Commissioners Present: Benye Weber, Bruce Bryson and Ann McDonald

Others Present: Jim Patton (Executive Director), Laura Blankenship ( Comprehensive Plan Editor-in-Chief), Nathan Whalen (Whidbey News-Times), Amber O'Brien (Edwards & Associates), Robert Hetler (Vice President, GFMG), Long Bechard (Port of Coupeville Harbor Master and owner of the Gallery Store), Jan Graham (owner of the Harbor Café), Joan Geiger (owner of the Corroseal shop), Barbara Kolar (Native Plant Steward), Don Meehan (WSU Extension), Beach Watchers members: Jim Somers, Kristen Cooley, Roxanne Medley, Bonney Netzel, Rudy Deck and Bill Thurman, Coupeville Residents: Sammye Kempbell, , Kathy Pigott, Bill Pigott, Sarah Schmidt, Emily Ramsey, Bonnie Nissle and Diana Schmidt; Greenbank Resident: Mark Fessler, Langley Residents: Jackie Johnson and Graham Johnson

Call to order: The special meeting was called to order at 6:05 pm by Commissioner Weber in the Coupeville Recreation Center in Coupeville, WA.

PURPOSE OF THE MEETING:

The Port of Coupeville is preparing a Comprehensive Plan and the public review phase began on January 10, 2007. This meeting is one of several at which a presentation on the contents of the draft plan will be given, followed by an opportunity for the public to respond. Weber read aloud this purpose and a list of guidelines for the conduct of the meeting. A copy of the guidelines is attached to these Minutes. Weber pointed out that the Board would listen to public comments on the draft plan but would not defend or debate the contents. She said that written and e-mail comments will be welcome until midnight, March 31, 2007. The Board intends to adopt a final plan at the regular Port meeting on April 11, 2007.

PRESENTATION: (Patton) Patton gave a ninety minute presentation on the draft 2007-2026 Comprehensive Plan. A copy of this presentation is on file at the Port Office.

PUBLIC INPUT: Weber opened the meeting to public comment. The following comments were made by attendees:

James (Jim) Somers: I am currently president of the WSU Beach Watchers in Island County. I am here to report that the Beach Watcher Advisory Council has reviewed the draft language of the Port of Coupeville Comprehensive Plan regarding the development of a marine education center and has unanimously voted to support this concept. One of the missions of Beach Watchers is to educate the public regarding the preservation of the fragile marine environment that we are privileged to experience as residents of this region. An education center at the wharf will help Beach Watcher volunteers fulfill that mission. The WSU Beach Watchers look forward to working with the Port Commission, other community leaders, and interested individuals with thorough and appropriate planning, and development over time of a facility in which we can all take pride and which will aid in the economic growth and development of the region.

Jan Graham: I have the unique position of being a tenant on the wharf and my ability to speak to my landlords is in a public venue. It seems to be something that I am not able to do privately and I found out about the Comprehensive Plan through some rumors but more specifically through getting a copy of the Plan when it was available to the public. I am here to discuss that a little bit. Jim Patton gave some verbal assurance about the terms of the existing leases, although the wording of the draft can be taken to be specifically otherwise. Under Implementation of the Coupeville Marine Facility, Marine Education Center (Page 48) item C - 'advise existing tenants for plans for implementing a marine education center on the wharf building.' Item #5 on that page, I wanted to comment on the Front Street entrance improvements Item C - 'develop an overall Site Plan including landscaping and signage to enhance the esthetic appeal of the Front Street entrance to the wharf.' This is something that I have been asking the Board to do for sometime and am looking forward to that implementation. On page 3 - Strategic Directions, Coupeville Marine Facility Item #1 - 'Progressively change the use of a portion of the wharf building to a marine education center.' On page 41 - under Operational and Capital Development Plan, Projects and Initiatives for the Coupeville Marine Facility, Item #1 - 'A marine education center.' The Board talked about the recognition of a challenge walking down the dock and I certainly am very aware of that definitely when the wind is blowing and the rain is coming and we appreciate all of our wonderful and valuable patrons that make that walk to eat with us. You use the words that you felt your Plan for the museum would overcome the access barrier of the causeway and I am not sure how, I think your being a little bit foolish in that way that coming to the museum would be any easier to walk down the causeway than it would for a business in that area as well. Your proposal mentions exhibits, food, meeting rooms and a gift shop would be your ultimate goal along with the marine education facility. You have food, meeting rooms and a gift shop in place and exhibits. Quote on page 41, Item #1 'As current tenant leases in the wharf building expire over time the spaces will be considered for the staged implementation of a marine education center.' Under Appendix B-2, there is a graph that shows Port leases and it delineates the initial end date of the current lease and the second number is the renewal end date. I want to specifically ask the Board to explain to me how the implementation of this project will affect my continuing business on the wharf and the possible sale of a business at sometime in the future to a qualified buyer.

