Future just around the corner

Let’s say goodbye to the summer of 2008. Taking a month off from writing this column leaves a lot of things to be discussed.

My fuel consumption tactics of “going slow” in the boat worked out and this year I went just as far as last year and used less than half the fuel. I just plugged a good Nelson DeMille novel into the CD player and enjoyed the trip. After traveling over 150 miles at 6 knots, I still had two more discs to hear when I got home.

The Kingston Cove Yacht Club members attending our annual Labor Day rendezvous at Lopez Island had a grand time and everyone made it home safe and sound. There is no better place to be on nice summer days than out on the water in the Pacific Northwest!

I sure hope that everyone had a chance to catch some or all of the Concerts on the Cove during August. That series was very successful and should turn out to be one of Kingston’s finest summertime traditions. It won’t be long before the Downtown Kingston Association will be looking for sponsors for next year’s entertainment.

From what I have seen, the Kingston Farmers Market has also had a great year. There seems to be more fresh produce available and that sure is neat considering how the cost of things has gone up lately. And, the market seems to be one of the best places to have lunch on Saturdays.

If you missed the “Paddle Kitsap” event at the end of July, that was quite a project. The paddlers have already scheduled next year’s trek for the same weekend. In their critiques of the program, all of the participants were thoroughly pleased with the hospitality shown by the great folks in Kingston.

New stuff at the park

We’ve been planning and designing lots of new stuff down at the port to make our little harbor-side park more enjoyable. If you like the new lawn that replaced the old asphalt drive along the sea wall, you will really enjoy the new space we will create when the three bio-swales (those ditches between the parking lot and the boat moorings) are replaced with more level lawn.

Late in the spring and early summer, we noticed several families setting up on the edge of the ditch and having wonderful picnics, but there was not much level space for them to enjoy the park. That got us thinking about how we could make that area more usable. We found new technology available to replace the ditches with buried filtration systems and will be working on that. At the end of this project, the green lawn of the park will continue along the sea wall all the way to the boat launch ramp and the grade of the grass surface will be brought up to the level of the rest of the park. New trees and plantings will make this a truly enjoyable gathering spot for families and events.

Waterborne-transit money

Let’s talk for a minute about our federal grant to start waterborne transit from Kingston to Seattle. The grant money is now ours to spend and here’s how it works. These dollars are called “capital” funds. They used to be used for acquisition of boats and infrastructure to operate them from. We don’t actually get a big check from the other Washington. When we as a “Water Transit Authority” decide we have found a piece of hardware or a structure that fits our bill, we purchase it and fax the invoice to our fund manager at the federal Department of Transportation and they pay the bill. That’s the simple explanation and there are many more details.

This money can’t be used at all for funding the operation of any vessels. So we have to develop a program to subsidize the fuel and wages needed to operate the vessels. Last month, the barge used by Aqua Express operators became available and the port picked it up for $50,000. Having that barge removed and replaced with something else would have doubled or tripled the costs. We are negotiating now for the purchase of the ramp structure that connects the barge to the dock.

You may have noticed the use of the word “transit” and not passenger-only ferry. That’s because as a result of being granted the federal funds for this project, we have been determined to be a transit authority. Our buses however will float. Being in the transit business gives the port access to other sources of funding down stream. We will keep you posted. All of our discussions on this project should all be directed towards a “waterborne transit service.”

North Beach bulkhead

The FEMA project to repair our North Beach bulkhead is nearly ready to start. The wall took a pretty bad hit in a storm two years ago and we want to get it fixed before another one makes it even worse. Bids should be opened this month and there are several periods of low tides that need to coincide with the project. This new, modern sea wall will hopefully last many decades and preserve the integrity of the support structure for the roadway leaving the Washington State Ferries’ dock.

Marina expansion

The latest initiative passed at last month’s port meeting began the process of expanding the size of the marina. We should be entering into a feasibility study phase within a month or two. This will be a long-term project and is one of the targets established in our citizen-produced master plan three years ago. My comments were that if it will take years to accomplish, then we better get started. I like to get things done.

I could go on and on but the editor says that the edge of the page is getting pretty close. I want to tell you though that I did retire from my business last month so if you see me at the post office or somewhere else around town, I should have time to fill you in on details about some of these issues.

But I can’t forget the Nautical Term of the Month. This one is short: HULL DOWN. This is when a ship is so far off and over the horizon that you can only see her masts. I’m sure glad the world isn’t flat!

So, I hope you found something interesting or informative here and as always, thanks for reading this stuff. I’ll be seeing you around town.