Belfair - YEAR IN REVIEW 2022

January

More than 50 people fired up their computers, tablets or phones to join a Zoom room for a public hearing about the Belfair sewer project Monday evening. 

The hearing lasted more than four hours, with staff presenting information to the public, followed by community questions, public testimony and commissioners voting to continue the public hearing at 9:15 a.m. on March 1 before making a decision on what to do next.

February

Mason County commissioners took several actions involving the Belfair Urban Growth Area and the Mason County Comprehensive Plan after a public hearing about the UGA and amendments to the comprehensive plan.

The commissioners approved amendments to the Belfair subarea plan and the comprehensive plan on a 2-1 vote. Commissioners Kevin Shutty and Sharon Trask voted in favor while Commissioner Randy Neatherlin voted against.

The changes to the Belfair Subarea plan update growth and land-use patterns and the status of planned improvements for transportation based on the environmental impact statement and address future traffic concerns. The changes update the trail proposal for parks, trails, open space and public facilities, which includes adding a reference to Sweetwater Creek and Waterwheel Park to be compatible with the Mason County Park plans.

Changes also update the status of the sewer system and new policies about water-quality protection.

The commissioners amended Title 17 and the zoning map by a 2-1 vote, with Shutty and Trask in favor and Neatherlin opposed.

April

Mendy Harlow, executive director of the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, provided an update to the Mason County commissioners on the Sweetwater Creek Waterwheel Park project at the April 18 commissioner briefing.

The park is planned for the Schindelheim property, which is south of Belfair Elementary School off state Route 3 and across from the Early Childhood Learning Center.

The plan for the park is to have a freshwater fishing pond, public restroom, picnic shelter and a natural play area with wood and rock structures that would "encourage play in a more natural environment."

The property was developed in the 1930s and it was a gas station until the 1950s, when an antique store and restaurant were added to the property. The waterwheel was developed as a novelty.

June

After many delays, Mason Transit Authority's Belfair Park & Ride officially opened May 23 on Northeast Log Yard Road.

"I've been hearing from a couple of drivers that have been up here that they're really enjoying having a space to work out of and happy to have a permanent place to be for their breaks and rest breaks up in the north county area," MTA General Manager Amy Asher told the Herald. "Our park and ride's getting used. We have a lot of the folks from the worker-driver program parking here every day and we hope to see more use as the summer months go on."

MTA is not fully moved into the space yet. The driver area of the building is moved into and is being used by drivers, along with a full kitchen for staff to make meals while using the facility.

July

Mason County commissioners awarded the Belfair sewer extension project to Pape and Sons Construction by a 2-1 vote at their July 19 meeting.

Commissioner Randy Neatherlin was the lone dissenting vote while Kevin Shutty and Sharon Trask voted in favor of awarding the bid.

According to the information packet, Pape and Sons Construction was the low bid of $4,231,500 and the estimated overall cost is $5.03 to $5.2 million. That includes real estate needs ranging from $4,000 to $151,000.

Along with awarding the construction bid, commissioners also approved an agreement with Kennedy/Jenks Consultants for construction management and engineering services for the Belfair Water Reclamation Facility Sewer Project. The consultants helped with designing a sewer trunk extension to serve lands between the planned state Route 3 freight corridor, Navy Rail and a portion of the Puget Sound Industrial Center.

The cost for the consulting services is $791,888. Mason County received a state Department of Commerce grant that has a remaining balance of $1.1 million and land can be acquired under that grant, although a scope and schedule change is needed to pay for construction management and engineering services from the grant. The 2022 budget has $500,000 budgeted for professional services.

August

The North Mason community shared its feelings with the state Department of Transportation at a community forum Aug. 11 in Belair.

Most of the almost-two-hour forum focused on one intersection in particular: state Route 3 and Northeast Ridgepoint Road. The intersection next to McDonald's, NAPA Auto Parts and the U.S. Post Office will soon see more traffic with the intersection being the only point of entry to the Olympic Sunset View apartments and the Olympic Ridge housing project, which are both under development.

