Issue Points

Below is a brief synopsis of the major issues on the junkyard move fiasco!

Illegal Gifting of Public Funds and Improper Extension of Credit
Yakima County purchased and funded the improvements on the new site on Donald Road to relocate Douglas Wrecking from the existing location on an island in the Yakima River. This expenditure is for the sole benefit of Douglas Wrecking. The County will advance or pay more than $625,000 of public funds and in exchange will receive the title, which is in question, for the river location with an assessed value of $28,700. Yakima County is both the bank and developer for the sole benefit of one private business. The gross disparity in value constitutes an unconstitutional gifting of public funds.

Washington law restricts relocation expenses to a maximum of $50,000. Many of the County’s payments, termed “relocation costs”, will pay for facilities that Douglas does not possess at his current site. These new facilities are “gifts” at the taxpayers’ expense. Yakima County failed to obtain an appraisal of the river property and the title is to be conveyed by “quit claim deed” without applicable title insurance. There is a remaining question regarding the legal ownership of the river site. The actual payment for the new Donald site was at least $191,015.60 (plus unknown costs for permit/license fees for the business at the new site and costs/fees for required lot line adjustments) for property appraised at $70,800. Since the property was purchased for the sole purpose of transferring title to a private party, this constitutes an improper extension of credit. Read the letter from our attorney to the Washington State Attorney General regarding this illegal action. [ 2 MB]

Ownership of the Current Junkyard Site
Ownership of the current site is in question. The State of Washington has title to all river beds and the Yakama Nation has claimed title of the land in accordance with the treaty of 1885. Who Really Owns the Current Junkyard Site? [ 10 KB]

Cost to Taxpayers
Yakima county taxpayers are on the hook for approximately $800,000 to move a private business. This does not include future funding to clean up the current junkyard site or the planned screening along the Yakima Valley Highway and Donald Road. Total cost on Junkyard Relocation to Yakima County taxpayers [ 25 KB]

Ground Water
There are very shallow private wells all around the new site, including as far away as the EPIC school and Valicoff Fruit. There was inadequate groundwater testing before choosing the site. Even though precautions are built into the construction plan, Commissioner Leita stated that “There is no guarantee that contamination will not occur.” There is a high likelihood that any groundwater contamination that occurs will impact neighboring wells and find its way right back into the Yakima River.

Tourism
There is very little mention in the public record of the effect this move will have on tourism in the area. It literally can be counted on one-hand. There was no input from the Yakima Valley Visitors and Convention Bureau, the winery association, or agritourism.

Future Economic Development
There was even less mention of future economic development than tourism in the County’s justification for the project. New Vision/YCDA was not consulted regarding the move.

Waste of an Interstate Exchange
A $50 million exchange will be rendered economically non-viable by the presence of a junkyard. We have no record of input from WA State DOT or federal transportation agencies on the advisability of locating such an eye-sore in prime development land.

Inadequate Public Notification
Only two public announcements were made in the Yakima Herald Republic and two posted at the new site, in the middle of winter. No one in the CPR group has seen the site postings and county officials have not produced a copy. We have been told that property owners within 600 feet of the proposed site were notified by letter. This was definitely inadequate notification for a decision that affects the entire valley. Read about proposed changes for SEPA notification requirements

Project Officer
Yakima County’s Project Officer is a Fish and Wildlife biologist. Consideration beyond the actual impact to the river was not adequately included in the evaluation

Misleading Statements by Commissioners
County documents state there was a “willing buyer” (Douglas) and a “willing seller” (McDonald). Yakima County was the actual buyer. Their public statements also omit reference to conclusions made in the County's final grant report that the project would have been much more difficult "Without the special relationship between Messrs. McDonald and Douglas...given universal public opposition." (Paraphrase)

WA State Patrol Inspection
Commissioner Leita previously cited the Washington State Patrol as having responsibility as the principal inspector of junkyards. The Washington State Patrol physically inspects one time per year and does not issue citations.

Department of Ecology Inspection
Commissioner Leita has assured that the Washington State Department of Ecology has responsibility for monitoring wrecking yard contamination. DOE does not conduct regularly scheduled investigations. It responds only to citizen complaints.

Wrecking Yard Response Requirement
A tow truck operator must be underway within five minutes of receiving a call from the law enforcement officer There is no requirement that the wrecking yard be located within a specific distance. It does not matter where in the zone he is located. There are no WA State Patrol requirements for wrecking yards.

Winery Opposition
The wineries want "exclusive use" of the Yakima Valley Highway. This ludicrous statement was made by Commissioner Leita in a radio interview and in a Board of County Commissioners response paper.

DEO "supports and endorses"
This statement from Commissioner Elliott omits the fact that all site decisions are left to local officials. This clarification came from Chuck Steele, DEO project officer for the grant that ultimately funded land acquisition.

No One Participated Early in the Process
Despite limited notification, many people did participate and voice concern and opposition to relocating the wrecking yard at the Donald location. The county disregarded their input. We have now seen this occur several times. County staffers take written pubic comment, boil it into very short sound bites for the commissioners, and move on.

“Short Leash”
These are words used by Commissioner Leita in a 21 Sep 07 public meeting at which he pledged to keep tight control over Mr. Douglas. Since 1 Dec 07, Mr. Douglas has a) carted away recyclable metal -- apparently gifted to him by the county -- in a dump truck with no cover and an open back gate, b) disposed of diesel in smudge pots and oil in 55-gallon drums, c) disturbed about eight acres of land apparently without a Construction Storm Water Permit, d) conducted a five-day illegal burn, and e) unearthed and disposed of two underground storage tanks that apparently only he and the previous land owner knew about. A certified letter to Commissioner Elliott regarding this suspicious activity has never been answered.

Tax Parcel
Yakima County created a tax parcel for the current wrecking yard facility in 2006. The Douglas Family has been located on the riverside property for 50 years and operated the business without paying real estate taxes.

Current Facility Cleanup Costs
This cost is unknown and the county has provided no estimate. It is reasonable that the County will be liable for any such costs after consummating the planned property exchange. In a 17 Oct 07 email, Commissioner Leita asked his staff about timelines and costs for cleanup. Thousands of tons of concrete, rebar, construction debris are on the island. The official report dated 25 Oct 05 states, "just let the darn things erode over time."

Legal Counsel Doubts
County attorney Terry Austin states in a 15 June 07 email that the cost estimate from Quintin for paving and fencing materials is "very shaky and not based on an accurate description of the work to be done." "There is a great possibility that a lot of Flood Control Zone District money will be spent on an outcome that isn't satisfactory." This was less than five months before the county completed the purchase and while Commissioner Leita was saying "done deal."

No Plan "B"
What happens if Mr. Douglas cannot make the assigned schedule or quits midstream? What happens if he does not clean the current site? Yakima County has all of its eggs in one basket. One need only look at the current junkyard site to glimpse the future of the Yakima Valley Highway neighborhood.

After ownership transfers to Mr. Douglas
Who forces him to remain in compliance with standards? WA State Patrol? DOE? County Code Enforcement Officer? All have less than the staffing and authority necessary to do the job. It is the responsibility of county officials, but they haven’t shown us that they are willing to do it.

Download these Fast Facts on the Junkyard Fiasco [ 23 KB]