Elma football stadium and flooding worries
The taxpayers of Elma turned down the bond for a new stadium a few years back and now due to an unfortunate loss of a loved one, the Brogan family wants to build one.
I graduated from Elma in 1959 and the field has been a mud hole forever. I had a dream of winning a huge lottery and building a new football stadium and field out by the fairgrounds. No water problem there. It would have been first class.
Due to the excellent engineering of the bridges at the drainage ditch at the Elma sewer system and the ditch in the middle of the golf course, when the Chehalis River basin has a big flood, guess how much extra water is going to be on the north side of the freeway?
Years ago Les Cox, who I worked with at the Weyco mill, went home after work to find water around his house. It’s the last house, close to the north side of the freeway, next to the storage facility. Basement flooded, lost washer, dryer and freezer.
Thriftway store in Elma, city had to build a new road to it as the original one got under water.
No, I don’t have an engineering degree from college, have a better one by knowing the geography of the area.
By the way, there has never been any fish in those culverts that now you can drive a bus through.
Pray we don’t have a normal big flood now.
Lonnie Yucha
Aberdeen
Wednesday’s Aberdeen City Council vote could be a triple win
At the upcoming Wednesday, July 10 Aberdeen City Council meeting, council members will have an opportunity to score a triple win for Aberdeen.
Council members will be asked to accept grant funding from the Washington State Department of Commerce and from the Heritage Capital Projects Fund for the renovation of the former Salvation Army Building, located at 118 West Wishkah St.
Once initial renovations of the building are complete the Aberdeen Museum of History, after seven years in storage, can relocate from a rented warehouse space, saving the city thousands of dollars a year. This building will also allow the city parks department to relocate from rented office space, saving even more money.
On the first floor, in addition to the museum, Aberdeen will finally get its long-awaited visitor information center. Establishing a rest area/visitor information center in the Aberdeen area has been a priority for local businesses and visitors for decades.
Car loads of visitors passing through Aberdeen will now have a place to stop, stretch and hopefully learn more about what’s happening in our community, where they might go for a bite to eat, a glass of wine or a local brew. The fact that the new visitor information center and museum are directly across the street from the newly renovated Side One building, which houses the Green Room and the Music Education Project is an added bonus.
Once visitors on their way to somewhere else get out of their cars and onto our sidewalks, the potential for them spending money in our community rises dramatically. This project is good for local businesses, it is good for city tax revenues, and by reducing the city’s monthly expenses and increasing its revenues, it’s good for our community in general. Renovation and occupation of an empty downtown building is icing on the cake.
Whether you are a citizen or a business owner, if you want to see our community improve, please contact your council member at www.aberdeenwa.gov/275/City-Council or attend the Wednesday, July 10 City Council meeting and voice your support for this important project.
The meeting will be held at Grays Harbor College, 1620 Edward P. Smith Dr., 3000 Building, 3rd floor. The meeting will be called to order at 6:30 p.m. There is a public comment period at the start of the meeting.
I look forward to a triple win on Wednesday.
Les Bolton
Aberdeen
