Commissioners Present: Benye Weber, Bruce Bryson and Ann McDonald

Others Present: Jim Patton (Executive Director), Molly MacLeod-Roberts (Edwards & Associates), Nathan Whalen (Whidbey News-Times), Tom Baenen (GFMG President), Donna Keeler (Master Site Plan Coordinator), Sarah Richards (President of the Central Whidbey chamber of Commerce), Brigette Juras, Judy Feldman, Karen Krug, Stacey Neumiller, and Emily Ramsey (Coupeville residents), Graham Johnson (Langley resident), and Mark Fessler and Susan Prescott (Greenbank residents).

Call to Order: The regular meeting was called to order at 10:30 a.m. by Commissioner Weber in the Island County Commissioners' Hearing Room located at #1 NE 6^th Street, Room B 102, Coupeville, WA, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Weber explained that today's Agenda would be changed in order for her to be sworn in as the recently elected Port of Coupeville Commissioner, representing District 2. Brigette Juras from Port Attorney Dale Roundy's office was on hand to notarize and administer the Oath of Office. Weber was then sworn in for a term of six years and the Oath of Office was notarized.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING:

Weber stated that the Minutes for the regular meeting of October 10, 2007, and the Minutes for the special meetings of October 4 and November 10, 2007, were available for approval and signatures.

A motion was made by Bryson and seconded by McDonald to approve the Minutes as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS:

The Whidbey Farm Tour (Judy Feldman): Richards, President of the Central Whidbey Chamber of Commerce (CWCOC) explained that the Agenda incorrectly indicated she was presenting on behalf of the CWCOC, but her presence was in support of a briefing on the Whidbey Farm Tour. Richards then introduced Feldman, who was on hand to discuss The Whidbey Farm Tour's proposal that is attached to these Minutes. The Whidbey Farm Tour requested assistance in the form of an in-kind contribution: the use of the Greenbank Farm for October 4-5, 2008 free of charge. Feldman explained that the main cost for the event is the brochure, and noted that the Port of South Whidbey had contributed a relatively substantial amount of money to offset that cost. She said the Farm Tour knew that was not a possibility for the Port of Coupeville. Feldman suggested that the Port could still help offset the cost of keeping that hub at Greenbank Farm by authorizing the Whidbey Farm Tour's use of the Greenbank Farm free of charge for the weekend of October 4-5, 2008.

Bryson explained that the Greenbank Farm Management Group (GFMG) leases the commercial area of the Farm from the Port of Coupeville. That venue is run by the GFMG and not by the Port, so the Port cannot make a decision on the Farm Tour's request. Weber agreed and said the request would need to be referred to the GFMG. Feldman said the reason they wanted to address the Port directly in addition to contacting the GFMG was that it seemed that the GFMG felt compelled to work under a certain set of rules passed down from the Port. The Whidbey Farm Tour is trying to get both entities on board with the request. Bryson asked if they had approached the GFMG with the request and Feldman said they had approached them last year and would be approaching them again this year.

Karen Krug, the Chair of the Farm Tour, said the proposal was a way to bring the Port of Coupeville into the Farm Tour through an in-kind contribution.

Weber said that all three members of the Board support the Farm Tour and attended this year's event, but as a Port the request must be referred to the GFMG. Feldman asked the Board to just consider this the beginning of a conversation. Patton volunteered to be the interlocutor between the Farm and the Port and keep the Board informed. Weber said that would be fine, but the Whidbey Farm Tour still needs to make their presentation to the GFMG Board, and Patton could attend that meeting and report back to the Port.

Bryson explained support of agricultural activities is high on the Port's list of things to do as outlined in the Port's Comprehensive Plan. Weber added that the Comprehensive Plan was available on the Port's website at http://portofcoupeville.org/. Feldman said they have looked at the Comprehensive Plan and they believe the mission of the Whidbey Farm Tour and the mission of the Port match well together. The Board agreed.

Artist Stacey Neumiller and small farm owner Sarah Richards each spoke about the many benefits of their participation in the Farm Tour.

Weber said the Board is certainly supportive of the Farm Tour, and thanked them all for their presentation.

