Public asks for launch repair

Published 1:30 am Thursday, June 4, 2026

PORT ANGELES — Boaters and other recreational users of the Ediz Hook boat launch want to see replacement of the structure prioritized by the city.

Several people spoke at the Port Angeles City Council meeting Tuesday night during a public hearing on the 2027-32 Capital Facility Plan and Transportation Improvement Plan, which includes Ediz Hook boat launch repairs as a citywide project priority with a 2026 budget of $158,000.

Nick Roberts, a former Port Angeles resident who now lives in Carlsborg, asked the city council to prioritize the boat launch replacement and presented a petition with 1,384 signatures of people who agree.

“I’m standing here to urge you guys to maintain and intensify the pressure on the parks department to prioritize the rebuilding of Ediz Hook boat launch,” Roberts said. “I want to start by saying I’m grateful that this council clearly understands the vital importance of maintaining a boat launch. Port Angeles is, at its core, a coastal hub. Our identity, culture and our local economy are deeply tied to the water.”

The current state of the boat launch is unacceptable, unsafe and hurting the community, Roberts said.

“In 2022-23, after a mitigation project completed by the Navy, this project left the overall facility unprotected and worsened the overall condition of the facility,” the Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) states. “At this time, only eight of the 20 floats remain and spare parts are limited. Adding to this project now consists of a design for a seawall for protection, new floats and boat ramp.”

The total estimated project cost to replace the boat launch is listed at $1.5 million in the CFP, with the design portion expected to cost $158,000.

The facility is in review with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for funding to cover damages caused by a storm. The city should not wait on FEMA for funding, Roberts said.

“The reality of federal disaster aid is FEMA will not fund anything new,” Roberts said. “Their strict rules only allow them to rebuild exactly what was there. Rebuilding the same flawed, outdated structure is a Band-Aid, not a solution.”

The request for proposals for the project (RFP) is expected to be ready to send out this month, city Public Works Director Scott Curtin said.

“This RFP is gonna evaluate where we are and where we need to go,” Curtin said. “(The RFP) is gonna define what are we, what is the new one gonna look like? And then with that I’ll be able to determine with FEMA what they’re gonna pay for, and then we will understand what budget shortfall we have and what we will need to pursue additional funding for.”

The city’s CFP has been available for download at tinyurl.com/PDN-Port-Angeles-CFP since early May.

The 388-page document is a seven-year plan that sets the city’s capital budget for next year and amends the current budget, Finance Director Sarina Carrizosa said.

“It is a living document and a requirement of the (state) Growth Management Act as well as requirement for grant eligibility in many instances,” Carrizosa said. “And so the plan is reviewed and updated yearly to ensure that the city is planning for capital infrastructure to provide public facilities that serve both existing and new developments and, when possible, reducing the cost of serving development as well as ensuring facilities will be in place when new development does occur.”

The CFP takes into consideration rising costs that impact affordability as well as impacts on the ability to deliver vital services, staffing resources to complete projects and grant funding for projects that have been vetted for cost-effective projects, according to Carrizosa’s presentation.

The plan has 25 prioritized projects listed, including the Ediz Hook boat launch repairs as well as the Emergency Operations Center/911 Dispatch (PenCom), a housing pipeline pilot project, A Street improvements, and Eighth Street and 10th Street bike lanes.

The 2027-32 CFP includes a total funding requirement of $188.2 million. Funding sources include $85.3 million in grants, $39 million in utility rates, $15 million from excess reserves for rate stabilization, $11.9 million from the general fund, $9.3 million from the transportation benefit district tax and $4.3 million from real estate excess tax.

The plan includes 115 unfunded projects, which are estimated to cost $164.4 million because the unfunded projects are typically large in scale and costly, according to the presentation.

During the council’s discussion, council member LaTrisha Suggs made a motion to add a project to the CFP that would evaluate the condition and future needs of the city’s baseball and softball facilities with the study including a roadmap for strategic investment, identifying maintenance and capital improvement priorities and positioning the city to pursue grants, lodging tax funding, partnerships and other outside funding sources to improve the facilities.

Her motion passed unanimously.

The council will continue the public hearing and have further discussion of the plan during its June 16 meeting.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.