Commissioner resigns from Port of Camas-Washougal

Port of Camas-Washougal District 3 Commissioner Bill Macrae-Smith attended his last port meeting as an elected official on Tuesday.

Macrae-Smith announced his resignation during the meeting; it went into effect the following day.

“I’ve got some issues I want to take care of that are going to take me a year or so,” he said in an interview with The Columbian. “The simplest way to do it is not have commitments at the port — sometimes those get quite large.”

Macrae-Smith served three nonconsecutive terms on the commission: 1984 to 1987, 2010 to 2014 and 2014 through Tuesday.

Although he’s stepping away for now, Macrae-Smith said he’d return to the commission in the future if the circumstances were right.

In a news release, port Executive Director David Ripp called Macrae-Smith an “integral part of a very accomplished board.”

“His expertise and knowledge have aided the port’s ability and effectiveness to create jobs, infrastructure and recreational opportunities for the community,” Ripp said.

During Macrae-Smith’s tenure the port developed several warehouses in the port’s industrial park, constructed the Steigerwald Commerce Center, improved the port marina and remodeled the port’s office.

“The port has a fantastic future. It’s had some good success in the past three or four years,” he said.

Anyone interested in assuming the vacant seat on the board of commissioners can find the application materials on the Port of Camas-Washougal website — www.portcw.com — and its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/PortCW.