Downtown Olympia Development, Views Survey Available

Downtown Olympia Development, Views Survey Available

zoning  

Above: This view of Mt. Rainier across downtown Olympia from the Fourth Avenue Bridge becomes obscured by the nine-story Capital Center Building as one travels into downtown. A new survey by the City of Olympia asks questions regarding downtown development, pedestrian improvements, types of preferred bicycle lanes, viewsheds, and more.

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The City of Olympia is encouraging everyone in Thurston County to take a survey to help shape downtown Olympia.  As noted in a recent Little Hollywood story on March 14, part of the survey includes weighing in on downtown views to area landmarks.

The survey, part of the city’s ongoing Downtown Strategy planning efforts, is online at www.olympiawa.gov/DTSthrough March 27. The city says it takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.

City of Olympia city planner Amy Buckler says the city has heard “loud and clear” from a previous survey that the city must address parking, sea level rise and homelessness issues. 

Based on this survey and other plans, the city’s next steps in the Downtown Strategy will focus on design, view protection, historic preservation, business and development standards and incentives, and more specific strategies related to housing, retail and economic development.

It took Little Hollywood about 35 minutes to read through the survey questions, much less answer them. 

When asked about the nature of the questions, and their tendency toward the need for significant zoning and code changes, Buckler responded that the survey reflects what the city has heard in the public process so far, and include the input of their consultant’s recommendations.

“It is likely the city will update some development standards, and perhaps zoning, if needed, to align with the guiding framework of the Downtown Strategy. We are waiting for a guiding framework to be vetted through the…process of public engagement and analysis and discussion with city council on May 10 before scoping what updates might be needed. The guiding framework will drive any needed updates….”

Questions about viewsheds are included about mid-way through the survey, after questions about development scenarios, shared streets for pedestrian and intersection improvements, festival streets, types of bicycle lanes, and more.

Some questions are hard to argue with:

1. In the waterfront area, improve upon existing attractions to create a vibrant, attractive, family-friendly destination, with emphasis on the surrounding natural environment and many landmark views. Maintain vibrant and visible gathering places for public activity and events; increase waterfront recreation opportunities; and create inviting pedestrian connections to the historic shopping district, marinas, Farmers Market, Hands on Children’s Museum, LOTT Wet Center, and Capitol Campus.

On a scale of 1-5, with (1) being very important and (5) being not important, how important is this overall concept to you?

This question specifically involves the Northeast area neighborhood:

3. In the "Artisans/Tech" area, improve upon Port and LOTT activities and existing warehouses to create a mixed-use, artisan, culinary arts, and tech hub that includes affordable commercial space, housing (especially for artists), studio/workshop, gallery, live/work, and retail space. Encourage the reuse of industrial buildings and diverse, eclectic, energy- and water-efficient architecture. Ensure that visitors of all ages feel safe and comfortable arriving by bus, foot, bike, or car to participate in exciting education and recreation opportunities. Spur mixed-income residential development to support car-free lifestyles near the Transit Center. A more active atmosphere, redevelopment of blighted or underused sites, good design and continued clean and safe efforts by the City and other partners generate a feeling of safety in this area.

On a scale of 1-5, with (1) being very important and (5) being not important, how important is this overall concept to you?

Regarding the future of the Southeast area neighborhood, this question provides the only “not sure/don’t care” option in the questionnaire, among other options:

13. This area has significant potential for growth as a residential neighborhood. We have heard a range of preferences for the style of residential development in this area, sometimes a preference for tall residential buildings and other times for smaller scale residential development like townhouses, small lot homes, and low-rise multifamily buildings.  Assuming the same number of units are added in both scenarios described, check the circle that best represents your preference.

Above: Now it's gone - the view of Mt. Rainier becomes obscured by the nine story Capital Center Building as one travels into downtown Olympia.

Survey Questions about Views

The viewsheds for potential analysis have changed since the city’s March 3 Land Use and Environment meeting and now includes a new viewshed: City Hall to the Capitol Dome. The photo used to illustrate this view is from the sidewalk outside city hall on Cherry Street.

Two potential viewsheds were removed from the list: Marathon Park to Mt. Rainier, because it does not exist, and the effect of the 1063 Building, currently under construction, on the view of the Capitol Dome from downtown.

