From: _Iom_Ms§_uiLosh

To: Mellrflughss
Cc: WWW; Bsidflslssn' W' W
W; lohnfoiozler; LmneBichmond; W
Subject: RE: Meeting in Coupeville
Date: Monday, December 17, 2018 5:35:13 PM

Mayor Hughes,

I am responding on behalf of Mr. Nelson, as he has had a serious family emergency today that has
taken him out ofthe office and will prevent him from attending'the meeting. As Assistant Director in
the ACHP’s Office of Federal Agency Programs, i will be participating in his stead.

We have shared your concerns about security with the Navy and it is our understanding that it has
worked with both the Coupeville Police Department and Island County Sheriff’s Department to
provide joint security for the meeting. The Navy also is providing all audio equipment and a
stenographer. '

Since we only have offices in Washington DC, it is our standard procedure to work with the relevant
lead federal agency to secure a local venue (and security if deemed advisable) for such a public
meeting. The ACHP certainly appreciated the assistance that Ms. Griffin was willing to provide, but
we have already set up the meeting logistics as described above. Again, it is both usual and
customary for the ACHP to work with the lead federal agency on the logistics ofthis type of meeting.

With reg-a rd to your questions about the ACHP and the Department of Defense (DOD), the ACHP is
an independent federal agency. it comprises 24 members, 11 ofwhom are presidential appointees.
The heads of ten federal agencies also sit on the ACHP and one ofthem is the Secretary of Defense.
The membership issupported by a small staff of36 professional and administrative employees that
is independent of the individual members. Per the ACHP’s Operating Procedures, representatives of
the DoD have recused themselves from the ACHP’s internal deliberations and decisions regarding
the formulation of itscomments due to the involvement of one of its components, the Navy. They
will continue to do so as the final comments are prepared and delivered to the Secretary ofthe
Navy.

Thank you once again for your comments and offer of assistance. We look forWard to hearing from
you on Wednesday.

Tom McCulloch PhD, RPA

Assistant Director
Office of Federal Agency Programs
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
202.517.0222
From: Molly Hughes [mailto:Mayor@townofcoupeville.org] '
Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2018 8:52 PM
To: Reid Nelson; Katharine R. Kerr; John Fowler; Lynne Richmond
Co: Arny, Matthew L CAPT NAS Whidbey,Is., N00; Allyson Brooks PhD; Campbell, Kendall D CIV NAVl—"AC
NW, PRW4
Subject: RE: Meeting in Coupevllle

Mr. Nelson,
To be clear (to quote you) I should have been included in the planning ofthis meeting because I am
the Mayor of Coupeville, not because i am a consulting party. When you are planning a potentially
volatile event in someone else’s community, you should contact the elected official from that
community, not the ”lead federal agency.” So far, the Navy has ”assisted” you in contacting the
wrong police agency for this meeting and reserving you a bad venue. The PAC is smaller than the
High School Commons and has no over—flow potential. The PAC holds 300, the Commons 400. The
PAC is an old theater with loud wooden, grandstand stairs. It will be noisy and disruptive for people
to go up and down these stairs to get to a microphone to comment. It will slow down the meeting.
The Commons are one level with ample room to set up two microphones and have a line behind
them so you can allow as much public cemment at possible. But, maybe this is not what you are
really trying to achieve?

The Reserve staff had plaCed the Commons on hold for you but your office said they could not
accept the Reserve’s help? Yet you are having the Navy make your arrangements and pay for your
security? Why aren’t you paying for your own security? What is your connection to the Department
of Defense? l thought the ACHP was an objective third party, not tied to the military or the
community they are adversely affecting?

Do you have sound equipment arranged for the meeting? If not, call me and I can arrange it, that is
if you can accept the Town’s help.

Wish I could say ”I hope to meet” you too, but i can’t. I am dreading this meeting and the
community'strife it is bound to create.

Moll}
Molly Hughes, Mayor

From: Reid Nelson [Wm]

Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2018 1:35 PM
To: Molly Hughes <Mayofltmmnofggupemflegrg>; Katharine R. Kerr «Wage», John
Fowler <figwlel;@_ag_hp_,ggy> Lynne Richmdnd <mmmondmmggy> '
Cc: Arny, Matthew L CAPT NAS Whidbey ls., N00 <mgjflgemammmmfl>; Allyson Brooks Ph.D
<alboon1hmlss@_da.homgov>; Campbell, Kendall o CIV NAVFAC NW, PRW4
<lsendal1camobelllelbawmll>
Subject: RE: Meeting in Coupeville

Mayor Hughes,
Thank you for writing us with these concerns. As a representative of a consulting party in this
consultation you should have received an invitation email from us about 40 minutes priorto
sending this (see attached), just minutes after the email to Dr. Brooks. Please let us know if you did
not receive it. '

We understand and share your concerns about security and are working with the Navy to ensure
that local law enforcement is utilized to provide it. Security arrangements can be challenging for us
given the ACHP’s distance from the venue so it is our standard operating procedure to work with
lead federal agency representatives in the area to arrange for such measures. We certainly welcome
your advice on how best to ensure that the meeting is carried out in the safest possible manner, and
are open to further discussions With you about that. I understand also your concerns about the need
for such a meeting, however it is both usual and customary for the ACHP to seek public input
through a meeting like this and we see value in doing so in this case. To be clear, while Navy is
assisting us with securing a venue and supporting the cost of security, this is an ACHP meeting, not a
Navy meeting. '

