PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County is considering the possible sale of the Olympic Peninsula Gateway Visitor Center property with Jefferson Transit Authority.
The sale could lead to easier travel on and off the Peninsula for residents and visitors to both Jefferson and Clallam counties.
Jefferson Transit Authority (JTA) would construct a transit hub, which would allow Jefferson County residents access to Clallam Transit’s route 123 Straight Shot to the Bainbridge ferry, and it would provide Clallam County residents access to JTA’s route 14 Kingston Express.
The discussion of the land transfer took place Monday at the board of county commissioners meeting following the receipt of a JTA letter which expressed interest in purchasing the property.
JTA and Clallam Transit met last year to discuss finding a place for the two transit stations to make a connection, JTA General Manager Nicole Gauthier said.
“We identified the Gateway Visitor Center as a place that would really work well for both transit agencies and for the community,” she said.
The state Department of Transportation awarded JTA with a grant to design a transit center at the site, which would accommodate for the size and weight of buses from both JTA and Clallam Transit, as well as the Dungeness Line buses, Gauthier said.
JTA worked on the now-complete site design with SCJ Alliance over the first six months of the year, Gauthier said.
During public comment, Jefferson County resident Tom Thiersch supported the project but proposed an alternative to the sale.
“Why not simply do a $1 50-year lease?” Thiersch asked. “That way, all the contracts and the ownership and all that stuff remains in the hands of the county.”
Jefferson Transit has not had any discussions about the possibility of a long-term lease, Gauthier said.
“I would be interested in having that discussion,” she said.
Jefferson County Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour said she was excited about the project and tied it into focal points of the Olympic Peninsula tourism strategic planning process.
“I’m almost sitting on my hands and wanting to jump up and down a little bit,” she said. “(In the planning process) we identified connections with Clallam transportation, on and off of the Peninsula, as one of the biggest impediments to tourism.”
If Jefferson Transit purchases the property or engages in a long-term lease with the county, the agency would pursue grants to fund construction of the transit hub, Gauthier said.
“I think it would be a really competitive project, because it would involve multiple agencies,” Gauthier said. “Jefferson and Clallam Transit.”
The hub also would benefit Washington State Ferries as it would allow people access to and from the Peninsula, Gauthier said.
The county is currently involved in a grant which funds electric vehicle charging stations, yet to be installed, at the gateway center.
Central Services Director Shawn Frederick said the county is the site hosts, but not the grant holder.
If the county transfers the ownership of the property to another entity, one of the considerations in that process would need to be JTA’s ability to be the site host, Frederick said.
“There’s probably an opportunity for a conversation to have all the parties,” he said. “I think it’s very doable. It’s been done in the past in other municipalities where a property has been either surplussed or transferred to another entity, and the other entity was able to build that project into their scope of work for that same property and continue to move forward with both projects in parallel.”
The site design discussion includes the possibility of removing the visitor center building.
Steve Shively of the Olympic Peninsula Gateway Visitor Center voiced strong support for the hub and a concern for the possibility of losing visitor guidance.
“I contend that it would be a missed, missed, missed opportunity if we didn’t maintain a presence, both for security and for comfort,” he said.
Shively said travelers who arrive by bus need guidance on how to get to the Olympic Discovery Trail among other things.
“They need that last mile,” he said.
“This would be huge for residents and tourists and everyone,” Commissioner Greg Brotherton said. “I know I would rarely drive to ferries again.”
Eisenhour suggested the board should have another workshop on the topic in a month or so.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.
