Port of Dewatto campground cleanup on March 25

Kirk Boxleitner | Mar 16, 20230

The Port of Dewatto bid farewell to winter by reiterating that its campground cleanup is still scheduled for Saturday, March 25. Campground coordinator Joe Newman reported several inquiries from prospective participants this year.

Port Manager Jeana Crosby estimated 25 to 30 volunteers will take part this year, which led Port Commissioner Ted Edwards to request that logs be removed from the water.

Edwards said he believes the logs are a safety hazard, which he’d had removed years ago.

Port Commission Chair Ray Mow said the port needs to abide by state Department of Ecology regulations that require the port to reach out before it does anything about the logs.

Port Commissioner David Haugen said the logs are why the safety fence was put in place, adding that the logs also are intended to address the eroding bank.

Crosby has been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for two years regarding the bank erosion and the logs, and she reminded port commissioners that she’d arranged a visit from a biologist, who determined the port can’t remove the trees because it would disrupt the habitat.

Mow recommended more signs warning people to keep off the logs.

When the river is high, commissioners agreed that no one should be down in the river anyway, even as they acknowledged more trees have fallen below the campground.

The commissioners conceded this issue has been discussed multiple times, and nothing else can be done until the port receives clearance from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s environmental division.

“Two years ago, we did not have permission to remove the logs, and their stance was that we would not get it,” Crosby said.

Moving on, Haugen reported he fixed the snow-damaged gutters on the generator side of the port building, which appears to have worked well enough that they’re not leaking at this time.

Mow again recommended adding some snow guards before next winter, because with the amount of snow the port accumulated this year, the commissioners agreed it definitely qualifies as a safety hazard when it falls off the roof. They’ll wait until June to re-evaluate the matter.

Crosby plans to call for estimates on a cleaning job in the near future — she considers that the port building is due for a deep cleaning, and the budget was approved to have the service done “biyearly.”

In summer, the campground consumes a lot of the port’s time, so Crosby, as port manager, plans to have the port building deep-cleaned again after the campground is closed.

Crosby also mentioned the port needs to look into getting blinds replaced soon because they were budgeted for 2023. Mow agreed the port’s employees should feel safe, for which having complete blinds would be helpful, as well as closing those blinds during evenings and weekends, limiting anyone from peering inside.

Mow also recommended against string-type blinds, as “a safety hazard” and not up to code.

Although Crosby has estimates from 2022, she agreed to Mow’s request for current updates.