NEW BUSINESS:

Selection of replacement for Commissioner Bryson, effective January 1, 2008: Weber said there were two candidates for the position: Rob Harbour and Marshall Bronson. Both candidates were given the same five questions to answer in a Port Memorandum dated December 4, 2007. The Memorandum is attached to these Minutes. Weber explained the applicants had the option to respond by mail or in today's open meeting. Bronson was unable to attend today's meeting as he had a prior commitment and is out of state, so he mailed his responses to the Board. Weber explained his responses would be read into the record at this meeting, and that none of the Board members had seen his responses prior to today's meeting. She said Harbour was given the same option to attend the meeting or mail his responses, and Harbour had opted to attend today's meeting.

Question and Answer Period. Executive Director Jim Patton read aloud each of the five questions and Harbour verbally responded after each one.

Rob Harbour's Responses:

Question #1: The answer is yes. The wording of that question kind of threw me because in fact, I guess tempering makes me think of compromising, and in fact, yes we do have a sole source aquifer, we do have historic resources, we've got transportation issues and those are all real constraints; serious constraints, but it's kind of like economic development comes in various flavors. I think the Port District's job is to choose what efforts are appropriate given those constraints and then go full steam ahead on those. I think it might be more a case of what's the appropriate thing for the community as opposed to tempering. I think certainly acknowledging and accommodating those limitations that we have or treating them as strengths would be the way to go. So - certainly.

Question #2: I was lucky enough to be part of the Advisory Group that presented to you a draft for your consideration of the Comprehensive Plan, and that was a great process. And I think it's a great Comprehensive Plan because it clearly starts big picture and gets down to some very specific initiatives and projects, so that anyone looking at that document for the first time can track the process. I can't take much credit for that, I think that goes more to the drafters and the staff; the people who put the process together. I just got to throw out fun ideas and let them package them up. So yes, certainly, it's a new Plan, it's fresh, and it's good - definitely so. As far as initiatives, that's kind of a toughie because obviously agriculture is a really important topic to me. As Reserve Manager, Al Sherman and I convened a Sustainable Ag Committee, which now has a different name, with the idea of trying to get producers, processors, suppliers all in the same room. We were really taken aback by the interest in that effort and it's still going now about 2.5 years later. But I think if you notice the language in the Comprehensive Plan, that's one of the initiatives that is still kind of fuzzy; it's not really sharply focused and I think that you may have gotten some criticism for that. I have heard a little criticism of that. I think that it's fair to keep it fuzzy at this point because I think the problems still need to be identified, especially by people who know what those are, i.e. farmers who are actually doing it. That's the one that really piques my interest. Whether it turns out to be bio-fuels or boutique barley for malted liquors or land production - who knows, yet? But I think that's a case where some of those traditional roles that a Port plays such as transportation, storage, processing…yes, those are right down the alley for agriculture. However, I think there's some other pressing business that needs to be taken care of before we embark down that way and I think really the Greenbank Farm Master Site Plan is an important project. It needs to be completed or close to completed before taking on another big initiative. And also just kind of the fiscal health of the Port District itself, and you may have done work that I'm not aware of with this area in terms of a strategic plan or work plan to increase cash reserves and things, but it seems like a lot of energy should go there. I think the problem is which initiative isn't a high priority: the Marine Science Center - how could you not want that? Marketing of the Wharf and the Farm? So I think it's all there, we're lucky we've got a good Plan and it's all there.

Question #3: Absolutely. I think that's really an important part of the job. You are doing the public's business and that's just an essential part of that job. So, the answer is yes. I would like to say that I have certainly noticed a change in the Port's program in that effort. (Harbour then held up an advertisement for the public briefing of the Master Site Plan process). It's an ad in the paper advertising a meeting. It's got a beautiful photograph. There are several messages that come out of this to me and I really commend whoever is responsible for this. It not only says we're going to have a meeting about the Greenbank Farm, but it also says we really value your input and we really do want you to be here. And you were doing that for the Comprehensive Plan, when you had the sticky issue of the airport. You had a picture of the airport up on the north end and it grabbed my attention, and that was really commendable I think. You could have just done the little legal ad which has its own message, but the advertisement message is good.

