Lewiston looks to buy former pea plant

Lewiston’s city council backed a plan Monday for the municipality to pursue purchasing the vacant 11½-acre Twin City Foods site.

Mayor Dan Johnson is authorized to negotiate a deal for the land on the northwest corner of downtown Lewiston using a starting purchase price of $800,000, according to a council vote.

All the councilors participating in the meeting supported the measure. Councilor John Spickelmire didn’t attend the meeting because of an excused absence.

If the city owned the land, it could seek grants to help clean it up, said Councilor Kassee Forsmann.

Elected officials need to consider what’s best for the community in the present and long term, she said.

“If we’re only looking at today and we’re not looking toward the future, then what is that going to look (like) for our kids?” Forsmann said.

Councilor Kathy Schroeder had a similar take, noting that the property is an eyesore in its present condition.

Buying the property would be a first step in setting the stage for the site to bring more tax revenue to the city, she said.

“The city can play a role in beginning this and I’m very supportive of it,” Schroeder said.

What will happen to the property has been unclear since Twin City Foods stopped processing peas at the location in 2004. The 150,000-square-foot former plant was dismantled in 2010.

At least two private developers have been under contract to acquire the land in the last three years, but each time the deals have fallen through.

In early 2022, Twin City Foods rejected an offer from the city of Lewiston to buy the property near the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers for $800,000, just before it was under contract with what was described as a large developer in the western U.S.

The year before that, the Ginn Group of Vancouver, Wash., offered $2 million, but backed out after deciding it was too large an investment in a promising but unproven market.

In other business, the council approved a service agreement with Valley Vision for the 2024 fiscal year for as much as $40,000 and a service agreement with the Lewiston Civic Theater for the 2024 fiscal year for as much as $30,000.

A service agreement for the 2024 fiscal year with Beautiful Downtown Lewiston for as much as $30,000 was postponed until the Oct. 23 council meeting so the document could be updated.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.