PORT TOWNSEND — A business plan outlining the way a public development authority will enter into a management agreement for part of Fort Worden State Park will be submitted to the state and an independent consultant for peer review.
The Lifelong Learning Center Public Development Authority board, meeting Thursday, unanimously approved submitting the plan to the state Office of Financial Management as well as the consultant, Rick McPherson, a professor at the University of Washington Foster School of Business.
“We’ve revised this countless times,” said Dave Robison, executive director of the public development authority that aims to oversee a lifelong learning center at the state park.
“It shows how the [authority] and the park system can work together to bring successful new endeavors to Fort Worden,” Robison said.
Under the lifelong learning center concept, parts of the park would be developed into an academic campus that offers educational and recreational options, and would operate in tandem with existing park operations.
The plan proposes that State Parks manage the camping, beach and recreation areas of the park while the Port Townsend-based public development authority handles conference management, program and event management, visitor services, marketing and sales, and new facility development.
“This is a very strong plan that took a lot of work,” said Centrum Executive Director John MacElwee, who attended the meeting of the public development authority at the Cotton Building.
“While there are some details that need to be worked out, the plan indicates that this will happen,” MacElwee said.
A meeting to present the plan that divides responsibilities of the park’s management between the state and PDA is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Oct. 4 at the Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Ave., Port Hadlock.
It will be submitted to the state Parks and Recreation Board on Oct. 25.
It is expected to be addressed at the commission’s Dec. 6 meeting.
The plan says the public development authority can draw on 10 revenue sources, adding up to $2.681 million against expenses of $2.651 million for a net gain of $36,000 in the first year.
The amounts are expected to increase over time, with projections for the 10th year being $3.4 million against expenses of $3.297 million for a $193,000 net gain.
That expectation is based on new programs that have not been determined, along with the improvement of lodging facilities, said Brian Trusty of Pros Consulting of Dallas who presented the plan Thursday.
The plan for the management of the park has evolved since the first public meeting in February and has included consideration of various options for the division of responsibilities between the PDA and the parks system, with the development of a business plan begun in May.
The plan states that conditions for success include close cooperation in policy, management and operations; clear division of roles and responsibilities; an initial cash reserve for the public development authority; and permission for the PDA to pursue its enterprise solutions within the context of lifelong learning.
The plan allocates daily upkeep of facilities to the public development authority and maintenance of underground utilities to the parks.
The PDA would be responsible for plumbing and electrical fixtures while the parks will maintain the wiring and pipes that drive those systems.
This split would provide a unique challenge, since something that appears to be a broken toilet may turn out to be a different issue once the walls are removed.
“Something that seems to be simple may turn out to be an expensive problem,” said Scott Wilson, public development board member and publisher of the Port Townsend-Jefferson County Leader.
Trusty said it would be simpler for the parks system to take over all of the maintenance, but such an arrangement is not feasible.
“You don’t want to be put in the position of having to call the state every time a toilet isn’t working,” he said.
“The PDA is going to need to use some of its revenues to pay for maintenance costs. The park system won’t agree to assuming the maintenance responsibility and let the PDA have all the revenue,” Trusty added.
Another negotiation point is the disposition of campground revenue, estimated as between $460,000 and $500,000.
Trusty proposed that the public development authority receive half of this amount in exchange for taking over the marketing of the park.
“I haven’t been able to get the parks to agree to that, but I haven’t given up,” Trusty said.
Leases are also an issue since current tenants aren’t entitled to a reason when a lease is terminated.
The maximum lease term of 50 years also should be permitted to be extended, Trusty said.
If the PDA takes over, it will encourage large corporations to invest in the park, rehabilitating existing historical housing that is in poor repair as luxury accommodations.
“We are not going to be able to get any large-scale investments under these conditions,” Trusty said.
“At the very least, there will need to be a mechanism that allows the tenant to know why the lease is being terminated and to have some form of redress.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.