City writes BIA objecting to Quinault plan

By Steven Friederich

The Daily World

Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson has filed a complaint with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs over a plan by the Quinault Indian Nation to build a combination convenience store and tobacco stop in Aberdeen.

Mayor Simpson and City Attorney Eric Nelson also released documentation the city had previously received from the Northwest Regional Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs that showed that the Quinault Indian Nation asked the city to acquiesce to its plan to convert the land from private property to Indian “trust” land, it had pitched the development as “a retail sales outlet that will sell fresh and processed fish and shellfish.”

The Quinault Nation owns the land at 619 E. Market on the banks of the Wishkah River and uses it as storage space for boats and a small metal warehouse. But the Quinaults had always paid property taxes on the land to the City of Aberdeen, the County and other taxing entities. Last year, the Quinaults petitioned the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to turn five parcels making up 1.14 acres into “trust” property, which would allow the Quinaults to no longer pay taxes on the land as well as build something there without needing to follow city permitting guidelines.

The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs signed off on the trust land designation in a record of decision dated Aug. 22, 2011, specifically citing the idea that the Quinaults would use the land to sell fresh fish.

“The city of Aberdeen had no objection to acquisition in trust for the purpose stated in your decision: processing and retail sales of fresh fish,” Mayor Simpson writes to Acting BIA Northwest Regional Director Stanley Speaks. “This use would be a permitted use under the state Shorelines Master Plan and a welcome redevelopment of the Nation’s property in Aberdeen. The city does, however, object to the Nation’s apparent equation of fresh fish with cigarettes, liquor and gas, all sold directly on the shorelines of the Wishkah River.”

Quinault Indian Nation President Fawn Sharp said Thursday that she needed to consult with her staff on the issue before commenting.

The Record of Decision from the Bureau of Indian Affairs noted that the transfer of the Quinault land would have “minimal impact” on the tax rolls, as only two of the five parcels are on the tax rolls. The letter notes that the Quinaults paid $1,471 in taxes in 2009.

“Weighing the amount of annual taxes to be lost by the county resulting from the removal of the non-exempt land from the tax rolls on the one hand and the benefit to the Nation, I consider that this criterion weighs in favor of the acquisition,” the letter states.

The Record of Decision states that 35 Quinault fishermen participate in the Chehalis River fishery and deliver fish to the Nation’s facilities with annual landings of 250,000 to 300,000 pounds valued at $600,000.

“The highest value for this fish is in fresh fish form which involves multiple deliveries per week to the Seattle-Tacoma Airport,” the letter states. “By expanding the use of the subject property to include distribution, the Nation reduces the number of miles for delivery to the airport by 45 miles, thus saving time and money costs for transport of fish. The Nation anticipates a savings of $50,000 per year that includes the fuel, vehicle wear and tear and driver time.”

The letter notes that the location on the Wishkah River is an ideal place to increase sales of fresh fish to customers in the Aberdeen area and be better suited to distribute tribal-caught fish to Westport. The application says six jobs would be developed at a retail outlet.

The application says nothing about the plan the Quinaults recently announced for the property in the Quinault Indian Nation’s newspaper Nugguam and in an application for a liquor license with the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Phase one was to be a smoke shop, offering drive-up tobacco sales and limited walk-up sales like an existing Q-Mart at Hogan’s Corner near Ocean Shores. Next would come a gas station and convenience store “in the model of Squaxin Island’s Kamilche store,” the Nugguam wrote.

“Would it be possible for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to explain how the Nation may process its application with a proposed use that is exempt under the National Environmental Protection Act and then substitute an incompatible and non-exempt use once your decision has been made?” Mayor Simpson wrote to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Mayor Simpson had previously written a letter to the Liquor Control Board objecting to the Quinault’s application for a liquor license. Simpson said the area they want to build is the start of an area “commonly known as felony flats” and riddled with crime. Simpson said he’s afraid a store selling inexpensive liquor would be a magnet for those looking to get drunk quickly and he notes that there are already existing convenience stores several blocks away.

“We don’t need this store here,” Simpson re-affirmed Wednesday night. “I have no problem with a store selling fresh fish. I have a problem with this.”