You know, it really does make you wonder. Given all the factors involved - especially the depressed economy of Port Angeles and the shrinking number of tourists actually visiting Port Angeles, along with the reduced number of ferry trips from Port Angeles to Victoria - why, why would anyone think it was a good idea to build a new, four-story hotel downtown? As has been pointed out elsewhere, for the vast majority of the year, the existing (and admittedly shitty) hotels in town struggle to stay above 50% occupancy rates. So what would compel anyone to want to "invest" in such a seemingly senseless venture?
It makes you wonder.
Very much related to that, can downtown Port Angeles really support two new restaurants? Really? Owing to the expected influx of people...Who will be working at the two new restaurants? I mean, where will the customers come from for these proposed new rooms and restaurants? A new hotel isn't a tourist draw, so doesn't it seem likely that these new places will, at best, just cannibalize customers from existing places? That seems the most likely outcome to me.Which might make you wonder...Why?
As for the "need" for more parking downtown...Oh, please! A three level parking garage? What, has Larry Williams suddenly discovered he's a member of the Elwha and returned to Port Angeles?
Now, mind you, if this was the Jamestown folks, I might - might - have a slightly different view of this. They have a track record of success, and a legitimately marketable "brand" to potentially lure in the punters. But the Elwha? Uh...Not quite. Every time I ever went out to their casino, I saw the same soggy mattresses in the same shabby yards lining the route in. And once you got there, the muddy parking lot was more potholes than not. It was cheap, tacky and awful, which, the wags among you might say, makes them ideal candidates for downtown Port Angeles. (And admittedly, if they can build a three-story mud parking structure, complete with potholes, that might be something to see.)
But, again...Wondering...Why?
Oh, and remember, tribal members will have preference for employment at the new places, so this can't even be pitched as a "jobs" idea, really. Other than the jobs that absolutely will be displaced (and possibly eliminated) due to the disruptive nature of this project. So why is the City seemingly so gung-ho for this?
And why is the tribe so gung-ho for the Niichel property? After all, it's got a million dollar balloon payment on it coming due, and...
Wait...a...minute. Oh, it all comes together now. Even the bits that don't make sense, kind of make sense if...
Now, when I was there, everyone in City Hall was positively paranoid about the Elwha getting more of a (tax-free!) toehold in Port Angeles. There were endless conniptions and lots of handwringing over their tribal cultural center when it went in. There was lots (and I do mean lots) of worried talk about ever more of the town being "taken over" (tax-free!) by the Elwha. Sure, it was racist and tacky, but...It is Port Angeles we're talking about.
And, as we all know, Port Angeles doesn't have a million dollars for that upcoming balloon payment. Again, when I was there, the fund created for that payment was actually being drained by the City, rather than added to, such was their excellent and forward-thinking financial planning.
So the City was in a pickle. And not the kind you could get out of with a million pickleball paddles, either. No, it would have to be a million dollars. Which, again, they don't have.
Thus, enter the Elwha. They do indeed get a further toehold (tax-free!) in the City, and the City gets off the hook (they hope) for a million dollars. The Elwha get to launder, er, I mean invest their money in a huge project, one that will likely disrupt and destroy existing jobs, while creating more jobs (tax-free!) for tribal members. Existing downtown businesses may well be harmed, the City will lose tax dollars (get familiar with the phrase "held in trust"), and yet, officially, the City has to smile and take it, and pretend to be excited for a project that exploits their existing financial hardship, while also creating future ones. But in the meantime, smile, Mayor Downie! Smile, Cherie! You just got rolled (again), you just got played (again), and you have to eat shit and smile, smile, smile. All these hits to your tax revenue are "tomorrow problems," right? So, smiles everyone, smiles! Because it turns out, once again, that Port Angeles is Fantasy Island.
We just need to get Pat Downie a nice, white suit...
IF they can keep things clean and provide the bare minimum of customer service then the other hotels should rightfully go out of business or at least start doing a better job. I can't recommend any local hotel at this point.
