MRSC recommends that cities treat timber as “surplus” personal property, which means you would go through the typical process for surplus property. See our page on Surplus City or Town Property. Ideally, your council has already adopted a procedure for surplusing property. If not, the council can declare the property surplus via a resolution.
Once the council declares the timber surplus, it can direct the mayor to dispose of the property in any commercially reasonable manner, i.e. selling the wood for a fair market value. If the timber is found to have little commercial value, then usually a finding can be made that allowing the person to haul away the timber and letting them keep it is less expensive than paying to have it hauled away and paying dump charges. This avoids any “gifting” concerns since the city is receiving a service (i.e. haulage) in exchange for the timber.
Here's an example resolution:
- King County Water District No. 90 Resolution No. 1042 (2018) – Authorizing Disposal of Surplus Wood.
Note that the RCW citation of the example above is specific to water districts. Your city (which is a code city) would cite to RCW 35A.11.010. Your city attorney should assist with the drafting of any resolution.