Highway to stay put

Names sought for new BG schools
Committee also considers renaming Lewisville, Captain Strong
As construction work begins on another pair of primary and middle schools in the Battle Ground School District, a committee is at work developing recommendations on what the new schools should be called.
The committee is also considering the possibility of re-naming Lewisville Middle School and Captain Strong Elementary because of changes taking place on that campus.
Public input on naming the new schools and re-naming the existing schools is invited.
Kelly O’Brien, who handles communications for the School District, said the committee has established some criteria for school names:
** Names should be easy to pronounce
** Names should be representative of the culture in the area
** Names should have meaning years into the future
** Names should be unique within Clark and Cowlitz counties
** The new, 2-school campus should have one name
Names suggested for the two new schools, to be located on NE 167th Ave. east of Battle Ground, include: Umtuch Valley Primary and Middle, Chief Primary and Captain Middle; Venersborg Primary and Middle; White Oak Primary and Middle; Tukes Mt. Primary and Middle; Meadow(s) Primary and Middle; East Valley Primary and Middle; East Meadows Primary and Middle; Crawford Primary and Middle; Alpine Meadows Primary and Middle; Springhill Primary and Middle; Cresap Primary and Middle; and Durkey Primary and Middle.
Central schools to be reconfigured
The demolition of Chief Umtuch Primary School in Battle Ground will result in a reconfiguration of two other schools in Battle Ground.
O’Brien said that Captain Strong Elementary School, which has housed students in grades 3-5, will become a K-4 school in the fall, and Lewisville Middle School, which will be reconstructed near its present location, will be used for grades 5-8 instead of the present alignment of grades 6-8.
These changes have raised the question of renaming Lewisville and Captain Strong, said O’Brien.
Either or both of the present names could be retained, said O’Brien, or new names could be chosen.
Names suggested so far for Lewisville and Captain Strong include: Battle Ground Primary and Middle; Lewis River Primary and Middle; Lewisville Primary and Middle; Chief Primary and Middle; Captain Strong Primary and Middle; Lewis Primary and Middle; Captain Primary and Middle; Central Primary and Middle; Lewis and Clark Primary and Middle; Chief Umtuch Primary and Captain Strong Middle; Captain Lewis Primary and Middle; Central Elementary and Battle Ground Middle; and Crawford Primary and Middle.
Members of the Naming Committee are Amy Buma, Jane Pallister, Bill Ganley, Carrie O’Donnell, Gretchen Ek, Laurie Sundby, Linda Allen and Louise Tucker.
Public comments about school names may be sent via email to info@BGSD.k12.wa.us, sent via regular mail to Battle Ground Public Schools, P.O. Box 200, Battle Ground, WA 98604, or called to O’Brien at 904-1233.
O’Brien said the Naming Committee plans to make recommendations to the school board by July.

State fines Circle C Rock
The state Department of Ecology has issued a $160,000 fine against Circle C Rock Products of Ridgefield for “significant and continuous water quality violations” at the company’s sand and gravel mining operation.
Circle C has installed new equipment designed to improve the quality of water discharged from their facility.
Circle C Rock Products mines sand and gravel with a state permit to discharge processed water and stormwater to Mud Lake which empties into the Lewis River. The mining activity is located at NE 334th St. and Pekin Ferry Rd., Ridgefield, about two miles west of the La Center interchange at I-5.
In 2004, Circle C Rock Products paid a $10,840 penalty for violating its water discharge permit. At the time, Ecology concluded that Circle C had failed to monitor certain discharges to both surface water and ground water, and failed to use the best management practices available to avert the discharge of turbid water.
Ecology officials also reported that the company had not properly responded to an oil spill on its site.
Kim Schmanke, communications manager for Ecology, said Circle C began monitoring its surface and ground water discharges in August 2004. She said that every month since December 2004, turbidity and alkalinity levels have exceeded Circle C permit requirements.
Schmanke said that the maximum daily and monthly turbidity averages should have been below 50 units whereas turbidity was measured at 120 units, and one month was as high as 2,950 units.
If not settled out in pits before being discharged to lakes and rivers, the sediment in turbid water can cover salmon-spawning beds, rendering them useless, said Schmanke. She also said that out-of-balance pH levels can increase the reactivity of other chemicals in the water and lead to skin irritation for humans and harmful impacts on fish.
“The severity of the penalty reflects the fact that Circle C Rock Products repeatedly violated its water quality permits time after time,” said Dave Peeler, manager of Ecology’s water quality program. “We work hard to achieve voluntary, cooperative compliance with companies, but when circumstances require, we have to increase the consequences for violations.”
Clark County issued a stop-work order against Circle C in November 2006, halting work until proper controls were put in place and validated by Ecology.
On April 2, 2007, Ecology approved a new sediment treatment system which was installed soon thereafter, said Ecology spokesperson Shannon Sullivan. The stop-work order was lifted. However, only a portion of the conditions have been satisfied, said Schmanke, and Ecology will continue to monitor progress.