ReplyDeleteIf they think they can start construction in 6-8 months when they haven't even talked to all the property owners yet then there must be someone at city hall greasing the wheels. My money is on City Planner Nathan West, who just so happens to be on the board of the Port Angeles Waterfront Center (aka the longed dreamed of convention center). A classy hotel down the block would definitely make it a more appealing place for a convention.
I stumbled across this FAQ for the convention center the other day: https://pencol.edu/sites/default/files/Foundation/Foundation%20Documents/PC-Foundation_PAWC-FAQ.pdf
Along with a lot of bullshit spin it helpfully includes a list of the committee members: S. Brooke Taylor, Judith Morris, Karen McCormick, Dorothy Field, Bill Kindler, Dan Wilder, Sr., and Nathan West.
Points 32, 33 and 34 are also interesting:
"32. Will this facility be designed to serve as a conference center as well as a performing and fine arts center?
It is clear that Port Angeles is in need of a conference center. The committee is considering designing the facility to include a conference center. The architect consultant hired to assist the committee will conduct a needs assessment that will be used to determine whether a conference center is feasible and can be combined with a performing and fine arts center.
33. How will parking be addressed?
There are currently several publicly owned parking lots in the downtown area. The architect consultant will address parking needs as part of the feasibility study.
34. How will money be raised to construct a larger project which includes a conference center?
The committee envisions using existing contributions, which total $10.5 million, as leverage toward securing grants and other funding. Traditional charitable fundraising methods involving businesses and individuals will be employed as well."
About the same time the Mexican company that bought the Mill is trying to figure out what it is going to do with it! Hmmmm.
DeleteYa got it all wrong man. When they get the gaming licenses in place the Coho will double its trips to Victoria and probably start a new schedule to the San Juan Islands and Clallam Bay so all those fat cats can come and gamble on Port Angeles' new and improved waterfront. Edna is all smiles so you know it's got to be good for poor angeles.
ReplyDeleteYou know Victoria already has the big casino in View Royal, on the main drag off the highway? With big multi-level parking building attached?
DeleteAnd, Victoria, along with the BC Lottery Corporation, has been seeking a site in downtown Victoria for a new casino? You know? As in "Victoria"? One of Conde Naste' top 5 destinations in the world?
Silly Port Angeles. As if it has anything to offer, to compete with Victoria. Other that the museum of ongoing stupid.
The architects who volunteered and came up with a downtown plan a few years ago recommended buildings below the bluff should not obstruct the mountain views. A four story structure definitely obstructs the view. The head of the Pacific Tsunami Center was at Peninsula College last week and advised that liquidation will occur downtown during the next earthquake and the tsunami following that will engulf to 3rd Street.
ReplyDeleteCarry on.
Liquifaction, not liquidation as spellchecker would say.
DeleteJust a word correction here.. the effect on loose soils with a high water table during a significant earthquake is called " liquefaction".
DeleteYes. We remember "sluicing the hogback", where the bright people of Port Angeles first built downtown too close to the water/shoreline in the first place, resulting in their stores getting flooded out at high tides, and then embarked on the mining technique of using water cannons to washed down the surrounding hills to raise ground level.
First built on sand too close to the water, and then built up with loose soil. Perfect.
Yes. Port Angeles has a rich history of "stupid".
Just a word correction here..."Wash" is, I believe, what you were hosing for here...
DeleteI think 10:16 just stumbled upon a great new business idea to draw lots of tourists to fill this new hotel: The Port Angeles Grand Museum of Ineptitude & Insolvency. It could be filled with innumerable exhibits, large and small, of doomed-to-fail projects and ruinous decisions which have defined PA.
DeleteAfter all, people like it when you poke fun at yourself.
And the bonus is that it'd be such an entertaining laughingstock that it'd keep the population level well in check.
"Welcome! My name is Jeff Lincoln. Won't you pleased allow me to show you around the Harbor-Works wing of the museum..."
DeleteLOL! And, jobs for all the bright lights that have made Port Angeles what it is today. Jeff for Harbor Works, Cutler for the Turd Tank, etc., etc. All recounting the events that led to the disasters we see today.
DeleteWould it be appropriate to have a pickle ball court in a museum? Maybe with a Betsy Wharton pickle-themed snack bar attached?
