North End News

Proposed dock in Port Gamble could close bay to shellfishing

A marina at the old mill site in Port Gamble could generate tourism dollars for the sleepy little town. However, that promise comes at a price.

Across the water, the Port Gamble S’Klallam tribal members use the bay to build their economy and culture, generating income from shellfish harvesting in and around Port Gamble Bay.

With a permanent dock structure, closure for shellfish harvesting in Port Gamble Bay would be imminent.

Jon Rose, president of Olympic Property Group, proposed the idea of a permanent 160-foot dock to be used for hosting tour boats, commercial fishing boats and recreational users.

Rose’s proposal was approved for the second time by the county April 14.

The dock was appealed the first time when Port Gamble Tribal Chairman Ron Charles saw immediate repercussions of proposed float planes and Argosy cruise lines triggering shellfish closures around the bay.

“Anything that could possibly close the bay to shellfish harvesting, we are going to contest it,” Charles said. “We have been a thorn in their sides.”

Shellfish harvesting accounts for $3 million in annual total income for individual fishermen, according the tribe’s Shellfish Management Program’s harvest reviews between 2003-2006.

Rose said he is aware of implications the dock has on the tribe. “I don’t dispute the shellfish closures,” he said.

The Department of Health follows the Food and Drug Administration guidance on the National Sanitation Program, said Mark Toy, environmental engineer for the Washington State Department of Health. “The FDA directs closure in the place of the marina where there are a significant number of boats capable of discharging waste.”

That number, defined by the FDA, is 10 boats, assuming there are two people in each boat.

“This case is a little unusual because he (Rose) is proposing fewer boats but a lot more people,” Toy said.

The main concern initiating closure is the risk of people consuming fecal coliform bacteria, which originates from human waste.

The Health Department warns eating shellfish contaminated by biotoxins is deadly. Biotoxins cannot be destroyed through cooking or freezing.

“It’s devastating for the tribe to have the beds closed,” Charles said. “(Port Gamble Bay) is one of the only bays in Washington clean enough for shellfish harvesting and it’s because of the committed tribe. A lot are polluted by marinas.”

Site of ferry dock moved to Lofall

Temporary passenger-only ferry service scheduled during the 2009 Hood Canal Bridge closure will no longer be routed to Port Gamble.

The current preferred site for the passenger-only service is four miles south of the bridge in the Lofall neighborhood, said Becky Hixson, spokesperson for the Hood Canal Bridge Project.

According to a press release from Washington State Department of Transportation, the decision stems from environmental concerns for Port Gamble Bay.

Hixson said a joint evaluation by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, Department of Natural Resources and Department of Ecology determined the bay quality not suitable to withstand the additional ferry traffic.

“Because of the history with the saw mill, there is a lot of accumulation of wood chips and debris,” said Russ McMillan, Puget Sound initiative coordinator for Department of Ecology. “The site where the passenger ferry dock was proposed is fairly shallow and the boats could disturb the settlement there.”

Hixson said the environmental design and timeline has yet to be evaluated but the change of ferry venues won’t postpone the bridge’s re-construction.

“We are working as hard as we can,” she said. “We are definitely going to meet our May through June closure date for the six- week project.”

Little Boston won’t be little much longer

It took less than one year for the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and Jensen Fey Architects to lay out plans to replace the current 17,000 square-foot Point Casino with a 100,000 square-foot gambling center.

The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe Resort Casino-Hotel is projected to cover 22 acres with hopes of acquiring a total of 120 acres for development of a community and shopping center with walking and hiking trails.

The projected size is half that of the Olhava development in Poulsbo.

From opening day, Feb. 14, 2002, the current casino has grown from 150 slot machines in a 10,000 square-foot building to its current size with more than 580 machines, said Leo Culloo, general manager of Point Casino.

The first phase of the casino-hotel, scheduled for groundbreaking this summer, is estimated to cost more than $100 million, said Doug Quade, chief executive officer of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe. During construction, the Point Casino will remain open and construction plans will be available inside for the public to view. Besides the estimated 975 slot machines, 18 to 20 table games and a few poker tables, the casino will also house a fine dining restaurant, sports bar, martini bar, scotch and cigar bar, buffet, live entertainment and banquet catering.

Completion of the first phase is scheduled for Thanksgiving 2009.

In the second stage, emphasis is placed on the construction of the hotel. Plans are for a 13- to 15-story hotel with a dance club on the top floor.

Depending on revenue generated from the casino, two more hotel towers could be built.

About 200 more employees will be hired due to the size of the hotel-casino, Culloo said.

Gun range to shut down later this year

Every Thursday night, the Kitsap Junior Marksman Club on Hansville Road fills with students eager to learn how to shoot under skillful instructor Mike Hastings.

But at the end of this year the weekly practice will stop and the gun range will be forced to shut down.

A lease from the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, signed earlier this month by tribal representatives and Hastings, states the club must be vacated by Dec. 31.

The tribe, which bought the land from the Department of Natural Resources in 2004, is not interested in having a gun club on its land whatsoever, said Doug Quade, chief executive officer for the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe.

“We bought extra insurance and waived all leasing fees for the year,” he said. “Because they are a nonprofit and provide a good service, we wanted to give them this year to find a new place to set up.”

Ron Charles, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribal Chairman, said his main concern is liability. As present owners, if there were an accident the tribe would be held responsible in a lawsuit, he said.

Since the range opened in 1963, there have been no accidents Hastings said, who is still in shock that the gun club could be gone forever.

Hastings said he doesn’t want to disappoint the kids but feels stuck with nowhere to relocate and, because of the club’s nonprofit nature, no funding to do so either. “There are all sorts of repairs we need to do but can’t yet without a place to move the building to,” Hastings said. “It’s a sad situation. If someone had the ability to donate private property to us, it would be ideal.”

The gun club was the first in the area built specifically as a club for boys and girls and still remains the only indoor range in Kitsap County where minors can learn to shoot.

The Kitsap Junior Marksman’s Club will continue with its Thursday night practices throughout the year.

Paranormal the norm in Port Gamble

In a 150-year-old town, strange creaks and paranormal sightings sound like the perfect set-up for a scary movie. But for many Port Gamble residents, it’s a daily reality.

From sightings of a mother and two kids peering out the Walker-Ames House attic windows, to unexplained bruising and self-deadbolting doors – it happens too often and to too many people to be coincidence, said Shana Smith, Port Gamble manager and museum curator.

“There are strange things that happen in a lot of the buildings in town,” Smith said. “Shoot, it has been here since 1853. It has been here a long time and had a lot things happen.”

After heavy research by physics, sensitives and Evergreen Paranormal – a paranormal research investigative team specializing in the Pacific Northwest – Smith entered the town to SciFi channel’s television show “Ghost Hunters.”

Port Gamble now competes with the nation’s top haunts to air in the series on All Hallow’s Eve.

To vote for the town visit www.scifi.com/ghosthunters.

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