The survey uses computer generated illustrations of two viewsheds under consideration. City staff is in need of a photo from the navigation channel into Olympia on Budd Inlet, and a photo of downtown Olympia from the beach area of Priest Point Park. 

City staff provided Little Hollywood a map that indicates that the desired viewshed from the navigation channel is from the coordinates of 47 03.960 N and 122 54.509 W, which is roughly the center of the channel across from Swantown Marina.

Buckler confirmed that a photo of the viewshed from the East Bay pocket park to the Capitol Building featured in Little Hollywood’s March 14 article is one of ten proposed viewsheds slated for analysis. 

That view runs through Port of Olympia parcels 2 and 3 which are slated for development by local developer Walker John. Concept plans by architect Ron Thomas are not yet available to the public, Thomas said in an interview with Little Hollywood last month. If those parcels are developed as proposed, the public’s view of the Capitol Building from the park would be obscured.

If there are additional important viewsheds related to downtown that you think the city may have missed or if you have photos of your favorite views related to downtown that you want to share with the city, send them to dts@ci.olympia.wa.us.

Submitted photos will become part of the public record and may be used for public engagement purposes, so the city asks that you indicate who should receive credit for the photo. Views must be from public observation points within downtown or looking through downtown to landmark views, such as Mt. Rainer, the Black Hills, Puget Sound, Olympic Mountains, Capitol Dome, says the city.

For more information, contact Amy Buckler, Senior Planner, City of Olympia, at (360) 570-5847 or abuckler@ci.olympia.wa.us.

High Tide in Downtown Olympia

High Tide in Downtown Olympia

weather  

Above: Areas of downtown Olympia experienced minor flooding due to a high tide in Budd Inlet and low atmospheric pressure early Thursday morning. Favorable weather conditions created a tide lower than expected, but still put some infrastructure under corrosive sea water. This view looking southwest was taken about 6:58 a.m. from Percival Landing behind the Oyster House restaurant near Sylvester Street. 

High Tide a Dry Run for Sea Level Rise

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Starting at about 5:00 a.m., City of Olympia's Rich Hoey, director of public works, and Andy Haub, director of water resources, and staff were busy monitoring a potential 18 foot tide in Budd Inlet and flooding in downtown Olympia early Thursday morning.

Luckily, favorable weather conditions created a tide lower than expected, and flooding was relatively minor.

“It’s helpful that it’s not raining. It’s great for the crews to see how this works so they can get ready for the real thing...imagine six more inches on top of this....” said Haub, near the Oyster House restaurant on Sylvester Street at 6:46 a.m. 

Haub said the tide peaked at about 17.4 feet and the city had 17 people, a mix of stormwater operations and transportation staff, assisting in the field. 

Staff monitored the areas of 4th, 5th, and State Avenues between Columbia Street and the 4th Avenue bridge, Columbia Street between B and Corky Avenues by Budd Bay Cafe, and Thurston Avenue between Jefferson and Franklin Streets. 

There was no flooding on Water Street or at Capitol Lake as staff monitored the city’s stormwater shut off valve and pump located near the Waterstreet Café. 

Haub gets excited about atmospheric pressure dynamics and says he's going to look into putting a tide gauge near “The Kiss” statue on Percival Landing with an educational sign that explains how it all works.

“Tomorrow and future days look fine - barometric pressure is back up and tides are on the downward cycle,” said Haub on Thursday afternoon.

The Port of Olympia reported that it did not experience any backups or flooding. 

“Staff drove around and checked early this morning and have been on the property during the day,” said Port of Olympia communications and public affairs manager Kathleen White.

Two staff members of the LOTT Clean Water Alliance were seen out on bicycles checking for potential issues around or near the treatment plant and the Water Street pump station.  

“We did have some minimal overflow in the street in front of our building this morning, but nothing major. We have seen flooding there before….We haven’t had any problems with the treatment plant itself flooding as a result of these high tides. High tides combined with major storm events (do) put pressure on the outfall, causing our pumps to work harder than normal,” said LOTT community relations and environmental policy director Kara Fowler.

Downtown Flooding - a Dry Run for Sea Level Rise

There are 112 known outfalls to Capitol Lake and Budd Inlet within the city limits. An outfall is the place where a river, drain, or sewer empties into the sea, a river, or a lake.