There has been debate about traffic mitigation being put there, but WSDOT Region Administrator Steve Roark said it doesn't reach the threshold for mitigation. Before the new housing, the wait time to take a left turn is 19 seconds on average, and once the new housing development is substantially built and traffic is flowing to and from, studies have shown it will take 32 seconds to take a left turn, which is not enough to warrant traffic mitigation.

"The delay of 32 plus or minus seconds didn't warrant mitigation at that intersection," Roark said at the meeting. "I'll add one more thing, when we work with developers, DOT in general, we want to see growth in our communities. I think you all want to see growth in your communities. We are not in the position of making decisions on what's good growth and what isn't good growth. We're really put in the position of saying what is the traffic analysis telling us and that's what we've done in this case. Processes are there for a reason and I don't think you'd want a bureaucrat like me deciding arbitrarily who has to do mitigation and who doesn't. In many cases, it's not fair to ask a developer to solve problems on the state highway system that existed before they came in. That's why we have the process that we do."

September

The North Mason Chamber of Commerce celebrated the best of business and people in 2021 at its annual gala Sept. 17 at Alderbrook Resort in Union.

Five awards were handed out at the gala, including citizen of the year going to Dr. Don LePere of Kiwanis Club of North Mason. LePere has been a member of North Mason Kiwanis Club since 1985 and has been the secretary for 34 years.

In the business of the year category, Peninsula Community Federal Credit Union won. The credit union offered PPP loans to communities, resulting in helping 135 businesses and 551 employees for a total of $5,868,965.

The nonprofit organization of the year award was given to Belfair Youth Connection. The organization serves people ages 12 to 24 and helps them with meals, secure storage, rent and utilities, case management, life skills and daily needs. There's also a Youth Connection location in Shelton.

October

North Mason Superintendent Dana Rosenbach presented a draft of the capital facilities plan that she and Facilities Director Joan Moore have been working on at the school board's Oct. 20.

Rosenbach said the district recently agreed to contract "with an expert in giving us the reports we need on the state of our buildings," because certain data needs to be compiled, updated and submitted to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction years ahead of time.

In part, this is to help secure School Construction Assistance Program funding, "to get the money to start a bond project, because even before you have an election for it, you have to complete a report and keep it up to date," Rosenbach said.

Board Director Arla Shephard Bull asked whether SCAP is a state requirement, which Rosenbach confirmed, since "you should start your application for SCAP funding before you run a bond."

Rosenbach said predictions are that the school district will experience an enrollment growth of 18.9% overall within the next 10 years, "greater at the high school level, and least at the elementary school level."

November

The state is proposing renaming a lake and a slough north of Tahuya, changing names derogatory to Black people to new monikers celebrating two former slaves who lived in the area.

The Washington State Committee on Geographic Names last week approved nine proposals to rename features bearing a derogatory term that refers to Indigenous women. The proposals from tribes came in the wake of the U.S. Department of Interior's orders last year to rename geographic features throughout the country.

The committee also advanced initial proposals to rename four places: a spring in Garfield County, a creek in Okanogan County, and the slough and lake in North Mason County.

A 10.5-acre lake 2 miles north of Tahuya, just west of Maggie Lake, would be renamed Nathaniel Sargent Lake in honor of a Black man born into slavery who homesteaded in Seabeck. It is currently called Grass Lake, renamed from "N----- Slough" in the 1990s.

An unnamed 18-acre swamp 2 miles north of Tahuya would be named Rodney White Slough. White was born into slavery in Missouri, moved to Mason County in 1890 and homesteaded there. After White's death in 1913, the slough was given the same offensive name.

December

The North Mason Regional Fire Authority is launching a physician's assistant program in 2023, hoping to fill a need for medical services in the community.

NMRFA Chief Beau Bakken said the authority was looking to start a similar program before COVID hit, but the logistics were too complicated at the time. The pandemic did allow time to plan on how to execute the program.

The intention of the program is to fill a gray area in coverage. When NMRFA responds to a call for medical attention, it has two options: Take the person to the emergency room or send them home and tell the patient to follow-up with a primary-care provider.