Bonds resigns from Port 1 commission

Commissioner Larry Bonds announced that he would be giving up his position at the end of the Port 1 Board of Commissioners meeting on Thursday last week.

“I just want to let everyone know that I’m resigning,” Bonds said. “I’ve got other things I want to do. When I’m down south I feel completely out of touch and I think it’s important that someone keeps a hand in it. I think there is a lot more responsibility than there was five, six years ago. I’ve put in my time though I’ll kind of miss it in a way.”

Shannon Gildea, as the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce Director had been asked to brainstorm ideas for a vendor fair in her contract with the port. She shared plans for a Harvest Vendor Fair that would take place the last weekend in September.

“You guys have a great facility here,” Gildea said. “I think it would be a great way to have people down here to walk around and enjoy the premises. We could have an apple press and an open mic and an activity with pumpkins so we would have a way to draw people in and not just have vendors at tables looking at each other.”

“Sounds like fun,” Bonds said.

John Koehler, who has plans for a vodka distillery, reiterated his interest in eventually making the port his home. He wanted to move forward in ascertaining whether the site was serviceable for his needs.

The commissioners were more concerned that he had yet to produce a product or a proven record of sales. They were also concerned about his request for an 11,000 square foot structure.

“You’re asking for a pretty elaborate building,” Commissioner Gary Quigley said. “It would be expensive to build due to the design, and the design might limit its use. If something happened with your situation, what would we do with the building?”

Despite an initial misunderstanding, the two parties agreed to keep the lines of communication open in order to establish whether the distillery and the port would ultimately be a good fit.

In other business, the commissioners authorized Port Manager Jackie Lea to acquire bids for D dock as the fingers need to be replaced. They also approved travel which will allow Lea to attend two insurance meetings later in the year. The meetings are required in order to retain staff insurance coverage.

The next Port 1 meeting is scheduled for August 8 at 5 p.m.