PORT ANGELES — The Harbor-Works Public Development Authority is sitting idle while the City Council reviews the reasons for creating it.
The Port Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to form a task force for the purpose of resolving questions, brought up by private citizens at council meetings, about the way Harbor-Works was formed, and its purpose.
The task force is made up of the entire City Council, and may also include the Port of Port Angeles commissioners — the two groups that formed Harbor-Works in May.
Anticipating that major revisions to Harbor-Works could be made through the task force, the five Harbor-Works board members agreed on Wednesday that they should not make any major decisions, such as selecting an executive director or forming a 2009 budget, in the meantime.
“It’s a concern for all of us, that if we don’t feel that the port and city are jointly together on board on this, it is hard for us to go forward with hiring an executive director,” said board member Howie Ruddell, who also owns Ruddell Auto Mall.
“If they want to stop this, frankly, we are wasting our time.”
Board member Karen McCormick, who is the CEO and president of First Federal, agreed.
She said if the city and port decide not to continue Harbor-Works, then, “it’s time to put it down.”
Meeting Tuesday
The first meeting of the task force will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 321 E. Fifth St. No public comment is expected to be taken at the public meeting.
The City Council has not determined how long the task force will meet or for how often.
Harbor-Works is intended to acquire the 75-acre former Rayonier Inc. pulp mill from the company, assist in its environmental cleanup, and direct its redevelopment.
The cleanup site could include Port Angeles Harbor and soil off the company’s property.
The Rayonier property is contaminated with pockets of PCBs, dioxins, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead and other hazardous contaminates from the 68 years the pulp mill operated on the site. It closed in 1997.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2000 called the Rayonier site “moderately contaminated,” perhaps 2 or 3 on a scale of 10.
The city of Port Angeles and port — both of which contributed $150,000 to the public development authority — have come under increased criticism from some city residents for not informing the public of the public corporation’s formation until a meeting notice was published in the Peninsula Daily News a few days before the meeting.
The permanent executive director position is budgeted at $144,000 a year.
Jim Haguewood, Clallam County Business Incubator executive director, is serving as interim executive director for $2,000 a month.
Last month the board had narrowed down the finalists for its executive director position to two candidates from the original 18, and had initially planned to make a selection at the Wednesday meeting.
“Until the City Council resolves the concerns and issues that they have, along with the port, we are not free to take any significant action,” said Orville Campbell, board chairman and former Port Angeles deputy mayor.
Lower Elwha
The board took jone action. It agreed that it should still set up a joint meeting with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Council next week.
The tribe is a partner with Rayonier and the state Department of Ecology in the cleanup of the Rayonier site.
Larry Dunn, Y’Innis cleanup project manager for the tribe, told the board on Wednesday that the tribe would like to meet with them.
“They’ve been all along waiting for someone to say, ‘We would like to sit down and discuss the issues,'” he said.
“Everyone is aware that the tribe does have issues on the Rayonier site. We are more than happy to say those issues to anyone. That offer has been on the table.”
Deputy Mayor Betsy Wharton proposed forming the task force and said on Tuesday that the tribe should be part of it.
City Council member Larry Williams expressed opposition to that idea.
“We are the ones that formed it. We need to toss it back and forth between us,” he said.
The tribe was not informed of the formation of Harbor-Works until the May 20 meeting notice was published.
Dunn disagreed with Williams’ reasoning, and said the city should work with the tribe as it does any other form of government.
“We feel we should have input at the table,” he said.
Other Harbor-Works board members include Bart Irwin, retired attorney, and Jerry Hendricks, former port executive director.
Wharton proposed on Nov. 18 to also make information public about the City Council’s executive session discussions on Harbor-Works prior to its creation.
It was tabled then, but was not mentioned at the City Council meeting on Tuesday.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
