About Us

Port Board of Commissioners

Dennis Gregoire, Freeland

Port of South Whidbey Commissioner, District 1.

Family: Dennis and his wife, Barbara Tennis moved to Whidbey Island in 2005. They have 3 daughters, two south of Seattle, and one in Denver; and are blessed with 5 grandchildren. Dennis and Barb share a Freeland home with Cody-McGee, an 85 lb. golden retriever.

Hobbies: Dennis's free time is spent trying to master woodworking skills, sailing and maintaining a SF Pelican, rowing a 9ft dinghy, and being walked by Cody-McGee at Double Bluff or the Farm.

Port Experience: Over 30years of planning, regulating, and restoring and developing in the City of Everett; including 15 years as a shoreline planner for the City, and 12 years as Director of Planning at the Port of Everett. During this time, over 500 million dollars was expended on waterfront projects: including piers, wharfs, near shore fills, public access projects, along with the creation of saltmarsh habitat projects, and finally the Navy Base at Everett. Dennis represented the Port of Everett, from 1999 to 2004 on several committees dealing with the Salmon Recovery Program for Puget Sound.

Chris Jerome, Langley

Chris Jerome, his wife Margot, and their daughter Maddy have made their home on South Whidbey since 1997.

Chris trained as a veterinary pathologist and spent his career in medical research. He co-founded and managed a venture-financed contract research company employing over 30 people from 1997-2006, and now works from home as a medical research consultant.

As a former CEO, an entrepreneur and small business owner, Chris has a practical understanding of what is needed to help local businesses succeed. After a career in veterinary and medical research, he is very much aware of the importance of our natural ecosystems.

An ardent sailor, boat owner, and kayak builder, Chris knows and respects the sea around us. He is dedicated to maximizing everyone's access to our marine resources.

Curt Gordon (General Representative), Clinton

Curt is a lifelong Whidbey Islander whose contributions to Island County include 20 years of service as South Whidbey Parks & Recreation District Commissioner, 11 years service on the Conservation Futures Technical Advisory Group, 10 years on the Rural Transportation Planning Organization Technical Advisory Committee. Most recently he was elected to serve as a Commissioner for the Port of South Whidbey. Curt is also the owner of Island Asphalt & Sitework Inc. providing site preparation and paving services to residential and commercial customers for over 25 years. When he's not running for public office, Curt enjoys running in marathons and triathlons including the grueling Iron Man Triathlon in Hawaii. In fact, he was the first ever cross-country runner at Langley High School.

Areas of Expertise:

• Project Development
• Business Management
• Transportation Planning
• Site Preparation and Paving

Port Staff

Port Operations Manager, Ed Field

Prior to his appointment as Port Manager, Ed Field specialized in project and construction management as well as construction quality control. His 30+ years of experience encompass construction engineering; geotechnical engineering, including site investigations, laboratory analysis, and construction monitoring; and civil engineering design for road and highway projects. Noteworthy projects in his construction management resume include the Elliot Bay Marina, the Southwest Harbor (Terminal 5) project for the Port of Seattle and American President Line, the Future of Flight facility at Paine Field, and the Patient Services Expansion at Whidbey General Hospital. Mr. Field completed his Masters in Construction Engineering and Management from the Univ. of Washington in 1987, and also has special expertise and training in value engineering, having participated as team leader, study manager, and team member in 19 studies addressing projects ranging from water supply to airports to fisheries. He is certified as a Construction Manager by CMAA and served as Secretary on the Board of Governors of the Construction Manager Certification Institute. As Port Manager, Ed is especially proud of the development of the Clinton Beach Park from acquisition through construction, including successful pursuit of over $575,000 of grant funding. On the personal side, Ed enjoys golf, sailing, and traveling with his wife Renee and kids Kellen and Anni.

Port Finance Manager, Ron Rhinehart

Ron Rhinehart joined the Port District as Finance Manager in 2011. During his 30-year career, he has managed accounting and financial operations for multiple technology and engineering companies. In addition, he has been responsible for business development, account management and sales teams around the world. Recently, he ran his own consulting firm based on Whidbey Island, helping his clients develop new markets and increase productivity. Ron is also involved in the community as a Commissioner for the North Whidbey Park and Recreation District and Editor/Board Member for the Pacific Northwest Association of Masters Swimmers. He has an MBA from Santa Clara University and a BS in Recreation Management from San Jose State University. When not working, he can be found swimming, cycling, running or working on the small forest property he shares with his wife Sherry.

Port Clerk, Molly MacLeod-Roberts, brilliant bio and stunning self-portrait coming soon.

Harbormaster, Rick Brewer, (360) 221-1120

Captain Rick began life on the water crewing onboard his father’s racing sailboats. Rick has since sailed waters around the world and worked from Deckhand to Captain on a variety of vessels including Tug & Barge to Schooners, Yachts and Cruise Vessels. Rick has served as an Instructor for the Seattle Maritime Academy as well as a guest instructor & speaker for several public & private boating organizations.

Rick joined the Port of South Whidbey as they took over the operation and management of the Langley Harbor Marina. As Harbormaster, he states "The future plans for developing the Langley Marina into a great facility welcoming guests and residents to enjoy the surrounding marine environment are exciting and challenging." A challenge he is confident in meeting!

