Talk by Port of Port Townsend officials to install electronic-card access locks on showers used by both tourists and transients begs for a stakeholders meeting sooner rather than later.

The alarm bell was rung earlier this month by community activist Richard Jahnke in a letter to the editor. Jahnke correctly noted that the port has been bearing the cost of providing showers to the public, and he expressed sympathy with the port’s decision to solve a vandalism issue by installing those electronic access cards this fall, thus making those public facilities unavailable to many in need.

It’s worth noting that there are showers for homeless people at the American Legion between November and April, when the Winter Shelter is open.

But when the shelter closes, those in need have been looking to the restrooms and showers at the Port Townsend Boat Haven. At 50 cents, it’s the cheapest shower in town.

It’s not just homeless people availing themselves of the Winter Shelter who may need a good, hot cleaning. There are people who have shelter, who live in trailers and buses, for example, who do not have running water. That fact has been documented in the Point in Time count of the homeless in Jefferson County.

Of course, there’s no way to know how many of the 53,000 showers that are taken at the Boat Haven facility a year are taken by local people who are not technically homeless or by those who are homeless and passing through.

Robin Dudley points out in a letter on this issue that the port facility has been a well-known refuge for those in need of shower and laundry facilities for decades.

Stakeholders in this case involve not only the Port of Port Townsend, but the City of Port Townsend, Jefferson County and, in particular, Jefferson County Public Health, which has a mission to ensure the health and well-being of the community. Other stakeholders: Jefferson Transit, the Port Townsend School District, Jefferson Healthcare and Olympic Community Action Programs.

All of those agencies have a vested interest in ensuring that the people they serve have access to good hygiene. There’s no point of having access to health care or good education if you can’t keep clean.

Here’s the bottom line on bathrooms and showers: No one wants to deal with the few who misuse the facilities. Vandalism closed the facilities at the Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park as well. Cost to repair them is estimated at $20,000.

So, what’s the answer?

Port Commissioner Steve Tucker has suggested a “bathroom summit,” a meeting of those stakeholders to talk about options.

It may not be the most exciting of subjects, but it is a necessity, and it would be better done sooner rather than later and clearly before those electronic card access locks are installed.

– Allison Arthur