April 2021 Economic Report

LEDC Post COVID Economic Summit Set for May 6

by Lewis Economic Development Council

The Lewis Economic Development Council’s Post COVID Economic Summit is set for Thursday, May 6. 

The summit features four hours of panels composed of state and local leaders offering tips for businesses emerging from the end of the pandemic. 

Topics include: 

• Supply chain disruptions 

• Hiring guidance and resources 

• How to reopen once COVID restrictions are lifted 

• How to thrive during the predicted coming Lewis County rural Economic boom 

The Summit is sponsored by The Benaroya Company, The Chronicle, KELA/KMNT, Tin Men Supply and the Jester Auto Museum & Event Center. 

Master of ceremonies is Brian Bonlender, the Washington State Department of Commerce director from 2013 through 2019, where he directed a $1.6 billion budget with 300 employees and led efforts to increase housing affordability via encouraging and strengthening international trade relations for the state 

The Summit is from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday, May 6 at the Jester Auto Museum & Event Center, 321 Hamilton Road in Chehalis. An entrance fee of $150 will be charged for nonmembers of the Lewis Economic Development Council. Members get in free. Seating is limited to 150 people. 

To sign up for the Summit contact LEDC Office Manager Marrianne Schumacher at 360.748.0114 or email her at marrianne@lewisedc. com. 

Packwood Is ‘On Fire’

Hot Housing Market, COVID-Inspired New Neighbors and an $8.05 Million Proposed Water and Sewer System Has Far East Lewis County Community Poised for Growth. And Then There’s the Possible Award-Winning Brewpub. 

Buck Hubbert stands up to present the Gail and Carolyn Shaw Industry Award at the Lewis EDC annual uet a few years ago in this Chronicle file photograph.

By Lewis Economic Development Council

 The bucolic community of Packwood, known as a way station for those traveling to the White Pass Ski Resort, or to take in some glorious hiking, hunting and fishing opportunities, or simply to view a herd of massive elk lollygagging in the downtown area, is “on fire.” 

The housing market has exploded as urban dwellers discover the beauty of this rural setting, making multiple offers on homes and building lots (often above price and all cash), primarily to use as second homes, retirement homes or a bit of both with Airbnb thrown in. 

COVID has taught urban workers they no longer are tied to their offices, but can work remotely from home. No longer are they leashed to a metropolis downtown core with its accompanying crime, crazy traffic and high cost of living. 

With the influx of new neighbors and energy, Packwood is poised for growth, from a possible highly praised brewpub at the East Lewis County Public Development Authority’s property in the downtown core to new development coming from a water and sewer system being funded via the state Legislature this session. 

Water and Sewer Needs 

The water and sewer project is years in the making. 20th District Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, the assistant ranking Republican on the House Capital Budget Committee, helped secure $8.05 million to build a water and sewer system for Packwood this session. He is currently ushering the project through the legislative process 

 “I helped bring the proposal forward because infrastructure is essential for economic development and an increased quality of life,” Abbarno said.

The water and sewer infrastructure, nonexistent in Packwood which relies on limited septic systems, could bring in expanded businesses and also multi-family dwellings, essential for an area lacking adequate housing numbers. If fully funded, the project likely would take up to two years for completion.

“Packwood has been applying for water and sewer funding for years,” Abbarno said. “Sewer systems are one of the infrastructure projects holding back that community from fulfilling its potential. This has been discussed for many years by Packwood leaders.”

Bringing In a Quality Brewpub

One possible exciting development is being knocked around by development leaders across the county, from the Lewis Economic Development Council to the East Lewis County Public Development Authority (PDA) to County Commissioners.

Members from all three groups toured the PDA’s 11,600-square-foot light industrial property up for lease during a recent afternoon. They met up with husband and wife team Amy Besunder and Peter Charbonnier, former Seattlites who closed up their Ballard brewpub following a downturn in the once thriving business due to COVID-virus disruptions. The brewers relocated to living full-time in Packwood in 2008 (but still kept brewing in Ballard) and have long planned to open a brewpub and taphouse in Packwood. The Packwood building would be a great fit for their plans, Besunder said. 

“We are here to assist in their efforts to open up the brewpub in Packwood,” said LEDC Executive Director Richard DeBolt. “There are opportunities for grants right now. We’re excited about putting something like a brewpub here.”

Lewis County Commissioner Gary Stamper also took part in the tour.

“It fits the environment of mountains, skiing, hiking,” Stamper said of the possible brewpub. “Tourism has always been big in Packwood, and people are flocking to this community. However, nothing’s going to get done if we aren’t working together.”

Gerry Monkman, the PDA’s building manager, was also at the tour. He said his group “would be thrilled” if the brewpub came to pass. He should be.

The former Ballard brewpub operated by the husband and wife team, called Populuxe Brewing, was highly regarded before it closed at the end of 2020. In 2018, it won the prestigious Small Brewery of the Year by the Washington Beer Awards. The competition featured 1,297 beers entered by 181 Washington breweries.

