Meeting Minutes

President John Brewer called the meeting to order at 7:32am.  Andrew May led the flag salute.  Guests were Cindy Kelly, Linda May, and Cheryl Bauman.  President John introduced Jon Muellner as a possible new member.  Kaj moved and Andrew seconded his membership.  Motion carried. Jon was then given a membership certificate.

Jack G. moved and Andrew M. seconded acceptance of minutes. Motion carried.

Announcements:

Nathan West said city would have a station at the Saturday Market so people could stop by with any questions and comments on the Comprehensive Plan.  Meetings are scheduled for the 9th and 10th followed by a Commissioner Planning Session on the 11th.  Plans are being made to go to Senior housing facilities and several schools.

Jack G. reported on a meeting that several PABA members attended with the Department of Ecology about the PA Harbor Cleanup.  Questions still remain on whether stormwater will go into the harbor or through the CSO.

George B. reported a good turnout for the Waterfront Open House.  Visitors were very impressed with the Platypus facility.

John B. reminded members they could still purchase tickets to the Howard Behar talk scheduled for Friday, May 13 at the Vern Burton from 10am – noon.

Program

Andrew, in introducing speaker State Representative Steve Tharinger, reminded us as to how fortunate we are to live in a country that is able to elect its representatives.  Steve started out by praising retiring Jim Hargrove and saying he is one of the most respected people in Olympia.

Steve, as Chair of the Capital Budget Committee, says he feels fortunate to have attained that status and it might have played a role in getting $2.2 million for the PA Landfill Project.

He is very excited about cross laminate timber and how it might help this area with more jobs, use of forest trimmings, and inexpensive buildings such as classrooms.  Sequim will be one of the test sites for CLT.  CLT saves carbon, is cheap and fast and cuts down on carbon.

Education, especially funding of K-12 is another challenging area.  He said levy equalization is important since the most important thing we can do is invest in basic education.

Healthcare issues such as more flexibility in the bidding process, release of patients and reimbursement rates of critical access hospitals is very important.

School Construction demands a closer look at square foot costs.  Is it $90 per square foot, as the state claims, or is it closer to reality with $250 per square foot?

Q & A Period

Budget, homeless, prisoners and education, tax revenue, property tax and carbon tax.

Andrew moved and Kaj seconded extending the meeting for 15 minutes. Motion carried.

Landfill, state income tax, timber arrearage, DNR, thinning, Wild Olympics.

Speaker – May 10:  Deborah Martin from the League of Women Voters talking about the Presidential Primary.

Meeting adjourned at 8:46am.