ADAGE Support Imported

This morning I sat in on the public hearing before the Port Commissioners. You know how I am about numbers. So here's my take on the meeting.

Of the 36 who spoke today at the Port public hearing, 16 spoke in favor of ADAGE. Of these 16 only four, as best I could tell, actually resided in Mason County. There were 12 people speaking who said they were from Olympia, Tukwilla, Puyallup, Pierce County, and Montesano. One who spoke tried to be cagey and not tell us that he's from Lewis County but we know he's not a resident of Mason County. The message from the 16 was basically about the jobs that ADAGE would be bringing to the area. None of them were speaking directly to the proposed lease as had been previously given as a condition of this public hearing. One speaker got Mason County mixed up with Kitsap County. That's what happens when support for a cause is imported.

Then there were 20 Mason County residents, mostly Port of Shelton voters, who cited specific language in the proposed contract and offered specific recommendations to make it more balanced, Basically the message to the Port Commissioners and their attorney was: "Hold up. You don't need to sell our souls to have ADAGE at the Port. How about some balance in this lease?"

Here's another impression that I will share with you. As I sat there waiting for the meeting to begin, I tried to make a bit of idle conversation with a man sitting to my left. Within seconds of beginning to talk to him, he told me to, "Shut up." By the way, he gave testimony and I now have his name. He's not from Mason County. This should help you really get a good impression of the fear, anger and open hostility coursing through this room.

What a bio-mess, Mason County.

Surprise Surprise

The Mason County Board of Commissioners has decided once again to ignore the voice of the people.

They will not (yes I said NOT) hold a public forum on the potential health impacts of the biomass incinerator ADAGE proposes to build here in Mason County. According to a report by KMAS, Commissioner Ross Gallagher told 1030 KMAS News Thursday that the Commissioners decided the County's Health Officer will draft an information sheet on the proposal instead.

Why should we be given an opportunity to comment and ask questions? Here's what's at stake - our health, environment, community, and property values. This is a significant decision which will impact this county for decades to come.

By releasing an information paper, the commissioners won't be exposed to public feedback. The citizens of Mason County want to be heard on more than election day.

ADAGE: The Voters Are Talking

Over the last month I've knocked on several hundred doors and stood in front of Wal-mart. This evening I want to report to you what I've heard and reiterate what my position is on ADAGE and the advisory ballot.

After speaking with hundreds of voters, I must report to you that I can count on one hand the number of people who think ADAGE is a good idea for Mason County. Of those I've visited with, every single one wants to see an advisory vote on the November ballot. The only five people I'm aware of who are not in favor of the advisory ballot are 5 of the 6 commissioners we elected to represent us, two on the Port Commission and three on the County Commission. The few people I found who favor ADAGE still thought it ought to be put to a vote of the people. What is wrong with this picture?

I do believe we need to attract new jobs to this county but based on my own research on ADAGE, I believe the costs far outweigh the benefits for the citizens of Mason County. I also feel there are some very real health concerns. For a county that ranks as one of the most unhealthy counties in Washington State, why would we want to bring more health risks into this community?

I continue to urge our elected officials to put the issue of ADAGE on the November ballot and then act based on the will of the people. I realize seeking, listening to, and then acting on the will of the people is a novel concept for some of the elected officials here in our county. But if our elected officials fail to represent us, then shame on us if we don't replace them when we have the chance.

Citizens Being Ignored

The July 6 Board of County Commissioners meeting was another exciting day of civic engagement during the open forum time.

Citizens spoke again this week on ADAGE and the advisory vote on the November ballot.

-Tom Davis said we're going to see a loss in property values with the construction of this biomass facility. He warned the lawsuits will come and again urged the advisory ballot.

-Fran Prescott spoke on air quality. Last winter (Oct 2008 through March 2009) in Shelton the State Department of Ecology have records that indicate our air quality is unhealthy to hazardous more than 50% of the time.

Meanwhile, ADAGE plans to burn another ton of wood per minute while our county commissioners are letting the "process" run it's course. Against the backdrop of the BP oil disaster where we've seen how the "process" failed us so completely, is it any wonder that the citizens of Mason County are saying, "hold up on that ADAGE incinerator"? Erin Brockovich (remember the movie?), where are you when we need you?

-John Cox brought to the commissioners' attention that the county building is public property and that they have ADAGE propaganda in the lobby. Why no opposing view to the ADAGE public relations team?

Yes, Mason County, corporate propaganda in the form of 4 inch by 6 inch cards - stacks of them sitting on a table in the lobby of a building funded by our property taxes. And in the window there's a sign that says citizens aren't allowed to have political signs in the county buildings. Nothing makes me angrier than unfairness and here's a perfect example. More on unfairness in an upcoming posting.

John then scratched his head asking, "why no advisory vote on the November ballot"? He admitted this was a rhetorical question. The three commissioners were silent.

That's a good question, John, why won't they put this on the November ballot? Lots of people are asking this everyday.

