PORT ANGELES — Port of Port Townsend commissioners elected their Industrial Development Corporation officers for 2025.
Pam Petranek will serve as president, Pete Hanke as vice president, Carol Hasse as secretary and Connie Anderson as treasurer.
Commissioners approved an amendment to the IDC bylaws to hold an annual meeting every January during a regularly scheduled commissioner meeting.
The IDC offers tax-exempt financing to companies through non-recourse bonds for construction and facility upgrades at below-market interest rates. The port’s Industrial Development District (IDD) is a tax levy approved by voters in 2019 that will collect $16 million to $17 million for up to 20 years to invest in capital projects.
Also Wednesday, the port enlisted a marine surveyor to determine the condition and market value of the Elmore, the 1890 wooden tugboat, with the goal of selling it to a qualified buyer who has the means to restore the vessel to seaworthiness.
The Elmore failed to sell at public auction Aug. 5, and that set it on a course for demolition that has been averted — for the time being.
Meanwhile, there will be a lot of activity at the Boat Yard this year. Work on the stormwater treatment project will start Feb. 10 and last a couple of months.
Matt Klontz, the port’s director of capital projects and chief engineer, has said construction will have a minimal impact on tenants.
Start of work for expanding the Boat Yard to the north along Sims Way will depend on when the state approves the permitting. That could be as early as this fall.
Repair of the main breakwater is still in the permitting phase, but that project could conceivably begin in 2025 as well.
C0nstruction of a new boat launch ramp in Gardiner is scheduled to start Aug. 1 and be completed by Oct. 15.
Work to replace the old, worn concrete ramp was delayed when sand eels were found to spawn at the site, requiring the port to wait until the next in-water work window.
The new launch will have an ADA-compliant boat ramp to increase accessibility at the site, which is the only public recreational boat launch on Discovery Bay.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
