Towne Road meeting recap

County "solicits dialogue" while discouraging oral comment

September 27th, 2023

Last night’s meeting about the possible permanent closure of Towne Road, and its resurfacing options, was well attended. Concerned citizens expressed interest in opening the meeting to public comments and questions, and County staff reluctantly accommodated that request. A majority of speakers favored the reopening of Towne Road but the biggest message I want to convey is this: if you care about the future of Towne Road, it is imperative that you submit written comment by October 10th. This can be done by emailing District #1 County Commissioner

mark.ozias@clallamcountywa.gov

and the Clerk of the Board

loni.gores@clallamcountywa.gov

The messaging from the County continues to shift and evolve. Answers given often sidestepped direct questions, were vague, and lacked consistency from one moment to the next. I’ll attempt to recap some of the meeting’s highlights:

The presenters last night repeatedly cited “an emergency” last summer that forced accelerated construction of the new levee, but staff wouldn’t say what the emergency was. Director Emery told me on a phone call last week that while the County was constructing the new levee, the Tribe was removing the old dike. The Tribe breached the old dike sooner than anticipated which exposed the downriver community to flood risk if the water were to rise last winter. An oversight for sure, it necessitated an emergency declaration to release additional funds and speed completion of the levee to combat a possible flood. The Tribe’s blunder created a costly acceleration in construction and triggered the closure of a public road — it wasn’t even supposed to close for one day and now Towne Road could be closed for years, or forever.

The Commissioners continue to be evasive to the true cause of the emergency and refuse to reveal how we got to this point. I’m left wondering “why?”

On a possibly related note, the Tribe endorses Commissioner Ozias and is the largest contributor to his campaign.

During last week’s phone conversation with director Emery, I asked: If the petitions hadn’t been received by the County, and if Commissioner Ozias hadn’t halted the project's completion on February 27th, and if the Department of Ecology’s grant hadn’t expired, would we be driving on a completed Towne Road the by the end of this month? He replied, “more than likely.” When I asked the same question of County Biologist Cathy Lear last night, she said she didn’t know and that "it's conjecture to say it would be opened by now.”

After last night’s meeting I approached Director Emery and asked about the discrepancy between their answers. He replied that he “should withdraw his previous comment” and he provided me with an explanation — unknown variables, a project of this size and scope, contaminated soil, and even Covid and inflation are variables that are delaying the project. Those reasons contrasted sharply from our conversation less than a week before.

County staff were asked if there were any first responders in attendance who could weigh in on the closure of Towne Road. Commissioner Ozias was quick to the podium and offered a lengthy response admitting that first responders “had concerns.” I was sitting behind Fire Chief Orr, who had been talking to County staff before the meeting, but he was not called upon to offer his unique perspective.

In an email to me, Chief Orr has "encouraged the County Commissioners to have a larger view and to consider the ramifications of their actions regarding closing any public right of way.” When speaking about the recent house fire on Towne Road, Chief Orr also wrote "the added response time certainly added to the loss for that family.”

When County Biologist Cathy Lear was asked if the new Towne Road was designated as a tsunami evacuation route, she said "no." I believe I know the reason why: closed roads cannot be designated as evacuation routes. When asked if the County has even applied for the future route to be designated for tsunami evacuation, Cathy Lear hesitated before replying, “no.”

Last night County staff said “funding uncertainty” and “unforeseen variables” paused the construction of the levee. Last week I received an email from Commissioner Ozias explaining why the project was halted: “There was a significant additional expense associated with removal of contaminated soil around and underneath the old Towne Rd," but during the February 27th Work Session, attendees were confident that the Department of Ecology’s grant would cover that contingency.

Ozias also said that the project was delayed because "the most substantial bit of work being re-leveling a section that has settled a bit”. I asked Director Emery about this settling, and he said the only settling had been some sloughing of the levee sides. This sloughing was entirely expected and accounted for in the project’s scope.

The County seemed to be “selling” a preordained result. They continued to call the opposition to opening the road as an “upswell of support” while failing to mention that more signatures support the road reopening — that remains consistent with the 2015 public survey.

The only design without sketches of people walking beside the road was option #1 (what the County promised until this February) — I walk on Sequim-Dungeness Way everyday and know there is room to put a stencil of a man holding his child’s hand on the wide shoulder of option #1’s diagram. This may seem like a subtle detail in the drawings, but it gives a perception that the shoulder cannot the used for recreational use.

The County’s messaging has changed over the past years, the past week, and even over the course of a public meeting — last night County staff’s explanation on why the project was halted changed from lack of funding, to soil contamination, to an emergency, to an “upswell of support” for keeping the road closed.

For me, returning to the data helps clear my confusion. These are indisputable facts gleaned from watching the recording of the February 27th Commissioners’ Work Session and conducting my own research:

• A 2015 public survey showed 2/3 support for keeping Towne Road open (I’ve requested the survey from public records).

• 140 signatures were gathered in support for reopening Towne Road.

• Commissioner Mark Ozias halted the project on February 27th because “over 200 signatures” supported closing Towne Road to through traffic. The real number was 98.

• Commissioner Ozias also halted the project because the Eberle Farm is on record as wanting the road closed to through traffic.

• The Department of Ecology would have paid for the surfacing of the road if it had been completed by June 30th.

• Commissioner Ozias’ decision to halt the project resulted in the loss of grant funds leaving the County responsible to pay for the resurfacing. Funds likely won’t be available for 2-3 years.

I still don’t understand how such a massive public works project, so close to the finish line after years of multi-agency effort and coordination, can be halted by 98 signatures advocating for a 38 foot wide walking trail when there are nearly two miles of trail unaffected by the paving — Towne Road was never supposed to be closed for even one day.

Clallam County’s elected officials and support staff work for us. Standard procedures, and a system of checks and balances, have been created to prevent special interests like this from causing detrimental harm to the greater community. Constituents have expected that our County’s government be transparent and accountable since its founding in 1854 — the County should continue to honor that 169 years long expectation.