November 12, 2020 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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By Kirk Boxleitner
kbox/eitner@masoncounty. com
While the Port of Allyn’s Board of Commissioners
unanimously passed both the proposed budget for
2021 and a 1% levy increase, a difference of opinion
led one of the three commissioners to vote “no” on
the adoption of an updated public records policy for
the port.
District 1 Commissioner Judy Scott noted that
the actual levy amount from the previous year was
$292,222.42, and that thepopulation of the Port of
Allyn’s district is less than 10,000, before all three
commissioners authorized an increase in the regu-
lar property tax levy to be collected in the 2021 tax
year. _
As part of the authorization,,the dollar amount
of the increase over the actual levy amount from
the previous year shall be $2,922.25, which is an
increase of 1% from the previous year, which Scott
Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020 Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-29
pointed out is a standard annual adjustment to
keep pace with inflation.
Scott said the increase is exclusive of additional
revenue resulting from new construction improve-
ments to property, newly constructed wind turbines,
solar, biomass and geothermal facilities, and any in,-
crease in the value of state-assessed property, ‘any
annexation that has occurred and refunds made.
Port Executive Director Lary Coppola said the
port could collect a regular levy of upto $301,000
and a refund levy of $825.59 in 2021, which Cop—
pola explained was more than the county had unof-
ficially certified.
“If there’s more new construction during the
year, what I was told to do was just make it high-
er, because we could always collect more,” Coppola
said. “But if we put the certified number there, and
there’s more tax revenue from new construction
than we’re entitled to, we’re only allowed to collect
that lower number.”
_ Port of Allyn approves 2021 bUdget
New construction'is expected in the district, with'
developments in progress in Allyn, with more slat-
ed, and additional development in Belfair. “This is a
protection for the port,” Coppola said.
District 2 Commissioner Ted Jackson voted
against the proposed update to the port’s public re-
cords policy. He differed with what he saw as the
stifling formality of the updated policy’s require-
ments, arguing that one shouldn’t need to fill out
forms to file public records requests with the port,
and that as a commissioner, he was entitled to this
information without having to do so.
While Jackson believed Coppola was the source of
this specific update, Coppola ascribed the proposed
changes to the strong recommendations of Steve Di-
Julio, who serves as attorney for the port. Coppola
added that, according to DiJulio, a verbal request by
Jackson -—- or anyone else — would most certainly
qualify as a public records request, whether official
forms were filed or not.
By Kirk Baxleitner
kbox/eitner@masoncounty. com
With recent investments such as
Harbor Custom Development’s $3.91
million purchase-and-sale agreement
for 48 acres of 145 undeveloped lots in
Belfair, Mason County Flaming Man-
ager Kell Rowen sees now as an espe-
cially opportune time for the county to
seek community comment on an envi-
ronmentalimpact statement to review
the Belfair Urban Growth Area. ‘
’ “In addition to the county’s grant
to extend the sewer system, a new
freight corridor or bypass is planned,”
Rowen said. “These investments will
contribute to rapid growth in Belfair,
so we want to know how you think
Belfair should grow. We’re refreshing
the 2004 Belfair Plan, and creating a
planned action environmental impact
statement and ordinance, to guide
growth in ways that reflect the com-
munity’s vision for the future.”
The proposal addresses the nearly
4-square-mile Belfair growth area,
bounded by the northeastern border
separating Mason and Kitsap coun--
ties. The EIS is set to review the con-
ditions within both the UGA and the
rural lands bordering the UGA.
Because Mason County has deter-
mined that this proposal is likely to
have a significant adverse effect on
the environment, an EIS is required
under state law and will include dis-
cussions of the following:
I The natural environment, from
earth and water resources to plants
and animals.
I Land use and cultural resources.
I Aesthetics.
I Public services such as police,
fire, parks and schools.
I And utilities, among them water,
wastewater, stormwater and power.
Rowen noted that several agencies,
affected tribes and members of the
public are invited to comment on the
scope of the EIS, on subjects ranging
from alternatives, mitigation mea-
sures and probable significant adverse
effects to licenses or other approvals
that might be required.
Rowen directed the public to the
project website at www.co.mason.
wa.us/community-services/belfair—eis
for basic information about the proj-
ect, including the project’s timeline,
ongoing public notices and future doc-
ument publication. For the project’s
online “story map,” go to belfair.berk-
maps.com for an interactive, map-
based webpage to learn more about
the Belfair UGA. You can also explore
COunty seeks comments on Belfair Urban Grthh Area
maps of the changes being considered
and leave comments about specific 10-
cations in the UGA.
People can provide comments at
surveymonkey.com/r/BelfairUGA or
by participating in an online commu-
nity workshop at 6 p.m. on Nov. 19.
Log onto zoom.us/j/98319565704 or
call 253-215-8782 to join by phone.
You can also provide written com—
ments by 5 p.m. on Dec. 3 to Rowen at
planning@co.mason.wa.us or by mail:
Kell Rowen, Planning Manager
Mason County Community Ser-
vices
615 W. Alder St.
Shelton, WA 98584
For questions about how to. par-
ticipate, or to appeal the determina-
tion of significance, contact Rowen at
krowen@co.mason.wa.us or 360-427-
9670, ext..286.