The future of Fort Worden State Park could soon be in the hands of the newly formed Port Townsend Public Development Authority (PDA), which would guide the next stage of planning as the fort expands as a center of education.

In partnership with Centrum, State Parks officials and the City of Port Townsend, the PDA could begin coordinating the planning process for the 434-acre park in early 2010.

Plans described in draft documents propose that former Centrum Director Thatcher Bailey be appointed as interim director of the PDA, assisted by contracted consultant Dave Robison. The PDA board, envisioned as seven members, will soon be appointed by the Port Townsend City Council.

Bailey noted that Fort Worden would always be a state park overseen by the Washington State Parks Commission. Throughout the planning process, direct management of the popular park would remain in the hands of current Manager Kate Burke. Fort Worden employees will provide administration, maintenance, law enforcement and conference management services.

"Kate and her staff continue to run Fort Worden," Bailey said. "That won't change, maybe ever." The PDA would be an interim planning entity to be replaced after approximately two years with a yet unknown nonprofit management entity as the park's overseer. It is envisioned that this nonprofit would be staffed by the existing park personnel, he said.

In the meantime the PDA's task is to gather resources and expertise to make the transition of Fort Worden a reality and to help plan for the nonprofit management structure, said Bailey.

"This is an exercise in development, not management," Bailey said.

After a new nonprofit management structure is in place at the fort, the PDA would turn its attention to other projects - such as the old U.S. Customs House (post office) or more affordable housing. But draft documents make it clear that for the next two years, the PDA will be focused on Fort Worden.

"The PDA will designate Fort Worden its priority development project over the next two years," said a draft document.

Bold marriage

The marriage of the city's first PDA and the Fort Worden Collaborative project is a bold consolidation of two ambitious local development projects, with yet unknowable results.

A PDA is a quasi-governmental entity guided by an appointed board of directors that operates like a business entity directed at public goals. The Port Townsend PDA was approved in September 2009 by the City Council to help preserve historic structures and boost affordable housing. Initial discussions revolved around preserving the Port Townsend Customs House, selling a Victorian house now owned by regional law enforcement, and addressing affordable housing.

The Fort Worden Collaborative, led by Bailey after he departed as Centrum's executive director in November 2008, has completed a five-year planning process aimed at expanding Fort Worden's history as a destination for residential education programs. This effort, embraced by the Washington State Parks Commission, envisions Centrum being joined by many other nonprofit entities devoted to artistic, cultural or historical education for groups who stay in fort facilities.

Multiplying the use of the fort for residential programs, if successful, could provide a gigantic boost to the region's economy and make Fort Worden an international magnet with the cachet of, for example, San Francisco's Presidio, said Bailey. He termed the fort "an enormously underutilized facility. There are a million visitors who come to the park each year, but too many of those buildings sit empty too much of the time."

He added: "How do we support existing education partners and attract new institutions to make sure these buildings are occupied 100 percent of the time?" One critical infrastructure piece, Bailey said, is a capable wireless network that allows ready access to the Internet for fort users.

City Manager David Timmons, who has been deeply involved in discussions, also pointed to economic benefits.

"The dividends back to the city will be tenfold," he said.

As a first step, Bailey and Robison expect to focus on helping the new Center for Historic Preservation develop at the fort. The center, growing out of the Port Townsend School of Woodworking and Preservation Trades, with the support of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, hopes to provide residential programs for anyone wishing to be trained in the preservation or restoration of historic buildings. It is a "signature project" for the fort, wrote Bailey and Robison.

History of agreements

When State Parks sought bids from nonprofit entities that might one day direct Fort Worden's growth as a learning center, only Centrum bid for the job. Parks signed a formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Centrum on Dec. 3, 2009. The MOU lays out a series of steps, called milestones, which Centrum, Parks and other partners must achieve as the fort shifts toward its new management structure.

Parks and Centrum realized Centrum could not take sole responsibility for developing and implementing a new vision for Fort Worden without detracting from its primary role as an arts and culture educator and festival organizer. The search for a more appropriate planning entity led this fall to the city's new PDA, which, according to documents prepared by Bailey and Robison, is perfect for the transition steps needed for Fort Worden.

