minutes from the regular meeting
of the Port of Hoodsport Commission
february 28, 2007
Call to order: 5:00 p.m. Adjourned: 7:10 p.m.
Roll Call: Commissioner Frank Benavente
Commissioner Dick Patterson
Commissioner Tom Young
Introduction of Guests: Chuck Engel, PDA and Tall Ship
Approval of Minutes
Commissioner Benavente made a motion to “Approve the minutes from the regular meeting held on February 14, 2007 as presented.” The motion was approved unanimously.
Approval of Vouchers
Commissioner Benavente made a motion to “Approve vouchers for Carol Ferguson for Administrative Services, mileage and reimbursement for supplies and software in the amount of $630.30; Washington Dept. of Corrections for moorage signs in the amount of $131.20; and the Shelton Journal for Small Works Roster notice in the amount of $48.00.” The motion was approved unanimously.
Commissioner Benavente made a motion to “Pre-approve reoccurring vouchers for the month of March 2007.” The motion was approved unanimously.
Agenda Changes – Remove the DNR Lease, since there is no update. Add purchasing items from the UW surplus warehouse.
Open Items – PDA/Tall Ship
Mr. Engel gave the commissioners copies of the Tall Ship Business Plan, the draft proposal for a partnership with the Port and documentation regarding the Creative Children’s Guild. The guild is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that has been in existence for over 20 years, and they are seeking funding to bring the ship to our area. The best time to move the ship to Port Townsend would be from June through September. The ship would go into dry dock and would then have to be inspected by the Coast Guard. The SOCK organization in Shelton is ready to partner with the PDA and is willing to seek grants for development of curriculum/lesson plans. Alderbrook and Pleasant Harbor have also expressed interest in hosting the Tall Ship. It will take approximately $70,000 to get the ship up here.
The proposed partnership with the Port would be for the Port to provide the infrastructure needed to locate the Tall Ship in Hoodsport. In an effort to come up with the most accurate cost projections, Mr. Engel asked for a copy of the Creative Children’s Guild’s business plan to compare with the one that the PDA drafted.
Mr. Engel added that the PDA has been restructured and they will be meeting each month a week before the EAB. They will provide the minutes from their meetings to the EAB for review at their meeting with the Port Commissioners.
The commissioners indicated that they would like some time to review the documents and that they will discuss them at the next meeting. They will then set up a meeting with the PDA to discuss the proposal and have their questions answered.
Action Items
Overnight Moorage Fee Implementation
Commissioner Benavente has not been able to reach Tom Longshore. He doesn’t feel that we should proceed until we have some input from the tribe and until the DNR lease is signed. Commissioner Young suggested that we draft a letter to the tribal council, with a cc: to Tom Longshore, to get their input on the fee implementation.
Action Item: Commissioner Young and Carol will work on a draft letter.
Commissioner Patterson stated that there is only one place where the sign will fit. It’s on the south side, on the left, about 20 feet from the steps. Commissioner Benavente expressed concern about placement of the sign vs. placement of the tank for the pumpout. After consulting a map, it was determined that it would be far enough away. We will put in the posts now, but wait to install the signs until we are able to contact the tribe. Commissioner Patterson also indicated that he would need the key to the box that holds the bulletin board so he can clean it out.
Pumpout
Commissioner Benavente checked with the county regarding permits and found that we have to get a SEPA permit for $560 and a Significant Development Permit for $900 just to get the application in to the county. That will put us over the $2,000 estimated for permits. We can request reimbursement from the grant monies, and we can amend the contract to reflect actual permit costs, once we receive the grant contract.
Commissioner Benavente reminded us that we have a 25% match where we will pay 50% of the 25% and the Coordinating Council will pay the other 50% of the match.
We will wait to proceed until the grant contract comes in. It’s supposed to be in the mail now.
Action Item: When the contract arrives, Carol will make copies and get them to the commissioners.
Hoodsport Vision Discussion
Commissioner Benavente reported that the commissioners took a tour with Art Anderson representatives that included the properties that we’re interested in acquiring.
Commissioner Young reported that he is almost finished with a map and proposal for the federal government regarding the transfer of the 80 ac. Hoodsport Trails property. To reflect a mixed-use plan, it includes an area adjacent to the golf course, labeled golf-related family use. The area in the upper corner would be used for support facilities and parking, and the remainder for a non-motorized park and trail system. That could also incorporate backcountry horsemen trails. There is about a mile between this property and Foothills Park, which we may want to attempt to acquire at a later date. It would include what is now the Dow Creek campground, which is leased from Tacoma Power.
Transfer to Investment Account
Our letter was submitted to the county and the money has been transferred.
