Port decision puzzling, frustrating

by Doug Barker

The Port of Grays Harbor is on something of a roll.

Its latest income projections, released this week, show tremendous growth in shipping operations. They have plans to expand, but fear that the cargo is coming in and going out faster than they can build the facilities they need to handle it.

It's a fortunate problem like the Port hasn't had in a long time and it's not by accident. The Port staff and commission has worked hard to make it happen.

It makes the Port's decision to sell a key piece of land along the Aberdeen waterfront to Walmart even more puzzling and frustrating.

Walmart has purchased the property between its existing store and the Wishkah River, apparently with the intention of expanding to create one of its "superstores."

In small towns, the superstore is the retail equivalent of a black hole, sucking all other business into its mass with such gravitational force that even light can't escape. You know how the city said it turned off the street lights over there to save money? It was Walmart, sucking the light right out of that side of town.

The neighborhood paint store? Sucked in, never to be seen again. The sporting goods store? The crafts store? Pulled in with the force of a thousand tractor beams.

The Port didn't have to sell the property. The sale price was $2 million for a little more than seven acres. The Port was already leasing Walmart five acres and had decades to go on that lease.

The Port is a funny governmental entity. It's a business and governmental entity. A floor wax and a snack food.

It supplements its business operations with tax dollars, and the facilities it owns (more accurately that we own) generate jobs and offer access to industrial facilities that small businesses couldn't afford on their own.

Mostly, it's run like a business. But unlike a private business, it's owned by the taxpayers and it's bound by the open government rules that other government entities have to follow.

I suppose it's a tough balancing act sometimes.

This time, Port officials lost their balance. They went along with Walmart's request and didn't say anything to the public before the sale was tied up with a tidy bow.

If anybody knows what it's like to be the ants at the picnic, it's Walmart. They knew that some people here would oppose their expansion for the predictable effect it will have on the rest of the retail community and for their non-union track record.

Walmart's expansion on the Aberdeen waterfront is of tremendous public interest and should have been subject to debate in the public. No question about it.

Besides the effect on business, there is more interest in the fate of downtown Aberdeen and its waterfront than at any time in years. The people working on those plans never got to be part of the discussion.

To be fair, the Port insisted on Walmart guaranteeing continued public access to the waterfront where the Wishkah meets the Chehalis. But that doesn't mitigate for the backroom nature of the deal.

This time, the Port acted more like a business than a government of the people.

I don't understand why so many people think real estate sales have to be made public at the first sign of interest. Hey I heard Arby's wants to buy property in Grays Harbor, let's chase them down to every lot in town and get a comment.

It isn't necessary to publicize "Interest". The party interested will probably contact the executive and those discussions can be private. When the elected body gets involved, the Open Meetings Act takes effect.

I kind of agree, however - I was at the meeting that met OMA requirements. Prior to that, didn't Executive Sessions fulfill their requirements?

If Arby's were buying public property, it should become a public matter. Remember, it is PUBLIC property being sold so the public should have input.

And the public interest issue, in the case of the WalMart purchase, goes beyond the land deal itself. Is it in the public interest to expand a megalith business that has real capacity to put other local businesses out of business? I think so. Personally, I don't think it's in the public interest for more businesses to close, especially locally-owned businesses. If one or more Swanson's close, this means the loss of family-wage jobs and more property sitting empty. Same if Top Food closes. Although, when a local business profits, more of those dollars filter back into the local economy and it also effects a business that has shown interest in supporting our communities by donating to local charitable organizations, schools, and youth activities. All that dies when a locally-owned business closes. It's closure would have a public impact.

I think the $2million the Port receives is going to be completely off-set by the loss of more than $2million in local paychecks being recirculated in Grays Harbor, taxes no longer being paid to the cities by other businesses that will close, etc.

And it won't stop with Swanson's (again, just an obvious example). If you thought Aberdeen's and Hoquiam's downtowns were ghost towns before, just wait. I see no good from this. The sale was in the Port's best interest but not in the public's best interest.

I don't disagree with you at all funky, my wife works at Swanson's and I would be one of those families affected by a closure. However, isn't that a free market America? If Swanson's had the buying power to put Wal-Mart, or Dennis Company out of business would anyone complain?

I'm not pro wal-mart any more than I'm pro Sears, or JC Penny's. None of which advertise locally, purchase remotes, or buy into contests we do on our (locally owned) radio stations.

However, isn't local government saying "no" to wal-mart, or any other store expansion, a form of Protectionism? IF a "local investor" purchased the public property would anyone complain? What if said investor then sold that property to Wal-Mart?

It isn't "free market" anymore. Too much of the world is effected by Bentonville, Arkansas. I believe Sam Walton would turn over in his grave if he saw the devistating tactics used by Wal~Mart on communities, manufacturers, and employees.



If Swanson's used the same tactics around the nation and around the world... yeah, I think a lot of people would complain.



If the local governments took the time to look at the overall impact, "protection" would be exactly what they would do. As their downtowns become more and more ghost towns and there are fewer and fewer stores in which to do business, the lack of govenment "protectionism" will be on the top 3 reasons. The initial dollar signs are intoxicating. But, the long term effect is as devistating as meth or crack.



Would the Port go out of its way to hide the purchase or would it be cuss and discussed in meetings with the public in attendance?

I agree that Walton's Wal-Mart has evolved into a near-monopoly, but I would argue that we have those in other industries as well. Not as many affect local-anytown like Wal-Mart, but many do.


agreed, and in America they could complain...all they want.


Protectionism has it's own side effects, some equally as devistating as meth or crack.




I think the port would have sold the property the same way either way; through Executive Sessions, then one public meeting to take action on a sale.

Real Estate investors could better explain why it's not a good idea to discuss pending deals, the OMA addresses this in the form of those Executive Sessions.
In a better-staffed-news-industry, an executive session like the one discussing a pending sale of public property to a news-worthy party would not have gone unnoticed (like it did).

It is completely irrelevant if it's a "good idea". The issue is what is the law and the public's right to know. Much about open government is inconvenient, but, that's the law.

Now, the downside as I see it is, the only penalty for violating the open meetings act is a $100 fine (for each elected official who participated in an illegal executive session). If that's not enough, the electorate then has to take matters into their own hands.

Just an FYI - as of the 5th Top Foods Pharmacy closed. I learned of it on the 4th when I went in to get a script filled. There was no notice to the employees other than don't come to work tomorrow. Reason was not enough business.
Now all scripts are at the downtown Rite Aid.