Over the past year, the Port of Columbia County has completed several important projects from our 10-year Capital Improvement Plan, which identifies the Port’s highest priority infrastructure projects.

Leveraging state and federal grant funding, we were able to complete upland improvements at Scappoose Bay Marine Park, rehabilitate pavement along the westside taxiways at Scappoose Airport and install an emergency generator system at Scappoose Airport for regional disaster preparedness.

While we celebrate these achievements, we are also faced with some significant challenges. Most notable is the estimated $30 million environmental cleanup of the former Pope & Talbot Wood Treating Site along the Multnomah Channel in St. Helens.

Pope & Talbot treated logs with creosote at the site from 1912 to 1960. After it ceased operations, the Port purchased the property in 1963. Pope & Talbot later went bankrupt, leaving the Port (and the public) responsible. In 2023, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality approved a cleanup plan for the upland and in-water creosote contamination, and the Port is now applying for federal grants so we can begin the effort.

This will be a multi-year project as we work with DEQ and continue to apply for grants to secure the necessary funding.

The Port is also trying to secure federal grant funding to modernize the Port Westward Beaver Dock outside Clatskanie for seismic resiliency. In 2022, the state passed Senate Bill 1567 requiring the seismic retrofitting of large fuel storage and distribution facilities within 10 years to withstand a Cascadia 9.0 earthquake.

While the Port does not own fuel storage tanks, the law extends to piers and mooring structures, making Port Westward the only public entity affected by the new regulation. The Port was recently awarded a $2.7 million Connect Oregon grant to begin this work, but the total cost to retrofit the entire dock is estimated at over $60 million.

Additionally, a recent feasibility study of the Scappoose Bay Marine Park found that the marina operates at a loss of $549,000 per year, constraining the Port’s ability to make capital improvements throughout the district.

The Port is also faced with aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance needs throughout its properties. Together, these challenges far outspend the combined revenues from our tenant leases, permits and licenses, which amount to a little more than $5 million per year.

To help address this funding gap, the Port is proposing to reassess its tax levy of 8.86 cents per $1,000 assessed property value, which it has not assessed since the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020. For a property owner with an assessed value of $300,000, this would amount to $26.58 per year and will raise over $500,000 annually in revenue that the Port will invest back into the community.

By using state and federal grant opportunities, we can leverage the Port’s funds for a 50-80% return on investment. For example, the recent $800,000 upland improvement project at Scappoose Bay Marine Park was made possible by a 50% grant match from the Oregon State Marine Board. Public financing support is necessary for the Port to continue to invest in economic growth, capital investment and public recreation within the district.

On April 29, the Port of Columbia County Budget Committee — comprised of five members of the community plus the five Port commissioners — voted to approve the reinstatement of the tax. The Port commission will vote on whether to reinstitute the tax at our June 11 Port commission meeting.

A draft of the budget can be viewed on the Port’s website at portofcolumbiacounty.org.

I want to thank the Port commission for its continued leadership, the dedicated community volunteers who serve on our Port committees and our talented staff. Their collective efforts make it possible for us to maintain a fiscally responsible budget while we advance our shared vision of a diverse regional economy with thriving local businesses, quality jobs and opportunities for all.

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Sean Clark is the executive director of the Port of Columbia County.