PORT ANGELES — Port of Port Angeles commissioners will soon have to make a decision about replacing the agency’s oldest and smallest log loader.
Executive Director Paul Jarkiewicz said the 2006 Doosan 225 requires significant repairs. The parts alone would cost $30,000. The 18-year-old equipment also has fully depreciated and can no longer be consider an asset, he said.
“We need to replace it with something for the port’s needs,” Jarkiewicz said.
The port tried out a new Doosan 225 that had been displayed at the Sequim Logging Show in May, but it was not right for the job, he said.
“For what we’re doing today, the 225 is too small, so we’ve asked for some proposals for what it would take to get something that was larger,” Jarkiewicz said.
Staff were looking at different options for new and used equipment, he said, as well as how the port might leverage the log loader’s $20,000 trade-in value.
Staff will present its recommendation to commissioners at an upcoming meeting.
“Is it too small because it can’t do something that needs to be done or because it takes too many man hours to get it done with a smaller machine?” Commissioner Colleen McAleer asked at Tuesday’s meeting.
Both, Jarkiewicz answered.
The loader does not have the reach necessary to handle the demands of the port’s current log yard operations, nor does it have the reach and capacity for barge loading, he said. The 225 also uses more movements — and thus takes longer — than a larger machine to do the same job.
“I think this is a good time to look at what are we going to be doing 10, 15, 20 years from now,” commissioner Connie Beauvais said. “Do we need something larger that could be more efficient and effective and do the appropriate reaches on the vessels that will be coming in?”
“We also need to make sure we have the revenues to pay for it,” Jarkiewicz said.
A new Doosan (now Develon) log loader comparable to the port’s costs about $325,000 and a larger log loader costs about $450,000, port staff said after the meeting.
Commissioners approved a professional services agreement of $150,000 with engineering and design firm WSP USA to provide project management and construction support for the Marine Terminals 1 and 3 repair project.
Assessments conducted by WSP determined the wood piles supporting the terminals were in poor condition and need to be replaced.
“This is not a full-service agreement and staff will be on site for day-to-day management,” Director of Engineering Chris Hartman said. “It does fit within the port’s budget for the project. In fact, we expect this project to be under budget for 2024 and ‘25.
“We budgeted a total of $3 million for those two years, and it looks like the total of project-related costs will be just under $3 million.”
Hartman said the project is anticipated to start Oct. 1. He estimates the repairs will extend the life of the terminals another 10 years.
Hartman reported that port staff would be performing $40,000 in overdue maintenance on its warehouse on Marine Drive, which includes replacing overhead doors, installing rain gutters and painting exterior trim. The 6,000-square-foot warehouse built in 1974 is currently leased to Monterey Bay Seafoods.
John Nutter, director of finance and administration, said activity is down at the log yard, which reflected a slight decline in revenue from last month. However, marina and yard fees more than doubled from March to April, increasing from $32,100 to $68,047. Moorage is also starting to pick up, he said, although it is still below budget for the year.
Jarkiewicz said the port expects another chip barge in May, and two chip barges and possibly a log ship in June.
“Some of what we’re seeing in the lack of log ships has been made up with the increase in barge activity, which we expect to see continue through the rest of the year,” he said.
The Port of Port Angeles’ Maritime Festival will be held June 8-9 at 832 W. Boathaven Drive. Information and a schedule of events can be found at www.maritimefestival.org.
A groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of infrastructure construction at the Marine Trade Center will be held at 10 a.m. June 9.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
