On Tuesday, September 17th, Commissioner Briscoe became agitated and angry at the Port Commissioner’s meeting. Off topic, he flew into name calling and spouting disinformation about concerned citizens and their communication with the Port. The email from Scott Jones that seemed to have caused the tirade is quoted below.
The video beginning at minute 49:00 can be found here.
Also of note, Bobby never recognizes points noted in the email, only that Scott Jones didn’t show up and state the information in person. And a reminder to the community that the PR hiring itself has been called out for possibly breaking the law by the Commissioners. More information from the All Point Bulletin newspaper may be found here:
Port of Bellingham’s PR deal just under legal threshold raises questions
“Commissioners,
Your latest ridiculous action, hiring Mr. Frazier might be the one that has made me laugh the loudest. I think I may have guffawed.
First, you don’t need to spend almost 6 figures (a year!) to figure out that transparency can come from just not printing your pdf documents to an image. Searchability of documents in this day and age is standard and you are going out of your way to prove to the community that you don’t care about transparency. That’s free.
Now, I must type sections of your document because of your archaic images. [whining over. Lets get to the facts]
1) Grand Vision. This would require you to have one. And oh, you’re a Port, not a kingdom. You just have to do right by the residents of Whatcom County. Usually not that hard, but somehow it is for you three.
2) What the Port does, going to do, and why? Commissioner Briscoe didn’t even know the basics of how the State creates Ports. Maybe you do need an expert, but not in PR.
3) Create a positive community narrative? How about just making common sense, logical decisions that help the county of Whatcom and its city’s grow their economies and support the marine trades, instead of making unneeded egregious decisions almost monthly.
4) Increase the Port’s power? Based on your past actions, this will probably deeply concern a whole slew of residents. As in #1, just do your jobs and #4 will happen with the support of the community. Continue your path, and no consultant, even Frazier, will be able to help you.
5) Morale, retention, and ability to hire? I feel like a broken record here. Um, do the right thing, and right things happen. Don’t, like you’re doing, and once again, no consultant will be able to save you. Unless you’re going to lie to the community, and I sure hope not.
As you voted 3-0 for the consent agenda without conversation, you are all now on record in agreement with the Conflux document. You could have said, ‘hey, lets talk about this”, but you didn’t. Let’s dig in.
“And it is not deserved” & “not of your own making”. Really? Harcourt financial issues, and toxic dirt piles, as well as ABC Recycling. Not deserved? Maybe Mr. Frazier was using a proposal from a different Port. That is the ONLY way that these two sentences could have honestly made it into this proposal.
Before we continue, I want to mention that I do believe that the Port in general is doing a great job. From the airport (oops you fired someone?), to environmental projects, as well as the other various day to day operations of the Port…they are going well, and are run by professional, respected employees of the Port. I believe the residents of Whatcom County have no qualm with the general Port and its employees.
We applaud them for the challenges they have faced because of the negligence of you three commissioners.
“One would be countering the tide by expressing something otherwise”, you mean ‘don’t look at the man behind the curtain’? [Wizard of OZ reference] “Look squirrel!” That is so middle school!
“…work of the Port is beyond most voters and taxpayers”, – belittling those you work for?
“You have one option to reverse this deficit” – And you bit, hook, line and sinker. What was the better option? Oh! Maybe make decisions that actually build respect in the community and help develop the success of the Port. That is the one option you had, and still do.
Finally, a sentence that I can agree with. “…innovate, partner, and gain more significant currency while building its reputation as an economic engine, transportation gateway, and manager of public lands and facilities”. Doing the 5 points listed at the top (the 99k fee) will gain nothing, in comparison to simply doing what is quoted here. Day in and day out. I know you’ve probably grown accustomed to the ‘OMG what did we do this time!’ feeling. But I assure you that the boredom of a well planned Port will get you there far faster.
“We need citizens to not just recognize, but to [wait for it] feel grateful for the Port’s provision of water access, beautiful parks, spectacular recreation opportunities, convenient transportation facilities, well maintained boat harbors…” I’ve said it before, and I’ve said it above. The Port is not a fiefdom, and you are not feudal lords, but this sentence sure makes the community wonder if you think you are.
“It will not require the Port to change its way of doing business…” Well, that is just too bad. It’s that mentality that got you into this mess in the first place. The people of Whatcom are smarter than that and will continue to see through your bull.
“Authentic Voices – Focus groups and interviews to build understanding: listening closely to those who support the Port…” The project will continue and propagate the current insular nature of the Commissioners. This is the point that really throws the whole project as a farce into reality.
Well, once again, I’ve ruined a perfectly good morning calling you out on your bull. Maybe you didn’t even read Mr. Frazier’s document. Go ahead, pull that trick. It would be a lot better than having voted for it with a full understanding of what it said. Please, take the right path, and just run the Port well. It’s the least you can do.
Scott”
