PDA projects 7.27.07

Peninsula Development Association

Jefferson County Projects





Contents


Olympic Peninsula Visitor Center Reservation System


Water Quality Improvement project for Quilcene Port Facility



Quincy Street Dock Refurbishment


Marine Trades Apprentice Program

Olympic Peninsula Visitor Center Reservation System

Project Description
There is a need, expressed by many tourism related enterprises and the Olympic Peninsula Joint Marketing Board to provide the various Visitor Centers on the OP with a means to determine the availability or rooms, RV space, Transit booking, event tickets etc., through a centralized on-line availability/reservation system.

Phase I of the project would determine the computer hardware and software needs to create such a system and determine the costs of procurement, installation and user training. Local tourist, ferry and transit operators would be asked to partner in this project and assist in the determination of the features and technical specifications required to meet their needs. This phase would be conducted by the EDC and technical consultants who may include potential hardware/software vendors.

Estimated Cost of this phase is $30,000. Deliverables would be a recommendation on the technology direction and software solution with detailed estimates of procurement cost, installation cost and user training costs. In addition, an overall implementation schedule would be derived based primarily on vendor input.

If at this point the project is determined to be economically feasible and participation by subscriber businesses is sufficient then Phase II would be undertaken. Phase II would involve selecting a vendor for the system via a bid process, soliciting the funding and overseeing the implementation of the system and implementing the training process. At this early stage, it is difficult to estimate the total cost of the project other than by using averages of generic system costs. Assuming that the objectives can be met with off-the-shelf software and a minimum amount of local customization and estimate of 25,000 –30,000 per center is reasonable. For 7 centers that amounts to $175,000. Installation and training are typically ½ of the cost of these generic systems so that total cost of phase II would be $350,000 and take from 6 to 9 months.

Purpose
To increase OP revenues from tourism by providing a more convenient way for tourists to be informed of tourism opportunities in the county, to determine the availability of these facilities and make advanced reservations at any visitor center or, on-line from their homes.

Partners
Joint Marketing Board, Washington State Parks, possibly Washington State Ferry System

Benefits to the Olympic Peninsula
Increased Tourism activity and revenues

Estimated Total Project Cost: $380,000

Priority #2
Water Quality Improvement project for Quilcene Port Facility

Project Description
The Port of port Townsend operates a facility in Quilcene which services a number of Oyster businesses. Silting in Quilcene Bay has degraded the ability of this facility to provide clean water from the Hood Canal for required for Oyster Breeding. The market for Oysters continues to grow and local product is now being limited by the supply of fresh, clean water. The Port needs to extend the existing water supply system further into the Canal, into deeper cleaner water in order to increase the capacity without having to increase the capacity of expensive filtration and temperature control equipment.

Purpose
To increase Oyster production capacity in Quilcene Bay and provide jobs for about 28 more people.

Partners
Port of Port Townsend
NRCS RC&D
Coast Oyster

Benefits to the Olympic Peninsula
Jobs for 28 more people at an existing facility.

Estimated Cost
$425,000

Priority #4


Quincy Street Dock Refurbishment

Project Description
“Soundliner” tours is currently planning to use a 192ft Alaskan Ferry to operate Kayak, Bicycle and Walking tours at three of four destinations around the Puget Sound. The company is close to securing funding and is in the process of purchasing the vessel. The company has selected Port Townsend as one of its route “destinations” and would consider it as its “home base” if we had adequate facilities. The vessel is too large for either marina and for the NW Maritime Center who had offered use of their facility.

The Quincy Street Dock would be ideal for this purpose and for other large cruise boats we could entice to Port Townsend. The facility (currently owned by the City) is currently unserviceable and may require “upward of $1,000,000” to refurbish according to Port authorities. However, Soundliner is willing to contribute to this cost if it could be used as a permanent base.

Purpose
The purpose of this project is to research the feasibility and cost of refurbishing the dock, sharing it’s use with local restaurants and shops and converting it into a small cruise-boat center to develop tourism for the Peninsula.

Partners
City of Port Townsend
Port of Port Townsend
Joint Marketing Board
Soundliner
Victoria Express


Benefits to the Olympic Peninsula
Increased tourism revenues and several Marine jobs

Estimated Cost
Phase I: determine costs of dock refurbishment $60,000 (3 months)
Phase II: Actual refurbishment : between $1.6 and $2.0 million. (2 years)
Priority #3


Marine Trades Apprentice Program

Project Description
Several companies in both Jefferson County and Clallam County have expressed the need for more skilled people. Various attempts by local community colleges and the NW school of Wooden Boat building have not been able to satisfy this demand effectively. The industry is looking for a way to train (and cross train) the people they already have employed rather than hiring graduates from these Community College programs. Discussions with the owners of several of the local Marine Trade businesses indicate that there are shortages of very specific skills in both Clallam and Jefferson and these could best be filled by some kind of “apprentice” program. (we have in fact started this project “on a shoe string” with funds from the Marine Trade Association)

Purpose
The purpose of this project is to formally determine the current needs of the local Marine Trades in a very select group of skills (Composite Finishing for example) and then work with the Community Colleges and the NWWBS to provide a tailored curricula and obtain grants to fund instructors drawn from local industry.

Partners
Marine Trades Association
Townsend Bay Marine
Westport Marine
Olympic Workforce Development Council
NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding
Peninsula College

Benefits to the Olympic Peninsula
A shortage of skilled labor is one of the biggest problems in this industry. Solving the problem will enable the local industry to grow at the market rate.

Estimated Cost
Operating Costs : Instructors and Materials for the first year $120,000
Capital Costs: Additional building for welding instruction and composite finishing $400,000
Priority #1