From Stark
State Rep Jeff Morris has taken issue with last week’s post about his plans for funding a new Center for Marine Innovation.
Via a message on Facebook, Morris said he is changing the language in HB 2444 to remove the funding source he originally proposed: $150,000 from a state recreation resources account funded with taxes on boat fuel. Boaters say that money is supposed to pay for boat launches and similar facilities.
He said his original funding proposal for the center was no more than a “placeholder” to get the legislative process started.
A quick perusal of the Morris Memorial Marine Innovation Resource Center website
reveals several projects of interest locally.
They’ve developed yacht bumpers that double as secondary waste treatment
for cruisers that fill their bilges accidentally and prematurely
and for those craft slated for berths at the new PoB Small Boat Harbor and Waste Lagoon.
A breakthrough method for mitigating the damage to Cherry Point eelgrass at the SSA Coal Dump site
involves coating the plants with crude oil so the coal dust won’t stick.
Seed money meant to develop an Asian Clam Sauce industry locally to take advantage of our new invasive species.
Innovative binoculars that allow Whale Watching Tours to observe the legal distance from Orca pods.
And a museum for the New Whatcom Waterfront site to preserve for residents what the Bay looked like before 200 foot condos and T-Shirt shops went in.
I’m excited by these exciting prospective prospects for progress.