Ryann Day, Mark Merkelbach and U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Xander Bullock of Westport Golf Links were afforded the opportunity to brief civic and business leaders on the status of the project at the Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. Business Forum Lunch at the Rotary Log Pavilion in Aberdeen earlier this week.

President and CEO Day kicked off the presentation with a video fly-through of what the proposed public spaces and David McLay-Kidd designed Scottish links golf course will look like.

“I’m obviously very passionate about the game of golf, but we find ourselves talking more about the community and public benefits associated with the project as this has evolved over the last seven years,” Day said.

Project manager Merkelbach took to the lectern and said that now that the draft environmental impact study and associated public comment period are in the books, the group is busy responding to those comments and preparing to submit a land use permit application.

“The comment period closed on June 9. There were over 1,200 comments submitted, 76% were in support of the project, 23% opposed the project and 1% had questions or concerns they wanted to be addressed,” Merkelbach said. “Of all these letters, 360 were either from residents of the city of Westport, or within (Grays Harbor) county, 170 letters are folks that frequent the park but that only accounts for 41% of the total volume of the letters we received, so that means 60% of the letters were from folks that are beyond the Harbor, beyond the county, state or within the country that are looking at this project.”

Merkelbach went on to outline some of the amenities Westport Golf Links plans to provide as part of the experience.

“We’re not really here to talk about golf. It’s really about the opportunities that this project creates and a lot of that is increased public access. Right now only 1% of the park is being utilized,” Merkelbach said. “So our plan, our approach is we’re basically going to be building it in three phases. The first phase is the 18-hole golf course. It’s a walking course, it will be ADA accessible. So, carts will be available for folks that need additional assistance. But it really is about putting your phones away and having an enjoyable 4 ½-hour round. There is a short course and driving range. In the later phases, potentially there’ll be a concession stand.”

Merkelbach added that a Top Golf-style experience and increased parking and emergency vehicle access are part of the plan. He then went into great detail about water usage, irrigation and plans to upgrade Westport’s wastewater treatment plant.

Consultant Bullock, the former commander of the Seattle District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, discussed the financial disparity in federal spending to protect important investments in key coastal areas. He said Washington state is not a priority for federal coastal resiliency investment because there is nothing to protect.

“They put $140 million of sand in front of Miami every year. They put about $200 million of sand in front of San Diego every year to keep those beaches locked in place to protect the investment of the people of the United States and protect those cities,” Bullock said. “The most underfunded and economically impoverished coast in the United States is coastal Washington communities. For every mile in California, $4,800 in taxes; $2,400 per mile in Florida; less than $200 per mile in Washington state. And the reason is there’s not enough private investment in the coastline to merit federal action.”

Bullock said the federal government would almost have to invest significant money to protect a $30 million golf course along the coastline.

“It would nearly handcuff the federal government to protect the coastline in a completely different way. But what would you put there? A Walmart? A ball bearing factory? Who’s going to build out there?” Bullock said. “I met Ryan and this group who have an earnest intent to put a $30 million golf course that is very intentionally environmentally friendly that is supported by and coordinated with the local tribes.”

The presentation indicated that the project would create 300 new jobs and $30 million in economic impact to Grays Harbor County.

Next up, comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be answered with possible mitigation solutions, and included in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The city of Westport may approve, condition or deny project permits, starting with a required shoreline permit.

Once the FEIS is issued, Westport’s Shoreline Administrator will prepare a detailed staff report to submit to the city’s Hearing Examiner. Next, a public meeting will be scheduled with the Hearings Examiner for decision making on the shoreline permit application, and to consider any appeal of the FEIS.