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The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader, 226 Adams Street, Port Townsend, WA (2025)

01/24/2025

Fort Worden, at low point, remains open for business
Shutdown of Hospitality angered patrons, left 47 people without jobs and caused lots of confusion

By James Robinson

The unexpected shutdown of Fort Worden Hospitality, which had overseen the conference and events center, lodging and concessions and the Guardhouse Neighborhood Pub since 2022, created a lot of confusion about what would happen next for the beloved state park. The shutdown left 47 people without jobs, a host of angry patrons who say they’ve lost event deposits, and generated regional news.

Lost in the shuffle for a lot of people is the fact that Fort Worden remains open for business. “Regional media outlets have been covering the demise of Fort Worden Hospitality,” said Diane Urbani, communications manager for Northwind Art. “In some cases, words to the effect of ‘Fort Worden is shut down’ are used.”

Part of the confusion surrounds how it was handled, which involved a statement sent out at 2:34 p.m. on Jan. 14 in which Hospitality leadership announced they were closing immediately, citing legal and financial issues related to the PDA being placed in receivership, with few details.

“Guests with reservations from January 17, 2025, onward will be contacted directly by FWH,” read the statement. “Please be patient as we work to contact over 300 guests who hold reservations.”

That left a lot of people wondering about the primary tenants at the park. Most of those reservation holders were drawn to Fort Worden for a specific reason, be that for an program at Centrum Foundation, a class at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, a class at Northwind, or an event at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center.

01/23/2025

Positions of each side emerge in Jaman lawsuit against YMCA

By James Robinson

A lawsuit filed by Julie Jaman, the Port Townsend woman banned for life from the city pool after a confrontation there with a transgender employee in July 2022, continues its journey through Western District Court.

Attorneys for the city and the Olympic Peninsula YMCA are seeking a dismissal of the case while attorneys for Jaman are engaged in discovery that they say is likely to be completed in late spring.
Jaman, 82, was permanently banned from the pool after confronting Clementine Adams, a transgender pool employee, in the women’s locker room. Jaman claims the YMCA violated her constitutionally protected rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to Free Speech, Due Process, and Equal Protection.

“The YMCA filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, sort of like a motion to dismiss, back on Nov. 12,” said Eric Sell, associate counsel for the Center for American Liberty (CAL), which represents Jaman.
Sell said the city made an “anticipated argument” that the YMCA is a private entity and “not subject to the Constitution. CAL filed a brief in response that the argument was “incorrect with respect to this specific YMCA and its operation of the city’s pool.”

01/22/2025

Fort Worden, at low point, remains open for business
Questions surround collapse of Hospitality

By James Robinson

According to its management, fault for the failure of Fort Worden Hospitality lies with the larger failure of the park’s Public Development Authority’s (PDA).

“This decision comes as a result of the financial and legal challenges (facing PDA) resulting in the PDA losing their lease,” said Natalie Maitland director of operations for Fort Worden Hospitality, which closed its doors on Jan. 16, leaving 47 employees jobless and nearly 300 event and accommodation bookings cancelled.

“As such, Fort Worden Hospitality’s concession agreement, to provide hospitality services on campus is no longer valid. Without a contract to operate, Fort Worden Hospitality must close.”
.. for a comprehensive story grab a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com

01/19/2025

Fish farms ban on state-owned aquatic lands goes into effect

By James Robinson

Net-pen aquaculture, or fish farming, officially ended in Washington state on Jan. 7, when the state Board of Natural Resources ratified the agency’s 2022 plan to ban commercial net-pen aquaculture on state-owned aquatic lands.

The measure, championed by Hilary Franz, the state’s outgoing commissioner of public lands, now aligns Washington state with California and Alaska, which already prohibit the practice of fencing fish in under water. British Columbia is moving toward its own ban slated for 2029.

“No one can say these facilities don’t have an impact,”Franz said. “They do. There’s a cost to our agency, there’s a cost to our waters and our bedlands, there’s a cost to our salmon and our orcas. I don’t believe that cost is worth it. Avoidance is absolutely our best solution.”

The rule comes more than seven years after the collapse of a net pen array off Cypress Island in August 2017 that released more than 250,000 Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound.

