Mayor Cawley Hopeful About Tiger Mart Resolution

The city's ongoing battle with closed Exxon Tiger Marts continues but Mayor Micah Cawley says there may be a solution with help from the Department of Ecology.

For years the city has tried to work with the landowner and Department of Ecology to purchase the lots, clean them up and re-sell them as viable commercial properties.

This week's lobbying trip to Olympia where city officials met with the department may have given the city some hope. Cawley says the city is in weekly contact with the Department of Ecology, "having discussions with the agency about how much money is available and we're asking is there a potential to getting these things cleaned up with state help."

The properties are in prime locations throughout the city and have sat vacant for far to long says City Manager Tony O'Rourke. He says the city is working closely with the Department of Ecology which is willing to pay for cleanup if the city acquires the properties.