Grays Harbor government causes damage to Swanson’s

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Swanson’s SuperValu Grocery stores have been around for over 120 years in the Aberdeen and Hoquiam areas.

They have fed millions of people over all those years with groceries and many other amenities. They have supported the community in many ways including the support of the local newspaper with advertising. After all these years of service, it appears that the Grays Harbor government, perhaps unintentionally, is causing situations that could destroy them.

Ever since Covid, the grocery business has suffered and Swanson’s is no exception. When the stores were purchased in 2016 after the Swanson family decided to sell, new management took over and everything looked fine. Then Covid hit and the new owners decided to sell the land and buildings and lease them back as a survival strategy. At first it started to work favorably, but soon, with increased competition from Walmart and Safeway and other issues, sales began to decline.

That’s when the government began to do harm to the business. The first action was a planned solution to the threat of flooding in the Hoquiam area. The city began the project by tearing up the street on Levee in back of the Hoquiam store. They replaced it with gravel, but soon the road became unusable with giant potholes, etc.

This was a massive inconvenience for shoppers at the Hoquiam store as evidenced by a negative impact on sales. In March of last year, the store’s attorney wrote a letter explaining the problem. She received a response from Brian Shay, city administrator of the city of Hoquiam, stating that it was not a problem at all.

What Mr. Shay does not understand is that decision making for where a person shops follows the rule: “The Path of Least Resistance.” Clearly that “path” is leading customers elsewhere. It may not seem like an inconvenience to Mr. Shay, but it clearly is a problem for Swanson’s, shown by the reduction in sales that is occurring while the street is unusable.

Mr. Shay thought the road would be repaired by last fall. That has not happened. The original flooding solution was not completed. The road was not repaired and the damage to Swanson’s continued. When a government refuses to understand the plight of a business caused by them, and does nothing to solve the problem, serious harm is done. Ignorance of the effect of government action is no excuse.

In addition to this serious harm to the Hoquiam store, Grays Harbor County decided to add to the government’s harm to Swanson’s SuperValu Stores by doubling the annual property tax. Store management received the revaluation of the stores in October last year. Thinking it would just be the normal small increase, they did not find it necessary to protest.

The statement only shows property value, not the increase in property tax which makes the impact not easily discernible. So, the 30 days for potential protesting passed and it wasn’t until January 2026 that it became evident to store management that the property tax would be doubled, an increase of about $30,000 a year.

The store was already stressed with the last payment of property tax from last year, and was behind in its payment. The county added to their already difficult problem by adding $5,000 in interest and fines. The store offered to make a partial payment, but the county refused, saying all or nothing. With the bank threatening action, I, as the owner of the physical land and buildings, stepped in to make the past due payment.

Sales have been seriously down several millions of dollars over the last few years. The purchase price of the land and buildings in 2021 was based on the robust sales of the stores at the time. About one half of the price was based on the value of the old buildings and the land. The rest was the value of receiving rent based on the sales of the company.

Anyone in the property business knows that the value of a business is not just the land and buildings, it’s the value of the business and its ability to make a profit. In other words, if the county is basing its taxes on the land and buildings, and not the business, the value would have stayed the same. Property taxes should be based on the value of the property and buildings, not the business.

That’s why they don’t consider the fluctuations in sales as a measure of value. The county should only tax the value of the property. After all, it’s called Property Taxes, not business taxes. The value of the property is what should be taxed.

The county decided in 2025 to suddenly adjust the value of the property to the purchase price in 2021, instead of looking at the actual value of the land and buildings which is the value it was taxing in previous years. The purchase price included the value of the business, not just the land and buildings and so it should not be a basis for the value of the buildings and land.

The cruelty of the county government to insist on doubling the property tax in 2026 is unconscionable.

Along with the city’s enormous delays to repair Levee Road, it appears that the government wants Swanson’s SuperValu to fail and disappear. Through a series of faulty decisions, they have impacted the stores negatively.

Misvaluing the property and doubling property taxes is doing great harm. We hope the public will see that harming a 120-year-old business that has served the community well, with great produce, great fried chicken and great service, is unfair.

The County Board of Equalization has told us that we can complete a petition and a Request for Waiver of the Filing Deadline form. Notice that their way of solving problems is for us to fill out forms. What about their responsibility to help the community by fair treatment?

After all, Swanson’s has been paying taxes for 120 years. That should count for something.