Port of Hoodsport welcomes new commissioner

Kirk Boxleitner | Feb 03, 20220

The Port of Hoodsport welcomed its newest commissioner at its Jan. 26 meeting, and OK'd the trimming of "hazard trees" and other trees to ensure its trail park and disc golf course are cleared and safe before spring starts.

Cody Morris was welcomed to his first meeting as the port's Position 3 commissioner, repeating his oath of office, though he'd already been sworn in with a notary. Morris' term is set to end in 2027. The port district's 1,851 registered voters cast 793 ballots in the election that placed Morris on the board of port commissioners.

On the tree front, Forest McCullough of Hoodsport-based Northwest Land & Tree estimated that, with each load of timber averaging roughly 4,200 feet, his company could clear the trail park and disc golf course for $1,500 a load, or $30,000 for an anticipated 20 loads.

"For us to go in and log it would be 50% of the timber value, plus the pulp, which is really not worth very much, and would just cover the logging costs," McCullough said. "Round one, we'd get it cleaned up. Round two, we'd have a lot less volume to clean up, since with round one, it's been such a long time, so more volume needs to come out."

McCullough's cost estimate would cover the trail park and the disc golf course, although he added that tending to the parking lot in the wake of his work would likely require two truckloads of rocks at a cost of $700 per truck, to be covered by the port.

While the port has keys for the Cushman gate, McCullough said the port would need permission from the state for his trucks to use the road beyond the gate. McCullough

estimated the state might charge $5 per ton for his trucks to use the road, as long as they leave it in reasonably decent condition. He agreed to contact the state on the port's behalf.

Port officials agreed with McCullough that the clearing needs to be finished before spring. He added that the trail park and disc golf course will need to be closed during the three to four weeks he expects the job to take. As part of the work, McCullough is authorized to extend the parking lot on the disc golf course side to provide a staging area for his crews to stack logs, which he suggested would benefit the port anyway, especially in maintaining its existing parking lot area.

"There's already an area there that's cleared out," McCullough said. "We just have to knock the brush down. We know you've done a lot of work on your parking lot, so when we leave, we'll make sure it's all cleaned up and graded up."

The port needs to sign a purchasing agreement with Manke Lumber Co. McCullough also spoke with port commissioners about multiple trees on the port's property that are close enough to the port's neighbors that they need to be trimmed.

McCullough said he would need an 80-foot lift, running about $1,000 a day, for about three days, plus time and material costs of $100 an hour, and dump fees of around $100 per load. With McCullough anticipating as many as five loads, the port commissioners authorized up to $7,000 to trim the port's "hazard trees."

When warned to watch out for the library storybook trail signs, McCullough pledged he would take care of them, if necessary, by removing them for a short period before reinstalling them.