Regarding the time allotted to individual speakers, as the entity responsible for carrying out the
Section 106 review, it is important that the agency’s views inform our comments to the Secretary of
the Navy, which is why we afforded their representative 10 minutes to provide us whatever
information or material they believe germane to the issue. As you know, the State Historic
Preservation Officer places a critical role in Section 106 reviews, as well, which is why we also
afforded that office 10 minutes. You and the other six formally. recognized consulting parties will be
afforded three minutes each, so that we can benefit from your final advice to us. Again, these time
allotments are typical of the arrangements we make following a termination. ‘

We estimate that these nine parties will collectively take approximately an hour so to speak, which
will afford the public at a minimum another hour to share its views. We will also be amendable to
adding time to the end of the meeting to hear additional speakers beyond the 7 pm registration
timeline, assuming we can secure the facility longer. i am hopeful that this time allotment will allow
us to hear from at least 30 members ofthe public -— possibly more in addition to those that submit
-
comments by email or regular mail.

We recognize also that there is significa nt'frustration among some members of the community with
past meetings hosted by the Navy and assure you this meeting is .in no way a continuation or
substitution forthose meetings. In carrying out our responsibilities to now provide advice to the
Secretary of the Navy on the undertaking and its effects to historic properties, it is important that it
be informed by the views ofthe public. While the Navy may be acutely aware of those views, we are
not.

Finally, we suspect you are correct that many ofthe comments will be on issues outside of historic
preservation, so we will continue to urge members ofthe public to focus their comments on matters
relating to the effects ofthis undertaking on historic properties. Thanks again for your comments I
hope to meet you in person next week.
 Reid Nelson
Director
Office of Federal Agency Programs
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

From: Molly Hughes [WW]

Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2018 2: 37 PM
To: Reid Nelson; Katharine R. Kerr; John Fowler; Lynne Richmond
' Cc: Arny, Matthew L CAPT NAS Whidbey Is., N00; Allyson Brooks Ph. D; Campbell, Kendall D CIV NAVFAC
NW, PRW4
Subject: Meeting in Coupeviile

Hello,
l was notified by Allyson Brooks that you are having a public meeting in Coupeviile.
i found OLIt about the location from a local activist group.
i overheard an. Island County deputy talking about providing security for the meeting, he was
speaking to the Coupeville Marshall wondering why we weren’t providing that service.
i am receiving emails with questions about the agenda. Why is so much time being given to
government agencies instead ofthe public.
I am seeing emails, Facebook postings and newspaper articles talking about this meeting, all with a
different twist and purpose. ' '

My question: Why haven’t I been contacted by your office about this meeting?

Hundreds of people will show “up forthis meeting. Hundreds. The last thing we need is for the room
to be full of island County deputies in green jumpsuits. We need Coupevilleofflcers who are known
to the community and who have attended all public meetings about Navy issues to date. i am
working with the IC Sherriff and my Police department to provide the right officers for this event.

Thiswill be the first, and i’m sure the last, public meeting on the Section 106. Why is priority being
given to the few stakeholders who have been involved in the negotiations and not the public? There
needs to be a quick and accurate summary ofthe purpose ofthe Section 106, negotiations to date,
the termination process and who ACHP is and why you are involved at this late stage ofthe game.
The key word in that last sentence is accurate. i would advise you to stop using the timeline ofthe
negotiations the-Navy has been sending to the newspapers. Neither you, the Navy orthe consulting .
parties have been working on these negotiations since 2014. We have not even been working on
them since June of 2018 as you and the Navy keep stating. The Navy might have been holding
conversations behind closed doors in June and July but the first meeting of stakeholders was not
held until August 5, 2018. The entire negotiation process lasted four months and none of it was
conducted in public. ifyou try to imply otherwise you will lose credibility. Consider this my official
request to be on the agenda as a consulting party. iwill only speak to correct inaccurate information
or if called upon. '

Even with an explanation of the purpose of the meeting you must understand, and be willing to be
patient with the fact, that most of the comments will not focus on historic resources but on noise,
single siting, safety, preperty values, land use and quality of life. in other words this meeting will be
abOUt the EIS, not the Section 106. If you would have contacted me about holding a public meeting
BEFORE sending out a press release, I would have strongly advised against it. My experience is the
community ca n’t keep all of the Navy’s moving parts separate (contaminated water, EIS, Section
106) and no Navy action/decision has ever significantly changed as a result of public meetings or
public comment.

We are trying to'get through all of the Navy’s adverse effects on our community without a full—out.
war with our neighbors to the north in Oak Harbor. Every public meeting, every newspaper
headline, every opportunity for input that does not result in any change, makes that outcome less
and less likely. You are only concerned with Section 106, we are dealing with many Navy impacts in
this community. It is naive and arrogant of you not to have considered the big picture before making
your plans. Sadly, this is what we have come to expect from our federal ”partners.”

On December 20th you will fly back to DC, smug with the fact that you-have included a ”public
process” in your decision. Our residents will still be here, dealing with the noise. Noise that no
amount of money can ’resolve’, historic or not.

Mofljz
Molly Hughes, Mayor
Town of Coupeville
PO Box 725
4 NE 7th Street
Coupeville WA 98239

360678—4461, ext. 2 .
WW