Gibboney New Port of Olympia Executive Director

Above: Port of Olympia executive director candidate Sam Gibboney spoke at a public forum on Thursday. Gibboney was chosen by port commissioners as the Port of Olympia’s new executive director on Friday.

Rainbow Ceramics contract scheduled to expire in July 2019

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Port of Olympia commissioners unanimously chose Sam Gibboney as the port’s new executive director on Friday.

Commissioners held final interviews and deliberated for several hours in executive session before making their final selection among three final candidates.

Gibboney, of Friday Harbor, uses she/her pronouns. A civil engineer, she has served as executive director of the Port of Port Townsend for two years.

Prior to her position there, she worked for San Juan County in a variety of capacities including director of environmental resources and deputy director of public works.  

As a private consultant of her own company from 2000 - 2013, she provided strategic planning, construction project management, and land use and environmental permitting services to public agencies and non-profits. 

Her list of clients includes National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Sanctuary Programs, land trusts, counties, and conservancy organizations.

Early in her career, she was a Superfund environmental restoration manager at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, supervising a $9.8 million annual budget. There, she negotiated the first record of decision for a Superfund program in Alaska.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from San Diego University in 1990 and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington in 2009.

Her community service includes board president of the Port Townsend Food Co-op from 2010 to 2013. She is also a current member of the Port Townsend Rotary.

In her application for the executive position, Gibboney emphasized her 25 years of experience in working for and providing services to local and state government and non-profit organizations.

“I would bring a record of leadership in sustainable economic development balanced with sound environmental stewardship and community involvement,” she wrote.

Above: Port of Olympia Commissioner E.J. Zita chats with community member Kevin Partlow during a break in port executive director candidate interviews on Thursday.

On Thursday, the public had a chance to meet and interview the finalists at the Hilton Garden Inn in Olympia. All three port commissioners were in the audience.

The finalists were Gibboney, Dan Stahl, chief operating officer for the Port of Longview, and Geir-Eilif Kalhagen, director of Northern California and Pacific Northwest Metro Ports based in Long Beach, California.

Community member Denis Langhans attended the meeting and questioned each candidate about the port’s high ratio of tax levy to operating revenues. 

Contacted after Gibboney was chosen, Langhans said that of the three candidates, she was the one he preferred.

“I think that she has a broader view than the others. I think that she may be able to think outside the box, and not stay stuck in the present culture of non-accountability,” he said.

“For every dollar the port takes in, the taxpayers have to subsidize with 54 cents. This is much higher than other middle to large ports who average under 20 percent. 

“A comparison was made at yesterday’s meeting to Anacortes which has the same four business units and is slightly larger than the Port of Olympia. The tax levy for Anacortes is about $650,000 whereas the Port of Olympia’s tax levy is ten times larger,” he said.

Prior to the announcement on Friday, port commission board president E.J. Zita came out of executive session three times in one and a half hours to explain to those gathered for the public meeting that deliberations were still in progress.

Finally, their deliberations over, Zita began the meeting by saying it was a new beginning for the Port of Olympia.

“Thank you all for your patience. The Port of Olympia commission took a long time to evaluate our finalists because we had such strong candidates. We have spent today reviewing them in light of what the Port needs most right now. We need a strong and experienced leader who can help us assess our strengths and challenges, plot a good course forward, and have a prosperous voyage. 

“This ship, the Port of Olympia, needs a captain who can work well with the commission to carry out wise decisions – and who can also weigh input from crew – that means Port staff and our diverse community in Thurston County….

“We’re confident that Sam Gibboney is the right person for the job of executive director, and we welcome her aboard at the Port of Olympia,” she said.

Following the departure of Ed Galligan earlier this year, Karras Consulting assisted the commissioners in the search for a new executive director.

According to Dennis Karras, the port’s search process recruited a total of 39 candidates. The commissioners interviewed 25 of them. Overall, the search drew 27 candidates from in-state and 12 from out-of-state. Twenty-two of the candidates had port experience, and 17 had other experience.

There were a total of four women who applied for the position. In the top ten, 20 percent were people of color, Karras told Little Hollywood after the meeting.