So now I want to preach a little bit. There are 3 sentences out of the Open Public Meetings Act that whenever I get a little bit in need of a compass for where to go, make a decision on process, there's something in the Intent Section of the Open Public Meetings Act. It says: 1)The people do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies that serve them. 2) In delegating their authority, they do not give their public servants the right to decide what it's good for the public to know and what is not good for the public to know. 3) The people insist on remaining informed so that they can control the instruments they've created. Those are three just beautiful sentences for me and I think that they apply at the national level as well as at the local level. So I've got those written down and I've referred to those in the past. I think there's probably some other things that the Port could look at if it has the resources to do so, such as web page or presence on the Web or other ways of maintaining a little more constant contact with the public would be good if we're doing their work.

Question #4: At this point, I'm going to have to learn more about where we are with the Port revenues to give you a really intelligent answer on that question. I've got to honestly say that my approach at Ebey's (and the Historical Reserve Trust Board had a way more meager budget than the Port did) and yet we were able to garner tens of millions of dollars for land protection and things like that. We leveraged what we had. The key to that was to mostly use other people's money when we could - whether it's private, non-profit with a similar organizational mission such as the Nature Conservancy or other tax money. I remember a quote from Al Sherman when referred to something as a misuse of public funds, Al said, Well if there's going to be a misuse of federal funds, I want to be here. Obviously his message wasn't anything other than there are programs out there and those programs need people to apply for their funding, grants, etc. We should be actively looking at that and I'm sure you probably are. One thing that we tended to do was look a little farther afield at the missions of and applicability of certain of those grants to see if we could kind of pull a wider range of program money into the Reserve. There's always the pesky match, you always need to match those, and the Beachwatchers for instance do a great job using in-kind match, the Trust Board did a lot of in-kind good. But that gets back to fiscal responsibility and having that money to match with. I think trying to increase revenues from the existing assets, and again this is an outsider looking in, but you do have the Wharf, you do have the Farm and the sooner, the quicker they can become closer to self-sufficient, the better. Obviously you have to be kind of careful there. You have to work with your team members - the GFMG - to make sure you can continue to make progress in that direction. And then getting others to do the work for you, quite frankly. The Comprehensive Plan has a project in there that's the Keystone Harbor Refuge. That was probably more my idea than anyone else's. I don't think anyone else was too excited about that in the Advisory Group - they disagreed with me, but my thought was well, okay it's in our Plan. That doesn't necessarily mean the Port has to do it and own it. If you can accomplish that by getting state parks and the Department of Transportation or whatever partners to take that project on, then you've implemented your Plan and you did it without having to pay a dime. So I can see us hawking these projects to our partner agencies and getting them to do them if possible. Then you've got assets that you do want to protect. There are several things; one is just the support of the community. That is an asset and without that one you're not going to get anywhere. Staffing: you need to support staff, you need to provide a living wage, and a good Executive Director once on board is just as important as a good Commissioner, a part of the team. You need to support them and no surprises. Also succession plans in the sense of what's coming next. And then at some point there is what's called fiscal restraint where you sometimes just have to say No, sorry. So, those are my thoughts.

Question #5: I don't know if I've got one most pertinent experience, but I've worked as a private land developer with hands-on experience doing roads, drain fields, infrastructure, and that was pretty enjoyable. I've been on Boards, I used to be on the Board of Whidbey Camano Land Trust for a while and we negotiated conservation easements on behalf of the Land Trust and I've also negotiated on behalf of private owners of property. Then in local government, I used to work as a Senior Planner with Island County in permitting, water resource planning, and things like that. Then more recently, as Reserve Manager which is essentially an Executive Director position and they are a special purpose district as well. I learned the importance of partnerships, lived in the world of conservation easements - drafting them, enforcing them, monitoring them, finding other people to pay for them whenever possible. Managing infrastructure and budgeting - we went 16 years without a finding with the State Auditor. Just basically handling the public process, whether it's State Freedom of Information Act, Federal Freedom of Information Act, Americans with Disabilities Act complaints, I had to deal with all of those and in fact found that process to be enjoyable. You're doing the public's business and it's not that big of a deal. So I find myself enjoying that public service aspect of activities and I think it's something to be proud of, to be a public servant.