Patton said that the ground rules of the meeting are that the Board is not here to defend or debate the contents of the draft plan but to gather public input. Graham asked if she could look forward to that answer in writing from the Board. Weber said, Yes, she could look forward to an answer from the Board in writing. Graham said I understand that very well, I understand also that I have a significant investment in a business on the wharf and if I do not speak in this venue I have a chance of losing that investment. I do want to mention that I provide jobs for the community that were not previously in place on the wharf, I employ up to eight people during season. You were talking about the significance of economic development and jobs so I wanted to note that I do provide that in my business. I would like to have more discussions of incorporating mixed use of goals and the existing tenants. I love the Beach Watchers, I love their displays, I love you as people and I love your mission and what you are accomplishing in my community and I am a long term resident of Island County and I live in Coupeville. I didn't come here from someplace else to do this restaurant; this is my hometown. I went to Don Meehan in December and offered him space for the Beach Watcher organization to enlarge their display area in my restaurant where I have space available and he has not yet responded to that. I have a concern, I am trying to provide a business to my community and I have a large organization, the Beach Watchers, that are very involved in the community and have an extended group of friends in the area. It has been said to me that they are not worried because I am going out of business anyway and they can have my space. I found that disconcerting, I would rather work together with the Beach Watchers so that we can both win in our endeavors but if in fact the Beach Watchers organization even informally takes that stance, you potentially can close my business and I would like you to think about that. Thank you for your time.

Don Meehan: I am here representing Washington State University Extension this evening. I would like to recognize that we have had a partnership with the Port of Coupeville for many years in Island County. I have been here for many years and I know that you on the Board as Commissioners have probably walked in the wharf and had pigeons doing their thing on top of you and our history goes back that far. I have seen a lot of changes through the years that I have worked here since 1982 and am very pleased with what the Port has done with the wharf. They have kept this facility that is an agricultural landmark in Island County as well as a maritime landmark. We have partnered. The water festival was probably the first partnership and we continue to partner with the water festival in a very serious way and Benye has managed to grab all of my water festival posters and display them. It is a delightful thing that we have done this great thing for our community with the water festival and everything that we have done. I am particularly pleased because I work very closely with county government and I see a lot of planning efforts and this is probably one of the very best plans that I have seen that actually feels like it was built by the community. I want to applaud the Commissioners, it takes a lot of guts to let a group guide you and I am very pleased with the plan. I think it has vision and what really tickles my brain is the fact that the Ports as a general rule, and my history with this Port and all the other Ports is that they are driven by the economic ruler. Here you folks have taken stewardship and put that right along side of economics and I applaud you for that. We are unique here and I think you folks understand that we are totally unique in this Puget Sound area and we have something to protect and that is the beautiful place and home that we live in. I think that this plan is a plan that starts to address that and it does it in a rather bold way. I am very delighted that the Port is very interested in helping agriculture in this community it was the backbone for why we even have a wharf and it is truly the uniqueness of our community that we have agriculture here and it is, as Jim Patton has said, failing. I embrace all of the changes that you are looking forward to at the wharf and the Greenbank Farm vision. We have a Master Gardener program fully engaged down there. I am sorry to hear Jan Graham's comments about Beach Watchers, our intentions have never been as a program to hurt any of the businesses there, we intended to strengthen businesses by the exhibits that we have there. The partnership with the whales and Rudy the Dolphin will continue as well. I will get my comments in detail to you.

