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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
February 2, 2023     Shelton Mason County Journal
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February 2, 2023
 
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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