Board Discussion: Harbour said that was the end of question #5, but he asked if he could make some additional comments. He said if his making the comments would put Bronson at a disadvantage, he was fine with not stating them. McDonald said she had some questions, but Weber pointed out that Bronson was not available to answer any additional questions. Executive Director, Patton, said that up until this point there had been a level playing field for the applicants with the identical set of questions given to them, and both applicants agreed the procedure was fair. Patton said to go beyond the arrangement and allow additional comments or questions of Harbour would result in unbalancing that playing field. The Board agreed that there would be no additional questions or comments. Harbour agreed and said that was fine, He indicated he would like to continue his answer to question #5.

Question #5 continued (Harbour's further response): Regarding pertinent experience, I think one thing I have learned through all of these experiences and I guess you would see this in my style of working with you, is that I try to keep in touch, keep in touch, keep in touch and email is wonderful for that: No surprises: in terms of team, whether it's for staff, the executive director or fellow commissioners since surprises generally just don't work. I try to have an enjoyable experience working with the people that I'm working with and doing good work and I enjoy that process. I'm pretty respectful of the public's right to participate, and sometimes that's frustrating, sometimes that makes for long meetings but that's what you have to do. However, the moment things become uncivil, my tendency is to find patience and try to find a way to alter the process so we can get back on a civil course. And most of all, if you've got a good mission and if you can keep that mission up front, you're going to do fine. I think you've got two good candidates, I must say, and so we're lucky in this instance, and you're right - we did go over the process. I think that this is a great process. I feel like it's been fair to me and I appreciate you being careful about that.

The Board thanked Harbour, who excused himself from the meeting while the questions to and answers from applicant Marshall Bronson were read into the record by Port Clerk MacLeod-Roberts and Executive Director Patton, respectively. Bronson's written response is attached to these Minutes.

EXECUTIVE SESSION - return to public meeting. Weber announced that there would be an Executive Session for the sole purpose of selecting a commissioner to replace Bryson who had resigned effective December 31, 2007. The session would last about twenty minutes. McDonald and Weber left the room at 11:23 a.m. They returned at 11:45 am and Weber announced that the Executive Session was concluded. She returned the meeting to the open public meeting.

Announcement of selection. Weber announced that after consideration of two well-qualified candidates, the Board was pleased to announce the selection of Marshall Bronson to fill the upcoming vacancy of Port Commissioner.

MEETING OPEN TO PUBLIC INPUT: Weber opened the meeting to public input. No one wished to speak and Weber closed the meeting to public input and returned to the public meeting.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Port Executive Director's Report: (Patton)

Patton explained that Graham Johnson of Washington State University-Extension (WSU) needed to leave the meeting early, so the Agenda was reordered accordingly.

Status of Comprehensive Plan initiatives:

Progress on Marine Education Center Plan (Graham Johnson): Johnson introduced himself as a member of the WSU Island County Beach Watchers program and a resident of Langley, WA. He noted that the Port had recently written to Don Meehan, Director of the WSU Extension, inviting him to lead the charge through the Beach Watcher organization planning for the long-range future of the Marine Education Center on Coupeville Wharf. Johnson noted that the Port had since received a letter from Meehan accepting that responsibility and passing it along to Johnson. He has agreed to continue with this new responsibility of overseeing the long-range planning effort and has put together a very brief outline of how the Beach Watchers have determined how best to approach this. The outline, dated 11/8/07, is attached to these Minutes. Johnson said he trusted that the approach meets with the Board satisfaction and they can go forward with that particular plan. Weber thanked Johnson and said the Board looks forward to working with him and continuing his outstanding work.

