The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON – The Columbia Port Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m., October 11, 2023, in the Port Office. Commissioners present were Genie Crowe, Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, and the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson. 

After dealing with some routine administrative items, the Commissioners began discussing the 2024 Budget, starting with the Executive Director’s salary. Crowe said Dickenson deserved a fifteen percent salary increase due to her role in committee meetings, numerous projects, and the management of the Blue Mountain Station (BMS) and the industrial park.

Watts said, “I agree. She does a lot of work, wears a lot of hats, does a good job for us getting prepared for what we need to take a look at. She does a lot of the dirty work that we just sit here and look pretty for.”

Bryan responded, “Yes, I certainly agree that she definitely does a lot.” He continued, “That said, we are the second smallest county in the State, and we don’t have a very large budget; it’s kinda inflated right now because of a massive broadband project. You know, I get that that still takes work, but I don’t know that we can really afford a fifteen percent increase at this time. I would be amenable to the five to seven percent cost of living increase, but beyond that, I think we should pretty much stay where we’re at, in my opinion.”

Crowe moved for a fifteen percent salary increase. The motion was not seconded, and it did not pass.

Bryan asked Watts if he had an alternative he would like to propose.

Watts said he struggled with the fifteen percent and confirmed that the rest of the staff got a seven percent COLA. He said not approving the fifteen percent increase had no bearing on whether Dickenson was worth it.

Crowe pointed out that the fifteen percent increase would be about $11,000 out of an excess of $200,000 the Port holds.

Bryan asked for another motion. Crowe moved for a ten percent increase, which Watts seconded.

Bryan and Watts said that since a new Economic Development Coordinator had been hired, Dickinson should have less to do. Apparently, by their logic, the more staff an administrator has working for them, the less that administrator should be paid. When the motion came to a vote, the ten percent salary increase passed by two to one, with Bryan casting the dissenting vote.

The discussion topic moved on to funding Lyon’s Ferry Marina. KOA, the marketing company for Lyon’s Ferry, requires a specific number of pull-through sites at the campground to maintain their national standards. Dickinson estimated the project might cost about $100,000 and penciled that amount into the proposed budget. After an engineering firm studied the matter, they returned with an estimated 1.2 million dollars to complete the project.

Bryan said, “That’s a 1,200 percent increase in what we had previously anticipated, and that is an incredible amount of money just to put a KOA sign out in front. I struggle accepting that.”

Funding sources for the project have not been determined but will probably include grants, port funding, and funds coming from the campground owners.

Bryan continued, “I definitely have some reservations about spending 1.2 million dollars for some pull-through sites specifically when there’s so many things on the property that need structural attention: the boat ramp, the breakwater, the docks, and this kind of feels like doing the pull-throughs is almost putting lipstick on before we even build the thing and take care of what needs to be taken care of. You know, things that are rotting from the inside out. So, we’ll get into that as we go further in the discussion of that project, but for now, I think the capital facilities plan is finance written.”

Dickinson interjected, “What do you think is rotting from the inside out?”

Bryan, “Well, it’s just the structure, you know, the structure...”

Dickinson, “What structure?”

Bryan, “All of it. The boat ramp is falling apart, the breakwater is falling apart, the bulkhead is falling apart, you know. There’s a lot of things on here and in the actual, you know.”

Dickinson responded, “We have a conditions list of all those items, and I would say they’re in fair condition, not rotting. I mean, they are not bottom of the list. But the pull-through sites will generate a lot of revenue, which could generate enough revenue to make improvements.”

Dickinson suggested bringing the business owner in to have a discussion. She asked why Bryan and Watt’s opinions of the condition at Lyon’s Ferry had crumbled since the meeting there a few months ago. Watts said he had researched it and mulled it over since then. Dickinson asked Watts, “What did you find out in your research that has caused you to...”

Watts said, “Still researching.”

Bryan, “What I found out is there’s a lot of other projects that really need attention, and this is putting bells and whistles and lipstick on it when we have certain parts of that facility that are rotting, you know, the bulkhead, especially, the boat ramp, the breakwater, these are all things that are going to need attention, if we keep pushing them down the road, one of these times it’s gonna be yeah, the breakwater just sank or crumbled.”

Dickinson, “It’s not ready to sink; we have it maintained.”

The commissioners decided to postpone further discussion on the pull-through sites.

A time for a public hearing on the proposed Capital Facilities Plan was set for November 8, 2023, at 5:10 p.m. during the next regular commissioner meeting.

Next, the Commissioners discussed housing development by the Port. The consensus was that the Port might provide the land and utilities for commercial developers to build housing. The Port property most suitable would be the undeveloped land near Blue Mountain Station. Dickinson said the best way to make that possible would be to seek annexation by the City of Dayton.

Commissioner Bryan and Watts expressed support for selling the railroad and associated right-of-way.

There was concern by the Commissioners that the Table Rock Meat processing facility had not shown enough progress, although they still supported the project.

Dickinson said one hundred percent of addresses in Dayton have been released for hookup by the ISP for broadband.

During the final public comment period, Dave Harvey, owner of Red Band Cellars and Port tenant, said, “I would heartily encourage you to reconsider Jenny’s salary. She is woefully underpaid. My assistant makes more money than she does. She’s 29 and, has a community college degree, watches the place for me when I’m not there. You need to make an investment in your people. Jenny is a huge asset. The kind of raise you are talking about fits in the budget. I would heartily advise you to reconsider that.”

Mike Spring, candidate for Port Commissioner, said he was concerned over the loss of grant opportunities should the line be privatized. Members of the public discussed the possible sale of the rail line and what that might mean for procuring funds to maintain and improve the rail line.

The meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m., November 8, 2023.