-Conley Watson reminded the commissioners that we just celebrated our 234th year of independence. Many have fought and died to keep this a free country where the people have the freedom to vote. Why no advisory ballot?

It's no secret to my readers - I'm running for county commissioner. Here's what I've been learning as I've knocked on more than 500 doors and stood in front of Wal-mart, the voters want to be heard on the ADAGE facility. Not a single voter that I've spoken to supports the commissioners' position which is: "I've been elected to make these decisions for you and the "process" will take care of you". The voters want to be heard, not ignored, and they know an advisory vote on the November ballot would give them a way to voice their position on this facility. People understand the "process" isn't going to take care of them as Ross Gallagher says that it will. They understand that bringing ADAGE to Mason County is a significant decision that will impact this county for years to come. The people want to be able to vote on this significant decision.

ADAGE: Advisory Ballot Issue

I urge the County Commissioners to put ADAGE on the ballot. Ask the voters for an up or down vote.

Comparing ADAGE to a car wash at Taylor Town is just silly. Bringing ADAGE to Mason County is a significant event. A car wash at Taylor Town doesn't carry the same level of risk that ADAGE does. While I don't think minor decisions should go before the voter, there are too many citizens who"ve said they have concerns.

I'm sticking with my two basic questions: Why is ADAGE good for Mason County? What are the risks and costs associated with this decision? Each of us as voters should be allowed the chance to tell our County Commissioners whether we agree or disagree with bringing ADAGE to Mason County.

What I'm learning as I talk to people, whether they agree or disagree with the ADAGE construction, nearly everyone wants to see this decision on the November ballot. People on both sides want an advisory ballot on ADAGE. At less than $1100 it's an inexpensive way to get a sensing of the public.

What could be wrong with asking the citizens where they stand on this issue?

BOCC Meeting - June 15

What a meeting yesterday. All three commissioners were at the meeting. Both KMAS and the Shelton Mason Journal provided media coverage. Not only was there no parking when I arrived, there was no seat in the commissioners' chambers. I sat outside in the lobby with several other citizens as we watched on television. It was very difficult to hear especially when Commissioner Lynda Ring Erickson spoke. Here's what I heard and understood.

1. A local businessman, whose name I didn't catch, gave an impassioned plea to the BOCC to not close the Skateboard Park pointing out that they'd save only $7500. By closing the Skateboard Park the county could actually see unintended consequences such as increased crime. He asked the county to work with the Shelton Mason Chamber of Commerce to gather donations to keep the park open. Lynda asked the Director of Parks to consult with him about what other options exist

2. Craig Watson presented for the record a recent report with scientific information from the American Heart Association (AHA). He read a portion of this report into the record. The AHA conclusion is that particulate matter is linked to cardiovascular disease. ADAGE will emit 380,000 tons of particulate matter. Craig highlighted that 96 tons of the particulate matter is very small particulate matter which is most serious for our health.

3. Al Brotche asked each of the commissioners where they stood on putting ADAGE before the people in the November election as an advisory ballot issue. He said incorrect information has been put out on what an advisory ballot would cost. For the Port it would be less than $600 not the $7500 to $10,000 reported last week. For the county it would cost less than $1100. Al was respectful, well-prepared, articulate and definitely had their attention. In two years I've never seen our county commissioners more prepared for a question coming before them. They must have had a heads up that this was coming. Al asked each one of them, "Can you support an advisory ballot?" Here's what I caught.

Lynda - she wants to see language that would set a particulate matter level and then would restrict all activities above a certain level. Then she said something about drawing a parallel to the Marlboro Man. I'm hoping you readers can help with the Marlboro Man. That didn't make sense to me. As I said the audio was very poor. I did hear her very clearly state that she took an oath to uphold the laws of the state and county and that's what she plans to do.

Ross - there's nothing to discuss because there is no permit application right now. He's conferred with the Prosecutor and doesn't want to risk a law suit for the county. For example if someone wanted build a car wash at Taylor Town then would we want him to stop that? Some are saying he's not exercising leadership but he can't take a stand until the permit application has been received. His hands are tied right now.

Tim - there's a lot of misinformation out there by people who are opposed to ADAGE. It's not an incinerator. It's a bio powered energy plant. The county didn't take an advisory ballot for Walmart or Manke Gravel Pit. No need for an advisory ballot on ADAGE. He will not support a public vote on bringing ADAGE to Mason County. The basic problem here is there is a lack of good information. We need an educated discussion. He repeated there will be no public vote on this issue.

(Mason County, I can't help myself, I must editorialize a bit here. To Tim I must say - I told you so. I have repeatedly encouraged a dialogue between the commissioners and the public. An ADAGE forum doesn't count. We don't want to hear just their public relations folks telling us "don't worry be happy".)

Lynda - then came back to Al tasking him with providing a list of everything exceeding the ADAGE level of output. She'd like to see this list. (Since when did our commissioners start tasking the citizens? Is that okay, Mason County?)

Al just ignored her and went on to say that he was disappointed with them that there would be no advisory ballot.

