MINUTES FROM THE REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING
OF THE PORT OF HOODSPORT COMMISSION
August 7, 2012
Call to Order: 9:00am Adjourned: 10:50am
Meeting Held at: Hoodsport Port Commissions Office 24113 N US Hwy 101 #A Hoodsport, WA
Roll Call: Commissioner Brazil
Commissioner O’Laughlin
Commissioner Petz
Staff Present: KS LeMaster, Port Operations Manager
Pat Hoff, HP Maintenance
Bruce Osborne, HP Maintenance
Public: Pastor Jack Keith ~ Hood Canal Community Church
Krag Onsoeld ~ WSU 4H Forestry
Approval of Agenda: Commissioner O’Laughlin made a motion to approve the 8-7-12 meeting agenda. Commissioner Petz seconded, unanimously approved.
Minutes: Commissioner O’Laughlin made a motion to approve the minutes of July 31, 2012. Commissioner Petz seconded, unanimously approved.
Vouchers: Commissioner O’Laughlin made a motion to approve the Vouchers August (1of1) in the amount of $6,800.87 Commissioner Petz seconded, unanimously approved.
Public Communication:
A letter was received from Pastor Jack thanking the Port for a job well done on the Waterfront Park stating many residents & tourists use & enjoy it and the public restrooms are a tremendous addition. Pastor Jack thanked the Port Commissioners for fire wood previously donated to the church and asked if he could cut fire wood out of the Hoodsport Trail Park, permission was denied due to liability, the Commissioners stated there may be another donation of firewood to the church. Pastor Jack spoke about a possible project of a Bike path connector trail to Holiday Beach and also up State Rt 119, his daughter works for D.O.T. Commissioner O’Laughlin will take a look at what kinds of grant funding may be available.
Krag Onsoeld gave a status report of the work done at the Hoodsport Trail Park by the WSU 4H Forestry crew. 5,000 native plants were planted and he was looking for help with watering. Commissioner Brazil in liaison with Fire District #18 & Tacoma Power were coordinating the watering of the new plants on August 9th. Krag made a ‘new trail’ sketch for a new trail map, some of the ‘old’ trails were decommissioned, the crew created areas with natural debris for erosion control, trail reinforcement & points of interest. Natural springs created wet spots which were addressed, the ground was moist when they planted & he is confident there is enough moisture in the ground to keep the roots wet. The WSU 4H Forestry would like to run this program annually to keep the Hoodsport Trail Park in good condition for the Public, it would give the crew on the job training & teach community service. Commissioner Brazil stated the 4H crew has done a fantastic job. Commissioner Brazil would like to see the hiking trail extend across State Rt #119 by the Lake Cushman golf course making a loop and showing points of interest such as the old Railroad grade & a Chinese camp. This is not a high priority this year and will be tabled for a Port project in 2013. It was mentioned the ROTC group may be interested in helping next year. Commissioner O’Laughlin reminded the group that a forester will be planting roughly 17,000 trees (250 trees per acre on 65 acres) in the fall. He also stated when the trail crosses over State Rt #119, the Pedestrians should yield to traffic since it is a highway.
Commissioner Reports:
There was concern about charges at the Public Boat launch by Tacoma Power in Potlatch and determined it was okay for the tribe to charge the Public on weekends, Holidays and when there was an attendant on site. There is concern about Public access to Lake Cushman when the Lake Cushman parks & campgrounds are full. It was discussed that possible undeveloped lots could be used for Public parking & a boat launch. Commissioner Brazil will do more research. Commissioner O’Laughlin met with the Director of traffic safety & Senator Sheldon to discuss Variable Speed signs to slow down traffic going through the middle of town. The signs were priced out at about $3,000. each, there is possible grant money for them & a possibility of PUD#1 helping with the installation, a timer can be added to turn them off at night. Solar powered signs will be investigated to save money. Crosswalk issues were also discussed for cross walk safety in Hoodsport and Lilliwaup, Commissioner O’Laughlin pointed out that crosswalks are always dangerous on highways. Crosswalk flags were suggested, D.O.T. will need to grant permission for all suggestions. It is not always possible for all three Port Commissioners to be in attendance at Regular Port Commission meetings, it was discussed that possible communications via telecom with two Port Commissioners in physical attendance may be a solution. Protocol with regard to RCW’s will be researched prior to implementation. Commissioner O’Laughlin would like it duly noted that this year’s budget is far greater than it will be in the future due to removal of diseased and dangerous trees from the Hoodsport Trail Park and the reforestation & revitalization to restore the Hoodsport Trail Park in to the incredible destination it is. Commissioner Brazil stated citizens have spoken out about connecting the Foothills County Park to the Hoodsport Trail Park adding about 1 ¼ miles of trail. Kid’s playground equipment was recently installed at Foothills Park. Commissioner Brazil added the County doesn’t have resources to keep up the parks & there is a fundraiser on August 24th at the Civic Center.
