PORT TOWNSEND — One year after the Fort Worden Lifelong Learning Center Public Development Authority took over management of the campus portion of the state park, it employs between 57 and 100 people and has an annual payroll of $1.5 million.
That makes it one of the largest employers in Jefferson County, said Dave Robison, the of the public development authority.
During its first seven months under the public development authority, the campus portion of the park made a profit of $152,092 — with about $1.9 million in total revenue.
Those figures were released during the Port Townsend special city council meeting held Monday, and can be viewed online at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-WordenPDAreport.
The annual report did not release figures for 2015.
Future plans will focus on developing new programs and tenants and improving services for the tourist shoulder seasons in the spring and fall, expanding food services and renovating officer’s row, according to the agency’s report.
“We are preparing a blueprint for the future growth and expansion of the Lifelong Learning Center, so what we are looking at is what is the appropriate mix of new programs that we want to offer,” Robison said.
The public development authority took over management of the 90-acre campus — which includes more than 70 historical buildings — from Washington State Parks in May 2014.
The state still operates the rest of the 434-acre park.
While profitable overall, the park fell short on sales of Washington State Park Discover Passes from July 2014 through April 30.
The $30 pass allows the bearer into state parks for an entire year.
The annual requirement is to sell $250,000 worth of the passes, and the park experienced a shortfall of $70,552.
The public development authority is renovating parts of the campus to increase the amount of people who visit the park.
“With the PDA management of the campus area, we have initiated a series of improvements,” Robison said.
“Capital improvements really help deliver better customer service to the visitors and users of Fort Worden State Park.”
So far, the public development authority has invested more than $600,000 in renovations that provide “modest improvements to the overnight accommodations and the meeting areas,” Robison said.
The renovations included new furniture and linens in buildings, as well as household items such as soap and coffee filters, which “really make or break a visitor’s stay,” he added.
The biggest renovation was wiring the campus for Internet use.
“We connected Fort Worden to the rest of the world,” Robison said.
“We made an investment of $100,000 in bringing high speed broadband and wi-fi into the entire 90-acre campus.”
The hope is the Internet will “attract groups back to Fort Worden,” he continued.
“There has been a steady decline over the past 10 years of groups, associations, conferences and government meetings coming to Fort Worden because of the lack of wi-fi connectivity.”
Separately, the dilapidated Building 202 is undergoing a $6.1 million renovation that will turn it into a fully functional branch of Peninsula College.
Once renovated, the building will include four general classrooms, a science classroom, a studio/art room, a learning lab, a workforce training room, student study space, reception and advising areas, and faculty offices.
The rest of the 70 historic buildings on the campus can be tailored to suit new partners or used on a temporary basis, Robison said.
He attributed much of the first year’s success to the ability to make decisions locally.
“The decisions being made over the last year are being made at the park level and they are not having to be made down in Olympia,” he said.
“It is more responsive to not only our tenants needs, but to customer needs.”
That is not to say that the public development authority doesn’t work well with the state, he added.
“Our relationship with state parks is great,” Robison said.
“This is a true public-private partnership.
Even though we are a public entity, we are working really well with State Parks and we are figuring out how best to divvy up the responsibilities between what State Parks should do and what the PDA should do to enhance the experience for every type of user that wants to come to Fort Worden,” he said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
