The commissioners did not respond to an email asking whether, as the county faces the loss of 60% of its timber-sale revenue, they plan to support an investigation and potential criminal charges related to the vandalism of the Doc Holliday timber sale and other protest-related disruptions.
Here is today's email:
Dear Commissioners,
What action do you plan to take regarding Peninsula Behavioral Health CEO Wendy Sisk?
Sisk sits on the County’s Behavioral Health Advisory Board, and the Board of Commissioners granted PBH $4 million in public funding to build North View.
Sisk has previously been on record saying that PBH would prioritize housing for people with criminal histories and substance-use issues. Yet she has now publicly characterized reporting about those statements as “misinformation.”
These are not insignificant claims. The commissioners entrusted PBH with millions of taxpayer dollars, and Sisk now appears to be publicly denying statements attributed to her and her organization.
What do you plan to do to address this? This is particularly important as PBH moves forward with another project that may seek or require additional public funding.
You are our elected representatives. It is your responsibility to ensure that organizations receiving millions of dollars from County taxpayers are accountable and transparent about how those funds will be used.
I would appreciate a direct response regarding whether the Board intends to investigate or otherwise follow up with PBH and Ms. Sisk.
I am really having a laugh at how Wendy is praising how they keep our economy going by high wages and people spending money locally. Well Wendy why did you allow an outside our CC to do the electrical work on this project? It was about $2m worth of tax dollars u allowed to outside CC. Sure weren’t in charge then why would we believe u now. She has contradicted herself just in this article by Jeff u wonder how much we DONT know. The cash cows of our county keeps giving to whom? This place will be trashed in a very short time and then we will be burdened with another project gone wild. Thanks Jeff for showing us the actions not equalling the truth.
Most of the residential clients are on medicaid, Food stamps, and either SSDI or state temp ABD benefits and will pay some portion of their income in rent to PBH. High wages for the admin maybe, but not for the entry level boots on the ground staff. Northview will most likely be property tax exempt like their other residential locations. Imagine the property tax that prime real estate would bring in if the condos were paying taxes.
Listening to them talk in housing solutions/homeless task force meetings, they are aware the cost are ridiculous and don't care. Sisk has way too much power on these boards and has made a lucraitve career for herself as a real estate developer now.
I totally agree. If these people have no respect for themselves... how are they going to have respect for the place they live in. Unless it comes with maid service... you are right... it will be trashed. They will need to be under the supervision of a care taker... because they do not care at all about anything. Anyone who can live in a tent and do nothing all day proves they don't care about themselves or anything else. And....
If my comments about this offends any body... I don't care ...
Lynae, your comment shouldn't offend anyone with common sense!
In the article, under NORTHVIEW HIGHLIGHTS it states:
COMMUNITY SPACES: Property management office huh?, Community room huh?, Rooftop terrace, Bike storage (where or where will those bikes come from?) Laundry room.
So I guess the property management office will be the caretakers? It sounds more like an HOA to me but without Bylaws or Rules and Regulations.
Thank you so much Jeff for your continued commitments about our community and and the exposure of the snake oil sales people that we are supposed to trust
Sisk highlighted PBH’s expansion toward 185 employees and a budget expected to exceed $20 million, with the “vast majority” going to salaries and benefits.
In an earlier presentation, Sisk acknowledged that roughly 75–80% of the budget goes to staffing.
HOW MANY DOES IT TAKE TO SCREW IN A LIGHTBULB?
(Sing along) 4 Chief Officers, 4 Nurse Practitioners and a HR Director in a pear tree.
Shelters with limited entry requirements are referred to as “low-barrier.” While this term is widely used, there is no uniform definition, shelter entry policies vary widely
A ‘one-stop service program’ for individuals living in the luxury apartments? Bring all the programs to them? Build it, they will come. It’s our Amazon style of delivery. It’s “Have it your way” and does not work.
