PORT TOWNSEND — The MV Chetzemoka coming into service on the Port Townsend-Whidbey Island route in November was a milestone that almost didn’t happen, Port Townsend Mayor Michelle Sandoval told the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce on Monday.
“I don’t think it was public knowledge, but the ferry system considered not having any ferry on this route,” Sandoval told about 80 at the luncheon at the Elks Lodge in Port Townsend.
“We did not speak that out loud because we didn’t want to freak everybody out.”
Sandoval said that Port Townsend made a great effort to secure the Chetzemoka but is now allowing Whidbey Island to head the lobbying effort for the Salish, whose presence on the route is in doubt.
The state ferries system has said that it will use the Salish, which was christened last month and was then about 80 percent complete, on the San Juan ferry route rather than its original destination on the Port Townsend-Whidbey Island route.
“I don’t really know if we’ll get a second ferry but [we] feel really lucky to have gotten the one we did, which saved this route,” Sandoval said.
The city makes careful plans, but cannot prepare for unexpected events, she said.
“We have been dealing with the unexpected for about three years,” Sandoval said.
“There was the loss of the ferry, the loss of the bridge and the economy, and it is the unexpected that always throws you for a loop.”
The Steel Electric car ferries were pulled off the route three years ago, and it was served by the Steilacoom II, which the state leased from Pierce County.
The eastern half of the Hood Canal Bridge was replaced in 2009. The nearly $500 million project closed the bridge for five weeks.
Sandoval acknowledged that the city is facing economic times, but said she believes the community’s volunteer spirit will help make the town “one of the last great places.
“The people in this room do a lot of volunteering, and especially in this difficult economic time, and that has kept us going,” she said.
“We have limped along with one ferry and we’ve had some difficult projects, but we’ve all managed to get a lot done despite these problems.”
Fort Worden
Sandoval’s priority now is to support Fort Worden State Park and turn it into an educational center that draws people to the area.
“The 463 acres at Fort Worden isn’t just a park to us, and it’s more than a network of trails,,” she said,
“It’s one of the economic anchors of our community, which we’ve recognized long before they were threatening to close the parks down.”
Sandoval said the situation in Olympia has improved over the past few years, from the time “they told us they were only going to keep 10 parks open and Fort Worden wasn’t one of them.”
Downtown renovations
Sandoval said that a downtown renovation project now in progress is necessary to restore downtown safety.
“It’s been difficult for the businesses and I can absolutely feel for them,” she said.
“So I urge all of us to make a special effort to go downtown and shop, even though it’s difficult.”
Sandoval said “there is no good time to close a street” so the city listened to merchants who asked that Water Street not be closed in the summer.
Closing the street in the winter has caused another set of problems, most of them weather-related.
“We’ve learned a lot, mostly that it is better to have a plan in place to repair problems than to face an emergency,” she said.
Sandoval urged the chamber to make local investments rather than putting money into Wall Street, which has no local benefit.
She favors the development of affordable housing and feels that a slow economy is the right time to show that support.
“A lot of municipalities are purchasing property from developers that have gone bankrupt and putting them into their affordable housing stash,” she said.
“This is a window of opportunity which may provide a silver lining for the real estate bust.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
