The Port of Peninsula meeting of Oct. 23, 2023 may hold a record as it lasted less than five minutes total. I found it ironic the way the other two port commissioners and Port Manager Jay Personius failed to include Commissioner Bonnie Cozby in what was obvious previous discussions on two serious issues impacting the port — the Labor and Industries inspection and the lawsuit. Again, the meeting was held in the port’s maintenance garage instead of the meeting room intended for these meetings.

Yes, I said Labor and Industries and not the Department of Ecology. As a result of an individual concerned about the port’s boat hoist, L&I inspected the hoist about which in a previous meeting Personius reported all was well and went on to further say the individual didn’t know what he was talking about. But the truth be known, the boat hoist inspection did reveal a need for corrections and the port was given until Oct. 28 to correct the hazards to the public and employees.

In the Oct. 23 meeting Cozby asked for an update regarding the L&I issue. Jay said they have an engineer working on it but nothing more. Funny how he previously said all was well, going so far as degrading the concerned citizen in a public meeting, and that now has changed to hiring an engineer to resolve the issue. Perhaps the concerned citizen knew more than our port manager on the subject. Nothing changed regarding the L&I report except the report now is in the public sector and Jay now has to come out with a better tale. Is the port really having an engineer working on the solution? If so, why didn’t Jay tell Bonnie who the port hired?

Next came a question about who is going to represent the port in the lawsuit. Jay said a law firm was hired. Again, it was news to Cozby, who was hearing this for the first time and objected to not discussing this in an executive session before making the decision. Commissioner Bill Derion quickly said it was within Jay’s authority to do so. Bonnie again objected that the lawsuit called out the port and Jay, which is exactly why the commissioners should have been part of the decision process. Again, this is an example of the board perhaps failing to provide oversight. When one commissioner asks questions, she is, let’s say, “black balled.” Who is running the port could be the question?

CHUCK MIKKOLA

Klipsan Beach