Port of Kalama Comprehensive Plan

Port of Kalama Comprehensive Plan 

June 1, 2015 

 

Page 9 

Focus Area 5:   Public Recreation Facilities 

Strategy 5.1: 

Maintain and make improvements to the marina, parking area and boat launch. 

5.1.1 

Marina Operation:  Evaluate marina management improvements. 

5.1.2 

Repair Marina:  Replace components of the marina as they require 

maintenance. 

5.1.3 

Guest Moorage Replacement:  Replace visitor dock due to aging. 

5.1.4 

Guest Moorage Expansion:  Evaluate possibility of expanding the guest 

moorage.  If feasible, permit and construct additional guest moorage. 

5.1.5 

Upgrade Marina Parking and Walkways:  Marina Parking to be asphalted to 

provide more orderly parking spaces for guests and the professional office.  

Extend pedestrian walkways to encompass the marina berm.  Replace lighting 

with energy-efficient lighting.  Replace/improve marina boathouse entrance 

shelter.  Improve landscaping. 

5.1.6 

Dredging:  The marina was last dredged in the 1980s.  Evaluate need for 

maintenance dredging and dredge as indicated. 

5.1.7 

Pedestrian Safety Improvements:  Evaluate for pedestrian safety and install 

crossing lights and signs to improve safety as necessary. 

Strategy 5.2: 

Maintain  and  make  improvements  to  the  Marine  Park  and  Rasmussen  Park  to  provide 

safe facilities and encourage healthy, active lifestyles.  

5.2.1 

Marine Park Playground:  Inspect and repair playground as needed.  As 

structures age, evaluate replacement of components. 

5.2.2 

Adult Fitness Equipment:  Construct adult fitness equipment along walking 

trail 

5.2.3 

Restroom Security:  Implement time activated security locks and security 

cameras to minimize vandalism after dark. 

5.2.4 

Multi-purpose Entertainment Venue:  Evaluate options for an outdoor venue 

for special events, small concerts, etc. If feasible, permit and construct facilities. 

5.2.5 

Walking Trails:  Improve Port walking trails.  

5.2.6 

Hendrickson Drive:  Straighten the road close to the Port’s south maintenance 

shop to create a safer environment, add speed bumps and create additional 

parking throughout the parks area.   

5.2.7 

Rebuild Beach:  Evaluate opportunity to place dredge materials along 

Rasmussen and Marine Park to nourish and rebuild eroded beaches.  Permit 

and place materials from Port dredge activities or those of other entities. 

5.2.8 

Rasmussen Park Playground Equipment:  Add playground equipment in 

Rasmussen Park in the existing sand pit. 

5.2.9 

Port Signage:  Replace signs throughout Port as needed.  Upgrade quality of 

signage. 

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Port of Kalama Comprehensive Plan 

June 1, 2015 

 

Page 10 

5.2.10  Lighthouse:  Construct a lighthouse as part of the trail enhancement project for 

the entire waterfront.  The south end of the marina is in need of an upgrade to 

make it inviting and able to connect the whole trail system. 

5.2.11  Marine Park Heavy Maintenance Upgrades:  Improve park grounds to ease 

ongoing maintenance. 

5.2.12  Weather Info to Web:  Consider installation of weather station and web cam 

and install as appropriate. 

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Port of Kalama Comprehensive Plan 

June 1, 2015 

 

Page 11 

Chapter Two 

-

 Socioeconomic Trends

 

An understanding of the development trends and characteristics of Southwest Washington 

and, particularly, Cowlitz County is critical to determining the context and opportunities for 

development at the Port of Kalama.  The following chapter evaluates several key variables that 

identify the development trends in Cowlitz County, including: 



 

Population  



 

Employment 



 

Unemployment 



 

Income 



 

Retail Sales 



 

Traffic 

Population

 

According to estimates from the Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM), 

Cowlitz County had 103,700 residents in 2014.  The 2010 Census reported a county population 

of 102,410, indicating average growth of 0.4 percent between 2010 and 2014.  This rate is slower 

than the growth rate between 2000 and 2010, which averaged 1.0 percent per year. 

Population growth in Cowlitz County was slower than that of the state, which experienced 

growth of 0.9 percent per year between 2010 and 2014, and 1.4 percent per year between 2000 

and 2010.  (See Figure 1) 

Figure 1 – Population Trends 

 

Source: Washington State Office of Financial Management 

This differential in growth rates is projected to continue over the next several decades.  

According to the OFM forecast, under the low growth scenario the population of Cowlitz 

County is projected to actually drop slightly between 2015 and 2040, while the state is projected 

to grow at less than 0.6 percent per year.  

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2.5%

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

S

h

a

re

 o

f 

s

ta

te

P

o

p

u

la

ti

o

n

History

Forecast Low

Forecast Inter.

Forecast High

Share of State

Low

Inter.

High

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