Guest Column in Bellingham Herald,
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Future of Bellingham waterfront is promising
Scott L. Walker, Guest Columnist
Last week, when I walked around the Georgia-Pacific site, I was struck by the enormous opportunity and responsibility facing the Port of Bellingham and the community as we consider putting this 137-acre site into public ownership.
The tentative agreement is for the port to acquire all of G-P's waterfront property as well as about 100 acres in Whatcom County. The transaction involves no cash, but requires
the port to assume responsibility for environmental cleanup of the
known contamination of the site and G-P's portion of the Whatcom
Waterway cleanup. The port and G-P are taking a 120-day due diligence
period to study this transaction. After that time, the Port Commission
will weigh the information and, after public discussion, decide whether
this deal makes sense for our community.
Last
week I also learned more about the community's vision for our changing
waterfront when the Waterfront Futures Group presented its draft plan
to the Port Commission and City Council. Hundreds of local people
shared their ideas for the entire waterfront during this project.
It is clear our community has strong connections with Bellingham Bay.
For more than 150 years, the waterfront was dominated by timber and fishing, shipping and later, pulp and paper. Thousands of families in Whatcom County were fed, housed and educated by those jobs. If the Port of Bellingham
confirms over the next four months that the value of G-P's real estate
to the community is high enough, then this opportunity will set the
stage for the next 100 years of waterfront jobs, access and use.
Since the port announced the tentative agreement to acquire G-P's local property, the idea has been met
with enthusiastic support. We have heard from environmentalists,
citizens, business people, developers, boaters, hikers and government
officials. And they've had a similar message, "If the deal makes sense, do it. This is a huge opportunity for Whatcom County."
This
broad support will be essential if we move ahead on this deal. While we
still are working on the details of this possible agreement, one thing
is clear - the port can't do this alone. We
will need innovative public and private partnerships, public grants,
local government investment and community support to be successful.
We've heard a lot of questions. We have a lot of
questions ourselves. That is why the port is dedicating the next four
months to getting solid answers to hundreds of questions.
People have asked how much the cleanup will cost and what the clean land will be worth. Some people want immediate answers. But there aren't immediate answers. This is a highly complex transaction and needs to be thoroughly researched.
Here is what we will do this summer to get answers we all need:
• Review G-P's information about the contamination on the site and do additional site testing.
• Create a detailed environmental cleanup plan with estimated costs.
•
Using the Waterfront Futures Group vision, prepare a business plan and
land development plan that shows in a very general way how the land
might be redeveloped and estimates the land values.
•
Look at the buildings and decide which could fit into a redevelopment
plan to retain some of the history of the site and which should be torn down.
• Study the costs and values and see how the financial picture looks.
We
will keep you informed as we get answers. In August and in September,
we will have televised meetings with reports to the community to share
our early results. We will also post information on our Website, www.portofbellingham.com . You can send your comments and questions to gpinfoportofbellingham.com.
In our history, Whatcom County
has faced many changes and challenges. I believe this waterfront
redevelopment, whether done by the port or some other public or private
group, will create opportunities for generations to come.
Scott L. Walker is the president of the Port of Bellingham's Board of Commissioners.
