PORT TOWNSEND — A proposal to sell about 57 acres of land in Quilcene to Coast Seafoods is under consideration by the Port of Port Townsend.
Commissioners will discuss the proposal at a meeting tonight.
The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room at 375 Hudson St.
Coast Seafoods has expressed a desire to purchase the upland property on which its facility is now located.
Under the proposal, the port would retain the marina, boat dock, swim areas and adjacent parking.
“Coast has expressed the desire to purchase the property that it already occupies under a long-term lease,” said Port Director Larry Crockett.
Crockett said that no action will be taken at tonight’s meeting, aside from the scheduling of a public meeting that will be held in Quilcene to discuss the proposal.
The meeting will probably take place on July 9 or July 10, Crockett said.
The price for the land would be determined by an appraisal, he said.
Crockett said the most recent valuation for the land was about $1.1 million.
The purpose of the public meeting would be to explain the proposal to the community and describe what it is and what it is not.
One area that has already caused controversy is the location of the public rest rooms, which is located on the property that could be purchased.
If the property were sold, the port would build a new rest room with showers on the property it retains, Crockett said.
Crockett said that any money generated by the sale will remain in Quilcene.
“The money will be reinvested in Quilcene. It will not be shipped up to Port Townsend to be used here,” Crockett said.
“We could use it to build new docks and a new boat ramp or could decide to use it to support infrastructure downtown.”
One of the possibilities would be to purchase land in Quilcene and build an industrial park.
Crockett said the port will hold another public meeting to discuss the possible allocation of funds generated by the sale.
“It will be two or three months before a decision is made and the commissioners could walk away [from the proposal] at any time,” Crockett said.
Former Port Commissioner Herb Beck opposes the proposal because it reverses the momentum gained in developing the area for public use.
“I think the public will be the big loser on this,” said Beck, for whom the Herb Beck Marina and Industrial Park located on the west side of Quilcene Bay, was named.
“They say they will get a grant to build new restrooms but that takes time, and if you build a new industrial park you need to put a new water system in that costs money.
“With all the empty office space around, this is the wrong time to build more office buildings.”
Beck said that Quilcene Bay is “pristine” and is one of the only waterways not affected by paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP — also known as red tide.
That makes the shellfish in that location especially valuable, he added.
To grant a monopoly to one company for this resource is the wrong move, he said.
“This is the same situation as with Kah Tai Lagoon and Chetzemoka Park,” Beck said.
“The port should protect this land and make it accessible to the public.”
Coast site manager Judy Edwards said the company “has no comment at this time” about the proposed sale.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
