PORT ANGELES — Boaters will have a place to tie up at Port Angeles City Pier come June, a city official has vowed.
Long-awaited mooring floats will be installed at the pier before Port Angeles Maritime Heritage Week begins June 4, city Parks and Recreation Director Corey Delikat announced.
Six new floats, which are being stored on Ediz Hook until boating season begins, will replace five aging floats that were removed in 2012.
The new docks have a permeable, metal surface that will allow sunlight to reach the water and provide better traction than the old wooden-surface floats.
“I think everyone will be really pleased with the quality,” Delikat said in a Tuesday interview.
The new floats will offer 720 linear feet of moorage space for boaters and kayakers and allow for the return of wooden tall ships such as the Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain, Delikat said.
Temporary tie-ups for recreational boaters will be free. Overnight moorage will cost $20.
Installation of the new floats was delayed in 2015, 2016 and 2017 because of stalls associated with the federal grant that helped pay for the infrastructure, Delikat said.
Delikat said he had no concerns about further delays.
“We already have them here,” Delikat said of the new floats.
“It’s just a mater of putting them in the water and hooking them up.”
Installation will begin in early May. The floats are being stored until then to avoid damage in winter storms.
Given the level of community interest, Councilwoman Cherie Kidd suggested last week an opening ceremony for the new floats.
“Let’s make it fun,” Kidd said in a Jan. 30 City Council work session. “Everybody wants them back.”
Delikat told the council that a celebration for the floats will be held in conjunction with Maritime Heritage Week, which is scheduled for June 4-10.
“That will be kind of our kickoff for that,” Delikat said.
Topper Industries, Inc., of Woodland submitted a $194,365 bid for the project, outbidding three companies from Ferndale, Anacortes and Tacoma.
The city used a $257,948 federal Boating Infrastructure Tier II grant to cover $145,774 of the original cost, with the remaining $48,591 coming from real estate excise taxes, Delikat said in a staff memo.
Because the winning bid was lower than the estimated cost, the city used the remainder of the federal grant to help pay for a sixth float that was not in the original project because of the added cost of purchasing an 80-foot gangway.
The new gangway, which replaces a steeper 40-foot ramp, is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Delikat said.
The new floats, gangway and 196-foot-long head walk arrived in two shipments this past fall.
The infrastructure is expected to last for at least 20 boating seasons, Delikat said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
