It would be totally unbelievable if we hadn't gained insight into the county's current philosophy regarding county business. Thanks for reading, Deborah... I miss you on ND and am so glad to see you here.
Jeff, In case you are texting to me, I have been here all along. Sent you a message and just had to refollow you here. You are on ND full on. I think it was Leo who told me. I asked you on there if you were out of ND jail but didn’t know if you received it. Funny the “discipline” I was punished with was for a repost of yours that is now back up. Then I deleted the post ND was punishing me for and they said my appeal was denied. Let me know if you can access your account over there.
Excellent history of local corruption and incompetence. There is a saying, "People deserve the leaders they elect". Much of this incompetence is hidden from the public. This report is a step in the right direction toward educating the public, but alas, they are glued to their cellphones and will feel "TLDR" (too long didn't read) when it comes to the report. A successful campaign against the incompetence and partisanship would require succinct bullet-points, sign waving at intersections, billboards, and competent alternative candidates, before voting them out or even recalling them would be possible.
I feel the pain of all those affected, particularly the ever-delayed Towne Road completion. Remember, too, that the Tribe donates heavily against the project's completion. It is, indeed, painful and disheartening to see partisanship and corruption playing out in our communities, but until voters wise up and elect candidates with competence and integrity, nothing will change....except our taxes going up.
N.O.I., I continue to like your writing style more gooder than my own. If you start a partner website, I will eagerly give you 50% of what I make off this website.
We need to reclaim our government, including local and national. It isn't going to be easy but we are being 'californicated' big time. They can intimidate and pick us off one by one but when enough of us step up and foreward anything is possible. A board of ethics is CRUCIAL for all concerned...even the best of us could be tempted to misuse or abuse power so accountability is CRUCIAL. We are at a crossroads and things are only going to get more out of balance and more draconian if WE don't do what's necessary now to change the course. Establishing an ethics board is certainly doable. There is nothing to invent...we only need to apply ancient wisdom. Blessings to all who want true and honest accountable governance. Rob James
I think you are right about ethics; it is really holding this county back -- without an ethics board, our county leaders don't seem to be interested in voluntarily behaving ethically.
Btw.... Great summary article. I've only been here 18 years...my husband longer.... wrenches my gut.
I lost property in the Florida Keys with local governance problems and ignorance.... You know the Declaration of Independence the 2nd para it tells of what you can do when a government fails the people..... just sayin....
The reason for making the DCD an elected position versus appointed was to give the public, the voters, a say in how the county would handle the development and usage of it's land. I absolutely do not want these current commissioners to have any more power than they already do. I favor an elected DCD. At least with an elected official (and Emery was the lessor of two evils in 2022 when he was elected) we can vote him out next time and let him know we voters do not like how he conducts business. And exposing his answering to special interests and lack of ability in doing his job is a good start. Does anyone really think these three commissioners would ever fire him? Not likely.
Clallam County is one of only seven in the state run by Home Rule Charter. There's an election this year for 15 one-year positions to the Home Rule Charter Commission. If we can get enough people elected to these positions (5 per district) we can change how these elected officials operate. We can make transparency and accountability mandatory.
That's a tough one. Sometimes qualifications are cast aside, because someone is more electable. What if we elected heads of all county departments? I admire Joe Donisi (Roads Department) -- if given the green light, he will build a road. He isn't likely to be influenced by special interests when building a road. He is qualified, and he certainly has to keep on good term with the Commissioners, but he doesn't cast aside policies and procedures to do it. I think the common thread here is the "elected" part of the DCD. When Emery spouts misinformation, or doles out "selective" data, I can't help but wonder if his primary job is campaigning for his next term, or if it's fulfilling the role of the DCD. I think a lack of any ethics for elected officials is a huge obstacle too. I beleive that appointed county employees are subject to the code of ethics, but elected ones aren't (not sure on that... does anybody know?).
Having dealt with both appointed and elected DCD Directors, I couldn't agree more with this statement!!! Having spent many hours in the last "appointed" director's office discussing land issues, he made it abundantly clear that he served at the will of Commissioner Tharinger who at the time IMO was using the DCD push his personal agenda.
