PORT TOWNSEND — Port of Port Townsend commissioners are considering raising rates from between 10 percent and 16 percent over the 2016 rates.
More than 40 community members attended a Port of Port Townsend meeting Wednesday to comment on the first reading of the proposed rate hikes for moorage, electricity and fees at port marinas to help pay for the port’s long list of capital projects.
“The proposed rates are based on capital need,” said Port Executive Director Sam Gibboney. “This is really driven by future expenses.”
About $16 million is needed to cover capital projects across port properties, she said.
“We agree that the port has serious financial challenges, but we feel the proposed rates take a short-term and short-sighted approach,” said Liz Kanieski, a Port Townsend resident with a boat moored in the Boat Haven Marina, on Wednesday.
Kanieski said she’d like to see the port cut expenses first, then raise rates in smaller increments over a longer period of time.
“We’re willing to pay our fair share as tenants, but a 10 [percent] to 16 percent increase is just not affordable,” Kanieski said.
To address public comment and tell the public about the port’s looming capital projects, the port has set a special workshop meeting before a second reading of the rates Wednesday.
The workshop will start at 5:30 p.m. at 333 Benedict St. The port commissioners’ meeting and second reading — but not necessarily final approval — will be held after the workshop at the same location.
Port officials hope to implement revised rates April 1.
The repairs and replacements needed at just Point Hudson, Boat Haven and Herb Beck marinas are an estimated $12 million, Gibboney said.
The port paid $206,016 this month for an emergency repair on the Boat Haven Marina breakwater, which was in danger of crumbling in a storm.
That breakwater will eventually need to be replaced entirely, which is an estimated $3.7 million project, Gibboney said.
The port’s financial struggle isn’t new.
The port’s cash balance dropped from $5.3 million in 2010 to $2.8 million in 2016, said Abigail Berg, finance director.
Berg said this was partially due to capital projects along the way, but mostly due to insufficient revenue.
“In the long run, we should be stable enough to pay for our replacements,” Berg said.
Kanieski said the marina tenants and stakeholders should be involved in evaluating the rates.
The proposed rates were the product of a single study done by Greg Englin, port director of operations and business development, which took into account the rates of surrounding marinas from Friday Harbor down to Tacoma.
While few community members spoke in favor of the rate hikes, some did see them as necessary.
“No one likes a price increase, but good things come with a price,” said Andy Okinczyc of Port Townsend.
“A port town without a port doesn’t seem good,” said Bill Putney of Port Townsend. “It’s our port, and I want to see it kept our port.”
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Jefferson County Editor/