“We had always talked about, envisioned bringing a high-quality brewery to this community, with living-wage jobs, with a community space for people to gather,” Besunder said. “We looked around at several spaces, none looked right for us.”

That changed this last summer when they spotted the PDA’s space. Since initial discussions, Besunder has been flabbergasted by the support from area leaders.

“We have been offered all the assistance in the world,” she said. “It is a very different attitude than you get in Seattle. The difference in support is night and day. It’s amazing. The way people connect here is just so authentic.”

The brewers recently visited Dick’s Brewery Company in Centralia, a titan in the state’s brewing industry.

“They (Dick’s) make it work in a space that is very similar to the Packwood space,” she said. 

Hot Housing Market

Maree Lerchen, owner/broker of Mountain Valley Real Estate headquartered in Packwood, is the listing agent for the Packwood property that just might become a brewpub. She sees unprecedented home sales. She’s been selling homes in Packwood since 1981.

“Residential sales are extraordinary, like nothing I have ever seen,” Lerchen said. “Prices have risen dramatically in the last two years. The supply is very low so things are selling very quickly, with no problems with appraisals.”

She said the water and sewer project is key, and it likely will lead to multi-family buildings near the downtown core once completed. She sees, for example, businesses expanding their footprints currently limited by septic systems, and maybe even a laundromat and carwash.

She also believes much of the housing boom is fed by people fleeing from urban and suburban settings.

“Quite a few are from the Tri-Cities, Yakima, skiers and hikers, from Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver,” Lerchen said. “They don’t have to live in the city to work anymore, and they don’t have to pay Seattle prices.”

Lee Grose, former East Lewis County Commissioner and president of the PDA, said while Packwood still faces challenges right now in providing housing for potential employees, the economy of Packwood is looking up.

“I think the future is bright in Packwood, as are rural communities in general,” Grose said.

Member Spotlight

Moerke Brings Well-Rounded Experience to Centralia’s Exodus Engineering

Engineering Firm Focuses on Both Residential and Commercial ‘Problem Solving’

By The Lewis Economic Development Council

President and owner Luke Moerke of Exodus Engineering in Centralia goes over residential home plans.

 As owner and president of his own business Exodus Engineering based in Centralia, Luke Moerke must like to keep busy with a long list of projects. He also oversees his family’s 200-acre forestry farm in Adna and plenty of family duties.

“I like the design part, I like problem-solving,” Moerke said of his professional duties.

Exodus Engineering is currently working on foundation design with the NW Sports Hub in Centralia and its 29,500-square-foot expansion, which will make The Hub the largest indoor amatuer sports venue in the state.

The company, with four engineer technicians and a total of seven employees on the payroll, focuses on both residential and commercial projects. Moerke offers more than 14 years of experience. 

Exodus Engineering performs light-frame residential, commercial structures, retaining walls and metal building foundations. They work with both big and small projects, from massive commercial buildings to helping the homeowner with simple engineering design.

His residential expertise includes new construction, renovations, additions, shops, barns, hangers and site plans. His commercial side of the business includes new construction, tenant improvements and building modifications. 

He performs drafting and design for both residential and commercial. For residential custom homes plans and drafting, he started that portion of his business two years ago when demand was nonstop.

“I got tired of saying ‘no,’” he said.

Moerke earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Central Washington University followed by earning a license in civil engineering. Before that, he worked for the family business — Moerke & Sons Pump & Drilling — which was first started by his grandfather, then directed by his dad and mom. His dad pointed him to mechanical engineering, as there was a need for the family business to produce pumps and water system designs.

“Dad said, ‘You should look into that,’” Moerke said.

After university graduation, Moerke worked for Pacific Northwest Engineering in Tacoma until 2012. He started Exodus Engineering in 2012 to be closer to his Adna roots and the family forestry farm located in the Curtis-Boistfort area.

Moerke’s grandfather worked in logging, and partnered with several homesteaders in the Adna area, purchasing timber tracts along the way. Moerke’s dad managed the timberland. Moerke took over the family duties overseeing the timber. He took forestry stewardship classes and became certified in family forestry planning.

As far as family life, Moerke appreciates being able to work the family forestry farm in Adna with his six boys, two of whom he adopted as siblings out of Haiti. 

“Working on the tree farm helps balance me,” Moerke said, adding that it helps him get out from behind the desk at work.

The family rides dirt bikes and works the land together, as well as put in time hunting. He said God laid the adoption into the hearts of Moerke and his wife. He also is planning, with a group of Christian believers to found a Reform church in the Lewis County area. It’s not surprising, he chose the Biblical term “Exodus” for his business. 

“We’re builder friendly and reasonable, yet fulfill the building codes,” he said. “We work with the builders and developers, and we can identify small changes that sometimes can save lots of money, or alternative materials or methods that can save construction time or labor.”