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

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

11/21/2024

Long adrift, memorial to lost local mariners finally drops anchor
A monument and book, in the works since 2012, now on display at St. Mary Star of the Sea

By Kirk Boxleitner

For at least a dozen years, longtime Port Townsend resident and retired maritime tradesman Bernie Arthur has sought to memorialize local mariners lost at sea.
“Plenty of other seaport towns have memorials for those who have perished at sea, usually in their harbors,” Arthur said.

In 2012, he envisioned a monument in downtown Port Townsend, and agreed to donate about 100 feet of shoreline property that he owned, along the section of Water Street between the Washington State Ferries terminal and the Bayview Restaurant.

Because Arthur’s property contained intertidal lands that are considered critical to the health of the local marine environment, a number of regulatory agencies would have needed to manage different aspects of construction in that intertidal zone.

This potentially would have required not just city permits, but also federal and/or state environmental reviews, with approvals from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

By 2014, Arthur was still planning to employ architectural designs for a structure drawn up by Coker DesignWorks’s Kevin Coker, to which the Port Townsend Foundry had agreed to contribute structural elements, and had minted bronze coasters depicting the proposed memorial, to encourage donations toward the effort.

11/20/2024

Mill’s draft permit would limit chemical discharges, boost testing
Port Townsend Paper Corp. has operated under an administrative permit extended since 2018

By James Robinson

The Port Townsend Paper Corp. (PTPC) has embarked on the process of getting a new permit to operate that would limit the amount of dangerous chemicals flowing into area waterways and would add additional testing measures, according to the draft 147-page proposed permit.

Depending on the outcome of a state environmental review and public comment period, including a Dec. 4 hearing at Fort Worden, the mill could face a new set of requirements, among them, testing for the discharge of “forever chemicals,” or PFAS, and the undertaking of an odor minimization study.

“PTPC does not include PFAS in the manufacture of any of our products,” wrote Laurie Magan, communications coordinator for the paper mill, in an email to The Leader. “At such time as additional screening is required, PTPC will collect and submit the required samples to a regulated third-party laboratory for testing. Those results will be public record just as all of our permit submittals.”
..

For the full story, pick up a copy of the Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/19/2024

Saltfire Theatre’s ‘An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf’ is remarkably full

By Jason Victor Serinus

“It is going to be challenging to talk about this play without giving away quite a few plot points that are revealed within the unfolding of the story,” read the email.
“We’ve worked hard to keep the secrecy of those revelations and would very much appreciate if you would help us maintain that surprise and delight/shock for our potential audiences. Which means, there is a performer that you might not be able (if you are amenable to this request) to mention at all. And that would be our preference.”

Translation: After you arrive at The Vintage on Water Street, please review Saltfire Theatre’s production of Michael Hollinger’s “An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf” without revealing plot details or character names. Best of luck in all your endeavors.

As much as no reviewer worth the price of a pound of chateaubriand would give away the very surprises that make Saltfire’s meal so special, a specific request to write the most non-specific review possible is about as rare as discovering Michelin-rated cuisine at McDonald’s. Then again, the Leader is no ordinary small-town rag. So, let’s stick to what is and is not on the menu of a Parisian Café so exclusive that it has no menu to begin with.
..

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

11/19/2024

Jefferson Land Trust to sell 47 acres of farmland

Leader staff

In 2023 and 2024, Jefferson Land Trust bought two adjacent farmland parcels, totaling 47 acres, in Chimacum’s Beaver Valley, to place an agricultural easement that permanently protects the property’s prime agricultural soils and ecological habitat values, while also establishing a building envelope.

The easement restrictions are expected to lower the value of the land so the 47 acres of farmland will be sold to the next farmer or farming collaborative at a reduced value.

Jefferson Land Trust plans to sell this protected farmland through an open application process that’s now underway. All interested applicants should read the Request for Proposal and complete a pre-application questionnaire before midnight Nov. 17.

A volunteer community selection committee is reviewing pre-applications in November, and inviting up to 10 applicants to submit full proposals, which will be due in late February of 2025. The applicants invited to submit full proposals will be notified during the first week of December, and will have the option to visit the property on Saturday, Dec. 7.

11/16/2024

We’re losing trust, drifting from skepticism to cynicism

By Thomas Mullen

Tempers flared last week, as Democrats sought to cast blame for the Republican landslide — I was particularly galled when a friend laid the blame on “newspapers who are too chicken to …”

Hold it right there. Losing my cool was a regular occurrence 30 years ago but it takes a lot to get my Irish at age 64.

Journalists, particularly the people in the newspaper business, are the most courageous people I know.

Yes, soldiers and cops are brave, but in my industry, we don’t carry guns, at least not yet.

When I started in this business, most of my colleagues shared one primary goal: to get to the truth and then communicate that truth to our readers.
But truth has traveled a bumpy road lately and, because of that, our readers’ healthy skepticism has drifted toward cynicism. A recent Gallup poll shows a precipitous drop in the perceived credibility of journalists. As of last year, only 19% of those polled rated journalists “very high” on the honesty and ethics scale.
Members of Congress fared even worse at just 6%, but we shouldn’t take comfort in that — we bear some of the blame for that mistrust. There’s plenty of blame to go around, but I’d like to share my perspective of how my industry has changed after 40 years in this business.