"Fortunately the PDA is structured to provide the specific expertise and skills" to make the transition happen, they wrote. Initial city discussions about what the PDA would do focused on the post office and affordable housing, not Fort Worden. But Timmons said "it was out there; it just wasn't something that anyone had their sights on. It was something we knew might have possibilities. We were careful to leave language in the ordinance to allow the PDA to play that role."

Many of the pieces are already in place, wrote Robison and Bailey. The only remaining steps are for the City Council to elect the PDA's first board of directors and to call a town meeting, probably in February, to provide information and gather public views.

Because of the many entities involved, the quilt of roles and responsibilities is complex.

State Parks has an MOU with Centrum that directs Parks and Centrum to each achieve specified milestones toward the new management of Fort Worden. Centrum and the PDA would sign an agreement outlining how the PDA would achieve the milestones in the MOU. In essence, the PDA would be a planning and management contractor for Centrum.

The Port Townsend City Council would appoint a PDA board that supports the fort vision. While that board is not yet appointed and no formal decision has been made, discussions and documents point to Bailey as the most likely candidate as interim PDA director. Bailey has been successful in several roles at Fort Worden over more than 20 years, including at Copper Canyon Press and Centrum.

City management, with the active support of City Manager David Timmons and Mayor Michelle Sandoval, would offer some city staff support, primarily from planner Rick Sepler and grant writer Ken Horvath. Sepler was very active in setting up the PDA. Future work by city staff would be reimbursed by the PDA, said Timmons.

Centrum and its new executive director, John MacElwee, would have three roles. Centrum is the official contracting agency with State Parks. It is the largest current tenant of the fort and the model for future programs. It would also serve as an interim fiscal agent for the PDA, collecting and accounting for private-sector donations and grants.

Funding model

No city money is involved in the project, outside of staff support as directed.

"There is no city funding involved," said Timmons. "That's the beauty of it. It's part of the economic strategy that they are out there creating economic opportunity. But the fort is probably one of the biggest opportunities we have for growth and expansion."

Bailey is currently on a half-time consulting contract with Centrum, paid for by a multi-year grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Should Bailey become PDA director, Centrum would direct the final year of that grant funding to his salary. Additional funding - including contract fees for Robison and other experts - would come from grants, donations or income created by the PDA itself. Robison and Bailey would take the lead on fundraising, something at which both are accomplished.

While the City Council has yet to make the expected seven PDA board appointments, some names have already been floated in draft proposals prepared by Bailey and Robison.

Rodger Schmitt, a Port Townsend resident who sits on the Washington State Parks Commission, is one of them. Schmitt is a former member of the Fort Worden Advisory Committee, treasurer of the Jefferson Land Trust and has been central to planning efforts as part of the Fort Worden Collaborative.

John Begley, formerly chief executive officer of Port Townsend Paper and now running a pulp mill in Grays Harbor County, along with insurance broker Cindy Finnie, have been members of Centrum's board and the Fort Worden Collaborative.

The City Council could take up the matter of appointments in January.

Next for PDA

While the draft documents make it clear that the Fort Worden project would be the PDA's primary focus for two years, Timmons and Bailey both said the PDA also could address other facility issues.

Discussions about the PDA taking over the post office building can continue, said Timmons. One prospect is for the PDA to build a postal annex in the Port Townsend Business Park, and then to trade that to the U.S. Postal Service in exchange for the historic post office. The existing post office would continue to serve customers, but bulk-sorting activities would move to the new building, he said.

Regarding access for people with disabilities, Timmons noted that an elevator is a possibility.

The sale of the Griffiths House, a Morgan Hill Victorian seized by police several years ago after discovery of a marijuana-grow operation, could also be managed by the PDA, Timmons said.

Both Timmons and Bailey said the site plan for Fort Worden calls for building or improving housing for service-level employees of the fort, as a first step toward affordable housing.

"That would be a startup," said Timmons.