While environmental groups and a number of area tribes supported the ban, the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe did not. S’Klallam spokespeople said net-pen farming is an important economic opportunity because fishing has become so diminished as an industry. Maria Smithson, representing Salish Fish, the tribe’s joint venture with Cooke Aquaculture, said consideration of the rule was rushed and should be delayed.

Pick up a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com for the full story.

01/18/2025

County’s population grows 8%

By Mallory Kruml

Jefferson County’s population grew by nearly 8% between 2019 and 2023, according to the five-year American Community Survey, released by the U.S. Census Bureau in December.

That figure was arrived at by comparing the average population from 2019-2023 over its five-year average from 2014-2018.

Comparing the five-year averages, Washington ranked sixth in the nation for population growth, a sign of its growing appeal as a place to live and work.

Jefferson County’s population rose from an estimated 30,900 residents to 33,300 over that time period. Neighboring Clallam County saw a 4.2% increase. Other counties saw even greater growth: Pacific County, on the southwestern edge of the state, grew the most, by 11.6%, followed by San Juan County at 10.9% and Clark County at 9.7%.

Pick up a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com for the full story.

01/17/2025

City staff: Delay plan to rezone golf park for housing

Controversial proposal was part of process to update Comprehensive Plan

By Mallory Kruml

City staff are recommending that the council not change the zoning of the Camas Prairie Golf Park for at least one year.

Planning staff recommendations regarding amendments to the Comprehensive Plan have become more defined, with timelines established for each proposed change in the amendment docket.

The reason given for the recommendation is that city staff have limited information and capacity to effectively pursue the rezoning this year.

Any ultimate action is up to the Port Townsend City Council.

The proposal to rezone part of the Camas Prairie Golf Park for residential housing has sparked considerable debate within the community, generating lively public comments as well as columns and letters to the editor and sometimes spicy commentary in online discussions.

Proponents argue that additional housing is necessary, while critics believe the city should prioritize open spaces rather than building new homes.

Pick up a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com for the full story.

01/10/2025

Who bears blame for PDA failure?

By James Robinson

A recent filing in the case of Kitsap Bank versus the Fort Worden Public Development Authority (PDA) underscores the blame being cast for the failure of the PDA, with the most recent documents filed by the City of Port Townsend describing the bank as a reckless lender. Others point fingers back at city officials for failing to follow protocols the city specifically put in place to prevent the PDA from slipping into insolvency.

The first of two documents filed by the City of Port Townsend on Dec. 26 is a basic objection to the receiver’s notice of intent to be compensated. The second is a detailed declaration in support of the city’s objection filed by city council member Libby Wennstrom, who was the city’s partner liaison with the PDA. In the second filing, Wennstrom aims squarely at Kitsap Bank for failing to protect its own interests.

The declaration, filed in Jefferson County Superior Court, details the six different bonds underwritten by Kitsap Bank for the PDA between 2018 and 2021, noting that no interest was paid on the 2018 and 2019 bonds and that the unpaid interest was then rolled into the 2021 bonds. Those bonds were consolidated into a single $6 million revenue bond in 2022.

“It is difficult to believe that in the course of performing its due diligence when deciding to issue each of these bonds, and in light of the extensive local press coverage and discussion between the city and the bank about the PDA’s financial condition, that Kitsap Bank was unaware of the PDA’s ongoing financial challenges,” wrote Wennstrom in the documents. “Taken all together, this mounting debt paints a clear picture of the PDA’s growing insolvency that a prudent lender would find concerning.”

Pick up a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com for the full story

01/09/2025

City consolidates departments under single banner

By Mallory Kruml

Port Townsend has created a Community Services Department, integrating the existing parks and facilities teams, the library department and a new arts and culture element to oversee the Creative District.

“The mission of the department is to provide safe, equitable and inclusive access to parks, recreation and city facilities that strengthen the bonds of the community by enriching and enhancing the quality of life for the Port Townsend community,” the city wrote in its 2025 budget.

The city maintains that there will be no significant changes to services, at least initially, but that it aims “to bring greater creativity, synergies and vitality” to their existing work, according to a Jan. 3 press release.

“This change allows us to better integrate and sustainably deliver services to the community,” said City Manager John Mauro. “We’re drawing creative inspiration from elements that provide a high-quality public service like the library, building back some of the elements that have suffered from years of neglect like parks and facilities, and recognizing an opportunity to play a more meaningful role in carrying forward the work of the PT Creative District in expanding living-wage opportunities for local artists.”

