I did speak to the people at the bank that hold the paper on Hidden Ridge and they will not be doing any selling anytime soon. They know that the market is down and they said that they have the holding power to keep these off the market until the market gets better. This will be some time in the future however so we will just have to sit back and watch for when they change their tune?

I have been trying to find out who to speak with about some of the many vacant lots in the Stevenson area. I finally got a response from a person at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) which was a lender for failed CAM development. I spoke to a VP last year about the market value of some existing inventory in North Bonneville so I sent him an email last week and he actually got back to me with a name and contact information of another person that should be handling this area. I also received a phone call from a very helpful lady from RBC’s California office that is further assisting me in getting the information that I need to maybe move some product for them. The products they have are finished homes and home sites with home sites being now the majority of their holdings. Of course a bank like this will sell off the houses as fast as they can but will hold onto the home sites until the market recovers a little to say that dirt is cheaper to hold onto than houses. In addition they have the holding power to do this so the old adage that he who has all the gold makes all the rules stands true here! The home sites that RBC has in Stevenson are in a neighborhood called Hidden Ridge. It is a wonderfully developed community in my opinion but you have 40+/- lots all in one area in Stevenson. That means that it will take many years to absorb this neighborhood because of the lack of target buyer depth. Simply put not enough buyers in the price range to take down this many lots in any reasonable timeframe.

Unless these lots were drastically reduced in price so that you could sell a house on a lot for around $150k it will take quite sometime to move all the lots. Even at $150k in this economy you need to have 40 +/- people that can qualify for a loan that want to live in the same neighborhood in the Columbia River Gorge. That is a challenge for anyone at any price! I would like to however get the information so that we can sell some of them as there are interested parties and as I stated earlier it is a very nicely laid out neighborhood. So keep an eye out for an upcoming announcement for when these lots become available and get one for yourself!!!

I went to the Annual Growth update meeting to hear what was going on and came away with some good information. I took some notes on what I found interesting so here they are:

First up was Bernard Seegar the planner for the city of Cascade Locks (CL). Having grown up in Stevenson I know Cascade Locks and its history pretty well. That town has been barren for ever! I was impressed though with what they have been up to for a few years. It sounds like they have two large opportunities that may come to fruition? The first being the Bridge of the Gods Resort & Casino and the second being Nestle’ Waters a bottling plant for spring water that happens to be abundant in Cascade Locks.

The Casino has been a hotly debated subject now for a long time. The EIS (environmental impact statement) has been completed but not yet released. The city of Cascade Locks is highly optimistic that the Casino will happen though. It would bring plenty of jobs to the area but at what cost? I am not sure about that but for the most part think it is the first good thing that has happened to Cascade Locks maybe ever? In addition to that the city is courting the Nestle’ company or maybe the Nestle’ company is courting Cascade Locks. Apparently the Nestle’ conglomerate is continually looking for places to get good spring water and also to fill a void in their map of the USA that shows no plants in the northwest? Go figure!! Evidently CL has everything going for it and it may happen. Here are a few things that both sides have had to do so far:

Water well fish test – they need to find out whether fish can live in well (ground) water and to do that the Feds are requiring a 12 month test that will get the fish through the 4 season cycle. If they stay alive and healthy then that part is good. There also needs to be a water rights exchange between the Oxbox National Fish Hatchery and the city of CL which is looking like a great possibility. Nestle’ would be investing $50 million to build the plant! This plant would create about 50 jobs and a projected 25 to 50 spin-off jobs. That is good for the area but with a low impact on the environment which will help us all maintain our lifestyle in the Gorge!

The second speaker was Don Stevens, mayor of North Bonneville (NB). He did not have much time bit he wanted to share some of the things that NB has been up to. The big item was that they will be replacing their water treatment plant. They have their funding and will be breaking ground this coming week with a target completion date on October 2010. This will give them more capacity which means more businesses which means more jobs HOPEFULLY! NB has lots going for it these days and I hope that good things continue to happen for the community!

The Port of Skamania County was up next – the Port General Manager is John McSherry. I have net with John before and think he is a good person and has a great style about him. I think that everyone enjoyed his presentation because of that style. The Port’s focus is to create private investment through infrastructure. That means they have developed land and built buildings to provoke business to get involved. A good indicator of that is the Bingen based company Insitu has leased the largest space in the Tichenor building at Stevenson. The Port also has a focus to create jobs, create a larger tax base, which helps our county be less reliant on those almighty timber dollars and improve the quality of life. A pretty good organization to have in the area! Of course Ports were originally created for these activities but it appears that we have a good group working down there for our benefit.

Skamania County PUD’s Manager Bob Wittenberg spoke next – he explained some interesting facts that we should be aware of and it covers why rates and fees go up. There is a BPA line that comes off the Bonneville dam and splits one going west to Vancouver and one going east. The line going west ends at the White Salmon River, that line and fasteners is old and will need to be replaced someday soon. He mentioned that if it does fail we would be in the dark for 2 to 3 days and that is a long time for today’s residents! He stated that if the Whistling Ridge Wind Farm was operational that we could basically flip a switch and be back on quickly which means very little discomfort for us. Bob also spoke about Carson’s aging water system and recent water rate and hook up increase had to be made to pay for the upgrade of that system. I happen to know a little about that system and he is correct. The folks that are in charge of that system have been doing a bang up job and really know there stuff lucky for all those residents that are able to turn the tap on and have good water come out! One other point to make is the electrical rates we all pay today are very low compared to many other areas not in just our state but the country. So consider ourselves fortunate for that!!

