Port: Difficult decision looms
Continued from Page 1
time tenant Bergerson Con-
struction and the loss of state
grant money for repair work
because of a failure to follow
through on requirements of
the grant.
“There’s been one unac-
ceptable shortcoming after
another,” Rohne said. “In or-
der to move the port forward,
it is imperative we have a
good relationship with grant-
ing authorities… It seems
Jim Knight has neither local
nor state support to manage
the Port of Astoria.”
June 14, 2019
T he C olumbia P ress
4
Commissioner Bill Hunsin-
ger criticized Knight’s unwill-
ingness to hold a boat com-
pany financially responsible
after a ship damaged a dock.
His list of 16 failures in-
cluded botched contracts, the
state’s closure of Pier 2 be-
cause of infrastructure prob-
lems, lack of maintenance
and loss of East End Mooring
Basin use, the unadvertised
decision to sell Tongue Point
and loss of tenants like Berg-
erson, Oregon State Police,
and McAmis Construction.
“Jim Knight doesn’t follow
Port commis-
sioners prepare
to make their
case against or in
support of Exec-
utive Director Jim
Knight.
Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
the commission’s advice,”
Hunsinger said.
Chairman Frank Spence
said the turning point for
him was the advice of an ad-
hoc finance committee, made
up of bankers and indepen-
dent financial experts.
“The port’s current financial
condition is the result of many
years of mismanagement and
neglect,” Spence said.
Two commissioners, Robert
Stevens and Jim Campbell,
expressed support for Knight.
“Not everything Mr. Knight
undertook came to fruition,
but he just keeps trying,” Ste-
vens said. “One of the ques-
tions I have is, what is the
rush? We clearly have a panic
move to remove the director
before a new commissioner”
replaces Hunsinger.
Stevens called the pan-
el’s actions a vendetta that
should only be done for seri-
ous crimes and omissions.
“If we go about this half-
baked and rush through it, …
we’re going to see an inevita-
ble lawsuit.”
Knight, whose salary is
$168,375, was hired on a
three-year contract in Octo-
ber 2014 and is in the second
year of a five-year contract
extension. He chose to have
his employment review held
in public, but didn’t respond
to the accusations at Tues-
day’s meeting.
He will likely respond
during the port’s next meet-
ing at 6 p.m. June 18, when a
decision on his employment
is expected to be made.
Dinner to benefit
child with leukemia
A dinner and silent auction
to benefit Jackson Hump-
al, 7, the son of a local Coast
Guard couple, is set for 5:30
p.m. Wednesday, June 19, at
Camp Rilea.
It’s hosted by Fort Stevens
VFW 10580 post and auxiliary.
Admission is $12, which in-
cludes spaghetti, bread, sal-
ad, dessert and beverage.
For tickets, contact the post
at its website, vfwfortste-
vens10580.com/contact or
call Debbie Little at 503-739-
0661.