A tour of the proposed Evans Vista planned community drew about 70 people on the evening of Monday, Oct. 9, providing hands-on contact with a project meant to ease the local housing crisis.

A team of architects guided attendees through the 14-acre site, now populated by trees and brush. The newly presented master plan includes 321 units, a combination of apartments, walk-ups, and townhomes. Also set to be included are facilities that embrace the neighborhood concept, such as a playground, pedestrian trails and an outdoor amphitheater.

The project is located at the city limits, adjacent to the Howard Street roundabout. It will connect to Mill Road.

“This project is not new to me, but it is interesting to see the actual property,” said Liz Revord, director of the Housing Solutions Network. “This community needs to rally around Evans Vista becoming the poster child for affordable housing. I hope we are seeing opportunities for these homes to become permanently affordable.”

Citing similar projects throughout the county, Revord said that “long-term affordability is key to addressing the local housing shortage.”

The plan was discussed at a Port Townsend City Council workshop after the tour. Final approval is scheduled for the council’s Nov. 6 regular meeting. At that time, the project will be put out to bid, which should provide a better sense of its cost and scheduling.

For many attendees, the ratio of permanently affordable units was the most important factor. Currently pegged at 25%, one person suggested that a more effective number is twice or three times that amount. This is a balancing act, as the number of permanently affordable units will influence any bid. If that number is too high, the project then becomes less attractive for developers.

“All this will go into writing the request for proposals,” said architect Ron Thomas. “But it is very important that we will fulfill our social contract.”

Kellen Lynch, of the Housing Solutions Network, said “it is important to keep up the pressure to increase the number of affordable units.”

Thomas said that many of the site’s larger trees will require removal, but there is an effort to leave as many as possible intact.

The project also comes with federal, state and county funding. The city received $3.1 million from federal and state coffers, which will be used in part for the land purchase, utility design and installation of a lift station. A total of $500,000 from Jefferson County will be used for Evans Vista’s master plan.

Partnerships between the city, county, and state will be essential to developing the project, according to Brent Butler, Jefferson County’s chief strategy officer. The site abuts county land, and Butler said the county will assist in building the necessary infrastructure. It can also connect and share resources with the county’s Caswell Brown emergency housing facility, located across Mill Road.

“We can share a lift station, which means we won’t have to construct two of them,” Butler said.

Washington State Rep. Steve Tharinger (D-District 24) said that when the project began, it projected only 130 units, and it was impressive to see three times that amount.

“This is a challenge,” Tharinger said of the funding. “We want to make sure that the state has funded it to a level that a developer can come in and say, ‘Hey, we are ready to go.’”

Marine science center octopus named Kakantu 

By Thais Oliveira 

thais@ptleader.com

The Marine Science center's newest resident, a giant Pacific octopus, received its official name this week. Kakantu is a Klallam word with two meanings. The first comes from an old story told by Amy Allen, grandmother of the current Tribal Council Chairman of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Ron Allen. The girl Kakantu falls in love with a blackfish (Orca), goes to the ocean to live with him and the marriage ensures that her people have access to the sea’s bounty. Her own gradual transformation into a sea-being prevents Kakantu from visiting her family, but when they see her hair — blades of bull kelp — moving with the tides, they know she still provides for them. The word is also used to describe the area around the Point Wilson Lighthouse spit.  

The name was chosen during a high bidding war at the Marine Science Center annual auction fundraiser held in March this year and approved by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. The winner, who does not want to be identified, paid $21000 to choose the denomination of the creature they help collect on July 4 2022 during a research project to count Dungeness crab in the area. The count helps the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and tribal fishery managers to decide fish allowance during crab season. Plastic bottles with lights attract crabs and sometimes octopus in their beginning life cycle. Kakantu was found at 3-5 months old on the perfect stage for collection for the Marine Science Center capacity as it was able to eat live food and attach to surfaces.  The anonymous volunteer has been involved with education and care since 2020 and wanted to bring awareness to the heritage and history of the area with a native name.  

Kakantu is now about 18 months old, weighs 505 grams (or just over a pound) and is about the size of a grapefruit. According to Emilee Carpenter, Aquarium Specialist, it is not possible to determine the sex of the octopus at this point, but they are actively looking for it.  

“Males have sperm packets on the third right arm. Some octopus will keep it curled and won’t let us touch it, some will be ok with it. Silvia, our last octopus, turned out to be male after the naming and was comfortable with us touching his hectocotylus. They are very individualist creatures. Regardless of the sex, we release the octopi at around 2,5 years old, when they start showing signs of reproduction and can complete their life cycles in their habitat”, explains Carpenter, the staff in charge of husbandry or the animal care at the Marine Science Center.  

Kakantu may be viewed at the Marine Science aquarium at Fort Worden State Park on Saturday and Sunday, 12 - 5 p.m.