SEKIU – On a clear day, you can see all the way to 1936.
That’s when Arlen Olson’s father, Alvin, built his namesake resort for sport fisherfolk on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Now Olson, at 73, has received a bid from a buyer who would raze it for condominiums, but he’s not rising to the offer like a salmon to a herring.
He wants to preserve public access to its beach and boat launch.
Olson’s wish captured the attention of Mike Doherty, Clallam County’s West End commissioner who has clout with Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Doherty, D-Port Angeles, wrote to Gregoire and to the 24th District’s legislators outlining Arlen and Donalyn’s dilemma.
“The Olsons face a difficult decision,” Doherty told Reps. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, and Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, and Sen. Jim Hargrove.
“After family operation for over 70 years . . . they must sell their beloved resort. Risk in a sale is that the majority of sport and commercial fishers use the resort’s boat launch and marina to access . . . one of the state’s most significant saltwater fisheries.”
Closing its public access “would spell disaster to the remaining small resorts and other businesses in the Clallam Bay/Sekiu area,” Doherty wrote.
