Update on the Blue Heron site: The County was successful in its bid for the Blue Heron property, despite earlier reports that a developer had outbid the County. On Wednesday, the site trustee required all bidders to provide ten percent of their last bid as earnest money prior to the beginning of the auction, which was scheduled for next week. The County delivered a check for $175,000. The developer failed to appear with his $200,000 check, and so the bidding clock expired and the trustee had no choice but to confirm that the process was over and that the County's earlier bid was in fact the final and winning bid for the property. Closing will take place in mid-April. Staff will begin frequent meetings with County staff to begin working on next steps with regard to site planning.
A special website has been created for those interested in the future of the land formerly owned by the Blue Heron Paper Company in West Linn: Imagine Willamette (http://imaginewillamette.org). Please visit Imagine Willamette today to learn more about the Blue Heron property.
Water Environment Services (WES) is a department of Clackamas County providing wastewater treatment services to urbanized north Clackamas County. WES has made an offer to purchase Blue Heron’s 39-acre property on the west bank of the Willamette River. WES's bid was made on behalf of Clackamas County Service District No. 1 (CCSD #1) and the Tri-City Service District.
The districts, governed by the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners,are seeking to acquire the land from the bankruptcy court for its environmental management assets, existing pipes, outfall and discharge permits. The goal is to use these assets to meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations while maintaining the region’s lowest wastewater rates for residential and business customers.