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DAYTON–Annexing a portion of the west end of Dayton into the City Limits was an idea presented to the Port of Columbia Commissioners at the December 18 meeting.

In addition to increasing water and sewer customers for the City, the benefit of doing the annexation would be the ability to reduce the speed limit of that portion of Highway 12, to place signage along the road which is limited now, and consider developing the area for housing within the new City Limits, according to Port Executive Director Jennie Dickinson and Meagan Hayes, Director of Planning and Community Development for the City of Dayton.

Dickinson and Hayes proposed the expansion to the west include both sides of Highway 12 up to the trailer court and extend to the north, incorporating the Columbia County Fairgrounds and the Touchet Valley Golf Course.

If this were to happen, the area would need to be connected to the City sewer and water. The cost for this would only be for infrastructure and labor cost, according to Hayes. The cost per month would be lower for City hook-up which would add up over time.

Port Commissioners felt it was worth pursuing as part of a revised Comprehensive Plan, which would have to be adopted at a future meeting. A petition would have to be made by the Port to the City and the decision to grant annexation would be left to the City Council.

Based on votes for 2021 project priority taken from the annual meeting for Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) on December 16, the interest in broadband internet was at the top. Commissioner Shawn Brown suggested that the Port pursue looking into the engineering of the infrastructure so that the Port is ready to go with bringing in the dark fiber later when they get the funding. The other Commissioners and Dickinson were agreeable to pursuing construction for both the City and the County.

Due to two of the three commissioners being appointed within the past year, Dickinson and commissioners reviewied the Port’s Comprehensive and Strategic Plan. This plan was adopted in July, 2019.

Dickinson presented some of the history and purpose of the Port to the Commissioners as it is presented in the plan. The Port was formed in 1958 during a time when Ports were expanding beyond being strictly based around harbors. Their purpose is the economic development of their region and managing activities of the properties it manages, including any on waterfront, and forming strategies to maximize the assets for community progress. The Port’s plan is intended to work in cooperation with the County and City Comprehensive Plans. Each of the three Port Commissions include a part of the City of Dayton and the County boundaries match those of the County and its Commissions.

Commissioner Sean Milligan suggested the Port take on more maintenance and upgrades to the Rock Hill Trail behind the Port. He said the trail could use some ground cover so it can be used in the wetter, muddy season. He also suggested some covered areas for summer use. These ideas were received favorably and will likely be adopted into the Plan.

The Touchet Valley Trail was not discussed other than that it was in the top three for votes for project priority at the CEDS meeting.

The railroad use was discussed at the suggestion of Commissioner Milligan. After the recent meeting with Columbia Walla Walla (CWW) Railroad and given their high cost needs for maintenance and upkeep ($16 million for Phase 1), Milligan felt that the return on investment appears unlikely ($4,000/year on lease returns.) He said it would be worth considering other uses, such as pay to use rail rider cars which would be less weight bearing, or putting the walk and bike trail on the rail or in the right-of-way. Milligan said that he recognizes “the value in trying to maintain rail line capacity...it’s just so extremely expensive to even keep up on current maintenance needs, let alone try to bring that rail line back up into more serviceable condition.” He questioned the justification of seeking grant money for such a “futile exercise.”

Dickinson echoed Milligan’s sentiments, adding that though she has been compelled to protect the rail line, it’s been challenging since the grain companies are not supporting it and are not using the elevators, but instead are using trucks to move grain to the river barges. Milligan suggested that Dickinson contact Seneca and Northwest Grain Growers to gauge impact of possibly moving in a different direction to which Commissioner Marvin agreed. Dickinson stated that a section be added to the Plan for investigating other uses for the rail line.

Milligan proposed having a public hearing to present the changes to the Plan discussed, and it was agreed that it would be placed on the agenda within the next month or two.