MINUTES FROM THE REGULAR PORT COMMISSION MEETING
OF THE PORT OF HOODSPORT COMMISSION
January 10, 2018
Call to Order: 9:00am Adjourned: 10:35am
Meeting Held at: Port of Hoodsport Office 24113 N US Hwy 101 #A Hoodsport, WA
Roll Call: Commissioner Petz – Commission Chair
Commissioner O’ Laughlin
Commissioner Brazil
Staff Present: K. Wyatt, Port Operations Manager
B. Osborne – Maintenance Director
Public: Glen Langford, Lake Cushman Resident
Approval of Agenda: Commissioner Petz asked to amend the Agenda by adding line item #9, under Port Operations manager to discuss Recreation and Conservation Office Grants – Boating Infrastructure and Recreational Trail Programs. Commissioner Brazil made a motion to approve the amended January 10, 2018 meeting agenda, Commissioner O’ Laughlin seconded, unanimously approved.
Minutes: Commissioner O’ Laughlin made a motion to approve the Regular Port Commission minutes of December 13, 2017 Commissioner Brazil seconded, unanimously approved.
Vouchers: Commissioner O’ Laughlin motioned to approve the following Vouchers for payment: January 2018 1of1 in the amount of $6,925.52 and 2017 4th ¼ Commissioner Payroll in the amount of $1,110.20 Commissioner Brazil seconded, unanimously approved.
Public Communication: Glen Langford a longtime resident at Lake Cushman talked about the beautiful boardwalk that runs through the Skokomish Valley tidelands and flats that was built with $2.7 million dollars in grant money provided by Tacoma Power for educational purposes. He said he toured the boardwalk when it was built, and now, there is gate at the entrance to the road which is now closed to the public and he wondered how the public could enjoy it. B. Osborne said the Kiwanis took a group of kids there on a nature walk in 2016. Glen said when he mentions it to people; they have no idea what he is talking about. Commissioner O’ Laughlin said it is not on Port property and not within the Port district so he would have to take his concerns to the Skokomish tribe since it is on their land. Glen said everyone knows the Public Port exists but very few people know what the Port does and what it will be doing in the future. Commissioner O’ Laughlin said in 1911 the state of Washington took back its urban harbors from the private railroads after a political fight that took many years. Forming Port districts became a tool to manage some of the most precious assets in the state creating jobs, becoming stewards for marinas, parks and urban areas to preserve and improve the environment all for the public’s use and enjoyment. The state of Washington has 75 port districts, more than any other state. Mason County has five Port districts, the Port of Hoodsport was formed in 1951and consists of three elected port commissioners. The current commission has been together for eight plus years. The Port of Hoodsport owns and manages the Port of Hoodsport’s Six slip Marina and dock, Waterfront beach, Waterfront Park, Public restrooms which were built in 2013, created 17 public parking spaces in Hoodsport in 2014 and in 2009 became the steward for the Hoodsport trail park when the state of Washington could no longer take care of it. As far as what this commission has done during its tenure, some of the accomplishments have been cutting salaries and office space in the budget by 70% in order to put money back into its properties to create the maximum use and enjoyment for the public out of every port owned property. The Ports boat dock is currently waiting for repair caused by a winter storm in 2016 (spring/summer/fall use and research into better materials and scheduling has caused a delay in repair), LED lighting and bird wire were installed at the port dock. The port maintains 461 feet of public waterfront beach. In 2012 the Port beautified the waterfront park by removing gravel and planting grass in the park area and along the highway frontage, bought 30 cement planters for flowers in the summer, added cement picnic tables, a couple of pet stations, cement garbage cans, a recycle bin for aluminum cans and a monofilament recycle bin. The Port has created an area where the towns Christmas tree can be erected and lit each year. In an effort to beautify downtown Hoodsport, the Port took over buying and maintaining hanging flower baskets which hang from the power poles along Port property throughout the spring, summer and fall, a task the local business association had before it disbanded. In previous year’s, surveys were taken by the tax payers in the Ports district to find out what they wanted and needed most in Hoodsport, the number one request was public restrooms. In 2013 through the generosity of Mike and Geri Purvis, owners of the Hood Canal Grocery IGA, the Port was able to lease property on the South side of their parking lot and up on the hill, to purchase and install a septic system, drain field area and public restroom. Commissioner Brazil said installing the public restrooms was a boost to all of the local businesses, it wasn’t the initial cost that is expensive but the unbelievable volume of usage is creating a maintenance and supply challenge. Glen says there are always big trucks parked along the highway and it is often hard to see around them. Commissioner O’ Laughlin went on to say the commission acquired the Hoodsport Trail Park in 2009, it had an assessment done by professional foresters to assess the health of the trees since many of them were falling everywhere in the park. The foresters determined that many of the trees had root rot and damage from bark beetles. It was their recommendation that those particular trees be removed