Information

Type: Deliberation

Department: BOCC - Board of County Commissioners

Directors' Update: Oct. 15, 2025

Business Meeting: Oct. 21, 2025

Summary:

Lewis County has received a proposal for parcel No. 018520000000, which is located on Water Street off of Highway 6 in Chehalis, Washington, and is referred to as the "Claquato Church." This resolution would authorize the sale of the property at the amount of $5,000.

NOTE: Recording of the deed or resolution should not occur until the Claquato Cemetery Board has completed its Phase 1 review. The review is supposed to occur within 45 days from the July 31 bid deadline, which would put it at Sept. 14.

Publications:

Cover Letter To:

Additional Copies To:

Resolution

WHEREAS, Lewis County assumed ownership of parcel No. 018520000000 via a Quit Claim Deed recorded with the Lewis County Auditor on December 9, 1948, under File No. 451768; and

WHEREAS, parcel No. 018520000000, located on Water Street in Chehalis, Wash., consists of real property and improvements, including the Claquato Church; and

WHEREAS, the Claquato Church, built in 1858, is one of the oldest-standing churches in Washington state and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington State Heritage Register; and

WHEREAS, the Claquato Church requires costly maintenance and repairs, including the need for a new roof, in order to preserve the integrity of the historic structure; and

WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners (“BOCC”), after determining that use of county funds to repair the Claquato Church was imprudent and that parcel No. 018520000000 provided no monetary benefit to the county, declared parcel No. 018520000000 to be surplus property via Resolution 25-203 and authorized public sale via Resolution 25-193; and

WHEREAS, after public notice and extensive local news coverage, the Board of the Claquato Cemetery Association (“Cemetery Board”) submitted the lone proposal and bid for the purchase of parcel No. 018520000000; and

WHEREAS, the Cemetery Board conditioned their proposal and monetary bid upon the satisfactory completion of a Phase I environmental study for parcel No. 018520000000; and

WHEREAS, the Phase I environmental study was timely completed and concluded that no evidence exists of Recognized Environmental Conditions upon parcel No. 018520000000; and

WHEREAS, the Cemetery Board has caused the incorporation of the Claquato Heritage Association (“Heritage Association”), a Washington nonprofit corporation, with a purpose dedicated to “the study and preservation of history ... with an emphasis on the former town of Claquato, Washington, including the purchase, restoration and repair of the Claquato Church“; and

WHEREAS, the Heritage Association is funded and controlled by the Cemetery Board as a subsidiary corporation; and

WHEREAS, the BOCC has determined that the Cemetery Board's proposal satisfies the restrictive covenant placed upon parcel No. 018520000000 via Resolution 25-165 and recorded under Auditor’s File No. 3623607; and

WHEREAS, the BOCC has determined that accepting the proposal and $5,000 monetary bid of the Cemetery Board would be the highest and best use of parcel No. 018520000000, advantageous to the county, and in the best interest of the public.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the BOCC hereby accepts the aforesaid offer of the Cemetery Board in the amount of $5,000 for the purchase of parcel No. 018520000000; and

NOW THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the BOCC authorizes the closing of the sale and directs the BOCC Chair to sign the deed (attached hereto as Exhibit A) to transfer title to the Heritage Association.

DONE IN OPEN SESSION this 21st day of October, 2025.