The people of Port Townsend are not giving up on the embattled Raccoon Lodge.

Support for the hand-crafted hideout for woodland creatures attached to an old tree stump in Uptown was clear at the city council meeting on Monday, Dec. 5.

Nine people told city officials they supported the art piece Monday, the first chance the public has had to directly address officials since controversy over the city’s opposition to the art piece — which does not have a permit — erupted in November. The city also released 66 pages of public comment that were mostly critical of Port Townsend’s desire to downsize, remove, or make  the Raccoon Lodge compliant with building regulations.

Kevin Mason, the artist behind the Raccoon Lodge, once again argued with the city’s demands that he pay for a building permit or structural engineer.

“That was my free offering to the neighborhood,” Mason told the council. “The city officials have said that I could pay a large amount of money to get the lawyers and insurance companies and building officials satisfied so then I can re-give it to the city. Wait, I already gave it to the city for free.”

“Look what the city gave the creator of the Raccoon Lodge: a big bill.”

After Mason finished speaking, a round of applause began before Mayor David Faber loudly banged his gavel three times to quiet the crowd.

The ordeal began in October when city inspectors were called by a neighbor to investigate Mason’s property, and the matter has stayed in the public consciousness with a demonstration, petition, and now comments to the council.

After the nearly full public comment period ended, City Manager John Mauro tried to tamp down the controversy.

“We really tried to see every angle on this one,” Mauro said, repeating the message that the city is proud of the options they’ve presented to Mason. Those options include requiring him to pay for building permits and structural engineering reports at the very least, if not also his own insurance policy for the artwork.

“I probably shouldn’t say this when this is being recorded, and press, and I’m the boring bureaucrat, but it’s a cool structure,” Mauro added. “It’s eye-catching, it’s interesting. It’s a visual embodiment of what’s possible in this community.”

Hope for the work remains, however, as engineers have begun coming out of the woodwork to offer their help.

Mason has already had a civil engineer on site to inspect the piece, and architect Ann Raab, founder of GreenPod Development, has committed to helping keep the structure in place.

“What Kevin has done is the epitome of everything we stand for,” Raab said.

“I’m going to do the drawings,” she added, which will be the first step toward getting the structure permitted. “We’re just going to do it one by one to see how we satisfy the city. We can work with them within their guidelines.”