The Hoquiam City Council on Wednesday approved up to $35,000 for the city to spend at the upcoming county tax lien property auction.
There are 13 properties listed with Hoquiam addresses on the block for the Sept. 15 auction, which features properties that have been off the tax rolls for at least three years. The Aberdeen City Council last week voted to authorize Mayor Erik Larson to bid on properties in the auction.
And like the Aberdeen Council, the Hoquiam City Council went into an executive session, apparently to discuss what, if any, properties the city would be interested in. When they emerged from the session they approved the $35,000. While which properties may see bids from the city won’t be made public — doing so would affect the city’s effectiveness in bidding — City Administrator Brian Shay said a person who had knowledge of the city could “probably figure out” some of the more attractive properties.
A variety of properties are included in the auction, including a lot on J Street, a corner lot on 8th Street and another corner lot on Sumner. These properties are listed as an example of what’s available and in no way implies the city is considering bidding on any of them. Minimum bids on the properties range from $620 to $14,000.
When asked why the city would be interested in purchasing these properties, Shay replied: “The benefit is to either use the property for city benefit or to have control of the way the property is developed in the future. As an example, the city could choose to buy a property and immediately begin to list it for sale to make sure the city finds a buyer who would construct a new building rather than an out of town investor who might buy a property and just sit on it doing nothing to benefit the community.”
The council also considered several other issues at their Monday meeting, including:
Fireworks
“We are exploring the cost of an advisory vote related to fireworks,” said Shay. “We are not committed to doing anything, just looking at what a vote would cost.”
Every summer the city gets its share of fireworks-related complaints, said Shay, and this year the idea was brought about at the previous City Council meeting of having a public “advisory” vote on the matter — a vote used to guage the public’s interest on a topic, the results of which are not binding. The cost of such a vote to the city varies widely depending on the size of the election and what other city and/or county issues are on the ballot. Shay has been reaching out to the Grays Harbor County auditor to assess this cost and what available options may be. Once he has done that he can take that information back to the city council for consideration.
New business coming to town?
After the executive session at Monday’s meeting, Shay said the city will negotiate an intent to lease contract for the drive-through building at the Farmer’s Market near Deidra’s Deli on Riverside Street.
“A person has proposed to lease that building to have a drive-through restaurant and sell sports merchandise and apparel in the lobby,” he said. Shay said it’s his understanding the potential investor has recently moved to the area from the Seattle area.
ATVs
While stopping short of using the term “ban,” Shay said the council voted against a citizen proposal calling for allowing operating ATVs within the city, as has been done in Montesano and other smaller, more rural areas.
“We had one citizen who came to us” wanting the city to legalize ATV travel within city limits, said Shay. I think our council decided with all the semis and heavy truck traffic, Hoquiam is not a very safe place to allow it.” The members of the Public Safety and Law Committee report against the proposal was unanimously approved.
Stormwater improvements
The Adams Street stormwater outfall near Dahlstrom Lumber has experienced severe erosion over the last two years, and the council approved the low bid of $27,406.57 for Thompson Leasing Company of Cosmopolis to make the repairs to the tide gate, pipeline and shoreline. Thompson’s bid was considerably lower than the other three companies’, which Shay attributes to the timing of the bids and the fact that Thompson’s is a one-man operation, keeping costs down. The funds for this project will come out of the city’s Watershed Capital Reserves.
Truck parking on Bay Avenue and 28th
Large trucks parking on the southwest side of the intersection of Bay Avenue and 28th Street have made safely turning from 28th, which leads to the public boat launch, onto Bay Avenue difficult. Shay said the original 100-foot, no-parking area could be expanded to 300 feet to increase safety. He stressed the council only approved the recommendation from the Public Safety Committee Monday, which will allow an ordinance to be brought forward to make the change. “Nothing has been changed yet,” he said.
Grants pay 100 percent of new energy efficient lights
Earlier in the summer, the city received two grants totaling $265,512 from the State Transportation Improvement Board to replace city lights with energy-efficient LED lights. Shay said the grants cover 100 percent of the city’s cost to purchase and install the new fixtures.
“A local vendor here has the state contract to supply those lights,” said Shay. Columbia Electric Supply in Aberdeen will be selling the lights to the city, and Shay said it is likely Aberdeen and the PUD would also be using the local vendor for similar projects. “I’m sure they’re probably going to be supplying hundreds of thousands of dollars in lights,” he added, saying it was a good thing for the local economy.
