Hawkins sells 'mall' property on Idaho state line

A chapter in Whitman County economics and politics has marked an end with the sale of the Hawkins property located on the Washington side of the state line along the Moscow-Pullman highway.

The property 10 years ago surfaced on the public agenda when it was proposed for development of a shopping mall, a proposal which would generate increased sales tax revenue for Whitman County budgets.

The project was initiated by Hawkins LLC, a Boise-based developer which sought assistance from Whitman County to provide infrastructure around the proposed shopping mall.

The project was never launched, and the disputes involved played a part in the departure of two county commissioners who agreed to a revised plan under which as much as $15 million in county funds, generated by the sales tax, would go into the project.

They 2008 recession and a change in shopping patterns which have reduced the appeal of shopping malls also played a role.

A transfer tax affidavit filed Aug. 23 in the treasurer's office listed sale of the project by JGH Stateline LLC and Hawkins Stateline LLC of Boise to Sand Road Bucklers 2 LLC, of Pullman. The sale for the property, approximately 200 acres, was for $900,000. A separate affidavit was for a quit claim listing transfer of water rights between the two parties.

A revised Hawkins proposal in 2012 ignited an injunction suit filed in court by a group of taxpayers. The suit was eventually dismissed, but it has been cited for the ousting of two commissioners who were up for election that year.

Commissioner Greg Partch was eliminated during the August 2012 primary election in a race among three Republicans. The result left Art Swannack of Lamont and Bill Tensfeld of Rosalia on the ballot for the November general election. Swannack won.

Partch received approximately 20 percent of the vote in the August primary.

Dean Kinzer of Pullman, a Republican, defeated incumbent Patrick O'Neill for the other commission seat which was up for election that year.

Both Swannack and Kinzer, who were re-elected to second terms in 2016, opposed the Hawkins plan during the 2012 campaign.

The Hawkins agreement early in 2012 came under dispute when a group known as OVIC, made up mostly of Colfax area residents, filed a civil suit for an injunction to halt any expanded agreement between the county and Hawkins which was signed at the start of that year.

The revised agreement added another $5.9 million to the original county commitment of $9.1 million to provide infrastructure for any shopping center developed on the property.

OVIC stood for the Organization to Avoid Illegal Conduct. The civil suit contended Partch and O'Neill had already agreed to increase the county's commitment prior to a public hearing on the proposal.

Commissioner Michael Largent opposed the expanded scope of the project.

The OVIC suit ended in July of 2014 when Judge John Strohmaier of Lincoln County dismissed the suit. The dismissal came after the three attorneys involved agreed to drop the action because at that time it was moot.

The expanded agreement included a Jan. 30, 2014, deadline for Hawkins to begin work of the project, and the deadline passed without any work at the site.

Pullman Attorney Tim Esser represented OVIC in the injunction action. Prosecutor Denis Tracy represented the county, and Pullman Attorney Rob Rembert represented Hawkins.

Largent noted this week the county's commitment to provide infrastructure for the shopping center was intended to come out of sales tax revenue which was expected to be generated by the shopping center. The county had also anticipated some extra revenue would be generated over the amount which would be required for the infrastructure costs.

The sale agreement filed with the assessor's office noted the sale was subject to the Jan. 3, 2012, agreement which expanded the county's commitment to the project, but that agreement was scratched under the deadline listed with the agreed dismissal four years ago by Judge Strohmaier.

The sale was also subject to agreements with Washington Water Power (Avista) Pacific Northwest Pipeline and General Telephone.

A Hawkins sign for the commercial development has remained along the highway since the 2014 dismissal.