I won't beat around the bush, Tharinger is as corrupt as they come. Let's not forget, Trump fought to take down the Deep State, AKA, the Administrative State: FDA, CDC, FBI, NHI, etc., etc. No matter your feelings about Trump, he correctly recognized that these unelected, appointed officials are the ones running (ruining) our country and tried to put an end to it. If these county commissioners had appointed Emory, it would be worse for us. For one, we wouldn't be able to say anything bad about him without the risk of a lawsuit. Elected officials have no such protection.
Gayle, it is always astounding to me how many people seemingly love having power over others. Many people are recognizing how it is the little power hungry grubby fingers interpreting the laws and writing the rules to carry out the laws, as you point out Trump started working on in the Federal level.
Once again, we are in agreement. It is my understanding that when the County Charter was amended to make this a non-partisan position, that the BOC at the time failed to amend County Code and subsequent BOC's have been kicking the can down the road ever since. Thus, hamstringing the Director, and making this elected position unpopular in order to return it to an appointed position. Current polling shows this could happen with this next Charter Review Board. Can you shed any light on this???
Thanks! Shots fired? Identify the shooter with strategically-placed cameras and send the SOB to prison. Or shoot back. :-)
The opposition is misguided. He could have been forced to contribute to repaving the road if the trucks damaged it. It's a dry mine, so no "effluent or tailings" would get into the waterways, and it was only to be a 5-year project.
Agreed. A commenter over on the "Picture worth 5,030 words" article actually said they were opposed to "nimby mentality" but also opposed the Happy Valley gravel pit. I'm fascinated at how quickly people abandon their ideals when it comes to their neighborhood.
The Sequim Gazette and PDN are both owned by Sound Publishing (did I read where that is getting absorbed by Black Press Media and facing financial uncertainty?) I have begged and plead with both papers to cover these issues and have gotten very little traction. It's a shame, I think the opportunity is there to sell some subscriptions if they were willing to cover both sides of the issues.
Appointed county officials have a "Conduct and Work Rules" document they are supposed to follow. It's been my observation that no one enforces these rules even when blatantly ignored. I still say if we can vote them out we have a better chance of holding them accountable. And again, less chance of going to jail for doing so. You better have an air tight case if you go after someone appointed.
I like what you started, Jeff. Getting so much information about our elected and unelected officials out to the public. Others who comment on your posts also add on to the info. Gayle mentioned a Home Rule Charter Commission that I did not know existed. My curiosity is on fire. Keep it up, Jeff. We need you. Thank you, thank you.
If I could just hook up some wires to Gayle and download all that knowledge, I'd be better off, Denise. See you at the courthouse (hope we are on the same side of the bars).
What we've got here is a commission full of graft! I was being facetious with my husband the other day and said "Well here we are in the sleepy little town of Sequim the see nothing do nothing people"
Wait till people realize they won't get their selling price for their million dollar homes.....theirs you sign.
Concerning the Happy Valley Mine permit, you left out a lot of pertinent information. The mine was on 4.7 acres, in an established rural residential neighborhood. The roads are winding and narrow with traffic difficulties to get from Happy Valley Road to Highway 101. There is also Johnson Creek that flows through the mine site. The access to the basalt layer is under a lot of overburden. Clallam Counties existing mine currently have a 70 year supply. This mine is within a few miles of the River Road mine. It isn’t needed and the Kirner family own several existing active mines within the County.
The Towne Road fiasco was created by breaching the levee by a major donor of County Commissioner. Now the County is saddled with the responsibility to finish when the blame should be on the party that breached the levee.
I don't know anything about the mine but what I read here about getting the green light, then being threatened. Threatened how? With physical harm? Lawsuits? WHY? Would the noise be excessive? Would the transport be problematic? Why did it get the green light if the project were problematic? Something isn't adding up.
If you google "Sequim Gazette Happy Valley Gravel Pit" it touches on the threats that were made against the family and states that the hearing examiner wouldn't have approved the permit anyway because it was within 600 feet of a home (guess who lives 600 feet away and has a gravel driveway).
