City Council Candidates Discuss Rayonier
Four Port Angeles City Council candidates discussed the Rayonier property yesterday at a Rotary Club meeting. The candidates were:
Brooke Nelson and Deputy Mayor Betsy Wharton (incumbent) — Position 4; and Patrick Downie and Harry Bell — Position 3. They’re both running for the seat being vacated by Karen Rogers.
Downie said the city should be a “facilitator” for returning the Rayonier site to productive use. For future use of the property, he said he foresees a tribal cultural center and the restoration of Ennis Creek.
Bell said the city should “make hurdles into stepping stones” and keep the site on track for future development. He said redevelopment needs to happen soon but he didn’t specify what he’d like to see there.
Wharton said the city — through Harbor-Works — should hold Rayonier’s and Ecology’s “feet to the fire” to get the site cleaned up. She said she’d like to see a tribal cultural center and a biomass operation on the property.
Nelson said she supports Harbor-Works and said “time is of the essence” for getting the Rayonier site redeveloped. She said a market analysis of the land — funded by Harbor-Works — should determine the future use of the site.
Brooke Nelson and Deputy Mayor Betsy Wharton (incumbent) — Position 4; and Patrick Downie and Harry Bell — Position 3. They’re both running for the seat being vacated by Karen Rogers.
Downie said the city should be a “facilitator” for returning the Rayonier site to productive use. For future use of the property, he said he foresees a tribal cultural center and the restoration of Ennis Creek.
Bell said the city should “make hurdles into stepping stones” and keep the site on track for future development. He said redevelopment needs to happen soon but he didn’t specify what he’d like to see there.
Wharton said the city — through Harbor-Works — should hold Rayonier’s and Ecology’s “feet to the fire” to get the site cleaned up. She said she’d like to see a tribal cultural center and a biomass operation on the property.
Nelson said she supports Harbor-Works and said “time is of the essence” for getting the Rayonier site redeveloped. She said a market analysis of the land — funded by Harbor-Works — should determine the future use of the site.
Labels: Betsy Wharton, Brooke Nelson, Harbor-Works, Harry Bell, Patrick Downie, Rayonier, Rotary Club city council candidates
posted by Tom Harper at 11:45 AM
11 Comments:
How many folks with jobs in real estate are involved in this council race now?
Brook Nelson is partners with Dan Gase in Uptown Realty. I'm sure SHE has an objective point of view about the Rayonier redevelopment scams.
Harry Bell is with Green Crow, a regular applicant before the City and County Planning Commission.
Patrick Downie is a former city Planning Chair.
Betsy Whartons' husband bought the former city building downtown, and is turning it into some kind of medical facility.
What a joke.
This has been going on for some time, I was in the business association for a few years about eight or nine years ago and a Rayonier rep talked to us.
To make a long story short, I think they would love to dump it on you so they don't get stuck with the tab.
And I think that it's safe to say, that they will get away with it.
Well, a biomass operation is at least more realistic than condos and shopping centers. Call me crazy, but I don't think a shopping or business center would want to be in the same valley as a sewage treatment plant. Biomass would also be more of a guarantee of jobs, quicker than more empty storefronts.
Tribal Center FTW! Seems logical, except, again, tourist destination, meet waste treatment facility.
I just hope Harborworks doesn't bankrupt the city and the port while it's getting this thing fixed up.
In defense of Betsy's husband, the medical clinic he works for bought the old city light building and is renovating it so they can combine and expand their current facilities. I don't think there's anything necessarily shady about that. Not to say there isn't plenty of other shady business going on here. I did not know that about Bell and Nelson. Hmmm.
I think it is just CRAZY, besides showing incredibly bad judgement, to try and push the development of that site during this economic downturn! Like promoting a luxury car dealership in a community that has low incomes. Oh, that's right, HarborWorks is promoting just that, too! (look at their docs).
That property has been available for purchase though all the recent years of the big real estate deals. You know, the times when speculators were investing in all kinds of questionable properties and development proposals that created the current economic problems? But GeeWhiz, no one thought the Rayonier site was worth the gamble, even during THOSE times.
But the city sees NOW as the right time spend the big money to do a market analysis. Kinda like going for a pre-employment health exam after major stroke!
These folks are REALLY clever!
Speaking of the old city light building, I hope that what we are seeing at this time isn't the color scheme. That would be a good way to mess up a nice building.
I like to see old buildings saved instead of tearing them down and building new.
Down with Betsy Wharton!
"Down with Betsy Wharton!"
Well, I would think the folks that like Karen Rogers, Edna Petersen and the rest of that crew would just LOVE Betsy. She votes with them almost every time, despite all the pretty sounding words.
Loved the article in the PDN today about the unions saying they would not give up their cost of living increases, as the city asked them to do. City's response?
" City Manager Kent Myers said the city will make the same request again, if the state of city finances will require layoffs next year." ?!?!?
"... if the state of city finances will require ..."
Don't they know??
Then, the city really didn't need the unions to give up parts of their previously agreed to compensation packages? Remember all the dire talk a few weeks ago, that accompanied the city's request?
They asked for their employees to take cuts in their pay, but don't really KNOW if they really need to? If not this year, maybe next year?
What a way to run a company. Just tell the public what you think they will believe to get them to do what you want. Sound familiar?
I went to the debate. Although I know very little of Brook Nelson I thought she sounded smart and well informed. I think she understands that in order to be effective you have to put what is best for the city and her people - and consider their desires - over partisanship. How refreshing.
Patrick Downie seemed nice. Maybe too nice. Harry Bell seemed more pragmatic.
I just went to Uptown's site. I do not see that Nelson is a partner. I am not sure how it would matter as far as Rayonier is concerned.
A final note - I met Edna Peterson at the fair and had a chance to talk briefly with her. I think she is misunderstood. Maybe she is stubborn as some say, but maybe the flip side is that she is decisive. I like that she has some skin in the game with having a biz here in town.
Clean up of the Rayonier site should be number one on the candidates list. BUT, anyone of them that says it should redeveloped into something other then a park or something of that sort is running for there own motives. When we have a down town that is falling to the wayside, (ya the paint the town thing is a joke) Why would anyone who cares about the city of P.A. want to move buisness down there and out of the way, with bad access. City council members need to start making the choice of for the people, not them selfs.
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