PORT HADLOCK — Jefferson County Public Utility District officials are upset over the $48,000 price for an appraisal the Navy estimates on an Indian Island easement that would close a critical water-line loop to Marrowstone Island’s new water system.
A spokeswoman said the Navy is hamstrung by federal law that requires such an appraisal, and it will take an act of Congress to change anything.
An angry PUD General Manager Jim Parker threatened to contact U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, to see if the longtime congressman whose district includes the North Olympic Peninsula can help.
“It just boggles my mind,” Parker said. “I’m just frustrated. I’ve been waiting to do this for two years.
“Now they want us to figure it out what it’s worth? If they would give us the easement, we would have the project done and tie the Tri-Area to Marrowstone at the south end of the island and across the causeway to Marrowstone.”
The PUD has long planned to acquire the easement of about 10,000 feet just inside the security fence at Naval Magazine Indian Island that runs along state Highway 116 connecting Indian Island to Marrowstone Island.
The 3-foot-wide easement for a water line would replace an old line that was so old and leaky it was shut off.
The existing water line connects Port Hadlock to Indian Island. Marrowstone Island’s new system runs north along Indian Island and underwater at Kilisut Harbor up to the north end of Marrowstone at Fort Flagler State Park.
The line dates back to before World War II.
“Right now if it breaks under water I don’t know what to do,” Parker said.
The PUD already installed water mains on Marrowstone Island after a yearslong court battle with water system opponents.
The Naval Magazine easement would complete the Marrowstone water project, which has drawn 226 new residential customer hookups since it was completed last year.
PUD Commissioner Wayne King of Gardiner, who chairs the three-commissioner panel, said he would not supporting paying for the appraisal, although he was uncertain how his fellow commissioners stood.
“We’ve got over $100,000 in this project, and if they think we are going to pay another $48,000 . . .” King said.
That $100,000 went to a consultant firm for the Marrowstone project and looked at the Naval Magazine easement.
Parker and King voiced concerns that the Navy would make the PUD pay fair market value for the easement, perhaps in line with expensive Marrowstone Island prices.
PUD Commissioner Dana Roberts of Port Townsend said he too was taken aback by the Navy’s position.
“We could buy the right of way from them with that,” he said of the appraisal cost.
Roberts agreed with Parker that the line along the southern edge of the Naval Magazine “will be the stronger of the loop.”
Navy real estate office spokeswoman Leslie Yuenger said federal law requires reimbursement to the Navy for cost incurred for projects such as PUD’s proposed water line easement.
“We are always careful to be good stewards of public funds while also being partners with our local communities,” Yuenger said.
The Navy hopes to strike a balance by paying part of the $48,000, if the appraisal even costs that much.
“From our experience we estimate that $48,000 is the top end of the estimated costs,” Yuenger said. “We won’t know the exact cost until we begin negotiations with the contractor.”
The Navy sells real estate interests at market value “to protect the investment of the American taxpayers, maximize efficient use of resources and to assure buyers that they pay no more than the right is actually worth,” she said.
There is no confirmation or documentation of an easement covering the old pipeline, according to Yuenger.
Naval Magazine Indian Island was established in the late 1930s, and at that time, an easement process was not used when non-Navy entities requested access to Navy property.
Today, a written easement is required for access on all federal property.
The appraisal process is anticipated to take about three months after the contract is awarded.
“The Navy supports our neighbors while considering the mission and efficient management of resources,” Yuenger said. “Marrowstone Island residents need more water and we, the Naval Magazine Indian Island, want to help meet that need as best we can.”
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