4. Richard Curtis stood to support the advisory ballot.

5. Bob Stone stood in opposition to bringing ADAGE to Mason County.

6. Annette McGee urged them to hold an advisory ballot. She advised Ross that he'd better listen to the people.

More citizens wanted to speak but Ross wouldn't let them because he said the 15 minutes for public comment was up. The commissioners time is so precious that our elected officials can't go over the 15 minutes allotted. What's up with that?

Sorry to not get this posted in a more timely manner but I was in Belfair all day with the League of Women Voters Mason County. The League held a public forum last night to give an update on the Study of the Mason County Budget. I didn't get in until 930 pm and was exhausted.

Linda, Ross and Tim listen to parts of a report on particulate matter from the American Heart Association



Mason County Auditor Al Brotche asks for an advisory vote on ADAGE in front of a standing room only crowd

AHA report goes into the minutes

Annette McGee speaks at county commissioner meeting

Photographs (c) Shawnie Whelan

Great pictures, Shawnie.

Port of Shelton Special Meeting: The Day After

Mason County, this posting is my own personal "unvarnished truth". I woke up this morning thinking about yesterday's meeting and felt that I need to share with you where I stand today on the most recent Port of Shelton fiasco.

While I do believe Jack Miles is being marginalized by the Port Manager and, to an extent, the rest of the board, I also think Jack needs to get with the program. His excuses of why he's not picked up briefing material prior to the work sessions and official meetings is getting old with me. While I encourage him to continue listening to the pesky citizens, I think he'd be an even stronger advocate for the people if he were to pick up his briefing material, come to the meetings prepared and never walk out of an executive session. I'm not saying that he should just go along with an illegal executive session. Certainly he should document and report on illegalities when they arise but he does need to be there to hear what's going on.

I've just shared these thoughts with Jack.

To stop ADAGE from coming to the Port of Shelton and Mason County will require level headed thinking from the pesky citizens. I don't want to forget what the real objective is. My objective is to see Mason County become an even better place for all of us to live and that includes children and people with respiratory disease.

BOCC Meeting - June 8

All three commissioners were at the meeting today. Here's a quick recap.

During open forum time here's a sampling of what the pesky citizens wanted to discuss.

1. This blogger contrasted the salary of the lowest paid deputy in January 2007 compared to Ross Gallagher's salary when he first came into office. Today that deputy's salary remains unchanged while Ross has seen an increase in his salary due to Resolution 85-01. (See Monty Cobb's explanation in previous blog for more info on this.) The failure of leadership on this board is glaring from two perspectives: that they have not revoked Resolution 85-01 and that it's been 41 months with no contract for the Deputies Guild.

Based on their response to my comments today, I'm thinking shame may not work with the members of this Board. Lynda was upset that I had used the masculine pronoun to refer to the deputies. Also she pointed out that Ross donated his raise to other worthwhile causes. That's what we all do right even when we don't get a pay raise we help each other out and don't expect any recognition?

2. Elaine Adam pointed out the BOCC has spent over $90K for attorneys to negotiate with the Deputies Guild. I think that's an outdated number. As I recall it was around $90K last summer or early fall. It's got to be higher now.

3. Karen Randall spoke on behalf of Mason County 4H soliciting support from the BOCC and the LTAC to provide $36K (I think) for the Mason Fair this summer.

4. Ken VanBuskirk announced that on June 19 at 2 PM there will be a ceremony to recognize a recently fallen soldier. I believe the place is North Mason Library for presentation of the Golden Star Banner to recognize Staff Sergeant Joseph M. Cain. (If I have this wrong, let me know.)

5. Annette McGee said she'd been reading the Washington state constitution and that she wanted to remind the BOCC that they are the county's administrators and legislators. Accordingly, they are responsible for negotiating union contracts and for adopting the budget. The buck stops with them.

6. Janice Vocke spoke against bringing ADAGE to Mason County. Janice asked the BOCC to think twice before they approve this facility.

Tim then began grilling Janice questioning what she had said. I overheard someone in the audience say, " Since when is it okay to put citizens on the spot during the open forum time?" Good question is what I'm thinking. It looked bad for someone who not only wants to be a county commissioner but also a state senator.

After the open public forum and on an upbeat note, Bob Simmons talked about the rain garden the WSU Extension folks have put in to prevent storm water run off. Way to go, Bob.

The commissioners went into executive session to discuss the AFSCME contract. Don't know what the outcome was of that meeting. Please add a comment if you do know what happened.

There you have it, Mason County.

Port of Shelton Meeting - June 1

First the county and then PUD 3. I saved the best for last. Port of Shelton could have sold tickets to their meeting today. I'm just giving you the highlights because it was a really lengthy meeting and I'm getting tired.

Jack Miles started off by moving to stop all negotiations and communications between the Port and ADAGE effective immediately. You probably won't be surprised to hear that this failed 2 to 1 with Jack being the single vote in favor. Jay Hupp did go so far as to say that he'd never seen an issue that so fired up the community as ADAGE has. Nevertheless, he says has a responsibility to bring business to the port - in fact that's really where his heart is. Tom Wallitner admits he's still evaluating ADAGE.

