PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend School of Woodworking is seeking to train people to restore historical buildings, starting with the old Army structures in need of renovation and repair in Fort Worden State Park, where the school is located.
“This is exciting because it gives the park a chance to heal itself and rebuild itself,” said school Director Tim Lawson at a meeting of the Port Townsend Public Development Authority on Wednesday.
Lawson is proposing that the school be a direct contributor to the renovation of Fort Worden Building 202, which will provide a new home for both Goddard College and Peninsula College classes.
The $5 million project to convert the old barracks building is scheduled to begin in July.
Lawson’s plan is to offer three intensive 12-week historic preservation skills training courses targeted to veterans, servicepeople leaving the military and displaced workers.
“Any program supporting veterans needs to provide a complete sets of skills training,” Lawson said.
“But it also must have the capacity to support individuals as they deal with the stress of the military environment.”
Lawson hopes to solicit students from the Puget Sound area, targeting areas with historical preservation needs by approaching local organizations.
“We might approach Bellingham, where there are a lot of old buildings and no money to fix them,” Lawson said.
“We’d recruit people for the course, train them and then send them back to their communities where they can work on renovating historical buildings.”
Those trained will learn at Fort Worden and help improve Building 202, but Lawson said any characterization of this process as “student labor” is incorrect.
“There will be a strong educational component in these programs so the students will be able to use what they have learned in other places,” he said.
Tuition for the program will be high but can be subsidized by Veterans Administration funds and the GI Bill.
The school will also seek in-kind donations and scholarship donations but could need an estimated $200,000 for “gap funding” until the money comes in, Lawson said.
Tuition and fees are expected to cover the instructional costs, while material costs will be unchanged for the public development authority, or PDA, which is managing the project.
The savings to the PDA, Lawson said, will be in labor costs.
The woodworking school expanded in 2010, equipping a millworking shop, located in an old Army food service building, that is capable of building windows.
In one past project, the school used 65 students to complete 85 windows in 11 weeks — so it has proven its ability to complete the Building 202 project, Lawson said.
The school can also meet the furniture needs of any building renovation project at Fort Worden, he said.
Potential obstacles include insufficient funding, ineligibility for GI funds and the lack of qualified or experienced instructors.
But Lawson hopes to have one instructor for every five students, which will increase the program’s efficacy.
No action was taken Wednesday, but Lawson hopes the PDA board will soon address his proposal.
“Early dialogue about the woodworking school’s involvement will increase the possibility of success for the project,” he said.
“We believe that we can make a significant difference in the development and preservation of Fort Worden.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
