Saturday, May 2, 2015

WEEKLY PORT ANGELES DIGEST


 Platypus owner says company doesn't want to lease from Port of Port Angeles; it wants to buy property
 PORT ANGELES — Platypus Marine Inc.’s owner said he probably won’t consider — even sight unseen — a lease proposal that the Port of Port Angeles tendered to him Tuesday.
Jason Linnabary would rather buy the site at Marine Drive and Cedar streets where he hopes to double his boat-building and repair facility and to double its employment to 150 jobs paying an average $48,500 a year.
“I can’t think of any lease that would lead me to invest that amount,” he told Peninsula Daily News of his proposal to spend $5 million on the site.----PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

( It's pretty clear as day the Port doesn't want to loose those lease rent payments they get. So they will probably vote no on allowing the sale of the property outright to Platypus. Look at this way if they did sell the property outright to Platypus what would happen if they go out of business? Will they sell it back to the Port? Could there be any industrial development other than what it was, if it is in private hands? Would Platypus end up being the land lord for any new developments if they close their doors? Of course Platypus could close their business over this if they are denied outright sale of property, which would increase the jobless rate locally even more. The Port would have to fine another top repair company to fill the void.)

Clallam commissioners approve giving shelter providers up to $300,000
PORT ANGELES — Clallam County lawmakers have approved the spending of up to $300,000 for shelter providers.
The three commissioners Tuesday authorized Health and Human Services Director Iva Burks to convene the Homelessness Task Force to send a request for proposals to agencies that provide emergency shelters and transitional housing.---PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

(This is good to see)

Port of Port Angeles mulls partnership grant applications
PORT ANGELES — Port of Port Angeles commissioners have $65,000 to fill $106,280 worth of requests. And they have two weeks to decide who gets how much.
Commissioners will return a portion of their property tax revenue as Community Partner Program grants for as many as 10 public projects from Forks to Sequim.---PENINSULA DAILY NEWS



 Clallam County to become first in state to lower sales tax rate
 PORT ANGELES — Clallam County in July will become the first local jurisdiction in the state to lower its optional sales tax, officials said.
The three commissioners Tuesday set a 10:30 a.m. May 12 public hearing on a previously approved 0.2 percent sales tax reduction that will take effect July 1.----PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

( I see some elected officials are seeing the light)

Whaling opponent changes mind to support Makah tribe's request; turnaround shocks those at Port Angeles meeting
PORT ANGELES — At least one mind changed sides Wednesday at a public meeting on the Makah tribe's request to resume whaling, turning upon a flow of tears shed by a man who said he'd swum with whales. Gary Michael Lee of Salt Spring Island, B.C., led off the 19 people who testified at a NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service public hearing in the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St.---PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

( Break out those waffle irons! Sounds like this guy was working out of guilt than anything else. 
It is amusing however to watch liberals feed off each other, the ironic thing is those who mostly favor in supporting Native American right to hunt whales are conservatives, and the native Americans usually vote democrats or liberal thinkers to positions of power here locally. It's the old saying what goes around comes around! The local Makah tribe votes for democrats and liberal minded candidates, while it's those same liberals who votes against their rights, amazing! So, the question is what are the positions of current elected officials, and wanna be ones, on the whaling issue?)

Port of Port Angeles official: Trees obstructing airport to stay for some time, but commercial airline would be unfazed
PORT ANGELES — Trees in a city park that obstruct aircraft landings at William R. Fairchild International Airport will remain standing — and growing — until at least mid-2017. But that should not deter a commercial airline from providing passenger service at the airport, Jerry Ludke, airport and marinas manager for the Port of Port Angeles, which owns the facility, said Thursday.---PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

(Sounds like this guy as gotton off the farm! All three Port Commissioners wants the trees cut down, including one of the current candidates for Port Commission, Lee Whetham. I guess Ludke hadn't gotten the memo from Port Commission to stick to the narrative  saying the trees needs to be cut down for safety sake. Give it time he will do a complete turn around, just you watch.)

IN OTHER LOCAL NEWS

Then and Now: From creamery to produce store
One of the earliest commercial creameries of note in Dungeness opened in 1902 – a time when more than 500 dairy farms dotted Clallam County.----SEQUIM GAZETTE


Brinnon School Board to interview superintendent-principal candidates May 5
The Brinnon School District Board of Directors is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 5 at the school to conduct interviews of two candidates for the job of superintendent-principal.---PTLEADER


 Voices For Veterans West End Veterans Stand Down 2015
The Forks Elks Lodge, 941 Merchant Road, will host the 2015 Veteran's Stand Down from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday, May 7.----FORKS FORUM


New face on city council?
Could be if Shan Pak is successful in his bid to replace Dan Di Guilio who decided to spend time traveling with his wife, recently retired from the Olympic Medical Center.---PORT O CALL

( Yet another new comer riding to the rescue.
However he did touch on issues I have been preaching about like anti-fluoride, low taxes so there's that at least. )