Asst. Harbormaster, Duncan McPhee

Duncan McPhee is a Washington native with extensive marine experience who and enjoys sailing Puget Sound and inland waterways from Elliott Bay to Southeast Alaska.

His marine experience includes positions in commercial charter and diving in Hawaii and in outfitting and commissioning yachts in California. Duncan knows boats from the inside out.

Duncan and his wife moved to in 2005 to escape the widespread and oppressive sunshine so prevalent on Maui. They make their home in Freeland where Mrs. McPhee runs a plant and flower business.

He believes the Port of South Whidbey and the Harbor at Langley are wonderful resources for both residents and those visiting the Island and is excited to be working closely together with port staff to enhance these resources.

Having experienced, first hand, the effects of population growth on a small community and its resources, he looks forward to the challenge of keeping Langley Harbor a desirable location for visitors and a user friendly asset for the entire community.

Our District

The District encompasses 41,182 acres (64.35 square miles) or about the southern one third of Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington. The Port provides public facilities development and maintenance services throughout the district. It pursues economic development, transportation, environmental preservation, marine access and recreational opportunities for its constituents. Its present boundaries correspond to the boundaries of South Whidbey School District #206.

Population	1990	2000	2006	2010
South Whidbey*	10,069	11,703	12,540	12,950
Langley	654	959	1,055	1,074

Our Mission Statement

To enhance the economic well-being of the community and increase public access to marine areas while respecting the unique rural character and environment of South Whidbey Island.

Our History

The Port has gone through a number of project development stages in its 46-year history. The Port District of South Whidbey Island was originally formed on August 29, 1961 as the "Langley Port District." The impetus for its formation was the community's desire to create a major year-round boat marina and harbor development serving all of South Whidbey at Langley. In 1968, the district commissioners found that the tax base in the Langley and Sandy Point Precincts was insufficient to support the planned harbor development and decided that expansion of the district was necessary. On November 5, 1968, the district’s present boundaries were approved by a majority of the voters. In November of 1979, the name of the district was officially changed to "The Port District of South Whidbey Island."

Beginning in 1965, the Port moved toward the goal of developing a 6.8 acre marina and harbor facility on the Langley shoreline fronting the intersection of First and Anthes Avenues. In 1975, after numerous revisions to the Langley Harbor expansion project plan, the Port was faced with economic, political, and regulatory realities and abandoned the original project.

During the 1980's the Port, City of Langley, and the State Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation (IAC) collaborated to construct a 40 slip transient moorage marina. The facility consisted of floating concrete finger piers anchored to treated timber pilings, all protected by a floating tire breakwater. The Port contributed $110,000 and $240,000 was provided by the IAC. Unfortunately, in 1986 the floating breakwater sank. A new wood-pile breakwater system to protect 38 slips was constructed with the IAC funding an additional $100,000 and the Port another $40,000 to supplement the $170,000 in councilmatic bonds issued by the city. The finished project total cost was $660,000. In 1985 the Port District contributed another $30,000 to the Langley Marina and the IAC funded another $100,000 for additional work in the harbor.

After the Langley Marina was completed the Port began to focus its efforts and resources toward marine parks and boat ramps. Over the past 25 years the Port has developed, upgraded, and maintained facilities at Phil Simon Park, Dave Mackie Park, Mutiny Bay Facility, Holmes Harbor Boat Ramp and Freeland Park, Clinton Dock, Possession Beach Waterfront Park and Bush Point Boat Ramp. It also performed a feasibility study in 1985 of the Whidbey Airpark (Porter Field) becoming a public facility. This project was discontinued in the early 1990’s after being deemed by public opinion as not feasible.

In 1990 the Port's adopted a resolution "relating to the interference with public use and enjoyment". This resolution articulated the ports commitment to protect the air and water quality of its district from environmental hazards such as toxic or hazardous substances. In 1992, the resolution was expanded to include noise standards as described in Resolution 92-5.

The Port has successfully executed land acquisition, developed projects and has been a reliable inter-agency partner. The Port has executed many of its projects in cooperation and partnership with Island County, the City of Langley, the Port of Coupeville, the State Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation (IAC) now known as "Recreation and Conservation Funding Board" (RCFB), the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), The Washington State Ferries (WSF), and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

During the past 20 years the Port's collaborative efforts with Island County and the City of Langley combined with funding from the RCFB has proven to be a successful approach for improving shoreline recreational facilities. This approach has leveraged local dollars by securing state tax dollars through grants from the RCFB. Some of the RCFB grant programs, which the Port has previously secured, include the Aquatic Lands Enhancement (ALEA) and Boating Infrastructure Grants (BIG). Funding from the RCFB, the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, and 3 other entities will henceforth be administered by the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO).

In these past relationships the projects were usually not managed by the Port with regard to oversight of the permit and construction process. The Port provided funds but was not directly involved in the details or day-to-day operations. However, starting with the Clinton Beach project in 2003, the Commissioners committed to a more active role in project implementation and management with the hiring of a full-time professional manager.

The Port will continue the direct management of new construction projects, as well as the subsequent development of Port operations and maintenance staff for its facilities. Port leadership is committed to efficient use of public resources and has directed staff to coordinate with other public and private entities in order to implement the most costeffective approach for operations and maintenance.