It would have been interesting to see this go to the Hearing Examiner. While I find Ozias's involve as a commissioner troubling, I do believe he was within his rights as a citizen and neighboring landowner. I would have taken issue with DCD's approval also. I have 2 DNR hard rock pits within a mile of my location. Once or twice a year when they do blasting the water in my 350' deep well is undrinkable for weeks and needs to be filtered. I can't imagine weekly blasting. The H.E.'s decision is quasi- judicial and carries the wait of law. I would think the H.E. decision would be based on whether or not DCD did its job. If its being suggested Somebody's got a Judge in his pocket, I think we're going to need a little more proof.
Ozias is corrupt. He may be within his rights as a citizen and neighbor but he has history of insider decision making without due public process. We need to remove all sitting 'authorities' and oversee new ones with ethical accountability. Or just use ethics to hold these people accountable...but they Will resist! Nature of the beast.
Well, I guess we will never know, and I don't think he ever got a chance to stop the other one either. Application withdrawn. The most I think you have on him here is preparing personal documents on county time and use of county equipment to transmit those documents.
Leo, totally get that actions like rock mining affect more than just the immediate area of activity. These rock pits or mines were remote 30-40-50 or more years ago and were unlikely to seriously affect neighbors but as human population has doubled in the last 75 or so years the knock-on effects of all our collective activity has become apparent. I'm sorry you have to endure poor water quality because of the mining activity...imagine what fracking has done to the whole crust of the planet...it's the same scenario over vast areas of Earth. There are documentaries about the horrors of fracking...and yet we want to have access to 'affordable' sources of energy to live our lives and have our conveniences and our material comforts...we definitely are living in a paradox! When you commented about giving benefit of doubt about DCD and H.E.'s potential involvement, I just responded (as cynical as I am) about the 'nature of the beast' to look out for it's own best interests and overlook the bigger picture. Perhaps the bigger picture IS that humanity is going to have to 'scale back' its consuming presence in order for us to live in equilibrium here on Earth. The one thing that IS certain is that cycles beyond our understanding are playing out...say la vie. Robert
The project has been presented to the public for at least thirteen years with Towne Road relocated on top of the levy and walking trails in the reclaimed floodplains.
In an ideal world, code enforcement cases should never make it to the HE. They should be resolved most of the time on the spot. Most cases people don’t even know they are doing something against code.
Just stumbled across and feeling similar its nice to hear it's not just me being crazy lol
The sheer amount of infighting, ethics issues, and incompetence is staggering. Every day on the PDNs Facebook page I get a front row seat as people comment. I seriously don't think people have a grasp on how to grow the county. Or in fact have an unwillingness to do so. It CAN grow and move but the mentality seems to be say one thing do another. I would say the county is caught between the older generation's mentality and fresher outlooks of our communal identity, because there is very much an identity crisis.
We need to start by seriously looking at where we have revenue coming from and what we do well.
As well as where we struggle.
Our current growth is towards real estate, elderly care, and eco-tourism. Our logging heydays are over with most old growth gone, Rayonier auctioning massive holdings, and the mill out west closed down. Our fishing is hanging on by a tooth with stocks ESA listed and unpredictable drought influenced closures as well as high fuel costs making long distance fishing trips more unappealing. Our farms, by-and-large are operating at losses even with federal funding and causing water crisis's necessitating muti-million-dollar investments.
One of the biggest expenses to our residents is housing. People NEED affordable housing because of Clallam counties position as a low earner county. Then they criticize and become hostile to housing developments or projects that impact our "rural heritage". There is such a romanticization to preserve farmland despite farmers repeatedly reporting they are operating in the red. At less than $1,600GDP per acre its frankly a waste. We lack even remedial infrastructure such as a USDA processor to get local beef on shelves. Real estate construction even on large 1 acre lots spread over 100 years nets the equivalent to $3,500 per year for 100 years as well as a passive generation of $3k/yr. This is quadruple the revenue per acre of today. Smaller lots mean 8x to 16x increases. Right now with a shortage what is left is gobbled up by people eager to rent to our market and take money out of the county. And yeah, people try half assed patch jobs like allowing more houses per lot or tiny homes, but again its a half assed patch job to avoid the rural issue as well as the quite frankly hostile zoning in place out there that strangles the density requirements we need.
This leads to the next issue: Staffing employers.