The City of Stevenson gave us information about the aging roads inside the city limits and that a roads life span after paving is approximately 12-15 years. They budget for these things and it obviously take good planning, etc. to get it done. One issue that was lightly touched on is the amount of finished lots that the city of Stevenson has. I am a Realtor with a background in new construction sales, marketing and development which means I know about sales velocity and absorption – this town has too many lots, too close together in an area that historically has low absorption which means considering price point could take many years to take those lots down. It will be interesting to see how the banks and developers price these lots, it should be pretty low or at least when they finally sell those prices will be low. All in all the city of Stevenson people have done a good job and at least for the Washington side of the Gorge seems to be the most popular destination and place to live for outsiders coming in.

The Skamania County Economic Development Council spoke shortly as time was getting late about their agenda which is a very good one in my opinion. Their assistance with grant applications for small businesses, etc. is something that more should take advantage of. Please contact Peggy Bryan at the EDC for more information – 509.427.5110.

Skamania County was up next with District 3 Commissioner Jamie Tolfree giving the presentation. Jamie gave us some numbers for building permits and what areas in the county were those permits being used, locations of new homes and commercial buildings. Also she said that the population of the county in 2009 was 10,800. I always like to know that it is interesting to me. Gosh I think that back in the 1970’s before the second powerhouse construction began I think it was 2,400 +/-? I could be wrong so do not hold me to it. Building permit activity went down in 2009 which of course would have been expected and it should not increase in 2010.

Again I think this was a great event and one that I will attend next year and maybe I will see you there? Take care, Bob

By Erik Robinson Columbian staff writer Saturday, February 20, 2010

 A sign welcomes Washington State Senator Patty Murray to the Port of Vancouver on Friday. Ports praise development anchored by investors’ certainty about river The economy in Southwest Washington is already benefitting from an as-yet-unfinished project to deepen the Columbia River’s shipping channel, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray heard during a round-table discussion today at the Port of Vancouver. The $190 million project to deepen the channel from 40 feet to 43 feet will be finished by the end of this year. Construction got under way in 2005, following almost two full decades of planning and lobbying by ports, business interests and labor groups along the river. Critics characterized the project as an economic boondoggle that would harm aquatic life in the river, but proponents told Murray today that the investment has already paid dividends. A $230 million grain elevator is under construction in Longview. Related story Time now to make tough decisions on I-5 bridge, Murray says “This project would never have happened without the promise of this channel-deepening project,” said Ken O’Hollaren, executive director of the Port of Longview. The deepening project got a $29.6 million jolt of federal economic stimulus funding to finish the job this year rather than two or three years later. The final piece of funding allowed contractors to use underwater explosives to scour out three feet of hard basalt in the river bottom between Ridgefield and St. Helens, Ore. The blasting occurred in November through February, shattering 600,000 cubic yards of black rock. Murray told local business and labor leaders that the deepening project ensures the river will remain the “lifeblood” of the economy in Southwest Washington. “Clearly, this is going to create economic vitality in the long term,” she said. Eroding jetties Protecting that channel will require a massive new investment by Congress through the Army Corps of Engineers, however. The jetties that protect the mouth of the river, originally constructed between 1885 and 1917, are eroding badly. The corps estimates it will take 18 years and as much as $470 million to rehabilitate them. “All the work that we’ve done to deepen the channel to 43 feet could be undone,” Murray said. The jetties damp down waves from the ocean, while also serving as a barricade against beach sand that would otherwise clog the shipping channel. The Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, an industry group based in Portland, noted that the jetties protect a shipping industry that annually hauls more than 40 million tons of cargo valued at $16 billion. Longshoreman Cager Clabaugh drew chuckles when he noted that the promise of a deeper channel started shortly after he started the job after high school. “I can see the guys starting now are going to hear, ‘We’ve got to get the jetties fixed,’” he said. Turning serious, he added: “If a serious breach were to happen, it’s going to kill the economy up and down the river.” Murray alluded to the expensive and protracted construction schedule. “Realistically, it’s going to take a community working very, very hard and sticking with it over a long period of time,” she said in an interview. “This is something that takes long-term commitment from the leadership on every level.” Contractors conducted $30 million worth of interim repairs between 2005 and 2007. Corps officials believe the interim repairs might have extended the life of the jetties another 10 years, providing time to get the major rehabilitation under way. The phased rehab project will cost close to a half-billion dollars. “It will be hard, it’s a lot of money,” Murray said. “It’s competing with a lot of other projects out there, but I think the economic implications are very clear.”

Erik Robinson: 360-735-4551, or erik.robinson@columbian.com.