The City of Centralia annexes land, including a camp for the homeless; development expected

March 17. At a regular meeting on Tuesday evening, the Centralia City Council decided to annex a 109-acre tract of land along Reynolds Boulevard.
The annexation includes the area where the Blakeslee Junction homeless camp is located and extends south to the banks of the Skookumchuck River. The city hopes to build an industrial complex on the land.
The annexation was passed unanimously after a second reading on Tuesday. The discussion was brief, as community development director Emil Pearson told the committee that nothing had changed since the first reading of the annexation at the Feb. 14 city council meeting.
“The main catalyst for this project is actually called the Wagner property, and if you look at this map on the screen, you will see that it is in the middle,” Pearson said at the February 14 meeting. ).
It includes several properties owned and controlled by Reliable Enterprises, but the developer has made quite a few purchases. ”
As for the Blakeslee Junction camp, Pearson told the council at a meeting last month that the city is working to reach a cross-local agreement with Lewis County and other partners to address the current issues. Last fall, Lewis County passed a local law banning homeless encampments on county land, but the law has yet to go into effect.
In public comments on the annexation last month, Gather Church co-pastor Patty Howard spoke out for those who live in homeless camps and urged everyone to remember that those who live there still exist.
“Part of what it means to be a priest is that you give a voice to those who have no voice, a voice to the powerless, to bring industry and new faces to Centralia and promote economic growth, I think if 15 houses in this area was an annexation, will it be treated differently?”
Lewis County Director of Public Health and Human Services Medja Handlen also spoke at a meeting last month and explained that while she is not officially authorized to speak about what happened at Blakesley Intersection, the county is working with the Washington State Department of Transportation. co-owners and city employees help people living at the Braxley Junction camp find shelter elsewhere.
“As Pastor Patty said, these people live in this place, and we are doing our best to move forward and find another opportunity for them,” Handlen said.
Since most of the land is already set aside for industry, Pearson said advisers can look forward to the development seen there in the future.
“I would like to see some warehouse distribution center, but we are not sure who the potential users are. I believe the facility has a contract with Panattoni Development and is Ryerson Steel (warehouse),” Pearson. This is stated in a statement made last month at the meeting.
Councilor Mark Westley raised concerns about flooding given the property’s proximity to the Skookumchuck River. He has owned real estate on Reynolds Avenue for over a decade, including during the disastrous floods in 2007.
“There was a 1505 Reynolds at the bottom of my driveway, and when the flood hit in 2007, I was walking on the water on my thighs, the water was above my knees, about 3 and a half feet. field and look how it got deep, I know most of that land is covered with 5 or 6 feet of water,” Westley said at a conference last month.
Pearson explained that the city has allowed floodplain development, which includes most of the land adjacent to Reynolds Avenue. He also said that developers are aware of the risk of flooding and that the city’s building codes require them to build buildings one foot above flood level.
“If the 2007 or 1996 floods are the worst, they will have to make sure buildings are flood proof or built 1 foot above (these levels),” Pearson said at a meeting last month.
In the preliminary plans shown to him, Pearson told the committee that developers were not only planning flood protection structures, but were also digging parking lots in the floodplains to contain flood waters.
This means the area will not divert floodwater to nearby communities, he said, and the developers told Pearson they also plan to add artificial ponds up to 10 feet deep to further mitigate floodwaters.
In addition, a traffic impact analysis is currently underway to determine if there is a need to mitigate traffic problems along with industrial development. It includes several properties owned and controlled by Reliable Enterprises, but the developer has made quite a few purchases. ”
As for the Blakeslee Junction camp, Pearson told the council at a meeting last month that the city is working to reach a cross-local agreement with Lewis County and other partners to address the current issues. Last fall, Lewis County passed a local law banning homeless encampments on county land, but the law has yet to go into effect.
In public comments on the annexation last month, Gather Church co-pastor Patty Howard spoke out for those who live in homeless camps and urged everyone to remember that those who live there still exist.
“Part of what it means to be a priest is that you give a voice to those who have no voice, a voice to the powerless, to bring industry and new faces to Centralia and promote economic growth, I think if 15 houses in this area was an annexation, will it be treated differently?”
Lewis County Director of Public Health and Human Services Medja Handlen also spoke at a meeting last month and explained that while she is not officially authorized to speak about what happened at Blakesley Intersection, the county is working with the Washington State Department of Transportation. co-owners and city employees help people living at the Braxley Junction camp find shelter elsewhere.
“As Pastor Patty said, these people live in this place, and we are doing our best to move forward and find another opportunity for them,” Handlen said.
Since most of the land is already set aside for industry, Pearson said advisers can look forward to the development seen there in the future.
“I would like to see some warehouse distribution center, but we are not sure who the potential users are. I believe the facility has a contract with Panattoni Development and is Ryerson Steel (warehouse),” Pearson. This is stated in a statement made last month at the meeting.
Councilor Mark Westley raised concerns about flooding given the property’s proximity to the Skookumchuck River. He has owned real estate on Reynolds Avenue for over a decade, including during the disastrous floods in 2007.
“At the bottom of my driveway was a Reynolds 1505 and when the flood hit in 2007 I was roaming my hips, about 3 and a half feet deep, above my knees. Tried to go through the field and see how it became Deep, I know most of this land is covered with 5 or 6 feet of water,” Westley said at a conference last month.
Pearson explained that the city has allowed floodplain development, which includes most of the land adjacent to Reynolds Avenue. He also said that developers are aware of the risk of flooding and that the city’s building codes require them to build buildings one foot above flood level.
“If the 2007 or 1996 floods are the worst, they will have to make sure buildings are flood proof or built 1 foot above (these levels),” Pearson said at a meeting last month.
In the preliminary plans presented to him, Pearson told the committee that the developers were not only planning flood protection structures, but were also digging parking lots in the floodplain to stay in place as the flood waters rose.
This means the area will not divert floodwater to nearby communities, he said, and the developers told Pearson they also plan to add artificial ponds up to 10 feet deep to further mitigate floodwaters.
In addition, a traffic impact analysis is currently underway to determine if there is a need to mitigate traffic problems along with industrial development.


Post time: Mar-20-2023