Melody Sky Weaver, who has served as the library director for the past 10 years, was internally promoted to the newly created position of director of the Community Services Department.

The salary range of the new position, which absorbs the library director role, is between $126,631 and $157,022, according to the city’s budget. Weaver made between $99,218 and $123,031 as library director.

Pick up a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com for the full story

01/08/2025

Fire dancers, other performers shine bright in the darkness of First Night

Surrounded by more than 1,400 onlookers, according to Danny Millholand, director of operations for The Production Alliance (TPA), members of the Feral Fire Flow Collective lit up the street Dec. 31 in downtown Port Townsend.

The fire dancers, based out of the Olympic Peninsula, put on the performance for First Night, a New Year’s Eve celebration put on by TPA in Port Townsend.

“First Night capped off 2024 with a BOOMSHAKALAKA,” shouted Milholland. “This event is a team effort made possible by many community partnerships, volunteers and our awesome team of artists, producers and community builders at The Production Alliance.”

This year’s theme, Cosmic Connection, invited attendees of all ages to experience live music, circus arts, stargazing, interactive art, history and art exhibits, fireworks, and more, the TPA website states.

01/02/2025

City urges court to rein in Fort Worden PDA receiver

By James Robinson

Citing more than $230,000 in unpaid utility bills and vendor payments, the City of Port Townsend has entered the fray of the Kitsap Bank versus the Fort Worden Public Development Authority case urging the court through recent filings to prioritize that the receiver pays for basic operations and obligations — before paying its own attorneys and professional fees.

Separately City Council Member Libby Wennstrom filed a declaration in support that included details about what isn’t being paid, things necessary to maintain the upper campus property.

“The city’s $121,798 outstanding utility bill is quite substantial; nearly half of that balance ($55,814) has been incurred since the receiver took over management of the Fort Worden campus,” wrote Wennstrom in the Dec. 26 declaration. Both documents were filed by Kenyon Disend PLLC, which represents the city.

Wennstrom details a litany of unpaid vendor payments totaling $109,233 that date back to September 2024, alleging that Kitsap Bank “dishonored” those payments by citing insufficient funds in the PDA account, despite evidence to the contrary. Wennstrom argues that the receivership, Elliott Bay Asset Solutions, now operating as the PDA, should make good on these payments before paying itself.

Kitsap Bank pays an average of $310 an hour for the firm’s services.

Pick up a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com for the full story.

12/19/2024

Rival wrestlers take second in annual tourney
Eight teams competed in five dual matches Dec. 14 at the 2nd annual East Jefferson Team Dual Tournament

By Ryan White

The East Jefferson Rivals team finished second out of the eight teams in the second annual East Jefferson Team Dual Tourney, winning four dual matches before losing a hard-fought battle against the No. 3 ranked team in the state in the championship match.

East Jefferson won their first match against Forks 48-36, then rolled through Kingston 66-12. In the third match, East Jefferson defeated the All-Star team, which was made up of #2 wrestlers from various teams, after South Whidbey had to cancel due to our WA State PT/Coupeville ferry not running that morning due to weather. EJ defeated the All Star team 72-6.

After winning all three matches in the round-robin, EJ advanced to the championship bracket. The most exciting dual match of the day came when EJ defeated 4A Catholic Kennedy 41-40 in a match that came down to EJ lightweights losing a couple of matches by technical fall vice pins.

Pick up a copy of the Leader for the full story or go to ptleader.com

12/18/2024

State challenges court’s 90-day extension for PDA receiver
AG says campus at state park is languishing while private interests seek to protect investment

By James Robinson

Since Fort Worden State Park was put in receivership on behalf of Kitsap Bank in early October, complaints that critical infrastructure wasn’t being maintained and bills and contractors were going unpaid have mounted.

The State Attorney General stepped into the fray on behalf of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, filing a motion in Jefferson County Superior Court on Dec. 12 that could change the trajectory of the case involving the bank and the Fort Worden Public Development Authority (PDA). The state parks commission owns the park and had a master lease with the PDA to manage the campus area of the park, and with it, campus tenants.

Judge Brandon Mack, who put the PDA into receivership on Oct. 4 and named Elliott Bay Asset Solutions as the receiver, approved a 90-day extension on Dec. 2 for the receiver to come up with a new business model for Fort Worden.

