By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – Governor Jay Inslee covered a lot of ground during his visit to Port Angeles Friday.
Inslee’s day started at Peninsula College where he got a first-hand demonstration of the SIMS used to teach in the nursing program, visited the Medical Assisting program, and met with school officials to learn about the new fall programs they’ll be rolling out.
We picked up his trail at Peninsula Behavioral Health’s (PBH) Dawn View Court apartments, which opened this year to lift people out of homelessness with affordable rents and assistance with counseling and other services. The Governor said he was impressed with the housing model used by PBH and the way the City of Port Angeles and Clallam County worked together to purchase the property.
Inslee added that he was impressed with the appearance of the property, especially admiring the paint job, saying he paid his way through college as a house painter.
(Inslee with PBH CEO Wendy Sisk)
From there he had lunch with City officials at City Hall, where they discussed the steps the city has taken to incentivize more housing density and the challenges of finding builders who are willing to construct multi-family housing.
The next stop was added late to the agenda, a 40-minute tour of Field Arts and Events Hall led by Board President Brooke Taylor. With ticketed events beginning July 6, the interior of the venue is almost finished, and the Governor lauded the community’s ability to raise the nearly $40 million it took to accomplish its construction.
(Inslee and Brooke Taylor)
Inslee ended his visit by getting a look at the new pump track at Erickson Playfield, where he happily greeted an old friend in attendance, local accessibility advocate and world record holder Ian Mackay. Mackay demonstrated the track’s ADA-accessible design from his wheelchair.
We later asked Mackay how he knew the Governor and were told that Inslee declared a day in 2016 as Ian Mackay Day after starting his non-profit, Ian’s Ride.
(Inslee and Mackay)
(Banner photo: Inslee gets the view from the stage at Field Hall)