In 2019, the Port of Olympia will face continued scrutiny of its financial sustainability and a contract involving controversial cargo. 

The port’s contract with Rainbow Ceramics to accept and transfer ceramic proppants is scheduled to expire in July 2019. 

There are 125 bags and 10 rail cars of proppants remaining on port property, said port staff on Friday. 

As the Port approaches its 100 year anniversary, it is also working on a community visioning process called Vision 2050.

Gibboney will start work on January 22, 2019 and be paid $175,000 a year.

For more information about the Port of Olympia, Vision 2050, Rainbow Ceramics, ceramic proppants, rail blockades and protests, go to Little Hollywood at https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search button.

Above: Bags of ceramic proppants sit at the Port of Olympia on Friday. 

‘Oly Mountain Boy’ Attorney Announces Race for County Commission

Above: Tye Menser is a candidate for Thurston County Commission District 3. Little Hollywood interviewed Menser and covered law and justice issues, growth and the environment, county public health issues, and the need for a new county courthouse complex.

“The county has to be right there knee-deep with the cities in solving the county’s problems,” said Menser.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Tye Menser announced his candidacy for Thurston County Commission District 3 on Saturday.

Menser, 47, is a bluegrass, banjo-playing member of the acclaimed Oly Mountain Boys and a Harvard and University of California-Berkeley educated public defense and criminal law attorney.

Menser made his announcement at the Thurston County Democrats’ annual Champagne Brunch at the River’s Edge Restaurant in Tumwater.

The seat is currently held by Commissioner Bud Blake, a self-described independent. Blake unseated Karen Valenzuela, a Democrat, in 2014.

Menser says he is running to improve the county’s financial management and partner with cities to work on solutions to regional problems such as affordable housing, poverty, addiction and mental health services. 

He also wants this partnership to create sustainable land use policies.

Interview with Little Hollywood

Menser sat down with Little Hollywood earlier this week to discuss his journey to Thurston County and approach to the issues.

We covered a lot of ground: the budget, growth, housing, environmental issues, the proposed new county courthouse, the proposed expansion of the county jail, and law and restorative justice issues.

Born in Southern California and raised by public school teachers, Menser is married to a public school teacher and father of two children. 

While a law student, he studied in Mexico, Argentina and Chile, learned Spanish, and served three years in large law firms. He traveled around the world in between jobs and met his wife while traveling in Bulgaria.

Menser is a ten-year singing and songwriting member of the Oly Mountain Boys. In a Northwest Music Scene reader poll, the band’s album, “White Horse” was voted as one of the top ten Pacific Northwest albums of 2014.

Set in Grays Harbor, the album, written by Menser, tells a life story from beginning to end, centering on Washington’s frontier past. One song is called, “They Cut Down the Trees.”

Menser first discovered his appreciation for environmental issues while living in Alaska nearly 15 years ago. 

“I went to Alaska in 2001, after three years in big-law firm private practice. Those three years showed me that I would only survive as a lawyer if I was in a more public service type of practice. At the same time, I became interested in environmental issues….I combined the two goals and joined the Alaska Public Defender Agency, representing the interests of indigenous peoples living above the Arctic Circle and throughout interior Alaska. I stayed for nearly seven years.

“I traveled all over the Alaskan wilderness, and developed an abiding appreciation for wild places and a deep understanding the value of pristine natural landscapes,” he said.

Coming to Olympia in 2007, Menser served on Thurston County’s Water Conservancy Board from 2010 to 2013. He has extensive training in Washington State’s complex water law.

With that knowledge, Menser pledges to enhance Thurston County’s unique features and preserve water quality, county farmlands and open spaces.

“I appreciate how smart, sustainable land use planning provides security for people and our irreplaceable lands as we continue to grow. We must provide for both prosperity and preservation. We have to be mindful of how we grow, and our current commissioners are trying to roll back protections for our prairies, groundwater and shorelines. We’re in a sweet spot here and need to retain its character. We need county commissioners who are going to fiercely protect that character,” he said.

Digging deep into the details of the county’s Habitat Conservation Plan currently under review, Menser wants to remind voters that all three current commissioners ran their election campaigns saying the Plan was unnecessary.

