PORT ANGELES — The three Port of Port Angeles commissioners approved a lease Monday with the Department of Homeland Security for a building in the industrial park near William R. Fairchild International Airport.
The building at 1908 O St. has been vacant for about a year, said Bill James, interim executive director.
“Originally, they had an idea for an elaborate building to be built on a ground lease and that kind of morphed into leasing this building in the Airport Industrial Park,” James said.
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Marine and Air Operations had said they hoped to lease about 4,000 square feet of the building but re-evaluated and requested use of the entire building, James said.
The building is 6,028 square feet.
The department did not specify how many agents the building would house, James said.
The department previously said that a new building would be used for a minimum of 50 people and include a short-term detention area.
The lease approved by the commission was for $6,522.40 per month or $78,268.80 per year.
The lease includes janitorial support and utilities.
“Because it is a federal agency, those things are typically included in the lease,” James said.
He said he did not expect those costs to exceed $1,000 per month.
“We can also re-evaluate those costs and the lease terms at the end of the first year of the lease,” James said.
Phone calls to the department were not returned.
Although the current plan for the department is unclear, Homeland Security’s initial plan was to place all its North Olympic Peninsula personnel under one roof.
The number of Border Patrol agents active throughout the Peninsula has grown from four stationed in Port Angeles two years ago to 24.
They are based at the Richard B. Anderson Federal Building, 138 W. First St., in Port Angeles.
Besides the Border Patrol, Homeland Security’s other agencies are Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Office of Air and Marine Operations.
The air arm was what port officials felt would make its site at the William R. Fairchild International Airport attractive to Homeland Security.
The port commissioners also heard from Josh Renshaw, a Port Angeles man who is trying to reopen the shuttered KPly Mill.
He announced last week that he had reached an agreement with Sterling Savings, who now owns the equipment for the mill.
Klukwan Inc. of Alaska is the former owner.
The commissioners commended Renshaw’s perseverance.
“I, for one, had my doubts at some point that this would ever come through, but it sounds like you are making some great strides,” commission President John Calhoun said.
Commissioner George Schoenfeldt agreed.
“Your determination is unbelievable,” he said.
“For over a year, you have been dealing with this, and I’m very grateful you have had the determination to keep on.”
The commission also set a special meeting for Monday, July 6 at 9:30 a.m. to conduct a closed-door executive session for the purpose of evaluating executive director candidates.
Calhoun said the commissioners had not determined whether they will announce the names of the finalists.
Holly Hairell, human resources manager, said the port has received about 15 inquiries about the position and about five applications.
“That would be about what I would expect at this point,” she said at the meeting.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