Master Site Plan for Greenbank Farm (Donna Keeler): Master Site Plan Coordinator Keeler reported the Port had held two community meetings at which Patton and she had briefed the public on the process for developing the Master Site Plan. The first meeting was attended by more than 50 people, and 24 of them signed up to be on a volunteer focus group. Last night's meeting was attended by approximately 15 people and 3 of them applied to be members of a focus group. Keeler has also received several telephone calls and emails from other individuals volunteering to be on a focus group. She said they now almost have more people than they need, and she is working on refining that list. Keeler said in addition to the four focus groups (Protection of Environmental Resources, Commercial Activities, Recreation and Agriculture), she is adding an advisor group consisting of people with specific knowledge in an area who want to participate but might not be able to commit to being in a focus group for a year. The advisors would be more than happy to attend some meetings, give presentations, and provide guidance. Keeler will be building that list as well and will present it to the Board when it is finalized. She hopes to have the lists for the focus groups and advisor group finalized by next week. Keeler said she still needed to figure out where the groups can meet and she will ask Cheryl Sagmeister if they can to meet at the Greenbank Farm. Once the meeting location has been determined, Keeler will then set the dates for each of the groups to meet. The first meeting will be toward the end of January, and she suggests having all the groups meet together for that first meeting to provide them information about the process and give them an overview of the role the Board plays and the role the GFMG plays. Keeler said it would be great to have someone from the Port and someone from the GFMG there to provide that information. Asset Inventory: Keeler said she has spent a lot of time getting the asset inventory completed. Keeler said she hopes to have a draft for the Board to review by the end of the month. The Board thanked Keeler for her report.

Tracking folders for Comprehensive Plan Projects and Initiatives (Patton): Patton reported that, as promised, he had created a booklet to track the progress of the initiatives and referred the Commissioners to their binders. The Board thanked him for doing that. Conservation Easement: Patton said there was progress on the initiative regarding the Conservation Easement. He noted that he had sent an email to the Board last night to report on the meeting he, Tom Baenen (President, GFMG) and Michael Stansbury (Secretary/Treasurer, GFMG) had with Island County Commissioner, Phil Bakke, and Director of General Services Administration, Betty Kemp. Patton said it was an excellent discussion and the Port and the Farm were able to go over in detail what they have in mind regarding the Conservation Easement. Patton reported that Bakke said he was on board with the Port's proposal that the County accept development rights on the Greenbank Farm and acting as the Conservator, but it would have to go to the Board of Island County Commissioners (BICC). Bakke suggested that when the Port and Farm are ready, they should work with Kemp to schedule a presentation during a regular BICC meeting with their staff. They would then consider it and provide a formal response. However, Bakke was also anxious that the Port satisfy the question raised by the State Auditor as to whether or not a State Attorney General's opinion is needed. There is no precedent for a Port surrendering its development rights, even to another municipality. If the Port gets a green light on that, Bakke said he can foresee no difficulties with the BICC taking the next step and accepting the role of Conservator. Bakke asked about the possible effects on the bonds, and they explained to him that an analysis by the bond attorneys would cost something, and before incurring such an expense, the Port and Farm needed to know these other things first.

Greenbank Farm Management Report: (Baenen) Patton noted that GFMG President, Tom Baenen, also needed to leave the meeting early, so the Agenda was reordered accordingly. Baenen was on hand to answer any questions the Board had regarding the November Report he previously submitted via email and which is included in these Minutes as follows:.

Finance Report for October 2007 for the Managed Property was reviewed with Commissioner Bruce Bryson and Port Executive Jim Patton on November 27^th.

One (1) retail space in Barn C is still vacant.

GFMG participated in the Port's Greenbank Farm Strategic Planning briefing on November 10^th at the Greenbank Progressive Club.

Weekly markets moved into the Barn on the 10^th. Holiday Markets will start each weekend following Thanksgiving.

2008 Officers were elected at the Board meeting on November 15^th. The new officers are: Tom Baenen, President, Mary Jo Stansbury, Vice-President, Michael Stansbury, Secretary/Treasurer.

Work continues on the GFMG's 2008 goals. It is planned to have them adopted at the December Board Meeting. Work on the 2008 Budget is progressing and scheduled for adoption in December.

The Christmas tree lighting took place on the 23^rd and Holiday Markets began that day. The 3-day opening was very successful for vendors. Santa Claus was visiting with children in the Jim Davis House on Saturday and Sunday. This event and market are better every year.

There are some problems with the Main Barn's Heating System. We are obtaining bids for the cost to correct this infrastructure problem.

The Board did not have any questions and thanked Baenen for preparing the report. They were very appreciative of receiving the report via email prior to the meetings.

Boating and fueling activity: Patton said he thought the higher prices of fuel had driven boats off the water. He reported that fuel sales in the month of November were only $1,895 and there was less than $100 in moorage revenue. Patton said the Harbor Master in Oak Harbor reported a mirror image in terms of fuel sales and guest moorage.

