee chairman, is expected to amend the bill to designate Lewis County as the program site.
"This proposal is to include one more community to the process. A couple companies looking at Lewis County would be tremendous assets," he said. DeBolt said the bill would benefit area families by providing jobs and good wages.
"The basic premise is it's a family-wage tool," he said. "Combined with other bills, this brings good family-wage jobs."
Much of Lewis County's land does not qualify for commercial development because the area frequently floods.
Bill Lotto, Lewis County Economic Development Council director, said land is available outside the county's urban-growth boundaries that could be reclassified from agriculture land to land available for industrial development.
If Lewis County could accommodate large manufacturing companies, it would give the area a chance to compete with the rest of the state for businesses that need more acreage than the 20-acre plots Lewis County currently offers, DeBolt said.
Lotto said the crux of economic development for Lewis county is providing large businesses with enough land to develop. "Trying to be successful in attracting new business becomes next to impossible if you don't have the land with utilities," he said.
"Quite frankly, we get tired of being identified as 'distressed.' "
Other bills in the Legislature are designed to boost rural economies by providing tax incentives to businesses and allowing rural areas to designate industrial growth areas outside of urban growth boundaries established by the Growth Management Act.
DeBolt said despite the similarity between House Bill 3099 and other industrial development measures, his bill is important to Lewis County.
"We are a unique situation. We do not have siting for industrial parks larger than 20 acres. We need the opportunity to attract economic development in our community."