PORT ANGELES — Clallam County is asking the state Parks and Recreation Commission to fund a multipurpose trail at Anderson Lake State Park as an addition to the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Commissioners Randy Johnson and Bill Peach voted Tuesday — with Commissioner Mark Ozias excused — to pass a resolution supporting the establishment of the trail through the 476-acre state park in east Jefferson County as a top priority for full funding in the state’s 2019-2021 biennium capital budget.
Once completed, the 130-mile-long Olympic Discovery Trail will connect Port Townsend to La Push.
About 75 percent of the non-motorized, paved trail is in Clallam County.
“Clallam County has spent significant county resources on improving the Olympic Discovery Trail, and long term plans call additional funding for the follow-on phases for improvement,” the resolution states.
Jefferson County is working to build the Eaglemount section of the trail between Four Corners and Discovery Bay.
“Jefferson County is initiating a comprehensive route study that is expected to incorporate the integration of approximately one mile of trails within Anderson Lake State Park in the ODT-E [Eaglemount] alignment that will be finalized in 2018,” the Clallam County resolution states.
The Peninsula Trails Coalition, which is shepherding the development of the ODT, is gathering signatures for a petition to encourage the state Parks and Recreation Commission to give top priority to the Anderson Lake project.
The commission will determine funding priorities and has indicated that regional support is “influential in determining what projects are prioritized,” Clallam County officials said.
The Port Angeles City Council approved a letter of support for the Anderson Lake effort Nov. 7, saying the city has been “very supportive of projects that are in connection with the Olympic Discovery Trail.”
Most of the trail development that would occur within Anderson Lake State Park would be on existing trails.
The improved trail would become part of the ODT and the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. The ODT is envisioned as the western leg of the Pacific Northwest Trail.
Most of the Olympic Discovery Trail has been completed from the Clallam-Jefferson County line to the Elwha River.
New segments are being planned and constructed west of the Elwha River, with several segments already completed west of the river.
In other board action, Clallam County commissioners approved change orders with Port Angeles-based Aldergrove Construction Inc., for a boiler replacement at the county courthouse and improvements to the Clallam County Veterans Center.
The $5,496 change order for the boiler replacement adds labor and materials.
The $4,577 change order for the veterans center is to repair a sign, add concrete at the wheelchair ramp and to replace a damaged sub-surface drain that was found after construction began, county officials said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
