Satsop PDA Votes to Pursue Merger With Port

Elma, WA - Satsop Business Park’s governing board, the Grays Harbor Public Development Authority, voted unanimously Tuesday to direct staff to develop organizational options for the future of the 1,700-acre business and technology park.
This decision comes after two years of discussion in public workshops both separate and in conjunction with the Port of Grays Harbor staff and commission board.
“This effort should include discussions with Grays Harbor County and a proposal outlining their role and the process, and discussions with the Port of Grays Harbor and a proposal outlining their role in a possible transfer of rights, assets and responsibilities of the PDA,” a portion of the motion reads.
The unanimously passed motion also directs the CEO to present these options to the Grays Harbor Public Development Authority board at its June board meeting, which is set for 1 p.m. June 19.

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The Grays Harbor Public Development Authority was created by the county in 1999 to take over the site where the Washington Public Power Supply System had abandoned its nuclear power project in 1983. It is a seven-member board made up of four private-sector members as well as a county commissioner, a PUD commissioner and a Port commissioner.
If the board so chooses, the process to dissolve itself is a complicated one that will take time, said Art Blauvelt, who is the legal counsel for the PDA board as well as for the Port. Because of the way the Public Development Authority was formed, if it decides to transfer its rights, assets and responsibilities to another entity, it must “tender” or offer itself first to Grays Harbor County. Only if the county declines to accept the transfer of rights, assets and responsibilities of the PDA could the PDA offer itself to the Port of Grays Harbor, he explained. 
“But the motion that was passed today simply directs staff to come up with various options for the PDA’s future,” he clarified.

Satsop Business Park is a 1,700-acre mixed-use business and technology park located in scenic Grays Harbor County in Southwest Washington just 30 minutes from Olympia and the I-5 corridor. It is home to more than 30 businesses, offers 440 acres of developed, pad-ready land and buildings supported by super-sized infrastructure and surrounded by 1,200 acres of sustainable managed forestland. 
The Park is managed by the Grays Harbor Public Development Authority, a public corporation whose mission is to create new jobs and investment for the region. More information on Satsop Business Park can be found at www.Satsop.com.