Remarkable similarities

New letter attempts to gaslight county

A Portland, Oregon based Non-Governmental Organization is weighing in on an issue that affects Clallam County and its Taxpayers.  The Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) is an organization that does not speak on behalf of any state agency yet has letterhead with a state agency's logo. The logo belongs to "Floodplains by Design" which is led by Washington's Department of Ecology (DOE). The DOE’s grant is one of three grant sources that funded the Towne Road Levee Setback Project.

The DOE, which provided $7,114,132.46 in grant funding for the Dungeness Floodplain Restoration Project, authored an agreement between the state of Washington, the DOE, and Clallam County Development.  In the agreement, the "Funding Distribution Summary" lists Floodplains by Design as the fund distributor for the entire grant amount. The 22-page binding agreement lists several "Project Long Descriptions" which the recipient, Clallam County, agreed to carry out with provided funds.  Here is one of many such “long descriptions” of the grant:  

The agreement consists of “relocating Towne Road from the floodplain to the top of the new, set back levee.” In exchange for millions of dollars, Clallam County agreed to relocate Towne Road to the top of the levee.

How an out of county, out of state, Non-Governmental Organization believes it has influence in renegotiating a binding agreement between Clallam County and the DOE, while using letterhead with the logo of a state agency, is absurd. This ridiculous attempt is the result of special and private interests sensing that there is an opportunity to fill the void where county leadership once was.

Clallam County Watchdog had been forewarned that representatives of the group advocating for keeping Towne Road closed are circulating a letter-writing template to outside environmental organizations, and we anticipated the arrival of such letters this past week.  This template provides language and talking points that agencies can drop into letters before sending them to Clallam County leaders.  When compared to the letter sent by the Jamestown Tribe, there are remarkable similarities.

Both letters focus on the recreational aspect of the roadbed but omit that the project was designed and funded to relocate a road, not construct a 38-foot-wide trail.  Both letters call for the removal of signs that currently ban pedestrian access.  Both letters present the exact same data for pedestrian visits at the Tribe's Dungeness River Nature Center.  Both letters recommend installing pedestrian counters.  Both the Jamestown Tribe and BEF are suggesting that their experts should consult on decisions that have already been made.

And both letters were due to be released after the delayed Towne Road update that has been scheduled this coming Monday, February 12th, at 9:00am. Fortunately, the letters were intercepted beforehand.

The Public is welcome to attend the Towne Road update that will be given during the Board of Commissioners work session (in person at the courthouse in Port Angeles, or via zoom.)

County leadership regarding Towne Road, and other county issues, has a habit of leaving taxpayers out of the conversation.  If Clallam County Watchdog's website traffic and surge in subscribers are evidence, our community is thirsty for information that is being shielded from view.  Sadly, traditional media outlets aren't covering these issues.  Please encourage friends and neighbors to join the conversation at www.CCwatchdog.com, Facebook at “Clallam County Watchdog”, or X (twitter) @jefftozzer.