Exceeding Expectations 

Editor:

Superb article on the Harbor Bay Commission ("Safe Harbor," Oct. 1) — thorough and balanced. Some hesitancies were expressed in the beginning, but the overall content was a paean to an ambitious, successful, hard-charging approach to dealing with the multiple challenges of an agency that had previously been a moribund, failing anachronism.

Of course there has been "controversy," but the accomplishments of this agency are stellar by any metric we can chose. Rarely has a public agency moved from being under the shadow of impending bankruptcy to a solid and very promising position of actually contributing to the health of its community. This was done without favoring any narrow interests. The agency has taken a multi-faceted approach that has produced a sound foundation for our future.

Nothing in existence is perfect, but the progress of this agency is superior to any prediction that would have been made in 2007. If any group has exceeded expectations, it is the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation Commission.

Larry Hourany, McKinleyville