Why is it that an employer like OMC is struggling to recruit people for positions over $100,000/year? HOUSING. Everyone is looking for workers and literally no one can afford to live or buy here. This lack of people drives up wages astronomically and things like LOCUMs become stopgaps. Paying more for workers due to the housing/personnel shortage creates MASSIVE financial crisis that an employer must weather. Something a huge business can eat, but a small one cannot.
Why is it we, as a producer of sustainable lumber, are not using our local position to undercut the market to build local homes? A subsidy to use Clallam county lumber only would create demand at our mills supporting OUR jobs as well as create lower cost housing as counties got the money back through tax revenue. We might lose some money on the initial sale, but it will more than pay us back with the decades of tax revenue, the worker wages, and the local spending. Even communities like Sequim where older buyers may not be working there is an even more lucrative revenue source and that is elderly care. Today millions are bleeding out there as medical providers lack the staff or infrastructure for a large amount of care and literally tell people to take their money off the peninsula. Its lost money and let me tell you the commute and even ferry to non-local providers isn't cheap.
As far as businesses yeah, we absolutely need more ethics oversight. Something needs done as people just fight back and forth. I mean on the rumor that we could get an amazon warehouse half every was angry it was going thorough fast and, on a wetlands, and that, then the other half were made when it was delayed for an engineer to look over the wetlands. Thats not even touching on the mess that was MODs pizza and Dash Air.
It would be totally unbelievable if we hadn't gained insight into the county's current philosophy regarding county business. Thanks for reading, Deborah... I miss you on ND and am so glad to see you here.
Jeff, In case you are texting to me, I have been here all along. Sent you a message and just had to refollow you here. You are on ND full on. I think it was Leo who told me. I asked you on there if you were out of ND jail but didn’t know if you received it. Funny the “discipline” I was punished with was for a repost of yours that is now back up. Then I deleted the post ND was punishing me for and they said my appeal was denied. Let me know if you can access your account over there.
I just got out of ND purgatory and will test the waters tonight.
Excellent history of local corruption and incompetence. There is a saying, "People deserve the leaders they elect". Much of this incompetence is hidden from the public. This report is a step in the right direction toward educating the public, but alas, they are glued to their cellphones and will feel "TLDR" (too long didn't read) when it comes to the report. A successful campaign against the incompetence and partisanship would require succinct bullet-points, sign waving at intersections, billboards, and competent alternative candidates, before voting them out or even recalling them would be possible.
I feel the pain of all those affected, particularly the ever-delayed Towne Road completion. Remember, too, that the Tribe donates heavily against the project's completion. It is, indeed, painful and disheartening to see partisanship and corruption playing out in our communities, but until voters wise up and elect candidates with competence and integrity, nothing will change....except our taxes going up.
N.O.I., I continue to like your writing style more gooder than my own. If you start a partner website, I will eagerly give you 50% of what I make off this website.
😳😲😬😃😂😂😂🤪
We need to reclaim our government, including local and national. It isn't going to be easy but we are being 'californicated' big time. They can intimidate and pick us off one by one but when enough of us step up and foreward anything is possible. A board of ethics is CRUCIAL for all concerned...even the best of us could be tempted to misuse or abuse power so accountability is CRUCIAL. We are at a crossroads and things are only going to get more out of balance and more draconian if WE don't do what's necessary now to change the course. Establishing an ethics board is certainly doable. There is nothing to invent...we only need to apply ancient wisdom. Blessings to all who want true and honest accountable governance. Rob James
I think you are right about ethics; it is really holding this county back -- without an ethics board, our county leaders don't seem to be interested in voluntarily behaving ethically.
Btw.... Great summary article. I've only been here 18 years...my husband longer.... wrenches my gut.
I lost property in the Florida Keys with local governance problems and ignorance.... You know the Declaration of Independence the 2nd para it tells of what you can do when a government fails the people..... just sayin....
PLEASE let that be the paragraph that talks about staging the nude sit in on the courthouse rotunda!
The reason for making the DCD an elected position versus appointed was to give the public, the voters, a say in how the county would handle the development and usage of it's land. I absolutely do not want these current commissioners to have any more power than they already do. I favor an elected DCD. At least with an elected official (and Emery was the lessor of two evils in 2022 when he was elected) we can vote him out next time and let him know we voters do not like how he conducts business. And exposing his answering to special interests and lack of ability in doing his job is a good start. Does anyone really think these three commissioners would ever fire him? Not likely.
