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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 14, 2023     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 14, 2023
 
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Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023 Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 37 Serving the communities of Beltair, Allyn, Grapeview, Tahuya, Mason Lake, South Shore and Victor Grapeview looks at maintenance, grants , By Kirk Boxleitner kbox/e/tne@masoncou/ try. com Port of Grapeview Commis— sioner Alt Whitson said sever- al matters worthy of public in— terest were raised at the ports special meeting Aug. 22. Under the ports mainte- nance plan, landscaping, irri— gation and septic systems were addressed, its trees have been trimmed, and its restrooms and gutters have been cleaned, although replacing the wom— en’s restroom toilet requires some work. Whitson praised AAA Sep- tic in Shelton, which had to deal with hundreds of pounds of invasive roots infiltrating the port’s septic system. That fact made Whitson, an envi- ronmental engineer, realize that septic system mainte- nance needed to be scheduled far more frequently. The po‘rt has pressure— washed its ramp and dock s. floats, and while there had been plans to supplement the gravel levels of the port’s up- per parking lot, Whitson deter- mined that to be unnecessary. “We had enough gravel as it was, in all the wrong places,” said Whitson, explaining how its previous plans shifted to re— distributing the existing grav- el with tractors, in addition to a, Port of Grapeview’s Fair Harbor boat launch facility. Hera/d file photo by Matt Ba/de restriping the parking lot. An admittedly minor is- sue was the state of the park- ing lots’ signs, which Whit- son reported had also been addressed, although he said the pavement and gravel sur- face maintenance plans for the parking lots need to be completed. With almost all of the remaining maintenance plan tasks that have yet to be com— pleted, Whitson said those in- complete tasks pose no risk of causing outright system failures. The tasks include the catch basin maintenance that Whitson had expected Mason County to address by new. es— pecially since the only non— governmental companies who perform such work are based outside the county. While the port’s water—well valve verification has been completed, its water system inspection and maintenance plans remain incomplete, as do the repairs to the resting stilts on the port’s dock. Whitson said he intends to have most of these matters addressed by the end of the year. A notable exception is the port’s missing south buoy, which Whitson stressed is being dealt with far more urgently. In a preview ofmatters that will take center stage during the port commissioners regu- larly scheduled Sept. 19 meet— ing, \Vhitson said the port could potentially expect grant funding from the state Recre— ation and Conservation Office to conduct local parks main~ tenance, in an amount from $35,000 to $100,000. Among the tasks included in this potential matrix of lo— cal parks maintenance would be removing the trees in the port’s upper parking lot, re— pairing the port’s fencing, ep- oxy—treating the floors of the ports restroom and addressing the erosion on the sides of the port’s ramp. In other news, Whitson said he and fellow Commissioner Mike Blaisdell’s terms of office are up for re-election in No— vember, while Jean Farmer, the third port commissioner, plans to retire when her term concludes in 2026. Port of Allyn discusses harbor improvements By Kirk Boxleitner kbox/e/tner@masoncounty com The Port of Allyn’s special meet- ing Aug. 24 saw port officials and port district residents comment on the port’s comprehensive plan for harbor improvements, with Port Commissioner Ted Jackson suggest— ing that broadband expansion be added to the community survey re- garding the plan. Jackson recommended a specific grant writer for his fellow commis- sioners to meet. and Port Executive Director Lary Coppola agreed a lot of unclaimed grant money is available that, could help the porth work on its infrastructure. Commissioner Judy Scott sug- gested removing the sports complex from the comp plan because she said L. . Eeclar Company Top Quality ,A. ,m- 0‘ I. “’9’ it it i oi All Types We deliVer 'I -800- u- 1 LICENSING r inRTHMASONCHAMBeacon Western Red Cedar Lumber she doesn’t see that happening with- in the next five years. It was noted that the sports com— plex has been the community’s first choice in previous surveys, and that sports tourism could create an eco— nomic development driver. The consensus was to leave the sports complex in the comp plan, but move it down the list. Port staff are working to generate surveys that can be handed out "at public places, which the public would be able to return via mail, while the survey would also be posted and pro- moted through the portofallyncom website and its Farebook pageThe port is waiting to hear from the state Recreation and Conservation Office whether electric vehicle charging stations could be incorporated into Kayak Park, while Scott called for s Hull ,e're‘saMurm at (360) 426-4412 the port to own and operate a com— mercial and/or light industrial park. Coppola expressed interest in ploring the port establishing a shoot— ing range at the abandoned public utility district building and property on state Route 3, and credited Main- tenance Supervisor Don O’Keefe with suggesting the location. Moving onto Sweetwater Park, Coppola said the cost, of the project has tripled since the port started working with The Salmon Center in Beli'air to pursue money for the park, and while it‘s qualified for Recreation and Conservation Office money in the past three rounds, the approved list of projects hasn’t been funded. Coppola suggested The Salm— on Center could work with Mason County or one of the tribes, instead JESFIELD Construction, Inc. Serving the North Mason area since l968 Specializing in Seawall Repair, Remodeling and Additions 360-275-6684 Steve Merrill Allyn, WA Lic #JESFirzzsoo of the port, so that the project doesn't die. Jackson and Commissioner John Sheridan touted the park as a needed green space in north Mason County. ' Coppola also reminded commis- sioners of his impending retirement, and the need to hire a new executive director for the port. Area resident Ken VanBuskirk criticized the meeting for not being advertised enough to attract more members of the public, and also voiced support for pursuing broad— band, the sport complex and an in~ dustrial park. He added that “l and others" would like to see the Sweet water Park project removed from the comp plan. VanBuskirk also mentioned the Route widening project would have a significant. effect on stream restoration. Nam-a Misoammssn or countries *iSELF‘AlR LlCENSlNG t 50 Mt? ROMANCE HELL 72C). BELFNR i 560.275.4226)? NORTNMASONCHAMBER.COM