Sunday, May 10 | 10:49 p.m.
BY CAMI JONER, COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER
Port of Ridgefield Commissioner Joe Melroy wants a third go-round at the District 3 port seat he
has held for two consecutive six-year terms.
Melroy, 67, has announced his intent to run for re-election to the three-member board later this
year.
So far, no other candidate plans to run for the position. The filing period for candidates runs from
June 1 to June 5. The three nonpartisan port commissioners are paid $2,498.64 annually.
Melroy said his first priority would be to support the port's mission to build infrastructure for the
"Discovery Corridor," a term for north Clark County development.
As an example of his support, Melroy said he and other port officials worked to receive $30
million in state and federal transportation dollars to build a new Interstate 5 interchange at the
Ridgefield Junction.
Work is expected to start this summer on the project.
"That opens the door to 13,000 jobs," Melroy said.
Most would come from Southwest Washington Medical Center's proposal to build a 75-acre
development of medical and commercial facilities near the junction. The port sold the property to
the medical center for $17.8 million in 2007.
"That (development) and a lot of other things are not going to come in until the overpass is done,"
Melroy said.
He is also focused on the port's ongoing effort to clean up its contaminated waterfront off Lake
River in Ridgefield. The land was poisoned for 30 years by chemicals from the now-defunct
Pacific Wood Treating plant.
"We're looking at a three- to five-year window for the site to be cleaned up," Melroy said.
At the same time, the plant created jobs on land that could support the economy at some point in
the future. Melroy and others envision a mixed-use commercial development for the site.
"That would allow us to put that piece of ground into business again," Melroy said.
Providing there are no more than two candidates for Melroy's seat, the election will be in
November. If there are more than two candidates, a primary election will take place in September.
The Port of Ridgefield's other commissioners are Bruce Wiseman and Scott Hughes. Hughes
was appointed to the port's District 2 seat in December to replace longtime port commissioner
Roy Randel, who died in October.