DeleteWasn't Betsy trying to sell her pickle business?
DeleteStill annoys me that she has this quote on her website: "Best pickles this side of the lower eastside"
— Glen, New Jersey
Glen "turd tank" Cutler is from New Jersey. Hmmm....
I think Port Angeles would be a much better place if the Lower Elwha and Jamestown tribes could take back more of their ancestral lands and re-brand the area as one that embodies a rich cultural and environmental (as opposed to racist,resource-explotive, nature-destroying) heritage.
ReplyDeleteSeriously.
But that would take grand vision to even start down such a road.
DeleteAnd you can't fix lumberjacks.
point well made re: tax base, as well as balloon payment. since its a reactive, rather than proactive council may be best outcome can hope for.
ReplyDeletewhile market for support of all motels in area probably non-extant, look at it as potential serenity house expansion for all those budget types east of lincoln. rehab is definitely growth industry here, after of course medical profession caused opioid problem via presciption in first place. can't figure out why olympic medical center doesnt just pro bono the whole rehab process given they helped creat problem. dont rich white folk feel guilt? and i recall plenty comment this blog how nasty the extant motels are.
while yes the big one will wipe out everything north of third downtown tsunami wise, probably not in city's best economic interests to do moratorium, and given height of structure may make great viewing platform/safety net for that event. as for view to mountains oftimes clouded up, you sure that wasnt recommendation not to block rich bluff folks bluewater views?
Kinda makes sense, if the Tribe can put the land in government trust then no one can make them do the toxic clean up so they move right in with immunity to the environmental laws the rest of us live under. Where can i apply to be a tribe member?
DeleteThe same could be done for the rayonier property as soon as you can get both tribes in the same room long enough to discuss it.
DeleteOn the bright side the tsunami is our friend. it will remove both the old nissan mill and scour the harbor thereby saving $100 millions, depositing the detritus somewhere around I-5...plus set up downtown for redevelopment. Its an act of God.
ReplyDeleteAnd the sooner the better so it will save all this money they are about to "invest" in its path.
DeleteIf the tribe buys the land and puts it into Federal Trust (as most tribal lands are) then no sales tax is collected, no property tax, no lodging tax. (Welcome to several court cases that have held up.)
ReplyDeleteThe Feds won't easily allow a casino at the outset, but once lands are "IN TRUST" they can become casinos, without any intervention or oversight by what the local town wants, as has been evidenced by a number of other casinos around the country.
The size of the "two restaurants" would make me think..."hmmm, pretty easy to make them into a casino".
I think our city is making a dumb move here by selling the property. They should lease the property -- maybe a 100 year lease, but hold ownership of it.
But, as dumb as our city attorney is, he wouldn't know how to structure that deal properly.
Held in Trust...Held hostage...Just so long as someone is holding City Hall back from doing anything intelligent, right? Isn't that the important thing?
DeleteThe Elwhas clearly have a complete lack of business acumen compared to the Jamestowns. Besides their joke of a casino, consider their new Elwha Food and Fuel west of town. Acres of pavement to accommodate all the business for the many pumps dispensing overpriced fuel, always empty. The much promoted "beer cave" featuring high prices combined with poor selection, always empty. Maybe they should go to The Longhouse and learn a thing or two.
ReplyDeleteWe do have to remember we're talking about Port Angeles, where they have been screwing up everything for a 100 years, and counting.
DeleteYou do know the Elwha have built a new longhouse on the highway which precedes the relocation of their casino to the highway.
ReplyDeleteYou are well connected enough to know there were two other seasoned hospitality operators interested in the property.
Time will tell.
Dale
You all might want to look at Glenn Wiggins' proposal to route 101 out 112 and down Dan Kelly Rd., instead of rebuilding the Elwha bridge. Can someone say what it would do for land values on the east end of 112? Cause Comm. Johnson's Green Crow Co. has a big parcel on the bend there, already zoned for large-lot residential. What is Green Crow doing with residnetial land in the first place? Rainier Evergreen and Lakeside Industries have big acreage there too. Surely Wiggins knows all those guys. Me, I'm just curious...
