PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County Commissioner Kathleen Kler ended her four-year term representing District 3 on Monday during a meeting that was filled not only with comments and discussion items on the agenda that have been typical during Kler’s tenure, but also with recognition for her service from citizens and fellow commissioners.
Commissioner David Sullivan said he appreciated how Kler approached her job.
“I’m a nurse and so is Kathleen in our previous lives,” Sullivan said.
“Once you’re a nurse, you are always a nurse. You problem solve, you have the work ethic of a nurse.
“You have the values of a nurse. You listen to people, you try to make the system work for them. You are their advocate. And, you have been. Some of the most difficult times you face are when you are having to do something for a patient that they don’t understand.
“You’ve done a marvelous job of finding that balance and working on it day after day with integrity and passion, and dedication to this community.
“I’m really going to miss having my fellow nurse sitting next to me,” Sullivan said.
Commissioner Kate Dean pointed out that Kler was a Jefferson County trailblazer.
“Kathleen is the first woman who completed a term. The importance of this cannot be understated especially as the younger commissioner who followed in her footsteps,” Dean said.
“Jefferson County was late in the game in electing a woman.”
Kler also served as the first female chair of the commission last year.
“I keep thinking of wind and you; the breath of fresh air that you brought to this office when you were elected,” Dean said. “I think about the lift you gave to many people, the many voices, the many issues that needed your energy and presence.
“I think of the wind you’ve been in my sails, helping me move issues along that I care about. I think of the little storms that you whip up — there have been some cyclones and some dust devils. It’s appropriate in this season of high winds and storms that we acknowledge all that you have offered this community.
Dean presented Kler with a peace plant.
“This is for your dedication to peace, and I want to say publicly that the tough position I took on the gun range limited your choices, and it was hard for you. So a small peace offering and a commitment to good governance in your name, and the imperfection of our legislative process. Thank you for so much inspiration and good work in my first two years here,” Dean said.
Kler was humbled by her colleagues’ comments.
“The honor and privilege of working for you has been probably some of the most remarkable four years of my life,” Kler said.
“They have certainly been the most challenging, and I’ve been challenged before working with the first HIV patients, working in the burn unit, being the first sexual assault nurse at Harborview. Those are all hard. I have something in me that sets me at the front lines.
“Working with the limitations within the county hasn’t been excruciatingly difficult because the problems we have as neighbors, as a county, are no different than other neighborhoods and communities in the United States are going through,” she said.
“We have the added challenges of our geography and our resources and a very strange tax system in the state that hampers the good intentions of citizens, the good intentions of the government to do what it needs to do for the citizens.
“I can say the frustration of not being able to take care of obvious problems that our citizens experience weighs on me. I leave office with a lot of things unresolved and they will continued to be handled by my fellow commissioners and the new commissioner-elect. Thank you for the privilege of serving with you,” she said.
The commissioners went on to approve 39 resolutions, agreements, appointments, resignations and meeting minutes in the consent agenda.
One of Kler’s last official duties was approving an emergency declaration because of damage to the Upper Hoh Road in the west end of the county.
County Administrator Philip Morley said the Hoh River has eaten away at the bank near where work had been done earlier in the year.
“There is extreme weather expected through the week and public works has made this for local access only beyond milepost 8,” Morley explained. “Except for park personnel and homeowners living above this area, we are restricting it to the public.”
Department of Emergency Management Director Willie Bence said the washout is imminent.
“By approving the emergency declaration request now we can nip this problem in the bud. The second the road washes out, public works can start the recovery process, getting those residents access. This is a pre-emptive strike, more of a nimble response.”
Morley said that until the road is impacted the county can’t make preventative repairs. He explained that restoration and mitigation will need to be done in the coming years, but access can be restored now.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com.
