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Peninsula Daily News July 2, 2019 | $1
Port Angeles-Sequim-West End
County, PA port eye EOC lease
Canada Day trek
Dispatch could be in equation BY JESSE MAJOR
PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
DAVE LOGAN/FOR PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
About 30 hardy cyclists from the Victoria area came across on the early Coho ferry Monday to ride up to the top of Hurricane Ridge on Canada Day, the anniversary of the 1867 effective date of the country’s constitution. The cyclists made the round trip in about 4 hours in time for the return ferry ride back home, including this group on First Street in Port Angeles. The yearly trek has been happening for about 20 years and is organized by word of mouth through various cycle shops in the greater Victoria area.
Judge stays course on order in lawsuit against Game Farm Sequim attraction sought dismissal of parts of litigation BY JESSE MAJOR
PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
TACOMA — A federal judge will not reverse his order denying Olympic Game Farm’s motion to dismiss portions of the Animal Legal Defense Fund lawsuit against the Sequim attraction. In part of the game farm’s motion to reconsider, the game farm argued that the judge and the Animal Legal Defense
Fund (ALDF) have erroneously said that the game farm admitted to unlawfully possessing Roosevelt elk. The game farm had sought to remove public nuisance elements from the lawsuit, but U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton has ruled the lawsuit can move forward in whole. “The public nuisance claim is plausibly pled at this stage, whether or not it will ultimately succeed,” Leighton wrote in an order June 24. The ALDF sued Olympic Game Farm in December, alleging that the Sequimarea business is in violation of the Endangered Species Act and asking the court to require the game farm to give up its endangered or threatened species to
a sanctuary. In May, Leighton denied the game farm’s motion to dismiss certain elements of the lawsuit, calling the game farm’s motion “an attempt to prune this ‘Bonsai tree’ with tweezers and fingernail clippers.” The game farm filed a motion in March to dismiss the state public nuisance and animal cruelty claims, saying state law does not recognize private cause of action to enforce cruelty laws. A five-day non-jury trial is currently scheduled for May 4, 2020.
________ Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladaily news.com.
PORT ANGELES — Clallam County is negotiating a 50-year lease with the Port of Port Angeles to move the Emergency Operations Center to a building adjacent to Fairchild International Airport, and is looking for a “definite commitment” from the city of Port Angeles in co-locating the city’s dispatch center there. During a work session Monday, county and port officials said they are now negotiating a lease for 15,000 square feet of space at the port’s 10.10 building near the airport. The current draft of the lease shows the cost of renting the area starting at $7,500 per month with adjustments annually and includes two 10-year renewal options. The county and city have been exploring ways to move the county’s Emergency Operations Center out of the basement of the courthouse and co-locating it with the city’s 9-1-1 dispatch center in an area that is more resistant to earthquakes and soil liquefaction within close proximity to the airport. The details of the lease are still being discussed, but it has a projected commencement date of Sept. 1. Attorneys from the county have reviewed the draft and have made suggestions. Commissioner Randy Johnson said he also has some parts of the lease he wants looked at closer, but didn’t mention specifics. “There are some other business kinds of issues relative to that contract,” Johnson said. Sheriff Bill Benedict said that he wants to move forward quickly and that he doesn’t want to get into a situation of “paralysis by analysis.” “We see the need and we have an awesome opportunity to move,” Benedict said. “What I would like to do is get clarification from the city in their participation.” Benedict suggested the county should take action this month during a joint meeting with the Port of Port Angeles, but officials said that might be too quick. TURN
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Shop destroyed in wind could be replaced PA council mulls donation deal BY ROB OLLIKAINEN PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT ANGELES — A city maintenance shop that was destroyed in a December windstorm will be replaced with a prefabricated metal building pending City Council action today. The council will consider today a $160,436 purchase agreement with Platypus Marine Inc. for an unassembled General Steel structure that was originally intended for the Platypus property at 102 N. Cedar St. After securing another location for its expanded operations, Platy-
pus agreed to sell the prefabricated building to the city for 50 cents on the dollar, city officials said. The city Parks and Recreation Department maintenance shop at the northeast corner of Lincoln Park was destroyed by a fallen tree in a historic windstorm last Dec. 14. If the council agrees to purchase the General Steel building, it will eventually be assembled at 1310 W. 16th St. where the badly damaged shop sits today. “The city has the opportunity to purchase an unassembled new metal building from Platypus
Marine, Inc., only made possible by their generous donation and offer to let the city buy the building for half of the purchase price,” Aubry Bright of the Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Department said in a memo to the council. Platypus no longer needs the prefabricated structure because it is expanding into the former Sunset Do It Best Hardware building at 518 Marine Drive, city officials said. The hardware store space was transferred to Platypus as part of a three-business transaction involving Lumber Traders Inc., Platypus Marine and Sunset Wire KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS Rope Co. Inc., that was announced A fallen tree lies across a Port Angeles Parks and in February. Recreation Department maintenance building at the
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INSIDE TODAY’S Peninsula Daily News 103rd year, 157th issue — 2 sections, 16 pages
BUSINESS CLASSIFIED COMICS COMMENTARY DEAR ABBY DEATHS HOROSCOPE LETTERS NATION/WORLD
A8 B5 B4 A7 B4 A6 B4 A7 A3
PENINSULA POLL PUZZLES/GAMES SPORTS WEATHER
A2 B6 B1 A8