PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council is asking for public input on the possible use of the Volunteer Practice Field for a Joint Public Safety Facility.
A special meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday is for the purpose of hearing comments about the possible 18th Street location of the facility that would house a Clallam County emergency operations center, the Peninsula Communications dispatch center — which is operated by the city — and perhaps a westside city fire station, according to City Manager Nathan West.
“Tuesday is about listening and taking time to hear from members of the public,” West said Friday.
Comments can be provided in person in council chambers at City Hall, 321 E. Fifth St., or through a virtual meeting portal at www.cityofpa.us/Live-Virtual-Meetings. To listen only, people can call 1-844-992-4726 and enter access code 2557 303 0703. The meeting also will be on Port Angeles City Council YouTube.
“What I think is so important is that we hear from families in the community and recreational users in the community about what is valuable … We want to hear from all sports that use it.”
The site at 18th and L streets is not the only one under consideration for the Joint Public Safety Facility; an alternative site is just down the street at 19th and O streets.
But it is the one site under consideration that is owned by the city, and therefore is preferred by city officials.
Using the practice field would save the city “millions of dollars in lease costs,” West said.
“If we’re going to invest in a multi-million-dollar facility, it is in the city’s best interests that we own that facility,” West said.
Volunteer Field and Volunteer Practice Field are different, although contiguous, places.
Volunteer Field was developed in the early 1990s at West 18th and South L streets for youth and recreational groups. The Volunteer Practice Field is a green, grassy area used for practices.
More public comments can be made once the council’s regular meeting begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, West said.
During the regular meeting, the council will consider a proposed resolution saying that if the Volunteer Practice Field were chosen for the Joint Safety Facility, then the city would ensure that youth recreational activities on the main Volunteer Field would be secure.
Also, according to the proposed resolution, if the field is selected for the project, the city would commit to placing an additional practice field in the near vicinity “that will be equal to or better than the current practice field.”
“Our hope is that people will come with an open mind to mitigate it” if the choice is made to develop the facility in that location, West said.
“It’s possible that the council, after listening to the public, may have adjustments to the resolution,” West said.
Residents also can watch the proceedings on YouTube or elsewhere and make comments later, he emphasized.
Tuesday night will not be the last chance to comment, West said.
City and Clallam County officials aim for a final site selection in May.
The preliminary timeline would have a full design begun this year with construction starting in summer 2023 and facility commissioning in fall 2024, West said.
The facility was described in 2021 to be a 12,000-square-foot modular structure estimated to cost $12.3 million.
County officials have said the existing emergency operations center (EOC), which is in the basement of the Clallam County Courthouse, would not survive a major earthquake. At the same time, Peninsula Communications (PenCom) has outgrown its 800-square-foot space at City Hall. The westside fire station is an idea that could be added to the facility later.
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Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3530 or at lleach@peninsuladailynews.com.