Of those piped outfalls, 36 are susceptible to backflow flooding. Twenty are city owned, nine around Capitol Lake are owned by Washington State, five are owned by the Port of Olympia, and two are privately owned, one near Bayview and one behind the Oyster House.

Above: Flooding creeps up Sylvester Street on Thursday morning looking south toward  the nine story Capital Center Building and the state Capitol Building. The Oyster House is on the left.

In January 2015, the city, Port of Olympia, and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance provided a coordinated presentation of their concerns and needs to a group of shoreline and coastal planners. Haub recently told Little Hollywood that his infrastructure needs, as he presented them to the group, remain valid:

Near-term Infrastructure (0.25 feet of sea level rise)

Install strategic tide gates, modify drainage system for the Capitol Lake to eliminate need to pump the 20 acre basin,  and investigate the permeability of downtown soils.

Medium-term Infrastructure (0.25 to 0.5 feet of sea level rise)

Modify elevations of Heritage Park, install permanent flood barriers on western shore of peninsula, consolidate peninsula drainage systems, disconnect flood-prone streets from the Moxlie Creek drainage system, and purchase pumps to handle downtown runoff during high tides.

After the sea level rise report presented to the city council on February 9, Little Hollywood asked Haub about Capitol Lake's stormwater system.  

“....As we learn more...we understand that the lake currently serves an important flood management function. However, the system and the topography around the lake could readily be altered to accommodate either a future estuary or lake. Sea rise will require change, regardless of the lake’s future....Our concern is that the long term projection for sea rise continues to increase, which will affect our infrastructure response.” 

He also said Percival Landing is about a foot too low to accommodate a very high tide or sea level rise.

“We expect the area around the southern portion of Percival Landing to over-top at 19 feet. The high tide on December 17, 2012 was a 17.6 foot tide. The estimate for a 100-year tide event under current conditions is 18 to 18.4 feet. When we rebuild it, we will need to evaluate the appropriate height and then how to incrementally increase it further as needed. That will be part of the design process. There are numerous options for combining flood barriers with public use and aesthetics…up to a point,” he said.

Above: By 7:10 a.m. Thursday morning, the tide was obviously receding, as indicated by this visible high water mark at Percival Landing.

For more photos and information and about downtown flooding, sea level rise, the Public Works report on sea level rise to city councilmembers on February 9, past high tide events, Capitol Lake, the valves that save a portion of downtown from flooding, the Oyster House, Percival Landing and more, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com, and type key words into the search engine.

Zita Sworn In As Port of Olympia Commissioner

Zita Sworn In As Port of Olympia Commissioner

WPPA  

Above: E.J. Zita, left, was sworn in as a new Port of Olympia commissioner by Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall at the Thurston County Courthouse on Wednesday morning. Although she trailed opponent Jerry Farmer on election evening, Zita gradually pulled ahead for a final lead of 227 votes out of a total of 52,659 votes cast, not counting write-ins. A machine recount of the ballots is not expected to change the outcome of the election, said Hall.

Interview with Port Commissioner Zita 

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

With the Thurston County elections certified on Tuesday, E.J. Zita was officially sworn into office as a Port of Olympia Commissioner by Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall on Wednesday morning.

After her swearing-in, Hall congratulated Zita and remarked that the final election numbers that gave Zita the eventual lead over her opponent, Jerry Farmer, was not typical.

“Typically, the numbers don’t flip…. In the port race for Position #1, George Barner gained 2.93% between election night and certification, and the Metropolitan Parks District ballot measure in Olympia gained about two percent, as did this port race. I can’t verify it as fact, but I heard that it was because of this race, that people waited until the last minute to vote,” said Hall, still studying the statistics.

Although a machine recount will occur, the results are not expected to change the final outcome.  Zita said she will participate in Thurston County’s formal swearing-in ceremony for all newly elected and re-elected officials on Wednesday, December 30, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. at South Puget Sound Community College, Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts. The event is open to the public.

In a prepared statement, Zita said, “Voters had a clear choice in this Port Commission election.  Our campaign was supported by hundreds of small contributions and great volunteers - people who care about public resources, open public processes, and a sustainable future.