Jack moved to have all recordings of port meetings maintained for up to two years using the Americans with Disabilities Act as partial justification. Tom put his foot in his mouth by saying that he'd personally read the minutes to anyone who couldn't see to read but that he wants all audio recordings destroyed when the minutes of a meeting are approved. (honest he said this - I can't make this stuff up) Things got real interesting when a member of the audience pointed out that the commissioners might want to maintain these recordings just to protect themselves from being charged with a felony for having improperly approved minutes of a meeting. How do you spell felony? The port's attorney had his work cut out for him today. He advised on way more than Robert's Rules of Order quite by chance having in his hands the RCW and past attorney general rulings on audio recordings and minutes meetings. I thought he might have forgotten that part about felony.

Here's a sampling of public comment.

Austen Farr spoke directly to Tom asking him why he wasn't working to learn more about ADAGE and it's impact on the community as Jack Miles had done? Tom called him a "young fellow" causing me to have a flash back on last week's meeting when I was referred to as "young lady" by Tom. I think he fumbled the answer but I was in the middle of a flash back so you may want to get the commissioner's response from another source.

Tom Davis expressed concern about property values depreciating if ADAGE comes to the county. As a property investor and former property appraiser he explained that when an area has a "stigma" the devaluation of properties is extreme - like 30 to 35 percent could be expected. (Yikes! is what ran through my head as I calculated what that means to Dean and me.) Tom says he'll dump all of his property upon the approval of ADAGE construction.

Should ADAGE be allowed to come to the port, Carol Hepburn said that she and her husband will be selling three business properties: Shelton Dance Studio, an organic fruit farm and a small engine repair company. (To this I'm thinking, who will repair our lawnmower?)

Della Rogers made the case that just because something is zoned as heavy industrial, that doesn't mean only heavy industrial must be accommodated. If the land was zoned agricultural, you wouldn't necessarily want to bring in a stinky hog farm, would you?

There were many more who made public comments but I think you get the drift from this sampling.

At this point, the floor pretty much went to Jack Miles as he moved away from the commissioners' table to stand at the podium where the pesky citizens normally stand to plea and argue their case. You heard me right - Jack totally aligned himself with the little people asking for John Dobson's resignation. He gave a bunch of reasons and I wrote as fast as I could but I think I missed some of it. I believe he said that John had investments with AREVA and that his job application had been destroyed so Jack couldn't go back to check to see if John had disclosed this prior to being hired. He said that John had been insubordinate and dismissive and that John worked for Jack who was after all a commissioner. After asking for John's resignation, Jack received wild applause from the audience.

Then we were kicked out of the room while the commissioners and their attorney went into executive session.

There you have it, Mason County. If I missed something important, be sure to add a comment to the blog posting. I don't want to leave out any of the "unvarnished truth".

Thanks for reading my blog. Last week the blog had 1077 hits. Wow! You keep me motivated and attending these meetings on Monday and Tuesday.

BOCC Meeting - June 1

Lynda is still on vacation. You never know what to expect when you attend the BOCC meetings. Today was no exception.

1. The county commissioners 2011 pay raise came up right off the bat during the open forum for citizens. Tim said commissioners received no pay raise at the BOCC meeting last week. I wasn't the only one who thought they'd raised the pay of Lynda and Tim in 2011, so did the Clerk of the Board. The Mason County Commission Agenda Action Sheet for the May 25, 2010 meeting shows as "Approved" for the following:

8.1 Approval of the resolution suspending the 3% increase, as previously established by Resolution 85-01, for the 3rd District County Commissioner in 2011. This results in all three Commissioners being paid the same salary in 2011.

As you'll recall in 2010 Ross receives a salary of $76,083 while Tim and Lynda $73,867. The only way all three commissioners could receive the same salary is for Tim and Lynda's salary to be raised to Ross' salary.

What are we to conclude about this? I'm concluding that shaming elected officials is a most effective tool. I'm ready to accept that their 2011 salaries will stay constant. That's what we spent 45 minutes arguing for last week. Honestly, I can't make this stuff up.

2. Annette McGee got some interesting answers to her questions today.

Ross says recordings of all BOCC meetings and briefings will be kept forever.

Regarding ADAGE, the lead agency for the approval process is the county according to Tim. Ross mumbled something about the SERPA process within the county which I think he meant as SEPA. Then Annette asked Tim and Ross about tax credits that ADAGE would be receiving. Tim said "I don't know" over and over - as in seven times. But Annette doesn't give up easily so she just kept asking questions about the federal and state sweeteners and got the big "I don't know" answer from one and a big shrug from another.

