MINUTES FROM THE REGULAR PORT COMMISSION MEETING FOR THE PORT OF HOODSPORT
March 8, 2023
Call to Order: 9:00am Adjourned: 10:12am
Hybrid Meeting Held at: 24113 North Highway 101, Suite A
Hoodsport, WA 98548
Virtual Zoom Conference Meeting Room ID#406-238-9936
Roll Call: Commissioner Kincannon – Chairwoman / 2nd Trustee., Commissioner Brazil – 2nd Chairman/Trustee, Commissioner Morris
Staff Present: K. Wyatt, Executive Director, S. Lindgren – Maintenance Supervisor
Public: Forest McCullough – NW Land & Tree, Katherine & John Yackel – YSS Dive Shop
Approval of Agenda: Commissioner Brazil motioned to approve the March 8, 2023, agenda as amended deleting C Kronamen, Kiwanis as a speaker, Commissioner Morris seconded; all in favor, unanimously approved.
Minutes: Commissioner Kincannon motioned to approve the regular port commission meeting minutes for February 8, 2022, Commissioner Brazil seconded, all in favor, unanimously approved.
Vouchers: Commissioner Kincannon motioned to approve the Vouchers for February 2023, in the amounts of $19,498.00; $9,954.88 and $16,138.62, Commissioner Brazil seconded, all in favor, unanimously approved.
Public Communication:
K Yackel said we are having an anniversary underwater expo event with a large sponsorship from Seiko. This will be a big event, bigger than we have had in town, the PADI conference is worldwide training. Through many applicants in different locations, they chose us to have their event here. There will be news media, photos, drones and videos covering the cold-water scuba diving underwater cleanup event with PADI divers. The Glen Ayre is sold out, this could potentially be good for everyone, people have been supportive of our diving community. For this event we estimate there will be up to 50 divers and at least100 attendees. As per the Facility Use Agreement, we feel we will need to rent Sani cans with hand washing stations this time because of the number of people coming. We are working on parking, in the past we’ve used the Oyster Bank parking lot, church and fisheries. We will be reaching out to the Lucky Dog Casino Skokomish tribe to talk about shuttles. Commissioner Brazil said for big events, we used to run buses up the hill to pick up people parked at the Maintenance company, we used Mason County Transit to pick them up and bring them down to town. K Yackel said we are interested in help with that. Commissioner Kincannon said congratulations on that! We have a couple of parking spaces, you can use them for VIP’s, we can put ‘reserved’ signs on them if you coordinate with us, let us know how we can support you. K Yackel said send me information on parking. Commissioner Morris said I will put you in touch with Jan at the Hardware Distillery, she can give you tips on parking from her research for the Fjordin Crossin event. K Yackel said she has been brainstorming and we need to put lipstick on it to get it ready for this event. Commissioner Kincannon said when you are talking about lipstick, are you talking about underwater? K Yackel said yes. J Yackel said as a dive inspector, I have video that shows mussel growth but it’s not bad. K Yackel said we can clean it in an hour. There are no missing floats but there is missing hardware like lag bolts, brackets and rollers, carriage bolts and corroded lag bolts underneath the dock. The structure under the deck boards needs to be secure to support the top deck surface. We can help with that; we just need to make sure it’s okay to do it. Commissioner Morris said I will help you with the dock, we need a rough list of parts needed. We can reach out to the Port of Shelton for spare parts, let’s put a list together and coordinate with Brandon at the Port of Shelton. When I met with DNR and the Department of Ecology they said small repairs to make the dock safe were alright, but if there were any major repairs, we would have to be compliant with code. Commissioner Kincannon said we look forward to your event. We will email the Facility Use Agreement to you for signature. Commissioner Kincannon welcomed Jennifer to the meeting, she owns the Canal Side store, formerly Laurie’s gift shop, and asked if she wanted to say anything. I am here to listen and observe, I would like to get more involved in the community. Commissioner Kincannon said we encourage everyone to attend our meetings. F McCullough gave the commission an update on the Hoodsport Trail Park, the snow has put a damper on progress, we got another two inches today and have about a foot. As soon as the snow melts, we will be able to work on the parking lot again. We had it graded, then it snowed, then people went in and made donuts on it. We have plans to clean up the trail, replant trees, cap the parking lot and put a big log on the West side parking lot to keep people from making donuts. We will be making the pad for the container shed once the snow is gone. Commissioner Kincannon said are we still going to meet our goal for you to be out at the end of April so we can get work parties in and have our grand opening on Memorial Day weekend? F McCullough said yes, we are still on schedule for the end of April. Commissioner Kincannon said keep us posted, we are planning a volunteer weekend or two before the end of May. F McCullough said okay, I will get together with S Lindgren to schedule a walk through before we are done. Commissioner Brazil said I can walk around it; we can talk about anything that can become and issue. The parking lot at the disc golf course is looking really good, there is nothing we can do with snow on the ground. What about the piles of debris on the disc golf side? F McCullough said I can scatter that; it will become nutrients for the ground. Commissioner Kincannon said thank you for the good work Forest.
