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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 17, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 17, 2020
 
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Page A-14 - Shelton-Mason County Journal — Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020 STATE OF THE COMMUNITY County chambers present awareness series Byrkirk Boxleitner " kbox/eitner@masoncounty com Community members might be do~ ing most of their socializing distantly, but the Shelton-Mason County and North Mason Chambers of Commerce still want to keep community mem- bers aware of the state of their local governments, schools and tribes. The chambers conducted the first installment in a planned four-part se- ries on the “State of the Community” on Sept. 3, organizing an online pre- sentation by representatives of the city of Shelton and Mason County, but the public can still catch the following online presentations, all running from noon to 1 p.m.- on Thursdays in Sep- tember: I The Shelton, North Mason and Hood Canal School Districts, plus Olympic College, were presented on on Sept. 10. I The Ports of Shelton, Hoodsport and Allyn today. I The Squaxin Island and Skokomish tribes Sept. 24. Heidi McCutcheon, executive di- rector of the Shelton-Mason County Chamber, recalled the Chamber’s first State of the Community taking place in February of 2006, when its board of trustees aimed to increase public in— volvement in government affairs. Since then, the recurring feature has come to include a host of agencies. “Our local entrepreneurs are busy running their businesses, so we do our best to condense an enormous amount of information into a short time frame,” McCutcheon said. “Our mem- bers tell us they like being able to hear from multiple speakers in one hour.” McCutcheon said business Owners want to know their tax money is being spent efficiently and hear about the projects in their community. “Everyone loves a success story, and some of these organizations are doing an exceptional job,” McCutch- eon said. Behind the scenes, chamber mem- bers are learning about each set of presenters’ field of expertise, so they can help pass on the presenters’ knowledge about those subjects. “Getting everyone else up to speed ‘ on a program that we ourselves have just learned has been interesting,” McCutcheon said. “Thankfully, our presenters have been gracious and patient. It is rewarding to convene lo- cal leaders to share their plans with comrfiniunity members, and provide an avenue for thoughtful dialogue and feedback.” McCutcheon said the presenters benefit from having their material reach a broader audience, while the public learns more about what organi- zations are doing in their community, as well as what’s to come. “They want to know what to expect, and how circumstances will affect their business and their neighbors,” McCutcheon said. “This series con- nects our community.” According to McCutcheon, the chamber is always looking for impor- tant subjects that would enlighten and engage the interest of local audiences. “From tourism to construction and road projects, and active-shooter pre- paredness to natural resources, we embrace new ideas and timely, rel- evant topics,” McCutcheon said. McCutcheon admitted it’s been “ee- rie” to conduct presentations to a si- _ lent computer screen. “There’s no audience feedback, as we cannot see or hear those listen- ing in,” McCutcheon said. “Typically, when I speak in front of a crowd, I can tell when I’ve gone on too long and need to wrap it up. Alternatively, I can see when there is genuine inter- est, and I should elaborate on a partic— ular topic. We’re running blind here, so we just do our best and hope that it’s enough.” The first installment of the Septem- ber series was well-received, she said. “The insights survey showed that there was a 71% interest rating,” Mc- Cutcheon said. “My hope is that even more people will tune in the upcoming weeks. It’s an incredible opportunity to hear about the challenges we face as a community, and to address the facts about what’s happening. After all, we’re all in this together.” ‘ Registration for the remainder of the series is required by logging onto masonchamber.com/state-of—the-com- munity-registration. The cost is $5 per week for chamber members, with no charge to Tier 1-4 members, and $10 per week for non- chamber members; Mayor and city manager recap SheltOn’s year By Kirk Boxle'rtner kbox/e/tner@masoncounty com Shelton Mayor Kevin Dorcy and City Manager Jeff N iten opened their “State of the City” presentation last week by laying out a timeline of the citfs COVID-19 response, from the City. Council issuing an emergency proclamation March 5 to making most city employees work from home start- ing March 16. Niten credited departments such as police, fire, water and sewer with adapting their operations through the pandemic. Dorcy identified a bell-curve pat- tern in permits for residential dwell- ings and in total from 2016 to 2020, with 2018 representing the peak year in the arcs for both. Niten listed the city’s ongoing ma- jor commercial projects, including new facilities at Shelton High School, the possible arrival of a Wendy’s and a Starbucks, a kidney dialysis facility, the YMCA he said is coming along “very quickly” and the Bordeaux El- ementary gym. Niten explained how the city’s Parks & Recreation department man- ages more than‘ 40 acres of park land and 119,000 square feet of buildings, before he credited the council with passing the Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails Plan earlier this year so the community could provide direction to the parks and recreation department. The city’s finance department is leading the implementation of Open- Gov, designed to assist all city depart- ments with budgeting, Dorcy said. Niten said OpenGov is intended to in- crease transparency and accountabil- ity throughout the city’s operations. Niten touched on the city’s money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which the city is' using for technology, maintaining infrastructure and moving processes such as permitting at least partially online. Niten lamented that Shelton will lose its police chief of six years, Dar- rin Moody, in January, but pledged the. community will be involved in recruiting his replacement. The city will accept applications starting this month, followed by staff and commu- nity panels, plus a virtual open house, to evaluate candidates. Dorcy reviewed the Shelton Police Department’s other resources, includ- ing the two K—95 funded through com- munity partners and donations. Dorcy noted a grant from Sierra Pacific Industries furnished the de- partment with two new patrol bikes, and pointed to the redesigned badges ‘ and new paint schemes for the depart- ment’s patrol vehicles, both of which he credited to department staff. Dorcy also described the process the police department is undergoing in its first year of accreditation, as well as the restructuring of its com- mand staff, putting two lieutenants in charge of four patrol teams, with sergeants on each shift, to improve the department’s supervision and ac- countability. Niten listed the accomplishments of the police department’s code en- forcement, from 50 vehicles tagged, and 20 vehicles towed, to between 35 to 40 properties contacted regarding the need for cleanups, and 50 hulk ve- hicles inspected. “But the majority of citations is- sued were dog-related,” Niten said. The police department’s animal control impounded 80 dogs, returned 53 dogs to their owners and had 13 dogs taken to Adopt-a-Pet. Fire and emergency medical servic- es calls were down 11% from last year, with 3,080 responses for the entire fire district from January through July of this year, and 1,701 calls for the city of Shelton, Niten said. Public Works Director Jay Harris began his employ- ment with the city in April, following eight years as public works director in Newberg, Oregon. “Jay had to jump in right in the middle of public works’ COVID re- sponse,” Niten said. During phase one of the'pandemic, public works only had two to three em- ployees and a superintendent on site on a given day, using a weekly rotation of operators, with the other employees available by, phone for emergencies or other questions, while phase two ’ Cleanup of the City .a p of Shelton’s toxic former C Street landfill is among proposed capital A . improvement projects for 2021 . Journal file photo by Gordon Weeks brought staggered shifts as it sani- tized its vehicles, equipment and fa- cilities, and mandated strict personal protective equipment requirements for its employees. Among public works’ notable recent projects have been its Coffee Creek water main replacement, which in- stalled a fire hydrant to the intersec- tion of Hulbert and Shelton Matlock roads; prep work that’s being done in the East Mountain View neighborhood for residential paving; and work on the stormwater/wastewater treatment plant to meet new shellfish standards and ensure proper separation of solids. Public works’ new equipment in- cludes a small roller compactor for asphalt in tight areas, a vacuum ex- cavator jet truck to reduce time spent cleaning catch basins, and a snow and ice removal flatbed truck. During the question-and—answer period, Niten clarified that} public works is considering magnetic meters, which would offer increased durability and accuracy over the department’s existing meters.