It’s been a little chilly in the evenings and by the time you are reading this edition, we will be officially into fall.
The farmers market will be winding down this month and snowbirds will be abandoning ship and heading for the warmer latitudes before we know it.
Is anyone looking forward to those 6 p.m. and earlier sunsets? This year when Daylight Savings Time ends, we will be setting our clocks back an hour at 2 a.m. on Nov. 1.
Did you know that all of this Daylight Savings Time stuff is controlled by an organization called the National Institute of Standards and Technology?
I went on its Web site for a few minutes and found that the institute employs hundreds people, including scientists and physicists. But they do a lot more than tell us when to spring ahead and fall back. From automated teller machines and atomic clocks, to mammogram units and semiconductors, the institute makes sure that the things we count on to be accurate are working correctly and providing the country with good information.
Those meters that count the gallons of gas going into our cars and boats are checked on by the folks at the institute. Every once in a while I get an extra candy bar from a vending machine – oops. I wonder why the ATM never gives me an extra $20. Hmmm, it must be those people at the institute.
Foot ferry plans
You haven’t heard much lately from me about the port’s quest to get this passenger ferry system up and running between here and Seattle. We haven’t forgotten about it. In fact the port has been busy working behind the scenes with state, local and federal officials to see where help with operational funding may be available.
The port received a $3.5 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration for vessels and infrastructure. Obligating funds like that brings the port into a new level of accounting and management standards.
The port has revised its procurement manual and other procedures to insure that it is in compliance with federal regulations. The port has issued a request for proposal from all nationwide boat builders to bid on providing us with a new state-of-the-art ferry.
The bids should be received in November, then we will see where we go from there. There are some who think $3.5 million will not be enough for one good boat. With the declining price of aluminum and an economy where some manufacturers will be quite hungry, the port may find a good deal out there.
Early in September, several senior staff members from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray’s office came to Kingston and met with the commissioners and our consultant Pat Jones to see where the senator may be able to help out. Murray is excited about this project and wants to see it work. Her team will be working closely with us to see what they can do.
If you want to see a passenger ferry link between here and Seattle, it could help to contact the senator and show your appreciation for her support and thank her for sending her staff to Kingston. You can do this easily by going to http://murray.senate.gov, then click on “Contact Patty.” At the bottom of the next page is a button to “Email Senator Murray.” It couldn’t hurt if a few dozen Kingston people got in touch with her.
A little homework
Meanwhile, we would like the community of potential riders to do a little homework.
We’d appreciate people who would ride this ferry on a frequent basis – three or more days a week – to email me at pete@petedeboer.com. Please use the subject line “ Kingston POF Data” and include the following information: your name, contact information, how many days a week you would ride, what would be the maximum round trip ticket price you are willing to pay, how you are currently commuting and whether you live inside the boundaries of the Port of Kingston.
With this information, we can establish a fresh base on which to design the startup. Whether you live inside or outside of the port district has nothing to do with our progress, we would simply like to know what percentage of riders will come from other areas. This can help us with a more regional funding base. Please pass pass the word on the others.
Homecoming coming
A big event scheduled for the third week of October will be the Kingston High School Buccaneers homecoming week. There are some community-wide festivities planned and one or two of the events will be happening down at the port in Mike Wallace Park. Look in the Greater Kingston Community Chamber of Commerce portion of the Kingston Community News for more details. It should be a lot of fun.
Other things happening down at the port these days include our preparations for the holiday season.
We will be bringing in a 30- to 40-foot noble fir and decorating it just like Rockefeller Center in New York City. We will be concentrating a lot of the decorations in the new grass and shrub area along the waterfront and on the performing arts pavilion.
Next month we are working on a new flag pavilion for the port. Flags of visiting yacht clubs and special events will be displayed on a nicely appointed nautical flagstaff with a yardarm to support various flags, pennants and official weather warnings. I will fill you in on that next month.
Until then, enjoy the cool evenings and great fall sunsets. And as always, thank you for reading this stuff. I hope that you find something interesting and informative here.
I think this Community News publication is one of the neatest things we have in our town. I hope you do, too.
Pete DeBoer is a Port of Kingston Commissioner.
