Cathlamet is two steps closer to having an electric vehicle charging station at the Butler welcome lot site after Tuesday night’s town council meeting.

The town had solicited bids for installation of an electric vehicle charging station and for construction of a paved parking lot at the corner of Butler Street and Main Street. After review of the proposals, council members unanimously voted to award the Butler Welcome Lot electrical bid to Hamer Electric of Longview and the parking lot development bid to Advanced Excavating Specialists LLC of Kelso, and authorized Mayor David Olson to sign contracts with both.

To comply with Department of Commerce grant obligations regarding the electrical vehicle charging station, those components of the project must be completed by the end of 2022. Planning for site development has been in the works for several years.

Both bids came in higher than project estimates. Hamer Electric’s bid was for $80,068.54, slightly over the $74,870 estimated by the town’s engineer. Approximately $36,450 of the total cost will be covered by the commerce grant. The site development bid was estimated at $166,830; however, Advanced Excavation’s bid was for $229,770.

The town will be able to reallocate the needed funds from the Waterfront Park project budget, town clerk/treasurer Sarah Clark said.

In his mayor’s report, Olson announced that he had received word Friday that the town’s grant proposal to develop the Waterfront Park site is not likely to be funded by the state legislature this year.

Olson noted he was disheartened by the news but pledged to explore ways to continue. “In local government, you either bemoan something or get to work,” he said.

“I want to get to work.”