Port of Dewatto reviews budget, storm damage

Kirk Boxleitner | Feb 03, 20220

The Port of Dewatto’s monthly voucher total for December was once again lower than the previous month’s, which allowed the port to move into the new year with enough cash to close out its December warrants and prepare for the first quarter of 2022.

During the port commissioners’ regular meeting Dec. 8, port volunteer Kris Tompkins reported the port had received another $4,000 in state Department of Natural Resources timber trust money since its commissioners’ November meeting, for a 2021 total of $36,034 as of Dec. 8.

The port had budgeted $92,000 in revenue for 2021, and exceeded that at the end of November by about $1,590, but without reflecting its timber trust dollars.

The port’s 2021 expenditure budget was $101,000, which included using $9,000 in cash carryover, and the expenditures, including the December vouchers, were $97,409.

The port’s cash with Mason County at the end of November, with its December vouchers deducted, was less than $40,000.

Tompkins and Port of Dewatto Manager Jeana Crosby recommended that $20,000 be sent to the State Investment Pool so the port would then have a total of $220,000 invested, leaving $20,000 for vouchers for the first three months of 2022.

The Port of Dewatto commissioners’ final regular meeting of 2021 also provided an update on the port’s campground, which was described as “quiet, except for someone trying to make camp in space 50.”

Commissioner David Haugen reported that, on a routine check of the grounds, he noticed an abandoned tarp and “fish camp setup” in space 50, where there had been a tripod structure set up over the campfire ring, complete with fishing gear and wrappers.

Haugen guessed that the person or people who tried to camp in space 50 “got caught in one of our storms, with rain and wind, and abandoned the campsite, leaving their belongings.”

After Haugen disposed of what he deemed the “junk” left behind, he made a follow-up trip to the campground, and did not see any other signs of campers.

Haugen reported at the Dec. 8 meeting that the smell of the salmon had dissipated, even though, “surprisingly, there was a lot of salmon this year.”

When Crosby checked with the Department of Fish and Wildlife about any cameras in the area, Fish and Wildlife reported it doesn’t have any.

As of Dec. 8, FEMA and Crosby were also waiting on a letter from Manke Lumber Co. granting the port permission to repair its damaged area from a storm last January, so Crosby told the commissioners she would contact company CEO Joel Manke again.

In the meantime, Commission Chair Ray Mow suggested the port obtain signs to deter campers from jumping off logs and using the environmental habitat.