Commissioners of Port District 1 gave guidance to plans to upgrade a dock at the Elochoman Slough Marina when they met June 6.

Consulting architects Michael Rounds and Anoy Jansky presented possible designs for the dock.

A dock with little or no fingers would allow moorage of large yachts and more boats than a dock with fingers for mooring. They also said it would allow relocation of the dock further from the shoreline so that boats could moor there easily.

Commissioners Leroy Burns, Larry Bonds and Brett Deaton said they preferred the finger dock in the same location.

The big boats are only in the marina two or three times a year, Bonds said, and it's not worth pulling existing piling to relocate the dock for them.

"I like the idea of tying up behind the dock, but I agree with Larry, I don't want to move the piling," Deaton said.

Burns, too, favored keeping the dock location and having fingers.

"I don't want to lose the water space," he said. "I don't care who's (potentially mooring) behind it; I don't want to lose water space. I don't want to lose fingers.

"I think our system is fine as it is."

The architects were asked to present final plans for a call for bids on July 10.

In other business, Burns, the commission chair, quickly handled questions from a man who'd moved to the Little Cape Horn area in the past 18 months.

Charles Lincoln said Cape Horn residents were working to get approval for beach nourishment with dredge spoils and they had heard of concerns that sand erosion is filling up the Cathlamet channel. What's the port's position, he asked.

"I'm not in the mood to plough old ground," Burns said. "That's been addressed and addressed (in the past). It's not up to us."

"Sorry," Lincoln said.