When I first stepped upon this path in 1981, there were two kinds of journalism students: those who wanted to make the world a better place and those who wanted to be famous. Or, as we used to joke, the ugly ones and the pretty ones.
The pretty ones wanted to be television reporters and the ugly ones (newspaper reporters) looked down their non-telegenic noses at their television counterparts. That prejudice lasted until the internet came along, bringing with it social media and, in particular, Twitter in 2006. Now, it seemed, every journalist could be famous.
..

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

11/15/2024

County sees unusually low turnout

By Mallory Kruml

While some votes in Jefferson County remain to be counted, the election results as of last Thursday show victories for Democratic candidates across the board.

Voter turnout in the county is expected to reach 85.5% once all ballots are tallied, according to projections from the Washington Secretary of State.

If this estimate holds, it will mark the lowest turnout in the county since before 2008, despite the addition of 887 new registered voters since the last general election.

As of Thursday, 19,557 county votes have been counted, with 4,897 waiting to be processed.

Turnout across the state was also lower than typical, with 76.0% of total ballots expected. In 2020, turnout reached 84.1%. Statewide 2,376,090 votes have been counted; 543,757 are waiting to be processed.

Jefferson County voters are part of both the 6th Congressional District and the 24th Legislative District.

Here’s how they cast their ballots:

6th Congressional District

State Sen. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, has emerged as the new U.S. Representative for the 6th Congressional District, beating state Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Union.

The incumbent, Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, who has held the seat since 2013, did not seek reelection.

11/14/2024

Mayor Faber cleared

by James Robinson

Port Townsend Mayor David Faber has been vindicated on claims he violated city and state ethics rules, following a Nov. 4 ruling from Phil Olbrechts, the city’s ethics hearing officer.

“Judgement is rendered in favor of Mayor Faber,” Olbrechts wrote. “No violations of the City of Port Townsend ethics code are found as alleged in Reverend Cox’s July 15, 2024 ethics complaint as subsequently amended.”

Olbrechts’ ruling came after Cox and Faber, both filed motions for summary judgement. Faber’s motion was granted and Crystal Cox’s was denied. Olbrechts said he will provide a report to city council summarizing the proceedings.

“Crystal Cox's ethics complaint against me was without merit, either factually or legally, and that was borne out by the ethics hearing examiner's dismissal of Cox's complaint this last week,” Faber said. “This was always nothing more than a spurious attempt to attack my credibility by a person angry that I rose to the defense of a transgender teen in our community in 2022. I will continue fighting for the dignity of everyone in our community and won't be cowed by threats, lawsuits, or other forms of negative attention.”

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

11/13/2024

Council hikes property tax

By Mallory Kruml

Hearing no opposition, the Port Townsend City Council unanimously approved a one percent increase to its property tax levy on Nov. 4.

The increase will bring in $25,989 for the city's general fund and $12,190 for its library levy, said Jodi Adams, the city's financial director.

"The increase is just taking the tiniest bite toward trying to keep up with inflation at the city level," Port Townsend Mayor David Faber said during the meeting. "Our budget is dependent on us approving this."

State law permits municipalities with populations over 10,000 to raise their levy by up to one percent annually without a public vote, provided the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis' implicit price deflator (IPD) rate exceeds 1%.
The IPD rate due next year is 2.5%, Adams said.

The 2025 property tax levy is estimated at $4.1 million, based on an estimated rate of $1.36 per $1,000 estimated value. The city's total assessed property value is $2.9 billion.

Under the city's proposed budget for next year, $2.5 million in property taxes will be allocated to the city's general fund. The remaining funds will be allocated to general government debt service, firefighters pension, the library fund and the Mountain View levy.

The increase will go into effect on Jan. 1.

11/09/2024

Hall of Mosses’ biological richness duly noted | Wild Neighbors

By Scott Doggett

Near the foggy heart of Hoh Rain Forest in northwest Jefferson County snakes a trail called the Hall of Mosses where the branches of bigleaf maples wear clubmoss like beards, flying squirrels nestle in canopy 20 stories high, and cougars and elk make tracks with barely a sound.

Though only three-quarters of a mile long, the Hall of Mosses is biologically rich from forest crown to forest floor, a place where life and death, and youth and age, are entwined, and where nature leaves nothing to waste. I spent three hours there on a sunny Saturday in early October. These are my shorthand notes verbatim:

Hoh vits cnter: Hoh RF 922,651 acres. “One of the most spectacular examples of temperate rain forest in the world.” Trail basalt rocks glisten against damp dirt. A thicket @ 90 paces to place biologist Pat asks vits stay back. 1 LG elk, 2 SM chew Sitka spruce shoots.

Pat into radio: “They were born a few months ago & I barely recognize them — they’ve grown so much!” Gushing. Lively eyes. I ask & he sez approx 2,500 elk in ONP [Olympic National Park]. Sez had been 5k.
... For the full story, go to ptleader.com or pick up a copy of this week's Leader

https://www.ptleader.com/stories/hall-of-mosses-biological-richness-duly-noted-wild-neighbors,186853?

The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader

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