Port officials split over ethics guide

SCOTT WYLAND, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- Discussions about ethics and a formal code to guide official conduct generated some heated words among Port of Olympia commissioners Monday.

Port critic Mike Pettit presented a compilation of guidelines -- mainly having to do with conflicts of interest -- that other cities have adopted.

Pettit compiled the booklet with the help of newly elected Commissioner Paul Telford. Both men recommended that the guidelines be used as fodder for hammering out a code of ethics that all municipalities in Thurston County could follow.

All three commissioners agreed that a code of ethics would be helpful for all local governments and gave it their official support.

But one commissioner noted the booklet's emphasis on conflict of interest and questioned the underlying motive.

"Why, right now, has this become an issue that's so important?" Commissioner Steve Pottle asked Pettit.

Pottle also asked whether Pettit or Telford had sought legal help in interpreting conflict-of-interest laws. "Or are these just your opinions?"

The port has turned to its attorneys to interpret these laws, which can be highly complex, Pottle said.

Pettit said his opposition to the $750,000 Port Plaza project was the catalyst for spearheading development of an ethics code. The project would create a waterfront park and concert venue.

He began researching whether Commissioner Bob Van Schoorl, the state Department of Natural Resources budget director, would have conflicting interests in voting on the project, which would be built on state-owned land.

He discovered the potential for conflicts of interest among public officials throughout the county, he said. Many government leaders were probably breaking the laws unknowingly, he said.

Pettit said his law-enforcement background taught him how to interpret statutes. And he argued that citizens can read laws.

Telford said he consulted with attorneys, but declined to name them.

Task force

Commissioners agreed to support forming a task force to establish a viable code. Representatives from every jurisdiction in the county should be invited to join, Van Schoorl said.

The commission then took up whether proper procedures had been followed at a May 29 meeting when $5,000 had been approved for the Hands On Children's Museum's Working Waterfront exhibit.

On Monday, Telford said he was raising the issue not to deny the museum the money, but to show the correct procedure for avoiding a conflict of interest.

Pettit had questioned whether Van Schoorl had a "remote interest" in the museum because his wife sat on the board.

Single complaint

Remote interest is essentially an indirect conflict of interest.

Port attorneys said that having a spouse on the board does not give Van Schoorl any remote interest.

Still, Van Schoorl agreed to recuse himself, even though he didn't believe that participating was improper.

Telford and Pottle voted to re-affirm earmarking $5,000 to the museum exhibit.

In an interview before the meeting, Pettit said the Citizens of Responsible Government, which has 10 to 15 members, were involved in pushing for an ethics code.

But he alone filed the complaint about Van Schoorl OK'ing money for the museum, he said.

Commissioners also discussed for the first time whether Van Schoorl should participate in the Port Plaza project.

Port attorney Mick Phillips insisted that Van Schoorl had no interest, remote or otherwise, in the plaza.

Pettit contended that Van Schoorl was employed by the state, which owns the property. Therefore, Van Schoorl shouldn't be in a position to allocate money to enhance state-owned land.

Citizen speaks

Olympia City Councilman Matthew Green, speaking as a citizen, argued that Van Schoorl doesn't need to recuse himself.

Green, a former DNR employee, said he is an expert on laws governing state aquatic lands, including the property on which the plaza site sits.

The state, not DNR itself, owns the property, Green said. The port has managed the land since 1984 and would essentially own any improvements made on the land, he said.

The state would receive money only from ground leases, Green said, and not from events, such as concerts, held at the site.

Because the plaza will be a park area, no one will occupy the site and thus no leases will be signed, Green said.

Van Schoorl said he saw himself having no conflicting interests in the plaza. The port is enhancing waterfront land for public benefit, he said.

"Whose land is it really?" Van Schoorl said. "It is the people's land, entrusted to the Port of Olympia."

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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