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Wednesday, July 22, 2020
The Chronicle
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Serving Columbia County since 1881
Marine business coming to St. Helens CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
An industry set to generate $2 to 5 million in revenue annually is coming to St. Helens. Wilsonville Concrete Products (WCP) is set to lease moorage space at the St. Helens Industrial Business Park docks, which are situated on what used to be the site of the Boise White Paper Mill. The company is in charge of marine transportation, barge unloading, dredging, and marine construction. During the July 15 St. Helens City Council meeting, WCP Vice President Michael Bernert announced that the company is ready to begin operations at the docks following an engineering study of existing dock structures, updating of the DSL lease, and preparing a moorage lease agreement. The work left to be done is with services, parcelization for industrial river frontage, moving the company fleet to St. Helens, and building a vibrant marine ecosystem by attracting peers and partners, Bernert said. “We’re really excited to partner with the city in building something that’s vibrant in the city of St. Helens,” Bernert said. The business is expected to create $2 to 5 million in revenue for activities that will be based in St. Helens, Bernert said. Bernert could not give specific figures for jobs to be gained as the company locates in St. Helens but he said that WCP currently employs about 100 employees, and they will bring about 25 of those workers out to the St. Helens location.
WCP operates dredging and marine construction as part of its overall services.
According to City of St. Helens Government Affairs and Project Support Specialist Rachael Barry, WCP reached out to the Port of Columbia first when looking for a site and port authorities directed WCP to St. Helens. “We are grateful to have strong
economic development partnerships in Columbia County,” Barry said. Bernert said there are three reasons that his company chose St. Helens. WCP has a history of working in St. Helens when the Boise Mill was still in operation, making ship
Photo courtesy of the City of St. Helens
deliveries on a regular basis. In addition, the location of the city is at the intersection of Multnomah Channel and the Columbia River, an area that makes it suitable for marine transportation. Finally, when WCP was meeting with other cities, St. Helens stood out as having what
Bernert described as a progressive, entrepreneurial and forward-thinking spirit. “Working with the city was an extremely natural fit,” Bernert said. “Other groups, you start thinking too much in a box. All three of those factors made it by far the best fit for what we’re trying to do.” The company operates in other locations in Wilsonville, Carver, Beaverton and Salem. They also have aggregate mines in both Salem and Yamhill county. WCP mainly focuses on concrete but would be using St. Helens to expand its marine operations, according to Bernert. “We have a small marine footprint in Wilsonville, but St. Helens is really going to be the location for our marine fleet, and the home of our marine business and our marine activities,” Bernert said. The company is ready to move its marine fleet over, which comprises five tugboats, six barges and three crane barges, Bernert said. The entire fleet will now be stationed in St. Helens. The entire operation will be both water- and land-based, Bernert said, with the water portion expected to be 2.5 acres and the land portion yet to be determined. “Our finished scope is between two to five acres,” Bernert said. “The site actually hasn’t gone through parcelization yet. A lot of it is going to depend on working with the city in defining where the boundaries are, and other users on that site.” WCP will begin its St. Helens operations at the end of this month,
See WCP Page A3
Public help sought in poaching cases JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Christine Menges / The Chronicle
New apartments have been build adjacent to the Legacy Clinic in St. Helens.
Construction moving ahead in St. Helens JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Construction projects have moved forward in St. Helens despite the pandemic. There are at least three key developments in St. Helens, including the new apartments near Legacy Clinic, new townhouses near the DMV and the new animal clinic along Columbia Blvd. City of St. Helens Communication Director Crystal King said the
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Vol. 138, No. 30
estimated values for these projects come from the building permit project values submitted to the City and are rounded to the nearest $100,000: • St. Helens Place Apartments: $23.1 million • Legacy Clinic: $8.6 million • Graystone Estates (mixed-use): Has not submitted for building permits yet. The work you see taking place at this site is only grading and public improvements (i.e. streets and utilities) • Columbia Vet Clinic: $900,000 The St. Helens Apartments call
for 17 buildings offering 204 units ranging from 553 to 1,205-squarefeet with a prince range of $1,085 to $1,665 monthly. Trees were removed to make room for the apartments new Legacy Clinic, but other trees will be planted in the area, according to development plans. The tree removal was necessary due to the wetlands present on the site, according to St. Helens Planner Jacob Graichen.
See CONSTRUCTION Page A9
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Oregon State Police (OSP) investigators are seeking public help in finding the person or persons who may be responsible for illegal killings and wasting of livestock and wild animals in Columbia County. On June 28, OSP Fish and Wildlife troopers investigated the report of a spike elk that was discovered on Weyerhaeuser property located off of Clear Creek Road near Timber Road in Columbia County. The elk had been shot and some meat was removed but most was left to waste. On July 5, OSP Fish and Wildlife troopers investigated another report from the same area regarding a buck deer left to waste. The deer was located approximately 50 yards from where the elk was located. The deer had been shot and no meat was removed. There was a .308 caliber bullet casing found on the road near the area. This case may be related to a wasted cow elk reported in this area on March 28. “Poaching is stealing natural resources that belong to all Oregonians,” Oregon’s anti-poaching campaign coordinator Yvonne Shaw said.
Photo courtesy of OSP
Investigators found this .308 caliber bullet casing found on road near where a deer was recently poached in Columbia County.
Poaching is prevalent across the state, according to Shaw. “Deer and elk, along with other big game animals, marine life, birds and other wildlife all fall prey to unscrupulous thieves,” Shaw said. “Poachers often sell parts or whole
See POACHING Page A5
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