3. Ross did offer at one point that Mason County Public Health would be holding a health education forum on ADAGE in July. This brought Theresa Jacobson right out of her seat and up to the microphone. She said that Mason County Public Health has been negligent of health concerns and she knows this first hand. Apparently Theresa had been trying to get help from the county on an issue of health and safety in her neighborhood. It took her years to get a response from Public Health. Further she went on to say that when Dr Sammons (a Massachusetts pediatrician who is a medical expert on the health risks associated with woody biomass facilities) tried to speak at the April 27 Board of Public Health meeting, he was ignored by two commissioners and yelled at by another. Then Theresa asked why would we trust Public Health to look out for the interests of this county?

There you have it. I left early because the PUD 3 meeting started at 10 am. I couldn't miss that. Not when you are counting on this blog for the "unvarnished truth". The day only got better.

ADAGE: MC Democrats Playing Word Games

I'm attaching below an article that John Komen wrote expressly for the Democratic Party Newsletter but the editorial board refused to publish until they have a pro ADAGE article to provide balance. I spoke with the Chair of the party, Andrew Graham, prior to posting tonight. I wanted to let him know that I was posting John's article. Andrew insists that ADAGE has a boiler not an incinerator. But Andrew, just like ADAGE leadership, cannot explain away the ash coming out of the process of burning the woody biomass.

John pulled the article from the Dems and sent it to Mason County Budget Watch, the only local blog dedicated to the "unvarnished truth". So here you go, Mason County. I present to you John's article that was meant for the Mason County Democrat Newsletter.

Mason County residents have come alive. The incinerator issue has roused our usually apathetic citizenry from their torpor. After years of dull acceptance, we've become a community of activists.
It has been a long time coming, and it is gratifying to say the least. Finally, we are hearing voices of protest and reading angry letters to the editor. And the letters! They have been filling two full pages in the usually listless opinion section of the dormant local weekly newspaper,
And they are well written and articulate, these voices of the people. The writers have done their homework. They ask pertinent and important questions, and they are calling to task their elected county officials.
The outside special interests who zeroed in on Mason County to build their 195-foot smokestack figured they could ignore the general population. They need only influence a dozen elected county officials, and they would be home free to go ahead with their incinerator plans. And they nearly pulled it off without a murmur from the public,
They didn't figure on Theresa Jacobson. Almost singlehandedly, Jacobson roused the populace to the danger this community faced. The smokestack, she cried, will endanger the health of everyone, especially those most vulnerable, our children and the elderly.
She is tireless, this lady from the Agate area. She summoned activists and called on scientists. And she got the ball rolling. Never, says Jacobson, had she witnessed such a dramatic turnaround in public activity. There have been rallies, forums, discussion groups, demonstrations, even chanting pickets outside the chambers of Mason County's elected officials.
Only two of those dozen officials harbored doubts about the incinerator project. Port Commissioner Jack Miles and PUD 3 Commissioner Bruce Jorgenson have refused to be stampeded into acquiescence.
Now the letter writers and forum questioners are venting their ire and concerns toward the other elected officials. And rightly so. Why, they ask, are their county commissioners, their port commissioners, their Shelton city commissioners and their PUD 3 commissioners refusing to listen to them?
"What can we do?" cried one recent letter to the editor. "When the game is hopelessly rigged," wrote John Cox of Shelton, "the only option is to stop the game." He calls on the citizens of Mason County to "write letters, make phone calls and join in the demonstrations."
Another letter writer, Linda Pittman of Shelton, recalled the attempt some 20 years ago to locate "a medical waste incinerator" in Mason County. It failed because of citizen protest.
"The fight will be more difficult this time," wrote Ms. Pittman.
She's right, of course. But the people this time are fighting back with an intensity and purpose seldom seen in this quiet rural county.
And directly ahead is the citizens' trump card--the 2010 elections. On the ballot will be two elected officials who have played key roles in support of the incinerator. Their fate will be decided by the incinerator issue--and a populace roused to action.

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John Komen is a retired journalist. He was an Obama delegate to the 2008 Washington Democrat Convention in Spokane and is a frequent contributor to the newsletter.

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Ross Is In Trouble

Ross has been bugging everyone about his signs that are being stolen. That's the least of his trouble. Here's my view on how things look this Memorial Day weekend.

Let's not forget what body is the most powerful legislative authority in Mason County. That would be our Board of County Commissioners chaired this year by Commissioner Ross Gallagher. In this election year he is giving real material to those who have announced that they want his job. I'll just list a few of the more obvious recent reasons why we should be taking a serious look at those who would like to replace Ross.

1. Note the minutes of May 11 said nothing about the fact that Ross didn't allow Annette McGee to speak. See my blog posting (BOCC Meeting - May 11) for a more complete summary of the meeting where Ross refused to hear a former county commissioner to speak. Here's a link to the "official BOCC approved" minutes from that meeting: http://www.co.mason.wa.us/commissioners/Minutes_2010/2010-05-11.REG.pdf.

Why would the commissioners omit this from the minutes? Why would Ross, as chair of the board, go along with approving these minutes with this serious omission?

2. Let me answer that question. For the same reason the Board under his chairmanship needs to obfuscate the fact that Lynda and Tim are getting a 3 percent pay raise in 2011. The wording of this consent agenda item from the May 25 meeting was totally twisted to confuse us. Didn't work. We see right through what they are up to. Tim moved and Ross seconded to raise Lynda and Tim's salaries in 2011. Ross salary will stay the same at $76,083 in 2011. Why didn't Ross refuse to second?

