Society could illuminate lighthouse
Published 10:12 am Saturday, April 26, 2008
HANSVILLE — A beacon of light cut through the Greater Hansville Community Center Nov. 13 as residents were reassured yet again Kitsap County officials are doing everything they can to gain ownership of the Point No Point Lighthouse — despite the rocky outcroppings of other lighthouse preservation groups hoping to purchase the historical structure and the three acres it sits on.
The lighthouse is currently owned by the U.S. Coast Guard, which has been working toward excessing the property and lighthouse, something the county has been preparing for, Kitsap County Parks Planner Rick Fackler said during his presentation to the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council (GHAAC).
“At Point No Point, the Coast Guard has indicated to the county they will declare the lighthouse as surplus to their needs,” he said. “In anticipation, recently about a year ago, the excession process got under way, and it’s expected to happen very soon… It’s a very competitive process, and the county will be competing against other government and non-profit groups to purchase the lighthouse.”
In anticipation of those other organizations making a bid for the North End landmark, the county has been rallying to support its desire to purchase the property. The first step it took was helping the local docents working at the lighthouse form the Friends of Point No Point, and maintain communication with the United States Lighthouse Society (USLS), Fackler said. The county currently leases the building and property from the Coast Guard and rents it out. The society has expressed interest in moving its national office and lighthouse library, the largest in America, from San Francisco to Point No Point by the end of the year, he said.
“First of all, I’d like to point out that in order to finance this, there must be a certain amount of traffic and gift shops,” said GHAAC member and Point No Point resident Tony Atkinson. “To do that, you need parking. (Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Terry Legg’s) design for parking may help this all work together.”
He was referring to a presentation made the same evening by Legg regarding the revitalization of the Point No Point boat ramp. Atkinson said he hoped both this plan and the boat launch project would work in conjunction for parking and road improvements to minimize overlap. Fackler said that has been a part of the discussion.
A catch-22 the county is also taking into consideration is the mandatory remediation needed to clean up lead-based paint that has settled into the soil from the lighthouse, Fackler said. The Coast Guard won’t excess the property until remediation has occurred, but doesn’t have the funding to do so. The county is is considering cleaning up the site for the Coast Guard so the property can be put on the market.
“The society isn’t relying on the cleaning up is it,” asked GHAAC Chairwoman Judy Foritano. Fackler indicated no, the USLS isn’t. “What you need from this group is the support of the neighbors, correct?”
Fackler said he was hoping the GHAAC would be willing to support the county’s bid to purchase the Point No Point Lighthouse, and a motion was passed by the council to do so.
