The Port of Peninsula was to have a public meeting June 12 at 11 a.m., but on the port office door was posted a notice cancelling the meeting. I suspected this was going to happen as the port manager and Chairman Phil Martin do not want to meet with the public, afraid of questions that would come up.

However, I learned the County Treasurer Renee Goodwin was making a trip to see Jay Personius, port manager, to help him with a big problem. She arrived just before 11 a.m. and with onlookers in tow including myself she went to talk to Jay. She was polite in asking Jay, who was watching a boat being pressure washed, to join her as she wanted to talk to him. Instead of coming over for a private discussion with the treasurer, he turned and made a hasty retreat, clearly not wanting to talk to her. She begged him to come over; he then ignored her completely. Jay refused to meet the treasurer, acting almost childish.

Obviously, the treasurer didn’t make an hour drive from South Bend for the view. She told us the treasurer’s office was no longer accepting vouchers written by the port. This in short means people will not be getting paid even when the port is paying with a voucher that makes its way through the bank then to the county treasurer. In essence, until this is resolved, the port has “rubber checks.” The reason is simple — the port has not had a public meeting to approve bills. Without that approval, the treasurer can not legally pay those vouchers. This is another failure by the port manager in port management. It could mean employees will not be getting paid until this mess is cleared up.

The problem is one commissioner is uncovering this mess and the two other commissioners and the port manager are doing everything they can to stop her, even to the point of excluding her from correspondence and port business. I’ve noticed Phil Martin and Jay Personius treat her as less than equal. Is this borderline sexual harassment; could be. But what this clearly has become is a good old boys camp with failed oversight by the board of port commissioners. This is costing needless tax dollars and needs to stop. Make your voice heard and call the two port commissioners, Phil Martin and Bill Derion, and tell them to wake up and act like commissioners and not the puppets of the port manager.

Yes, I do have dog in the fight, as they say, from the standpoint of being a taxpayer and running for the one port commission position that is currently expiring. But more important, the path the port is on now is a slide to financial disaster. People worked hard to build up this port that is vital to the area and offers jobs and a recreational draw connected to the ports primary purpose that aquaculture. Don’t let it fall into financial failure.

CHUCK MIKKOLA

Klipsan Beach