Clallam County is one of only seven in the state run by Home Rule Charter. There's an election this year for 15 one-year positions to the Home Rule Charter Commission. If we can get enough people elected to these positions (5 per district) we can change how these elected officials operate. We can make transparency and accountability mandatory.
That's a tough one. Sometimes qualifications are cast aside, because someone is more electable. What if we elected heads of all county departments? I admire Joe Donisi (Roads Department) -- if given the green light, he will build a road. He isn't likely to be influenced by special interests when building a road. He is qualified, and he certainly has to keep on good term with the Commissioners, but he doesn't cast aside policies and procedures to do it. I think the common thread here is the "elected" part of the DCD. When Emery spouts misinformation, or doles out "selective" data, I can't help but wonder if his primary job is campaigning for his next term, or if it's fulfilling the role of the DCD. I think a lack of any ethics for elected officials is a huge obstacle too. I beleive that appointed county employees are subject to the code of ethics, but elected ones aren't (not sure on that... does anybody know?).
Having dealt with both appointed and elected DCD Directors, I couldn't agree more with this statement!!! Having spent many hours in the last "appointed" director's office discussing land issues, he made it abundantly clear that he served at the will of Commissioner Tharinger who at the time IMO was using the DCD push his personal agenda.
Yikes... hopefully that is where a Board of Ethics would provide a check and balance.
I won't beat around the bush, Tharinger is as corrupt as they come. Let's not forget, Trump fought to take down the Deep State, AKA, the Administrative State: FDA, CDC, FBI, NHI, etc., etc. No matter your feelings about Trump, he correctly recognized that these unelected, appointed officials are the ones running (ruining) our country and tried to put an end to it. If these county commissioners had appointed Emory, it would be worse for us. For one, we wouldn't be able to say anything bad about him without the risk of a lawsuit. Elected officials have no such protection.
Gayle, it is always astounding to me how many people seemingly love having power over others. Many people are recognizing how it is the little power hungry grubby fingers interpreting the laws and writing the rules to carry out the laws, as you point out Trump started working on in the Federal level.
Greed & Power. They go hand in hand.
I would have never known this point of view. Gayle, Leo, how does one get people elected to those positions?
Once again, we are in agreement. It is my understanding that when the County Charter was amended to make this a non-partisan position, that the BOC at the time failed to amend County Code and subsequent BOC's have been kicking the can down the road ever since. Thus, hamstringing the Director, and making this elected position unpopular in order to return it to an appointed position. Current polling shows this could happen with this next Charter Review Board. Can you shed any light on this???
The Charter Review Board is one of my weak points... hopefully Gayle can shed a little light.
Again, thank you, Jeff, for all your digging through public records and your excellent reporting.
You are so welcome. Without any digging, how else will we find the bodies? Wait, don't answer that!
Thanks! Shots fired? Identify the shooter with strategically-placed cameras and send the SOB to prison. Or shoot back. :-)
The opposition is misguided. He could have been forced to contribute to repaving the road if the trucks damaged it. It's a dry mine, so no "effluent or tailings" would get into the waterways, and it was only to be a 5-year project.
Too many NIMBY do-gooders, IMHO.
Agreed. A commenter over on the "Picture worth 5,030 words" article actually said they were opposed to "nimby mentality" but also opposed the Happy Valley gravel pit. I'm fascinated at how quickly people abandon their ideals when it comes to their neighborhood.
As usual, how do we help get enough momentum and awareness so folks will respond/engage and act?
I'm not real 'techy' but are online as well as in-person petitions useful?
I know PDN is communist but would Sequim Gazette have the courage to publicize anything about the issue in a light favorable to change?
The Sequim Gazette and PDN are both owned by Sound Publishing (did I read where that is getting absorbed by Black Press Media and facing financial uncertainty?) I have begged and plead with both papers to cover these issues and have gotten very little traction. It's a shame, I think the opportunity is there to sell some subscriptions if they were willing to cover both sides of the issues.
