In what turned out to be a lively Port of Orcas meeting, the commissioners listened to a plea by Jeff Hanson of the Eastsound Off Leash Dog Park Board and voted to fight the FAA on their request that they “terminate the lease immediately.”

“Many in the community truly appreciate your willingness to provide the use of this land for the off-leash area until its needed for airport use,” Hanson said. “The port and the dog park have worked in good faith with each other to provide this temporary space for the off-leash area. We have received repeated assurances from you that there are no airport plans for this area in the near future, and we have taken steps to both enhance the area for the off-leash area users and to protect the port’s property from damage. We respectfully request that the port continue to permit the use of this land until it is truly needed for airport purposes, at which time the off-leash area improvements will be removed.

He went on to say that he did not think the FAA’s reasons for requesting the lease be terminated were valid, noting that through the lease agreement and communication everyone realized the land use was a temporary situation. He said the Dog Park Board would continue to work toward finding a permanent home for the off-leash area.

“You are preaching to the choir. We’re with you,” Commissioner Ullanah McCoy said.

McCoy shared with the other commissioners a list of points arguing the statements made in the letter from the FAA requesting the lease termination. They included the fact that there is no airport use for the land at this time, the lease agreement states the temporary nature of the arrangement, and the ways the dog park’s use of the land serves the airport.

“The FAA have given us something close to 2 million dollars over the years,” Commissioner Al Edwards said. “We are required to keep in compliance with their wishes. We have to stay on their good side. It’s not like they’re holding a gun to our heads, but they’re holding a gun to our heads.”

Several of the commissioners noted and took exception to a sentence in the letter FAA Project Manager Timothy Shaw sent that stated, “Our past experience in the Orcas Island community have shown us that changes at the airport against the community will take quite a while to accomplish, so we see this as a real risk.”

“Generally speaking I find this letter to us offensive in the way that it was written and its inaccuracies,” Commissioner Steve Hopkins said. “We have an enforceable lease.”

Chair Garth Eimers plans to draft a letter to the FAA for the commissioners review at the March 12 meeting that argues the points McCoy noted.

The FAA has been criticized by Congress for allowing airports to use land purchased with FAA money for non-airport functions, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. The FAA administers the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which provides grants to airports for construction, equipment purchase, and similar capital improvements. In exchange for the grant, airports must provide a written grant assurance that reserves use of airport land and revenues for the benefit of aviation. The port purchased the land where the dog park is located with an FAA grant.

In other meeting business, the commissioners entertained a request for a contribution from the San Juan County Marine Resources Committee to help with the publication of a map in state fishing guides that marks areas where not to fish and boat. McCoy made a motion to provide $300 to the printing but a split vote with Brett Thurman abstaining killed the motion.

John Forker approached the commission asking for a rent reduction to lease a shed on the port property to brew beer. The commissioners voted unanimously to allow him to lease the shed for $50 for three months, $100 for the next three months and then the rental agreement would be the full $150.

The next port meeting is March 12 at 7 p.m.