SEQUIM – The City of Sequim has completed their proposal to take over ownership of John Wayne Marina from the Port of Port Angeles, and it calls for the transfer of the marina to the city with no money changing hands, a concept that Port officials and Port Commissioners a year ago said they would not support.

The proposal does not mention forming a partnership with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, an idea that was floated by both the city and the tribe in January. The tribe did share the cost of a study with the city leading up to writing the proposal, but Tribe CEO Ron Allen says, for now, the tribe has cancelled plans to submit a proposal of their own.

“We’re going to step back from a tribal pitch and wait to see if we can’t work something out with Sequim. If that happens, if they end up working out a deal with the Port, we’re very confident that they will be reaching back to us because of our management expertise and interest in the marina itself.”

Sequim City Council voted 6-0 to direct staff to submit the proposal by the December 10 deadline.

The proposal begins by pointing out the difference between the City’s and the Port’s priorities for the marina. It says the City’s primary focus would be to maintain public access to the waterfront and a public voice in the future of the marina, while the Port’s overriding mission is to create jobs, it says.

The City’s plan is to look at finding new ways to create revenue at the marina and to consider reducing the size of the infrastructure that would have to be maintained.

Assistant City Manager Charisse Deschenes says the marina would be treated as an enterprise fund, similar to a city utility.

“Similar to an enterprise fund in which anything that is submitted into that fund would be used for the marina and we wouldn’t use the marina funds for other items, such as, you know, fixing roads or something like that. That would go back to the marina.”

The proposal says Sequim would use the ten-year window they have before major repairs to the boat slips are needed to build up the fund. If it becomes evident that revenues will not support needed repairs, they would look at reducing the number of slips to reduce costs.

We asked Allen if there was any reason to think Port officials have changed their minds about transferring ownership for a zero-dollar price.

“I think that Sequim does think that because of the liability, they’re trying to persuade the Port it’s in their interest to transfer that liability over to Sequim, and at that in itself is worth the value of trying to add any additional purchase price. So, the Port was always looking for, you know, somewhere in the range of 6 million, plus taking over the liability and, of course, it’s all in negotiation. So so that’s going to be the subject of discussions and negotiations once the Port receives the formal pitch.”

For the record, Sequim City Manager Charlie Bush is out of town and unavailable for comment.

(City of Sequim photo)