Point Hudson is the “front porch” of Port Townsend, and the Northwest Maritime Center (NWMC) is making a case that it should be in control of the future of that porch by obtaining a master lease for it from the Port of Port Townsend.

Jake Beattie, executive director of the NWMC, said the nonprofit could act as curator and steward for Point Hudson’s 14 acres, including its numerous historic structures and marina.

He said the port approached the NWMC in October 2016 to discuss several different planning options for Point Hudson as the port considers its long-term plans.

Beattie said the NWMC hopes it can convince the port that the center should be the “preferred alternative” for that plan, including possibly obtaining a master lease – a lease that would allow the nonprofit to act as manager for Point Hudson, much like the Fort Worden Public Development Authority has an agreement with the state to manage part of Fort Worden State Park.

“They’ve talked about a need for [the port] to change the return on investment they get from their various business units,” Beattie said of port leaders. “We’re hoping we can be one version of that for Point Hudson.

“We’ve been thinking about this since the port came to us in October and were telling us about their issues at Point Hudson and beginning the process of thinking about what role the Maritime Center might play,” Beattie said.

Beattie described the October meeting as a “brainstorming” session.

“They actually brought up the master lease as something they had potentially thought about,” he said.

“The Maritime Center and the Wooden Boat Foundation that preceded it have thought about Point Hudson as a greater campus for quite some time … decades,” Beattie said. “We’re trying to make an attractive version of a low-development case.”

The NWMC this week published a website, Your Point Hudson (yourpointhudson.org ), about the possible lease. The site includes a video, in which some community members express worry about possible excessive commercial development of Point Hudson, which could take away from the area’s “funky” appeal.

IN THE RED

Sam Gibboney, executive director for the port, said the port is not interested in excessive commercial development of Point Hudson. She said the port is not focused on maximizing commercial revenue at Point Hudson, and that the port needs to balance a desire for increased revenue with the community’s values.

The port takes a “triple bottom line” approach to how it manages things, she said, which takes into account profits, the planet and people.

Over the past four years, Point Hudson has averaged a loss of $40,000 annually, Gibboney said. She cited specific years, such as a loss of $183,000 one year and a gain of $93,000 in another. Those figures include debt service but not depreciation, she said.

Crucially, those figures also do not include capital repair – that is, the two failing jetties.

Gibboney also noted that the port is a county-wide district and as such, needs to be responsible not only to people who regularly use Point Hudson, but also to all residents of Jefferson County. Thus, the port must be prudent about how much it invests in any one asset, she said.

She said the future of Point Hudson and replacement of the failing jetties are not just a port issue, but an issue that involves the entire community.

ONLY A PROPOSAL

So far, it’s all just proposals.

The NWMC and the Port of Port Townsend have not yet reached an agreement regarding any possible lease.

Gibboney said the port was looking forward to exploring working relationships with potential partners, and that options could include joint fundraising or management of Point Hudson buildings.

“It’s really early in the process for us,” Gibboney said.

Beattie said it is too early to talk about hard numbers and did not know when any master lease might possibly begin, how long a lease might be for or what the cost of such a lease might be.

“We’re not quite in sync yet. We’re trying,” Beattie said of coordinating with the port. “It’s too early to talk about numbers.”

The NWMC hosted a fundraiser for its proposal on Saturday at the center’s Maritime Room. The event drew about 180 people, Beattie said, including Gibboney and Port Commissioner Stephen Tucker.

“There was a lot of excitement in the room … our board members were just excited to finally be able to talk about this out loud. And then we had some people learning about the idea for the first time,” Beattie said.

“We get excited about ideas that make sense and opportunities that you know when you add it together, at the end, what you get is something greater than the sum of its parts. In general, we see such huge potential for a partnership like this,” he said.

PUBLIC INPUT

The NWMC board voted unanimously on April 1 to pursue negotiations with the port for a lease, Beattie said. It was a daylong meeting “and at the end of it, the board thought there was enough merit here for both the Maritime Center sustainability and the sort of overall community good that they unanimously voted to allow me to sort of pursue,” Beattie said.

Beattie said the NWMC board meetings are not open to the public. Members of the board are selected by a vote of board members, he said.

“We’ve got really good diversity on our board,” Beattie said, adding that the board consisted of community members with different income levels and with a mix of men and women.

The NWMC has formed an advisory committee of community members to offer guidance to the NWMC board. The advisory board meetings are to be open to the public.

The port, on the other hand, has three publicly elected commissioners.

“They serve all the citizens of Jefferson County. We are a special purpose government,” Gibboney said. That means meetings are open to the public.

“We do all of our business out in the open,” she said.

She encouraged residents to contact her or the port commissioners to let them know what their thoughts are regarding Point Hudson.

CHARM OF THE POINT

Beattie said one only needs to look at what’s happened in other communities to see what happens when the waterfront gets too developed.

“Part of the charm of [Point Hudson] is the funk that will never pencil [make a profit] unless we change the equation,” Beattie said.

“Point Hudson is pretty cool the way it is, but it’s clear to most people looking at the problem that something has to change in the equation for it to remain that way,” he said.

Beattie said the point faces several challenges, including environmental constraints, the poor shape of the jetties and a budget that’s in the red.

“We can be their tool that we fix these problems with,” Beattie said.

“Point Hudson … it’s not the biggest problem the port has to solve. Part of what we’re trying to do is create an efficiency … if they agree to what we’re talking about … we could take care of this problem; check in once in a while [with the port] and make sure it’s on track, but allow them to really focus on some of the bigger issues that they’re facing,” Beattie said.

Beattie suggested that were Point Hudson to be run as a combination government/nonprofit entity, it could be more successful in obtaining public funding.