PORT ANGELES – The City of Port Angeles has abandoned the idea of locating a Joint Public Safety Facility on the practice field next to the Volunteer Field baseball diamonds.
At a special public meeting Tuesday night, City Council went against the recommendation of the City Manager, the Chief of Police, the Fire Chief and the Parks and Rec Director and voted 5-1 to discontinue the effort to put the facility on City property. Councilor Brendan Meyer was the lone vote in favor, and Councilor Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin was not present.
Mayor Kate Dexter says the decision was based solely on public opinion and new information received during public comment.
“What I took away from that, and what I heard other council members articulate was similar, which is that those two properties really can’t be distinguished as two separate properties. That the way they are used, it is one whole property.”
Significantly, the council did not direct staff to continue to explore other City properties, but did direct staff to perform due diligence of an alternative site located at 19th and O Streets, as recommended by Clallam County. The motion carried 4-2, with Deputy Mayor Meyer and Council member Suggs opposed.
The contract to get a $90,000 geo-survey performed on the practice field was never completed, so that money is retained for now, but a similar process will have to be undertaken at the Port property as well.
The City and County are attempting to build a facility that would house the County’s emergency operations center as well as the City’s regional emergency dispatch center and a new west-side City fire station.