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Commissioners approve Port loan to help complete Waitsburg water-line project
Summary
Walla Walla County commissioners authorized the Port of Walla Walla to expend its portion of economic-development sales tax funds as a $400,000 loan to the City of Waitsburg to complete water-line improvements; bids came in under estimate and the city expects to start work after Memorial Day.
Walla Walla County commissioners on May 11 approved a Port-funded loan to the City of Waitsburg to finish a long-running water-line improvement project.
The Port of Walla Walla had already placed $400,000 as a loan to Waitsburg; city administrator Randy Hinshelft told the board the city originally requested $1 million from an EPA grant in 2023 and was later awarded $500,000. "We were actually the only city in the state of Washington that got any of this money," Hinshelft said, and he reported that recent bids came in about $200,000 under the engineer's estimate, allowing the city to do additional work.
Commissioners asked staff to confirm the project met economic-development criteria for using the port's share of sales-tax funds and were told the project is on the adopted economic-development plan and is eligible. After brief discussion, Commissioner X moved to approve Proposal 2026-6511, authorizing the Port to expend its portion of economic-development sales tax funds for the City of Waitsburg Water System Improvement Project; the motion passed unanimously, 3-0.
The city plans to award the construction contract at its council meeting next week and anticipates construction starting after Memorial Day, subject to contractor scheduling and state transportation work at two highway crossings that represent a large portion of the project cost. Hinshelft told commissioners the overall program is currently estimated at roughly $1,000,000 "plus or minus," and said the port's loan and the EPA grant together are intended to allow the city to complete the prioritized list of improvements.
The action is procedural: the approval authorizes the Port to expend its portion of the designated sales tax funds as a loan; final contracting and construction timing remain with the city and its awarded contractor. The board recorded the motion as passed, 3 to 0.
The county did not identify additional local funding changes tied to the action; commissioners said they supported the project as meeting the county's economic-development priorities.
