PORT TOWNSEND — In hopes of helping the Fort Worden Public Development Authority move toward better times, the state Parks and Recreation Commission has given it a number of financial breaks.
The PDA’s 50-year lease of the campus — lodging, restaurants, conference spaces — at Fort Worden State Park was a topic during the commission’s all-day meeting Thursday. Commissioners from around the state gathered at the park to hear a report about the past, present and future of the PDA, which is entrusted with maintaining the Fort as a lifelong learning center.
State Parks staff had recommended that, given the depression of tourism revenues, the PDA should receive a one-time waiver of several requirements. Those include providing camping reservation and front-desk services and selling $250,000 worth in park Discover Passes.
Another staff recommendation called for the PDA to be given a one-time award of up to $150,000, to offset the cost of grounds maintenance at the Fort. During the past year and a half, staff and volunteers have intermittently provided that work.
The PDA’s lease had also required the sharing of 3.5 percent of its gross revenues throughout the year. As part of the proposed lease amendment, State Parks staff advocated for suspending that until May 2023.
After a lengthy report by Peter Herzog, assistant director of parks development, the State Parks commissioners unanimously approved all of these changes in the PDA’s lease.
Commissioner Ken Bounds expressed his admiration for the work of David Timmons, the executive director who took the helm of the PDA in late 2020. A combination of financial mismanagement and the global pandemic put the organization in a bad way nearly two years ago — and Timmons got it “out of the mess” and into a sustainable model, Bounds said.
Timmons, a former Port Townsend city manager, was first hired in March 2020 to assist in the PDA’s pandemic response effort. Then-executive director Dave Robison retired and, as Herzog said, a “management collapse” occurred.
Timmons, first as interim chief and then as executive director, has led the PDA into a new relationship with the city of Port Townsend and with State Parks providing increased oversight, Herzog said.
A new board of directors was seated in July, he added.
Timmons has restructured the PDA’s debt. And as part of the reorganization strategy, the PDA is finalizing an agreement with Fort Worden Hospitality, a newly formed nonprofit, to run the campus lodging, venues, and food and beverage operations.
Timmons spoke to the commission of his optimism about the Fort’s future.
Yet there are days, he said, when he feels like he’s standing on a land mine.
“We’re still not out of the woods yet as a PDA,” he said.
“We’ve still got a lot of rebuilding and restructuring to do, not only financially but also organizationally.”
Timmons also offered specifics about plans for the campus. Jefferson County’s Public Infrastructure Fund has supplied a $150,000 grant to begin renovating Building 203 for dormitory-style worker housing, he said.
That sum will pay only for the initial design for a roughly $13 million project, Timmons said in a later interview.
Building 203 could be converted into lodging for state park employees, AmeriCorps workers and seasonal staff some time next year, he hopes.
Fort Worden could also become the home of a new climate and energy institute, Timmons told the State Parks commission.
In an interview Friday, Timmons said the Renewable Nations Institute of Chelsea, Vt., is working with the PDA to assess the viability of a climate and energy research center on the Fort campus.
“It’s kind of an exciting opportunity,” he said, adding that the institute could fit in well with the lifelong learning center.
Elsewhere on campus are the PDA’s glamping tents. Construction of these wooden-floored, bedroom-and-bathroom structures began in 2019 and halted in 2020 with the onset of the pandemic; now Timmons is looking to finish what his predecessors started.
He has refinanced the $2 million loan for the project and restored the funding, he said in an interview. To complete construction, a contractor must be found — and “those are in short supply,” Timmons said.
Stepping back to look at the Fort as a whole, the PDA director added he envisions a “shared economy,” based on partnerships with State Parks and with campus organizations such as Centrum.
“It’s time to move on,” Timmons added, “and that’s what we’re doing.”
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidela paz@peninsuladailynews.com.
