On most weekends (and many weekdays), Liberty Bay and the Poulsbo Marina are home to anchored and docked visitors from all around the Northwest. Bring your family down to Waterfront Park … you might even see a seaplane arriving at or departing from the Port’s FAA-recognized Seaplane Base. As usual, there is a lot going on at the Port of Poulsbo:
• The new Wi-Fi system installation is almost completed.
• Major electrical service on the docks has been upgraded.
• Siltation in the bay is jeopardizing moorage in the marina, and dredging options are being explored (during a recent minus tide, the port’s office barge was sitting in the mud).
• The port and the city of Poulsbo are planning their third annual port-city meeting.
Port reorganization
As recently reported, two well-defined management positions have been created: business manager and maintenance manager. Each employee reports directly to the elected commissioners for policy guidance and delegations of authority. The position of maintenance manager is no longer vacant. The port is quite pleased to welcome aboard Jared Hofer, who recently retired from the Navy as a master chief petty officer with exceptional experience and stellar recommendations. Mr. Hofer reported for duty in mid-July.
Solicitation for legal counsel
The port recently sought applicants for the position of local counsel. The goal was to have available a Poulsbo law firm for advice and representation on matters not otherwise handled by the port’s maritime-focused counsel in Bellingham. The port has selected attorney Matt Lind, and the firm of Sherrard McGonagle Tizzano and Lind. There is more good news : There is no pending or expected litigation on the legal horizon. Welcome aboard, Mr. Lind.
Port district finances
Commissioner Swann’s attendance at the recent Washington Public Ports Association in Vancouver was most certainly a valuable use of time and money for the port. Conferences covering a magnitude of issues for the 75 port districts are especially valuable for port-operated, recreational marinas. From several discussions with commissioners from these ports, it became evident that a common thread exists for all of us: Smaller recreational marinas are having an extremely difficult time covering expenses. There is even one marina considering privatization…. selling to a commercial owner.
Here in Poulsbo, maintenance issues and unplanned expenses are challenging port district finances. Taxpayers, the “owners” of the marina, argue that moorage rates are substantially lower than market rate and ask why they must subsidize rates for boaters. Boaters have been heard to say that they should get a reduced rate because the marina is sub-standard and a little “shabby,” and that taxpayers need to contribute more.
The bottom line, in at least one commissioner’s view, is simple: It is time to again address moorage rate increases and port district tax rates. For example, for a $1 million waterfront property on the eastern shore of Liberty Bay, at a mill rate of .30, the port district tax is only $300. (Western shore, million dollar, waterfront properties are outside the sistrict and do not pay port taxes.) A contributing factor has been port commissioner reluctance over the last decade to impose reasonable moorage rates to reflect increasing expenses and rates charged by other West Sound marinas.
To be clear, to borrow $4 million for creosote breakwater removal and making needed capital improvements, the commissioners have been told to expect monthly loan repayments of $12,000! For a marina currently struggling to “break-even” under current moorage and tax rates, someone needs to ask: Where is the money coming from?
Annexation 3.0
After two failed annexation attempts by the port, the board has voted to move forward with a third, more modest proposal. Last year it was realized that the port’s marina, for the most part, was outside the port district. The same is true for Liberty Bay Marina. Fifty-two liveaboard boaters renting slips at these marinas have represented that they permanently or continuously reside on their boats and should be voters in the port district.
The legal issue — perceived by some as a “stumbling block” — is this: Is a non-property owner/boater a qualified voter for the annexation of state-owned aquatic lands? In reviewing Washington statutory law, one might conclude that only actual property owners can agree to a government agency’s expansion of jurisdiction via the annexation process. Without clear law on point – either statutory or court decision – the matter is “novel” and “untested,” in the words of the port’s legal counsel. The board considered a suggestion favoring a request for an attorney general opinion, the route routinely taken to answer questions on applicable law. However, the suggestion was rejected as unnecessarily delaying an August deadline for making the November election ballot.
And why does this matter, and what is the urgency, you might ask. Hopefully it never will matter. Any urgency is self-imposed. A challenge to future port ballot initiatives, based on a disqualified voter pool including newly annexed liveaboard voters, could prove to be unsettling, cumbersome and costly for the port … while attorney general opinions are still free.
Second annual seaplane fly-in
The Washington Seaplane Pilots Association “fly-in” recently was a total success. Approximately a dozen or so planes and
pilots visited Poulsbo. Kudos to the North Kitsap Herald for its front page coverage of these special visitors. Currently the port has only a single dock for seaplane moorage, and floats were used to accommodate the association. Planning by the port for expanding moorage options includes a dock configuration for four planes’ moorage.
Port quiz
There were no “guesstimates” on the military term “face the music.” Nowadays this expression relates to having to confront the consequences of one’s questionable actions. It’s origin is the British Royal Service. A soldier being court-martialed was required to face drummers as sentence was announce.
How about another purely nautical terms: “three sheets to the wind?” Send your best “guess” on this mariner’s term to the port’s email address, commissioner.swann@portofpoulsbo.com. The first response with the correct answer will be recognized in The Scuttlebutt’s next issue.
Got a naval term to offer? Don’t be shy … you too can contribute to our community’s nautical heritage and The Scuttlebutt.
