by Jim Scarantino | May 8, 2020 | General
Delay and dithering rules in Jefferson County. Eight counties have already applied to enter phase 2 now, the next step in Governor Inslee’s reopening of Washington’s economy. Local officials instead have opted to add additional procedural steps not required by the Governor’s order. This will drag out deliberations until May 26 at the earliest.
That is just days before the benefits of an “early open” variance would expire and the Governor’s phase 2 is slated to be taking effect statewide anyway.
Kittatas, Columbia, Garfield, Ferry, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Kitsap and Stevens Counties were able quickly to deliberate and approve their Public Health Officer’s and Board of Health’s proposal to move into phase 2. The first six counties, like Jefferson, were identified by Governor Inslee as among the ten counties with such low COVID risk and adequate public health preparations that they could start reopening additional businesses before the rest of the state. Businesses that could get back to work could include new home construction, home remodeling, manufacturing, retail, some restaurant operations and other services.
[UPDATE: Late Friday Governor Inslee announced that the applications for Columbia, Garfield, Ferry, Lincoln and Pend Oreille were approved.]
Kitsap and Stevens were not on the Governor’s top ten list. They are so eager to help their local businesses and workers that they submitted applications pre-emptively, making the case to the Governor that they should be permitted to enter phase 2 now because they also are low COVID risk counties.
Jefferson County officials likewise could have taken action to blunt the crushing economic blows befalling what was already a poor rural county that had an unemployment rate not only above the national average, but also above the chronically higher average black unemployment rate.
Local officials here did not convene to even discuss accepting the Governor’s invitation until nearly a week had passed. A joint on-line convocation of the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners, the Port Townsend City Council and the Jefferson County Board of Health met last night for four hours. Such a step is not required by the Governor. The City of Port Townsend, under his order, has no role to play in applying for a variance.
Some participants in the meeting, most notably those from Port Townsend city government, wanted no part of an early reopening our economy. They won.
The decision to delay is as much a substantive policy decision as would have been approval last night of a variance application. The county’s public health officer could have submitted a simple list of businesses he believes should reopen (he said he already has some in mind). With the Board of Health convened and with a quorum, it could have approved that proposal. Instantly, the County Commission, also convened with a quorum, could have, in turn, voted approval. The variance request could have been delivered to the Governor in the morning. Such an accelerated process is likely how the other counties were able to move so quickly.
The only action by our local leaders was to schedule more meetings:
- Next week, by Tuesday, the county’s public health official, Dr. Thomas Locke, will deliver the list of business activities he believes should or should not be opened. They will be ranked from most eligible to open to least, based on ease or difficulty of virus control he sees in the activity.
- On Thursday, May 14, a special meeting of the Board of Health will consider and possibly vote to accept or reject Dr. Locke’s proposal, in whole or in part. If the Board of Health votes affirmatively to seek some sort of variance, that resolution will be passed onto the County Commission for action.
- Before the County Commission meets, however, some sort of “stakeholders” forum will he held to receive comment from businesses and members of the public. That may take place on May 19. The procedures and participants for that forum remain to be decided, and the technical challenges such a wide-open on-line forum will present will be considerable. Regardless, it was recognized that forum can have no legal effect on the previous week’s action by the public health officer and Board of Health. This is another procedural step not required by the Governor’s order.
- On May 26, assuming that the Board of Health has voted for some variance application, the Board of County Commissioners may decide to accept their variance proposal. No amendments or changes are permitted under the Governor’s order. If the Board of Health’s variance application is approved, probably on May 27 it will then be transmitted to the state for processing, review and approval, a process which apparently takes at least several days. That is based on the experience thus far of those counties that already submitted their variance applications, all of which as of this time are still pending with Inslee’s administration. [Note those approved late Friday, per the Update above].
- Phase 2 for the entire state could go into effect June 1, at which time restaurants may operate at 50% capacity, hair salons and barbers may reopen, in-home domestic services may resume, retail can reopen, and office-based business can start back up. But the Governor has reserved the authority to further delay phase 2, something that would make having a variance in hand that much more valuable to the lucky county, its businesses and workers.
by Jim Scarantino | May 8, 2020 | General
“Reopen Clallam County” has seen its numbers of protestors continue to grow. Every Thursday at 4:30 p.m. the group assembles on Lincoln Street, Port Angeles, by the courthouse to protest Governor Inslee’s “Stay at Home” order. They have also been sharing information about local businesses opening despite the Governor’s order and submitting reports to the Governor’s snitch line that attack the order itself. It is a closed group, but its public events are open to everyone.
