PORT TOWNSEND — The public has one more chance to shape the future of Fort Worden State Park at the final public hearing for the park’s long range plan on Tuesday.
The plan is an ongoing process steered by a committee of local community members who are looking at how facilities are being used, how the park will be managed in the future and how to best redesign the range of programs the park will offer.
The task of the long range planning committee is to shape the direction of the park as it becomes a “lifelong learning center.”
The public meeting, scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Fort Worden Commons, will be the last before a presentation to the state Parks and Recreation Commission in Anacortes on Aug. 7.
Park Manager Kate Burke said that, at Tuesday’s meeting, the committee will present the revisions to the plan to those in attendance, collect comments and answer questions.
After that, a public comment period will remain open until Aug. 1.
Burke said Aug. 1 is the final date she can receive feedback. She guaranteed that all feedback will be included in the final presentation to the state commission.
Comments also will be allowed by the public at the Anacortes meeting.
The commission does not plan to make a decision on the proposal presented by the planning committee until their Sept. 25 board meeting.
Even then, Burke said no changes will happen immediately and make take up to five years before any physical changes are noticed.
Of the changes being discussed, Burke identified the “big three” as the proposed opening of the entrance at the west-end of the park, the proposed expansion of campground facilities and the managing of one of the park’s museums.