Biotechnology Class and Science Club Visit Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Institute for Systems Biology
Port Angeles, Wash. – Port Angeles High School (PAHS) Science Instructor Jennifer Duncan-Taylor and PAHS Biotechnology Class and Science Club students visited Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) last week---dated April 29th from the PA School District





 FROM ACROSS THE STRAIT

B.C.’s Chinese-Canadian history going digital
In the late 1800s, tiny Cumberland was a thriving Comox Valley mining town with more 3,000 Chinese settlers and two Chinatowns that boasted opera houses, businesses and homes. ---TIMES COLONIST


No immediate plan to move Thrifty Foods head office  
Thrifty Foods is downplaying the suggestion it will be closing its administration offices in Victoria as its parent company, Empire, considers cutting operating costs ----TIMES COLONIST


Capital Regional District sewage levy concerns mayors
Victoria and Esquimalt residents are in for some sticker shock when they open this year’s municipal tax notice.---VICTORIA NEWS


WHATS ON TAP FOR NEXT WEEK

County Commission meeting Tuesday at 10:AM
Highlight Agenda item: Resolution adding a cash drawer and re-authorizing existing Treasurer Imprest accounts
(that is the only listed item on their agenda next Tuesday see full agenda, unless some added items are added, it will be a very short meeting) ---see full agenda




City of Port Angeles Council meeting Tuesday at 6:PM

CITY TO PAVE WAY FOR NEW MEDICAL CENTER BUILDING 
The highlight item on the City Council agenda this coming Tuesday is a street vacation petition, in essence paving the way for the new medical center to be built.
According to the staff memo provided:
A petition requesting the vacation of portions of City rights-of-way was received on
February 25, 2015, from the Olympic Medical Center. The petition is valid as it is signed by one
hundred percent of the abutting property owners. The petition proposes the vacation of rights-of way in order to consolidate several properties owned by Olympic Medical Center into a new and expanded public medical service campus. Vacation of the alley is proposed to enable a
consolidated campus with sufficient building area for an additional medical service structure
without the constraint of a vehicular right-of-way splitting the campus area in two. Vacation of the remaining portion of Caroline Street in this location is proposed largely as a safety measure given the anticipated additional foot traffic between building sites. 
 Related items having to do with OMC is also on the City Council agenda:
On May 6, 2014, City Council approved an Interlocal Agreement with
Olympic Medical Center (OMC) for the City to assume ownership of the medium voltage distribution system on the OMC campus. This agreement established the cost sharing arrangement for the
installation of new transformers, and included establishing a second power source and metering point for OMC. The agreement provides that OMC pay the City to install new transformers, metering, and
underground construction on their property. An overhead power line was also upgraded from single phase to three-phase, providing a redundant power source to the OMC campus. All work stipulated in the Interlocal Agreement has been completed. 
 Development of a Olympic Medical Center campus in the Commercial Office
(CO) zone using the Mixed Commercial Overlay zoning. The MCO allows for modification of
zoning standards in return for exceptional design elements. In this case those design elements
relate to site landscaping and pedestrian circulation through the hospital campus. 
The proposed campus development proposal was submitted to the City on March 27, 2015
and deemed complete at that time. The proposal was reviewed for consistency with the Mixed
Commercial Overlay zone. On April 22, 2015, the Planning Commission conducted a public
hearing on the matter and resolved to provide a recommendation to approve the development with a  5 – 0 vote. The Planning Commission added a seventh condition requiring traffic controls at the intersection of Georgiana and Race Streets. 

Olympic Memorial Hospital District (OMHD) is constructing a new Medical Office
Building (MOB) that requires stormwater and sewer line infrastructure improvements. This ILA
outlines the responsibilities of each party, and the cost sharing arrangements for the infrastructure improvements.
 OMHD is constructing a Medical Office Building (MOB) to replace several
old dislocated office buildings, and to create additional work space to support additional doctors on staff. Due to constraints of the site, including existing buildings, keeping parking lots open, and future expansion capabilities, the MOB design sits atop an active City sewer main which will require relocation. This is a concrete sewer main built in 1931 that has significant deterioration due to age and usage with damage in at least two locations. Due to the development needs of OMHD and the poor condition and age of the existing sewer main, it was determined that there was a shared responsibility for replacing the sewer main.




Other meetings
PORT TOWNSEND CITY COUNCIL BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA
Highlight agenda item: Ordinance 3128 Relating to Contracting Indebtedness; Providing for the Issuance, Sale and Delivery of not to Exceed $3,600,000 Aggregate Principal Amount of Unlimited Tax General Obligation Bonds to Provide Funds to Finance the Energy Retrofit and Other Improvements to the City Facilities at Mountain View Commons in Accordance with a Ballot Proposition Approved on February 10, 2015, and to Pay the Costs of Issuance and Sale of the Bonds; Fixing or Setting Parameters with Respect to Certain Terms and Covenants of the Bonds; Appointing the City’s Designated Representative to Approve the Final Terms of the Sale of the Bonds; and Providing for Other Related Matters




DAILY DEVOTIONAL



Confidence and Compassion in Prayer ] Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.