Commissioners OK Chamber contract

Wahkiakum County commissioners approved a contract with Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce and handled other business at their meeting Tuesday.

The contract calls for the Chamber to provide a variety of services ranging from putting on community festivals and marketing county tourist sites to assisting and encouraging county businesses.

Chamber Executive Director Shannon Gildea presented a report of her activities in her first year in office. She said she had provided information and guidance for new and existing business; she has acted as an information hub and communication facilitator through the Chamber's Visitor's Center; she has participated in a variety of marketing efforts; she has participated a variety of events; she has organized community events, and she has prepared a calendar of events for 2016.

The county will pay $20,000 from sales and use tax revenue, and it will fund up to 90 percent of the 2016 revenue accrued in the county Tourism Development Fund.

Commissioners acknowledged long-time member David Vik's withdrawal from the county planning commission. Commissioners appointed Bob Ward, another Puget Island resident, to fill the position.

The planning commission continues to have a vacancy for District 3, representing western Wahkiakum County.

During public comment, Westend resident Lori Scott noted that voters overwhelmingly supported adoption of an ordinance governing junk and solid waste on private property and visible from a public right-of-way. Scott, who served on the committee which developed the ordinance, urged the board to proceed with the ordinance.