in order to save the other trees and keep the forest healthy. They also recommended closing the trail park if it was left in its current condition. The ‘reforestation plan’ included replanting seventeen thousand new native and hearty trees in the trail park. Trail clearing, new trails and a flora/fauna map were created by Washington State University school program volunteers. The Port commission discussed many ideas for usage including Zip Lines and Disc Golf to further enhance and maximize the public’s use and enjoyment of the tail park. After lots of discussion, it was determined zip lines were not feasible in the trail park so we contacted the local Shelton disc golf association to explore a disc golf course. In agreement and cooperation with the Shelton disc golf association, the commission budgeted $35,000.00 for infrastructure and the disc golf association agreed to use volunteers to design and create an 18 hole professional disc golf course that could be used for tournaments which would bring disc golfers and their families to town for weekends creating more visitors to shop, eat, stay in and around the surrounding areas. Due to excessive manual labor, extreme topography, time and travel constraints, only nine holes were created which are currently up and running. Signs will be made this winter and up by this summer. Recently, the disc golf association decided to create a family friendly 9 hole disc golf course on the 20 Acre South side of State Rt 119 in an effort to attract local interest with a new pool of volunteers. This will be on level ground and will be beginner, senior, children, family and eventually ADA friendly. The Port hopes to have it up and running by the summer of 2018. The Port explored some of the other avenues in which the public expressed interest, such as a boardwalk wharf area above the waterfront beach with shops and eateries; however, with such a small budget and growing maintenance & supply expenses, it will not come to fruition without gift or grant monies to build and support such a feat. The Port does not charge fees to use any of the public properties. The only fee is for overnight moorage, which is a nominal $10. Per overnight stay. The port averages $500.00 annually in revenue from overnight moorage. Glen said there hasn’t been any recent activity at the Hoodsport trail park. Commissioner Petz said there will be within the next six months. Commissioner Brazil said when you have volunteers you are at the mercy of their scheduling. Glen said there was a disc golf course opened in Quilcene. He has lived next to the Lake Cushman golf course for 42 years and has a lot of ideas. He said thinking creatively; he notices RV’s going up and down the highway and wanted to know how to capture them to stop in town. Commissioner O’ Laughlin said there are three RV parks from Potlatch to just South of Lilliwaup. Commissioner Petz said the other short term project the Port is working on is to install traffic calming devices at both ends of Hoodsport to improve pedestrian and traffic safety. He said due to Port meetings with WSDOT, two crosswalks at the North end of Hoodsport were moved that made more sense for pedestrian safety. Commissioner O’ Laughlin stated the Port has applied for numerous grants but have been denied because other grants in more populated and politically correct areas were awarded. The Port is doing all it can with the budget it has to work with. Commissioner Petz said the Port is always open to any ideas within the scope of what can be done. Glen asked if the Hoodsport trail park can be sold, Commissioner O’ Laughlin said No, that in accordance with the Program of Utilization with the Washington state parks and recreation commission, the Port of Hoodsport is a steward of the Hoodsport trail park and officially reports to them biennially. There are specific uses and timeframes in which the trail park can be developed. Glen said that he can foresee people from all over western Washington migrating to our area for recreation because there is nowhere else to go and that he feels there are exciting times coming and hopes the port can take advantage of the opportunities. He said the public restrooms were the best thing that has happened and that he didn’t have any other ideas but wanted to offer his assistance to gather folks to help in some way. Commissioner Petz thanked Glen for taking time to talk to the commission today and would definitely have K. Wyatt keep him on the list to call when the port is looking for volunteers.
Commissioner Reports: Commissioner Brazil was asked by K. Wyatt to look at the social media comments on the Lake Cushman homeowner’s facebook page to respond to comments made by individuals about concerns with the disc golf course at the Hoodsport trail park. Commissioner Brazil said he responded to their comments by inviting them to attend the port meeting so they could express their concerns and ask the commission specific questions. Other people chimed in on the feed and said they attended presentations given by Commissioner Brazil and they were always very informative as to what the Ports mission is and what it does.
Port Maintenance Reports:
Hoodsport Trail Park: B. Osborne reported that Household garbage continues to be left in the trash cans at the Hoodsport trail park. B. Osborne said the trail signs will be finished by Spring.
Hoodsport Marina, Dock & Waterfront Park:
Public Restrooms: B. Osborne said the waterproof tape is working well on the roof leaks; however there is another place that needs to be taped because there is still a small puddle in the maintenance room.
