— from Tony Simpson, Port of Orcas Manager —
The Port’s Regular meeting will be Thursday, August 9th at 6PM at the Fire Station at 45 Lavender Lane.
I will send a draft agenda by close of business tomorrow morning to incorporate elements below.
1. There will be a public comment period. The time allotted for Public Comment will be limited to 10 minutes total.
2. This is a Regular meeting and the Agenda will not include a New or Old Business item to discuss the Master Plan.
3. There will be an executive (closed) session to discuss the performance of a public employee (the Airport Manager, Anthony G. Simpson) and issues related thereto.
I appreciate that the Port commissioners heard the many people who spoke out about the meeting time being incompatible with workers’ schedules, and that they moved the regular port meeting to 6 pm for those who work.
If there is going to be no discussion of the port master plan, a posted agenda might give people other incentives to come to this and more port meetings; especially given how the public feels about the master plan update and the potential expansion plans included within that almost no one knew about.
Have the Port commissioners considered, or will they consider, having another special meeting for all those people turned out the door of the special meeting, and to allow the people who signed up on the list to speak (as well as those turned away) and never given the chance so speak? – OR- barring holding another special meeting, will the Port commissioners consider extending the Public comment period to DOWL to September, and consider all comments all along the way in this process as important and influential to the Port’s decision on the preferred plan?
I think these questions are foremost on our minds; especially as we wonder if, or how, our comments will be used.
I don’t see why the Port can’t post the meeting dates and agendas and public access time slot in the papers; what kind effort would that take – 5 minutes, maybe?
Point of inquiry — so when will the Port commissioners decide (in a formal meeting I suppose) which alternative(s) to present to the public in September?
Thank you to Tony Simpson and the Port Commissioners for moving their regular meeting time to accommodate more people, and also for publicly inviting interested citizens to attend. I appreciate your responsiveness to recent requests and your ongoing efforts to be increasingly transparent and inclusive.
Thanks, also, for providing an idea of what to expect at the meeting in terms of public comment, and what portions of the meeting will be open for observation.
Finally, thanks for sharing this information on Orcas Issues, which is an important and popular community forum.