Hawkins: County signs intent letter for taxes

Whitman County Commissioners Monday signed a letter of intent with the Department of Revenue, declaring its intention to use any taxes from the long-stalled Hawkins project near the state line.

The story of the Hawkins project near the state line on the Pullman-Moscow corridor dates back to May 2008 when Commissioners Pat O'Neill, Greg Partch and Michael Largent approved a deal to pay Hawkins $9.1 million to reimburse infrastructure construction costs for the development of a 714,000-square foot shopping center proposed by the Boise-based Hawkins Companies. The ownership of the infrastructure,...