PORT TOWNSEND — Police are seeking information about the disappearance of 32 bronze plaques from the pier next to the Northwest Maritime Center.
The plaques disappeared last weekend, prompting staff members to remove the remaining 60 plaques and put them in an undisclosed, safe place.
“We never thought we were at risk with this,” said Janeen Armstrong, maritime center spokeswoman.
“We are not sure what we are going to do at this point.”
Port Townsend Sgt. Ed Green said Sunday that police have no leads in the theft.
That’s why it is important to “get the word out,” he said.
“This happened over a period of a couple of days, so we think that somebody might have seen something,” Green said.
“Maybe they thought it was a maintenance guy doing his work, but there was no maintenance going on last weekend,” he said.
“Once people realize that, maybe they will come forward.”
The 92 plaques had been sold to donors for $500 each to raise money to construct the maritime center, which opened in 2009.
Each plaque has a donor name and the name of the donor’s boat inscribed upon it.
Generic boat drawings were used on the plaques unless a donor chose to purchase custom artwork for another $250.
The plaques were glued into the pier rather than bolted onto it, which made them easy to dislodge, Armstrong said.
After noticing missing plaques over several days, a staff member removed the remaining plaques and secreted them April 16.
The plaques, which were made to order at the Port Townsend Foundry, would cost about $400 each to reproduce — but all together are worth only about $160 to $216 as scrap metal, according to foundry owner Pete Langley.
Langley said that a scrap metal shop would pay $1 to $1.35 a pound for bronze. The plaques weigh 5 pounds each.
Considering that the plaques would have to be melted down to be sold, “it becomes a negative gain when you figure in the cost of the propane,” he said.
There are no security cameras on the pier, so there is no video record of the thievery.
Installing cameras on site is not in the budget, Armstrong said.
“This has been a public beach where everybody goes, so we don’t want to limit access, and it always felt secure,” she said.
“Budget is always an issue with nonprofits, so we can’t afford to install a camera system.”
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to phone the Port Townsend Police Department, 360-379-4438.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
