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PORT TOWNSEND -- An agreement to establish a conservation easement around the proposed Port Townsend Make Waves! aquatic recreation center site at Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park is likely to be completed this year.
Port of Port Townsend Deputy Director Jim Pivarnik estimated this week that it could take another six months for the port to work out an agreement with Jefferson Land Trust and the city of Port Townsend that will work for members of Admiralty Audubon of East Jefferson County.
The Audubon group has voiced concerns about the proposed aquatic center opening the door to further encroachment on the nature park that draws bird-watchers, walkers and other recreational uses.

Group wants acreage preserved
The group wants most of the 20-plus acres of the nature park preserved in perpetuity.
Two years ago, it opposed an aquatic center on the site near 12th Street adjacent to the entrance to the park-and-ride entrance.
The conservation agreement represents a compromise.
"The process first needed is to vacate all the city street rights of way," Pivarnik said. "The city seems to be cooperating fully with us on this."
Pivarnik said the port has met with Port Townsend officials, including City Manager David Timmons, as well as Audubon chapter President Rosemary Sikes.
"We would prefer a conservation easement on as much of that property as possible," Sikes said, adding that the group supports the port working with Jefferson Land Trust, which has a long record of preservation in the county.

'Viable trade-off'
Owen Fairbank, Jefferson Land Trust president and Conservation Projects Committee chairman, called the conservation easement proposal at Kah Tai "a viable trade-off" and a "sensible compromise" that would preserve the park around the proposed aquatic center site.
"It seems like it is moving forward," Fairbank said. "It is a way to meet everybody's needs and be accessible to the community."
Sikes said the groups are encouraging the port commissioners to develop a plan for the park's future.
"We are very much encouraging them forward and we're urging the public to write the commissioners in support of that vision," she said.
Karen Nelson, president of Make Waves!, said she was encouraged by the cooperation to reach a compromise through a conservation easement.
Make Waves! has proposed a $10 million aquatic center to support more than 2,000 swimmers who want a new public pool and other recreational facilities in Port Townsend.
"I think it's a win-win for the community," Nelson said, commending the port's approach to the issue of locating a new aquatic center at the Kah Tai corner location.
Nelson said Make Waves! is working with Jefferson Transit to address how the aquatic center will affect Haines Place Park and Ride by using parking space at the facility, which the aquatic center will front, sharing public parking with others.
"The center itself would be an attractive magnate for use at the park and ride," Nelson said, since it would attract more ridership to it by younger and older users who drive less or do not drive at all.
The proposed aquatic center would provide public rest rooms, food services, secured bike storage and improved security, she said.
"There are amenities we could partner with Transit on and provide," she said.
The aquatic center is planned to be privately funded but owned by the port, with the Jefferson Land Trust as a co-signer on the conservation easement and land management agreement.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.

Brenda McMillan's letter in the April 14 edition of the Leader contains two significant misrepresentations of the Make Waves! proposal for an aquatic recreation center sited in the SW corner of Kah Tai Park. As a Make Waves! Board members, I would like to provide the correct information.

The letter states that Make Waves! "...is attempting to build a private swimming pool and health spa facility on public lands....".   The proposal is to build the center with private donations and grants and then give it to the Port as a public asset to be managed as  a community resource.   It is a misrepresentation to call the aquatic recreation center a private facility.

The letter also misrepresents Make Waves! request to co-use  parking spaces at the Haines Place Park & Ride as a "grant" and a "give away".  We have asked to "co-use" the parking space with other users of the Park and Ride Lot.  The parking spaces would not belong to, nor specifically allocated to the aquatic recreation center.  Our studies show there is adequate parking for the facility and other expected uses, except for the major festival weekends when the parking lot is full.  Our proposal is to not interfere with this use by closing the aquatic recreation center  for maintenance  during those weekends. 

The center is expected to generate significant ridership on Jefferson Transit and its location next to the transit hub will provide easy access by Jefferson Transit to all the residents of East Jefferson County.  This is especially important for the young and elderly who may not have access to private transportation and who will be able to ride one bus without transferring to another.

As a frequent visitor to Port Townsend, I have been reading with interest the effort of Make Waves to build a multipurpose aquatic, recreation and fitness center designed to serve all members of the Port Townsend and Jefferson County community.

I have looked carefully at the information provided on the excellent Make Waves website and also have read most of the criticism which has appeared in the press concerning the facility. I can only conclude that the facility is not only urgently needed but that the site selected is ideal and will have no adverse impact on Kah Tai Lagoon Park.

While I am a life long conservationist and ardent defender of natural places, I do not see the proposed facility diminishing the quality or aesthetic of the adjacent park in any meaningful way. And the benefits to the community, particularly the youth of the community, seem clearly to outweigh any marginal impact. In fact the facility’s location adjacent to the park may encourage increased use of the park, making its natural beauty, wildlife and plants accessible to many people, young and old, who would otherwise not have the opportunity to enjoy it.  It is significant, too, that adequate parking and public transportation are already available virtually to the facility’s back door.

As a visitor and potential future resident myself, the concept of the aquatic recreation center enhances in a big way the general attractiveness of the community for future residents of all ages – young couples and singles, families with children and retirees alike. The center will offer something for everyone in a tastefully designed, ecologically sensitive building and in a beautiful location conducive to its purposes.