Foothills Park
Commissioner Benavente recently met with John Keats, Parks Department. The county has given him $60,000 to start renovations at Foothills Park. Commissioner Benavente distributed a sketch of the preliminary plan and asked how much the Port wants to be involved as a partner. The Port would like to participate in a joint public meeting to gather input on how the $60,000 should be spent. At that meeting, Mr. Keats could also share the long-range parks plan.
Commissioner Young asked if the $60,000 is local money. If it is, the Port could apply for state or federal grants to double that amount. Commissioner Benavente thought that the $60,000 was from the county, so we could apply for state and federal funds.
Given the requirements for notice of public meetings, it would likely be April before a meeting could be held.
Action Item: Commissioner Benavente will work with John Keats to set a meeting date.
Dock Repair
Since we’re approaching spring, we should contact Hurlen Construction about coming out to see how well the dock has dried out since we removed the skirting, and to decide if it’s dry enough to proceed with the repairs.
Action Item: Carol and Commissioner Young will work on a draft letter to Wil Clark.
PDA/Port Relationship
The commissioners reviewed a portion of the PDA Ordinance. They would like to review the entire document, as would Chuck Engel. Carol will get copies to Commissioner Young and Chuck Engel for further review. Once they have reviewed the documents, they will set a combined PDA/Port meeting to do some further planning.
Authority to Purchase from the UW Surplus Warehouse
Commissioner Benavente made a motion to “Authorize the Port Commissioners, as representatives of a government entity, to purchase items from the UW Surplus Warehouse.” The motion was approved unanimously. Since our delegated authority schedule only allows commissioners to make purchases up to $300, another motion was made to “Authorize the commissioners to make purchases up to $1,500 for office furniture, including tables and chairs.” The motion was approved unanimously.
Commissioner Benavente stated that the store is only open two days a week, and that he would prefer that one of the other commissioners make the purchases. Commissioner Patterson thought that we should have a list of items to be purchased.
Action Item: Carol will draft a letter of authorization for the elected Port of Hoodsport Commissioners.
Individual Commissioners’ Reports
Commissioner Benavente stated that there is an RTPO meeting tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. that he plans to attend. He will also attend a WIRA meeting tomorrow afternoon.
Commissioner Young reported that most of his time has been spent in Olympia. The WPPA updates cover what has been happening. Today was the deadline for passage of House Bills without fiscal notes. The House Bills with fiscal notes have another five days.
Commissioner Patterson reported that he contacted the Hoodsport Fire Department regarding a practice drill at the dock. He commented that they would pressure wash it after the drill. He also asked how often the dock should be pressure washed. Commissioners Young and Benavente said that it should be done on an as-needed basis. Commissioner Patterson asked how to determine when it’s needed. Commissioner Young said that it would depend on safety and aesthetic issues. He asked if it’s an issue of brushing or pressure washing. Commissioner Patterson thought that we could put down pool chlorine, brush it in, then pressure wash it. Commissioner Benavente expressed concern about using chlorine that would drain into the canal and suggested that Commissioner Patterson check with the county regarding requirements.
Commissioner Patterson reported that he went to a meeting on Tuesday about the new grocery store. There was mention that the Port supported the store, and there were no unfavorable comments on the store.
Also on the agenda was a permit for fueling at Union (Alderbrook) and that they are moving forward with a feasibility study. The Port of Shelton was asked to comment, but not the Port of Hoodsport.
Correspondence
We received a letter from PUD #3 regarding some training. The commissioners felt that it was not as relevant to the Port as the WPPA conference, and that they would rather attend that. We will draft a thank-you letter to the PUD for inviting us.
Carol distributed a copy of the 2007 Small Works Roster, and asked if Michael Wittenberg had to turn in an application. The commissioners thought that our contract with him would be sufficient, but asked that Carol check the contract dates.
Carol also mentioned that our office lease expires on March 1, 2007. The commissioners thought that we would go to a month-to-month lease in lieu of a new contract. Carol will check with Don LeMaster.
Agenda for the March 14, 2007 meeting:
Action Items:
Overnight Moorage Fee Implementation
Pumpout
DNR Lease
Hoodsport Vision Discussion – Hoodsport Trail Park, Foothills Park, County Parks Public Mtg.
Dock Repair
Tall Ship Discussion
Individual Commissioner Reports
Correspondence
The regular meeting adjourned to an Executive Session at 6:50 p.m.
Motion to adjourn the Executive Session at 7:09 p.m.
Motion to adjourn the regular meeting at 7:10 p.m.
Thomas Young, Chairman Frank Benavente, Commissioner Dick Patterson, Commissioner