Three Cathlamet mayors agree: "No consolidation without compensation"

Mayor Olson Temporarily pauses transfer of Town assets until legal issues can be addressed.

Mayor Olson has directed Town staff to temporarily “pause” Town processing of the pending transfer of Town utility assets to the PUD until significant underlying legal issues are fully addressed. This includes the critical issue of whether the Town can legally “hand over” an estimated $10 million in Town utility capital assets without the PUD paying for them or otherwise providing any type of reasonable compensation to the citizens of the Town.

Mayor Olson’s primary concern is that the action of the Council to transfer the assets without compensation appears to violate a longstanding Washington statute, RCW 43.09.210(3), requiring that fair compensation be paid when one public entity transfers assets to another.

Mayor Olson states: “I would violate my oath of office and fiduciary duty if I did not make certain the critical unresolved legal issues underlying this transfer are satisfactorily addressed on behalf of the citizens of the Town, who ultimately own the assets to be transferred. I am grateful that every Mayor of Cathlamet since 2010 agrees with me on this critical point.”

Mayor Dale Jacobson (Mayor of Cathlamet 2014-2021) agrees, stating: “the proposed handover of Town utility assets without compensation is a non-starter; the Town Council should be ashamed of itself for cutting Town services and staff just to please the PUD. Mayor Olson should stick to his guns.”

Mayor George Wehrfritz (Mayor of Cathlamet 2010-2013) states: “Mayor Olson is doing exactly what needs to be done to save the integrity and services of the Town and make sure the PUD acts lawfully. I fully endorse his action pausing the Council’s unwise asset transfer until the best interests of the citizens of Cathlamet can be addressed.”

Mayor Olson has scheduled a Press Conference/Public Forum at 5:00 pm Monday July 7 th at Town Hall (one hour prior to the next scheduled Town Council meeting) to discuss his action and the steps forward.