“....Working together, we can improve port operations, relations with the public, our bottom line, and the environment.  I am already working with good port staff, and I look forward to productive service with my fellow Commissioners….From day one, I will insist that all port business be open and transparent, that the Port Commission is financially accountable, and that we approach development in a smart, sustainable way,” she said.

 

Zita said that the first thing she'll do as a new port commissioner is her homework.

“I'm already working with staff to get up to speed on issues, and I'll be doing a lot of reading and research as I step into this role,” she said.

Zita is fulfilling the term held by former port commissioner Sue Gunn, who resigned due to health reasons. Michelle Morris was appointed to the position in June and served until Monday, November 23. Zita will be up for election again, if she chooses to run, in 2017, as will current Port Commissioner Bill McGregor.

The next meeting of the Port of Olympia is Monday, December 14, 5:30 p.m., at the Port of Olympia offices at 626 Columbia St. NW, Suite 1 – B, Olympia.

Washington Public Ports Association Training

Interviewed after her swearing-in, Zita said she participated in the Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA) training in Seattle last week. 

Asked if she learned anything new or particularly enlightening, she said that the training emphasized that Port Commissioners should hold all discussions in public, welcome all public comment, and televise all sessions. 

“Ports have two complementary missions - economics and public good….Whatever actions ports take, the WPPA explained the importance of sharing our reasoning with the public on all processes and decisions.  We should even publicly recap conversations held in “executive sessions,” which are private because of sensitive content. 

“All of our material should be posted online - people should not have to ask for it.  WPPA advises that the perfect citizen - someone who attends every port meeting and reads all the information - should never be surprised by our decisions, because we have been open about everything going into them.  Citizens should always be treated with friendly respect, and given ample time to testify, whether it is on our agenda or not, even if it makes meetings run long.  Good relationships with the public are one of the highest priorities for the WPPA.

“The WPPA provided legal and ethics training, which I got certified in.  A quorum of commissioners may not “meet” for coffee, on the phone, by email, etc. except at commission meetings.  If we find ourselves at public events together, we cannot talk business.  It's legal to carpool to events together, but it may not be a good idea.  And all port correspondence is subject to public records requests - so I will keep mine on port-issued devices,” said Zita.

A Few More Questions

Little Hollywood also asked Zita about her role as chair of the Thurston County Agriculture Advisory Committee.

Zita says she will remain chair of the Thurston County Agriculture Advisory Committee, which advises the county commissioners on current issues. She said her work on food production, farming and other agricultural issues will be complementary to her new position at the port. She said that the group recently drafted a new urban agriculture ordinance which is expected to be presented to the Board of County Commissioners by the beginning of 2016.

“We’ve been working a couple of years to make the ordinance for farming in the urban growth area more consistent with Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater ordinances. In some cases, it is currently more restrictive to farm in the county. We’ve worded it in such a way that makes farming in the areas of beekeeping, poultry, and rabbits in the urban growth area flexible and easier overall,” said Zita.

The group will also be delving into the issue of industrial hemp.

Asked what she thinks about recent conversations during port meetings about daylighting Olympia’s Moxlie Creek, which runs under city streets and exits through a pipe into East Bay, Zita said, “(Olympia resident) Harry Branch and others make good arguments that a Moxlie Creek estuary could effectively remediate contaminants such as nitrates in the creek, while restoring ecosystem services and a valuable recreation resource.

“I would like the Port to start climate planning with the City of Olympia, the state Department of Ecology, and the Thurston Regional Planning Commission. The City of Olympia is a leader in climate change planning and the port needs to know what’s coming. The possibility of remediating contaminated streamflow with a restored wetland in that area should be reviewed as part of that process.”

Zita said she welcomes the public’s suggestions for drafting proposals on the process.

Earlier this month, Zita also answered a few quick questions on emerging port issues:

Little Hollywood: What is your opinion of the code of conduct resolution (then before the commissioners), and would you vote and sign for or against it?

Zita: I agree with Port Commissioner George Barner, and with the public comments made by Bev Bassett, Denis Langhans, Monica Hoover, Jan Witt, and Sharron Coontz.

LH: Can you foresee any situation in which you might want to disagree with what another port in Washington is doing and offer them your opinion, as Commissioners Barner and Gunn did with their letter to the Grays Harbor/Hoquiam ports and their roles in the status of the oil terminals? 