Pick up a copy of the Leader for the full story or go to ptleader.com

12/07/2024

‘An exceptional advocate’: Camas Prairie’s Tim Caldwell named best volunteer in Readers’ Choice survey

By Kirk Boxleitner

Although Tim Caldwell won first place in the Readers’ Choice awards for best volunteer for his work at Camas Prairie Golf Park to “help keep the doors open,” he’s pitched in for a number of organizations over the years.

Caldwell estimated he’s been volunteering in one form or another in the community since 1992, not counting the time he spent caddying at the golf course when he was 19. That includes 17 years as a volunteer with the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, in large part coordinating recruits and training other volunteers to staff its visitor information center.

Caldwell also took part in the Jefferson Transit Authority’s Transit Advisory Group, and kept himself occupied during COVID by doing research and writing articles for the Jefferson County Historical Society, on subjects such as the history of Fort Worden.

“I’d like to think that the groups I’ve taken part in have been serving the heart and soul of the community, in their own ways,” Caldwell said. “I grew up without any place to park, and now, we have transit connections from Kingston to Sequim. And the chamber helped tie together all sorts of organizations, from businesses to charities.”

Caldwell expressed his appreciation to the community for voting for him so highly in the Readers’ Choice awards, but he insisted there are plenty of other “incredible volunteers,” and “kind golfers.” He said they were nice to single him out.

But two Barbs who also volunteer at Camas Prairie — Barbara Aldrich and Barb Carr — were effusive in their praise of Caldwell.

Pick up a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com for the full story.

12/06/2024

PT adopts $68 million budget

City staff project 12% rise in expenses, revenue from 2024

By Mallory Kruml

On Dec. 2, the Port Townsend City Council approved their 2025 operating and capital budgets, totaling $68 million in expenses, $66.2 million in revenues and a projected ending fund balance of $34.1 million, down from $35.9 million in 2024.

The budget has been in the works since July. It reflects a 12% increase in expenses and anticipated revenues from the city’s 2024 budget.

The city will spend $1.8 million of its reserves to balance next year’s budget. City staff didn’t make any significant changes to the preceding budget draft.

“City Council has indicated a preference for spending down some of our reserve on key one-time expenditure priorities, which also brings the general fund reserve down closer to its intended reserve policy range,” City Manager John Mauro, the city’s manager, wrote in an email. “We’re in a fortunate position of having far more general fund reserves than we require in our policies and the rationale, generally, for drawing some of that down is that we should be putting those funds to use to benefit our residents while also ensuring we meet the set policy to be ready for unplanned circumstances.”

Mauro wrote in his budget message to residents that he and city staff “continue to be challenged by macroeconomic conditions beyond our control, like escalating costs of materials and labor or local and regional conditions like seemingly impossible housing affordability.” Despite that,“we’re always up for a challenge and keep a persistent focus on the future of our community. Over time, we believe that by making tough decisions and sticking together, we can make things fairer and better for everyone.”

The message for residents described the final product as “a smart and forward-thinking budget that reflects the community’s values and sets the city up for enduring success.”

The city’s general fund, primarily made up of tax revenue, is budgeted for $17.1 million in expenses and $16.1 million in revenues for next year. The projected ending general fund balance for 2025 is $3.9 million, down from $5 million in 2024.

Pick up a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com for the full story.

12/05/2024

Demand for free Thanksgiving meals up as food costs rise

By Alex Frick

This Thanksgiving a record number of free holiday meals were served and delivered to the community throughout Jefferson County, and some say inflated food costs have increased demand.

American Legion Post Townsend Marvin G. Shields Memorial Post 26, Jefferson County Food Bank Association, and Holiday Meals of Jefferson County reported a notable influx of meals served across the county this year, potentially revealing the harsh reality that some citizens may now be unable to afford to cook Thanksgiving dinner.

Holiday Meals of Jefferson County hosted their annual Thanksgiving Dinner Thursday afternoon at the Tri-Area Community Center in Chimacum and served a total of 573 meals, an increase of over 170 meals served in 2023.

Holiday Meals is unrelated to the JCFBA, which reported distributing 850 turkey and vegan protein options to clients along with other food items, an increase from prior years.

Leading the dinner pass was Ryan Lammers, the vice president of the Holiday Meals organization. He has been on the board for the last four years and was a volunteer before then.

