PORT TOWNSEND–The impact of the national economic crisis was minimized in Port Townsend because of preparations made by the city after the loss of ferry service before the recession hit, the city manager said Monday.
“You can have the best laid plans, but something will always change,” David Timmons said in an address to the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.
“When they took the ferries out, that was totally unexpected, and we had to prepare for the loss of revenue.”
The two 80-year-old Steel Electric class ferry boats were abruptly pulled from service by state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond during Thanksgiving Week 2007 over hull safety concerns.
The state came back 1 ½ months later — after the retail Christmas season in downtown Port Townsend — with one smaller ferry, leased from Pierce County and still plying the Port Townsend-Whidbey Island route.
A new, 64-car state ferry boat, MV Chetzemoka, launches in the fall, and a second one, MV Salish, for the route is now under construction.
Timmons said after the old boats were pulled in 2007, the city was forced to make layoffs and tighten its belt — so it was in better shape to handle the broader economic crisis that began in October 2008.
At that time, municipalities were faced with sudden revenue losses, but Port Townsend felt less pain.
“We’d already cut back,” he said.
“We were ahead of everybody else.”
Timmons said the city got out of the bond market in 2007, prior to the collapse of that particular financial segment.
“When we lost the ferry, we faced a big drain on our local economy,” he said.
“We lost our connection to Whidbey Island, and it looked like we might have lost that connection permanently because there was talk in the Legislature of shutting that run down for good.”
Timmons said City Council members’ personal visits to Olympia lobbying in support of the ferry saved the route.
Currently, he said, the city is in good financial shape because of a steady increase in taxable revenue.
The latest numbers, from June, don’t show a decline during one of the worst months of the year, he said.
And while retail sales and lodging tax revenues are holding fast, Timmons said anything tied to real estate has fallen significantly.
Timmons said future development in Port Townsend will emerge from three key areas: The downtown and uptown areas, Upper Sims Way and Fort Worden State Park.
“Upper Sims Way [street improvement] is mostly done, but there are still a few areas that need to be fixed that I call ‘missing teeth,'” he said.
“The area on Thomas Street between the roundabout and the mill has been zoned commercial and is open for development.
“As soon as we provide sewer service to that area, there will be a lot of possibilities.”
Timmons said Fort Worden is not perceived as an economic center but is “another key player.
“We developed McCurdy Pavilion as a partnership,” he said.
“We should continue that kind of collaboration.”
As revenues are shrinking, Port Townsend has managed to complete projects through grant funding.
The city has a list of projects, matching them with available grants.
Timmons said one of the newest opportunities is a $100,000 grant that will allow the redesign of the area on Washington Street in front of Memorial Field, creating a permanent place for a street fair.
Timmons said the city will need to spend $25.5 million on mandated capital improvements in the next three years.
“Three years ago, we came up with a plan that got us through these tough economic times,” Timmons said.
“We need to come up with another three-year plan.”
With one caveat:
“It probably won’t include another roundabout,” he said.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