Commissioner Petz has completed all of the permitting processes with the County. A Bid package for the site work and septic system was completed and reviewed by all of the Commissioners. Public notices were published and bids are all due by August 30th. County requirements and a selection process for the permanent public restrooms were discussed. Removal of the temporary restrooms was discussed with a 90 day process to have the permanent public restrooms completed. Commissioner Petz made a motion to ‘Release the Bid package project documents to be advertised’, Commissioner O’Laughlin seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Commissioner Brazil will be attending the ‘Small Ports’ seminar on October 24th & 25th.
Port Maintenance Reports:
Work continues to clean up and maintain the Hoodsport Trail Park. A cement picnic table and trash receptacles were delivered for the public to use at the Trail Park, another picnic table will be delivered next month. Surveillance cameras were discussed to be installed in the park which would be beneficial for vandalism & people dumping trash. There was a concern about how the Visitors Center’s grounds were very poorly maintained & how it could be a reflection on Hoodsport. Commissioner O’Laughlin will check in to a program with the manager regarding the funding from the Chamber to run the visitor’s center and what can be done to upgrade and maintain a clean, aesthetically pleasing area for Visitors to our town. It was discussed previously that the Chamber would like to have the Visitors Center next to the Port. There is tourism funding for the Visitors Center.
Port Operations Manager Report:
An extensive State Audit was conducted with request & submission of records from 2008-2010, the review found meeting minutes to be quite thorough and informative needing only meeting locations & payment amounts approved by the governing body. The only recommendation by the Auditor is that the district needs to take action to recover the per diem over payments to commissioners as per the recommendation in the Hotline Audit issued in February 2009 to the district. Letters were written as directed by the State Auditor to recover per diem overpayments by previous Commissioners to be reviewed by the current Port Commissioners and the Port attorney. The Port has entered in to a contract with the WA State Purchasing Cooperative to purchase the CXT prefabricated public restroom, all paperwork has been completed, a final selection of choices will be completed at the next regular commission meeting. A private citizen expressed concern about how dangerous it is crossing the highway and State Rt. #119.
The next ‘All Ports’ meeting scheduled in De Watto has been cancelled. A letter was received from the Mason County Transportation Authority asking for consideration by a Port Commissioner to sit on the MTA board.
Budget: Review of Expenditures/Revenue for the month ending mid July 2012
Old Business:
- Discussion/Direction Regarding the Septic Design, Temporary & Permanent Restroom Projects:
Septic Design: Commissioner Petz & the architect are moving forward as per requirements made at the pre conference meeting with Mason County.
Permanent Restrooms: CXT Montrose is the consideration.
Temporary Restrooms: Up & running & being monitored.
Commissioner Petz summarized the current tasks in the process of the Permanent Restrooms. Bid packages are ready to go out, once the Contractor is selected, they will be the General contractor overseeing the septic system, the landing for the permanent restrooms, hook ups, plumbing and electrical. The Permanent prefab CXT restrooms will be ordered with a 90 day timeframe. It is agreed that an Auto locking system should be included in the CXT package Commissioner’s O’Laughlin and Brazil expressed deep appreciation to Commissioner Petz for all of his efforts in the Public Restroom process.
New Business:
Next Meetings: Next meeting date is Tuesday August 21 at 9am.
Adjourn: Commissioner O’Laughlin made a motion to adjourn the Regular Port meeting. Commissioner Petz seconded, unanimously approved, meeting adjourned at 10:50am
2012 Regular Port Commission Meetings are scheduled as follows:
Tuesdays:
August 21st @ 9am, September 11th @ 9am, September 25th @ 9am
Minutes Approved: July 31, 2012
________________________ _______________________ _____________________
Commissioner O’Laughlin Commissioner Petz Commissioner Brazil