What a deal for Lynda Ring Erickson. While she's off vacationing in Rome, she gets a pay raise but doesn't have to spend any political capital on the dirty deed.

Resolution 85-01 sets a salary increase of 3% per year for the commissioners. At this rate by 2020 we'll be paying them $102K each per year. See my blog posting "Staff Driven" from January 2010 for more on what we are getting for the salary we pay this our most powerful legislative authority.

Mason County, we need to demand a salary commission.

3. Only some resolutions in place are strictly adhered to as in the case of increasing their salaries. For the Accrued Leave Fund Resolution 62-03 set targets for funding what Lynda described as a fund to provide "a golden handshake" to county employees. It's not that golden for the taxpayers. April 2010 month end reports show the Accrued Leave Fund with a balance of $232K with an unfunded liability of $1.5M as of Dec 2008. Ross voted to adopt the 2010 budget knowing full well that this unfunded liability existed. I know this for sure because I and many others attempted to convince the BOCC to deal with this problem. Let's hope the upcoming sale of surplus property nets enough to fully fund the liability and that the commissioners deposit this in the Accrued Leave Fund.

4. And yet another reason Ross should be unelected is: We still don't have a union contract with the Sheriff's Deputies Guild and the one signed contract with the jail employees was a mess. The Board approved it without knowing what the budget impact would be. I couldn't make this stuff up.

5. Where does Ross stand on ADAGE coming to Mason County? Does anyone know? That's a question that many of us want to hear answered.

Stop looking for those signs, Ross. The signs aren't what's going to get you reelected.

ADAGE: KMAS Broadcast - More Questions Than Answers

I attended the live broadcast with about 200 other folks from the community. All Port Commissioners (Hupp, Miles, and Wallitner) were there as was County Commissioner Ross Gallagher. ADAGE leadership, management, public relations and paid consultants sat on a panel answering questions from the public. The KMAS team selected from the questions that we provided prior to start of the broadcast. We were allowed to provide additional questions as the meeting proceeded but none of my follow up questions were asked. My one major criticism of the process was that we could not ask follow-up questions. At times some of the more outspoken audience members would interject themselves to push for more complete answers but that was the exception.

A common theme that popped up over and over is the concern residents have about property values. After all this is the single largest investment that many of us hold. Just a 1% drop in property values in Mason County represents a $76 million loss to homeowners. We may not understand the engineers and the toxicologists but we sure have a handle on what it means to see our home values dropping in price because home buyers don't want to live near a facility that burns more than a ton of woody biomass every minute, 24/7.

I attended to get two major questions answered. First, I hoped they would explain how they came up with the $125 million during construction and $60 million annually once ADAGE is operational. I was disappointed. Who amongst us understands what "M Plan" modeling is? Not me and from my unscientific polling afterward - I wasn't alone. Tom Deponty's response didn't help me to understand whether there is really anything behind these numbers as advertised by ADAGE in the Shelton Mason Journal.

Secondly, I wanted to understand whether the slash needed to fuel the facility is really available in Mason County. I'm trying to narrow down whether Mason County is going to realize the increase in employment ADAGE has promised. Isn't that our ultimate goal to increase employment in this county?

Here's what I've discovered in my research. Green Diamond owns 64 percent of all the designated forest land in Mason County. All the other landowners have far fewer acres of forest land. Compare the 176,428 acres for Green Diamond to another large owner, Douglas Fir, with 4,342 acres followed by many more with even fewer acres.

My question was not addressed during the broadcast so I decided to ask one of the ADAGE representatives, Brian Anderson. He told me that in Belgium, for example, they were amazed at how much woody biomass they could get from small forest landholdings. With all the subsidies the federal and state governments are providing to sellers of woody biomass, I wouldn't be surprised at how many of the small designated forest landowners will be hopping on the gravy train to contract with ADAGE. Here's what I'm wondering today: will Green Diamond have enough slash from their 176,428 acres to support both ADAGE and the Simpson facilities?

But I wasn't the only one who didn't get my questions answered - neither did Paul Stamets, local businessman and owner of Funghi Perfecti. His very thoughtful questions were provided to KMAS prior to the broadcast. I know. I delivered Paul's questions myself.

Keep pushing for answers, Mason County. This is a big deal and well worth the effort it takes to understand what the costs and benefits are.

ADAGE: KMAS Broadcast

If you can't make it to the Mason County Public Works Building this evening (May 27, 6 to 8 pm), then you may want to listen to KMAS 1030am on your radio dial. Also you can check out the webcast at www.kmas.com.

Just based on what I heard last night at the Little Creek Casino, I believe there are a lot of questions that remain unanswered.

I hope to be able to get in the room. I understand the room's capacity is only about 170 people. KMAS chose the Public Works Building because they'll get a clearer broadcast in this facility. You may want to come early to get a seat.