Sullivan explained that turbidity is measured both as water quality with a limit on turbidity above background levels, and as effluent from an outfall pipe.
Officials of the Department of Ecology reported that Circle C had a “willful and knowing violation” of both turbidity and alkalinity, that company officials were unresponsive to correcting the violation, and that some of the problems related to improper operation or maintenance of equipment.
Lou Ferreira, attorney for the Groat-family-owned Circle C Rock Products company, said efforts are continuing to assure that water discharges conform to state-mandated standards.
“We have been responsive,” said Ferreira. “That’s the part that troubles us the most.”
“We have been struggling with the standards,” said Ferreira.
Ferreira said Circle C previously installed a polymer system designed to pull sediment out of process water. “It did not work,” said Ferreira. “We were sold a bad product,” he said of the polymer system.
Ferreira said Circle C has hired a consulting engineer, leading to the installation of new equipment.
Ferreira said Circle C spent over $150,000 over two years in an effort to bring the site into compliance.
Ferreira said Mud Lake, despite its name and its muddy bottom, “doesn’t have a lot of turbidity in the water.” That means the state standards are more stringent, he said.
Circle C Rock Products has 30 days to pay the fine, appeal, or request a relief from the penalty with Ecology.
Ferreira said the company will appeal. “We do think we can work this out with Ecology,” said Ferreira.

Fireworks request causes sparks in La Center
by Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
La Center noise lovers may buy their favorite fireworks on July 5, but they can’t shoot off the noise-makers after July 4.
The city council voted 3-2 on June 13 to allow vendors to sell fireworks inside the city between June 28 and July 5, inclusive. Council members Troy Van Dinter and Bob Smith voted against the proposed ordinance.
Because the decision requires an ordinance, the matter must go to the city council again for a final vote at the regular meeting June 27. The council will declare an emergency to allow fireworks vendors to open June 28.
Last year the city council amended the existing city ordinance to permit the sale of fireworks only between June 29 and July 4, two days fewer than state law allows. The ordinance also limits shooting off fireworks, allowing discharge only between June 29 and 11 p.m. on July 4. The limits on fireworks discharge are not being changed.
The latest proposal came during a public hearing after the La Center Lions wrote a letter to the city, listing the service organization’s donations to the city and chastising the city council for decreasing the number of sale days.
In the letter, the Lions Club said that the ordinance would punish “only the La Center Lions Club…. We feel this is a slap in our faces for all that we have done and will, still, do for this community.”
Council member Dale Smith said that the 2006 ordinance had been written after community residents had complained about noise from fireworks and petitioned the city to make changes. Council member Linda Tracy agreed.
“The 51 people on the petition wanted to shut it down entirely,” she said.
Council members Bob Smith and Troy Van Dinter criticized the Lions Club for waiting so long to object to the 2006 ordinance.
“Where was the (Lions) voice last year?” said Bob Smith. “We had two public hearings; I don’t think we were out to punish anybody.”
He said the Lions Club had waited until “the 11th hour” to ask for changes, and he said the organization had not provided information about the exact amount of money it would lose.
Van Dinter agreed that no Lions members objected to the 2006 ordinance during the public hearings, and said, “I take offense at the letter.”
But Lions member Steve Fuller said the loss would be “about 25 percent of what we make. We have eight days of selling. If you remove two, that’s a 25 percent loss of the good that we can do for the community.”
L.R. Smith, who told the council that the fireworks booth is the organization’s major fundraiser, said that the Lions earn between $200 and $1,500 per day each year.
The Lions letter stated: “…Most of the time…there has always been a feeling of cooperation and respect toward one another….”

After six months of study and four public meetings, including a June 14 open house in Battle Ground, officials of the state Department of Transportation have decided that a widened SR-502 between Battle Ground and I-5 will remain on or near its present alignment.
State official Bart Gernhart said that planners met June 15 and decided to drop the two remaining “off-corridor” options. An open house the night before had displayed three options--a route north of the present east-west alignment, a route to the south, as well as the current alignment.
Studies in the next few months will focus on further evaluation of wetlands and fish habitat that would be affected by widening the road, and refinements to the alignment that could be made to avoid homes and businesses as much as possible.
Gernhart said the road will have two lanes in each direction, turn lanes at intersections, and a center median barrier. That barrier will be the standard 30-inch high, concrete barrier similar to the one that was placed last year in the center of SR-503 north of NE 199th St. in Battle Ground.
He said sidewalks would likely be constructed only in the Dollars Corner rural center area, and not along other portions of the road. He said a sidewalk or an asphalt path would require greater right-of-way acquisition and have to cross numerous driveways.
