Point Hudson renovation planned for next two years

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Port of Port Townsend commissioners unanimously approved a five-year capital projects budget at their regular business meeting Feb. 13.

The budget includes major renovations of the Point Hudson south jetty and repairs to the Boat Haven breakwater in 2019 and 2020. Both sustained damage during the windstorm Dec. 20, 2018.

“There’s an urgent need to address the jetty,” Port Deputy Director Eric Toews said. “The same storm that did some additional damage to the jetty also did some significant damage to the old section of breakwater at Boat Haven.”

During the storm, some jetty piles broke off, more cable ties snapped, and part of the breakwater at Boat Haven was eroded, Toews said.

On Feb. 4, the port commission authorized an application for a $150,000 grant from the county’s public infrastructure fund. If approved, that money will be used for the permitting and engineering of the Point Hudson jetty renovations, Toews said.

For jetty renovations in 2020, the port has budgeted $3 million, which it expects to come from a loan.

“We’re anticipating ahead with a bank loan to help fund that renovation,” Toews said.

The port already had permitted, designed and planned for a complete demolition of the old jetty and the construction of a new jetty made of sheet pile. But because of a lack of funds and objections from the local maritime community about potential wave reflection, port staff will continue to research the potential for historical designation of the current jetty, which could open up state funding possibilities for the wall.

“The sheet pile wall jetty isn’t anticipated for renovation,” Toews said. “We’re thinking of going with a batter piles with a stone interior. It’s just in concept right now. We are trying to find something that replicates the performance but also the aesthetic of the current jetty.”

Toews said the port is planning to meet in March with Michael Sullivan, who has worked on overwater historical renovations with his Tacoma-based firm, Artifacts Consulting.

The repair needed for the Boat Haven breakwater will be similar to what was done in 2017, Toews said, but in about twice the area. The port has budgeted $5,000 for design and engineering and $300,000 for the construction of the repair.

The need for repairs to the two breakwaters is causing the port to rethink the timing of the Jefferson County International Airport runway rehabilitation project.

That project will include a full resurfacing of the runway and was set to take place this year, funded mainly by a $4 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration. But the project would still need a $250,000 match from the port.

“When we look at our breakwater we have out here, when we look at our failing docks, when we look at other things that are happening, that quarter-million dollar match, I just don’t know where we’re going to come up with it,” said Jim Pivarnik, the interim executive director at the port.

At their business meeting on Feb. 13, port commissioners discussed the possibility of approaching the FAA to defer the project until 2020.

“We are seeking either 100 percent funding from the FAA for 2019 or asking that we can defer the project to 2020,” Toews said.

The port’s capital budget also includes $100,000 for stormwater drainage improvements at the boat yard, $100,000 for work on the state Department of Fish and Wildlife building at Point Hudson, and $40,000 for port vehicle replacement.