ADAGE: NPR Story

Here's the web address for this week's NPR segment covering our local scene.

Wood-Powered Biomass Plants Have Critics Barking
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127121363

ADAGE: Common Sense from Local Businessman

At Tuesday's Port of Shelton commissioners' workshop, I asked Jay Hupp whether the threat of Mason County
losing Funghi Perfecti influences his decision to lease property to the ADAGE operation. He said it's one of many factors that he's weighing.

Here's a portion of an email from Paul Stamets, owner of Funghi Perfecti. He helped me to understand why he must relocate his business if ADAGE comes to the Port of Shelton. Paul gave me permission to share this information with you.

Yet another concern I have is the clogging of our HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters. We have 4 laboratories here, pushing air through .12 micron filters with a 99.999% efficiency. The microparticulate load of incoming air will increase dramatically, meaning we will have to replace these expensive filters much more often. (Who is going to pay for these ? Me ?) Without knowing how much increase in particulates from Adage, hard to predict but IF they installed these same filters on their smokestack, this would eliminate the source of the problem. However, they would likely have to change their filters daily, if not hourly. The HEPA filters remove particulates, but not those below ultrafine ones ~ .1 um, and do not remove gases.

We are looking for new warehouses to rent now. If ADAGE is being offered all these economic incentives, what am I being offered ? Nothing, but an increase in operational expenses, a much more difficult marketing issue, and likely decreased land values.

If ADAGE is bad for mushrooms, can it possibly be good for our children?

ADAGE: Little Creek Casino Meeting

ADAGE brought Dr Laura Green, a toxicologist to the Casino this evening to answer questions. This was supposed to be an intimate setting of hand picked members of the community prior to tomorrow's KMAS interview which is being held at the Public Works building on Highway 101 (6 to 7 pm). I finagled myself an invite into this small group to hear the ADAGE paid expert answer questions. I'm thinking maybe I wasn't the only one who all but crashed the party judging from the very direct questions.

I'm sure ADAGE didn't expect to have questions coming from an environmental research scientist, a local businessman who grows mushrooms, an emergency room nurse with expertise and training in respiratory disease, a woman whose brother died from exposure to asbestos, or an artist who has seen first hand the toxic effect of wood ash in her work. Dr Green must have been wondering where these professionals came from with their knowledge and expertise.

Let's make note of the number of elected officials who attended this evening's little soiree. (I'm trying to use more French words in anticipation of AREVA of France showing up in Mason County.) State Representative Kathy Haigh, County Commissioner Ross Gallagher, and Port Commissioner Wallitner attended as elected officials. As you'll recall from a previous posting this week both Kathy and Ross were at the Citizen's Forum on Monday night. Ross and Kathy, thanks for making the effort to learn more about ADAGE before any final decisions are made.

Jim Gaston assured us that the 24 permanent jobs would be more than minimum wage jobs. When pressed to tell us what kind of job openings the plant would require, he said they needed a plant operator, engineers, and technicians. More about this I expect at tomorrow's KMAS interview.

Hope to see you there. But if you can't be there, I understand it will be aired live on KMAS.

ADAGE: Project Timeline

More information from ADAGE appears to be leaking out. And I'm starting to think that just like slow cookers are great for dinner on a busy day, slowing down the ADAGE approval process is a great idea for the health of our community.

The source of the timeline below is ADAGE, Mason Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) representative Jim Gaston as mentioned by Port Commissioner Jack Miles at the public meeting last night (May 24 - see previous posting for more on the meeting). What's missing in this timeline is the requirement that they begin construction by Dec 31, 2010 to receive $75 million in federal stimulus money. Start of construction could be nothing more than a ribbon cutting ceremony just before we begin our 2010 New Year's eve festivities.

Project Timeline

Milestones:

SEPA/Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance - Sept 2010
ORCAA Issues Notice of construction - Oct 2010
Power Purchase Agreement in Place - Oct 2010
BPA Interconnect Agreement - Nov 2010
Financing Package Closed / Final Notice to Proceed* - Feb 2011
Start of Construction - Feb 2011
Mechanical Completion - Nov 2012
Guaranteed Substantial Completion - May 2013

*ADAGE would like to understand the UTC process better (footnote on chart)

UTC stands for Utility and Transportation Commission. According to the UTC webpage, their mission is to "protect consumers by ensuring that utility and transportation services are fairly priced, available, reliable and safe."

Perhaps you'll agree with me that all we've got to do is slow this timeline down and ADAGE will go away. Loss of that $75 million grant from federal stimulus money will certainly change their interest in locating here in Mason County.

Slow is good.

ADAGE: Citizen's Informational Forum May 24

Last night about 350 to 375 people gathered in the Shelton Civic Center to learn more about woody biomass incineration and ADAGE. Elected officials included State Representative Kathy Haigh, County Commissioner Ross Gallagher and Port of Shelton Commissioner Jack Miles. Linda Thomson sat in for State Representative Fred Finn.

