Greater Grays Harbor, Inc., (GGHI) hosted one of their signature events, Lunch with the Mayors, Tuesday at the Rotary Log Pavilion in Aberdeen.

Leaders from seven municipalities participated in a roundtable style discussion moderated by GGHI’s Chairman of the Board of Directors Kyle Pauley.

Mayors Linda Springer of Cosmopolis, Josh Collette of Elma, Ben Winkelman of Hoquiam, Chris Miller of McCleary, Tyler Trimble of Montesano, and Frank Elduen of Ocean Shores were in attendance, while City Administrator Ruth Clemens represented Aberdeen. Anthony Smith of Oakville and Ed Welter of Westport were unable to attend.

After a welcome and introductions by Pauley and GGHI CEO Darrin Raines, the civic leaders discussed the initiatives and projects their cities are working on, and the challenges they are facing.

Winkelman talked about the levee project in Hoquiam, the proposed pellet plant, the revitalization of Olympic Stadium and the pending purchase of a handful of downtown properties.

“It’s a good time to be the mayor in the city of Hoquiam,” Winkelman said. “I’m really excited about a number of projects that are coming together in the next few years. I’ve got a great team of people I’m working with.”

Clemens said that Aberdeen has strategies and plans and mentioned how the city has been dealing with housing inventory, homelessness, blight and vacant buildings. She discussed the new history museum and visitors center, the U.S. Highway 12 rail separation and North Shore levee projects.

“There has been a lot going on in the city of Aberdeen over the course of the last year. Mayor (Douglas) Orr would like to say that we’ve taken our city back,” Clemens said. “We’re doing all that we can to change our downtown core. … Part of the levee project that’s really critical is the Fry Creek Pump Station … that was finalized last year. We just won an award, an engineering award for that, and won another award from the American Public Works Association, Washington State Chapter.”

Elduen talked about the walk-in clinic planned for Ocean Shores, erosion issues, the need for a firebreak along the coast and sidewalks in the city, fresh waterways water quality, permits for new home construction, planned high speed fiber optic internet, and successes with the Chinook Dog Park and the renovated high school baseball field at North Bay Park.

“One of the biggest things we have coming up is a walk-in clinic, it’s going to be a big deal for our town. It’s something the citizens have wanted for 30 years,” Elduen said. “We’ve got quite a bit of stuff going on. … We have a report coming out for us shortly, probably in another month. We’re going to start addressing the water quality of our fresh waterways. We have 23 miles of canals plus our two lakes. We’re getting close to almost 8,000 people living in Ocean Shores, we’ve experienced a lot of growth.”

Trimble said that Montesano is taking a back to basics approach focusing on infrastructure and the area’s 4,000-acre forest. He mentioned the construction of a new childcare facility. He also expressed fears regarding the possible loss of federal Medicaid and Medicare funding.

“The childcare facility has finally broke ground, built a building, and is on its way, we’re super excited. Learning to Grow, which is also in Elma, has opened up a wait list, desperately needed,” Trimble said. “We went back to basics this year. Really cut back on what we’re trying to do, we’re back to infrastructure. My thing has always been to protect what we have.”

Collette said that Elma is expecting construction of an Amazon distribution facility and an O’Reilly Auto Parts location. He also mentioned the Summit Pacific Medical Center expansion and the desire to develop a parks and recreation plan, something the city of Elma hasn’t updated since 1970.

“We’re experiencing a ton of growth, a couple of weeks ago it was announced we’re going to have an Amazon distribution center, in the next couple of months we’ll be breaking ground on the O’Reilly Auto Parts,” Colette said. “There are a couple of other projects in the exploratory phase for Eagle’s Landing. … In the last year we have updated our website.”

Springer said her goal is to get Cosmopolis on the map and to focus on growth opportunities. She touted the city’s volunteer fire department, parks, pickleball court, and flower planting program, along with partnerships with Aberdeen and Hoquiam for essential services and utilities.

“We’re fully staffed, that’s a big deal. We have a council, we may not always agree, but it’s diverse, and we work together,” Springer said. “We have a very low crime rate, our community is clean, very few issues with homelessness.”

Miller said the sidewalks are a priority in McCleary and that roads are in poor condition, however he said a chip sealing project would address some of those roadway issues. Miller also said qualifying for grants for city parks is a challenge and that infrastructure and utilities are also priorities.

“We’re trying to move forward, 80 years of tradition, which is great in some aspects, but when your infrastructure is failing, your taxes and your utility rates keep going up and it’s putting so much pressure on the residents they can’t afford to live there, you have problems,” Miller said. “I am excited, same thing like Ocean Shores, trying to make us a more of a walkable community, we have a major sidewalk project going in this summer. We have a lot of people who walk. Roads have been a challenge because ours have been in such poor condition. This year we will have finished our chip sealing, we’re pretty excited about that.”

Pauley put a question regarding housing to the civic leaders and just about every one mentioned either the lack of adequate housing or how quickly houses sell in their communities.

Clemens mentioned the levee project when it comes to the floodplain and the need for flood insurance for residents and the cost of renovation for home and business owners.

Winkelman said that people are buying homes and waiting for the levee project to be completed before renovating.

Conversely, Elduen said that Ocean Shores is a planned community and it’s easier to build homes there. He mentioned that recent efforts to streamline the permitting process has accelerated new home construction.

Clemens specifically was asked about Pinnacle LGS’ purchase of the Shoppes at Riverside and their plans to turn the mall into a modular home factory. She said that Pinnacle will be creating 300 jobs and could have things up and running by the end of the year.

When asked about current plans and vision for the future, all of the civic leaders emphasized getting people outside and described and prioritized outdoor activities such as mural painting, mountain biking and walking trails, pickleball and basketball courts, youth sports and library programs.

Jerry Knaak / The Daily World Aberdeen City Administrator Ruth Clemens and Hoquiam Mayor Ben Winkelman.

Ocean Shores Mayor Frank Elduen makes remarks at the Lunch with the Mayors event. (Jerry Knaak / The Daily World)

Jerry Knaak / The Daily World Mayors Josh Collette, Tyler Trimble and Frank Elduen at the Lunch with the Mayors event.

Mayors Chris Miller and Linda Springer at the Lunch with the Mayors event. (Jerry Knaak / The Daily World)

Elma Mayor Josh Collette speaks at the Lunch with the Mayors event. (Jerry Knaak / The Daily World)