In front, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, left, discusses with Clark College President Bob Knight plans for developing the institution’s Boschma Farms campus. Inslee visited several locations in Ridgefield, including the Boschma Farms site, during a tour of the city July 18
Gov. Jay Inslee, right, shakes the hand of lifelong Ridgefield resident John Burrow during a tour of the city July 18. Burrow, 102, was once mayor of Ridgefield from 1960-1964, and was honored by the governor with an apple pin, deeming him Washingtonian of the day.
The pride and joy of Ridgefield’s development into one of the fastest-growing cities in the state was on display July 18 as Gov. Jay Inslee toured with several local officials key sites indicative of the city’s progress.
As part of a broader tour of Clark County that day, including stops in Vancouver and Salmon Creek, Inslee stopped by the public boat launch at the Ridgefield Marina, the future site of the new Ridgefield School District intermediate campus, the brand new Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife building as well as the site of Clark College at Boschma Farms.
Chief among examples of progress was the work done on the waterfront in conjunction with the Port of Ridgefield. Port Executive Director Brent Grening said the site they were on was a result of a “$90 million public investment” involving the cleanup of a former wood treating plant on the site.
Upon bankruptcy of the company in 1993, it left acres of dioxin-contaminated land requiring remediation, which the port was able to clean up in part through $77 million in Model Toxics Control Act funds. The last piece of the cleanup was the rehabilitation of residences near the site that had become contaminated.
With the cleanup, the port has eyed development opportunities on the waterfront.
“With all that cleanup, obviously, that’s opened up amazing opportunities for us,” Ridgefield City Manager Steve Stuart said.
One of the new developments mentioned was an overpass connecting the vast majority of city land with that along Lake River, bisected by a railroad line that has cut off the waterfront from the town proper for 100 years, he said.
A moment or two after Stuart made mention of the overpass, a train charged along the tracks.
“Now you can see why we need the overpass,” Stuart said.
Inslee and company also saw the site of the future Ridgefield School District intermediate building and sports complex, as well as the recently-constructed new home for the Department of Fish and WIldlife.
The last stop was at the future site of Clark College at Boschma Farms, a development focused on land to the east of Interstate 5. Clark College President Bob Knight and Clark College Foundation President Lisa Gibert spoke about the project, which will see a six-building campus come together in a roughly 50-year timeframe.
One of the hurdles for the project’s development is funding, although up until last week there was the possibility of an influx of state funds for the project. In helping that funding, $5.4 million was designated in the state capital budget for the endeavor.
However, the state Legislature was not able to pass the budget before adjournment, something that irritated the governor.
“Currently there’s some senators that don’t think this is worth doing,” Inslee said. “They’re willing to take it hostage for something totally unrelated to this.”
Inslee was referring to the Hirst decision, a state Supreme Court case involving land use, particularly water resources. Essentially, it means counties and residents would be required to pay up to $10,000 for the services of a hydrologist when drilling a new well. Previously, they could have relied on Department of Ecology data to prove the availability of water. Senate Republicans had refused to back down from insistence on a permanent fix to the issue, rather than the proposed 24-month moratorium
Inslee felt that delaying projects like the one Clark College was hampering the role the state government.
“The community college system is a basic government function,” Inslee said. “I believe it is inappropriate to threaten a basic government function.”
Inslee does have the power to call a special session to come up with a budget. The Associated Press had reported that he hoped “calmer minds may prevail” in coming weeks, allowing for an agreement and a call for a special session to pass the $4 billion in funding.
Inslee honors Ridgefield “patriarch”
Although ostensibly a trip to see what’s on the horizon for the city, Inslee also took the time to honor one of the oldest Ridgefield citizens, John Burrow.
Burrow, who celebrated his 102nd birthday earlier this month, has lived in the city his whole life, and at one time he had been a government official himself. Burrow said he served as mayor of Ridgefield from 1960 to 1964.
Inslee presented Burrow with a pin of an apple, a regular gubernatorial gift naming a particular individual “Washingtonian of the day.”
Burrow himself questioned the governor’s decision to bestow such an honor, claiming he was not worth the recognition. Locals, including city councilors and port commissioners, thought otherwise, touting Burrow as a “patriarch” in the community.
