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Page A-2 - Mason County Journal - Thursday, June 5, 2014
Officials: Wage increase will affect Mason County
STAFF REPORT
news@masoncoun com
Mason Cmmty elected offi-
cials and business leaders react-
ed this week to the Seattle City
Council's historic vote Monday
to raise the city's minimum
wage to $15.
Mason County Commission-
er Tim Sheldon said increasing
Seattle's minimum wage will
be detrimental to small busi-
nesses.
"The franchises and corpo-
rate entities will absorb it eas-
ily," he said. "But the small
businesses, it'll drive them out."
Commissioner Randy Neath-
erlin said Seattle's decision will
likely affect Mason County.
"I don't know how it can't,"
he said.
Sheldon, also a state senator
for the 35th District, said he ex-
pected the Legislature to review
bills to expand the minimum
wage increase.
"The liberal Seattle legisla-
tors will try to enact it state-
wide," he said.
Commissioner Terri Jeffreys
said the move will hit restau-
rant and hospitality industries
hardest, and said if local gov-
ernment discussed a similar
increase, it would be because of
action by voters.
"It would probably be a citizen
initiative that would bring that
to any public agenda," she said.
Shelton Mayor Gary Cronce
said such a measure in Shelton
would be "devastating to the
plight of the poor."
With businesses being forced
to pay workers $15 an hour, the
price of fast food and second-
hand items will go up, Cronce
said. That might increase the
crime rate because people will
steal things they can no longer
afford, he said.
"The rich will always be able
to take care of themselves,"
Cronce said.
Heidi McCutcheon, executive
director for the Shelton Mason
County Chamber of Commerce,
said in an email that the issue
is complex, adding that the $15
minimum wage equates to near-
ly $20 an hour for employers af-
ter taxes and fees.
"When a person is faced with
a decision to work for Green
Diamond setting choke on a
sharply sloped hillside out in
the weather for $17 or to work
at a warm, dry restaurant for
$15, it's easy to see where this
could lead," she said.
McCutcheon said skilled
workers typically invest thou-
sands of dollars in degrees or
certification for a specific field,
with a higher wage offsetting
some of those education costs.
"It really isn't just about $15
an hour," she said.
Stephanie Rowland, presi-
dent and CEO of the North Ma-
son Chamber of Commerce de-
clined to comment on the wage
increase.
m Reporters Natalie Johnson,
Gordon Weeks, Lloyd Mullen
and editor Adam Rudnick con-
tributed to this story.
Pool advisory committee will raise money for repairs
Group: Using other pools
unfeasible for schools
By GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoncounty, com
The Shelton School Dis-
trict's swimming pool advi-
sory committee plans to raise
money to repair the district's
pool after determining other
regional pools can't serve as
alternative sites for students.
In its report presented to
the district's school board
May 29, the committee rec-
ommended keeping the pool
open for district and commu-
nity use, while budgeting and
planning for repairs in the
summer of 2015. The group
also recommended increas-
ing the pool budget by $560
per month to accommodate
increased use, and to not in-
crease pool user fees now.
The committee's long-term
recommendations include
establishing a maintenance
schedule beyond 2015 to
avoid deferred maintenance,
and talking to Mason County
commissioners about possi-
bly including the pool into a
county parks district.
The district says it will
cost $354,000 to make repairs
at the pool.
The Shelton School Dis-
trict's immediate need is to
resurface the pool and buy a
new concrete lid in the pool
maintenance room, the com-
mittee reports. Future needs
include updating the interior
and exterior, dealing with the
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Journal file photo
Shelton freshman Jacob Schreiber, left, senior Ryder Phelan and senior Dalton Green
dive into the Shelton pool in January during a team practice. The Shelton School District's
swimming pool advisory committee plans to raise money to repair the district's pool, after
determining that other regional pools can't serve as alternative sites for students.
boiler that heats the pool, and
updating the facility to meet
Americans with Disabilities
Act standards.
Committee member Matt
Kirsch presented the commit-
tee's report during a Power-
Point presentation.
Kirsch outlined the op-
tions for using other pools on
the Squaxin Island Tribe res-
ervation and The Evergreen
State College, and then dis-
missed both as unworkable.
The Squaxin Island
Tribe's pool floor's 3.5-foot
depth covers less than half
of the area of equal depth
in the Shelton pool, Kirsch
said. That means less than
half the pool space to provide
safe, adequate swim instruc-
tion, he said.
The Squaxin Island Tribe
pool has four lanes, so it can-
not host swim meets, and has
no diving tank, Kirsch said.
The water temperature is 86
degrees, whereas recommen-
dations for swimming are for
78 to 82 degrees, he said.
Like the other options, the
travel time is too long for high
school students who take and
teach lessons, Kirsch said,
At The Evergreen State
College pool, only three lanes
would be available during
practices because the rest of
the facility is open for school
and community use, Kirsch
said. The only time the pool
would be available to the stu-
dents is from 5 a.m. to 6:30
a.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.,
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he said.
The Washington State Pa-
trol Academy pool in Shelton
also is unable to accommo-
date the district, Kirsch said.
Among the concerns and
issues with those pools is that
bus transportation would
have to be provided for all
grade levels, and probably
would reduce the turnout for
each activity, including the
boys and girls swim teams
and the third-grade pro-
grams, Kirsch said.
The committee's report
also listed the costs to build a
pool similar to the current fa-
cility. Comparable pools were
constructed last year and this
year in St. Helena, Montana
($4.6 million), San Jose, Cali-
fornia ($6.7 million), Prince
William, Vermont ($10 mil-
lion) and Lake Park, Illinois
($9.1 million).
The P0oi Advisory Com-
mittee will Oversee the fund,
raising efforts for the pool
repairs. The proposals in-
clude selling naming rights
and banners to businesses,
seeking individual donations,
hosting fundraising events,
selling products such as T-
shirts and wristbands, pur-
suing grants and reaching
out to civic and fraternal or-
ganizations.
Shelton School Board
President Brenda Hirschi
praised the committee::for do-
ing "a great job. It looks very
thorough."
But Hirschi al.so:pointed
out the district, has other
maintenance challenges in
the district Outside the pool.
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Shelton, WA 98584
www.JohnLScottShelton.com
360-426-3319
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