Camas City Council votes to spend $6.17M on land for future public works center

CAMAS — Camas City Council members on Monday narrowly approved a $6.17 million property purchase that will eventually house the city’s public works operations center.

Council members Tim Hein, Leslie Lewallen and Jennifer Senescu voted against the purchase.

Public Works Director Steve Wall reiterated the need for a new operations center. A 2022 report found the city’s 30-year-old public works building, on 3.7 acres at Polk Street and Eighth Avenue, was not adequate to serve the growing city and its public works staff.

“The facility houses all the folks who complete the majority of the maintenance throughout the city,” Wall told council members Monday night.

The facility, built in 1994, houses 50 public works staff, as well as a host of equipment and vehicles. Wall said it’s bursting at the seams.

A new operations center would likely serve the city’s needs for another 40 to 50 years, Wall told the council on Monday.

The city has agreed to pay $6.17 million for 14.4 acres in an undeveloped area of Camas.

Wall said the city will tap its utility funds, general fund and other internal funds that support the public works department.

Council member Marilyn Boerke said that as an administrative employee of the Camas School District, she understands how difficult it is to find flat, buildable land in Camas.

“We’re beyond the need for an operations center,” Boerke said. “So I am in favor of this.”

Council members Bonnie Carter, John Nohr and John Svilarich agreed with Boerke and voted to approve the land purchase.