Commissioner Bobby Jackson, right, talks to fellow commissioners Edna Fund and Gary Stamper during a workshop in August in the commissioners' hearing room.
The project sponsors of a proposed dam near Pe Ell appointed 11 individuals to its advisory committee and were introduced to their prospective project manager at a meeting on Wednesday.
After receiving 18 applications for the advisory committee, the Chehalis Basin Flood Control Zone District Board of Supervisors decided to increase the number of members on the board from nine to 11.
The board of supervisors is made up of Lewis County Commissioners Edna Fund, Gary Stamper and Bobby Jackson, but it operates as its own governing entity.
“After hearing all of your experience, I think it’s a dynamic advisory committee,” Fund said. “You come from all walks of life.”
The advisory board members were appointed to one-, two- and three-year terms to stagger their terms and start a rotation for the positions.
Daniel Maughan, David Mueller, Jason Humphrey and Steve Koreis were appointed to three-year terms set to expire on Sept. 13, 2020. Bill Brumsickle, Charles Coddington, John Henricksen and Lonnie Willey were appointed to two-year terms expiring Sept. 13, 2019, and Matthew Dillin, David Fenn and Steven Grega were appointed to one-year terms that expire on Sept. 13, 2018.
The Board of Supervisors were also introduced to Jim Waldo, the prospective project manager of the proposed dam.
Waldo has been involved in negotiations and mediation in the natural resources environmental field since about 1982. Previously he was hired by the Lewis County Public Utility District to help move the Cowlitz Falls Dam forward.
“I have to say that what you have all accomplished with the help of The Ruckelshaus Center, it’s quite amazing to me how far you’ve come, but we still have a ways to go,” Waldo said. “I’m hear to say that I would be honored to help you be successful on this project.”
Erik Martin, administrator for the Flood Control Zone District, said Waldo would be a government affairs consultant and negotiator. Martin will continue to negotiate the terms of Waldo’s contract, he said.
