YAKIMA, Wash. -- A three-judge state appeals panel has upheld Yakima County's decision to spend more than $700,000 to move Douglas Auto Wrecking from an island in the Yakima River to a site along the Yakima Valley Highway.

The ruling was issued Thursday by the state Court of Appeals, upholding Yakima County Superior Court Judge Michael McCarthy's decision last year to throw out a lawsuit by a citizens group protesting the relocation.

The opponents -- a group called Citizens Protecting Resources -- had argued that moving the business at public expense was an illegal gift of public funds. The appeals judges, however, said the move was a defense against potential flooding of the Yakima and Naches rivers and thus a legitimate action by government.

The purpose of the relocation was to remove the wrecking yard from the river, but it became controversial not only when the county agreed to pay Douglas $425,000, but also when it located the new site along the gateway to wine country at the intersection of Donald-Wapato Road and the Yakima Valley Highway.

"Fighting floods has long been recognized as a proper exercise of the police power," the judges wrote.

The fact that a private party benefited from the county commissioners' decision doesn't mean the public did not also benefit, the judges wrote. But they noted that voters have the final say.

"Whether the deal between Yakima County and Douglas Towing was a wise one was a decision for the Board of County Commissioners to make and, ultimately, one for the public to consider at election time."