PORT TOWNSEND — The Port of Port Townsend commissioners have renewed an agreement that keeps options open for the possible construction of an aquatic center within Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park.
Commissioners extended a letter of agreement outlining a general agreement with Make Waves! on Wednesday.
They had decided at their Dec. 8 meeting to postpone the vote to gather more information.
The agreement, signed in December 2009, was due to expire at the end of this year.
Make Waves! seeks to build a $10 million facility — which would accommodate more than 2,000 swimmers a year with a public pool and other recreational options — on 1.9 acres owned by the port next to Kah Tai Lagoon and Jefferson Transit’s Haines Place Park and Ride on 12th Street.
The port land is now leased to the city of Port Townsend until July 31, 2012.
Extending the agreement “allows the dialogue to continue,” said Port Director Larry Crockett.
“There is no commitment, which will only come after we sign a lease agreement,” Crockett said.
One question that must be answered before a lease agreement is considered is whether the area is protected as an outdoor-only recreation area under federal rules.
The park was opened in the early 1980s with federal grant money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and may be protected for outdoor recreation under a rule called (6)(f).
Whether this protection exists is open to legal interpretation, a matter that is being explored by port attorney Carolyn Lake.
If it is determined that the (6)(f) rule does not apply, the aquatic center could go ahead, port Commissioner Leif Erickson said.
“There may be a rider in the grant that states the land must be preserved in perpetuity.” Erickson said.
“If that is true, so be it.”
A full environmental impact statement — or EIS — will be conducted if it is decided that the project can move ahead, said Karen Nelson, Make Waves! president.
“We are not going to spend the money for an EIS if the project isn’t going to move ahead,” she said.
At Wednesday’s meeting, John Collins, commission president, moved to renew the letter of intent, with Commissioner Dave Thompson seconding it.
Erickson, saying he favors both nature preserves and economic development, supported the extension.
“Before the project proceeds, there are pages of procedures we will have to go through,” he said.
“I am in favor of extending the agreement because at this point, I think we should be opening doors rather than closing them.”
During a public comment period, most who testified opposed the project.
“I would urge you to not to extend the letter of intent,” Richard Jahnke said.
“Since it was signed a year ago, it has become clear that the status of the park and the regulations governing its development have been obscured by inadequate briefing materials and misinformation.”
Port Townsend attorney Paul Richmond said there were unused facilities around the city that could be used to house a pool.
“We have to look at the resources we’ve got,” he said.
“The whole history of Port Townsend is that we have these elaborate schemes, we build these elaborate structures, and we go bust.
“There are so many basic services we don’t have now, and to put this much money into a rec center that might go unused is obscene.”
Nelson said the ratio of comments did not reflect community support.
“We had several community leaders testify at the last meeting because we did not want to take up the port’s time unnecessarily,” she said.
Nelson said the need for a new pool was considerable. She added that no public funds would be used to build it.
“The pool we have now will not last forever,” she said.
“If it goes away, there will be no place where the children and the senior citizens in Jefferson County can swim.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
