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Port Angeles lodging tax committee OKs $11,000 sign, turns down Bubble, Avenue of People

Published 5:16 am Thursday, September 25, 2008

By Tom Callis

PORT ANGELES — An old-fashioned sign depicting artwork from a 1865 map of Port Angeles is likely to welcome those arriving to the city via the MV Coho ferry sometime next year.

The five-member Port Angeles Lodging Tax Advisory Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to allocate $11,175 for the project, proposed by sign maker Jackson Smart of Jackson’s SignArt Studio.

Also receiving a nod from the Port Angeles Lodging Tax Advisory Committee:

  • $18,000 for interpretive signs proposed by Smart.

  • $160,000 for a westward expansion of the Olympic Discovery Trail.

    The Bubble, an inflatable sports facility was among the proposals denied funding.

    The Friends of the Fieldhouse had requested $350,000 over seven years.

    James Schouten of the group said he plans to take the issue to the City Council.

    “By no means is the project dead,” he said.

    “We are still hopeful on being able to advance it.

    “It’s certainly not going as quickly as expected.”

    The other three proposals denied funding were:

  • $40,000 for additional Avenue of the People statues on Laurel Street in downtown Port Angeles.

  • $105,000 over three years to the Clallam County Historical Society’s project at the former Lincoln School.

  • $50,000 asphalt for an eastward leg of the Discovery Trail.

    The committee approved a total of $189,000 in funding for tourism-related projects out of a $350,000 budget.

    Upon City Council approval, the funds will be distributed next year.

    The funding comes from a 4 percent room tax from hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast establishments.

    The money can be spent only on tourism-related projects, such as public art and attractions.

    Karen Rogers, committee chair, said the City Council probably will consider approval of the proposals in November.

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