Port, Pullman await word in industrial park funding

Port of Whitman and Pullman officials will likely know by Friday if the state will help pay to extend water lines to a development on the north edge of the city.

Debbie Snell, port properties and development manager, and John Sherman, Pullman city manager, were slated to travel to SeaTac this morning to pitch a request of a $1.3 million loan to the state Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB).

Total cost of the project is expected to be $3.03 million.

Snell told port commissioners Tuesday the board would likely make a decision after this morning’s meeting.

The money would be used to fund infrastructure development on ground bound by State Route 27 on the east and the Pullman-Albion Road on the north.

Fifty-six acres of the land will be developed into an industrial park for the port. More ground to the south and west is planned for housing development by the Mader family.

The first portion of the funds will be used to extend water and sewer lines to the site. More will be used to build streets and other utilities to serve the 25 lots planned for the industrial park.

Snell said the port originally planned to apply for a grant, but state spending restrictions have limited CERB awards to low-interest loans only.

Snell anticipated an interest rate of one to two percent, which she said Joe Poire, port director, had told her was acceptable.

Payback of the loan may be a long-term deal, she said, as the port has to come up with nearly $2 million to pay its share of a $9.8 million stimulus grant received to lay fiber optic cable along the east side of the county.

Snell said the land needs to be annexed into Pullman before construction could begin. She said work could begin as soon as next year.