PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council has approved funding for the continued review of a potential site for a proposed Joint Public Safety Facility, which would include a new home for Emergency Operations Center, while also discussing mitigation measures if a playing field is used for the facility.
The council voted on Tuesday to use about $45,000 from a city capital account in the Peninsula Communications fund to pay the city’s portion of costs for the geotechnical and environmental evaluations necessary to determine if the property at 18th and L streets would meet the proposed facility’s needs. The county has agreed to pay part of the expenses of the studies, with the total cost estimated to be no more than $90,000.
City and county officials have been working since 2019 to find a new space for the Emergency Operations Center, which is activated in times of disasters or other emergencies.
At present, when the EOC is activated, it operates from the basement of the Clallam County Courthouse at 223 E. Fourth St., in Port Angeles. The site is too small and is considered to be in a somewhat precarious position if a massive quake, such as from the Cascadia Subduction Zone, strikes, officials have said.
The new Joint Public Safety Facility also would house the Emergency Management division of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Peninsula Communications (PenCom, which handles 911 calls), and possible a West Side firehouse to increase coverage on the west side of the city.
“This ‘shared vision’ would be the most efficient and cost-effective way to manage emergencies, especially during the large-scale earthquake and pandemic disease events,” according to a city press release.
But some are worried about the loss of a practice field now used for youth sports since the proposed site is adjacent to Volunteer Field and is often used for sports.
“We are very concerned about losing our practice field because there isn’t a lot of field space readily available,” an unidentified resident said during the public comment period at Tuesday’s meeting.
“Most people who do play sports and need fields in our community know there is a lack of usable field space.”
A mitigation measure could be creating another sports area. The city and county have a shared property that could serve as an alternative for the practice field, officials have said.
“It’s really important that we have a mitigation plan in place and work with athletic and volunteer organizations and other stakeholders to come up with a plan directly,” Corey Delikat, city parks and recreation director, told the council on Tuesday.
“We do have a lack of space,” he said.
“The county may give us some property and that’s great, but I don’t know how developed that would be. Right now, the current field is irrigated and safe for kids to play on, so just giving us a piece of property to say here you go isn’t sufficient in my mind.”
The fact that the 18th and L site is already owned by the city, thus reducing potential costs, makes it attractive, officials said.
“I am happy with the idea that we are using city land and I’d like to make sure that we mitigate the concerns that people have there,” Council member Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin said.
”I don’t want to say this because we have been at this for three years — are there other locations?” he asked.
Properties considered earlier in the search included the 1010 Building owned by the Port of Port Angeles, which was immediately ruled out for various reasons, including the cost to lease the property from the port, according to city staff in a November council meeting memo.
A parcel at the intersection of 19th and O streets was ruled out due to the property’s previous use as a gravel pit, which could impact development outcomes and cost. Two other parcels were identified south of O Street near the Fairchild International Airport. A review of the properties found a number of concerns, primarily a lack of access to infrastructure.
Schromen-Wawrin noted that the co-location of the practice field to the larger playfields was ideal for families with several children participating in multiple sports and said that this convenience should be considered in the potential mitigation conversations.
“I really don’t want to go back and revisit this whole process, unless this site doesn’t work out,” Schromen Wawrin said.
Council member LaTrisha Suggs agreed that working with city property was a priority for her, but did not want to rule out other properties that had been viewed in the past and rejected because of infrastructure issues.
She said that the city could work with state legislators to address infrastructure issues.”
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Reporter Ken Park can be reached at kpark@peninsuladailynews.com.
