QUILCENE — When Chuck Thrasher decided to buy a commercial building on the main street of this former logging town, he knew he would have one tenant: an oyster-processing company that operates out of the back of it.
Thrasher, a longtime volunteer construction site manager with Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County, also had a plan for the west front of the building: to support Habitat’s initiative to help residents revitalize the town by offering the nonprofit a base of operations.
For the center of the building, which fronts U.S. Highway 101, he envisioned a small cafe. For the east-side space, a retail store or office.
During a community meeting Tuesday, where the results of a survey for Habitat’s program in Quilcene were presented, residents had some suggestions for the latter that would fill a big gap in the town: a dentist’s office.
Along with a gas station, dental care and a place that sells shellfish, fishing and hunting licenses are on the wish list for Quilcene residents, who watch millions of tourists drive through town without stopping.
To add insult to possible injury, many of them don’t even slow down.
Traffic — specifically, speeding — was one of several concerns raised at a community meeting Tuesday to hear the results of a door-to-door survey of households in the core Quilcene area.
Held at the community center, the meeting to review the answers is a step in choosing a direction for Habitat’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.
The survey showed that Quilcene residents love their town, love their affordable homes and love their neighbors.
“A lot of my assumptions about people living here were totally wrong,”said Cassandra Johnson, the AmeriCorps Vista volunteer who led the survey effort.
The survey area covered 159 occupied houses in town. Another 24 are vacant or unoccupied, Johnson said.
Out of the 159, 102 surveys were returned, she said, the majority collected by volunteers going door to door.
Residents gave the town high marks for neighborliness, safety and emergency services, Johnson said.
Sore points revealed in the survey were the lack of a gas station, which is being addressed by a local group, and a need for local dental care.
The one thing residents said they would change if they could: cleaning up yard trash and debris around homes.
Clint Allen, a contractor who lives in town, said problems arise when elderly residents are no longer physically able to maintain their homes.
Jamie Maciejewski, Habitat affiliate director, is addressing that issue by working with the Boeing Bluebills, Catholic Community Services and Olympic Community Action Programs.
For large projects, the initiative will connect homeowners with the federal Department of Agriculture’s home loan program, which provides low-interest loans and grants for home repairs, or in some cases money to tear down an old structure and build a new one.
“From July of 2011 through June 2012, we are planning to do at least four of these projects,” Maciejewski said.
“I’m guessing we’ll do more like 15 over the next year.”
To provide a presence in Quilcene, Habitat is planning to rent space in Thrasher’s building and open a Furniture and More store similar to the one in Port Townsend.
The store, which would sell used furniture, appliances and household items, would serve local people and also draw people passing through town, said Vicki Lucas, manager of the Port Townsend Habitat store.
Ann Ricker, a Quilcene business owner, is coordinating the effort to start the store, which could be accepting donations by next month and open by the Fourth of July holiday weekend if the volunteer base is there.
“Twelve core volunteers who could each work four hours a week would really make it sing,” Lucas said.
Vacant commercial buildings and abandoned houses also were among the top concerns, as was drug activity, Johnson reported.
Habitat leasing space for the store is one less empty building, Maciejewski said. Profits will go to the Quilcene initiative program.
“We can do so much with more financial resources and volunteers,” Johnson said.
Allen said providing maintenance and repairs by community volunteers is hampered by the lack of readily available materials.
Quilcene also has a number of people who are homeless and live in tents or trailers, he said.
While the survey focused on the town core, the initiative program will extend to people who live outside that area, Maciejewski said.
The Habitat for Humanity Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative is a three-year pilot program, with Quilcene being one of five rural areas selected in the United States, Johnson said.
In all, 36 volunteers put a total of 218 hours into the survey, Johnson said.
Results of the household survey will be posted on the Habitat website, www.habitatejc.org, and in the monthly newsletter about the initiative.
For more information about donating household items or volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, phone 360-379-2827.
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Jennifer Jackson, jjackson@olypen.com, is a freelance writer and photographer living in Port Townsend. She also writes about Port Townsend and Jefferson County in a column every Wednesday.
