September 2008

Ocean Shores

Operation Shore Patrol

Gov. Chris Gregoire has proclaimed the weekend of Sept. 20-21 Operation Shore Patrol Days and volunteers have the chance to make Washington's beaches cleaner.

Shore Patrol is a volunteer group that organizes the beach cleanup. Members are encouraging citizens to volunteer to collect litter that has washed up along state beaches, The event is supported by chambers of commerce at Westport, Ocean Shores, Long Beach and Grays Harbor County.

At last year's event, volunteers collected more than 23,000 pounds of litter between Ocean City and Twin Harbors State parks, according to Pamela McConkey, volunteer program manager for the Washington state parks and recreation commission. Local merchants and service groups will be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner for volunteers.

Water Supply Options

OCEAN SHORES - City and county officials met in Ocean Shores to discuss progress made on a new water system at Hogans Corner that would provide drinking water to residents who live between Hoquiam and Ocean Shores.

County Commissioners last month approved taking a $3 million loan to construct it. They discussed wholesale water supply options with the City Council at a study session. The loan would be paid by those who use the water system and no money would come out of county coffers.

The county's 20-year loan at a 1 percent interest rate comes from a special state fund for drinking water infrastructure projects. "It's a good backup source (of water) for us, especially with all the buildup in Ocean Shores," councilman Mike Patrick said. "Everybody's got to find their comfort zone." The "comfort zone" he is referring to is what option of wholesale water supply would the city be most comfortable with. Whatever the city decides will determine how much ratepayers will pay.

One option presented was having the city commit to buying 350,000 gallons per day in peak month periods, such as between June and August or July through September, although the water system has the capacity of providing the city with 1 million gallons per day. The city's cost obligation would be $105,000 per year and the city would control when and how much water is used in correlation with average daily use. This works out to $2.50 per 100 cubic feet for ratepayers, according to data presented by Michael Olden, project manager for Gibbs & Olson, Inc, the consulting firm the city is using to develop design plans for the project.

If used in non-peak months, a $6,000 monthly base rate would be set for 200,000 cubic feet, which works out to $2.50 per 100 cubic feet.A second option would be for the city to use the county's supply "as needed" which translates to a $10,000 monthly base rate for 200,000 cubic feet, and would be provided to the city as needed and as available. Ratepayers would face a tab of $5 per 100 cubic feet and $2.50 per 100 cubic feet over 200,000 cubic feet. Currently ratepayers pay $5.24 per 100 cubic feet, according to Olden.

"We've always been working to find out what role in our regional water system the city could best utilize," said County utilities director, Kevin Varness. "We've been trying to figure out how to put it together in order to satisfy your needs and what we'll need as well. Mayor Dean Bunkers concluded the meeting by having all parties agree to a timeline, setting the date to reach a decision by the first of January.

Debate continues over Weatherwax property

OCEAN SHORES - Should the Weatherwax property - an undeveloped 120-slice of nature near the center of town - be included under the Critical Areas Ordinance? That was the question council members and citizens debated at Monday night's City Council Meeting. The City Council unanimously approved a request to set a public hearing at the Oct. 13 City Council meeting concerning adopting revisions in the critical areas ordinance as set forth by the Washington State Growth management act.

The act says a critical area can include wetlands, geologically hazardous areas, fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas, critical aquifer recharge areas and frequently flooded areas. Since the Weatherwax property has multiple characteristics typical of a critical area, it could still be developed, but it would require stricter regulations should it be designated as a critical area, said Ken Lanfear, director of public works.

City officials say the Weatherwax property can fit into multiple areas, and problems lie with how to classify it.
"The issue is potentially laden with conflict and we have to trod through it the best we can," city attorney Art Blauvelt told the council. "The Weatherwax may not fall under any one category but you can make it a policy to include it under the critical areas ordinance."
 
 Resident Don Williams testified in favor of the hearing. "It's important for people to know about this," Williams said. He went on to commend the city's planning commission for working hard to balance the use of critical areas. "I hope this public hearing brings the best example of this. The devil is in the details."

 

GALWAY BAY'S   5th ANNUAL

IRISH MUSIC FESTIVAL

at Galway Bay in Ocean Shores, WA

OCTOBER 23 - 26, 2008

 

Featuring 10 Irish Bands from

The Pacific Northwest & Ireland

 

$20 in advance for all days

Stage 1                                    Stage 2

Thursday 10/23     No Cover                                                                                   

6pm - 7:30pm                          Jacob Jones                              N/A

8pm to 10pm                           Oliver Mulholland & Steve Morris          N/A

 

Friday 10/24        $5 Cover after 5pm                     

3pm - 4:30pm                          Jacob Jones                              N/A

5:00 - 6:30pm                          Oliver Mulholland & Steve Morris          Darby O'Gill

7pm - 8:30pm                          Grafton Street                             Ockhams Razor

9pm - 10pm                            Darby O'Gill                              New Shilling

10:30pm - 11:30pm                     Ockhams Razor          Oliver Mulholland & Steve Morris

12am - 1:00am                         New Shilling                              Grafton Street

1:00am-1:30am                         Jam Session w/ All       

                     

