PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend Public Development Authority board members elected officers this week, while also agreeing to focus on the Customs House project.
The authority, a nonprofit entity separate from the city, was created by the Port Townsend City Council in September to preserve historical structures and provide support for affordable public housing.
On Tuesday, the seven-member board elected Peninsula College President Tom Keegan and Bishop Victorian co-owner Cindy Finnie co-chairs.
Puget Sound Energy Customer Service Manager Tim Caldwell was elected secretary/treasurer by his board colleagues. He was absent from the meeting.
The board also designated its spokesperson as Thatcher Bailey, former executive director of Centrum, a nonprofit center for the arts located at Fort Worden State Park.
Bailey is not a member of the public development authority, but functions as its technical advisor.
Customs House
Port Townsend Planning Director Rick Sepler, a member of the technical staff, advised the board that it should put its immediate energy into the rehabilitation of the historic Customs House and its transfer of ownership to the city because there are no other “turnkey projects” available.
The building at 1322 Washington St. was built in 1893 to house U.S. Customs but now is the site of the city’s post office.
It provides no access for those who can’t climb the outside stairs to get inside the building.
Instead, the U.S. Postal Service provides drive-up service for people with disabilities, while seeking an accessible substation.
Officials with the city of Port Townsend and the U.S. Postal Service are working on an agreement in which the Postal Service would turn the building over to the city in return for the city providing a separate facility from which trucks would sort and deliver the mail.
The public development authority hopes to retrofit the Customs House to make it accessible to the handicapped. The cost of the retrofit would be about $300,000.
“All of the projects we are facing have varying gestation periods,” Sepler said. “But the Customs House is ready to go.”
Board member Rodger Schmitt said the group should put it resources to work where they will do the most good.
“There are a lot of worthy projects that will benefit the public,” he said.
“We need to work on what makes the most sense to develop, and put our organization behind this.”
Schmitt said the public development authority will be effective because it is “nimble enough” to allocate resources where they are most needed.
The next meeting of the authority will be at the Customs House, at 8:30 a.m. May 18.
State park plan
In December, the public development authority identified its first project as helping Centrum eventually manage Fort Worden State Park, as outlined in a memorandum of understanding approved by the State Parks Commission last year.
Centrum must fulfill certain goals by June 30, 2011, if a long-term management agreement at Fort Worden is to be discussed.
The state’s goal is to eventually have Centrum manage Fort Worden as a lifelong learning center, with year-round programs in arts, crafts and music.
In addition to that long-term project, the public development authority also is looking to obtain funding for the Customs House.
Last week, American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation in San Francisco announced the contest, which will give away $1 million in grants to 25 historic sites in the state, two of which, the schooner Adventuress and the Customs House, are in Port Townsend.
The amount of grants will be determined by online voting, with people encouraged to vote as often as they wish.
Voting continues until midnight, May 12. After all votes are in, the winner will be announced, and will receive its full requested amount.
The remaining 24 sites will share the rest, subject to a decision by the sponsors.
The Adventuress leads the state in voting. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Customs House was in 15th place.
The two links for the projects are www.voteporttownsend.com and www.votefortheboat.com, and each cross links to the other.
Voting in on http://tinyurl.com/y68pgtq, which also has the top 10 list.
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Jefferson County reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