Commissioner Kincannon said the director and I are working on different policies, forms and the newsletter. The website has been updated with information about what’s going on at the Hoodsport Trail Park. Commissioner Brazil said I am working with the Kiwanis volunteers and will ask them to help next month to spread the hog fuel big wood chips. Commissioner Kincannon said if you already have a couple of work dates scheduled, we can let the public know with flyers and post it on the website. On which days will you be available, lots of people want to help. Commissioner Brazil said okay, I will coordinate that. Commissioner Morris said my apologies for missing the February meeting, I was completely down with COVID, it hit me hard. I have fallen behind with many things and will be looking for different sources to evaluate fees, policies and private source funding. Two weeks ago, I hosted some business owners at the brewery, there’s been a massive change of guards for small businesses along Hwy 101 here in Hoodsport. I am here to help with issues through my port commission. Katherine and John will be having a massive event, diving is a niche I think this event will be a big deal. I want to help with making sure the Port’s dock is in photogenic shape. Having them help with the underside certainly will relieve Scott. Commissioner Kincannon asked if Commissioner Morris came up with the new moorage fee so we can start printing new moorage fee envelopes, change the fee on the website, and signs at the dock’s kiosk. Commissioner Morris said I am reaching out to make sure we are at market rate; we don’t have the ability to measure boats and I think we should stick with a flat rate. I will shoot everyone a flat rate within a week or two. I met with County Commissioner Kevin Shutty who will be determining who can be eligible for the lodging tax. I will be attending a meeting to try and secure funds, with our small budget any amount we can get helps. With the disc golf grand opening, how can we help as a brewery with promo’s or get the work out? Maybe after a shift, Volunteers can come down to get a free beer. Commissioner Brazil said the disc golf course is not for profit. Commissioner Kincannon said I can meet with Rachel at the Oyster Bank to talk to the brewery, maybe an offer to set up a booth or table at the event.
Port Maintenance Reports:
Hoodsport Trail Park & Disc Golf Park: S Lindgren said we made some big purchases, we got a UTV and a container shed that will be delivered and set when the snow is melted, both will come in handy.
Hoodsport Marina, Dock & Waterfront Park: S Lindgren said there’s been a lot of household garbage being dumped into all of the public garbage cans. We should increase the garbage pickup at the end of April. If flowers arrive early, the irrigation system is shut down until the threat of frost is over.
Portable Restrooms: The Port and Hood Canal Grocery both rent 3 portable restrooms each with hand washing stations for the public’s use in the summer season, they are serviced 3 times per week. In winter there are 2 rentals, each serviced twice per week. The Port monitors them for trash and additional toilet paper needed in between services. We should increase the number of Sani cans and services by the end of April.
Port parking/Office building/Maintenance shed: People are dumping their household trash.
Port Directors Report:
The Port director will check with the vendor to verify when flowers will arrive for the planters in town. I am working with Commissioner Kincannon on policies, forms, insurance, updates, and the newsletter. Commissioner Brazil made a motion to move an additional $5,000. from the Hoodsport Trail Park funds into the general funds to cover the additional cost of the UTV implements and gravel for the disc golf parking lot at the Hoodsport Trail Park, Commissioner Morris seconded, all in favor, the motion passed. The director will move funds as specified. Commissioner Morris requested more time for the evaluation of the moorage increase and will let the director know what the amount will be. Commissioner Kincannon asked that a motion be made to approve the amount so that new envelopes for moorage payment can be printed, changes can be made on the kiosk, signs, and website. Commissioner Morris made a motion to accept the new moorage rate fee which will be determined so changes can be made prior to the next regular port commission meeting, Commissioner Brazil seconded, all in favor, it was unanimously approved. The director has updated the website bringing it current after the wed designer finished with all of the design changes. The YSS May 6th event flyer will be uploaded to the website under community events. Q1 commissioner timesheets are due and have been emailed to the port commission. Upcoming regular port commission dates need to be determined for the next few months. Commissioner Brazil said we used to have meetings twice a month in the spring through fall. Commissioner Kincannon said we all have stuff on our agendas, we will have a busy couple of months, we may need to have another meeting at the end of May to get together and discuss the Grand opening. I think it is working and we can get together when needed. Commissioner Morris said he agreed he’s got conferences and meetings two or more times each week to get ready for the season. Commissioner Morris said people in town are interested in resurrecting the ‘Events Committee’, he spoke to Mollie at Hood Canal Grocery who expressed interest in participation since she watched it over the years. The director said she was on the ‘Events Committee’ and is happy to share information.
Budget: February financial statements were reviewed.
Old Business: As discussed above New Business: As discussed above.
Next Meeting: April 12th
Adjourn: Commissioner Brazil made a motion to adjourn the Regular Port Commission meeting, Commissioner Morris seconded, all in favor, unanimously approved, meeting adjourned at 10:12am
2023 Regular Port Commission Meetings are scheduled as follows:
Wednesday’s at 9am April 12th, May 10th, June 7th
_______________________ _____________________ _________________________
Commissioner Kincannon Commissioner Brazil Commissioner Morris