"I am not beholden to the Tribe"

Commissioner Ozias agrees to meet with constituents

After months of unanswered questions, when Commissioner Ozias outlined the process to get answers, four eager constituents followed the process: “Pick up the telephone, call, make an appointment, come visit,” he instructed.

The Sequim-area County Commissioner was generous with his time Tuesday and took several questions during a two-hour session. Unexpectedly, County Administrator Todd Mielke sat in on the conversation and was able to intervene in answering many queries directed at the commissioner.

Ozias attempted to prevent Towne Road from reopening several times, as did the Jamestown Tribe. One resident asked if Commissioner Ozias thinks he’ll ever be able to show that he’s impartial and not influenced by the Jamestown Tribe after his behavior during the Towne Road scandal.

“I honestly don’t see that as a struggle at all. Because the Jamestown Tribe is in my district, I do, in some instances, serve as a liaison…

“One action that I’ve taken, along with the other commissioners in the last year, that would be an example of taking a position contrary to what the Tribe would like to do, would be with regard to the roundabout that they want to build in Blyn. That’s something that I don’t support; this board has not supported it, and I had no problem staking out a public position of opposition to that project. I am not beholden to the Tribe. I do not feel beholden to the Tribe.”

Over three years ago, the Tribe proposed a roundabout on Highway 101 in Blyn. A Sequim Gazette article from 2021 said, “Commissioners decided earlier that day to have Ozias write a ‘conditional letter of support’ that Ozias said will be general in nature on the roundabout proposal.” The letter stated, “Please accept this as an enthusiastic letter of support for the goals of this project…”

Commissioner Ozias and the board initially supported the roundabout.

While the commissioners supported the roundabout, they did not endorse it. A later Gazette article said, “Jamestown S’Klallam transportation officials told commissioners that if they could not provide a wholehearted endorsement for the roundabout, they should not send a letter.” The commissioners withdrew their letter of support, just as the Jamestown Tribe had instructed them to do.

CC Watchdog asked Commissioner Ozias if there are other examples of his taking a stance against his campaign’s top donor, the Jamestown Tribe. Ozias has not yet responded.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Commissioner Ozias was asked if he would be willing to meet quarterly to answer questions from the public. “I spend time with constituents all the time,” he replied. “I talk with people on the phone, I meet them, I go meet them at a place that’s convenient for them, I meet with people sometimes on the weekends, sometimes in the evenings. I’m very open to talking to people.”

Sunland resident Denise Lapio asked why Commissioner Ozias is interested in Universal Basic Income (UBI), a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income without a means test or need to work. He replied, “Most of the feedback from UBI program pilots that have been implemented in other places has shown pretty positive results. That’s my understanding from the cursory reading I have done.”

Commissioner Ozias disagreed with one resident’s assertion. “You have tried to prevent Towne Road from opening ten times. You upheld the false information about the petitions. You even went outside public view and promised the [landowner name redacted upon request] private gates to turn — “

Ozias interrupted the constituent. “Everything you’re saying is wrong, Jeff.”

The constituent, Clallam County Watchdog editor Jeff Tozzer, agreed to send Commissioner Ozias a list of the ten times he prevented Towne Road from reopening. The list was included in a letter sent to the commissioner, part of which is included below.

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Dear Commissioner Ozias,

You were very generous with your time on Tuesday; thank you for meeting with K.C., Denise, Eric, and me.

During the meeting, you argued that you had not attempted to stop Towne Road from reopening ten times. Here is a list of ten known times you have attempted to stop Towne Road from reopening:

1) In May of 2022, the Jamestown Tribe deliberately breached the original dike ahead of schedule, thus closing Towne Road.  Rather than hold the Tribe accountable via a resolution that stated they were culpable, on August 1st, 2022, the Tribe offered a half million dollars and you offered to "wordsmith" the resolution to their satisfaction. When the resolution was passed the following day, the Army Corps of Engineers had been blamed, and the Jamestown Tribe was absolved of any culpability.

2) Contaminated soil was discovered under the old Towne Road, which required remediation.  Initially, the County was responsible for that cost, but by February of last year, it was clear that the Department of Ecology would reimburse the County for the entire expense. Still, you cited the costly contaminated soil remediation as a reason for halting the project after staff told you the County would be fully reimbursed.

3) In February of 2023, you prevented the completion of Towne Road from going out to bid because, according to you, "over 200 signatures" had been received from "several petitions" requesting that Towne Road remain closed. You claimed you had only received one phone call asking that Towne Road remain open.  You also cited the Eberles' wishes to keep the road closed.  Public documents show only two petitions, totaling 98 signatures, were received asking that Towne Road remain closed, and those petitioners predominantly lived in a neighborhood that had experienced a drastic reduction in traffic due to the closure.

You have yet to publicly acknowledge that the County received 140 signatures supporting the reopening of Towne Road.

4) In June of last year, when the Jamestown Tribe approached the Board of Commissioners to ask that the remaining grant funds intended to complete Towne Road be given to them to install additional logjams, you supported funneling several hundred thousand in grant dollars to the Tribe. This effectively defunded the completion of Towne Road.

5) In early December of last year, when Commissioners French and Johnson seemed poised to commit to option #2, you took control of the work session in a filibuster that ultimately resulted in "a decision to make a decision." No vote was taken, no option was ratified, no choice was made, and you stalled any progress in completing Towne Road.

6) Late last year, when the public was traveling regularly to the boardroom to support Towne Road's progress, you were working behind the scenes to install three automatic, electric, taxpayer-funded gates at an estimated cost of $125,000.  While this may have met your criteria for opening a "road," that approach is widely rejected by the public and seen as converting a public road into a private driveway that only the [family name redacted upon request] and EMS could access.

