PORT ANGELES — The Harbor-Works Public Development Authority Board of Directors will, for the second time, consider hiring former City Manager Mark Madsen as a consultant at $225 per hour when it gathers at a special meeting today.
The meeting, which will begin at 2:30 p.m. with an hour-long executive session to discuss real estate, will be in the Vern Burton Community Center conference room, 308 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
The board also has a regular meeting scheduled on Nov. 5, Orville Campbell, board chairman, said.
The special meeting is being held to sort out “organizational, structural and staffing items we have got to get completed before we can begin serious work in fulfilling the mission,” said Campbell, a former deputy mayor.
The city of Port Angeles and Port of Port Angeles created Harbor-Works in May to acquire and redevelop the 75-acre former Rayonier Inc. pulp mill site at the end of Ennis Street on the Port Angeles waterfront.
The site is contaminated with pockets of PCBs, dioxins, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead and other hazardous contaminants created during the 68 years that Rayonier operated a pulp mill there.
A cleanup process began eight years ago, but has moved slowly.
Both the city and port gave Harbor-Works $150,000, for a total of $300,000.
Madsen decision tabled
The five-member Harbor-Works board voted unanimously on Oct. 1 to table a decision on the proposed contract with Madsen for consulting services.
Bart Irwin, board member and retired attorney, was concerned about the $225 hourly rate Madsen had proposed to the board, and made the motion to table the decision until the board could review the consulting contract Madsen has with the city of Port Angeles.
Irwin also felt the scope of work given Madsen would conflict with the role of a permanent executive director, who is expected to be selected Dec. 1.
Campbell said the new proposed contract still has the same pay rate, but that Madsen’s scope of work in the proposed contract has become more “general” than when it was initially presented to the board.
Campbell refrained from providing more detail until the contract is reviewed by the board at today’s meeting.
The proposed contract presented to the board at the Oct. 1 meeting said that Madsen would work between 30 and 45 hours a month for a period of nine months.
He would be expected to coordinate a discussion on the Rayonier site with Pacific Northwest Labs and Peninsula College, assist Harbor-Works in informing the public, and advise and accompany Harbor-Works representatives in stakeholder discussions and meetings.
Campbell has said that Madsen, as one of the architects of Harbor-Works, could provide the board with valuable assistance in working with the community and stakeholders in the cleanup of the Rayonier site.
City contract
Madsen’s contract with the city is for providing interim City Manager Jerry Osterman and city staff with periodic advice when needed.
It says that he can be paid up to a maximum of $31,200 at a rate of $160 an hour.
At the Oct. 1 meeting, Harbor-Works interim Executive Director Jim Haguewood said he did not know why Madsen proposed a higher rate for consulting services for Harbor-Works than he did for the city.
The city contract was approved by the City Council on Sept. 2 in a 6-1 vote, with City Council member Cherie Kidd opposing it.
Teresa Pierce, city spokeswoman, said the city has not used Madsen’s services, and doesn’t expect to need to.
“No issues have come up that require his expertise,” she said.
Madsen left his position as city manager on Aug. 29. He said he left because of “untenable, hostile work conditions” created by certain City Council members, who he did not name, toward him and his staff.
He received $37,008 in severance pay and $17,920 for general leave hours that were not used.
Other Harbor-Works action
The Harbor-Works board also will consider today finalizing the hiring of port Finance Director Bill James as treasurer for Harbor-Works today.
On Oct. 1, the board voted unanimously to hire James, but members also needed port commission approval, which was granted on Oct. 13.
Also on the agenda is an update on the hiring of a permanent executive director and a proposal for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration to relocate its Pacific research fleet at one of three locations on the Port Angeles waterfront, including the Rayonier site.
Executive director
Campbell said five candidates for the executive director position were interviewed over the phone on Monday.
Campbell and board member Jerry Hendricks, former port executive director; Haguewood, who is also Incubator @ Lincoln Center director and former head of the Clallam County Economic Development Council; and Bob Coons, city human resources manager.
Two or three finalists will be invited to Port Angeles for interviews, Campbell said, though no dates have been set.
NOAA
Campbell and Haguewood attended the first meeting of the NOAA “Community Leadership Team” on Thursday at the port commission’s meeting room at the port administration building, 338 W. First St., Port Angeles.
The group, made up of representatives from the city, port, Harbor-Works and other organizations, is tasked with creating a “comprehensive proposal” to attract NOAA to relocate its fleet to Port Angeles, said Bob McChesney, port executive director.
NOAA now homeports the fleet on Lake Union in Seattle, but it is looking for a new location, with plans to move in 2012.
McChesney said NOAA will likely seek proposals sometime in November.
Port terminals No. 1 and 3 on the west end of town also are up for consideration for NOAA, though McChesney has said he believes the organization is mostly interested in the Rayonier site.
The Harbor-Works board also includes Howard Ruddell, owner of Ruddell Auto Mall, and Karen McCormick, president and CEO of First Federal.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