Saturday 10/25      $5 Cover before 5pm / $10 Cover after 5pm                

10:30am - 11:30am                    Darby O'Gill                          N/A

12pm - 1pm                           Ockhams Razor                      Grafton Street

1:30pm - 2:30pm                      New Shilling                          Darby O'Gill

3pm - 4pm                            Mark & Colleen Raney                Raybone Experience

4:30 - 5:30pm                         Oliver Mulholland & Steve Morris      Tillers Folley

6pm - 7pm                            Raybone Experience               Mark & Colleen Raney

7:30pm - 8:30pm                      Ockhams Razor           Oliver Mulholland & Steve Morris

9pm - 10pm                          New Shilling                            Grafton Street

10:30pm - 11:30pm                   Tillers Folley                       Mark & Colleen Raney

12am - 1:00am                       Raybone Experience     

1:00am-1:30am                       Jam Session w/ All       

 

Sunday 10/26          $5 Cover before 5pm / Free after 5pm

11am - 12pm                           Mark & Colleen Raney              N/A

12:30pm - 1:30pm                    New Shilling                              Darby O'Gill

2pm - 3pm                              Ockhams Razor                   Mark & Colleen Raney

3:30pm - 4:30pm                      Darby O'Gill                              Tillers Folley

5pm - 6pm                              Raybone Experience                  Ockhams Razor

6:30pm - 7:30pm                      Oliver Mulholland & Steve Morris          N/A

8pm - 10pm                             Tillers Folley                           N/A

 

Plus Guest appearances from Johnny Campbell on pipes and Irish Step dancers

 

 

 

 

 

www.galwaybayirishpub.com

 

NEWS FROM AROUND THE HARBOR

 

Ocean Gold lays off more than 450

Less than a month after the grand opening of a new 95,000-square-foot cold storage facility, Ocean Gold Seafoods has been forced to lay off more than 450 production workers at its facilities, the company's vice president, Richard Carroll, said Friday. Carroll said the company had to cease production at the facilities because whiting fisheries all along the coast have exceeded bycatch limits set by the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

In recent years, the Washington state fishing industry has worked to enhance populations of canary rockfish after it was classified an overfished species. However, whiting fisheries have reported increased numbers of bycatch species - many of them canary rockfish - getting mixed in with whiting catches, Carroll said. The fear of overfishing canary ground fish has prompted the council and the National Marine Fisheries Service to close whiting fisheries on the West Coast. The closure will most likely have a devastating impact on coastal seafood processing facilities like Ocean Gold - where whiting is used in the majority of their products and accounts for nearly 75 percent of revenue, according to Carroll. He added more than 1,000 people at fisheries and other seafood processing facilities along the coast stand to lose wages because of whiting fishery closures.
 
Carroll said it's unclear when production at the facilities can begin again, but he hopes Ocean Gold employees can head back to work by mid-October. The fate of the employees' jobs rests with the action taken by the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

 

Commission authorizes bids for road engineering

Studies show that more than 1,000 motorists are using the Port Industrial Road during peak hours in the late afternoon and evening. That number is expected to increase to more than 2,300 vehicles during any peak hour in the next 20 years.

The Port road parallels prime industrial property and commercial lifeline for freight trucked to and from the Port docks and Port customers and intersecting with a rail line that crosses the road at several points.

In July, the Port was informed that the Senate's Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill included the $4 million to fully fund the Industrial Road improvement project. Barnes said the hope is that by the summer of 2009 construction will be under way.

Ocean Gold employees may be able to return to work

Employees who were laid off from Ocean Gold Seafoods late last month may be able to return to work in early October, according to Heidi Happonen, the company's communications consultant. Happonen didn't know how many of the workers will be able to return to work or if all of Ocean Gold's facilities would re-open.

The Pacific Fisheries Management Council unanimously agreed Thursday to re-allocate canary rockfish bycatch to fisheries around the Pacific Northwest and California that hadn't reached their bycatch limits. The decision added two tons of bycatch limits for the whiting fisheries.

Whether the whiting fisheries can reopen in October is up to the Pacific Fishery Management Council. It has to determine if the whiting fisheries can operate without over-harvesting other species such as the canary rockfish, according to Frank Lockhart, an administrator for the marine fisheries department at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. The decision would involve analyzing bycatch numbers at fisheries all along the West Coast, and the decision won't be made for a few weeks.

 

Plans to re-create a depot

MOCLIPS - At the turn of the 20th century, Moclips was bustling, especially the Northern Pacific Railroad depot, which brought tourists and loggers from all over America. Advances in technology and a weakening lumber industry caused the once-booming community to dwindle. The depot was torn down in the 1950s. The remaining tracks at the site were ripped out in the 1980s.

The Museum of the North Beach has been lobbying for building a re-creation of the depot at its former location on Pacific Avenue, and some residents are hoping the project will stimulate a rediscovery of a community that has a front-row seat on the ocean.

Museum board members have been raising funds to rebuild the depot for the past three years. They won acceptance for the project from the state Parks & Recreation Commission in 2005. The original plan was to have the depot open this year, but a switch in architects delayed work. Calhoun now hopes to have the depot open by 2010. Design plans should be completed early next year. Once the plans are finalized, the museum can apply for grants to fund construction, Calhoun said.