Zita: Commissioners Barner and Gunn took a courageous stand.  More Pacific Northwest ports will be called on by the people to stand as a "thin green line" between extreme fossil fuel extraction and dangerous shipments to Asia.

LH: How would you have voted on the building of another warehouse for the storage of ceramic proppants and other shipments requiring shelter? Would you be interested in revisiting this issue as a new commissioner?

Zita: No and no.  The current warehouse is mostly empty.

LH: In a February 22, 2015 article on my blog, I wrote about a Port work session topic, the re-creation of a "Berth 4." At the time, it was billed as an "information only" discussion, but staff is spending time analyzing its feasibility. Do you have an opinion about the creation of a Berth 4?

Zita: I haven't read that article yet....

LH: Do you feel port work sessions should be televised?

Zita: Yes.

Above: According to the Port of Olympia, the channels on port property parcels 2 and 3 near State Street as seen here on November 20, are directing stormwater flow to remain on the two parcels, rather than allow it to flow out to the sidewalk and into the City of Olympia storm drains. 

“It is a requirement of the state Department of Ecology that we keep the stormwater on site, since Parcels 2 and 3 are within the boundary of the East Bay Redevelopment Cleanup Site,” said Kathleen White, Port of Olympia, on Wednesday. 

Port of Olympia Commissioners McGregor, Barner and Morris voted on Monday night to move forward with a mixed use development agreement with developer Walker John on this property near East Bay and State Street in downtown Olympia. Commissioner Barner voted no.

Harry Branch, an Olympia resident and retired captain of fishing, charter and research vessels with a Masters of Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College, commented at a recent port meeting that a mixed use development on this location places significant limitations on the option of restoring or daylighting Moxlie Creek.

Branch believes that development of this property is a violation of the Clean Water Act because the parcels are likely an uncontrolled source of dioxin. He has offered the commissioners a detailed alternative for the site that would environmentally clean up and restore the historic estuary to a functioning ecosystem.

Commissioner Barner expressed an interest in having a work session on the topic and extended an invitation to Branch to further educate the Commission.

For more information about Port of Olympia activities, go to www.portolympia.com.

For past stories about the Port of Olympia issues at Little Hollywood, go to www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words, issues, and names into the search button.

Correction/Clarification Added November 27: Commissioner Barner voted no and Commissioners McGregor and Morris voted yes on the developer agreement with Walker John. Little Hollywood explained who was on the commission at the time of the vote to approve the agreement, but neglected to state Barner's vote. 

Port of Olympia Zita-Farmer Ballot Issues

Port of Olympia Zita-Farmer Ballot Issues

zita  

Above: During a public hearing about the budget, Port of Olympia commissioner candidate E.J. Zita addresses the Port of Olympia on Monday night. She commented on her desire to see a clearer accounting of the cost of dredging. She said that it would add clarity if the costs could be separated. The cost of operational dredging is currently combined with other environmental clean-up costs. Galligan said that those numbers are available. “If there’s a clearer way to report on that, we’d be happy to do that,” said Galligan.

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

According to the Thurston County Auditor’s Office, the latest tally has E.J. Zita ahead of Jerry Farmer in their race for Port of Olympia Port Commissioner #3. 

Zita was slightly behind on election night, but subsequent tallies put her in the lead with 124 votes on Friday with an estimated 700 ballots left to count.

On Monday, the new tally kept Zita ahead: 26,294 (50.21%) to Farmer’s 26,079 (49.79%), for a difference of 215 votes.

There are still a few ballots to be counted that have discrepancies, such as missing signatures, or those that have questionable signatures.

Little Hollywood spoke late Monday afternoon with Tillie Naputi-Pullar, Thurston County elections manager at the Thurston County Auditor’s Office. She said that as of today, there are 116 ballots that do not have signatures, and 207 that have questionable signatures.

“Each day we generate a letter so voters are being notified on a daily basis if something is wrong with their ballot,” said Naputi-Pullar. She and her staff of three have a process in which they visually examine the signatures of all voters.

“If there is a problem, we send out a letter within 24 hours to the voter. We supply a pre-paid envelope with a signature verification form and the voter can mail it back, come in and drop it off, or email it by scanning it, or fax it back to us. We do our best to help the voter so it’s expedited so we can update their status,” she said.