These photos from yesterday’s protest by PA’s Liberty Bell were provided to Port Townsend Free Press by Angie Ball or copied from group’s Facebook page.
by Tod Brundage | Apr 23, 2020 | General
A whole lot of guns. That was my first observation at the April 19, 2020, rally on the Capitol steps in Olympia. About 2,500 people had assembled to protest the Governor’s lock down order and call for restoration of constitutional rights. I saw many USA flags, Trump banners and handmade signs offering comic relief in this time of stress and anxiety.
Did I mention a whole lot of guns? Maybe that’s what I noticed so much because looking out for guns was what we did in Iraq and Afghanistan. I served 24 years in the Army, as a medic and Sergeant Major. Being on the lookout for guns will probably always be with me.
I came alone and maintained social distance from others. Personally, I don’t like people in my personal space. That attitude comes in handy right now.
The hundreds of signs said lots of things. Taken together, their message to the Governor was simple: “We want our lives back.” The sentiment that the Governor had overstepped his authority and was infringing on constitutional liberties was strong.
My family, friends and even a neighbor expressed concern about me being there. The discussion with my neighbor got quite heated at one point, and lasted to the next morning. But we ended with mutual apologies and probably would have added a handshake and hug under other circumstances. I let him know I was going to the demonstration regardless of anything he said.
Let me explain my lack of concern about being in a crowd of thousands right now.
As an Army medic I received substantial training on NBC–Nuclear, Biological, Chemical–procedures and treatment. One of those procedures in case of a bio attack was not to put patients in enclosed areas. Tent sides get rolled up, windows and doors stay open, patients are spread out. We were to ventilate the area with fans and blowers. Outdoors, if possible, is even better.
We learned these lessons in WWI. Dispersal of the agent or bug is the goal. This lesson applies equally to a virus, like COVID-19. We have learned it does not long survive when dispersed. It is curious how it can survive up to 72 hours on stainless steel.
Here is my point: quarantining people indoors is the opposite of everything we teach Army medics.
At a safe social distance, I spoke with Brandi Kruse of Q13 Fox New. She wanted questions to put to elected officials. I wanted her to ask about the differential, preferential treatment of businesses under the Governor’s order. I let her know she’d been asking softball questions of politicians. I also had a question about a commentary she had broadcast, called, “Live Free or Die.” I wanted to know how you can fight for freedom if you’re not allowed to leave your house.
Washington is the only state in the country where you can’t go outside and fish, even by yourself in a boat a hundred yards from shore. I was trained to think logically and rationally, making decisions based on medical science. This and other prohibitions by the Governor make no sense whatsoever.
When I drive down Sims Way in Port Townsend, what I see are small businesses. How many of them will we lose permanently? How soon will we be seeing “going of out business” and “for rent” signs and empty storefronts?
Pushing our small businesses off the brink makes no more sense than banning fishing. Large businesses favored in the Governor’s order can operate safely. If big box stores can do it, so can the Mom & Pop stores. I say this to business owners: open your doors, be smart, wear masks, wash your hands, and operate the same way as those businesses the Governor has never closed down.
Don’t surrender your constitutional rights for senseless reasons. We can beat this virus and not kill our economy.
I learned this in the Army: “Face towards the enemy and march on.” This is an enemy we cannot see. We beat it by practicing social distancing and good hygiene. Common sense. It is also common sense we have to get everyone back to work now, no more bleeding, no more negligence by our Governor in harming those he should be helping. We never want to look back only to say, “The operation was a success, but the patient died.”
by Jim Scarantino | Apr 22, 2020 | General
Port Townsend should immediately declare the Cherry Street Project in default and save taxpayers a little over $316,000. That is the balance of cash remaining on the city’s loan to Homeward Bound Community Land Trust, the volunteer organization behind the stalled-out “affordable housing” development. In just a few weeks the Cherry Street Project will be have its third anniversary. In three years the project’s costs have soared to over $3 million. Nothing is happening. No one is living at the site except rats and the occupant of a homeless encampment. This project is dead in the water, especially under current economic conditions.
The project needs at least another $1 million over and above the last construction budget, which was already several times larger than the intial estimated cost. That estimate does not include necessary civil engineering work or harardous materials expenses. Neither Homeward Bound nor the City has the money to complete all the work, now including lead and asbestos removal/mitigation. Homeward Bound has burned through all but $316,000 of its loan from taxpayers, $834,000 in principal, plus a hidden subsidy of nearly $500,000. Homeward Bound’s two-year grace period is expiring and its first payment is due this summer. It has no money to meet its obligations. It is going to default anyway, and the “reverter clause” of the loan agreement will send the project, its ridiculous costs and its hopelessness back to taxpayers who are going to get stuck paying off the full amount of the loan amount and interest.
The City has been managing disbursement of the funds as Homeward Bound has submitted requests for advances to pay specific bills. City staff evaluate those submissions to determine whether the bill should be paid.