 There are no plans yet for what might happen to the current museum, but there has been discussion that the Ocean Crest Resort might convert it into a gift shop, Calhoun said.

The Lady Washington & Hawaiian Chieftain in Grays Harbor

The Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain came home to Aberdeen Monday for a four-week stay on Grays Harbor. The tall ships are in town this month for regular maintenance and an appearance Saturday at the third annual Chehalis Watershed Festival at Morrison Riverfront Park. The ships will be docked at Aberdeen Landing next to Wal-Mart.

Utility should see $5 million check from power agency

The Bonneville Power Administration will pay Grays Harbor PUD just over $5 million next month as settlement in a complex dispute over money charged to the region's public utilities and diverted to private utilities. PUD officials say the payment is a fraction of what the utility has coming and they may still sue to get the rest. The federal power agency also will give the public utility another $3.2 million through reduced power bills starting next year.

Individual PUD electricity customers will see the money in reduced power bills, though the PUD still needs to work out how that will happen. Commissioners discussed giving a rebate to current customers who had accounts in the years covered by the cash payment - that would equal about $87 per account - or not charging homes for electricity for a month. The rebate to large industrial customers could be calculated to more accurately refund the actual amount they overpaid, PUD finance director Doug Streeter said.

Grays Harbor PUD pays about $4.5 million a year to Bonneville for the residential exchange program. According to the statutory formula, Grays Harbor should be paying about $400,000 a year, Lovely said. That means Bonneville would owe the Grays Harbor PUD nearly $33 million, Lovely said.

Proposed waterfront development

A proposed waterfront development in Aberdeen could feature 252 new housing units in eight, 80-foot tall buildings intended for "middle income residents."  Future expansion plans may also include a marina and a "public access waterfront trail," noting that a separate shoreline application for the marina may be coming to the city in the next year.

The permit application says construction of the so-called "first phase" is not likely to start until March 2009, with the "final phase" slated for 2014. The city is still awaiting permit applications for the environmental review of the property, as well as a variance request (because structures would be in excess of a 35-foot height limit) as well as the actual building permit. The permit says that the Aberdeen development would feature office space or commercial development located on the bottom floor of the buildings and more than 250 units on the top floors. It's not clear if the buildings would be apartments or condos, or both.

"The purpose of the proposed work is to provide new housing opportunities that take advantage of the waterfront (and), at the same time, creating new retail space in the downtown," according to the permit application. "The waterfront and the downtown will help to influence the design of the buildings." A map of the development shows eight rectangle structures very close to the shores of the Chehalis River that would be 50 feet by 160 feet long and eight stories tall, with six buildings lumped together on the western part of the property and two together on the eastern portion. The map was designed by Berglund, Schmidt and Associates out of Aberdeen.

The application states that they do not plan to add any new roads to get to the property "but existing public roads may need to be improved." The project plans to use city water and sewer.

Season's first dig set for Oct. 16-18

The first dose of clamming is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 16 to 18 at Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks. Long Beach would see two digs on Oct. 17 and 18. All that are needed to give a green light to the digs are marine toxin tests showing the clams are safe to eat. Because the low tides for digging will occur later in the evening, clammers should take lanterns or lights with them, said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the Washington state Department of Fish & Wildlife.

Harvesters are allowed to take only 15 clams, and must keep the first 15 they dig regardless of size or condition. Each digger must keep his or her clams in their own container. A license is required for anyone age 15 or older. There are various license options, like a combination fishing license, shellfish/seaweed license or razor clam-only license. Descriptions of licenses and instructions on purchase are available at fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov.

 

 

Tentative dates and tides are:

  Thursday, Oct. 16. Low tide is 8:30 p.m. at -1.5. Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks.

  Friday, Oct. 17. Low tide is 9:17 p.m. at -1.5. Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks, Long Beach.

  Saturday, Oct. 18. Low tide is 10:08 p.m. at -1.2. Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks, Long Beach.

The beaches

Long Beach runs from the Columbia River to Ledbetter Point; Twin Harbors Beach extends from the mouth of Willapa Bay north to Grays Harbor; Copalis Beach goes from the North Jetty of Grays Harbor to the Copalis River and includes the Copalis, Ocean Shores, Oyhut, Ocean City and Copalis areas; Mocrocks Beach runs from the Copalis River to the southern boundary of the Quinault reservation near the Moclips River and includes Iron Springs, Roosevelt Beach, Pacific Beach and Moclips.

Other weekend clam digs have been tentatively scheduled as well. Those digs are penciled in for Nov. 13 to 16 and Dec. 11 to 14. Other clam tides will be announced after the December dig, Ayres said.

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Convention Center Events Only - October 2008

Planning a visit to Ocean Shores?  Go to our new website for lodging, dining, shopping and activity information and even driving directions!www.TourismOceanShores.com

 

If you, or anybody you know, have thought about buying or selling some property or building a new home, I would be more than happy to assist you in finding your dream in or around Ocean Shores.