He said there are many reasons why attendance is spiking, but he believes food costs are a significant contributor.

“I think it’s just come down to where you go out and buy a turkey. You used to get them for what 69 cents a pound when they were on sale,” said Lammers. “Now you’re lucky to get them for $1.99 a pound. I think it’s gotten to the point where people just can’t afford it.”

12/04/2024

PDA receiver gets more time to weigh lease

Park’s tenants stuck in limbo as
asset manager gets 90 more days

BY JAMES ROBINSON

On Dec. 2, Jefferson County Superior
Court Judge Brandon Mack granted a 90-day
extension to Elliott Bay Asset Solutions,
as the receiver of the Fort Worden Public
Development Authority (PDA), to assume
or reject the master lease between the now
defunct PDA and the Washington State
Parks and Recreation Commission.

The master lease dates back to November
2013, when a deal was struck between the
PDA and the Washington State Parks and
Recreation Commission. It details the
terms for 50-year co-management of 90
acres of real property known as the “Fort
Worden Campus.” That acreage included
the campus of about 90 buildings.

The PDA was on the verge of dissolution
and working with the PDA and working
with the parks commission to resume
management of the campus when lawyers
representing Kitsap Bank filed a complaint.
that the PDA’s plan to dissolve did not
include a plan to repay the $6.2 million for
previous loans. It is unclear whether there
was any collateral for the loan aside from
the promise of revenues.

The decision to place the PDA assets in
receivership came on Oct. 4, when Mack
issued an order appointing a general
receiver over all PDA property and assets.
Mack’s Dec. 2 ruling came after a hearing
Attorneys for Elliott Bay Asset Solutions
requested the extension on Nov. 27, citing
state law that may have imposed a Dec.
4 deadline for the company to accept or
reject the master lease.

Pick up a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com for the full story

11/27/2024

Survey reveals most popular people, goods and services

BY MEREDITH JORDAN

If you’re looking to feel good
about the world, or at least
our part of the world, you’ve
come to the right place. The
results of this year’s “Best
Of” Readers Poll are in and
with it a wide and uplifting
array of top people, places
and things to note on the
winners lists.

Readers’ Choice is one of the
most fun projects we do at The
Leader because it shines a light
— a hundred lights — on our
best, from top employers and
businesses to all corners of the
community, auto mechanics to
bankers, boat builders to physicians,
DJs to police officers.

This was the first year we
added an online component
to our standard print ballots.
Some 13,000 votes were cast
in this year’s contest, with
five key categories: Service,
Food & Drink, Retail, People,
and Out and About. Those
contained a combined 115
individual areas, everything
from best place to work to best
busker, best customer service,
best hotel to best venue, best,
best best. Thanks to everyone
for participating.
...

Pick up a copy of this week's Leader for a full story or go to ptleader.com

11/22/2024

Risk management
By coaching climbers, Port Townsend native Leif Whittaker carries on the legacy of his father, Jim Whittaker.

By Tom Mullen

Growing up in Port Townsend, Leif Whittaker was entering his teen years when he first noticed that his childhood was not normal.

“I started to realize the size of his legacy and achievements, how powerful that was and how people knew him,” Whittaker told the Leader. “People would come up to us and they’d recognize him, and I started to wonder, ‘Why are these random people coming up and wanting to meet my father?’ He’s done something that’s a little outside the norm, but my dad, to me, was always my father, always supportive, caring.”

His father, Jim Whittaker, is one of the great mountaineers in history and will forever be remembered as the first American to climb Mount Everest.

“I had mountains in my blood,” Whittaker admitted, but he didn’t enjoy his first climbs.

“I thought the hiking was torturous. I had my mom carry my pack. Later, when I was 15, my older brother and I climbed Olympus and that, to me, is when I pinpoint the beginning of my climbing.”

His father’s shadow is immense, but the younger Whittaker was not tempted to follow a different path, no matter how torturous the hike.

“It was certainly there in the background, hearing my father’s stories of climbing, my mother’s stories of climbing — all those stories, I soaked them up,” he said. “I think my parents felt that it would be better not to force me, to not push me into that world and so they were really good about that.”

So much so that Whittaker sometimes wishes they’d pushed him a little more.
“I’d be better,” he said.

For the full story grab a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com

The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader

01/24/2025

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