HANSVILLE — Tired of seeing the buildings, reminders of Hansville’s fishing resort era, become more weathered, community organizer Fred Nelson and other volunteers decided to do something about it.
When visitors and locals drive into Hansville, one of their first sights is of the former resort buildings at Norwegian Point Park along the beach. The 70-year-old cabins and the boathouse are closed; siding is missing and, until recently, paint was peeling.
Nelson is a member of Friends of Norwegian Point Park, a committee of the Greater Hansville Community Center.
“We thought it’d be nice to spruce them up a little, make them more attractive for residents and visitors,” Nelson said. The Friends pitched the idea to County Commissioner Rob Gelder, who thought it was a great idea.
“This is exactly the kind of community activity I want to support — citizens that have a great idea for how they can improve their community,” Gelder said in an email. “My job is to help find a way to make it all possible.”
The Friends of Norwegian Point Park did just that a few weekends ago. Nelson said more than 30 volunteers came out Sept. 14-16 to pressure-wash and repaint three cabins and the boathouse. The last remaining Hansville resort cabins stand a little cleaner and a little brighter now, painted white and trimmed in Scandinavian colors.
In the past, the cabins have been on the chopping block. Kitsap County bought the five-acre park from the state in 2005 with a $1 million grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office and $500,000 from the county. The state grant prohibited the presence of structures that are not specifically designated for outdoor use.
Of the six cabins, boathouse and restaurant, three cabins were demolished. But folks like Nelson didn’t want to see the remaining structures torn down.
The county returned a portion of the state grant so the buildings would not have to be demolished. While the county doesn’t have funding set aside to refurbish them, Nelson thanked Gelder for the county’s assistance; Gelder’s office donated the paint for the Norwegian Point Park project. Hansville resident Tony Atkinson grew up in Edmonds but remembers coming to Hansville when he was younger.
“I think we have a heritage down there that we need to save,” Atkinson said. “My chief concern is to preserve that footprint down there.”
Atkinson said he also wants to see the former pier restored and deep water access returned to north end fishermen.
“We need an overall plan for development, such as the String of Pearls plan,” he said, referring to the North Kitsap trails plan. “This is the perfect example of what a community can do. If we can get a little piece of something and go to work on it, we can get a lot done.”
Nelson said the committee will be discussing next steps in meetings during fall and winter. Taking a closer look at the state grant — how much is left and what they can do with the money — forming a plan, and making a recommendation to the county for the buildings.
“It would be nice to be able to restore them, to be rented again, but I don’t know if that’s feasible financially,” he said. “We’re just trying to spruce the community up to make it look a little better.”
Gelder said the county is also expecting to revisit previous plans and “see what we can do in the context of the current planning and regulatory environment.”
“Personally, I would love to see the cabins restored and available as vacation rentals,” Gelder said. “It would harken back to its history as a Puget Sound fishing resort, at the same time as they would potentially generate non-tax revenues to support our Parks Department.”
