PORT TOWNSEND — The city of Port Townsend is researching buying the Kosec Funeral Home & Crematory building — but it isn’t going into the funeral business.
The building at 1615 Parkside Drive, which is close to the intersection of Hancock Street and state Road 20 would house the Port Townsend Police Department, which is now in downtown Port Townsend at 607 Water St.
The move would give officers more space and an ability to respond more quickly.
“It gives us better access to the highway,” said Port Townsend Police Sgt. Ed Green.
Real Robles of Port Townsend plans to move the funeral home he owns from the residential area to the vacant Church of the Nazarene building on Airport Cutoff Road just east of Port Townsend.
Originally, the city planned to sign a lease agreement with the building owner for four five-year terms, with an option to purchase the building at the end of the 20 years.
No final figures for the lease, or the purchase after 20 years, had been negotiated when city staff members found that buying the building without leasing it first would likely be cheaper.
The proposed lease with an option to buy called for estimated payments of $7,890 each month over 20 years — plus an additional amount to purchase it — while an outright purchase of the building would call for estimated payments of $7,919 a month over 20 years.
The appraisal of the building for the city determined the building to be worth $1.25 million.
