PORT ANGELES — The Harbor-Works Public Development Authority Board of Directors chairman said he misspoke when he said that he expected a purchase and sale agreement to be signed with Rayonier Inc. by the end of the month.
“Maybe it’s possible, but it’s very unlikely,” said Orville Campbell on Friday. “I regret putting that on the table.”
Campbell, a former deputy mayor, made the comment after a meeting with Rayonier representatives on Oct. 22.
Fellow board member Jerry Hendricks, who is a former port executive director, and interim executive director Jim Haguewood were also present.
Haguewood is also the Clallam County Business Incubator director.
Prior to a purchase and sale agreement, Campbell said the details would have to be negotiated with Rayonier.
Hendricks and Campbell both said that those negotiations have not occurred and no decisions have been made.
A date has not been set for any of that to take place, Campbell added.
“Looking toward a specific date is speculation,” he said.
Rayonier wants director
Charles Hood, Rayonier vice president of corporate affairs, said the company would like to see Harbor-Works select a permanent executive director prior to signing any agreements.
“We would work with them on their schedule,” he added.
Interviews of three finalists for the position of executive director of Harbor-Works is expected the week of Nov. 10.
The five-member Harbor-Works Board of Directors have scheduled to select an executive director on Dec. 1.
The board has allocated $12,000 a month for the post.
The purchase and sale agreement would allow Harbor-Works to begin the due diligence process prior to acquiring the property.
Campbell has said that the due diligence process would include defining the assets and liabilities associated with the site, reviewing what is known about the degree of contam-ination and assessing what is owned by Rayonier and government entities such as the state Department of Natural Resources.
Campbell said some of the due diligence work was carried out by the city of Port Angeles last spring as a step toward acquiring the water tank that exists on the property for storm water management.
“Now that we understand what has been done in the past, we can pick up from were it was left,” he said.
Harbor-Works was created by the city of Port Angeles and the Port of Port Angeles in May to help direct the cleanup process and redevelopment of the 75-acre former pulp mill site owned by Rayonier, which began in 2000 by the State Department of Ecology.
Cleanup is under the supervision of Ecology, Lower Elwha Klallam tribe and Rayonier.
The city and port have each loaned Harbor-Works $150,000 for start-up costs.
The port’s loan comes from a $7.5 million settlement from the state as a result of the failed Hood Canal Bridge graving yard project, and the city’s loan comes from its economic development fund.
The loans’ interest rates are tied to the interest rate of the state Local Government Investment Pool. The pool rates change monthly.
The mill operated on the Port Angeles waterfront at the end of Ennis Street for 68 years and closed in 1997.
The site is contaminated with pockets of PCBs, dioxins, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead and other hazardous contaminants.
A Lower Elwha Klallam village once existed on the property, and artifacts and graves are still buried there.
The five-member Harbor-Works board also includes Howard Ruddell, owner of Ruddell Auto Mall; Karen McCormick, president and CEO of First Federal; and Bart Irwin, a retired attorney.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or tom.callis@ peninsuladailynews.com.
