SEQUIM — Clallam County Commissioner Jim McEntire has scheduled a town hall meeting to hear from his constituents on issues affecting the eastern third of the county.
The Jan. 16 forum will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Sequim Library meeting room, 630 N. Sequim Ave.
McEntire, a second-year county commissioner who represents the East End, said there is no agenda for the town hall.
The meeting is just an opportunity for District 1 citizens and all county residents “to come and talk with me about whatever is on their mind,” McEntire said.
McEntire said the hot topics in his district have been property tax valuations, the state Department of Ecology’s water rule for the Dungeness Valley and the Carlsborg sewer project.
A separate meeting on the controversial Dungeness Valley water rule, which will require the owners of new wells to purchase mitigation credits from a water bank, is set for a day later, at 4 p.m. Jan. 17, in the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.
“I’m sure that will come up [at the Jan. 16 town hall],” McEntire said.
McEntire said he plans to make a few opening remarks at the town hall and listen to his constituents. He said the meeting helps to fulfil a campaign promise to make himself available.
Ecology officials will be on hand at the Jan. 17 meeting for a one-hour open house and two-hour workshop on what the public needs to know about obtaining mitigation credits and building permits under a rule that takes effect this Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the county, Sequim City Council and the Clallam County Public Utility District have announced a three-year timeline for the $13.9 million sewer project in Carlsborg.
A conveyance system will be built in 2015 to carry sewage from Carlsborg to the Sequim treatment plant.
“The county is moving down the road on that,” McEntire said. “The mystery seems to have been taken out of that, largely.”
McEntire said the sewer issue “seems to be at low boil” after plans to build a treatment plant in Carlsborg were scratched.
McEntire is a retired Coast Guard captain and a former Port of Port Angeles commissioner.
His fellow county commissioners are Mike Doherty of the West End district and Mike Chapman of the central district.
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