Status of rental spaces on the Wharf:

Long's Café. Patton said Long Bechard, owner of Long's Café, anticipates closing her restaurant at least until after the 1^st of the year for want of customers. Patton said that the Front Street merchants are experiencing the same lack of customers. He asked Bechard if she would have any problem paying the rent and Bechard assured him she fully intended to pay the rent and would reopen when business picked up again. KWPA Radio: Patton referred the Board to the 2-page update from KWPA Radio included in their folders and attached to these Minutes. Patton reported that William Bell of KWPA had met with him yesterday. Bell said that KWPA's administrative progress was very good, in terms of getting their transmitting up and operating, etc. They are getting help from the Economic Development Council, and they have a first class group of board members. Their problem is cash flow, and Bell alerted Patton that they might not be able to pay the $500 monthly rent for about two months. Patton and Bell discussed KWPA paying at least the leasehold tax portion of their rent so it would not interfere with the Port's quarterly reporting of leasehold taxes, and then KWPA would catch up with the rent portion later on as the cash flow problem is sorted out. Patton said KWPA is very anxious to make this happen, they've got good people on their board, and they think they'll be able to open their radio station within the next couple of months.

State Accountability Audit: The three-year Accountability Audit of the Port was conducted last week by the Assistant State Auditor. Patton reported that an Entrance Conference Special Meeting was held on December 3^rd and the Auditor was pleased the meeting was advertised and that Weber was able to attend. At the meeting, the Auditor provided a package describing the audit process and provided additional explanations as necessary. Last week, Assistant State Auditor Tiffany Lindsay spent time at the Port office, at Edwards & Associates and at the Harbor Master's office. She finished her report in draft, and told Patton that there were no findings and that there was only a handful of what she termed constructive criticisms. Patton said copies of the required Responsibility Letter were in the Commissioners' folders, and noted that the letter had been cosigned by Patton and Port Accountant Chuck Edwards, as requested by the Auditor. Patton also reported he had prepared and signed Personnel Action Forms outlining the duties and compensation for the Port's employees. The Harbor Master and Dock Hand had cosigned their forms as recommended by the Auditor, and the Handyman will do so when he returns from his vacation. The State Auditor will schedule an Exit Conference when the report is finalized, and Patton will work that out and inform the Board accordingly. Weber asked about the inventory list the auditor had mentioned at the Entrance Conference, and Patton said he had prepared it but was waiting for the Port Handyman, Dick Tackett, to return and provide additional information related to other possible assets such as tools, etc.

Report on Island Transit visit to Greenbank Farm: Patton said it was a good visit, in the sense that the architect and engineer employed by Island Transit needed to see the property in order to prepare the proposal that Martha Rose, Executive Director of Island Transit, promised they would present to the Board. The visit provided another opportunity to remind Island Transit that any proposal concerning Greenbank Farm would have to fall into the Master Site Plan process. Patton said Island Transit now intends to prepare a concept proposal that they are hoping to present at the Port's next regular meeting on January 9, 2008. They know that the Board will simply take it under advisement and hand it to Keeler to put into the Master Site Plan effort for consideration by the focus groups. Weber said it is good to keep reminding them of the process.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Marine Resources Committee (MRC): (Weber) Weber provided handwritten notes that are attached to these Minutes. She reported that the tour of Nichols Bros. Boatyard scheduled for December 4^th had been cancelled, and instead the MRC had a presentation from a representative of the Tulalip Tribe, Kit Rawson. Rawson is a Senior Fishery Management Biologist and a member of the San Juan MRC, which he currently chairs. Rawson's presentation emphasized the date of February 12, 1974, when the Boldt Decision was rendered. The decision reaffirmed and defined the tribal treaty rights as they pertain to salmon and the similar rights that now apply to shellfish, ground fish and hunting. He wanted the MRC to be aware of the different rights and responsibilities of the Tulalip Nation. Rawson is also serving on the Port Susan Marine Stewardship areas and the Island County MRC has been invited to participate with the people of Port Susan that want to make a marine stewardship area that will include all of the Saratoga Passage that the MRC has declared as a stewardship area. Before the Island County MRC gets on board with that, they've been asked to give a presentation to the Island County Commissioners at a staff meeting on December 19. MRC is to present the advantages and disadvantages of participation and answer Commissioners' questions. Weber said the next regular MRC meeting will be December 18, 2007, at 3:30 p.m. in the Island County Commissioners' Hearing Room. Linda Lyshell of the Puget Sound Action Team will make a presentation on low impact development. The public is invited to attend. Weber reported on the MRC's Year End Review and New Port Susan Proposal and provided it for attachment to these Minutes.

