SEQUIM — Karen Shewbert’s often-busy vehicle and vessel licensing services at her office on East Washington Street have been given a reprieve through Wednesday after Clallam County Auditor Patty Rosand sought to shut her down, claiming breach of contract.
Superior Court Commissioner William Knebes granted a six-day temporary restraining order after hearing a motion from Shewbert’s Sequim attorney, Craig Miller.
Rosand had ordered the Sequim license registration office to be closed at the end of business hours last Thursday, saying Shewbert failed to comply with her county and state contract.
Knebes said he wants to hear from a representative of the state Department of Licensing, which oversees Rosand’s licensing contract with Shewbert.
Hearing Wednesday
He scheduled another hearing at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Superior Court in Port Angeles, when both sides will present arguments.
He granted a temporary restraining order through Wednesday, which allows Shewbert to remain open until then.
“I was disappointed that the court felt that they could intercede in a contract that has jurisdiction with the Department of Licensing,” Rosand said after the hearing Thursday.
Shewbert said she posted a court-ordered $10,000 bond, which ensures the attorneys will be paid.
Rosand, who has been reluctant to discuss the case, on Friday said Shewbert has not provided her with all the records she needs to adequately monitor the Sequim licensing office’s business transactions.
“I want to stress that the dispute is about a contract,” Rosand said.
“It has nothing to do with her staying open on Saturday or me replacing her with a friend.
“She is a government contractor, and I am charged to oversee her.”
Chief County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols, who represented Rosand on Thursday in Superior Court, said his client believes Shewbert breached her contract by not providing adequate records.
“[Shewbert] didn’t provide enough records that would allow [Rosand] to determine monies going in meet those that are going out,” Nichols said.
Rosand and Nichols said she received a number of calls last week, some of them pretty unpleasant for Rosand.
Shewbert and attorney Miller have said Shewbert provided adequate records.
Shewbert, who has owned and operated the office as a contracted business for 12 years, is taking Rosand’s actions personally.
She believes her rift with Rosand’s office dates back to when Rosand first approached her to open Saturdays.
Shewbert said she would have opened Saturdays, but the state turned her down for a third computer to do so.
“I believe this closing [attempt] is all about jealousy, greed and power, and nothing more,” Shewbert said Thursday after Knebes’ decision, while a line was forming at her office’s service counter.
There, a number of signs announcing Rosand’s attempted shutdown are posted among colorful receptacles holding candy for waiting customers.
The office has been personalized with trinkets and a miniature table and chairs for children to color on, and an automated teller machine sits just a few feet away from the customer counter for access to quick cash.
Outside the office, a customer taped up a hand-painted newsprint mural across the front window that proclaimed Rosand was trying to shut down Shewbert’s office.
“If she cared about the citizens, then she would make every effort to work out our differences,” Shewbert said, adding that her attorney, Miller, believes the county Prosecuting Attorney’s Office wants to work out those differences.
Office popular
Customers crowding Shewbert’s office last week after the court decision said they hope Shewbert’s operation remains open.
“There’s got to be some compromise and some solution other than shutting down the office,” said Bill Malkasian, a longtime Sequim resident who has registered vehicles with the office for at least 10 years.
“I learned about this thing in the paper, and it’s very upsetting to me.”
David Hallene said he drove all the way from his cabin on Marrowstone Island in Jefferson County to get his trailer registered.
He said learned he could get it registered right away in Shewbert’s office instead of waiting in Jefferson County.
Going to Bremerton in Kitsap County to register it would require a month’s wait, he said.
“I think it’s vital that Sequim has a licensing place,” he said just before he was invited up to the service counter by Shewbert’s clerk, Christine Henderson.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2390 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
