Supporters of a potential port district in Winlock  have cleared the highest hurdle in bringing the issue up for local voters to decide in November.

Dan Godat, chairman of the South Lewis County Chamber of Commerce and also leader of a citizens’ committee supporting the port district idea, said he and supporters have garnered more than 260 signatures — and are in the process of receiving more — on a petition that would bring the idea before voters in the November general election.

Godat said by phone Wednesday he planned to deliver the petitions “within the next few days” to the Lewis County Auditor’s Office, where the signatures have to be verified. If accepted, voters in the Winlock School District — the same area the proposed port district would entail — would have their say in deciding whether to commit 10 cents out of every $1,000 in taxable revenue to the district.

Four items related to the port district would go on the ballot — one being the creation of the district itself and three being votes for the port’s first commissioners.

“I feel optimistic from a standpoint that people realize we’ve got to do something,” Godat said. “People distrust government entities, so it’s going to be our responsibility to educate the public on the benefits of the district and the economic development it could bring to our area.”

Godat acknowledged “a small amount” of public trepidation — echoed by Winlock City Councilmember Denise Green in an early July city council meeting — that voters, although keen on placing the port district question on a ballot, might not be so willing to pay rates due to a Washington state provision that commissioners can unilaterally, without voter approval, increase rates to a ceiling of 45 cents per $1,000 in assessed value.

But Godat says he won’t let that happen.

“I’m going to ask any candidate to sign a pledge to not raise the rates until we get something moving,” Godat said. “There are no projects on the table related to a port so right now the money would be used to possibly hire a grant writer. There would be no need to raise the rate immediately — we’d just want to generate some cash to start things off.”