PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend City Council has approved the sale of bonds to repair Mountain View Commons.
Voters overwhelmingly approved on Feb. 10 the sale of up to $3.6 million in bonds to go toward the estimated $4.1 million needed to complete repairs at the aging complex at 1919 Blaine St.
The City Council on Monday night unanimously authorized City Manager David Timmons to prepare the documents needed to begin the bond sale.
The council also approved a change order for work on the classroom building’s roof replacement.
The bond will fund installation of a new heating system, roof repairs, city pool maintenance and will address other structural issues as they occur in the 50-year-old complex, officials have said.
“We are indebted to the community for their role in helping pass the bond,” Timmons said at the meeting.
“We could not have done this without that positive support.”
Voters approved the Mountain View Commons bond measure by 2,794 votes, or 71.37 percent, in favor and 1,121 votes, or 28.63 percent opposed.
The measure required a 60 percent supermajority for passage.
Property owners will pay for only part of the cost of repairs, with a property tax increase of no more than 13 cents per $1,000 of valuation for 15 years.
The Mountain View site is leased by the city of Port Townsend from the Port Townsend School District.
Tenants at the former elementary school include the Port Townsend Police Department, the Port Townsend Food Bank, Jefferson County YMCA, the ReCyclery, the KPTZ 91.9 FM radio station, Working Image, the Olympic Peninsula chapter of the American Red Cross and the only public pool in Jefferson County.
Timmons, who will prepare documentation for council approval at a future meeting, said Monday that bond sales occur twice a year, in May and October, and he expected to be ready in time for the earlier deadline.
This also would create cash flow to support the roof repairs that are scheduled for the summer, he said.
“The good news is that the market is at its best time ever and we have the opportunity to pay less interest than what we had estimated,” Timmons said.
The city is combining the roof repair, estimated at about $500,000, with energy improvement projects funded by a grant from the state Department of Enterprise Services.
Those projects must be completed by June 30 to collect the grant money.
A change order to accommodate a seismic retrofit and asbestos removal is necessary to complete the repairs by then.
While the classroom roof needs immediate replacement, the replacement of the pool and gymnasium roofs will be done within the next five years, Timmons said.
Those costs will be supported by money generated by the bond, he said.
Aside from the need for the repairs, early completion has an added benefit, Timmons said.
“If we get this expedited, we will show the public that we are making the investments that we promised when the bond was passed,” he said.
________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
