Commissioner Wes Cormier is proposing that the Gateway Center project in Aberdeen be sent to voters for approval.
If completed, the 20,000-square-foot building will serve as a visitors and tourism center as well as a one-stop shop for Grays Harbor County’s enterprise and economic development organizations. Some space will be used for retail clients and meetings.
The City of Aberdeen has taken the lead on the project and intends to ask the state to include it in the Capital Budget. The project has been estimated at $8 million and city officials have said they hope the state will pay in the neighborhood of 75 percent of that.
Earlier in January, the county commissioners voted to approve an agreement with Aberdeen that contributed $55,000 to the project (a 10-percent match to the state’s $550,000 contribution for the early stage). Cormier voted against the motion that ultimately passed 2-1. It’s not clear how much more the county might be asked to contribute, but one idea is for the county to operate and maintain the building.
Cormier is suggesting an advisory vote be placed on the August primary election ballots.
“This would be a great opportunity to get the public involved,” Cormier said in an email after introducing the idea to his fellow commissioners Vickie Raines and Randy Ross at a Jan. 17 workshop.
Cormier’s suggestion to have the matter on August’s ballots will see some savings for the county, as compared to rushing a measure to ballot in earlier elections. The county, like cities and districts, pays to have matters on a ballot.
Had the county opted to run the ballot measure during a special election in April, it would have cost $50,000-$60,000. But because the county already will have the appointed-Treasurer’s position up for election in August, the cost to add the advisory vote would be about $2,000-$3,000.
No decisions were made during the workshop. The commissioners could agree to send it to the ballot during the Monday, Jan. 23, meeting.
Cormier has indicated his reluctance to move forward with the project with the City of Aberdeen because of a lack of clarity about who would own the building after construction.
