Port of Peninsula Commission meetings, when they are held, have recently been in the Willapa Bay Interpretive Center near the mooring basin.

NAHCOTTA — The Port of Peninsula has scheduled a public hearing this week to adopt its 2025 fiscal year operating budget. It is unclear when or how the port conducted public workshops to formulate the budget.

A legal ad was published in the Observer on Nov. 6 informing the public that the port will be holding the meeting at 11 a.m. on Nov. 15 and that public comment will only be taken by written testimony.

The move to limit public comments once again is abnormal for public agencies in the budget process. The governing body is supposed to consider the comments when making formal decisions.

For over a year, commenting at the port’s commission meetings has been limited to written comments submitted in a makeshift drop box. What happens to the comments after they are dropped in the box is unknown.

According to state law, “the governing body of a public agency shall provide an opportunity at or before every regular meeting at which final action is taken for public comment.” The law also states that comments can be taken orally or “by providing an opportunity for written testimony to be submitted before or at the meeting.”

“If the governing body accepts written testimony, this submission must be distributed to the governing body. The governing body may set a reasonable deadline for the submission of written testimony before the meeting,” the law adds.

One commissioner has no clue what previous comments say or where they go. Commissioner Chuck Mikkola has not seen any since taking office in November 2023. He said he has not been included in budget talks or seen the proposed budget.

“Jay should be forwarding these to the board but that doesn’t occur,” Mikkola said. “In fact, Jay seldom responds to my email requests. I’ve sent him two requests for a copy of the preliminary budget but nothing back from him yet.”

Attempts to reach Jay Personius, the port’s executive director, and commissioners Phil Martin and Bill Derion are routinely unsuccessful.