The reality is, “one stop shop” doesn’t work with homeless customers (and that is what the homeless have become, our funded customers) The problem lies in its lack of specificity. It tries to be all things to all people, but in doing so, it fails to communicate anything meaningful.
"Sobriety is binary. While drug and alcohol use may be discouraged and a no-drugs/alcohol policy is signed, relapse is tolerated with added support. This is the soft, low-barrier approach critics have highlighted." And with that statement, I actually accidentally snorted hot coffee up my nose. That is, quite honestly, the biggest load of crap I've read in quite some time. Guaranteed this luxury housing complex will be struggling to keep their copper piping in no time whatsoever.
They fudge on the no violent offenders/record of violence rule for their housing already. One of their current darlings has a felony DV in another state but no worries PBH will help you change your name and gender marker then the criminal record is not so obvious
Binary Sobriety? Who thinks up these labels? Webster hasn't defined it yet. So is there AA or DA meetings for Binary people? I don't think so, you don't ride the fence, their success, which is much much higher than Harm Reduction, is based on recovery by not riding the fence.
The qoute of the day in your article Jeff, that should be on a sign when entering our county....Welcome to the county where " The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.” —
Great job today CCWD! Thank you for exposing the contradictions. In my opinion, this is just another program that costs us the taxpayers too much money and will be another unsustainable burden. I'm sure they'll be very transparent and have all the data for their metrics to show how successful they are. OOPS!!! My mistake their an NGO,they don't have to be transparent, just another GRIFT program with bloated overhead!! I despise NGO's, very few do any real good. Y'all have a wonderful and blessed day.
Private sector salaries can be much higher than tax-dependent NGO CEOs, because they produce something and can base their salaries off of a company’s earnings. I’m not against high salaries when people have a choice to support those businesses; I’m not in favor of tax-dependent NGOs receiving high salaries when taxes are taken without choice to pay for salaries and they aren’t producing anything that brings in revenue. How much revenue will North View generate compared to how much it will cost in continual funding from taxes/grants?
Sure, employees at NGOs may pay for rent, groceries, and entertainment, but how do those amounts compare to the property taxes that will never be collected if North View was a private sector apartment/condo complex? How does employee rent/groceries/entertainment compare to any fees that were waived to make the project happen?
People can say all they want about if North View was a private condo complex no one could afford it, but Zillow would say otherwise. Homes continue to sell out here, people continue to buy. It may not be affordable to everyone, and that’s how life goes. If people want to afford something, work harder, work smarter, make better financial choices, or just move somewhere they can afford since at least 45 states are more affordable than Washington.
A little public sector perspective on Wendy Sisk’s $264,799 salary:
U.S. Vice President: $235,100 (While the base official salary is set higher at $284,600, a statutory congressional pay freeze has capped the actual payable salary at this rate since 2019).
U.S. Senators & Congressmen (Representatives): $174,000 (Rank-and-file members of both houses have had their pay frozen at this level since 2009). Leadership roles earn more; for instance, the Speaker of the House receives $223,500.
Governor Bob Ferguson (Washington State): $234,275 (Following a 7% raise enacted by the independent Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials).
Washington State Lawmakers (State Senators & Representatives): $72,494 (Also received a 7% raise from the state commission).
CJ, now there are comparable figures that makes my mouth hang open....Good God that's a lot of BINARY decision making for sitting on her butt. That makes each cheek worth $132,399.50
Great podcast today, Jeff, so many topics. There really is so much going on in this county, and we the people here are losing. Just look around, we are circling the drain. “They” want more money constantly from us. When will they hire an NGO consultant to figure out how to squeeze more money from us! “Best available science” stated by Bruce, that should be a big warning for everyone, stand by. You’re right Jeff, they are planting the seed about Finn Hall Road, and here we go, another land grab. The amount of NGO's in this little county is out of control with the salaries and benefits!! We must stay engaged!
One of the biggest takes on this is the non productiveness of the organization. You have to give Wendy Sisk props for building her organization into the huge tax sucking kingdom it is. The well will eventually run dry. Re-compete is supposed to build the economy and therefor increase the tax base. Where is the evidence of return on investment of the millions of dollars spent.
