Three newly elected Clallam County officials discussed what to do with junked cars, how to register to vote and the rebuilding of a Clallam Bay lighthouse during a tour of the West End.
Sheriff, Bill Benedict, Auditor Patty Rosand and Community Development Director John Miller, as well as the county administrator, Jim Jones, visited six groups on Wednesday in a tour led by Mike Doherty, the county commissioner whose district includes the West End.
The first stop on the tour was the county West End road shop where the group introduced themselves to workers who clear up the roads during storms and otherwise keep them maintained.
In Forks, the group heard from members of the West End Business and Professional Association, where Benedict was asked if the sheriff’s substation in Forks would move back into the same building as the Forks Police Department.
Although the county intends to work closely with city law enforcement, moving into the same building was not a possibility, Benedict said, emphasizing that there wasn’t enough space to accommodate both departments in the same building.
The possibility of running an office out of a modular unit is being considered, but nothing has been decided, he said.
“There is tremendous synergism to be found in co-locating,” Benedict said.
He also told all of the groups throughout the day that one of his goals as sheriff is to bring all the law enforcement agencies into cooperation.
“Crime knows no bounds,” Benedict said. “If we are not communicating it can only hurt us.”
Forks Chamber of Commerce members started a discussion that continued through the day about the junked cars that litter areas of the West End and how to get rid of them.
Many broken-down vehicles are abandoned by owners instead of being towed away and disposed of.
Benedict said that after more investigation, he would work with the various communities to get programs going to get rid of the cars.
In LaPush, the group met with members of the Quileute Tribal Council to discuss how to find and get grants for alcohol and drug rehabilitation and to end homelessness.
The afternoon also included a trip up to Neah Bay and a meeting with the Makah Tribal Council, where Rosand heard about confusion over voter registration.
At one time, the reservation lacked names for the streets. That was no problem so long as post office boxes could be used in voter registration documents.
But once the requirement changed to physical addresses – made necessary by a change to all-mail elections – street names were needed.
Streets are now named, but some remain confused about the system works.
Rosand offered help in settling the address issues that had arisen.
The last stop of the day was the Clallam Bay/Sekiu Community Advisory Board where members told the group they want to see the lighthouse at Slip Point rebuilt.
The lighthouse was removed after a mud slide warped the building decades ago, but now the community is considering rebuilding it.
All of the original plans are held by the county, Doherty said.
Because of these plans, the lighthouse can be reconstructed to be very much like in past years.
