PORT ANGELES — After running on its last legs for the past month, the Harbor-Works board is ready to decide if the public development authority should be put to rest.
The five board members will vote Thursday on whether the Harbor-Works Development Authority should be dissolved, Chairman Orville Campbell said.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the Port of Port Angeles commissioners’ meeting room, 338 W. First St.
Campbell said Harbor-Works, which the city created in May 2008 to acquire and redevelop the former Rayonier mill site — which has been a state Department of Ecology cleanup site since 2000 — simply has no reason to keep going if it can’t strike a deal with the company.
“I hate to give it up,” he said.
“But I think it’s clear that if we cannot fulfill the mission, that we should stop.”
Rayonier Inc. has remained uninterested in restarting negotiations with Harbor-Works for sale of its 75-acre waterfront site since it sent a letter late July 21 that no deal would happen.
The company’s position remained unchanged despite the state Department of Ecology’s announcement last week that it would provide the public development authority $4 million for the environmental cleanup of the property if a deal occurred by the end of the year.
Two other board members interviewed Tuesday — Jim Hallett and Kaj Ahlburg — also said they would support dissolving Harbor-Works unless given a reason at the meeting to believe that the property can be attained.
“I believe Harbor-Works was formed for a valuable purpose,” Ahlburg said,” but I don’t believe in an agency hanging on after their purpose is over.
“If we cannot accomplish what we set out to do, we should dissolve promptly.”
Said Hallett: “I don’t think there is anything else we can do at this point.”
Howard Ruddell and Jerry Hendricks also serve on the board.
Harbor-Works Executive Director Jeff Lincoln said he doesn’t think the public development authority has any “viable options” if the board decides to keep going.
Any effort to fulfill its mission would be “long shots,” Lincoln said, adding, “that’s just not good public policy.”
While a majority of the Harbor-Works board may vote for dissolving the public development authority, the City Council will have the final say.
City Manager Kent Myers said the council would consider a “vote of concurrence” at its Tuesday meeting if the board wishes to dissolve.
A 30-day public comment period would begin if the council agrees with the board, he said.
Harbor-Works would not officially come to an end until after that ends and the council approves disbanding it.
Myers said the city has no other plans for Harbor-Works that could keep it going.
He said he was disappointed that the board is considering ending Harbor-Works.
He also wasn’t surprised.
“Based on the recent actions taken by Rayonier to cease negotiations . . . it was anticipated,” Myers said.
But Harbor-Works moving out of the picture wouldn’t mean the city wouldn’t be involved in the redevelopment of the former mill site, which is the largest undeveloped private parcel on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Myers said the city will work with the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, or any other potential developer, so that the property can begin contributing jobs for Port Angeles for the first time since the mill closed in 1997.
“We’re willing to explore any opportunity that will create jobs and positive economic development for this area,” he said.
The Blyn-based Jamestown tribe, which was hoping to work through Harbor-Works to develop the property, will work directly with Rayonier if the public development authority dissolves, said Chairman Ron Allen.
But he also said the tribe would look for help from the city and port to make that happen. He said that could come in the form of financial contributions.
“We definitely believe that in order for this thing to come to fruition, all the parties of interest in the community are going to have to come in and play a part,” Allen said.
He said that includes the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe.
The tribe’s “Salish Village” concept includes commercial and residential development, a marina, cruise ship terminal, native cultural and conference centers.
The Port of Port Angeles is also interested in working with the Jamestown S’Klallam to make that concept a reality, said Executive Director Jeff Robb.
Allen said the tribe has not talked to Rayonier about is proposal.
Asked if Rayonier is willing to talk with the Jamestown S’Klallam about its proposal, company spokeswoman Robin Keegan said in an e-mail:
“While we appreciate everyone’s passion about the future use of the property, it is too early to speculate on that at this point.”
Keegan also said in the e-mail that Rayonier has “the utmost respect for Harborworks’ efforts to date, including the work they’ve done on market and feasibility studies and working with others to explore opportunities for the future.”
In the meantime, Myers said an informal group of local civic leaders may be formed to keep the community involved as much as possible in the cleanup and redevelopment of the former mill site.
The 75-acre property on the eastern shore of Port Angeles Harbor is contaminated by heavy metals, PCBs and dioxin left from 68 years of a pulp-mill operation after the Rayonier mill closed in 1997.
He said its responsibility would be to stay in touch with Ecology and Rayonier to ensure that the community’s interests are considered during future decisions regarding the property.
The perception that local interests were not being considered by Ecology and Rayonier was one of the reasons why the city created Harbor-Works.
“There’s been some discussion on that already” between the city and port, Myers said.
“We need to find out how to best become unified.”
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Related story: https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100901/NEWS/309019993/harbor-works-unlikely-to-repay-most-of-13-million-loaned-to-it-by
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
