WEEK OF 6/11/12 MEETINGS IN REVIEW

TOM'S TALES FOR THE WEEK

Monday, June 11, 2012

2:00 PM: Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Briefing

The meeting started off with a bang, when Commissioner Ring-Erickson tore into Frank Pinter, Finance Manager for the Sheriff’s Office.

Here’s what happened:

Everyone was expecting Sheriff Casey to respond to rumors that some officers were telling the public the Sheriff’s Office could not respond to calls for help because the County Commissioners had cut their budget, and (now get this) there was not enough money to put gas in the patrol cars. But Sheriff Casey didn’t show, which left Mr. Pinter in the Lion’s den, with a pork-chop tied around his neck.

What happened next was not pretty: my ears are still ringing from the shriek let out by Commissioner/Candidate Ring-Erickson. Not to be outdone, Commissioner Bloomfield joined in the attack, and set Mr. Pinter marching back to the Sheriff’s Office, with a terse message and arrow through the heart.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

9:00 AM: Regular session of Board of County Commissioners (BOCC)

During the public comment period, Terri Thompson, a local clean drinking water activist, stepped up to the podium to educate Commissioners on the dangers of aquifer contamination. Ms. Thompson read from a prepared statement, laying out the need for a compliance officer to test the county’s drinking water for cancer causing agents.

During her presentation, she also mentioned that Mason County had a higher rate of overall cancers than any county in the state, and offered statistical evidence to support that claim. The implication that all these cancers may have something to do with our water supply was not lost on the Commissioners. Tim Sheldon seized upon the reference to “footnotes” in the report, saying he was not inclined to accept any conclusions until he had time to research the source of the references. And Steve Bloomfield wondered out loud how it could be that eastern Washington was a healthier place to live than the western part of the state, given we have all the trees, and stuff.

At the end of the day, it really didn’t matter who thought what, because when you approach a potential problem with an attitude set to discredit or dismiss, it’s doubtful anything meaningful will be done.

Be that as it may, while public health ratings in our county may not be anything to brag about, it’s nice to know that somewhere in Oshkosh there’s a healthy 90 year old farmer sucking on a jug of Wild Turkey and doing the Hokey-Pokey.

And now for the Port report fermenting since last week:

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

2:00 PM: Port of Shelton Commission Meeting

As promised, now that my own Martini Meditation Period has ended, let’s get back to the events of last week:

What set me on my heels was the Port reaching out to the community for input on the future of the fairgrounds. In the past, the only community cooperation the Port sought from the public was to attend the county fair and not throw up on anybody. Commissioner Hupp acknowledged the relationship between the Port and the Public was not good; that the community did not trust the Port, and that needed to change.

Hupp went to considerable lengths to drive this point home, going so far as to say that the fairgrounds belong to the public, not the FAA, and challenging his fellow Commissioners to ignore FAA demands to return the property for aviation purposes.

But good relations, in and of themselves, do not solve problems, and it will take much compromise to save the fairgrounds. Commissioner Hupp wants to keep it where it is, give or take a few yards. Commissioner Wallitner and Director Dobson think it should be moved to another part of Sanderson Field. And Commissioner Taylor appeared to be either deep in thought or enjoying a quick nap.

The question in my mind is not so much where the future fairgrounds will be located, but if it will be managed as a for-profit or not-for-profit endeavor.

It is not often we mere taxpayers get to weigh in on the decision making process, so don’t let this opportunity go by. Go to www.portofshelton.com and click on the press release and give the Port a piece of your mind (Lord knows, they can use it).

But do it before the cutoff date of July 31.

And if you don’t think you give two hoots and a holler about the future of the fairgrounds, think about the time your grand kids released the brake on your 1987 Buick and sent it rolling down the driveway, all because they had nothing better to do. There you go.

Later…

Link to Port of Shelton fairgrounds press release pdf:
http://www.portofshelton.com/downloads/FairgroundsFutureUsePlan.pdf