Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-042 Design approved for waterfront esplanade between Quincy and Pope MarineRESOLUTION N0.08-042 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND, WASHINGTON, GIVING APPROVAL TO A DESIGN FOR THE WATERFRONT ESPLANADE BETWEEN QUINCY STREET AND POPE MARINE, INCLUDING THE AREA AROUND THE TIDAL CLOCK AND WAVE VIEWING GALLERY The City has been engaged in a planning effort to redevelop the waterfront, including in the vicinity of the tidal clock and wave viewing gallery. Central to this has been a review of how the City can reconfigure the site to be both respectful of the work of the artists for the tidal clock and wave viewing gallery while integrating the continued public access and use of the site as a part of a broader plan. 2. After careful consideration of the alternatives, the City has concluded that both public access to and along the shoreline and community use of the area would be best served by reconfiguring the tidal clock to serve as an open area or plaza for public gatherings, concerts, and other outdoor events. The plaza would be connected to nearby areas by pedestrian walkways. 3. The City has been looking at options for the tidal clock since its construction some 20 years ago. As currently configured, the clock fills with large waterborne debris (logs, dead marine and wildlife, other flotsam) throughout the year. This is especially severe during the winter storm events that regularly affect our community. The City has incurred significant costs in attempting to keep the clock free from debris. A number of interventions intended to reduce the ability of debris to enter the clock have been attempted. All interventions have proved unsuccessful 4. Despite everyone's best intentions over the past 20 yeazs, the azea is an eyesore. Continuation of the status quo is unacceptable. The area cannot be viewed as a "celebration of place" as it was envisioned (from the design proposal). The bowl is viewed by locals with ridicule as public art gone bad, and by tourists with a combination of mockery and confirsion. The clock is often referred to some as a public works project; hence its nickname the "tidy bowl: ' 5. Recently, the Port Townsend Arts Commission (a group of artists and persons interested in the arts in Port Townsend) concurred that the plan for a plaza represents appropriate revitalization for the area and should go forwazd. The Commission agreed that further efforts to change the tidal clock to something closer to the original vision did not make sense, not only because of cost, but the impossibility of making the project function practically (as a tidal clock) or aesthetically. 6. The clock doesn't "work." The tidal inlet doesn't provide a habitat for marine life. Even if the stepped levels of the clock were sealed, they wouldn't serve as viable habitat that could be observed by the public because of the continual presence of debris and the scouring of storm-driven waves. Resolution 08-042 7. The Executive Director of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC is an independent 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation) agrees that further efforts to remediate the site are not advisable. The area receives the brunt of the predominant winds from the south, driving debris into the bowl. She does not see how the bowl could be re-engineered to work. Her letter of Sept. 12 is attached. 8. As part of plaza improvements, features and signage would be included that honor the Jackson Bequest and the artists. Possible features of the reconstituted area could include spiral forms along the lines of a shell structure similaz to the vision in the design proposal. Likewise, bronze lines and letters could be inlayed in the surface indicating the clock points, again, similar to the design proposal. 9. The plaza approach is part of a transformation of the east downtown part of the City and when completed will be a celebration of the City s maritime heritage. Currently undergoing construction is the new Northwest Maritime Center next to a transformed and renewed Point Hudson. The Police will be moved and the current building will become a visitor plaza center (shown on the enclosed map). Across the street City Hall has been recently restored. Sidewalk and street improvements are underway or planned in the area. Overhead power lines are being under grounded. 10. The artists have been requested to provide input and comment to improve the current situation and help the City turn this area of Port Townsend from what it is into what it can be: a welcoming, attractive, enjoyable civic space -one that captures the value of the waterfront of our community. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Port Townsend as follows: 1. The City Council approves the attached design; and 2. The City Manager is directed to keep the City Council informed on communications with the artists, to allow the Council to review and consider any comments and changes in design. ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Port Townsend at a special meeting thereof, held this tenth day of November, 2008. Michelle Sand val, Mayor Attest: ~~Y~ ~ Pamela Kolacy, MMC, City Clerk Approved as to form: John P. Watts, City Attorney Resolution OS-Odl