PORT ANGELES — Port of Port Angeles commissioners unanimously approved a Recreation and Public Access Plan, which will allow the port to remain eligible for many state Recreation and Conservation Office grant programs.
Among the RCO grants that require a comprehensive plan are the Boating Facilities Program, the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program. Agencies and organizations are required to update their plan every six years; the 2024 plan will replace the prior plan adopted in 2018.
Commissioners also approved $57,000 on July 23 to purchase material for replacing the terminal roof at William R. Fairchild International Airport. Wilson Easton, the port’s facilities, maintenance and public works manager, said it is at the end of its useful life.
It will be one of the port’s first self-performed capital improvement projects, he said.
“It’s a really good one for us to cut our teeth on to see what our capabilities are, what kind of equipment we might need, what we might need to invest in,” Easton said, citing the regularity of roof repair and replacement needs.
Having the port’s maintenance and facilities crew install the metal roof and condensation blanket also will be more cost effective than working with a contractor, Easton said. He estimated the $97,000 project would come in below the allocated budget amount of $100,000.
In addition to materials, the estimated costs include $5,000 for equipment rental and allocating $35,000 for port labor.
The roof manufacturer will be on site overseeing the installation, he said.
Commissioners also approved a contract amendment with Century West Engineering for $123,297 to rework its design for rehabilitating and reconstructing taxiway A at Fairchild Airport.
A reduction from $5 million to $4 million in Airport Improvement Program funding by the Federal Aviation Administration led the port to scale back the project to meet its budget and timeline.
John Nutter, port director of finance and administration, said the FAA delayed releasing AIP funds for two years and then informed the port it was cutting $1 million from the award.
“In order to accomplish the project with the limited budget, we had to go back to the engineering firm and have them re-engineer several of the areas,” Nutter said.
The FAA will pay 95 percent ($117,227) of Century West’s fee. The port’s 5 percent share ($6,169) likely will be covered by the state, Nutter said, so the change won’t have an impact on the budget.
The port’s original contract with Century West Engineering was for $239,655 and it had already completed about 90 percent of the work.
Meanwhile, one log ship has visited the marine terminal since the beginning of the year, Executive Director Paul Jarkiewicz said, although there have been six more unique vessel visits to the port this year than over the same period last year.
“One big thing that’s still giving us a lot of throughput is wood chips,” Jarkiewicz said. “We’re at about 98,000 tons this year as opposed to 58,000 last year.”
Director of Engineering Chris Hartman reported that the port received three bids for a new log loader. A new Doosan 380 that came in at the lowest bid at $449,000 likely makes the most sense, he said, but his team also is looking at trade-in options to bring the cost down.
The port has allocated $400,000 in its 2025 budget for a smaller 300 Doosan, but the larger machine would be a better for the agency’s needs, he said.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
