Coupeville port director leaving

The commissioners for the Port of Coupeville need a new director. The contract for Executive Director Jim Patton expires at the end of the year and he said he has no intention of asking for a renewal. He ran the small port district for eight years.

The commissioners for the Port of Coupeville need a new director. The contract for Executive Director Jim Patton expires at the end of the year and he said he has no intention of asking for a renewal. He ran the small port district for eight years.

“I think we need to review the scope of the work for the executive director,” Port Commissioner Laura Blankenship said last week. She questioned whether the port should keep the current contractual arrangement it has for the executive director position or make the position a full-time employee.

Patton works for the Port of Coupeville on a part-time basis earning $50 an hour. He earned $24,000 in 2012.

Commissioner Benye Weber said she doesn’t see room in the budget for a full-time executive director.

Patton said the three-member board has to make a decision about the executive director position in time to be written into the budget for 2014, which is approved every October.