The remaining funds are currently in City control. Sitting there. Available now as the City is facing plunging revenues.
At its most recent meeting City Council ratified furloughs for administrative staff, one police employee and more in other departments, a total of 19 positions, in order to save approximately $750,000. The Cherry Street funds are almost half that amount.
Homeward Bound has been in default for months because they are performing no work at the site. Ironically, while families and home developers with funds to complete residential construction projects have been shut down, the penniless Homeward Bound could be working on the Cherry Street Project because, for unexplained reasons, Governor Inslee’s order makes publicly but not privately financed residential construction “an essential business activity” that may continue during his Stay at Home order.
The Deed of Trust to secure the loan contains as its first obligation of Homeward Bound clear grounds for declaring default now. Homeward Bound covenanted and agreed at all times during the term of the loan:
To keep the property in good condition and repair; to permit no waste thereof; to complete any building, structure or improvement being built or about to be thereon; to restore promptly any building, structure or improvement thereon which may be damaged or destroyed; and to comply with all laws, ordinances, regulations, covenants, conditions and restrictions affecting the property.
One look at the building and grounds shows it is not being kept in good condition and repair, and Homeward Bound has been doing nothing to complete its construction. No activity has occurred at the site since last summer when the building was taken off its stilts (“cribbing” in house moving industry parlance). An inspection by the city found dangerous conditions, with holes in floors large enough for a person to fall through. The grounds are full of trash, a homeless encampment and a neighbor has reported to us that the project has attracted rats. “Big ones,” she told us.
Homeward Bound should agree to default. They know it is coming. They should let the City use the remaining funds to return people to work and help alleviate the economic disaster now settling upon our community.
The support for all statements made in this article may be found in our reporting stretching back two years:
Cherry Street “Affordable Housing” to Cost More Than $2 Million, May 28, 2018
The Tragedy of the Cherry Street Project, December 12, 2018
What’s Happening with the Cherry Street Project? October 29, 2019
“Completely Bogus Numbers”–More Problems and Delays for Cherry Street Project, December 3, 2019
Cherry Street Project Welcomes First Tenants, February 28, 2020
by Jim Scarantino | Apr 22, 2020 | General
It started in Franklin County and has now spread to Snohomish County. County Sheriffs are refusing to enforce Governor Jay Inslee’s order that is shutting down hundreds of businesses and throwing millions of Washingtonians out of work. This is the statement from Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney. His county is the third most populous county in Washington. His statement speaks for itself.
Snohomish County Residents and Business Owners,
I just watched the Governor’s speech to Washingtonian’s regarding our approach to getting Washington back in business and I am left to wonder if he even has a plan? To be quite honest I wasn’t even sure what he was trying to say half of the time. He has no plan. He has no details. This simply is not good enough in times when we have taken such drastic measures as the suspension of constitutional rights. I wrote most of this about two weeks ago but I decided to wait out of respect for the Governor and my own misguided hope that each day he did a press conference he would say something with some specificity on getting Washington back to work. After what I witnessed tonight I can no longer stay silent as I’m not even sure he knows what he is doing or knows what struggles Washingtonian’s face right now.
I want to start by saying this virus is very real and sadly, it has taken 97 lives in Snohomish County. This is a very serious issue and the appropriate precautions need to be taken to protect our most vulnerable populations. However, our communities have already shown and continue to show they understand the severity of the situation and are doing all they can already to keep themselves, their families and neighbors safe and healthy.
I am worried about the economy and I am worried about Washingtonian’s that need to make a living for their family. As more data floods in week by week and day by day about this pandemic I think it is clear that the “models” have not been entirely accurate. While that is okay, we cannot continue down the same path we have been on if the government reaction does not fit the data or even worse, the same government reaction makes our situation worse.
As elected leaders I think we should be questioning the Governor when it makes sense to do so. Are pot shops really essential or did he allow them to stay in business because of the government taxes received from them? That seems like a reasonable question. If pot shops are essential, then why aren’t gun shops essential? Our Governor has told us that private building/construction must stop as it is not essential, but government construction is okay to continue. So let me get this right, according to the Governor if you are employed or contracted by the government to build government things you can still make a living for your family in spite of any health risk. If you are a construction worker in the private sector you cannot make a living and support your family because the health risk is too high. This contradiction is not okay and in my opinion is bordering on unethical.
As I arrive to work at the courthouse, I see landscapers show up each day to install new landscape and maintain our flowerbeds. How has Governor Inslee deemed this essential work? However, a father who owns a construction company and works alone while outdoors is not allowed to run his business to make a living to provide for his wife and children? How has Governor Inslee deemed thousands of Boeing employees who work inside a factory building airplanes essential? But building residential homes is not essential? If a factory with 20,000+ employees each day can implement safe practices to conduct normal business operations, I am entirely confident that our small business owners and independent contractors are more than capable of doing the same.
