PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County office of the Washington State University Extension will open its doors in a new location today.
The office, which was in Port Hadlock for 19 years, is leasing the Cupola House at 380 Jefferson St., at Point Hudson, from the Port of Port Townsend.
The office had been closed since the beginning of the month, and staffers have spent the past two weeks setting up the new office.
It occupies the same 2,600 square feet as the old facility, but it is laid out very differently, said WSU Extension County Director Laura Lewis.
Lewis likes the new location “because it will allow us to better connect to the community,” she said.
Lewis said an added non-academic bonus is that WSU merchandise will be sold out of the office.
Hours are 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
Lewis said an open house will be held sometime in April.
“We will invite people in to see our new home,” she said.
“There will be food and tours and something for everyone.”
The menu hasn’t been determined, but Lewis hopes it will include products grown on the WSU farm on Marrowstone Island.
University funds will not be used for the party.
Rather, it will be subsidized by the nonprofit WSU Foundation, she said.
More immediately, a cleanup of the beach located on Port Hudson will take place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.
Volunteers are invited to participate.
The 70-year old Cupola structure was until recently occupied by the Port Townsend Foundry and also is the original home of the Wooden Boat Foundation.
In addition to the nine WSU employees, it will house the Jefferson County Noxious Weed department and the Sea Grants office, both of which share the current facility.
The building, with the distinctive cupola on its roof, had fallen into disrepair and required renovation prior to WSU’s occupation, which was accomplished by Port and WSU staff.
The terms of the five-year lease are $1,700 a month in addition to a $3,400 deposit, payable in two installments.
Several new hires are staffing the facility, including Kellie Hanwood and Cheryl Lowe, who are respectively staffing the intern program and the beach watchers program.
Lowe’s program trains volunteers about waterfront ecology.
In return for the instruction, volunteers are obligated to put in 100 volunteer hours staffing information tables and visiting schools.
For more information, call 370-369-5610, ext. 200 or go to http://county.wsu.edu/jefferson.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
