Who Pays for the Port's Schemes & Dreams?

THE PORT CABAL

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Tom Davis Mason County Progressive

A couple of weeks ago it was reported on this blog that the legal fees incurred by the Port of Shelton, in its effort to derail the Halls Equity Group project, had reached $75,000. According to a reliable source, these fees may now have exceeded $150,000. That’s $150,000 of public funds wasted during a time of economic crisis.

The Port seems intent on extending its authority to include privately held land within a two mile radius of Sanderson Field Airport. Documents obtained as part of a public disclosure request confirm that John Dobson, Executive Director of the Port and John Shambaugh, Senior Planner, WSDOT Aviation, are committed to this endeavor. Mr. Dobson and Mr. Shambaugh have been trying to get the FAA noise threshold of 65 DNL (Daylight Night Average Noise Level) to 50 DNL, thus allowing the Port to extend its authority to adjacent properties.

Toward this end, Mr. Dobson exhibits an almost rabid zeal.

But conditions at the Port will likely only get worse before they get better. And here’s why:

If there was ever any doubt the Port was something less than a fair and equitable arbiter of a biomass to power facility, that doubt was put to rest when close friend and supporter of all things Port, Dick Taylor, announced his intention to run for the position of Port Commissioner.

Mr. Taylor is an ardent supporter of biomass, as are the two sitting Commissioners. This is exactly what the public does not need: another retired military man, another friend on the board, and another fellow pilot eager to join the Cabal.

Given the aggressive position of the Port to subordinate public opinion to its agenda, one can only assume any local political position that opens up will be vied for by another friend and fellow pilot of the Port.

At the risk of appearing age insensitive, political service is best reserved for those under 70 years of age, if only to keep entrenched ideologies from gaining positions of authority. If Mr. Taylor succeeds in his bid to become a Commissioner, his contribution will do little to offset an already reptilian approach to Port policy.

On the bright side, if this gathering of old warhorses succeeds in rounding out their stable, the resulting gasification will likely render another biomass plant unnecessary. So, there is that.