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Residents urge stricter LTAC documentation and transparency in anonymous letter and public comment
Summary
Don Williams, a local resident and public commenter, asked the LTAC committee to disqualify three 2026 applicants for missing required documentation and urged the body to require individual votes on each recommendation.
Don Williams, a local resident and LTAC public commenter, asked the committee to consider disqualifying three 2026 applicants that he said lacked required documentation and final reporting. "If the information is not in the packet, and it's required, then they're not qualified," Williams said as he urged individual votes on LTAC recommendations.
The committee chair read Williams' written summaries into the record that cited RCW 67.28.1816 (as quoted in the packet) and identified the Coastal Interpretive Center, a Master Gardens ("Gardeners Dig Shores") project and the Ocean Shores Hospitality Collaborative as applications Williams believed did not meet statutory or program criteria, either because federal 501(c) tax-exempt documentation was not provided or because requested funds appeared to be for capital construction rather than operations.
Separately, the committee read an anonymous four-page letter filed at the utility billing office that extensively criticized the Ocean Shores Marketing Coalition. The letter alleged a lack of publicly available expenditure breakdowns, no analytics demonstrating measurable increases in overnight stays, selective promotion of certain businesses and broken or outdated web links. It requested a full accounting of LTAC funds allocated to OSMC over the past three fiscal years, the professional qualifications of contractors managing advertising and social media, and an independent audit of OSMC compliance with RCW 67.28.1816.
Committee members discussed the difficulty of responding to anonymous comments and the difference between public comment and staff obligations. Member Shannon said she preferred signers to be identified when possible, saying, "I really wish people would stand behind what they're saying because I have to stand behind what I am saying as an LTAC member." Staff confirmed the anonymous letter had been dropped off at the utility billing office and that it was included in the meeting packet for the record.
The public comments prompted committee members to reiterate that LTAC applicants must meet statutory requirements and that the committee will review application materials and prior reports when evaluating requests. No funding decisions were made at the meeting; the committee continued application review and indicated evaluation scores and recommendation forms would be part of the public record.