“The Habitat Conservation Plan is a way to help our landowners and property owners not run afoul of the law…Now the commissioners realize it’s needed, but they are questioning the science behind the need to protect endangered species and questioning the acreage for mitigation, so we’re pretty far back in the process. They have taken an obstructionist approach and I don’t think that is responsible leadership for the county. They are not asking the right questions.

“They are also looking at a reduction of protections in low impact development standards and the critical areas ordinance and considering the reduction of buffers,” he said.

Highlighting the interconnectedness of the county’s challenges, Menser says the county budget is in trouble and “it is time for the county to take a stronger role in joining the cities to work on regional issues.”

The county’s criminal justice system, including the courts, prosecution and defense, policing and the jail, currently consumes 76 percent of the county’s general fund.

“The commission has squandered two-thirds of our budget reserve with no plan to replenish it –that’s not responsible financial planning. We’re one emergency away from financial insolvency. A long term financial plan is key,” he said.

“Thurston County faces increasingly complicated problems with fewer and fewer financial resources to solve them. The anticipated population growth that we can see all around us is only going to further strain our ability to provide services and protect natural resources. The voters need someone who can safely lead the county through these challenges and I believe I’m the person for the job.”

With the commissioners also acting as the Board of Health, Menser says he will provide greater county leadership on issues on issues such as affordable housing and homelessness.

“The recent Point-in-Time count indicates that the number of unsheltered homeless on the street has spiked. Partnerships with the cities on these issues with a collaborative approach may be slow, but produces more solid, long-term solutions. Nearly a third of people in the county are under rent pressure, struggling to just meet their basic housing costs. The county has to be right there knee-deep with the cities in solving the county’s problems,” said Menser.

Menser’s practice includes court-appointed work with Thurston County Public Defense.

Despite the drop in crime, the population in the county jail is increasing, particularly those with special needs.

“We have 45 percent of the people in our jail with diagnosed mental health issues and 75-80 percent with addiction and substance abuse, so, to me, that statistic jumps off the page. If we’re concerned about why our jail is full and we’re housing people believing there’s going to be some rehabilitation, we are accomplishing a lot less incarcerating someone when they really are in need of mental health and addiction treatment.

“So, if we’re looking at the gap between revenue cap and the rising cost of government, we have to look at these issues. I’m well positioned to do that with my background. The plan to expand the jail is not the best use of our money….We could be looking at investing in other parts of the system that will have a better effect,” said Menser.

“The interconnectedness of these issues is one of my themes….You have to think of all our main issues - economic development, the environment, the budget, and law and justice. You have to see the whole system in terms of how to spend your money. I will work to implement reforms, find efficiencies and cost savings, reduce criminal recidivism, and make our communities safer and healthier,” said Menser.

Regarding the needs of the current county courthouse complex which was built in 1978, Menser agrees it needs to be replaced and says all the reasons presented are valid.

“The case that the courthouse is in disrepair is pretty clear. To me, the space concerns are the tipping factor. Three times the amount of space is needed to deal with the anticipated population growth. The space issue is acute. We have to figure out as a community how to make this project work. The judges have given a number of presentations. They are mindful of the fact that this very large expenditure needs to have corollary benefits to the community. That’s why the thought of having it downtown could be another way to revitalize our community.

“The downtown concept is good but the financial possibilities that have been presented are going to eat up capital expenditures. Whether it can it be done on a smaller scale is the challenge. Even the current commissioners are acknowledging the need. The location is the next big decision that needs to be made,” said Menser.

After covering a lot of ground on serious issues, it was time for Little Hollywood to ask Menser if he would be offended by me closing out the interview with a carefully chosen banjo joke. Menser laughed and braced himself.

Little Hollywood: So why is banjo playing like a courtroom trial?

Menser put his head in his hands, and thought for what seemed like half a minute. He was stumped. What? Had he not heard this one? He gave up.

Answer: Everyone is relieved when the case is finally closed.

But Menser was quick with a challenge:

Menser: Why do some people hate banjo players instantly?

Answer: It saves time.

Menser is hoping voters will like this one.