Port parking/maintenance shed: Household trash is regularly being left in all of the receptacle and by the Port dumpster. B. Osborne said regarding the surveillance camera, it was not a good idea to use the trail camera since it is set off by any motion. Commissioner Petz said the camera he was looking at is a remote feed and can communicate with the office computer; It only needs power and batteries. It the camera can be mounted on the light pole, it will be in the direct line of sight to monitor the restroom doors which can cut down on criminal activity such as theft & dealing drugs. Glen said he purchased a surveillance camera from Costco that sends a feed to his phone; it costs $269.00 with three cameras. Geri at IGA said there is no problem with mounting a camera on the light post or using any power connections. Commissioner Petz said he would look into it and asked if we could have the electrician come to the next port meeting.
Port Operations Manager Report:
K. Wyatt has emails and phone calls to the contractor, who will be repairing the dock, the last time she spoke with them they were going to be taking measurements, were dealing with scheduling issues and gathering information on type and materials for fabricated parts. She will report back with their timeframe as soon as the information is available. K. Wyatt received a letter from the insurance company of the boater whose boat caused damage to one of the slips at the dock. They denied the claim in the amount of $242.57 to repair the boat slip stating they completed their investigation and based on the information available they determined there was insufficient evidence to prove that their insured damaged the boat dock. Photos were sent to the insurance company showing the boat taking on water and items floating; however they could not see that the boater chained his boat to the bull rail preventing the boat from movement in a high wind and wave situation. The boater left his boat chained to the dock without registering his boat or paying for moorage fees and when inclement weather hit, his boat took on water, slammed up against the bull rail and under the slip then proceeded to sink. Commissioner O’ Laughlin said the there should be an affidavit as to what happened by B. Osborne and S. Lindgren who salvaged all of the boaters personal items, stored them and safely towed the boat to shore before it completely capsized. K. Wyatt invited Morgan with the Shelton disc golf association to the meeting to discuss Phase II but he was unavailable to attend. K. Wyatt contacted Hood Canal Communication and asked if the guys who put up the Candy Canes on the power poles could take down the old banners and save the hardware, they said they would if the Kiwanis requested it. K. Wyatt asked B. Osborne to remind them to ask. K. Wyatt contacted the Port of Shelton to find out which bank issued their credit cards for port purchases, they said they used a local bank in Shelton. She then contacted the local bank in Hoodsport to find out if they could issue a credit to the Port, the bank manager said they needed a resolution. Commissioner Petz said to go ahead and create a resolution to be approved at the next regular port commission meeting. K. Wyatt was tasked to find out who purchased flower baskets in Shelton and called the Chamber to find out. They said most of them were paid for by different citizens and businesses in town. The Port asked K. Wyatt to contact the Chamber to invite them to the next regular port commission meeting to talk about a recap of 2017 uses for tourism lodging tax. K. Wyatt asked the port commission if they were under the impression that the $10,000.00 offered by the WSDOT regional office was to be used to help with the purchase of traffic calming devices along the Hwy 101 corridor going through Hoodsport. The commission agreed that they were understood it was to be used for the devices. K. Wyatt received a phone call and email from the WSDOT Regional PE stating the $10,000.00 was offered to be used to develop a transportation plan that could be submitted with grant applications to request grant money to purchase traffic calming devices for Hoodsport. Commissioner O’ Laughlin asked for another copy of the transportation plan that was approved and submitted by the Port of Allyn. He said he will take a look at it and create one for Hoodsport. He thought it was ridiculous since the port has been meeting with WSDOT and jumping through hoops since 2012 trying to get them to help calm traffic through Hoodsport.
K. Wyatt was emailed by Steve Bennett from WSDOT to get the port commissions opinion as to whether or not a no parking sign should be erected on the grassy area by the fish hatchery at the north end of town. The Port Commission responded by appreciating the opportunity to take part in an opinion on whether or not to post a ‘No Parking’ sign. The Port reviewed the photo and location then came to a determination that they were not in favor of a sign being posted there. It was their opinion that it should be left the way it is, stating that from a traffic standpoint, everyone anywhere along the highway is pulling out into traffic and needs to be very careful. Parking is at a premium in Hoodsport, eliminating the grassy area for parking would force fishermen to park in the bank and church parking lots. Commissioner Petz wanted to be sure the Port is aware of the next grant round so it can apply for the Recreation Conservation Office grants offered that pertained to boating infrastructure and recreational trails. K. Wyatt and Commissioner Petz will watch the RCO’s webinar on February 15th to get more information.
Budget: December 2017 Financial Statement was reviewed
Old Business: As discussed above
New Business: None
Next Meet: February 21, 2018
Adjourn: Commissioner Brazil made a motion to adjourn the Regular Port Commission meeting, Commissioner O’ Laughlin seconded, unanimously approved, meeting adjourned at 10:35 a.m.
2018 Regular Port Commission Meetings are scheduled as follows:Wednesday’s at 9a.m.February 21st, March 14th
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Commissioner O’ Laughlin Commissioner Petz Commissioner Brazil