PORT TOWNSEND – While Port of Port Townsend leaders have agreed to treat a once-evicted marine shipyard business owner like any other, Mike Hogan said he’s still stinging from the experience.
“Do I feel better that I am no longer public enemy No. 1? Not necessarily,” Hogan said Friday.
“They just virtually crippled me.”
He estimates that his business losses range between $500,000 and $1 million.
The port evicted Hogan in September 2006, forcing him to pull his office trailer out of the yard after port officials repeatedly warned him verbally that he was violating port rules and regulations.
The primary issues were complaints of noise late at night and inadequately contained sandblasting.
About a month later, Hogan went before the commissioners, this time flanked by an attorney who threatened legal action if the port did not at least allow Hogan to return to the yard as an independent contractor.
The commissioners agreed to that demand.
At the recommendation of Port Commissioner Dave Thompson, fellow commissioners Herb Beck and Bob Sokol agreed Wednesday to a motion to hold Hogan to the same rules and regulations as any other yard business operator or independent contractor.
Thompson, himself a marine trades operator on at the port work yard, asked that a past reference to Hogan’s eviction be stricken from the record.
During a special meeting in October attended by several marine trades operators, the commissioners stipulated that Hogan must post a $10,000 bond with the port, and abide by state and federal environmental regulations and the city noise ordinance.
“The yard guys have said that he’s a model citizen since then,” Thompson said at Wednesday’s meeting, adding that Hogan’s talents as a vessel technician and builder have brought in a lot of revenue to the port.
Regardless of port officials’ softened stand, Hogan still blames them for the loss of his business, Oceanview Marine Services, and the jobs of 11 people he once employed.
Today, Hogan is an administrator and project manager for Manke Tug and Barge, owned by Joe Manke, who has acted as an intermediary between Hogan and port officials.
Port Executive Director Larry Crockett on Friday said Hogan has no one but himself to blame.
“Hogan abused the best-management policies, knowingly, and staff acted according to the rules of the time,” Crockett said.
After the port commissioners’ action on Wednesday, Crockett said, “I’m comfortable to just start fresh with him . . . I think we did get his attention.”
The Hogan-port feud has resulted in the drafting of new independent contractor rules and regulations.
The Port Townsend Marine Trades Association, which represents more than 60 port yard operators, repeatedly reviewed and rejected the draft rules until recently, when port staff agreed to the association’s preferred formatting.
Crockett said the latest draft of the rules and regulations will go before the commissioners this week and will be on their June 27 agenda for consideration of final approval.
Hogan, meanwhile, said he believes tighter port rules and regulations will hurt the port’s bottom line when it comes to vessel haul-outs and shipyard lease fees.
“Revenues will go into the toilet,” Hogan said.
“It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know that they cut their nose off in spite of their face.
“I’m glad they took me off the hit list, yes. Do I feel whole again? No.
“I’m glad, I’m relieved that we are all working along together.
“Whether I can obey the new rules and meet my obligations to my customers is yet to be seen.”
Crockett agreed that the port’s actions probably did hurt Hogan’s business and whether port revenues decline as a result of tightened regulations, or not, the issue is that the port must enforce them.
Crockett said the port must obey state environmental laws, which port officials believe would result in shutting down the marine work yard if violations continue.
“In today’s regulatory world we just can’t take the risk of putting everybody’s business at risk,” Crockett said.
