PORT ANGELES — Lincoln Park is inching closer to having tall trees cut down on its western boundary that obstruct the flight approach to the Port of Port Angeles’ neighboring William R. Fairchild International Airport.
Port and Federal Aviation Administration officials will meet at the FAA’s Renton office Thursday to discuss parameters of and funding for an environmental assessment for the project at the 147-acre city-owned park, port interim Executive Director Ken O’Hollaren said Monday.
O’Hollaren, who will attend the meeting with Port Airport and Marina Manager Jerry Ludke, discussed the much-debated tree-cutting project and the port’s preliminary 2014 budget at a regular Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon attended by about 60 participants.
“The city is waiting for action from the port,” O’Hollaren said.
“We really hope to gain clarity in that matter.
“They really owe us some guidance to a pathway forward.”
In a later interview, O’Hollaren said it is unlikely he will publicly discuss the results of Thursday’s get-together with the FAA until he makes a presentation at the port commissioners’ regular meeting at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the meeting room of the port administrative building, 338 W. First St., Port Angeles.
After balking at removing trees without redeveloping the park, most City Council members have said they either favor tree removal or that they are leaning in that direction.
Councilmen Dan Gase, Patrick Downie and Brad Collins, and councilman-elect Lee Whetham, have said they favor tree removal, while former Mayor Dan Di Guilio has said he favors tree-cutting with conditions.
Mayor Cherie Kidd was on the same page as O’Hollaren at the luncheon.
“I look forward to working with you on the airport, because we have to have a viable airport,” she said during the question-and-answer portion of the program.
A mid-summer petition against tree removal attracted more than 2,000 signatures.
O’Hollaren said in the interview that the port has “a number of questions on roles and responsibilities of all the players involved” that FAA officials can expect to hear Thursday.
He said the port needs to understand what the FAA is prepared to do regarding the environmental assessment “so we have something to talk to the city about.”
Those questions include the scope of the tree-cutting, what the environmental assessment will review, and the precise amount that the port will be reimbursed for the project, which will be mostly funded by the FAA.
The tree-cutting and revegetation project has been estimated to cost $6.7 million, according to the Lincoln Park master plan.
The FAA has agreed to move forward with funding for tree-removal but has balked at the $6.7 million price tag.
“They think that number can be made smaller,” Ludke said Monday in an interview.
In July, the city added $7.5 million to the project for park redevelopment.
“When the FAA saw that, they put a stop on the environmental assessment,” Ludke said.
“They said if that’s your approach, you need to figure out where the additional $7.5 million is coming from.
“That kind of stopped us in the water.”
City officials, burdened with an expensive environmental harbor cleanup project and an unstable, bluff-perched landfill, have said the city lacks the funds to redevelop the park.
The environmental assessment will be 90 percent funded by the FAA, but Ludke said he does not know the cost.
“I’ve heard $300,000, I’ve heard $500,000,” he said.
O’Hollaren also outlined the port’s preliminary 2014 spending plan, which is expected to be approved Monday.
It shows 14 percent increase in expenditures to $7.3 million on $9.1 million in revenue, a 7 percent increase over 2013.
The port is anticipating a 46 percent increase in log yard activity.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.