OLYMPIA - Big will be
the key word in Everett tomorrow.
That's when Port of Everett commissioners
will receive a big check for a BIG grant for big boats.
On Tuesday, Laura Johnson, director
of the Office of the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation,
along with representatives of the congressional delegation
will present a symbolic check for a $990,000 federal Boating
Infrastructure Grant (BIG). The BIG program provides
funding for recreational boating facilities for big boats
(those 26 feet and larger).
The check will be presented at the port
commission meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. in port offices,
2911 Bond St., Ste. 109, Everett. Co-presenting with Johnson
are: Sally Hintz, the Northwest Washington director for
Sen. Maria Cantwell; Christy Guilion, the Northwest Washington
director for Sen. Patty Murray; Sheila Babb, Murray's transportation
specialist from Seattle; Patrick Hogan, special assistant
to Rep. Jay Inslee; and Jill McKinnie, district director
for Rep. Rick Larsen.
The Port of Everett will use the grant
to provide a 36-slip guest moorage dock in the new 12th
Street Yacht Basin. The moorage slips consists of a mixture
of side-tie moorage as well as 40- and 50-foot slips with
finger piers to provide flexible moorage for nontrailerable
boats.
The guest moorage slips will be in addition
to the 155 permanent slips in the yacht basin, which currently
is under construction. The new marina is adjacent to the
new 65-acre Port Gardner Wharf waterfront redevelopment
that will include more than 1.6 million square feet of residential
units, restaurants, hotel services, retail shops, offices
and also a public amphitheater and continuous waterfront
walkway.
"Washington has more than 250,000 registered
boats plying its rivers, lakes, coasts and Puget Sound,"
Johnson said. "We need to make sure that the facilities
in the state can accommodate those boaters. The Port of
Everett's marina is centrally located and serves all of
Puget Sound. Right now, central Puget Sound contains 34
percent of the state's recreational boats but only 14 percent
of the available transient moorage. This grant will help
Everett add to the services offered to boaters. It's vital
to keeping Washington a destination for outdoor recreation."
Funding for BIG grants comes from a
portion of the federal Aquatic Resources Trust Fund administered
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Port of Everett
competed against 32 other projects nationwide for funding. |