Appointed county officials have a "Conduct and Work Rules" document they are supposed to follow. It's been my observation that no one enforces these rules even when blatantly ignored. I still say if we can vote them out we have a better chance of holding them accountable. And again, less chance of going to jail for doing so. You better have an air tight case if you go after someone appointed.
I like what you started, Jeff. Getting so much information about our elected and unelected officials out to the public. Others who comment on your posts also add on to the info. Gayle mentioned a Home Rule Charter Commission that I did not know existed. My curiosity is on fire. Keep it up, Jeff. We need you. Thank you, thank you.
If I could just hook up some wires to Gayle and download all that knowledge, I'd be better off, Denise. See you at the courthouse (hope we are on the same side of the bars).
Thanks again Jeff. I am back from vacation and will start digging through my records for anything you might find usefull.
You got home just in time, we might be able to save this county after all :)
What we've got here is a commission full of graft! I was being facetious with my husband the other day and said "Well here we are in the sleepy little town of Sequim the see nothing do nothing people"
Wait till people realize they won't get their selling price for their million dollar homes.....theirs you sign.
I'm completely fine with the direction the county is headed. Oh wait, that affects my bottom line? We have to do something!!!!
Concerning the Happy Valley Mine permit, you left out a lot of pertinent information. The mine was on 4.7 acres, in an established rural residential neighborhood. The roads are winding and narrow with traffic difficulties to get from Happy Valley Road to Highway 101. There is also Johnson Creek that flows through the mine site. The access to the basalt layer is under a lot of overburden. Clallam Counties existing mine currently have a 70 year supply. This mine is within a few miles of the River Road mine. It isn’t needed and the Kirner family own several existing active mines within the County.
The Towne Road fiasco was created by breaching the levee by a major donor of County Commissioner. Now the County is saddled with the responsibility to finish when the blame should be on the party that breached the levee.
I don't know anything about the mine but what I read here about getting the green light, then being threatened. Threatened how? With physical harm? Lawsuits? WHY? Would the noise be excessive? Would the transport be problematic? Why did it get the green light if the project were problematic? Something isn't adding up.
If you google "Sequim Gazette Happy Valley Gravel Pit" it touches on the threats that were made against the family and states that the hearing examiner wouldn't have approved the permit anyway because it was within 600 feet of a home (guess who lives 600 feet away and has a gravel driveway).
It would have been interesting to see this go to the Hearing Examiner. While I find Ozias's involve as a commissioner troubling, I do believe he was within his rights as a citizen and neighboring landowner. I would have taken issue with DCD's approval also. I have 2 DNR hard rock pits within a mile of my location. Once or twice a year when they do blasting the water in my 350' deep well is undrinkable for weeks and needs to be filtered. I can't imagine weekly blasting. The H.E.'s decision is quasi- judicial and carries the wait of law. I would think the H.E. decision would be based on whether or not DCD did its job. If its being suggested Somebody's got a Judge in his pocket, I think we're going to need a little more proof.
"Is that a judge in your pocket, or are you just happy to deny this permit?"
Ozias is corrupt. He may be within his rights as a citizen and neighbor but he has history of insider decision making without due public process. We need to remove all sitting 'authorities' and oversee new ones with ethical accountability. Or just use ethics to hold these people accountable...but they Will resist! Nature of the beast.
All I have to ask myself is, "would the commissioner have stopped a gravel pit from opening next to my house?"
Good commissioners take in all views and work toward a common good...not a special good.
Well, I guess we will never know, and I don't think he ever got a chance to stop the other one either. Application withdrawn. The most I think you have on him here is preparing personal documents on county time and use of county equipment to transmit those documents.
Leo, totally get that actions like rock mining affect more than just the immediate area of activity. These rock pits or mines were remote 30-40-50 or more years ago and were unlikely to seriously affect neighbors but as human population has doubled in the last 75 or so years the knock-on effects of all our collective activity has become apparent. I'm sorry you have to endure poor water quality because of the mining activity...imagine what fracking has done to the whole crust of the planet...it's the same scenario over vast areas of Earth. There are documentaries about the horrors of fracking...and yet we want to have access to 'affordable' sources of energy to live our lives and have our conveniences and our material comforts...we definitely are living in a paradox! When you commented about giving benefit of doubt about DCD and H.E.'s potential involvement, I just responded (as cynical as I am) about the 'nature of the beast' to look out for it's own best interests and overlook the bigger picture. Perhaps the bigger picture IS that humanity is going to have to 'scale back' its consuming presence in order for us to live in equilibrium here on Earth. The one thing that IS certain is that cycles beyond our understanding are playing out...say la vie. Robert
That is amazing and almost unbelievable.
