Notice: Undefined index: HTTP_REFERER in /home/stparch/public_html/headmid_temp_main.php on line 4394
Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 24, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
PAGE 15     (15 of 40 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
 
PAGE 15     (15 of 40 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
September 24, 2020
 
Newspaper Archive of Shelton Mason County Journal produced by SmallTownPapers, Inc.
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information
Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader




By Kirk Boxleitner kbox/eitner@masoncountycom g The Port of Shelton received a brisk summation from board chairman Dick Taylor during his Sept. 17 “State of . the Community” presentation, hosted online by the Shelton-Mason County and North Mason chambers of com- merce. ' “Our mission statement is to pro- vide economic benefits to our com- munity,” Taylor said. “Our vision is to promote possibilities for doing so by efficiently utilizing all the available resources to enhance commerce and create jobs in our community.” The Port of Shelton owns and man- ages 1,400 acres of property at Sand- erson Field and Johns Prairie, Taylor said. The Sanderson Field Airport con- sists of a 5,000-plus-foot-long runway and a crosswind runway donated by the U.S. Navy after World War II, with more than 1,000 acres of land, most of which is undeveloped. Johns Prairie covers more than 400 acres. Overall, the port hosts 35 compa- nies, in fields ranging from forest prod- ucts and high-tech sports equipment to radio-controlled model aircraft, and accounts for nearly 1,000 jobs. Taylor recounted how the port’s $3.8-million runway overlay began last year, but project delays caused the work_to be split over 2019 and Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 Shelton-Mason County Journal Page A—15 STATE OF THE COMMUNITY SandersonField could see Sea-Tac impact The main runway at Shelton’s Sanderson Field was recently resurfaced. Journal photo by Gordon Weeks 2020, with its electrical trenching and upgrades occurring last fall and win- ter, and the project wrapping up at the start of this month. The runway overlay project has been 90% funded by the Federal Avia- tion Administration, with another $150,000 coming from the state’s De- partment of Transportation’s Avia- tion Division, and the Port of Shelton chipping in the remaining 5% of funds, which Taylor described as “minimal for such a large project.” Taylor reported that a Commer- cial Aviation Coordinating Commis- sion (CACC) was recently created by the Legislature out of concerns that Sea-Tac International Airport is near- ing capacity, which concerns the Port of Shelton in turn because Sander- son Field could see the effects of the CACC’s choices. The first phase of the CACC’s obli- gations is to develop a list of six air- ports by Jan. 1 that could handle the spillover from Sea-Tac. The second ' phase would require the CACC to nar- row down the list to two airports by. Sept. 1. K . The third phase would require the CACC to choose, by a 60% supermajor- ity vote, a single preferred location by Jan. 1, 2022, which would then need to be completed and functional by 2040. According to Taylor, Sanderson Field has already been listed in the initial top six, but not to take up Sea-Tac’s slack in commercial avia- tion. Rather, he said he expected an- other airport would be chosen to help Sea-Tao carry. the load of commercial aviation and that Sanderson could be called upon to accommodate the gen- eral aviation capacity that other air- ports could no longer handle. . When asked what could give Sand- erson Field a competitive advantage, Taylor pointed out that it’s “already the go-to airfield for Western Wash- ington in case of tsunamis or earth- quakes,” because it’s sited on bedrock rather than landfill, and_it has the capacity to extend its runway an ad- ditional 6,000 feet. ' Taylor touted the port’s existing partnerships with the community, from the annual OysterFest to car shows and motorcycle rallies, and ' answered another virtual attendee’s question by saying hedidn’t anticipate any changes in the port’s construction plans due to environmental consider- ations. . said Port of Allyn’s boundaries, goals are broad By Kirk Boxleitner kbox/e/tner@masoncounty.com Port of Allyn Executive Di- rector Lary Coppola was on a mission to clear up any mis- conceptions that virtual at- tendees of his Sept. 17 “State of the Community” presenta- tion might have had about the port. Coppola began by establish- ing the boundaries of the Port of Allyn, which he suggested might be a bit more expansive than some realize: I North to the Mason/Kitsap County line. I South to roughly 1 mile north of Grapeview. I East to the Mason/Pierce County line. I West about 8 miles down both sides of Hood Canal, where it meets the boundar- ies of the Port of Shelton to the south, and the Port of Dewatto to the north. The Port of Allyn’s facilities include the port’s main office building and meeting facility; the 200-foot Allyn Pier, built in 1920; and Allyn Waterfront Park and Gazebo, which Cop- ‘pola identified as the most widely used park and commu- nity facility in Mason County. The gazebo and park are popular wedding venues that are booked most weekends The meeting room includes a buffet counter, a sink, a mi- crowave,‘ a refrigerator and large restrooms. The gazebo is home to sev~ eral community