PORT ANGELES — Clallam Transit System has received the Safety Stars Award in the medium-size agency category from the Washington State Transit Insurance Pool for the fourth year in a row.
“I have to commend staff for their commitment to safety, they’ve done an excellent job,” General Manager Jim Fetzer told commissioners at their Wednesday meeting. “It’s a big deal.”
The annual award is given to the agency that is the consistently best performer in its size category in terms of auto liability losses.
“This is really great to hear,” board chair Mark Ozias said. “Fostering a culture of safety is not necessarily an easy thing to do over the course of time.”
Fetzer said the focus on safety starts on the day a person is hired.
“The first thing we tell them is ‘safety, not schedule,’” he said. “We like people to stay on schedule, but it’s more important that they operate the bus safely.”
Operations manager Jason McNickle said Clallam Transit has a strong training program and staff are actively engaged in ensuring safety is a priority.
“We’ve implemented refresher training and getting employee input on what they consider to be the problem areas so we can get them more of what they’re asking for,” McNickle said.
The Safety Stars Award comes with a $3,500 cash award that was shared with employees at their April 13 awards banquet.
Federal grants
Clallam Transit has been watching the status of a number of grants that are funded through the federal Transportation Administration. Rollbacks in policies, particularly those related to green technologies, could impact the agency’s plans to upgrade its fleet.
“The Low or No Emission program that we generally apply for each year has not been released, and I’m not sure if it’s going to be,” Fetzer said.
Either way, staff plan to refresh the agency’s application for three electric buses and charging infrastructure and submit it for consideration, he said.
“A pending five-bus award that we got last year is being reviewed at the federal level,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll get those buses, but I’m waiting to hear word on it.”
GM resigns
Commissioners unanimously approved the resignation of Fetzer, whose last day will be July 31.
After more than 45 years in public transportation — the past six at Clallam Transit — he said it’s time to retire.
“It’s a good agency with a lot of good people,” Fetzer said. “I’ve really enjoyed working here.”
Clallam Transit hired Fetzer as operations manager in April 2019; he was appointed general manager in July 2023 after the retirement of Kevin Gallacci, who served in the position for 39 years.
The board approved the creation of a special committee composed of Ozias (Clallam County), commissioners Rachel Anderson (city of Sequim), Jeff Gingell (city of Forks) and Brendan Meyer (city of Port Angeles) to determine a recruitment process, including a plan for an interim general manager, and deliver a report to the board at its meeting on May 21.
Sequim City Council member Kelly Burger has been named Sequim’s second representative on Clallam Transit’s eight-member governing board, which is composed of two elected officials each from Port Angeles, Forks, Sequim and the county.
Narcan dispenser
Almost a year after a Narcan dispenser was placed at Gateway Transit Center, a similar box has been installed at the Sequim Transit Center, Fetzer said. The dispenser resembles a newspaper box and holds 30-40 doses of Narcan (generic name naloxone), which can reverse the effects of a known or suspected overdose from opioids, such as fentanyl.
Fetzer said there have been no problems related to the dispenser so far.
Employee of the Quarter
The board recognized paratransit operator Bob Richmond as the Employee of the Quarter for the first quarter of 2025, and the retirement of paratransit customer service representative Nancy Visell for her 14 years at Clallam Transit.
Commissioners unanimously approved revising their monthly meeting schedule, moving the time from 10 a.m. to noon starting May 21.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
