Clallam County parks director fields proposal to add donor ‘oversized chairs’ to memorial program

Don, the parks director, opened the meeting by recognizing a donated oversized chair built by Macaw Enterprises and placed at Clallam Bay County Park. He said the donor (identified as Ray) and his wife had given one chair and that a second similar chair will sit on state highway land adjacent to Fathom Bay; staff confirmed the chair at Clallam Bay is secured on park property and a plaque is being fabricated.

Don said he will solicit pricing from the manufacturer so the advisory board can later consider adding the chair as a formal option in the county’s memorial program, allowing members of the public to pay for a chair plus a small plaque to recognize or memorialize a person or organization. He framed the idea as a third memorial option alongside existing memorial benches and picnic tables.

Board members asked whether the county already accepts donations for memorial items, how the chairs would be sited and anchored, whether plaques would be allowed to honor living persons or organizations, and who would be responsible for long‑term maintenance. Don said the memorial program’s application and the county website already govern memorial donations and that memorial amenities remain in place only while serviceable; if an item becomes unserviceable the county will attempt to contact the donor but does not guarantee perpetual replacement.

Members also discussed alternative funding routes besides memorial donations and the potential to use recycled plastic for future chairs. Don said final decisions on plaque attachment and placement will be brought back to the advisory board once pricing and fabrication details are available.

The board did not take formal action on this proposal during the meeting; Don said he will return with cost estimates and proposed language to add chairs to the memorial program.