PORT TOWNSEND — The state Parks and Recreation Commission delayed action Thursday on a proposed resolution that would give the Port Townsend Public Development Authority ownership and management of Fort Worden State Park as a lifelong learning center.
“That was a very recent proposal and the commission isn’t going to consider that today,” said State Parks spokeswoman Virginia Painter.
Instead, a public hearing on the proposal to transfer ownership and management of Fort Worden to the public development authority, or PDA, and possible action is planned at the commission’s next meeting at 9 a.m. March 29 at Fort Worden State Park, Painter said.
PDA ownership would open financing avenues with banks and other partners that could help pay for the park’s continued operation, maintenance and management and offers greater financial incentives than a long-term lease, Dave Robison, PDA interim director, has said.
Robison and PDA board Chairwoman Cindy Hill Finnie attended the commission meeting Thursday in Tumwater.
A special Fort Worden PDA board meeting open to the public has been called for 8:30 a.m. today in Building 204 at Fort Worden State Park to discuss the proposal further.
Robison will talk about the Fort Worden PDA proposal at a Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce luncheon at noon Monday at the Elks Lodge, 555 Otto St. in Port Townsend.
Under the proposal, Fort Worden would remain a park but would no longer be called a state park.
Painter earlier this week said if the PDA completes a business plan showing that it can successfully fund the park and if it agrees to certain deed restrictions and conditions as required by the commission, Fort Worden State Park could be transferred to the PDA to operate by July 1, 2013.
Robison said the PDA already has a detailed business plan in development.
A public development authority is an independent government entity, legally independent from the jurisdiction that created it — in this case, the city of Port Townsend.
Examples of PDAs in Washington state are the Pike Place Market and the Seattle Art Museum.
The Port Townsend PDA proposal was prompted by Kate Burke losing the job she has held since 2002 as manager of Fort Worden, Fort Townsend and the Rothschild House state parks.
Burke was displaced by a new director, Allison Alderman, a 21-year State Parks employee who “bumped” Burke because of her greater seniority after losing her job as region operations manager in the State Parks Northwest Region Office.
Robison said the PDA board would consider bringing Burke on board for her institutional knowledge.
He said Burke was instrumental in the eight-year process that led to establishment of the park as a lifelong learning center, which would provide outdoor space for recreational and educational opportunities and a variety of programs and classes.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
