High-speed internet and industrial development are coming for the Port of Woodland as the district recently announced progress on both developments and is looking for grant dollars to get the projects moving.
The port commissioners voted to allow port CEO Jennifer Keene to apply for grants regarding two industrial development projects on port land during their May 3 meeting, building momentum behind projects she said were a long time coming.
Keene said that in total both projects — known as Guild I and Guild II in reference to Guild Road — would cost about $9 million, with $4.5 million coming from federal grant dollars.
According to a release from the port, Guild I is a 12-acre site with six buildings that the port will construct in phases. Guild II Industrial Park is a 16-acre site with a range of as-build lots ranging from 5,000 to 60,000 square foot sites to accommodate a range of businesses.
Keene said it was the commissioners’ request to phase the Guild II project in case the port had roadblocks in receiving grant dollars, adding that Guild I could not be phased. Federal grant funds were integral to getting the projects up and running, as Keene said that without the grant the project would be outside of the port’s bonding capacity.
Keene noted that the port had already received $100,000 for design, engineering and permitting of the project through the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Moving forward, Keene said there was a pre-application process that could take 30 to 60 days, with the port likely to hear if their application for grant funding was successful in August or September. Should the application be approved, the projects could start as early as Spring 2019.
The Guild Road projects have been a long time coming, Keene remarked, noting that the first parcel for the projects was purchased 18 years ago. It wasn’t until 2016 that the port could purchase the last property for the projects, allowing for the development to move forward.
The port is also moving forward with a project to bring fiber optics infrastructure to east Cowlitz County running from Woodland city limits to the edge of the port district at Cougar. Roughly 29 miles of fiber is planned for the project that will provide internet service providers with a network they would lease from the port, allowing for high speed internet along the line.
Keene said that in the last state capital budget funds had been identified specifically for broadband infrastructure using Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) monies. She said that an upcoming workshop hosted in Pacific County would identify the specific rules and requirements in order to receive those funds.
Keene said that the project would be roughly $1 million, utilizing existing utility poles to hold the broadband fiber. Regarding a timeframe, the CERB grant applications open in July with the board hearing presentations in September. Immediately following those presentations the port would learn if they had been approved.
Keene said the fiber optics project would not take too long, relatively speaking, with much of the process involving scheduling with the Cowlitz County Public Utilities District for when the fiber could be placed on the poles.
Keene identified entities that could benefit from the dark fiber network, including, among others, PacifiCorp, the Forest Service and the Department of Natural Resources. One of the hopes, she added, was that the infrastructure would spur new businesses in the area as well, noting specifically tourism and recreation.