ReplyDeleteDon't recall if he ever did work there, but nonetheless Wiggins is a Green Crow man through and through. Green Crow has long been in the business of timberland conversion (to subdivisions}. And they do have quite extensive holdings in that area. Johnson has long had underlings carry out his political dirty work, mostly by his power drunken little lackey Tom Swanson, but also Wiggins.
DeleteThe Mexican mill will start recycling craft/cardboard and stink up the place. The hotel will turn into a casino. We can start calling the town Stink and Clink!
ReplyDeleteWonderful....
Stink, Clink, Drink and Sink. (And we don't care what them thar outsiders Think!)
DeleteTravel to Poulsbo if you want to see what a vital downtown corridor is. Parking might be a challenge but it's worth it. PA is an absolute joke. Of course I hurt their cause by spreading the word every chance I get. Lol. Give up and get out folks. There is hope elsewhere. :D
ReplyDeleteYou're right. There are lots of places that are "happening". Seems the local cronies don't get the fact that when they work so hard to game the system for their own personal benefit, the stink associated with that way of life permeates the whole community. People go around with that stink on their cloths, and in their noses, and don't expect much from the town they live in. They know they are not among the few elites.
DeleteAnd the place just grinds along like an old roadkill carcass.
More funds continue to pour into the area as waterfront land becomes scarce. You just didnt have enough patience to allow the recession to end and times to change.
ReplyDeleteScarce waterfront land for development? Where? Certainly not in Port Angeles. Probably one of the few places left on earth where prime develop-able land sits unsold for years and decades. Not only unsold, but unsold after the city spent over a million dollars trying to woo developers of every sort to the area.
DeleteCome ON, already. What does it take?? What does it take for people here to get it? Ya got the waterfront property. Acres of the stuff. Dozens of acres of the stuff. You have spent more than a million dollars trying to get ANYBODY to get involved, and develop the lands. Many years later, and they still sit empty.
When are you going to wake up, and ask "Why?"
The "best and highest" use that Port Angeles has been able to make happen for their "scarce and valuable" waterfront property? A log yard, and the Turd Tank. Oh, and Nathan West's Billion Dollar Boondoggle Beach, which remains essentially unused.
DeleteLet me put it this way: Some in Port Angeles hang on to the delusion that "the waterfront" will be the town's salvation, while actively ignoring the ever-present, counterproductive lunacy being cobbled together in PA's backrooms. It gets cobbled, the town gets hobbled. It really is that simple.
Reminds me of the "artist's rendition" drawings of projects in Port Angeles. Every one omits the adjacent land uses or anything unattractive that anyone would normally see in the same view.
DeleteNow they have their drawings for the 4 story hotel. Do they depict the actual views and adjacent uses?
The city still has to decide what it is. It can't be a cutsy little waterfront tourist trap, and a "working town" with "marine dependent trades given priority for waterfront uses".
Remember what happened when the cruise ship came to Port Angeles? A significant number of the passengers got on the Coho, and went to Victoria!
Even when you bring them to Port Angeles for a 12 hour stay, they leave!
One of the key underlying problems in Port Angeles is a failure to recognize that it has been so backward, so poor, so inbred, so rundown, so meth-addled for so long that, even under the best of circumstances it will take generations to turn it around.
DeleteAnd that raises a tricky question: Who wants to waste their life and time living there, working to improve a place, when those improvements won't likely be visible/viable within their own lifetime?
Port Angeles is a long way from anything, just in terms of miles. It's even further away from being anything in terms of how it functions.
Once again, you point out a major element of the issues that so often gets left out. How remote Port Angeles really is. As has been said many times before, anyone who gets a new idea about what can happen here needs to get in their car, and drive to the I-5 corridor. See how many miles you drive on one lane roads. See how long it actually takes to get there, and here. See how much fun it is.
DeleteIronically, Port Angeles isn't so remote that people cannot come out here for a day trip, and most people do just that.
Drive into Port Angeles. Be honest. Do you really think it presents an inviting and pleasant view? Tankers in the harbor, logyards on the waterfront, industrial buildings along the waterfront. shabby structures with junk around, and the mill dominating the views.