For members of the community who have questions, I urge you to look at the Make Waves website where many concerns are put to rest with factual information. Or call one of the members of the board. They are individuals of diverse and outstanding talent and experience who have been working tirelessly to bring their vision to fruition and who have carefully considered all options. With accurate information to inform your judgment, you can be readily persuaded that this is the right facility, at the right time, in the right place.

Tom Russell, Salida, Colorado

Parking Requirements for Haines Street Park and Ride Lot

Preliminary Report

Earll M. Murman, PhD
Sam W. Shoen, MBA

February 3, 2010

MAKE WAVES!
P.O. Box 1730
Port Townsend,WA 98368

To the Editor

I have been a member of and contributor to the National Audubon Society since the 1940’s.  I think that the placement of the MAKE WAVES center at the Kah Tai Lagoon Park next to the Park and Ride is an ideal location.  What better way to encourage future generations of children to become interested in the various species in that area?  What better way to encourage everyone to use public transportation to conserve money and fuel?  The access to swimming opportunities will be much easier for all the children from all economic backgrounds because of the bus stop right next door.  This is an extremely important issue for me.  I grew up in an area that did not have public pools.  Every summer children drowned in rivers and lakes because they did not have a place to learn how to swim.  I live out in Kala Point and we do have a pool that is open for six months of the year.  However, it is a private outdoor pool and only accessible to people who live within the Kala Point community and then only when the weather permits. My great grandchildren learned how to swim at the Mountain View Pool, but it is near the end of its capacity to serve our youth, families and seniors.  The City of Port Townsend has done an admirable job to keep the pool and boiler going in the interim until we have the new one. The Port has stepped up to provide the perfect site.  The Make Waves nonprofit is doing its part to ensure that all children in this area grow up with easy and affordable access to aquatic opportunities and I want to thank them for their service to the public.  On the other hand, I have noticed during the several decades I have lived here that the same names appear over and over in your column blasting new ideas that involve economic development or family oriented activities. I don’t believe that these people with narrow notions of possibility represent the vast majority of people in our County. My lifetime support of wildlife has in no way diminished my lifetime belief in the need for healthy activity for all children.

Sincerely

Irene Johnson 

Letter: Let's Make a Splash

"Peninsula" as defined by Webster’s is an area of land almost entirely surrounded by water. The children who grow up here in East Jefferson County absolutely need to learn how to swim. They need to be familiar with water safety techniques. The adults also should have good swimming abilities and water safety skills. We are an active sailing, kayaking and boating community. Swimming is an excellent form of exercise.

Mountain View pool is virtually obsolete, according to studies done, and it cannot be reconstructed in any form. Let's stop this pedantry and acknowledge that the Make Waves efforts to create a new aquatic center for us all has been well thought out, investigated, researched and studied. A small segment of Kah Tai park is the perfect location to build the new pool and will be accessible to all of us.

My husband and I frequently ride our bikes through the park, occasionally walk the trails there and rarely do we see another soul. Just the other day we walked through the trails for the purpose of observation of what we encountered. We saw two other walkers, both alone and walking their dogs. The "wildlife" in view were two mallards and ... that was all.

Please, let's not portray this new aquatic center as "the country club," which it will not be. It will be a wonderful community place for all of us to exercise, enjoy community and stay healthy. Let's work together to create a special environment for us all, especially for the children.

Our hope is that you each get behind this positive effort to build our new community aquatic center. Help to make a splash.

Letter: Make Waves info is at your fingertips

A good deal of misinformation and misunderstanding has appeared in the Letters to the Editor section about the Make Waves effort to build us a nonprofit aquatic recreation center. For those who honestly seek to develop an informed opinion, the website makewavesinpt.org provides much information.  Moreover, if the information you seek is not on the website, Make Waves has always responded promptly to any question submitted to its website.

For example, the professional site-selection matrix that was part of the decision process in selecting the Haines Street site has been available with two clicks of a mouse on this website since December 2008, when it was first presented to the Port Townsend City Council at a public meeting. That site-selection matrix on our website includes both the factors considered and the weighing of various factors. If you have difficulty understanding this matrix, please contact us.

Additional information regarding the economic feasibility of the project, why the Mountain View pool cannot be economically refurbished, professional studies of the potential impact of the project on the Kah Tai flora and fauna, and much more can be found on the website.
We have consistently provided complete and professional information both to the public and governmental bodies on this project and will continue to do so. That some are unwilling to use our website or to simply ask us for information, but rather prefer to create false controversies about supposedly undisclosed information is unfortunate.

We have met with dozens of citizen groups, clubs, neighborhood associations, PTAs and the like, and sat at information tables at the Food Co-op and elsewhere. We have hosted at least a dozen public meetings. We are available to make presentations and answer questions for any group that wishes. Please try this out if you are skeptical.
This project is an important one for our youth, our elderly and our families. Let’s please have a civil and fair discussion of it.

KATIE DAVIS
community relations director, Make Waves

Take a moment and read about what Make Waves! has been up to so far in 2010.  Our goal is to provide Make Waves! Supporters and casual visitors to our site quarterly email news updates.  Stay tuned...our next issue will be posted June, 2010.

March-May2010 Newsletter