Clark County Port Heads to Give Talk on Seaport Operations

By Mark Edward Nero

The CEOs of all three Clark County ports – Vancouver USA, Camas-Washougal and Ridgefield – say they’ll share what makes each port unique and how the ports work together for the betterment of the region during a lecture set for April 27.

The event will feature Port of Vancouver USA CEO Julianna Marler and Chief External Affairs Officer Ryan Hart, along with Port of Camas-Washougal Executive Director David Ripp and Port of Ridgefield CEO Brent Grening and VP of Innovation Nelson Holmberg.

They will share updates on interesting projects, including the Washougal Waterfront Vision and Master Plan; the Port of Ridgefield’s Discovery Corridor and development of dark fiber infrastructure; and the Port of Vancouver’s Terminal 1 waterfront redevelopment.

Attendees will also hear how the three ports partner together for greater impact, taking a regional approach to marketing and to presenting priorities in transportation, economic development and other critical issues to state and federal legislators.

The lecture, which is part of an ongoing series, is set for 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 27 in the Terminal 1 large conference room, 100 Columbia Street, Vancouver, the former Red Lion Hotel.

Space at each lecture is limited and pre-registration is required. To register, call (360) 693-3611 or email rsvp@portvanusa.com. Those with questions should contact Julie Rawls at (360) 992-1137 or jrawls@portvanusa.com.

Ridgefield Named Washington Port of the Year

By Mark Edward Nero

The Washington Public Ports Association named the Port of Ridgefield the recipient of its annual Port of the Year Award at a December ceremony in Bellevue, Washington.

Ridgefield, in southwest Washington’s Discovery Corridor area, is a rapidly growing suburb of the Portland-Vancouver area. While the port’s nomination application included a host of development projects completed within the last year, totaling more than $9 million, WPPA cited the port’s extensive, multi-year, $90 million environmental cleanup of the Port of Ridgefield’s 41-acre waterfront site – Millers’ Landing – as the determining factor for the award. The site was cleared for development late last year.

This site on Ridgefield’s Lake River was the location of Pacific Wood Treating, which operated there for 30 years. When the company when bankrupt in 1993, it left the port with the problem of cleaning up the environmentally-significant site adjacent to a 5,500-acre national wildlife refuge, and just quarter-mile from the Columbia River.

WPPA executive director Eric Johnson said the port’s 20-year project is now winding down, with the final stages – the dredging and planting of adjacent Lake River and Carty Lake – currently in progress. Project completion is anticipated in late spring 2015.

“We have recognized the Port of Ridgefield for their extraordinary work in cleaning up and revitalizing the Ridgefield waterfront. This port took on a daunting challenge and saw it through to a successful conclusion,” Johnson said.

The WPPA has given the award each year since 1987 to recognize a member port that has demonstrated exceptional success in the industry. There are currently 75 member ports operating within Washington State.

Port of Ridgefield Executive Director Brent Grening, port commissioners Scott Hughes, Joe Melroy and Bruce Wiseman, and key staff members and advisors were on hand to accept the WPPA award.

“My fellow commissioners and I are proud and pleased to win this prestigious award,” Wiseman, the port commission chair, said. “It was working together over so many years on a project that were all passionate about that got us here.”

Grening, who has been at the port’s helm for more than sixteen years, voiced his appreciation for the recognition from his peers.

“Port staff and its commission, and many, many others, worked long and hard on this effort, with a successful project outcome. That the port industry recognized the good work we’ve done is very rewarding,” Grening said.

Grening also noted that next year marks the Port’s 75th anniversary, making the completion of the decades-long project especially timely.

“Instead of dealing with problems of the past, we now get to look forward to the work we can do as Ridgefield’s community port for the next 75 years,” he said.

Port of Chehalis Hires New Director

By Mark Edward Nero

Randy Mueller, the director of business development at the Port of Ridgefield since April 2007, has been hired as the next executive director of the Port of Chehalis.

Mueller leaves the Port of Ridgefield after a little over seven years. At the port, he was the lead employee responsible for management of infrastructure and economic development projects, including real estate acquisition and development, transportation. He was also responsible for building the port’s real estate portfolio, and negotiated legal agreements and completed permitting and entitlements.

From May 2004 to February 2012, he owned his own community development and consulting business, spent seven months in 2003 as a legislative assistant with the Washington State Senate.

The Port of Chehalis, which was formed in 1986, is located in Lewis County, Washington halfway between Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon.

Mueller replaces former Executive Director Jim Rothlin, took the top administrative post at the Port of Bremerton in late 2013. Ex-Lewis County Public Utilities District manager Dave Muller was named the port’s interim director last December, but was not a finalist to serve in the job on a permanent basis.

Mueller is expected to begin his new job at the Port of Chehalis on June 23.

Port of Ridgefield Sells Acreage

The Port of Ridgefield, located in southwest Washington state, is selling 5.6 acres to an Oregon company that says it plans to build an 80,000-square-foot steel processing, assembly and storage plant.

The port announced July 20 that it was selling the acreage for $904,000 to Portland-based steel manufacturer Alliance Industrial Group.

Under the terms of the sale, Alliance will pay the port $90,400 when the sale is closed, then make monthly payments over 25 years to pay off the remainder of the cost of the parcel, which is located near the port’s industrial park.

Alliance says the new facility will store, process, assemble and coat steel products for various customers throughout the western U.S., including industrial plants and transportation hubs. The company says it expects to employ up to 160 employees at the new site, which is expected to be operational by July 2013.

The Port of Ridgefield, which covers about 57 square miles, or roughly 36,480 acres, sits in the northern section of Clark County in southwest Washington State. It’s a few miles north of Portland, Oregon and about a two-and-a-half hour drive from Seattle, which is 160 miles to the north.