In addition, said Gernhart, the state will acquire “access control” along the existing corridor to assure that growth does not result in more intensive use. That means, he said, that the state will purchase access rights from all property owners so that no houses above current zoning will ever be built with direct access to the highway, and no changes in use will be allowed access to the highway.
That means, he said, that even if Clark County rezones a property for greater residential density or changes use from residential to commercial, that more intense use would not have direct access to the highway but would rather need to have access to a different road.
The access control would be placed on property deeds and would remain in force even if land were incorporated into the Battle Ground city limits.
Gernhart said the decision to leave SR-502 where it is was based on several factors, including wetlands issues and business impacts.
Gernhart said the off-corridor options had “lots of wetlands impacts. There are so many wetlands,” he said, “and high quality wetlands.” He questioned whether needed permits could have ever been acquired to allow the construction of a new highway across some of the wetlands.
In addition, said Gernhart, state officials met with business owners in the Dollars Corner area June 11 and learned of the possible demise of some businesses if the highway were moved to a new location.
Gernhart said officials have counted the number of buildings that will likely be displaced by the widening project. That count, he said, showed that 17 homes and 19 business buildings could be impacted. He said some businesses could rebuild on their existing properties, and others would be displaced entirely.
Gernhart said the state buys buildings and land, not business activity. The state also pays relocation costs in some cases, he said.
“The only issue that would lead us to re-consider off-corridor options would be if there were serious discussions to not install a median barrier or access control,” said Gernhart. “We don’t compromise on safety. Median barrier and access control are absolutely necessary to make this a safe four-lane highway.”
Gernhart said business owners would be well advised to study county rules about such things as septic systems, setbacks and parking before completing negotiations with state officials who will acquire property.
“This was a difficult and important decision,” said Gernhart. “Like many of the property and business owners, we also lost some sleep over it. We feel comfortable that the modified on-corridor design will work well.”
Gernhart said the current plan is for the widening work to be under construction by 2012.
Quality of life
Gernhart said a “quality of life” issue also arose regarding the off-corridor alignments. He said some people intentionally built homes away from the busy highway, not suspecting that the highway might be moved in their direction. Some such people made compelling arguments at open houses, he said.
Safety had prompted planning for off-corridor routes.
“We believe we can provide a viable on-corridor options, with median separation, to accommodate growth and commercial viability,” said Gernhart. “A center median increases safety 10-fold.”
Gernhart said most of the serious accidents along SR-502 between Battle Ground and I-5 have occurred at intersections where medians will not be present. But, he said, turn lanes and signals will improve safety at such locations.
Gernhart said signals now exist at 72nd Ave. and NE 10th Ave., and will be installed at both 50th Ave. and 29th Ave. when the road is widened. A signal at NE 92nd Ave. would be installed, he said, when warranted.
Gernhart said there is a “big difference” in accident frequency between a two lane and a four lane road.
Gernhart said officials have not calculated the comparative costs of on and off-corridor alignments. He said, however, that the cost of property off-corridor would be “pretty substantial” in part because of some high-value homes that would be affected.
Gernhart said the suggestion of frontage roads was premature. He said officials will build a road to meet growth expected in current city and county plans, but not beyond the planning horizon. He said the state Department of Transportation “cannot lead development.”
“We obviously listened last night,” said Gernhart in reference to the June 14 public open house. “And we listened Monday (in a meeting with business owners). “We’ve had substantially more input over the last 2-3 weeks. We have been getting significant input since the first open house a few months ago.”
Public supports current alignment
Public comment at the June 14 open house generally favored leaving the road on or near its present location.
State Sen. Joe Zarelli said the widened road should remain on or near its present alignment. He cited wetlands concerns with both the northern and southern alternatives.
Shirley Howard said state officials have misled the public by distributing materials that refer to “widening” SR-502. People would assume, she said, that “widening” means leaving it on its present alignment, not moving the road elsewhere. She said some people, thinking that, might not take part in public meetings.
Howard said accident data offered by state officials may not be accurate. She said her husband, Kevin, along with others, have formed a committee focused on keeping the road on its present alignment, primarily to protect wetlands and businesses.
“Some land has to be preserved,” said Howard. “We need to share land with animals. I’m all for that.”
Real estate agent Wayne Harris also said he favored the current alignment. Harris said almost all new homes built along SR-502 in the last 20 years have been set back from the road because people assumed the road would someday be widened.
Paul Walden questioned the impact on land values that could take place if a new alignment is selected and that new alignment bisects larger tracts of land, making them less desirable to larger commercial or industrial users. “My concern is, what is the future going to hold,” said Walden.
Frank Hanson said he presented a petition to state officials urging that the current alignment be retained. He said every business near Dollars Corner that he approached about the petition agreed to sign it.
“They keep wanting to make this an I-5 freeway,” said Hanson. “I don’t get it.”
Walt Yost of Battle Ground had a different view of the controversy. “All I want to do is know enough to criticize it,” joked Yost.