Port 2 talks comp plan and community input

The Wahkiakum County Port 2 Board of Commissioners heard reports from managers at their meeting on Tuesday.

Vista Park continues to be extremely busy, according to Assistant Port Manager Terina Davis.

The ice machine they installed earlier this year is proving to be a good investment. Last year, the port had to buy their ice, and would sometimes have to wait for it or run out. They earned a little less than $1,900 on the product at the park.

Port staff speculated that it would take four or five years to break even on the new machine, including the plumbing and all the expenses involved, but they’ve already made $2,000 seven months into this year, a third of the total costs.

Staff is still cleaning up logs and weed eating at Svensen Park on Puget Island. One new sign about loading and unloading has been mounted and another will go up soon.

Port Manager Sam Shogren said a special meeting was held with Washington State Senator Jeff Wilson and Chris Herman, the deputy director for the Washington Public Ports Association.

According to Shogren, Wilson encouraged them to move forward with a direct appeal for state funded capital improvement monies for the conversion of the church in Skamokawa to Appelo Annex and to reimburse the county for the money they lent to the port.

Shogren said they talked about a lot of different things at the meeting, including replacing aging infrastructure at Vista Park, and looking at other economic development opportunities.

Wilson also encouraged the port to update their comprehensive plan, Shogren said. He asked the commissioners to consider what they want for the port and what constituents have been asking for.

It has been 17 years since the port conducted a survey asking for community input on Port 2, Shogren added. He suggested holding listening sessions for community feedback, so they can say they’ve had those conversations when they go to the legislature in January.