Little Hollywood asked Naputi-Pullar about an Olympia woman who had an issue with her ballot and said she received a knock on her door on Sunday, November 8. The visitor appeared to be a supporter of candidate Jerry Farmer, as she was wearing a Farmer campaign button.

The westside resident, interviewed by Little Hollywood on Monday, did not want to be named, but shared her story:

“A woman wearing a Farmer campaign button and carrying a clipboard knocked on the door of my apartment. On her clipboard she carried many forms and a list of registered voters, I believe. She stated that she was a volunteer and was at my home because my ballot had an issue, and it was not currently valid as a countable ballot. 

The issue, she said, was that my ballot signature did not match the outside envelope signature. She asked me if I had received an official notice of this problem. I had not. She suggested that I had not received this letter because I had voted at the last minute.

 

She handed me a form from her clipboard and told me that I should fill it out in order to amend the discrepancy in my ballot signatures. She stated that she'd like me to fill it out on the spot and give it back to her.  

I told her I would rather fill it out later and/or wait for the official notice. She checked something off on her clipboard. She then asked me: “Did you even vote for the Port?”  I responded “Yes, I did.” She questioned me further, “Who did you vote for? Did you vote for Jerry Farmer?” I told her that I did not wish to answer her questions at this time.  She thanked me for my time and left. 

To follow up on this interaction, I checked the Thurston County Elections website to ascertain the status of my ballot.  There is indeed a problem with it, and I intend to call the number provided to resolve this issue so that my vote may be counted.”

Before she had a chance to call, she said she received her letter from the Thurston County elections office just this evening, informing her of the ballot signature discrepancy.

The woman says she doesn’t think anything suspicious was going on, but was unclear about the process.

“I didn’t know they gave out that kind of information to campaigns but I guess I’m not surprised now that I know the process,” she said.

It’s called “signature chasing,” and Naputi-Pullar said that the woman who came to the door was not with the Thurston County election office, however, that type of voter information is released to campaigns regarding voters whose ballots have not yet been counted. The form she was asked to fill out on the spot and return to the woman wearing the Farmer campaign button was most likely a signature verification form.

Jan Witt of Olympia is a friend of the woman who received the knock on her door and expressed concern about the incident.

“I believe that Thurston County Elections should not accept any of the forms collected by campaign people. Given that a campaign is asking people who they voted for and requesting the signature verification forms, how do they know whether or not a campaign is turning in all of the forms they receive? Maybe they are turning in only the forms of those who say they voted for their candidate,” said Witt.

Asked how the Thurston County elections office knows that all signature verification forms are turned in by campaign volunteers, Naputi-Pullar expressed assurance in their process, which is set in statute: 

“Three days before the certification date, November 24, my staff sits down and calls those voters if we have not received a form back. If people are concerned, they can contact us.”

Contacted by Little Hollywood this evening, Farmer said that he thought Zita’s volunteers were also out signature chasing.

Asked tonight after a Port of Olympia business meeting if her campaign is signature chasing, Zita said she has several dozen volunteers signed up to do so, but the elections office has informed her that it doesn’t appear to be necessary. Zita said that although a recount will be necessary, it appears to be out of range for a hand recount, and will most likely be a machine recount.

According to the Thurston County Auditor’s Office, the following are the rules for recounts of local contests: 

A machine recount would require that the difference between two candidates be less than 2,000 votes and less than 1/2 of one percent of the total votes cast. A hand recount would require that the difference between two candidates is less than 150 votes and less than 1/4 of one percent of the total votes cast.

Although it may still be too soon to do so, port staff, audience members, and Joe Downing, Port of Olympia commissioner candidate for position #1 who won his seat against George Barner, and was also at tonight's meeting, congratulated Zita on her apparent win.

The election will be certified November 24.

For more information and number changes, go to the Thurston County Auditor’s Office at www.thurstonvotes.org.

Morris Sworn In as Port Commissioner

Morris Sworn In as Port Commissioner

thurston county  

By Janine Unsoeld

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Above: Michelle Morris is congratulated this morning by Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall after swearing her into office as a Port of Olympia Commissioner.

