— by Minor Lile, Orcas Issues reporter —
It was a lesson in the rules governing public meeting laws in the State of Washington, as the ‘emergency’ Port Commission meeting that had been scheduled for 2:30 Monday afternoon, January 27, was adjourned shortly after being called to order.
A few minutes after the meeting began, former Port manager Tony Simpson pointed out that according to the Revised Code of Washington section on public meetings (RCW 42.30.070), the definition of emergency is confined to ‘fire, flood, earthquake, or other emergency’. And that the stated purpose of this meeting, ‘to discuss short term solutions to airport management,’ following last Friday’s resignation of acting airport manager Dwight Guss probably did not meet the emergency criteria.
Non-emergency meetings outside of the regular meeting time are termed ‘special meetings’. The RCW requires that special meetings have a printed agenda and that public notification be provided a minimum of 24 hours prior to the meeting. Given that there was no printed agenda and insufficient notice, the Commission chose to adjourn and reschedule the meeting for a later date. Stay tuned…
Thank you, Minor, for this succinct explanation of what happened today.
What a quagmire.
The irony, given the notices from the old Commission.
In my mind, with the many individuals who knew about these RCWs and could have helped the new commissioners get up to speed with proper protocol, I feel disheartened that in the spirit of helping the whole collective and citizenry represented, this was not done.
I’m disappointed that more teamwork is not happening – yet – but I’m confident it will be, and I believe firmly that it is up to we-the-citizens to keep stating our clear desire that the more experienced help the newbys get up to speed on some very complex issues that need to be learned fast.
One thing that does everyone good is to be good winners and good losers. We’re either all one, or we’re nothing. What a great learning experience it will be as we all go along; I learned last night what an emergency meeting is and what it is not. Who says Port meetings are dull?
Come tonight at 5 and see learning in action!
Addendum: I would like to thank Tony Simpson for educating us and also for volunteering to put up the agenda for tonight (28th’s) meeting.