To clarify something you said during our meeting, you did make a promise to the [family name redacted upon request].  You wrote: "I promise I will stay on top of it and make sure we get the gate done."

7) This year, you encouraged the Trails Advisory Committee to pass a motion that called for a pause in completing Towne Road so the surface could be entirely redesigned.  You did this while ignoring the professional opinions of the sheriff, fire chief, and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Tsunami Program Coordinator and discounting the input from the county biologist, county engineer, Department of Ecology, Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Community Development, and County's engineering consultant.

8) You were the sole commissioner to vote against the Towne Road surfacing project going out to bid. That also made you the only commissioner to break your December 26th promise to the people, which you made via resolution, to complete Towne Road this year.

9) You were also the sole commissioner to oppose the motion to remand bids. Towne Road advanced because Commissioners French and Johnson honored their promise.

10) In May, Commissioner Johnson moved to approve the bid from Nordland Construction. You explained, "From the beginning, the trail was a given; the road was not," and referenced the Comprehensive Plan vaguely. You expressed concern about spending limited local road dollars (the project could have been completed with $0 local dollars if you hadn't halted the project due to fictitious petitions), and you also argued that work should not begin without the final permit (against the professional recommendation of County staff).  If Commissioners Johnson and French had not approved the bid, the road would not have been completed this year.

While critical of your behavior, I strive to be accurate. Above are ten instances in which you have prevented Towne Road from advancing, and public records on the Clallam County Watchdog website support each. If you find something in an article that I have inaccurately reported, I'm eager to correct it. Please let me know.

One additional question: Are you done interfering with the promised reopening of this road (a road for everyone, not just one family), and will you finally accept that Towne Road will be open between East Anderson and Woodcock Roads as it has for over a century?

Appreciatively,

Jeff Tozzer

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Commissioner Ozias has not yet responded to the question asking if he will continue interfering with Towne Road’s reopening.

If you have a question for County Commissioner Mark Ozias and would like to ask it in a controlled environment under the supervision of the County Administrator, you can make an appointment by calling 360-417-2233.

Update: Commissioner Ozias responds to letter

Mr. Tozzer,

This reply loosely follows the assertions and questions you outline in your correspondence.

I greatly appreciate the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and the leadership they provide in this community, and as I have previously stated they are a vital governmental partner to Clallam County.  I do not think in terms of “taking a stance” against any partner; rather I do my best to work with all of Clallam County’s governmental partners in a productive and mutually-respectful fashion. 

Numbers 1-5 on your list are examples of actions taken by the entire Board of Commissioners, so if you choose to characterize these as attempts to stop Towne Road from reopening then it would be accurate to characterize them as actions taken by the Board and not by me individually. 

With regard to number 6, I was exploring the option of the gates because I was concerned about the continued and ongoing lack of access for first responders.  I was never interested in three gates, only two – one on each end of the levy.  The Eberles were also inquiring about an improved gate at the road entrance because it would have made their access just a bit easier, which was also important to me given the inconvenience they were experiencing as the only county residents whose drive had been made inaccessible by this project.  At least once that I am aware of, they were locked out of their property because a padlock had been changed and had to track down someone at the county in order to be able to access their own home.  Regardless, if the only issue at hand had been convenience for this family I would have pursued a different strategy than expensive gates appropriate for first responder access.

With regard to number 7, I would encourage any county advisory board to weigh in on a topic relevant to their area of focus, should they wish to take a position.  That is part of the job of an advisory committee.  It would not have mattered in the least had their position been one that I didn’t agree with – I still would have wanted to hear it and I would have encouraged them to take it. 

With regard to numbers 8 to 10, and as I stated at the time, I did not think we had struck upon the best design.  I was also concerned with putting a project out to bid before it had final permit approval.  This was a highly unusual and non-standard action, and while it worked out OK in the end it was not without risk.  To support my position on the design priority I cited the Comprehensive Plan in detail, noting a multitude of specific references throughout several sections of the Plan that supported my position.  My opinion was, and is, that we should have been designing this project with the trail component as the primary design priority rather than the road.  The other Commissioners felt differently, votes were taken and now my job is to do all that I can to help bring the project to a successful conclusion.

Finally, while I do not read your blog I believe you already know what accuracy would look like.  Accuracy in your writing would include noting basic facts such as an action taken by the entire Board via a unanimous vote, rather than ascribing this action to me personally while attempting to build a narrative that suits your personal goals.  Accuracy in your writing might include acknowledgement that it is the role of advisory boards to provide advice when they see fit.  Accuracy in your writing might entail a review of the sections of the Comp Plan I cited as relevant to the position I was taking, even if your own opinion differed from mine. 

I look forward to your proactive efforts to set the record straight.

Sincerely,

Mark Ozias

Clallam County Commissioner

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Regarding the part of the Comprehensive Plan that Commissioner Ozias referenced as a reason to delay the completion of Towne Road, it reads: 

"A nonmotorized trail segment is a possibility along the Dungeness River if the landowners agree. The Dungeness River Greenway Concept Plan identifies use of the dike on the east side of the River."

The dike referenced in the Comprehensive Plan was a nonmotorized trail.  It was built in 1963 by the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Tribe removed it.  The uncompleted Towne Road is a levee connecting two nonmotorized trails.  Current plans provide a nonmotorized trail beside the road. 

Here is another section from the Comprehensive Plan under "Transportation -- Goals and Policies":

1 (d)  Roads and highways -- Preserve existing road and highway system.

The county commissioners promised Towne Road to the community. Not completing the roadway connection would have violated the Clallam County Comprehensive Plan.