People with serious mental health issues should be in a mental institution. Everyone understood that for a hundred years. Today they are allowed to run loose on the streets because that allows more taxpayer money to be stolen.
How is it okay for the city of Port Angeles and the council to profit along with their buddies from the death and destruction of the poor and disadvantaged, well shoving them off into the woods , only providing a few spots for a select few so they can say that they have done what they could when we all know it is blatant hyperbole...
A baby clinging to a teet needs diapers, so that must mean that babies support the economy too?
Sisk is describing a parasitic economy not an organic economy as Jake describes.
This entire project is such an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars. Either many more people could have been serviced for the same investment, or the same for a lot less.
We are talking about a virus today on housing. I just received requests for quotes on the PHA 24 unit housing going in off Gayle St in PA. They haven’t even opened PBH and now we have another. Looking at the plans I see it is very much like the Library. Over engineered and NO priority of it being economicaly fiscally responsible. It is another example of $ wasted on these projects. I see at least 50k in non essential equipment on the electrical panel metering and i just glanced at the plans. Here we go again. I wonder which outside contractor they will award this to.
The commissioners did not respond to an email asking whether, as the county faces the loss of 60% of its timber-sale revenue, they plan to support an investigation and potential criminal charges related to the vandalism of the Doc Holliday timber sale and other protest-related disruptions.
Here is today's email:
Dear Commissioners,
What action do you plan to take regarding Peninsula Behavioral Health CEO Wendy Sisk?
Sisk sits on the County’s Behavioral Health Advisory Board, and the Board of Commissioners granted PBH $4 million in public funding to build North View.
Sisk has previously been on record saying that PBH would prioritize housing for people with criminal histories and substance-use issues. Yet she has now publicly characterized reporting about those statements as “misinformation.”
These are not insignificant claims. The commissioners entrusted PBH with millions of taxpayer dollars, and Sisk now appears to be publicly denying statements attributed to her and her organization.
What do you plan to do to address this? This is particularly important as PBH moves forward with another project that may seek or require additional public funding.
You are our elected representatives. It is your responsibility to ensure that organizations receiving millions of dollars from County taxpayers are accountable and transparent about how those funds will be used.
I would appreciate a direct response regarding whether the Board intends to investigate or otherwise follow up with PBH and Ms. Sisk.
I am really having a laugh at how Wendy is praising how they keep our economy going by high wages and people spending money locally. Well Wendy why did you allow an outside our CC to do the electrical work on this project? It was about $2m worth of tax dollars u allowed to outside CC. Sure weren’t in charge then why would we believe u now. She has contradicted herself just in this article by Jeff u wonder how much we DONT know. The cash cows of our county keeps giving to whom? This place will be trashed in a very short time and then we will be burdened with another project gone wild. Thanks Jeff for showing us the actions not equalling the truth.
Most of the residential clients are on medicaid, Food stamps, and either SSDI or state temp ABD benefits and will pay some portion of their income in rent to PBH. High wages for the admin maybe, but not for the entry level boots on the ground staff. Northview will most likely be property tax exempt like their other residential locations. Imagine the property tax that prime real estate would bring in if the condos were paying taxes.
Listening to them talk in housing solutions/homeless task force meetings, they are aware the cost are ridiculous and don't care. Sisk has way too much power on these boards and has made a lucraitve career for herself as a real estate developer now.
Well said, thank you.
I agree and well stated Susie.
Love your last sentence, Jedj.
I totally agree. If these people have no respect for themselves... how are they going to have respect for the place they live in. Unless it comes with maid service... you are right... it will be trashed. They will need to be under the supervision of a care taker... because they do not care at all about anything. Anyone who can live in a tent and do nothing all day proves they don't care about themselves or anything else. And....
If my comments about this offends any body... I don't care ...
Lynae, your comment shouldn't offend anyone with common sense!
