City of Chehalis annexation likely to move forward after failed challenge from citizens

May 25-The Chehalis annexation is one step closer to reality after clearing its largest hurdle to implementation.

The Boundary Review Board of Lewis County, the last obstacle to a successful annexation, directed county staff to prepare a written decision approving the annexation process to close a public hearing held on Tuesday evening, May 19.

All five members of the board - Stetson McElhaney, Donna Moir, Diane Weiner, Arnold Haberstroh and Tyler Shoemaker - voted in favor of the motion despite some expressing outward discomfort with urban growth.

"It's still hard to swallow," Haberstroh said. "Growth is coming. I just hope we can manage it as it develops and not let it get ahead of us."

Haberstroh and Moir also disclosed that they lived within the urban growth area that is to be annexed, but stated that they did not believe it would impact their ability to make an impartial decision.

While the decision is made in theory, it's not yet official.

In following state procedures, the five board members will meet once more in a special session on Thursday, May 28, to review the written decision drafted by staff and either approve it or direct staff to make changes before final approval.

The proposed annexation calls for adding 3,857 acres of land into the city limits, with most of that territory stretching south and east along South Market Boulevard, which turns into Jackson Highway. The territory includes approximately 1,465 individual parcels. An exact population for the territory was not announced and, according to the city, it will conduct a census of the new city limits almost immediately upon annexation.

For previous reporting by The Chronicle on the details of the proposed annexation, visit https://tinyurl.com/56jdwyru.

The decision followed the nearly two-hour public hearing held by the board Tuesday evening, which included more than an hour of testimony and public comment and more than 40 minutes of deliberation between board members.

Procedure for the hearing allowed for the applicants of the annexation, in this case the City of Chehalis and Lewis County, to give 15 minutes of testimony and for the petitioners challenging the annexation to give an additional 15 minutes of testimony. The session then allowed for open testimony from the public before giving the city and county a chance to respond to any statements or questions.

The hearing was originally expected to feature testimony both on behalf of the citizens who petitioned the annexation and Lewis County Fire Protection District's 5 and 6, two junior taxing districts that also invoked the boundary review board. However, the districts recently rescinded their invocation of the board after coming to a legal settlement with the CIty of Chehalis and Lewis County.

That agreement established service agreements and payments between the city and the county to maintain a certain service level and keep all parties financially stable over at least the next two years and possibly through 2030 if the city takes longer to expand its fire and policing services.

For previous reporting by The Chronicle on the legal settlement between the city and the fire districts, visit https://tinyurl.com/mtfd9sk6.

Testimony and questions covered the same issues and topics covered in multiple public sessions held at the end of last year to begin the annexation process.

Tim Potter, a resident of the urban growth area that will be annexed, led the testimony for the residents petitioning against the annexation. He raised many of the same issues as in previous public comments, claiming the large expansion would stretch the city thin in its ability to maintain roads and provide basic services and likening it to a cash grab to bring extra tax revenue to the city.

"Pushing this entire land mass into the city limits overnight creates an unnecessary, dangerous shock to our municipal infrastructure, our taxpayers and our emergency response budget," Potter said.

He also stated that the agreement between the fire districts and the city was "a little shaky right now" because of an issue with establishing a third party arbitrator over the process. He did not provide documented evidence, but claimed he got his information from commissioners of the fire districts. The legal settlement between the districts and the city barred the districts from publicly opposing the annexation.

Chehalis City Manager Stacy Denham refuted the claims, stating that the issues stemmed from a stipulation requested by the districts that called for the Riverside Fire Authority chief to act as arbitrator. However, according to Denham, the districts did not consult the RFA ahead of time.

"RFA last week decided they were not going to do that," Denham said. "But we are currently working on some of their verification processes, and we'll be just fine."

Commissioners from Lewis County Fire Protection Districts 5 and 6 did not respond to requests for comment on the issue.

Denham added that the city had plans to expand its fire service over the next two years in accordance with the agreement with the fire districts and also planned to conduct a traffic study to identify needed developments to the road systems in the area.

Public comment dealt with other common concerns that residents have raised in previous hearings. Many have worried that they would be forced to hook up to city infrastructure or be charged extra fees for using city utilities.

According to Denham, residents with septic tanks would only be required to hook up to city services if their septic tank failed and they were close in proximity to the city's sewer system. Denham has also repeatedly said that they expect residents living in the urban growth area currently to have cheaper utilities after annexation. Chehalis utilities charge extra fees to residents who use city services outside city limits.

The board did clarify that residents in the city limits who purchase utilities from the Lewis County Public Utility District instead of the city will likely pay a 6% service fee.

Members of the board ultimately motioned to move forward with the annexation after verifying that the process met the requirements under Washington state law.

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