events, includ- ing a Memorial Day ceremony. The‘park also has a variety of uses from hosting Allyn Days to car shows, reunions and family outings. “states a s rs assist part, not an industrial one, so sport‘s t fists as s ssrsiss sat driver for us.” Lary Coppola Port of Allyn Executive Director “Plus, our resident tight- rope walker who practices here during the summer,” Coppola said. The dock at Allyn, alter be- ing blown down, was upgraded to a transient moorage facil- ity late last year, thanks to $376,000 secured in part by state Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Al- lyn, Coppola said. The moor- age accommodates vessels up to 50 feet and offers 30- and 507amp electrical connections, plus water and full pump-out facilities. Among the port’s other fa- cilities, Coppola noted the Al- lyn Kayak Park, in addition to being a kayak-launching facil- ity, doubles as a smaller, low- er—cost wedding venue, while the Hood Canal North Shore Marina and Boat Launch can accomodate. 12 vehicles up to 45 feet. The Port of Allyn’s Water Company has a broad reach — it is the primary water provid- er for the Allyn Urban Growth Area and is licensed by the state for 132 connections. The port’s community wa- ter system has a 245-foot-deep well and a 144,000-gallon storage tank, with another deep well scheduled to come online by March 2023, and is designed to eventually serve 1,000 connections. Coppola reiterated the Port of Allyn’s three ongoing proj- ects: ' ' I The Sargent Oyster House restoration project, in part— nership with the North Bay Historical Society, which will transform the last standing oyster—processing facility on Puget Sound into a museum documenting the history of the shellfish industry on the North Bay of Case Inlet. I The two-lane staging area for the Allyn boat ramp to al- leviate the frequent summer- time backup of tow vehicles and trailers on state Route 3. I The Americans with Disabil- ities Act-accessible environ- mental showcase Sweetwater Park, being developed in part- nership with the Pacific N orth- west Salmon Center. Coppola said he is anticipat- ing the Port of Allyn being able to provide an indoor shooting range, a high-tech business park and a regional destina- tion multisports complex. “In a county with a little more than 65,000 residents, there are more than 10,000 people with concealed-carry permits and nowhere they can legally shoot,” Coppola said. “That’s about 20% of county residents, and it doesn’t in- clude gun owners without per— mits.” ' Coppola told virtual attend- ees they could look forward to a state-of-the-art shooting range, supported by local law enforcement, to become an alternative for those who ille- gally shoot in forests and other outdoor locations, in addition to providing firearms safety education to the community. Coppola also described the planned business park as a state-of-the-art venue for local firms, where none currently exists in North Mason County. “The anti-business climate and high taXes in Seattle and King County are driving. both established and startup high- tech firms to look into alternai tive locations such as Kitsap County, which has an active recruitment program targeting them,” Coppola said. “That’s forcing many Kitsap firms to seek refuge from the increas- ing costs of doing business in Kitsap. North Mason County offers a lower-cost, business- ' friendly alternative. All it needs is the facility.” According to Coppola, the port’s sports complex would be based on the Luke Jensen Sports Complex in Vancouver. “We’re a recreational port, not an industrial one, so sports tourism would be. an eco- nomic development driver for us,” Coppola said, estimating that each tournament day for baseball, softball, soccer, la— crosse. and other sports brings $75,000 per day into its host community. ' . Two other potential port projects that Coppola identi- fied would be a co-working facility to further contribute to the port’s primary mission of economic development, and an upgrade to the Lynch Cove swimming pool, for which the port qualifies for state Recre- ation and Conservation Office grant funding, even though the Lynch Cove Homeowners As- sociation, which owns the pool, does not. Coppola sees a co-working facility as furnishing a drop- in, membership-driven, shared workspace to “solopreneurs” and those in need of a part- time place toconduct business, with a shared conference room, a copier, meeting rooms and a kitchen. The port may qualify for grant funding for this proj- ect.’ “Co-working ‘ facilities are one of the fastest-growing business opportunities, and several have opened in the Puget Sound region over the past 18 months, including one in Poulst and another in Bremerton,” said Coppola, who teased the possibility of grant funding for this project as well. “Mason County offers nothing like this for small businesses.” Coppola recalled how, dur- ing the 2018 public process for the port’s comprehensive scheme of harbor improve— ments, the idea of building a public pool was strongly sup- ported by the public. “So as you can see, there is much more to the Port of Allyn than you may‘have thought,” Coppola said. During the post-presenta- tion questions, Coppola said some of the port’s business has tightened with the rise, of sea levels, and Confirmed that. the port would like to start work on its business park as soon as it picks a site, between Belfair and the Kitsap County border, even before any businesses have signed up. i 1 i l