Port commission switch comes sooner than expected

Published 10:36 am Monday, December 4, 2023

NAHCOTTA — Port Commissioner Bonnie Lou Cozby was surprised last week to find that her port email account was inaccessible after her appointed term on the Port of Peninsula board ended sooner than she had expected.

The port has often been in the news this year, with Cozby saying she has been shut out of discussions and decisions made by port manager Jay Personius and the two elected commissioners. Controversies include a long delay in obtaining a boatyard permit, failure since June 17 to fulfill Chinook Observer requests for public records, and a lawsuit from one of the port’s largest tenants, Pacific Seafood.

Friction between Cozby and other port leaders initially caused her to be concerned the email issue was the latest form of retaliation for dissenting in port matters. The port had scheduled a meeting for Nov. 30, but it was canceled like many others this year so she had no immediate answers.

“Well, it appears I am released from my role of commissioner at the Port of Peninsula,” Cozby stated. “I did not receive notice of this from the port but became suspicious when today, also without notice, my port email account was closed.”

Election law

In response to an Observer email inquiry about the situation, Personius stated he learned on Nov. 30 that once November’s general election results were certified on Nov. 28, Cozby’s term ended.

“Upon learning that news, state law dictates that the Port of Peninsula must discontinue her access to all Port accounts. Apparently, it has to do with the election being designated on the ballot as being for both the ‘short and full term,’” Personius added. He said Cozby herself should have known about her term end date.

Cozby opted not to seek election this year and instead let someone else take the helm of striving for transparency at the port. Chuck Mikkola won the election on Nov. 7 vs. Keli Lucero, winning with 56.2% of the vote.

“There is an RCW [state law] for my circumstance,” Cozby said after some research. “I was appointed to finish someone’s term. Per the RCW, I am out once the election has been certified and the new commissioner is to come in.”

“If I had been elected, I would be in office until Dec. 31, midnight. I have not received notice from the port, nor was I advised that Jay would close access to my port email, which is what appears to have happened this morning,” Cozby added. In a letter in today’s edition, Cozby explains she is concerned that her emails pertaining to the port’s issues are currently inaccessible, and that she intends to continue pursuing answers.

Paychecks

The commissioner switch-up issue and canceling of November commission meetings created doubt about whether the port would to be able to pay employees around Dec. 1 since it wasn’t able to process warrants — the official way of authorizing payments.

“We do not pay on the first [of the month], and checks are issued under authority delegated by the board, so paychecks were never in jeopardy,” Personius said in a Dec. 4 email. “Like other port managers and even county administrators, the port’s board has delegated authority to their administrator, which allows for the lawful processing of warrants up to the limit of their authority.”

The port held a beyond-last-minute meeting on Dec. 1 to process the November warrants. Pacific County Treasurer Renee Goodin attended the meeting and made the board aware that payments could only be dispersed after the port board first processes and approves warrants.

“This falls completely on the shoulders of the port manager,” Cozby said. “Despite having been warned about proper warrant approval this summer, he has fallen back into poor habits. I cannot say this any clearer.”

Changes

Mikkola, who has served as an informal port watchdog this year, was sworn in on Dec. 4 during a commissioner meeting held at the port’s oystering interpretive center. The vast majority of meetings held in 2023 were either held outside or inside a bay at the port.

“We have had this space since 1993 but only recently had the time to rearrange the interpretive center’s space to make it work for public meetings,” Personius said. “Today’s meeting was slated to be held at the port’s interpretive center no matter who was representing commission district No. 2.”

“This space will allow us to hold very robust planning sessions and community meetings. This move and the publication of meeting notices on the port’s Facebook page [www.facebook.com/portofpeninsula] represent the pro-public involvement philosophy that is visible from our festival venue, to allow recreational fishing and crabbing from our docks to our visibility in our community,” he added.

The Facebook page, which appears to have been created Nov. 26, had five “likes” and 10 followers as of Dec. 5.