The Special Port Meeting to address Master Plan proposals of expansion of our airport was, in many ways, a disaster, to a populace that is getting sick and tired of being excluded and co-opted by officials when we have told them for many decades that we don't want unlimited growth at the expense of our rural character, culture, vision, lifestyle, and environment. People are finally questioning politicians' and developers' (who used to be called planners) reasoning, and the politicians and officials are scared of us and our (rightful) anger and frustration. They should be. They have harmed us and the lands and waters that sustain us, in so many egregious ways. They have eroded and betrayed Public Trust time and time again. What is needed is for we the people to step up, take the lead, and take back what is rightfully ours; care and stewardship of all we hold dear about this island we love - honoring the tranquil beauty and warm community that brought us here in the first place.
Mistakes were made by the Port commissioners present, the fire chief, who yelled at the people he turned away (as if it was their fault for coming!) and the Port manager. We would like to see all of those mistakes rectified. People came from off-island to attend this meeting; some from as far away as Portland and California. Some of them didn't even make it in the door. Elders were forced to stand. Some stood in the hall, defying the fire chief. Others stood in the scorching western sun on one of the hottest days of the year, so they could stand by the open door to the sweltering room (no fans) and hear. This is unacceptable. Some signed up to speak and were never heard, because the meeting agenda derailed and never got back on track.
This derailment was unfortunate for both the Port and for the 140 -150+ people who took time (and expense) from their days and their lives to attend this very important meeting. Notably absent due to the 3:30 time; working people and young people except for a few shining examples who attended and who not only asked incisive and intelligent questions, but who also offered solutions.
There was, at times, outright hostility toward some of the people in that room asking questions, sharing concerns, offering much cheaper and simpler solutions that would not require the Port taking opiate-laced candy from the Feds and State. The majority of people who came, seemed to not want expansion, or simply wanted their questions answered clearly, so they could decide for themselves. Many questions were not answered, were skirted, ignored, or diverted to something else entirely.
Most people came away with a general sense of unease and betrayal, of feeling un-heard, disrespected, their ideas disregarded or even ridiculed. We were treated like mere civilians; children. We were told that this is not a democratic process; an insult to our intelligence, passion and caring for our island, and the way of life we cherish.
This can be rectified in only one way - a DO-OVER of that meeting; this time, a listening meeting. More below. Comment period to DOWL engineering on proposed alternatives so far, is due on the 3rd of this month. Alternative 1 - no build, is the only viable and feasible option at this time.
To their credit, the Port and Tony Simpson gave us an extended comment time and this meeting because many of us were concerned enough to demand it. I think it surprised them that suddenly, someone wanted to know. It was the word "expansion" that caught our attention - and the map drawings put out in June.
We should demand more from the Port, since they grievously fell short of their obligation as a Public entity. When the Port manager has already made the decision on which plan is the "preferred" plan, the Public process is broken. This needs rectification, and listening to us with intent to seriously consider other options would go a long way toward that.
The Port and Port manager are not the enemy - although they are acting like we are the enemy. What we want and desire is for real dialogue and listening to our concerns and desires, and consideration of our ideas and solutions - that maybe there is a win-win for them and for us if we all work together.
Tony Simpson says he would meet with us and would listen. I don't want to believe that these people are our enemy - but we still need to hold them accountable and call out what parts of their story about what they need to do to comply, may not be entirely true or as inflexible as they believe. And more; we are not going to believe their scare tactics to make us think this expansion has to be a "done deal." It doesn't. There are options not being presented, so we will present them and even pursue them if the Port won't. One thing's sure; we need to be a presence with the Port from now on, and go to their meetings and involve ourselves with this process; or we'll get what we don't want.
Our goals for the meeting and after, as concerns the Expansion are:
1) listen to everyone's best thoughts about how to go forward effectively.
2) Inspire a groundswell of actions that might include: letters to the Port stating our dissatisfaction and insistence on a "do-over" meeting; task groups or people to take on some of the daunting and time-consuming research, letters to other entities such as DOE, the Friends, etc;
3) Make our comments to DOWL; keep a dated copy for our records - deadline Friday. Ask for another comment period extension to September in our comments. The Port and DOWL are moving ahead with the process; they should be taking and weighing comments throughout their entire master plan process.
orcasmasterplan@dowl.com
include in the cc:
council@sanjuanco.com, randy gaylord, kevin ranker, maria cantwell, patty murray, rick larsen, etc
4) Gather more volunteers who are willing to take the above-mentioned actions and help us be as effective and cohesive as we can, while looking for common ground. We need more people willing to take on tasks and commit to following through with them, if we are to succeed. Even one task helps tremendously. We're early enough in this process that we can make a difference. Let's Make It So.
We're having a public, citizen-led and driven meeting tonight; there will be a follow-up post about the outcome. We'll be listing actions people can take and providing links to make it as easy as possible.
We are calling ourselves Orcas Citizens' Forum - this is all inclusive, where we are all equals. We expect moles and sabateurs and maybe even some attackers, but we have nothing to hide; they do!
mail chimp sign up link for Orcas Citizens' Forum -Airport Expansion:
http://eepurl.com/dCvUwD
