PORT TOWNSEND — Should the Undi Road renovation project be delayed and restrict 13 people’s access to the outside world, a small collective living in the area has a backup strategy.
The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners approved putting the project out to bid during their Monday workshop meeting after hearing the collective’s members advocate for foregoing the repairs if it would drain other resources.
The county faces a road renovation with a projected $864,000 construction cost and a total projected cost of over $1 million to provide access for the people who live beyond the road’s damaged portion.
“There are a lot of people the county is trying to care for,” said Kevin Spangenberg, a member of the Moss Milk Collective on Undi Road.
Spangenberg and a number of others live in a complex of four small buildings on a five-acre parcel that is just beyond the damaged portion of the road.
With no plumbing and limited electrical power drawn from solar panels, the group, which has been there for four or five years, said members work the land and offer classes in communication at Clallam Bay Corrections Center.
The property is adjacent to five properties occupied by long-term residents who are senior citizens.
“We want the county to act in a way that provides the most benefit for the greatest number of people.”
“This is part of a larger problem which I’m seeing all over the country: the decay of infrastructure and the high cost of maintenance,” Spangenberg said.
“I don’t think the road should be replaced if it requires a deeper expense for other peoples’ well being.”
Collective member Megan Munk said the resource drain causes a ripple effect throughout the county.
“A lot of people are in more vulnerable positions,” she said.
“There is needed support for the elderly and for mental health services; repairing this road should not take away from that.”
Three members of the group — Spangenberg, 27; Munk, 27; and Eric Simon, 26 — spoke during the public comment section at Monday’s meeting.
Natalie Fraver, 26, the fourth member of the group, did not attend.
Even with the road’s compromised status, the group members travel to Forks in order to charge their phones, which offer spotty service in the woods.
A lack of regular internet connection is a good thing, according to Simon.
“I interact with the internet in an intentional way, not to feed me or entertain me,” he said.
Simon said the young collective members and the seniors watch out for each other.
The seniors have opened their hearts to the younger generation while the young generation has reverence for the old generation, Simon said.
“We each want to offer the other a helping hand.”
This partnership will continue and change should the road not be repaired.
“There will be more lifestyle changes,” Spangenberg said.
“We are not sure [what it will be create] another level of complexity and will make getting things to the land a lot more difficult.”
The commissioners’ approval of the bid process doesn’t change things, he said, as it could take some time to complete.
“I was feeling a lot of tension in my body [during the meeting] realizing how great the impact is,” Spangenberg said.
“I still want to be taking care of the land out there and support the neighborhood.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
