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Page 10 Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023
lzfiinternal investigation almost completed
By Matt Baide
matt@masoncoUnty. com
“Q
The internal investigation
into Mason County Fire Dis~
trict will wrap up by the
middle of February, accord-
ing to lawyer Brian Snure.
Snure, part of the law of-
fice conducting the investiga-
tion, told the Journal in an
email he anticipates receiv-
ing the investigators report
on or sometime .near Feb. 13.
“I will need some time to
review it and any supporting
documentation and will need
to discuss with my client be-
fore a decision is. made re-
garding releasing a summary
(or the report itselfl,” Snure
told the Journal iii an email.
Fire Commissioner Al-
bert Wilder said the investi-
gation is “coming to an end”
at the Jan. 17 commissioner’s
meeting.
The internal investigation
was launched at the recom=
mendation of the state Audi-
tor’s Office after; the office re-
leased an accountability au-
dit anda fraud investigation
report in September.
“Our attorney is hoping to I
haVe it all done by the end of
the month,” Wilder said dur-
ing the meeting. “If he gets it .
done soon, then, I would like
to have a special meeting so
we can just be done instead
of waiting until the February
meeting, as soon as they get
it done, to read the results of ‘
whatever the investigation
is. That way the communi—
ty knows where everything
stands. I think that’s better
than waiting.”
The January meeting con-
tinued the public’s backlash
due to the state Auditor’s Of-
fice findings. It also included
*more requests for records
from the district, including
the vouchers that were ap—
proved at the meeting so the
public could see where mon-
ey is going and the contract
of commiSsioner Albert Wild-
er, for the labor he provides
and gets paid for, which does
not include the stipend as
commissioner. There was a
request for the list of volun-~
teers at each Fire District
station and one person re-
quested a tour of the fire hall.
“The reason why some of
the records weren’t disclosed
to us or put out there was be-
cause they were wrecked and
destroyed by rodents,” the
person stated during public
comment. “I would like to be
assured that we are. taking
care of that. I’ll have a tour of
this hall, today, now.”
It was stated by Wilder at
the December meeting that
fire chief Kelli Walsworth
would be unpaid beginning
in January, but that does
not appear to be the case,
according to checks written
for the district by the Ma-
son County Auditor’s Of-
fice. Walsworth was paid
$3,985.39 in a check that was
written Jan. 9, and the check
cleared Jan. The commis-
sioners and the district were
asked for comment, but the
Journal did not receive com-
ment before press time.
The district stated in May
that Walsworth was being
kept on pro tem while the
district was searching for a
new fire chief. Since June,
the Journal found Wals-
worth received $51,792.51
in payments, including
a $17,022.25 payment in
December.
Po‘rtof HoodspOrtensures finances in order
By Kirk Bmdeitner
box/eitner@masoncounty com
The Port of Hoodsport opened
by ensuring its finances were in order.
Port of Hoodsport Operations Man-
ager Kathleen Wyatt noted Jan.
that Port Commissioner Lori Kin-
cannon, during the previous month’s
pom/meeting, had 'taskedVWyatt With '
doing “a real comparison, with real
numbers, on the end-of-year, and it
turns out, we did go over budget,” by
$15,230, before she went into further
detail about how it was offset. ,
“We did put in the $20,000 from
January 22nd’s resolution to cov-
er the Hoodsport trail park,” Wyatt
said. “So, our ending balance became
$104,707, which was actually $10,000
over my estimated end-aflyear'baj. _
fqr20223’; , 4
Hoodsport’s budgeted beginning bal—
ance for 2023 was $101,737, whereas
its actual beg-inning balance for 2023
is now $104,707. , ~
“So I was $3,000 off, and we have
$3,000 more than .I estimated,” Wyatt
said.
“More is better thafl‘fnot enough,”
Kincannon laughed.“ t’s_,kindpf
perfect, because wean we, had that
extra money coming'in f'Which Was
more than the $9,000 by which the
Port of Hoodsport proved to be “short.”
Kincannon thanked Wyatt for do-
ing “extra Work” on a comparison that
Kincannon believes will be auseful
part of the annual budgeting process.
‘Wyatt reported the port is awaiting
price quotes for the container shed,
“and everything that’s going to be en—
tailed,” and said she would move “all of
thaeyfiihdaplus the $40,000 that, on
"primes restaurant's? the Hoses“
trail park for this year (2023).”
Wyatt said the 2023 IRS mileage
reimbursement was raised by more
than 3 cents, to 65.5 cents per mile.
“The IRS raised it last year in June,
from 58 cents to cents,” Wyatt said.
Regarding the dock lease renewal,
Wyatt reported speaking with the sur-
veyor, who told her he’s conducted the
1 survey.
“He just has to put it all together, in
the form of a map and a report,” said
Wyatt, who said that those materials
would go to the Department of Natu-
ral Resources, “Where he says, usual-
ly, somebody has to add something.”
With the renewal due date April
30, Wyatt assured port commissioners
that the Port of Hoodsport has “plenty
of time,” since the surveyor expressed
his intent to complete the survey’ s for-
matting and dispatch by the end of
January.
According to Wyatt, the revenue
the Port of Hoodsport was supposed
to collect from property taxes was
$100,786, but “we just missed that
mark,” since the actual revenue was
$100,504, which she asserted was still
“pretty good for the time.”
The Port of Hoodsport .has also
collected $128,995 on the sales of its
capital assets, which Wyatt specified
included the logs from the Hoodsport
trail park, “and the pulp.”
The total timber excise tax collect-
ed for 2022 was $15,259; whereas Wy-
att had estimated only $7,000, while
the investment interest was $2,764,
compared to Wyatt’s estimate of $205.
The moorage‘ collected was $825,
which Kincannon deemed “good for
us,” especially since Wyatt had es—
timated merely $800 flat, which
she considered “kind of high in the
estimation.”
scanL BRIEFS
OCCU offers scholarships
April 30 is the deadline for local graduating high
school seniors to apply for seven $1,000 scholar-
ships ofi'ered by Our Community Credit Union.
The scholarships are open to graduating 2023
high school seniors who attend school in Mason,
Grays Harbor and Thurston counties, and on
Vashon Island. The students must be a member of
OCCU to be eligible.
Applicationsand guidelines for the scholarship
are available for/dewnload at ourcu.com/scholar—
ship-program. The winners will be announced in
May. '
For more information, contact Amber Trail at
360-427-3405, 1-800-426-5657 or atrail@ourcu.com.'
ApN
HOME"
Based in Shelton, OCCU has eight branches in
Mason, Thurston and east Grays Harbor counties,
. and on Vashon Island.
Scholarship available
from Pomona Grange
The Pomona Grange of Mason County is offering
a one-year $1,000 scholarship to a graduating se-
nior from a Mason County high school.
Preference will be given to students affiliated
with a grange, either through their own member-
ship or that of a parent or grandparent, or have
had 4-H or Future Farmers of America experience.
Those affiliations are not required for application.
F ’nNi’J'SHINGs
April 24 is the deadline to apply. Scholarship ap-
plication forms are available at the counseling of-
fices at North Mason, Shelton, CHOICE and Mary
M. Knight high schools.
For more information, call Billie Howard, Pomo— 1
na scholarship chair, at 360-426-8443.
Plant trees at 0C Shelton
Olympic College Shelton is seeking volunteers to
plant native trees and shrubs from 1 to 4 pm. Fri-
day at the campus at 937W. Alpine Way, Shelton.
To participate, send an email to mcdamericorps@
masonc‘dorg. ' '
I Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks