PORT OF ILWACO – Port of Ilwaco Manager Mack Funk reported on the progress of the First and Howerton beautification project Monday during the port’s commission meeting. Funk said Rognlin’s, the contractor for the project, had installed signs at each end of the road project saying “Open for Business” to encourage people to use detours to bypass the construction and shop at port businesses.

“The last two weeks the contractors have been working on installing the underground utilities,” Funk said. “For the most part it’s gone smoothly.” He said the fence around the boatyard will come down during work on the sidewalks and the contractor will re-use the fencing material at the end of the project. The contractor will also keep the sidewalk along the boat yard that was taken up during construction and re-use it.

Curb and gutter work probably will begin this week, Funk said. Sidewalks will be next and the last to be completed will be the road.

Funk also addressed the problem of “bellies” in the newly installed wastewater mains which he had discussed at the Ilwaco City Council meeting last Monday. “We don’t know how it happened,” he said, explaining that the port is built on fill material and, even though the new trenches for the mains were laid with a gravel base, “It appears the gravel compacted.” The “bellies” are up to 2 inches deep, he said, adding that national standards for the mains say only a 1/3-inch “belly” is acceptable.

A letter from Tim Osborne of Gray & Osborne, inspectors and superintendents for the work, indicated the mains wouldn’t be impacted by the “bellies,” Funk said. “The liquid is flowing well in the pipe,” he said, “still … how did this happen? I’m not sure we’ll ever know.” He said he is communicating with Gray & Osborne as well as HLB Engineers, designers of the project. “According to our agreement with the city, the city accepts the finished project,” he said. “The port can’t make the decision, it’s up to the city. Will they accept it? It will be a difficult decision for them.”

Port merchant Donna Kinman asked if the port would “Hold G&O responsible. They’re the ones who were supposed to inspect the work It seems like they’re ultimately responsible.”

Funk read a draft of a letter he is proposing to send to Osborne, saying he had reviewed the more than 2-inch-thick inspection reports and that work had begun Nov. 4 and was completed Nov. 26 “But I was disappointed. Information on the mains was limited.” He compared reports from another engineer on another project which was “more detailed,” he said. “There was a world of difference in the amount of information. The only notation of a problem in the G&O reports was on Nov. 5. The G&O inspector is responsible to determine if there was suitable foundation in the trench. Full-time inspection work was agreed to and it has not been done. It’s critical we resolve this as soon as possible.”

Funk said Rognlin’s is going forward with construction until the city makes its decision. “I’ll be going the the City Council meeting Monday for a decision and will keep the port’s leaseholders informed,” Funk concluded.

Commissioner Frank Unfred commented that Rognlin’s work has been “great so far. They’re good people and know what they’re doing.”

Port Finance Director Mary DeLong reported that final drawings for new restrooms near the ShoreBank building will be turned over to HLB Engineering on Friday. “Once approved,” she said, “it will be only days until the bid process begins. We hope by the next commission meeting that the restrooms will have gone out to bid.”

DeLong also reported that the Pacific County Commissioners had authorized $18,000 from the county’s sales and use taxes for the restroom project. “We hope it will be built by May,” she said.

Harbormaster Jamie Sowers reported she’s waiting for bids from Bergerson Northwest of Warrenton to replace old and damaged piling at the port. She said the docks damaged by winter storms and by the dredge Patriot breaking free from its mooring have been repaired.

Sowers said she has met with contractor Bill Piper about building a second set of bays for indoor boat maintenance at the port’s boat yard. Piper built the first building, which garnered the port $17,000 in revenue last year. Piper also built the Peninsula Sanitation building. “We’re looking at installing doors” in the second building, she said, as well as possibly a paint booth in one bay and explosion-proof electrical wiring and fixtures.

Dredging at the marina is going well, Sowers reported, despite the dredge being down for three days for repairs.

Fishing line, lures and hooks tossed overboard by fishermen have created a problem for the dredge, clogging the hose, Sowers said. “It’s really nasty, little stuff and hard to get out. It takes from an hour to a day to unclog,” she said. “We have to grab the fish hooks with our bare hands.”

Pacific County Commissioner Jon Kaino asked the port commission whether funds are in the port’s budget for dredging the silted-in channel entrance. “Funding for $700,000 for dredging passed the Senate,” Funk told Kaino. “It still has to pass in the House. We’re in a good position, but not where we want to be.” Funk and Commissioner Jim Stiebritz will go to Washington, D.C., Feb. 22 to discuss channel and harbor dredging with the Northwest Congressional delegation.

“Is there enough for the project?” Kaino asked.

“I think so,” Funk replied, “but we have to wait for bids. The entrance is silted in badly and, if we get funds, it won’t be quick enough. We’ll have to wait for next year’s dredging season.”

In other port business, commissioners authorized Funk to initiate proceedings against the owners of two derelict vessels – the 30-foot Windy Ann and the Sea Pearl. The Windy Ann came to the port last October and, Sowers said, has had to be pumped out “numerous times. We hauled it out and put it in the boat storage yard. It’s very rotten. We’re lucky it didn’t sink.”

The owner’s bill is $867 to date, which includes moorage, haul-out and storage. The owners, who live in Federal Way, have been contacted numerous times but have never responded, Funk said, adding that they had purchased the boat for $230.

Funk said the owners of the Sea Pearl will have until the end of the month to remove the vessel or post a $10,000 bond. “If they don’t, we’ll demolish it.” He said the state Legislature passed a derelict vessel law that took effect Jan. 1 to reimburse public agencies for up to 75 percent of the cost of disposal.

“It’s so rotten, you can’t find a place to tie a line,” Unfred commented.

Funk reported that the new manager of the Saturday Market had given her notice and he’ll be looking for a replacement. He said more than 80 requests have been send to potential vendors at the market, which begins in May, and so far he has heard from 11. “There are lots of details that need to be ironed out,” he said.

The Bank of the Pacific has picked up back payments through December 2002 on the Reel ‘Em Inn Restaurant at the port, Funk reported. “We’ve started the process,” he said. “We hope we’ll get a new business there by mid-March.”