Central Whidbey Chamber of Commerce (CWCOC): (Weber) Weber reported the CWCOC next meeting is tomorrow, December 13^th, at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the Methodist church. Penn Cove Water Festival: The Festival Board has been busy the last three months writing and submitting grant applications. The Festival Board was very pleased to receive federal money for the first time for Endowment for the Arts and will be making an announcement. They also received some 2% money from the County, money from the Coupeville Festival Association, and some State money from the Arts Commission. They start meeting again in January to line up entertainment for the Penn Cove Water Festival to be held on Saturday, May 17^th. Weber said there is more to come and she will keep the Board informed.

Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) and Greenbank Farm Liaison: (Bryson)

SMP: Because the Town of Coupeville and the Department of Ecology are still working out the final details of the proposal, Bryson said there really isn't anything to report. The Town plans to hold a hearing as soon as they complete the process. GFMG: Bryson said there isn't much to report; everything was in order at the monthly meeting to audit the expenditure of the management fee paid by the Port. It was a very short meeting and there are no issues or specific concerns right now. The process on the Conservation Easement is still working its way along through all the details as partially mentioned in the report of the meeting with Phil Bakke.

Weber thanked Bryson, and told him it had been a pleasure working with him and reminded him that he would remain Commissioner through the 31^st of this month. All present applauded Bryson.

.

Council of Governments (COG), Regional Transportation Policy Organization (RTPO), Economic Development Council (EDC) and WPPA Legislative Committee): (McDonald)

COG: McDonald read aloud her handwritten notes from the October and November, 2007 meetings. Her notes are attached to these Minutes. McDonald reported that the COG decided that future funding for the EDC would come directly from the County, and Weber asked if that meant the Port would still pay dues but would no longer be asked to pay for the Uniquely Whidbey Trade Fair. McDonald said her understanding was that the Port would no longer be asked for money for anything. Patton said he would speak to Sharon Hart of the Island County EDC and get clarification. RTPO: No meeting in October or November and the meeting scheduled for December was cancelled due to the ferry crisis. EDC: McDonald reported there was no meeting in October and submitted and read aloud from her handwritten notes of the November meeting.

NEW BUSINESS: None.

ANNOUNCEMENTS & ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS:

Next Port regular meeting: The next regular monthly meeting of the Port's Board of Commissioners will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 9, 2008, in the Island County Commissioners Hearing Room located at #1 NE Sixth Street, Room B-102, Coupeville, WA.

Monthly Financial Status Report: MacLeod-Roberts submitted the final October 2007 financial statement and the preliminary November 2007 financial statement.

ACTION: A motion was made by Weber and seconded by McDonald to accept the final October 2007 financial statement as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.

Patton called attention to the graph in the Commissioners' folders. He explained that with the assistance of the port clerk, he was trying to keep the Port revenue and expense neutral for the last two months of the year. The Purchase & Payables for today total less than $20,000. Patton said the goal is to end the year as close to a balanced budget as possible. He said they won't know what the Operating Reserve will be to start 2008, but it will be well below the $100,000 they had all hoped it would be. Patton said for the first three months of 2008, until the levy money begins to come in at the end of April, he would like to not expend anything except on standard overhead and fixed costs of operating the Port. He suggested postponing the painting of the Wharf until after the levy money was received and the Board agreed.

Approval of Current Vouchers: MacLeod-Roberts submitted vouchers audited and certified by the auditing officer as required by RCW 42.24.080. She also submitted expense reimbursement claims certified as required by RCW 42.24.090.

ACTION: A motion was made by Bryson and seconded by McDonald to approve by signature the December 2007 vouchers, numbers #590 - #614 for a total amount of $19,630.36. The motion passed unanimously.

ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Board, Weber adjourned the meeting at 12:38 p.m.