If this Coronavirus is so lethal and we have shut down our roaring economy to save lives, then it should be all or nothing. The government should not be picking winners or losers when it comes to being able to make an income for your family. If the virus is so lethal it shouldn’t matter whether you are building a school for the government, building a new housing development, restaurant owner, or you happen to be an independent contractor. To the contrary, if the virus is proving to not be as lethal as we thought, maybe it’s time for a balanced and reasonable approach to safely get our economy moving again and allowing small businesses to once again provide an income for their families and save their businesses. This is what I hoped for from the Governor tonight but he is not prepared or ready to make these decisions. If we are going to allow government contractors and pot shops to continue to make a living for their families, then it is time to open up this freedom for other small business owners who are comfortable operating in the current climate. This is the great thing about freedom. If you are worried about getting sick you have the freedom to choose to stay home. If you need to make a living for your family and are comfortable doing so, you should have the freedom to do so.
As I have previously stated, I have not carried out any enforcement for the current a stay-at-home order. As this order has continued on for well over a month now and a majority of our residents cannot return to work to provide for their families, I have received a lot of outreach from concerned members of our community asking if Governor Inslee’s order is a violation of our constitutional rights.
As your Snohomish County Sheriff, yes I believe that preventing business owners to operate their businesses and provide for their families intrudes on our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I am greatly concerned for our small business owners and single-income families who have lost their primary source of income needed for survival.
As your elected Sheriff I will always put your constitutional rights above politics or popular opinion. We have the right to peaceably assemble. We have the right to keep and bear arms. We have the right to attend church service of any denomination. The impacts of COVID 19 no longer warrant the suspension of our constitutional rights.
Along with other elected Sheriffs around our state, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office will not be enforcing an order preventing religious freedoms or constitutional rights. I strongly encourage each of you to reach out and contact your councilmembers, local leaders and state representatives to demand we allow businesses to begin reopening and allow our residents, all of them, to return to work if they choose to do so.
The great thing about Snohomish County government is we have all worked very well together during this crisis. I’m not saying we agree all of the time, I’m saying we have the talent and ability to get this done for Snohomish County! This is not a time to blindly follow, this is a time to lead the way.
Sheriff Adam Fortney
by Jim Scarantino | Apr 21, 2020 | General
No sense of urgency. More discussion of plastic bags and Earth Day than doing anything to alleviate the economic crisis already devastating our community, destroying lives and sowing despair and anger.
That sums up the Port Townsend City Council’s weekly meeting on April 20, 2020. Before it was convened, councilors, each on camera from home or an office, talked about books they had been reading. When it was convened the people who are supposed to be leading our city through these dark days turned first to an Earth Day proclamation.
Then they corrected a bookkeeping oversight that showed $316,000 remaining unspent in the account for the vacant, rat infested Cherry Street Project. (We know of the rats after interviewing a neighbor to that derelict “affordable housing” project).
Then they took the sad action of ratifying temporary furloughs of some City Hall employees.
Then they took up whether a temporary reprieve from the city’s plastic bag ban should be approved as restaurants were running out of paper bags and reporting they could not obtain more from suppliers. Several councilors were upset that one of the city’s “larger grocery stores” had been using plastic bags without asking permission. Deputy Mayor David Faber stated “it stuck in my craw” that a bagger had encouraged him to accept a plastic bag when he could see some paper bags that might be available. Another councilor pondered whether grocery stores might also be running out of paper bags. Concern was expressed about upholding “the City’s values” as they wrestled with the “expediency” of the situation. City Councilor Pam Adams saved the day when, unlike anyone else on Council, including its two members who are lawyers, she bothered to read the words of the city ordinance. It already permits use of plastic bags for take-out food and in the event of shortages of paper bags.
Then Mayor Michelle Sandoval gave her report, mostly dealing with wanting people to wear masks outside.
Then they heard a report from the City Manager, which did not discuss how to help any of the cratering businesses, unemployed workers and struggling households in Port Townsend, but did ask for understanding from the public who might be unsettled seeing public works crews doing their jobs. He stated that at a future meeting an effort would be made to assess the city’s declining tax revenues.
Then City Councilor Ariel Speser raised a suggestion of helping downtown retail businesses by finding a way they could resume limited operations. She floated the idea of outdoor sales, which, though she didn’t draw the analogy, would be similar to the Farmer’s Market that is opening in coming days. Mayor Sandoval said maybe discussion of that idea could begin at a future meeting, say the next regular Council meeting on May 4.
And then they adjourned with an admonition from Mayor Sandoval to “stay safe.”
The video from last night’s brief meeting can be viewed at this link.