In the article, under NORTHVIEW HIGHLIGHTS it states:
COMMUNITY SPACES: Property management office huh?, Community room huh?, Rooftop terrace, Bike storage (where or where will those bikes come from?) Laundry room.
So I guess the property management office will be the caretakers? It sounds more like an HOA to me but without Bylaws or Rules and Regulations.
Yay!
NGO’s lost me years ago due to high overhead expenses and political agendas. 🤮
Pbh does more harm than good. Trap addicts in luxury and watch them die.
Billy, but it's BINARY so it's all good ; ) Does Ms Sisk believe in BINARY taxes? The best one would be BINARY death, I'll go with that one LOL
Close pbh down!!!
Billy, I agree, but unfortunately the horse has already left the barn and a new barn is in the works. We have to vote our way out of this mess.
With 2 commissioners and 1 kommissar anything is possible.
Thank you so much Jeff for your continued commitments about our community and and the exposure of the snake oil sales people that we are supposed to trust
TOO MANY CHIEFS?
Sisk highlighted PBH’s expansion toward 185 employees and a budget expected to exceed $20 million, with the “vast majority” going to salaries and benefits.
In an earlier presentation, Sisk acknowledged that roughly 75–80% of the budget goes to staffing.
HOW MANY DOES IT TAKE TO SCREW IN A LIGHTBULB?
(Sing along) 4 Chief Officers, 4 Nurse Practitioners and a HR Director in a pear tree.
Chief executive officer
Chief medical officer
Chief financial officer
Chief operations officer
Psychiatric ARNP
Psychiatric ARNP
Psychiatric ARNP
Primary Care ARNP
HR Director
BTW, I didn't realize the units included quartz counter tops, bike storage and a conference room. The amenities keep growing.
Shelters with limited entry requirements are referred to as “low-barrier.” While this term is widely used, there is no uniform definition, shelter entry policies vary widely
A ‘one-stop service program’ for individuals living in the luxury apartments? Bring all the programs to them? Build it, they will come. It’s our Amazon style of delivery. It’s “Have it your way” and does not work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJXzkUH72cY
The reality is, “one stop shop” doesn’t work with homeless customers (and that is what the homeless have become, our funded customers) The problem lies in its lack of specificity. It tries to be all things to all people, but in doing so, it fails to communicate anything meaningful.
I love your humor, Jennifer.
Denise, I chose BINARY humor ; )
"Sobriety is binary. While drug and alcohol use may be discouraged and a no-drugs/alcohol policy is signed, relapse is tolerated with added support. This is the soft, low-barrier approach critics have highlighted." And with that statement, I actually accidentally snorted hot coffee up my nose. That is, quite honestly, the biggest load of crap I've read in quite some time. Guaranteed this luxury housing complex will be struggling to keep their copper piping in no time whatsoever.
They fudge on the no violent offenders/record of violence rule for their housing already. One of their current darlings has a felony DV in another state but no worries PBH will help you change your name and gender marker then the criminal record is not so obvious
I wish I was shocked. I'm not.
Binary Sobriety? Who thinks up these labels? Webster hasn't defined it yet. So is there AA or DA meetings for Binary people? I don't think so, you don't ride the fence, their success, which is much much higher than Harm Reduction, is based on recovery by not riding the fence.
Probably another hired NGO came up with the term, binary sobriety and we paid them!
CAS, the hired NGO is ignorant ; ) Binary Sobriety is a oxymoron.
OXYMORON is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (such as cruel kindness);
The qoute of the day in your article Jeff, that should be on a sign when entering our county....Welcome to the county where " The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.” —
Boom!
Great job today CCWD! Thank you for exposing the contradictions. In my opinion, this is just another program that costs us the taxpayers too much money and will be another unsustainable burden. I'm sure they'll be very transparent and have all the data for their metrics to show how successful they are. OOPS!!! My mistake their an NGO,they don't have to be transparent, just another GRIFT program with bloated overhead!! I despise NGO's, very few do any real good. Y'all have a wonderful and blessed day.
