Three Candidates for Harbor-Works Vacancy

The Port of Port Angeles has selected three finalists for the position vacated by Bart Irwin when he resigned from Harbor-Works in December.

Grant Munro, Harry Bell, and Kaj Ahlburg have been invited to give a short presentation at the next Port of Port Angeles meeting on January 25th.

Port Commissioner John Calhoun said: “It isn't an interview per se. We just want to hear why they want to be on the board.”

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.