minutes from the regular meeting
of the Port of Hoodsport Commission
february 14, 2007
Call to order: 9:30 a.m. Adjourned: 10:37 a.m.
Roll Call: Commissioner Frank Benavente
Commissioner Dick Patterson
Commissioner Tom Young
Introduction of Guests: None
Approval of Minutes
Commissioner Benavente made a motion to “Approve the minutes from the regular meeting held on January 24, 2007 as presented.” The motion was approved unanimously.
Approval of Vouchers
Commissioner Benavente made a motion to “Approve vouchers for Mason County Treasurer for property taxes in the amount of $49.00; Mason County Auditor for 4th Quarter 2006 consolidated mailing costs in the amount of $3.09; Michael Wittenberg for accounting services in the amount of $420.00; and per diem for Commissioner Young in the amount of $840.00.” The motion was approved unanimously.
Agenda Changes – Remove the Kiosk, since there is no update.
Open Items – None
Action Items
Overnight Moorage Fee Implementation
Commissioner Benavente has ordered the signs and Carol purchased the envelope box. Commissioner Patterson said that he isn’t sure where to place the signs. He was asked to prepare a drawing of the marina park with placement of the signs, and he will do so.
Commissioner Patterson asked if we should talk to the tribe before we put the signs up. Carol took copies of the meeting minutes to Tom Longshore, with a hand-written note asking for his input and giving him today’s meeting date. We haven’t heard from him. Commissioner Benavente will follow up with a phone call.
DNR Lease
Commissioner Benavente heard back from Don Olmsted, and he’s still trying to get us a copy of the lease. Commissioner Benavente found a copy of the lease that was sent to us for review in 2004, and we could probably use that. Commissioner Young will scan it into a .pdf file, and send it to Commissioner Benavente to forward to Don Olmsted. The lease is for 10 years, renewable for up to 55 years.
Commissioner Patterson asked about a Port Management Agreement (PMA). Commissioner Benavente explained the difference between a PMA and a lease, and explained that the PMA is very complicated and requires a lot of recordkeeping. For that reason, the commissioners decided in 2004 to stay with a lease.
Hoodsport Vision Discussion
Commissioner Young reminded the other commissioners that the meeting with Art Anderson Associates would be held on Friday at 9:00 a.m. for basic research, and to prepare for the next meeting.
Pumpout
The grant has been approved and we have to submit the Signature Authorization form to the Parks Department. We also have to submit the permit application form to the county and get an engineer to do the drawings. Commissioner Benavente found an engineer who will do the work for the budgeted amount. We do have to match funds, but it can be an in-kind match. Dave Christensen is stepping out of the picture as project manager, so we’ll have to fill in. Commissioner Benavente is not sure of the requirements for the permits because Dave was handling it. He will go to the county to find out what has to be done. He believes that we need a check for $150 to start the process. A motion was made to “Pre-approve $150 for permit submission to the county, pending receipt of the grant contract from the Parks Department.” The motion carried with two yes votes and one no vote from Commissioner Patterson. He doesn’t think that we need to wait for the contract.
Transfer to Investment Account
Commissioner Young met with Michael Wittenberg, and he agrees with Commissioner Young’s revenue projection. A motion was made to “transfer $60,000 from the checking account to the investment account, leaving approximately $62,000 in the checking account.” The motion passed unanimously. Carol will check on the transfer process with the county.
Hoodsport Trails Park
Commissioner Young has spent the last two weeks trying to contact the person needed to get the property transfer started, without success. He contacted Steve, who has provided new contact information. Commissioner Young will follow up on that.
Individual Commissioners’ Reports
Commissioner Benavente attended the PDA meeting, where Dennis Craig resigned from the PDA and the Tall Ship project due to health issues. The PDA will be reorganizing. The owners of the Tall Ship are trying to partner with SOCK to write education program grants. They plan on contacting the Port regarding a partnership in the economic development portion of the program.
Commissioner Young asked if there are PDA reporting requirements to the Port. Commissioner Benavente thought that it was an information exchange only, but Carol will pull out the resolution for the next meeting so we can check.
Commissioner Patterson reported that there are now handles on the garbage cans and that the garbage collection person is happy with them. The caps for the pilings are not exactly the same as the existing ones, but they’re making some alterations and they’ll look fine.
Commissioner Young reported that the Transit/Human Services piece of the RTPO plan is complete and that the DOT has stamped the plan. All of the twenty-three grant projects are eligible.
He also talked informally to people in Jefferson, Clallum and Mason county transit systems regarding a change in the existing structure of the RTPO. Jefferson and Clallum counties are onboard, but he’s not as sure about Mason County. They are concerned about the time and cost involved. The most difficult part will be to get the conversation started, and it would help if we had our county commissioners behind us.
Commissioner Benavente added that we need to somehow coordinate an exchange of information among the county, the tribes, the ports and other organizational governments. There is no system in place to disseminate information within the county. Commissioner Young said that he’s spending a lot of time in Olympia and he will try to talk to Tim Sheldon.
Commissioner Benavente stated that the Tourism MOU has fizzled out and there hasn’t been any activity. The county gave $99,000 to the two Chambers of Commerce to put together brochures and a web site for tourism. We have no need now to pay out the $2,500 that the Port set aside for tourism. He added that the Historical Preservation Committee has been activated.
Correspondence
We received a letter from Lynda Ring Erickson, addressed to the Port of Dewatto, soliciting comments regarding a request for $80,000 from the Mason County Distressed Area Capital Fund for the Belfair Sewers project. Commissioner Young asked what the purpose of the “distressed fund” is supposed to be, but no one was sure. If it’s an emergency fund, is this the proper fund from which to draw? The sewer system is critical to Belfair, but the commissioners aren’t sure that the funding should come from this source. The numbers quoted sound like the same numbers used for the Hoodsport Wastewater project, so it’s confusing. We could take it to the County Commission meeting to ask for clarification, and Commissioner Patterson may do that. Meanwhile, Commissioner Young will draft an email response saying that the information provided is insufficient to allow us to clearly respond. He will send the draft to Carol to send to Mason County.
Agenda for the February 28, 2007 meeting:
Action Items:
Overnight Moorage Fee Implementation
Pumpout
DNR Lease
Hoodsport Vision Discussion
Transfer to Investment Account
Hoodsport Trails Park
Dock Repair
PDA/Port Relationship
Individual Commissioner Reports
Correspondence
There was no need for an Executive Session.
Motion to adjourn the regular meeting at 10:37 a.m.
Thomas Young, Chairman Frank Benavente, Commissioner Dick Patterson, Commissioner