Sarah Schmidt: I am just speaking as a citizen, I am not representing any group but I spent some time at the Library this afternoon reading through the entire Comprehensive Plan. It was really impressive and I want to thank the committee of nine people that spent the time putting it together. It is extremely visionary and as Don said I think it is very exciting how it finds the cross roads between economic development and environmental sustainability and tries to link those two together. I am excited at the prospect of a marine education center; it is an idea that has been bubbling around and gradually growing with the whales down there. Personally, I would never want to harm the economic prosperity of people that are down there but the shift that I see in this plan is that when I was the coordinator for the Beach Watchers, when we were first working on things down there, there was a strong feeling that the Port was reluctant about risking not having someone paying a lease on each of the spaces at the wharf and not having the commercial use of it. I think that this is showing the vision that there may be less money coming in terms of a lease but the money can come in other ways to the Town through tourism through having a non profit in there. I wanted to comment on the concept of the improvements in the Front Street entrance. I hope that in the planning of that the idea of low impact development is incorporated so that we don't get an impervious surface there because if you replace the gravel with something impervious the water will run down into the cove and we should do what we can to have it run into the ground. The Greenbank Farm facility plan -- I just finished helping to create the new edition of the book 'Getting to the Water's Edge,' which is about public access to the water and I know this isn't the foremost role of the Port, it is just to work with the county and it is the county's responsibility primarily to develop that. My understanding is that the end of Wonn Road is a public access that belongs to the county but there is uncertainty of exactly where that is and it needs to be surveyed. I think there is a good possibility of having public access there and there is no other public access for a boat from Long Point to Freeland Park so there is a huge need for that.

Emily Ramsey: I am a private citizen now; my time on the Comprehensive Plan is over. I have a suggestion, I would like to see at least one more public hearing and I would like to see more publicity. I feel that the word did not get out to enough people. I would like to see notice at the libraries that tells when these hearings are taking place. I realize that you are accepting public comment in the form of writing and emails but I am a proponent of public hearings. I feel that you need to hear what the public has to say in addition to their written comments. Also, if the Port has an opportunity to become involved in the Puget Sound clean up effort, I would love to see that happen somehow.

Roxanne Medley: I am here to speak as a citizen. I am also a Beach Watcher. I am thrilled about this plan. As many of you know I am usually on the other side of many of these things and I did read the entire plan. I am particularly excited about the idea of the wharf and I consider it the jewel of Coupeville and to me that is what the symbol of our town is. I think that what comes out of this is that the emphasis on the economic and environmental part is we are always looking for a way to build that bridge between businesses and the environmental things. Here is an opportunity to not only bring in tourists but to build that bridge a little deeper and a little stronger with our own people here in the Town so that we aren't just looking at our residents hoping they will come to the restaurants just because hopefully a few of us can get out for one night. Hopefully they will come and bring their friends and families and go to the wharf and the marine science center and then we will spread out and go buy ice cream or a birthday card and walk around to all of the shops. I just think it is such a positive move in this town to see that kind of bond being built so, hoorah! You have done a great job.

Bonnie Nissle: I just wanted to make one comment that the idea of another public meeting would be great. I would like to take time to digest what I have heard tonight and then if I have more comments I can come to that meeting.

Don Meehan: As a private citizen I would love to see the Port own an airport. Those folks that have industries that make a living in ways that don't harm our environment really rely on that airport to conduct business and to get to places. I think it is a way for economic generation to take place that the Port can support that is consistent with the Port's mission as well as the statewide mission of Ports.

There being no further public comments, Weber closed the public input session. She thanked everyone for attending the meeting and said that if there is anything else that they would like the Board to be aware of, please send it in writing to the Port. Also, the Board will discuss the idea of having another public meeting. Patton said that the Port has copies of the compete draft Comprehensive Plan available to anyone at the meeting who would like one. They will also be available at the Port Office.

ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, Weber adjourned the meeting at 8:35 pm.