“it’s
a great place to live…”
Action Items:
None.
Minutes:
The meeting was called to order by Chair, Ron Robinson at 6:39PM in the
Manchester Library. Ron welcomed the 16
people (including 13 current members) in attendance. We started the meeting with some of our
regular business (as noted below) and shortly thereafter began our speaker’s
remarks. Our guest speaker, Bob Cairns,
was introduced by Vice-Chair Ron Rada.
Guest Speaker: Bob Cairns is the Deputy Director of the of
the Manchester Fuel Department, which is part of the Naval Supply Systems
Command, Fleet & Industrial Supply Center Puget Sound. (His business card still says Manchester Fuel
Depot, so that’s what I’ll continue to call it!) Bob has been in this role since the mid ‘80’s
and lives in the
Primary recipients of the fuel are
barges (550-600,000 gallons each!), tanker vessels (deliver up to 10M gallons
each), Oilers from the Military Sealift Command, various military vessels, and
tanker trucks delivering fuel to land-locked bases. The fuel is distributed to bases in
Environmental stewardship is very
important to the staff of the depot, which Bob made clear in his remarks. The Manchester Depot has its own Oily Waste
Treatment facility on site. This
treatment facility primarily handles the discharge from the flushing of shipboard
fuel tanks. Each year the Navy presents
one environmental award to a ship or base that represents the Navy’s finest
environmental efforts, the Manchester Fuel Depot won that award in 1978, 1987,
and 1996. Bob described himself as a
“simple farm-boy” who understands the importance of the land. As a result, he and the depot staff have
created several natural resource initiatives over the recent past. These initiatives include Beaver Creek
restoration on the facility, raising salmon fry, growing Olympia Oysters, and
most recently doing reforestation on the grounds. Bob said that in another 20 years the
facility will look more like a forest than a fuel depot!
One of their greatest concerns in
fuel spills. The depot has a regular
program on spill response planning and action.
Drills are conducted on a regular basis.
The depot itself has over 5 miles of oil containment booms and vessels
and staff trained to use the equipment on-hand.
Bob then opened the floor to
questions: ?: Is access to Little Clam Bay likely in the future? A: The channel was diked by Fisheries in 1960
and used to raise salmon fry (not successfully). Fisheries lease expired in 1985 and there was
little demand for access by the private waterfront owners, so no action is
likely. ?: Is it possible to have tours
of the depot? A: While there is no
regular tour offered, Bob said he would be willing to personally escort small
evening tour groups with pre-arrangement by community groups, such as the
MCC. Bob can be contacted at work at
360-476-2135 ext225.
Chairman Robinson led the group in
thanking Bob for his most interesting presentation.
Business meeting:
Review and approval of past meeting’s minutes: Ron read the mission from our Bylaws as a reminder to all. The minutes of the 5/23 meeting were approved as written.
Correspondence: There was no correspondence this past month.
Treasurer: John Winslow reported for Debby Trudeau that our current bank balance is $760.67.
Community Group Reports:
No one was available to represent the MCA.
Bob Edwards and Ron Rada reported that the Society’s booth at the Salmon Bake was a success and that 20 individuals expressed interest in joining the group. Bob offered his thanks to Bob Ballard for providing the great historical photos that were on display at the booth.
Ron Rada
said that the Foundation now has a Federal Tax ID number and the group has
filed with the State of
Crime Prevention and Public Safety group:
In the absence of the Larsen’s, Bob Edwards made the group report. Bob inquired whether the MCC had sent an official note of support on the MCP&SG appeal of the Stormwater Discharge project appeal. John Winslow reported that the letter was sent to Commissioner Angel on June 8th under Ron Rada’s signature.
Bob then went on to report that the group had met with Shelly Kneip of the Prosecuting Attorney’s office on the Port resolutions. Bud will be meeting with the Sheriff and Patrol Chief for clarification of the resolutions. Next the resolutions will be returned to Kneip for final presentation to the Commissioners for approval as County ordinances.
The Sheriff has encouraged the group to make contact with inactive blockwatch areas to possibly re-activate them. Also, the group has been encouraged to help facilitate sharing of information between blockwatch and disaster management efforts.
The group will have Jon Brand of Public Works as a guest speaker on July 6th to discuss parking issues that will likely compound with the additional people living in the planned condominium projects in downtown Manchester.
MCC Sub-Committee reports:
Sewers:
Ron Rada
reported that the Commissioners reviewed LID#8 on Monday and will sign-off
their approval on Wednesday. LID #9 has
received written agreement from 20 of the property owners and is looking for
about 20 more to sign their petition, which would take this effort to the next
step.
Downtown Design:
No report available.
Regaining Historic Character:
Bob Turk reported that Mike Valentino had to step down as group chair due to work commitments. The group needs to reconvene and appoint a new chair.
Agency Partnering:
No report available.
Recreational Venues:
Helen Robinson reported that the group has compiled data 18 individuals who completed their informal survey. Suggested activities included: Garden tours, Boating safety classes, Classes on marine life, Art classes, and “Girls night out”. The committee is waiting for more input from the survey at the Salmon Bake and they are always looking for others interested in helping with this effort.
Village Commons:
John Winslow said that the group has made a presentation to the Port Commissioners seeking their support of the Port’s acquisition of land for an expanded Library/Community Center. Bill Shaw said that the Port Commissioners were unwilling to give this concept any support without clear evidence that the community (taxpayers) supported this concept. They discouraged the use of any type of mailed survey and suggested that a professional survey be conducted door-to-door similar to what they said the Port Commissioners had done to seek approval for the last major expansion of the boat launching facilities in the 1990’s. The group will approach the Friends of the Library at their next meeting on June 28th for up to $500 in seed money to commission a survey.
The next meeting of the Village Commons group is July 1st at 8:00AM in the Library.
Old Business:
Chairman Robinson noted that due to the low attendance at this meeting, a quorum did not exist, and therefore no official actions could be approved.
It was mentioned that the official “closed” hearing on the appeal of the Main St. Stormwater Discharge project will be held on Monday July 10th. The “closed terminology means that only matters previously discussed on the project may be brought up at the appeal. The public is welcome to attend this meeting in the Commissioners’ meeting room.
New Business:
Arlene
Rebelowski mentioned that she had made contact with Kitsap Greeters service at
the Port Orchard Market. This is a
private business, but the proprietor offered to include (at no cost to us,
other than our printing costs) a pamphlet of information on
Topics from the floor:
John
Winslow thanked all those who volunteered and those who attended the Salmon
Bake on June 18th. The event
was sponsored by the Friends of the Library with all proceeds dedicated to the
Library’s
There being no other discussion, Vice Chairman Rada adjourned the meeting at 7:45PM. Our next meeting will be Tuesday July 25th at 6:30-8:30PM in the Manchester Library. Ron Robinson and John Winslow will jointly develop an agenda for our next meeting for posting on the web-site several days before the meeting. If you have any additional items for the agenda, contact John Winslow prior to July 17th.
Respectfully
submitted,
John
Winslow, Secretary-Manchester Community Council