Expanding economic development to the entire county – not just at marine facilities – is one task Bill Putney would look into if elected as Port of Port Townsend commissioner for District 2.

“My vision for the port, broadly, is to fill out the mission that the state Legislature gave the port back in 1911, which is not only to run transportation facilities, but to do economic development for the county,” said Putney.

Putney, 70, of Port Hadlock is running for the seat that incumbent Brad Clinefelter is seeking to keep.

“The county needs good-paying jobs for people who aren’t in the marine trades or aren’t artists. Kids that grow up here really need to have some way to stay home or come back home after they’ve educated themselves. And I think that responsibility has not been given the full attention that it deserves,” Putney said.

Since the port has the tools to get loans, it should be going out to market the county to the rest of the world, he said. Development should be county-wide, not just in Port Townsend or Quilcene, he said.

Putney said the port’s long-term goal should be to use economic development to get the port on better financial footing.

“Right now, the port’s finances are dominated by maritime services, and they’re just about at market rate,” he said of moorage and yard tenant rates specifically.

OTHER INCOME SOURCES

The port needs another source of income, either from leasing port properties to businesses to provide income or by “doing the economic development that doesn’t directly make the port money, but makes the economic base in the county better, which ultimately will result in a better return for the amount of percentage of taxes that the port already levies on the taxpayers,” he said.

Putney noted that the job of port commissioner is not a full-time position, and said that, since he is retired, he has the time to put in the extra unpaid hours necessary.

“You really have to be in a position to kind of travel on your own nickel and go to places where people are meeting to discuss economic development and business expansion and proselytize.

“It’s going to take somebody to really go out and market, somebody that really believes that Jefferson County is such a great place for people to do business,” he said.

Putney regularly attends port meetings and said maintenance is a key issue for the port.

“Over and over again it comes up, that there’s maintenance issues that come up that seem to blindside the port,” he said.

POINT HUDSON, AIRPORT

A bad storm could knock out the Point Hudson jetties, Putney said, and the jetties need to be replaced, but funding the work is a problem. He said Point Hudson loses about $25,000 annually, and that if the port were to use a bond to fix the jetties, that it would cost $600,000 a year to pay it back.

Putney also said that the port could have found a temporary home for boat shop owner Steve Chapin, who had to move out of his Armory Building shop at Point Hudson because of the risk of fire and explosion posed by his work. He didn’t say where the shop could be relocated.

Putney said the only port facility in District 2 is the “underutilized” airport. He said an eco-industrial park was established at the airport years ago, but nothing had been done with it.

“It should be driving a lot more visitors to the region than it is,” he said.

Putney said he would like to represent the port at a major aviation conference held annually in Puyallup, which draws people from the western states. Members of port staff haven’t had the time to attend that event, he said.

“They go to boat shows. And I support that, but they really need to be looking more broadly at what the responsibilities are.”

Putney said improving internet service in rural areas is important. He suggested that the airport might be a good place for an internet data center since it’s located near two internet fiber lines.

BACKGROUND

Putney helped establish Port Townsend’s KPTZ-FM radio.

He studied computer science at Pierce College in Los Angeles, but did not receive a degree from that college. He joined the Army in 1965 and served for four years. Then he joined Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co.