PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County and Port Townsend city officials will tour Indian Island Naval Magazine on Tuesday.
The tour has been arranged in an attempt to quell safety concerns about plans for the U.S. Navy facility to begin servicing nuclear-powered Trident submarines at the installation’s ammunitions wharf across Port Townsend Bay from Port Townsend.
County leaders plan to ask questions about protocol in the event of a munitions accident.
“Mostly I’ll be asking about emergency preparedness,” said county Commissioner David Sullivan, D-Cape George, who has visited the base several times.
“It’s a fact-finding mission,” said county Administrator John Fischbach, who will also take the tour.
“We want to know what’s there and what are the safety precautions.”
Fischbach said in addition to county commissioners, Port Townsend Mayor Mark Welch and City Manager David Timmons also will take the tour.
Kurtz to address chamber
Capt. Jonathan Kurtz, commanding officer of the Navy’s largest ordnance handling facility on the West Coast, will speak at noon Monday at the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce meeting at Fort Worden State Park Commons, 200 Battery Way.
Members of Port Townsend Peace Movement, a local group established before the current Iraq war, plan to stand silently outside Monday’s chamber meeting and dress in black to protest the naval base.