Oh it's believable
That major donor can only cover up so much and hide behind "they do so much for the community." for so long.....
Never mind Leo...different level of understanding... it's all good.
The project has been presented to the public for at least thirteen years with Towne Road relocated on top of the levy and walking trails in the reclaimed floodplains.
In an ideal world, code enforcement cases should never make it to the HE. They should be resolved most of the time on the spot. Most cases people don’t even know they are doing something against code.
Just stumbled across and feeling similar its nice to hear it's not just me being crazy lol
The sheer amount of infighting, ethics issues, and incompetence is staggering. Every day on the PDNs Facebook page I get a front row seat as people comment. I seriously don't think people have a grasp on how to grow the county. Or in fact have an unwillingness to do so. It CAN grow and move but the mentality seems to be say one thing do another. I would say the county is caught between the older generation's mentality and fresher outlooks of our communal identity, because there is very much an identity crisis.
We need to start by seriously looking at where we have revenue coming from and what we do well.
As well as where we struggle.
Our current growth is towards real estate, elderly care, and eco-tourism. Our logging heydays are over with most old growth gone, Rayonier auctioning massive holdings, and the mill out west closed down. Our fishing is hanging on by a tooth with stocks ESA listed and unpredictable drought influenced closures as well as high fuel costs making long distance fishing trips more unappealing. Our farms, by-and-large are operating at losses even with federal funding and causing water crisis's necessitating muti-million-dollar investments.
One of the biggest expenses to our residents is housing. People NEED affordable housing because of Clallam counties position as a low earner county. Then they criticize and become hostile to housing developments or projects that impact our "rural heritage". There is such a romanticization to preserve farmland despite farmers repeatedly reporting they are operating in the red. At less than $1,600GDP per acre its frankly a waste. We lack even remedial infrastructure such as a USDA processor to get local beef on shelves. Real estate construction even on large 1 acre lots spread over 100 years nets the equivalent to $3,500 per year for 100 years as well as a passive generation of $3k/yr. This is quadruple the revenue per acre of today. Smaller lots mean 8x to 16x increases. Right now with a shortage what is left is gobbled up by people eager to rent to our market and take money out of the county. And yeah, people try half assed patch jobs like allowing more houses per lot or tiny homes, but again its a half assed patch job to avoid the rural issue as well as the quite frankly hostile zoning in place out there that strangles the density requirements we need.
This leads to the next issue: Staffing employers.
Why is it that an employer like OMC is struggling to recruit people for positions over $100,000/year? HOUSING. Everyone is looking for workers and literally no one can afford to live or buy here. This lack of people drives up wages astronomically and things like LOCUMs become stopgaps. Paying more for workers due to the housing/personnel shortage creates MASSIVE financial crisis that an employer must weather. Something a huge business can eat, but a small one cannot.
Why is it we, as a producer of sustainable lumber, are not using our local position to undercut the market to build local homes? A subsidy to use Clallam county lumber only would create demand at our mills supporting OUR jobs as well as create lower cost housing as counties got the money back through tax revenue. We might lose some money on the initial sale, but it will more than pay us back with the decades of tax revenue, the worker wages, and the local spending. Even communities like Sequim where older buyers may not be working there is an even more lucrative revenue source and that is elderly care. Today millions are bleeding out there as medical providers lack the staff or infrastructure for a large amount of care and literally tell people to take their money off the peninsula. Its lost money and let me tell you the commute and even ferry to non-local providers isn't cheap.
As far as businesses yeah, we absolutely need more ethics oversight. Something needs done as people just fight back and forth. I mean on the rumor that we could get an amazon warehouse half every was angry it was going thorough fast and, on a wetlands, and that, then the other half were made when it was delayed for an engineer to look over the wetlands. Thats not even touching on the mess that was MODs pizza and Dash Air.