It wasn't just the home team in attendance though. Kristine Reeves from Senator Patty Murray's office and Veronica Marohn from Governor Gregoire's office made note of the audience's overwhelming response when asked if they were against ADAGE coming to Mason County. Conley Watson, a local resident, asked the question that brought out a clear "no thank you" to this latest half-baked economic development idea that would bring a multinational firm to our county. An "economic development idea" that will work only if the taxpayer provides hefty incentives and sweeteners to the firm for at best 20 or so minimum wage jobs.

Dr Greg Helms provided scientific information in a way that all of us could understand. His ability to translate truly dense scientific material was fantastic. Even more impressive was Greg's skill at providing the health risks associated with locating a biomass incinerator in our midst. Dr Sammons, a Massachusetts pediatrician had been slated to speak but couldn't make it. With about a 24 hour notice Greg took on both the health and environmental perspectives and was able to explain to us why bringing ADAGE to Mason County is a really bad idea. Greg is my kind of expert - one who can translate complex material into something that I can relate to. Kudos to Greg Helms! We are so lucky to count you and Linda as fellow Mason County residents.

Port Commissioner Jack Miles added a flourish of drama (as if any was needed) as he shared with the audience that he'd just recently received copies of signed agreements between ADAGE and the Port of Shelton. I believe he said these agreements were for a feasibility study and access to Port property and had been signed by Port Manager John Dobson as far back as August 2009. But more importantly, at the next business meeting (June 1) he'll push to get the other two Port Commissioners to end all efforts to negotiate a lease agreement with ADAGE. Do check back for a blog posting next week as there may be standing room only at the Port meeting that day. I'll make every effort to be there. I'm betting the Port's attorney is going to be needed at least for the interpretation of Robert's Rules of Order.

Theresa Jacobson serving as the meeting's moderator allowed members of the audience to share their thoughts and questions. Of special note to me is the young boy scout, Kevin Majors, who asked the audience to please keep the air clean for the children. Nor will I be forgetting anytime soon the comment made by the owner of Funghi Perfecti, Paul Stamets, who explained that if ADAGE comes to Mason County, he will take his business and 35 jobs elsewhere.

Mason County, sounded to me like the real message was summed up by these two members of the audience: a child and a business man. It's real simple - ADAGE is a bad idea because the costs outweigh the benefits.

Meetings to Consider Attending - Week of May 24

Next week there are several meetings that you may want to consider attending.

1. Tomorrow afternoon (May 24, 2 pm) the City of Shelton Mayor and Commissioners will hold their regular weekly business meeting.

See my blog posting on last week's meeting. At the meeting this week someone might want to ask about the cost of the city providing water to ADAGE out at John's Prairie.

Recall last week that Commissioner Pawnell responded to the question: "Will this negatively impact the city's water table? No the city has plenty of water available." As we have followed the money we now understand that the City of Shelton is applying for a LOAN from the Dept. Health Drinking Water Revolving Fund to bring the Shelton Springs water source back on-line and add it to the City's water supply. The project will include design, permitting and construction of a disinfection facility for the Springs as well as improvement to the transmission main.

So in order to have "plenty of water available" the City of Shelton is currently applying for over $2.37 MILLION ($2,373,500). This would be a 30-year LOAN at 1% interest! This is yet another cost for the taxpayers in new infrastructure support required to meet ADAGE needs.

2. Tomorrow evening (May 24, 7 - 9 pm) at the Shelton Civic Center Dr Greg Helms, a research scientist will provide information on the environmental risks associated with allowing ADAGE to operate in Mason County. I will share with attendees what I have learned to my simple questions: why is ADAGE good for Mason County and what are the costs and risks?

3. If you live on Harstine Island on Tuesday evening (May 25, 7 - 9 pm) at Harstine Island Community Hall, Dr Helms will again share scientific information and Craig Watson will provide what he's learned about the financial and economic aspects of the project.

4. If you aren't going to the presentation on Harstine Island, then by all means, come out to the Board of County Commissioners meeting (May 25, 6 pm) to see for yourself how absolutely out of touch our commissioners are as they vote to increase the salaries for Lynda and Tim.

If you read the proposed consent agenda item up for their vote, you might be mislead. It's got a real positive spin. "Approval of the resolution suspending the 3% increase, as previously established by Resolution 85-01, for the 3rd District County Commissioner (Ross) in 2011. This results in all three Commissioners being paid the same salary in 2011 at $76,083 annually." What they aren't saying in this agenda item is that Tim and Lynda will get a salary increase. You'll want to see first hand as your commissioners tell you that they must raise their salaries - it's a Constitutional requirement. Even as the Sheriff's Deputies who provide for our public safety have not had a contract or a pay raise in more than three years.

Shame has no limits with our county legislative authority.

5. KMAS is hosting a public meeting with ADAGE on May 27, 6 - 8 pm at the Mason County Public Works Building. I've been told that attendees will provide their questions on 3 by 5 cards and then KMAS will ask them of the ADAGE representatives.

Hope to see you around the county this week as we continue to "follow the money"!