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| June 28, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal |  |
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Thursday, June 28, 2012
S m.L p ERS
217 U t~TA ST
Week 26 -- The Voice of Mason County since 1886 -- Published for Mason County and Alan Simons of Potlatch -- $1
MTA decision on
community center
spurs controversy
Transit authority chooses Tacoma-based
architectural firm over local company
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natati(d((masoncounty.eorn
Some Shelton business
owners are frustrated
after the Mason Transit
Authority (MTA) board
approved an architectur-
al design contract for its
Transit Community Cen-
ter Project, choosing a Ta-
coma-based architectural
firm over a local rival.
On June 19, the board
approved a contract with
HHJ Architects and Mer-
ritt Arch, PLLC. for an
amount not to exceed
$700,000 to design the
authority's transit com-
munity center in down-
town Shelton.
Earlier this year, MTA
sent out a Request for
Qualifications (RFQ) for
architectural design ser-
vices for the center.
"We ended up with two
submissions." MTA Man-
ager Brad Patterson said.
Those two submissions
were HHJ Architects
with Merritt Arch, and
Foster and Williams Ar-
chitects, of Shelton.
"We brought them in
for presentations. The
scoring came out in favor
of Merrill architecture,"
Patterson said. "Because
it's a federally funded
project we cannot put the
basis of our decision on ...
choosing locally."
However. Foster and
Williams is not new to
the Transit Community
Center project.
In 2008. three years
before the Federal Tran-
sit Association (FTA)
agreed to fund the proj-
ect with a $3.28 million
dollar grant, Foster and
Williams completed a
feasibility study and pre-
liminary design for the
center.
HHJ and Merritt will
work off of that prelimi-
nary design, Patterson
said.
"Obviously there was
a good foundation laid
there. We were hoping
to build on that and do
the work," said Len Wil-
liams, co-owner of Foster
and Williams.
Williams sent Lynda
Ring Erickson, chair of the
MTA board, a letter dated
June 19, that was signed
by 25 members of the local
business community, ask-
ing the board to table the
decision to award a con-
tract for the time being.
"What we hope to
highlight is that the con-
clusion they came to may
not be the right one for
this community, and that
as the board ultimately
making this selection,
you have the right and
responsibility to think
beyond the specific rec-
ommendation and look at
the big picture." the let-
ter reads.
Because HHJ and Mer-
ritt received the higher
score by a slim margin,
Foster and Williams and
the 25 signing members
of the business commu-
nity asked that the MTA
board take a closer look
at the issue before mak-
ing a decision.
"...in looking at the big
picture, is it really best
+to send these dollars out
of town, when a compe-
tent and qualified team,
a team that helped pro-
cure the federal funding
and designed the project
as" it currently exists.
works and lives in this
town." Williams' letter
reads. "When the selec-
tion process is very close,
shouldn't the board con-
sider this factor for the
good of the community."
Janis Byrd, of Edward
Jones in Shelton. was one
See Transit on page A-2
City moves forward
with landscaping
By NATALIE JOHNSON
• %@ ,.~8oncou%tty,co~t
For nearly a year, the
City of Shelton and the
Shelton Mason County
Chamber of Commerce's
Shelton Alliance for Vi-
able Economic Revital-
ization (SAVER) Com-
mittee have been work-
ing to redo landscaping
at the corner of First
Street and Railroad Av-
enue.
Monday afternoon, the
Shelton City Commission
See City on page A-6
+UlI!!!I!!II!!I!I!!IIII.
Journa DnOIO L, Natahe Johnsor
Second-grader Kaylin Sautter and her mother Crystal Robinson help clean up a garden at
Oakland Bay Junior High last Thursday during United Way of Mason County's fourth annual
Day of Caring.
• United Way volunteers take paM in local projects
By NATALIE JOHNSON "People go out and volunteer togeth-
natcdie@masoncounty.com er for a day," she said. "It's a great way
to meet people you might not otherwise
meet and interact with it."
The fourth annual United Way of Crystal Robinson took her daughter
1VIason County Day of Caring was a Kaylin Sautter to volunteer with the
success with 150 volunteers completing
more than a dozen projects.
Volunteers with United Way gath-
ered all over Mason County last Thurs-
day to paint buildings, tend gardens
and more.
Tamra Ingwaldson, executive direc-
tor for United Way of Mason County,
said the day provides an opportunity
for non-profit organizations to work to-
gether to better their community.
Mason County Master Gardeners to
plant a pumpkin and squash garden at
Oakland Bay Junior High School.
'Tee wanted to do an adventure for
our first day out of school," Robinson
said.
The garden at Oakland Bay Junior
High, along with another at Catalyst
Park in Shelton. helps produce food for
local food banks, Master Gardener Bon-
nie Day said.
Last year, the garden at Oakland
Bay Junior High produced 200 pounds
of potatoes for the Saint's Pantry Food
Bank.
%Ve donated 2,000 pounds to the
food bank out of our garden at (Catalyst
Park) last year." she said.
Volunteers from the Green Dia-
mond Resource Company volunteered
for the Mason Area Fair Association to
paint Building 17, Olympic Hall. at the
fairgrounds. However, the volunteers
worked so quickly that they had complet-
ed the painting on the first building and
started on others before 1 p.m. Thursday.
See Caring on page A-2
Check this baby out.
there
be light
'A Glass in Time'
tour shows off St.
David's history
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@mas°nc°unty'c°m
Journal photos by Jesse Mullen
Larry Kramis, a 20-year
resident of Mason County,
spent his weekend
looking under the hoods
of classic cars during the
Mason County Historical
Society Car Show on
Sunday. The car show is
the historical society's
biggest fundraiser of the
year, according to the
Shelton Mason County
Chamber of Commerce.
Two dogs, right, enjoy the
car show's atmosphere.
Of the many historic
buildings in downtown Shel-
ton, the St. David of Wales
Episcopal Church may be
the most colorful, boasting
a number of custom stained
glass windows.
Last Thursday evening,
former priest at St. David's,
Father Don Maddux, hosted
the "A Glass in Time" tour
of the stained glass windows
in the church.
"The windows are a rep-
resentation of the history of
the building and the people
who worshipped," Maddux
said.
Maddux served as the
priest at St. David's for
more than 30 years, parish-
ioner Billie Howard said.
Howard organized the
event after hearing mem-
bers of the community ask
See St. David's on page A-6