PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles Downtown Association committee members will divvy up duties to keep the organization running on a bare-bones basis at least until a new board makes a decision in January on hiring a new executive director, the current board decided this week.
Executive Director Barb Frederick’s last day is Dec. 19 after the board decided to lay her off due to a lack of funds after the city withheld funding.
Five positions on the 13-member board are up for election, with ballots due back Friday, and the board’s new members are slated to participate in their first board meeting Jan. 12.
Frederick, the association’s only employee, makes $46,400 a year.
The association, which city officials have declared under breach of contract with the city, came under severe criticism at a Nov. 18 City Council meeting for not, according to council members, more aggressively reaching out to downtown business owners.
“All things considered, I think that Barb has gone above and beyond the call of duty on a lot of things,” board President Bob Lumens said at Monday’s meeting.
After the meeting, which lasted for about 50 minutes, the board went into executive session to discuss “financial matters” and real estate issues, Lumens said Tuesday.
“It was clear to me there were some things we wouldn’t want to have in the paper,” said Lumens, who would not elaborate.
“What we talked about was stuff, stuff we didn’t need to have public.”
As the board’s designated spokesman, Lumens has criticized newspaper accounts that have described recent issues surrounding the downtown association.
The PADA until July received money that passes through the city as taxes based on the square footage of downtown businesses.
The city has been withholding those funds from the organization.
State B&O taxes
In addition, the PADA program also was eligible for $133,000 in state business-and-occupation taxes but won’t be receiving any of it, Lumens said Tuesday.
Under the program, entrepreneurs can devote a percentage of their B&O proceeds to the Main Street program managed by the PADA.
Frederick told the council at its Nov. 18 meeting that business owners had pledged $7,000 of the $133,000 available.
Lumens said no one affirmed a pledge before a statewide cap of $1.5 million had been reached.
“We will not have one thin dime coming to us from B&O, thank you very much,” he said.
“We had no pledges that were affirmed by the time the $1.5 million cap was gotten to.
“Nobody wanted to end up in the snake pit and end up on the front page of the paper.”
Sarah Hansen, state Main Street Program coordinator, said Tuesday the cap was reached Thursday.
Each of 30 participating organizations in the state are eligible for $133,000 — equal to $100,000 in tax credits issued — on a first-come, first-served basis, she said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
