PORT ANGELES — The Port of Port Angeles on Monday unanimously approved a loan agreement with Harbor-Works Development Authority.
The loan amount — $500,000 — had already been approved by port commissioners at an August meeting.
The wording of the agreement is essentially the same — except for amounts — as a previous loan agreement which was for $150,000, port attorney Dave Neupert said.
The commissioners also heard an update from Jeff Lincoln, executive director of Harbor-Works, the public development authority created in May 2008 to stimulate cleanup and development of the site of the Rayonier Inc. pulp mill that closed in 1997.
He outlined the tentative schedule for fact-finding work that will determine whether the 75-acre site on Port Angeles Harbor can be redeveloped. The agreement will determine the risks, liabilities and feasibility.
Site study cost
Harbor-Works will spend $380,460 to study the site, with $69,540 left in as a contingency balance.
“Already we have just begun and some are wanting to dip into that contingency budget, but I’m holding on to that as long as possible,” Lincoln said.
So far Lincoln has scheduled:
• An open house to review the draft report process on Oct. 7. Place and time have not yet been determined.
• The draft report due to Harbor-Works by Dec. 7.
• Publishing the report on the Internet by Jan. 25, and a public comment period will begin on the same day.
• Another open house to the public to review the draft plan and invite more public comment on Feb. 1.
• Public comment closes on March 3.
• The draft final report delivered to Harbor-Works on March 10.
• The final report published on the Internet on March 29.
“We know that this is a very aggressive schedule,” Lincoln said. “But this is my aim.”
Other port business
In other business, the three port commissioners on Monday discussed annual cost of living salary adjustments for port employees.
The salaries are typically adjusted by the same percentage as the Consumer Price Index as determined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but this year the cost of living decreased by 2.4 percent.
“This is an unusual situation, because usually the cost of living goes up,” Commissioner George Schoenfeldt said.
The commissioners agreed they wouldn’t decrease the salaries — and most contracts forbid that, Neupert said.
The commissioners asked Executive Director Jeff Robb to recommend whether or not salaries should be raised.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
