2/21/12 SHELTON MEETING MARATHON

TOM'S TALES FROM TUESDAY

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Tom Davis Mason County Progressive

This past Tuesday was a red letter day for attending meetings, four in nine hours. First the meeting of County Commissioners, then the League of Women Voters, then the Port of Shelton, and, finally, the City of Shelton. All things considered, it was a wonder I made it to the Martini Bar by 8:00 PM.

9:00 AM: Board of County Commissioners Meeting (BOCC)

The BOCC meet was particularly uneventful. Commissioner Steve Bloomfield was off sky-diving or something so the action agenda was short, and included no items other than those necessary to keep the wheels greased. There was, however, a hearing to authorize the Director of Community Development to sign an application to the State of Washington Dept. of Commerce in the amount of $1,000,000 for a Community Development Block Grant for Faith in Action to help fund a senior center in Belfair.

I didn’t like the sound of $1,000,000 of public money being given to what sounded like a religious organization when it was proposed a week ago, so I visited their website. What I came away with was a feeling of a bunch of well-intentioned church folk smart enough to keep the bible thumping on the low down. Still, I couldn’t help but ask the presenter if her organization caters only to the liver-spot generation or did their good works extend to, you know, everybody else. And, yes, God and Faith in Action do not discriminate based on age, race, or sexual proclivity (well, maybe not that last thing…).

In the end, the good Lord took care of his own, and the Faith in Action grant application was blessed by unanimous approval of the two Commissioners in attendance.

11:30 AM: League of Women Voters Meeting

My beautiful and brilliant bride had arranged for two participants of the Occupy movement to give a presentation to the LWV at Olympic College. Guest speakers, Miles Nowlin and Brian McCracken wasted no time informing those in attendance that they did not speak for the Occupy movement. They said no one speaks for the movement, which is what makes it so effective. They did, however, offer a history of how “Occupy” came to be, how it works, why it works, and demonstrated some tools used to communicate in crowd situations, such as the “People's Microphone”.

The audience, comprised almost entirely of long time subscribers to AARP, asked questions about the structure and purpose of the movement, and it soon became clear that some methodologies being utilized by this new generation of activists, proved unable to span the 30+ year generation gap.

At the end of the day it was a great opportunity for young and old to share their ideas on how to bring about a more transparent, more equitable and more responsive government, just like dear old Mom and Dad did.

2:00 PM: Port of Shelton Commission Meeting

Normally, I consider the first and third Tuesdays of the month – when the Port holds its regular meetings – as a test of my will to live. So far so good.

If you remember when last we left our beloved Port, two members of the public had requested a bit more courtesy be extended in the form of identifying those items on the agenda meant for discussion and those destined for action. To my utter amazement, the day’s agenda not only identified these items as such – steady now, big fella – but also included a bit more information than we, the mere public, had come to expect. Lesson to be learned: Never say never.

Of course, by now we all know that three years of Port chest-beating legal action against the City and Shelton Hills has morphed into something of a sweet lullaby that might have been penned by Rodney King, titled “Why can’t we all just get along…” And while it is my usual custom to go around and shoot those wounded while in the pursuit of foolish endeavors, in this case, I gladly entrust that task to the self-inflicted.

Which brings me to a hunch: According to the Port’s budget narrative of 2012, the $350,000 estimated cost to connect City water to the Port was to be funded by a loan from the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB).

But last week the Port asked the County to have the project included in the County’s Comprehensive Economic Development (CEDS) list, thereby making it eligible for alternative funding. I asked for and received from Director Dobson an explanation that seemed quite plausible.

But this week the Port was looking into harvesting some 7000 trees from a hundred acres of property, including the old ADAGE site, as a possible source of revenue. Is the Port having financial problems? Will Commissioners be holding a bake sale? I hear cupcakes are all the rage.

Then it was on to the topic of Commissioner Hupp’s latest passion: Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs), not to be confused with Free Trade Zones (also, FTZs), in other countries. (Psst! They’re really the same thing!)

Anyway, being an untrusting environmentalist type, I called the Free Trade Board in Washington DC, the Dept. of Ecology and the EPA to ask if these zones were in any way, shape or form, exempt from any federal, atate or local regulations? In each case my inquiries were met with a resounding “NO, FTZs are subject to any and all environmental regulations, just like any other business. So lay your little tree-hugging heads on a pillow my fellow wing-nuts; everything’s going to be all right...the government says so.

There’s more to this issue of having two general FTZs and who knows how many sub-FTZs in our County, but I’m a firm believer in the theory that you can’t beat a man at his own game, and I am not yet up to speed on the topic to sound any alarms.

Oh, before I forget, the Mason County EDC, under authority of its not-so-open-minded director, Matt Matayoshi, presented a leadership award to our very own Port Director, John Dobson, for all his hard work getting City water to the Port.

I guess I can live with that.

6:00 PM: City of Shelton Commission Meeting

I enjoy going to City Commissioner meetings because I don’t have to look under my car for bombs when I leave (though that may change).

There were two items on the agenda worthy of reporting: under “Old Business”- recommendations by the Shelton Alliance for Viable Economic Revitalization (SAVER), presented by Steve Goins, Director of Community Development and Hedi McCutchen, Director of Mason County Chamber of Commerce.

Presented were five points to encourage new businesses to the downtown sector: 1) A temporary moratorium on signage requirements; 2) One year relief from Business & Occupation Tax (B&O); 3) A waiver of Traffic Impact Fees (TIF); 4) Creation of low rent (incubator) spaces and 5) Provide a means to market available (vacant) storefronts.

And everything was going all hunkey-dory till Citizen of the Year, Forrest Cooper showed up to oppose waving any fees or taxes for new businesses, saying (effectively) if new business owners don’t have a business plan that can absorb a couple of hundred dollars in City fees, then their plan stinks (my words, not his); and that giving tax breaks to new businesses that were not extended to old businesses, is even more stinky (again, my words). So the Commissioners decided to do the old political side step and kicked the can down the road for a bit more research and discussion.

This brought us to Resolution #1038-0212: declaring that the City certifies compliance with all requirements to submit an application for a Community Development Block Grant, to help the Mason County Senior Activity Association purchase the old PUD 3 building. (Wait a minute; didn’t we just go through this exercise with the County and Faith In Action?) Well, right you are, bunky; it’s the great geezer throw-down, with two armies of seniors - the Silver Tsunamis VS. the Belfair Bone-Breakers - battling it out for $1,000,000 in cash and prizes.

I asked the City if these two groups weren’t in direct competition, and was told, “Nah, the State had $11,000,000 in grants to throw around.” I’m not so sure, but if I’m wrong, my monies on the Bone-Breakers.

That’s it for now. Is it Happy Hour yet?

Graphic: graphicshunt.com