People stay here only because they have to. Most do what they can to get out of town. Sit at Lincoln and First when the Coho empties, and watch what the cars do.
CK you just summed it all up. I would only add that the people here are, in general, astonishingly stupid. Which simply cannot be fixed. Hence the bottomless pit of content for this blog.
DeleteAll these young bidness men running for city council. Maybe they can do for the city what they've done for downtown. They are both involved with the Downtown Association, see what great things have been accomplished by this outfit?
ReplyDeleteMe neither. Looks like the revenge of the chamber.
I think the tribe might make a success out of hotel downtown. Part of the problem downtown is during the summer when rooms are booked most of the hotels are old and seriously unkempt. The red Lion has 186 rooms. They charge a premium price and most of their rooms have a lovely parking lot view, beat to shit woodwork,old beds and mattresses along with the sight and smell of several different kinds of mold. Their food is average and inconsistent in quality. The few restaurants downtown that have good food and service are not struggling. I think that some off the hotels and restaurants downtown are such a disappointment to the travelers who wind up at their mercy and make such a bad impression on them that people will go out of their way not to have another overnight experience here if it can possibly be helped. The Elwha casino isn't bad it is just much smaller then the Jamestown casino. They have a nice paved parking lot now. I think the hotel downtown might actually draw revenue if they go top quality and spend the money to get someone who knows what the hell they are doing and let them run it. If they can make a success out of the hotel there will likely be more jobs then tribal members can fill. If Port Angeles can broker a deal with the tribe that provides some tax revenue and the tribe is willing to spend 25 million dollars, I'm afraid at this point we don't have much left to loose. And anyone who is passing through that does not have to mold and mildew out at Redlion and be treated to steamer clam mush at the crab house is one more traveler who might stop here again.
ReplyDeleteHard to imagine, The Tribe can get a hotel, a couple restaurants AND a 4 story parking garage for $25 million and the city got the farmers market for $15 million-ten years ago. This shows the scale taxpayers are getting screwed.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point. And the transit center does nothing but sit empty and lose value. Meanwhile, a "hotel" and a couple of "restaurants" get put into trust...And emerge from the cocoon as a bright, glittering new (tax-free!) casino! It's magic!
DeleteExcept for the City...
Is this Rodriguez and the Kalakala all over again?
DeleteOr that aircraft carrier that was going to be moored of the Rayonier dock with Lambs Mag Lev Tram running to and fro?
Or another version of Dan's Fantasy Tram?
How many times....
The bathrooms at the Gateway boondoggle are full of graffiti and vandalism. I heard second-hand that the city claims to have spent over $40k repairing them. That just boggles my mind. Are vandalism-resistant bathrooms really that difficult? It seems like everyone must deal with this and the best, cheapest solutions would've been found.
DeleteDid someone design it that way intentionally? Who is getting paid how much to fix the damage? Why isn't the design being changed to something more durable and cheaper to repair?
A few German cities have had great success in eliminating their public bathrooms and instead paying local business to allow the public to use their bathrooms free of charge. The businesses get income, the city saves money on maintenance and the bathrooms are less likely to be vandalized since they're attached to businesses with employees paying attention to everyone who comes in.
I think the PDN should rename itself to the Peninsula Occasional News.
ReplyDeletePeninsula Disinformation News
DeleteHeard from one of the actual cronies that the Convention Center project WILL go through, regardless of all the issues. The city and developers co-opted the widow by taking the position that as long as performing arts could be done at the center, the estate language is complied with. So dedicate a small % to that potential purpose, and the rest becomes just another gravy-skimming scheme.
ReplyDeleteDonna Morris died in 2014, and she stipulated that the $9M be used "specifically for the design, construction, and maintenance of a performing arts center to be located in Port Angeles, Washington,"
ReplyDeleteThe gift was left to the Peninsula College Foundation to get this done.
Rather than carry out the gift's very expressed purpose, the Foundation members decided to work with The-Powers-That-Be to morph this into a "convention center." Maybe someone could look into who runs the Foundation and their connections?