Port 1 will adjust commissioner districts

The Wahkiakum County Port 1 Board of Commissioners met last Thursday to talk about redistricting, shower issues, and a potential new business at the marina.

On the matter of redistricting, Counsel Tim Hanigan explained a proposed plan that would shift some of the boundaries between the port’s Commissioner 1 district and the Commissioner 2 district to make their share of the population more equal. Currently, District 1 represents 26 percent of Port 1’s population, District 2 represents 42 percent of the port’s population, and District 3 represents 32 percent of the port’s population. The proposed change would add a portion of the community south of SR 4, east of Jacobson Road, and north of Columbia Street that currently belongs to District 2 to District 1, giving all three districts a more equitable share of the population for representation.

The meeting moved into a public hearing for public comment. There was none, and the commissioners seemed amenable to the solution. A resolution on the matter will be drawn up for the next meeting.

Vandalism and theft to the shower coin boxes at the marina has the port rethinking how to charge people for shower use at the marina. After some discussion, commissioners agreed that setting up a rate for use would be left to the port manager’s discretion.

The commissioners also talked about where to locate a potential business involving a float plane hangar and sightseeing tours at the marina, as well as other logistical issues regarding the matter.

Maintenance Manager Todd Souvenir said that the port had been awarded an $8,000 grant from the Accessible Community Advisory Committee. The monies will go toward a project to improve pathways at County Line Park. That, along with an earlier Marine Resources Committee grant of $12,737 will improve about 400 feet of the pathway, Souvenir said.