Tuesday
Cano likes Aoki first
Rain here, rain there, rain everywhere A8
Kind of a Johnny Damon, good leadoff hitter B1
PENINSULA DAILY NEWS March 8, 2016 | 75¢
Port Angeles-Sequim-West End
Navy training focus of PT Port
Forest trail trial
Use of Mats Mats boat ramp sought BY CHARLIE BERMANT PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
OLYMPIC NATIONAL FOREST
A section of the Bogachiel Trail is missing along the river, which has eroded away land during recent storms. Shown is the main river channel to the left with a side channel to the right. The river flooded and calved off the land where the trail threaded through large old-growth trees on the right.
Bogachiel Trail washed out; Forest Service rerouting River eroded away hundreds of feet of soil, removed trees BY ARWYN RICE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
FORKS — Heavy winter rains continue to wreak havoc on trails and roads in the Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park. The latest victim is the Bogachiel Rain Forest Trail, where 350 feet of trail about one mile from the trailhead has been damaged or destroyed by the shifting
Bogachiel River, the U.S. Forest Service said. “With the help of partners, we expect to have the trail rerouted soon. We know it is important access as day-use for hikers and fishermen as well as those journeying into and out of the park,” said District Ranger Dean Millett. The trail is a portion of the 1,200mile Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, and leads from the trailhead on Undi Road 10 miles south of Forks through a portion of National Forest before continuing more than 25 miles into the national park. It is currently open to hikers, who are warned to use extreme caution and avoid areas of the trail that have been
undercut by the river. It is closed to livestock. There are also trees down across the trail as a result of the river’s incursion. According to the Forest Service, the trail is normally fully wooded with side trails leading to fishing areas and overlooks at the Bogachiel River. In many areas, the river is now fully within view of the trail, said Molly Erickson, Forest Service permit administrator. She has hiked the damaged trail. The Forest Service is planning to create a new route and is fast-tracking the process to locate a new location for a repair. TURN
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PORT TOWNSEND — A request by the U.S. Navy for a right of entry agreement for the Mats Mats boat ramp will be discussed by Port of Port Townsend commissioners at a meeting Wednesday. “There are a lot of unanswered questions about this proposal,” said Port Director Larry Crockett. “The commissioners will probably use the meeting to determine what questions we want to ask.” The meeting begins at 1 p.m. in chambers, 333 Benedict St.
SEAL training plans Mats Mats Bay, an inlet on the Hood Canal, is one of several Jefferson County locations identified by the Navy as possible future sites for Navy SEAL training exercises. According to Navy documents published by the website www.truthout.org, other potential locations initially identified for fiscal year 2016 are the Port Townsend Marina, Fort Flagler State Park, Indian Island, Port Ludlow, the Toandos Peninsula and Zelatched Point. A larger overall Navy training request also included Sequim Bay State Park in Clallam County and Port Hadlock Marina, Discovery Bay and Fort Worden, Fort Townsend and Dosewallips state parks in Jefferson County. The Navy has said that the plans for the exercises are in the early planning stages. In a letter to Crockett, real estate contracting officer Michael D. Brady asked that the port allow use of the Mats Mats boat ramp between Port Hadlock and Port Ludlow for the Naval Special Warfare Group to perform required coldwater training while in the Puget Sound area. TURN
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County balks at Carlsborg sewer proposal $975,000 contract for construction management slammed by official BY ROB OLLIKAINEN PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners expressed sticker shock Monday over a proposed $974,000 contract with a Seattle-based consultant to oversee construction of the Carlsborg sewer. Board Chairman Mike Chapman said he would not support the agreement with Gray & Osborne Inc., saying he was “a little suspicious” of the amount. “I’m not going to sign this con-
tract,” Chapman said bluntly. Commissioners directed staff to analyze the cost of managing sewer construction with county employees. A comparison of those costs versus the price of an outside consultant will be discussed in a future work session.
Too steep “I can’t justify these costs,” Chapman said. “I don’t care what the industry standards are. That’s highway robbery of the taxpayer.” Public Works Administrative
Director Bob Martin recommended the contract with Gray & Osborne, which has worked for Clallam County in the past. Martin said the original plan was to share construction management with a consultant, but engineers in the road department have raised concerns about staff availability. “They are going to be pretty involved in other county projects this year, so the survey staff may not be available to us,” Martin said. “Some of the inspection staff that we were proposing to use also may not be available to us.” The amount of money budgeted for construction management did not change with the new recommendation, Martin said.
“I can’t justify these costs . . . I don’t care what the industry standards are. That’s highway robbery of the taxpayer.” MIKE CHAPMAN Commissioner, Clallam County “Instead of doing part of it inhouse and part of it with the consultant, we’re doing more of it with the consultant and less of it in-house is what this boils down to,” Martin said. Gray & Osborne had identified local subcontractors for the oneyear project, including a surveyor and inspector, Martin added. Commissioners opened seven
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PROJECT/A5
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bids last week for construction of the long-planned sewer system. Pacific Civil & Infrastructure of Federal Way was the low bidder at $9.03 million. The low bid was about $2 million less than the engineer’s estimate. The seven proposals will be reviewed by staff and the county finance committee before a contract is awarded in mid-April. “What you’ll see shortly is a re-evaluation of the total project cost that reflects the bid prices, the bid opening that we just had,” Martin told commissioners. “So the total project cost will go down, assuming that the apparent low bidder is the contractor that we award.”
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