Morris is a principal in Sound Resource Management Group, Inc., Olympia. Previously she served as executive director of Sustainable South Sound, founder/director of Thurston County Critical Areas Ordinance Coalition, founder/director of Concerned Citizens of Thurston County and information analyst/global code of conduct for Levi Strauss & Co., San Francisco. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Finance and a Masters in Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College in Olympia.

Morris said this morning that she will attend the port’s work session meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 18.

Port of Olympia staff member Jeri Sevier said Morris’ official email address is expected to be set up by the end of the day, and will be michellem@portolympia.com

For more information about the Port of Olympia, go to www.portolympia.com or see other articles about the port at Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com.

Port of Olympia Commissioners Appoint Michelle Morris

Port of Olympia Commissioners Appoint Michelle Morris

woman  

Above: Michelle Morris was appointed this evening to Port of Olympia Commissioner Position #3. She will serve for about five months. Morris is not running for election to the position and said in her application that her goal is to provide a smooth transition from the vacancy left by former commissioner Sue Gunn. She says she will continue Gunn's conversations about agriculture, transparency, and fiscal responsibility.

By Janine Unsoeld

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Port of Olympia commissioners George Barner and Bill McGregor tonight appointed Michelle Morris to fill commissioner position #3, formerly held by Sue Gunn.

“Thank you very much…I’m honored,” said Morris, who was present at tonight's port meeting. The publicly noticed meeting was held tonight rather than a usual Monday evening due to scheduling difficulties.

Morris said she will be sworn in at the Thurston County’s Auditor’s Office tomorrow afternoon. She will hold the position from June 11 to November 24, when the general election is formally certified. Morris is not one of the applicants running for election to the position.

Outside the meeting room, as well wishers congratulated her, Morris said, “I’m thrilled that they expedited this process instead of letting it drag on. I’m really excited to get business moving forward…I have a lot of homework to do!”

Her first meeting is expected to be Monday, June 22, unless she can attend a port work session meeting on Thursday, June 18.

An executive session of the commissioners started at 4:00 p.m. tonight at which Commissioners Barner and McGregor discussed the applicant’s resumes, responses to questions, and qualifications.

Barner said he was very impressed with E.J. Zita’s application, responses to questions and interview, but said it would be inappropriate to choose someone who is committed to running for election to the position.

McGregor agreed, and after saying that he was impressed with the quality of each candidate, recommended Fred Finn to fill the position.

Barner disagreed. Calling former commissioner Sue Gunn an intelligent and bright woman, Barner said he felt sensitive to the issues that have been raised by the public, and said that the position ought to be filled by a woman.

“I’m seriously interested in affirming the actions of the voters of District #3 in electing Commissioner Gunn….The issue of diversity is real, and new to this board of commissioners, but one that was said loud and clear by the electorate when they elected her to this position….” said Barner, who then promptly made a motion to appoint Michelle Morris.

McGregor quickly agreed, and seconded Barner’s motion, saying he did not want to see the decision go to the Thurston County commissioners. 

Both welcomed Morris to the position, with Barner adding that he has served the last three years with Morris on Thurston County’s solid waste advisory committee and appreciates her thoughtfulness in that capacity. McGregor earlier noted her financial and small business experience as assets for filling the position.

George Sharp, Dick Pust, and Fred Finn were in attendance at tonight’s meeting, and quickly congratulated her on her appointment. 

Port of Olympia Commission meetings are held at 5:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday of each month. Work sessions are held 2:30 p.m. Thursday before the fourth Monday of each month. All meetings are held at Tumwater Town Center, 7241 Cleanwater Drive SW, Tumwater. 

For more information, go to www.portolympia.com.

In other port news, a public meeting on the master planning process for development of its real estate in Tumwater will be held Thursday, June 11th, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., at the Comfort Inn, 1620 74^thAvenue SW, Tumwater.

The master plan will guide future growth within the New Market Industrial Campus and Tumwater Town Center. Questions that will be discussed at the meeting: How the properties' physical and environmental characteristics will influence development and what unique economic opportunities the New Market Industrial Campus and Tumwater Town Center Port districts offer the Thurston region.

The two districts total over 500 acres which may be developed for commercial, industrial or other uses.

For past articles about the Port of Olympia, including the process to fill Position #3, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and use the search button to type in key words.