Private sector salaries can be much higher than tax-dependent NGO CEOs, because they produce something and can base their salaries off of a company’s earnings. I’m not against high salaries when people have a choice to support those businesses; I’m not in favor of tax-dependent NGOs receiving high salaries when taxes are taken without choice to pay for salaries and they aren’t producing anything that brings in revenue. How much revenue will North View generate compared to how much it will cost in continual funding from taxes/grants?
Sure, employees at NGOs may pay for rent, groceries, and entertainment, but how do those amounts compare to the property taxes that will never be collected if North View was a private sector apartment/condo complex? How does employee rent/groceries/entertainment compare to any fees that were waived to make the project happen?
People can say all they want about if North View was a private condo complex no one could afford it, but Zillow would say otherwise. Homes continue to sell out here, people continue to buy. It may not be affordable to everyone, and that’s how life goes. If people want to afford something, work harder, work smarter, make better financial choices, or just move somewhere they can afford since at least 45 states are more affordable than Washington.
A little public sector perspective on Wendy Sisk’s $264,799 salary:
U.S. Vice President: $235,100 (While the base official salary is set higher at $284,600, a statutory congressional pay freeze has capped the actual payable salary at this rate since 2019).
U.S. Senators & Congressmen (Representatives): $174,000 (Rank-and-file members of both houses have had their pay frozen at this level since 2009). Leadership roles earn more; for instance, the Speaker of the House receives $223,500.
Governor Bob Ferguson (Washington State): $234,275 (Following a 7% raise enacted by the independent Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials).
Washington State Lawmakers (State Senators & Representatives): $72,494 (Also received a 7% raise from the state commission).
CJ, now there are comparable figures that makes my mouth hang open....Good God that's a lot of BINARY decision making for sitting on her butt. That makes each cheek worth $132,399.50
Great podcast today, Jeff, so many topics. There really is so much going on in this county, and we the people here are losing. Just look around, we are circling the drain. “They” want more money constantly from us. When will they hire an NGO consultant to figure out how to squeeze more money from us! “Best available science” stated by Bruce, that should be a big warning for everyone, stand by. You’re right Jeff, they are planting the seed about Finn Hall Road, and here we go, another land grab. The amount of NGO's in this little county is out of control with the salaries and benefits!! We must stay engaged!
One of the biggest takes on this is the non productiveness of the organization. You have to give Wendy Sisk props for building her organization into the huge tax sucking kingdom it is. The well will eventually run dry. Re-compete is supposed to build the economy and therefor increase the tax base. Where is the evidence of return on investment of the millions of dollars spent.
People with serious mental health issues should be in a mental institution. Everyone understood that for a hundred years. Today they are allowed to run loose on the streets because that allows more taxpayer money to be stolen.
Now days these lunatics get voted into office instead of being locked up.
How is it okay for the city of Port Angeles and the council to profit along with their buddies from the death and destruction of the poor and disadvantaged, well shoving them off into the woods , only providing a few spots for a select few so they can say that they have done what they could when we all know it is blatant hyperbole...
Racketeers
A baby clinging to a teet needs diapers, so that must mean that babies support the economy too?
Sisk is describing a parasitic economy not an organic economy as Jake describes.
This entire project is such an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars. Either many more people could have been serviced for the same investment, or the same for a lot less.
More teets, umm taxpayers, please!
Don't be surprised if this luxury condo project get's PBH and other state-county employees 'family members first'.
We are talking about a virus today on housing. I just received requests for quotes on the PHA 24 unit housing going in off Gayle St in PA. They haven’t even opened PBH and now we have another. Looking at the plans I see it is very much like the Library. Over engineered and NO priority of it being economicaly fiscally responsible. It is another example of $ wasted on these projects. I see at least 50k in non essential equipment on the electrical panel metering and i just glanced at the plans. Here we go again. I wonder which outside contractor they will award this to.