December 26, 2018 Issue 52 /Vol. 129 IN DEPTH • IN TOUCH • INDEPENDENT • SINCE 1889 $1.50 WESTERN FLYER UNDER CONSTRUCTION A5 • CHRISTMAS CAKES A15 • CONCERT ORGANIZER TO RETIRE B1 Historical Dunbar out path to as PUD GM BRIAN MCLEAN new jetty? [email protected] The Jefferson County PUD Board Port looks at of Commissioners placed the utility’s general manager on paid adminis- preservation trative leave Dec. 19, citing many challenges that need to be addressed. LILY HAIGHT Larry Dunbar, who was hired as [email protected] the PUD’s general manager in April, When sailmaker Carol Hasse was unanimously heard of the port’s plans to replace placed on leave the Point Hudson jetty with a steel during a special combi-wall jetty, she dove into meeting last week. research. The commissioners Built around 1934, the timber pile held an executive and rock jetty has protected boats in session Dec. 11 to Dunbar the marina next to Hasse’s sail loft discuss Dunbar’s for 80 years. But with damaged, performance. Kevin eroding piles and sinking armoring Streett, the former assistant GM rock, the jetty is in critical condition. who retired in November, has “There’s no doubt that this jetty returned to take the same position. needs to be repaired or replaced,” Waves splash over Thomas Mullholland of Madison, Wisconsin, as he Streett will run the PUD until com- Hasse said. walks on the docks by the Northwest Maritime Center on Dec. 20. For missioners determine how they will The port’s plan to replace it with Walk the line more photos of the storm, see page A17. Leader photo by Lloyd Mullen fi ll the full-time GM role. one made of steel piles and sheet Board president Jeff Randall metal raised an alarm for Hasse, cited a clause in Dunbar’s contract who has more than 50 years of sail- that allowed the PUD to remove him ing experience. as general manager with one year of “Anybody with an ounce of sense Storm surges into sandwich shop severance pay. knows that you don’t put metal into “Jefferson PUD is really unique the water,” Hasse said. “It’s just CHRIS MCDANIEL a really bad storm prior, and that couple logs underneath the deck in that we’re brand new, and we going to rust. There’s no way around [email protected] is what the windows started to that were rattling everything.” expanded signifi cantly and we have it.” do right before it got bad. I threw a lot of debt,” Randall said during Some of her thoughts went to the When Mike Howell arrived tape up, and I know everybody A PERFECT STORM the special meeting Dec. 19. “We had aesthetics of the jetty, which would at his sandwich shop to open for likes to argue it, but hey, it is all The storm that roared through released our previous general man- clash with the historic harbor. Not business Dec. 20, the typically I have ever seen done, so I (went) East Jefferson County on Dec. 20 ager through succession planning, to mention the well-known octo- beautiful view of Port Townsend with it. It is better than being a dropped about a quarter-inch and Larry came on, and he knew pus habitat in the rocks. But after Bay had turned menacing. shish kebab.” or less of precipitation, said Jay it was going to be a big challenge, researching similarly built walls in “I got here at around 9 a.m., The wind almost pushed an Albrecht, a meteorologist with the and the contract we have with Larry Edmonds and on Hat Island, Hasse and things just didn’t look right,” AC unit out of its place in the wall National Weather Service offi ce in refl ects that.” found another concern. In stormy said Howell, proprietor of Howell’s facing towards the south, Howell Seattle. The clause in Dunbar’s contract weather, when waves crash against Sandwich Co., 929 Water St. said. It wasn’t the meager precipita- does not require cause to release the jetty, instead of dispersing wave “Everything changed. The color of “And then, as the tide came tion that caused coastal fl ooding. him, Randall said. energy among the rocks, the sheet the water got a really dark green, up, it started getting gnarlier Instead, it was a combination of a “To me, that acknowledges that metal walls would cause waves to Larry was taking a big risk coming and then brown closer to shore. and gnarlier,” he said. “We had a See STORM, page 8▼ bounce back and double in size. The sky completely changed, and here,” he said. “It was a big chal- “The value of rock is as a wave the waves just got monstrous.” lenge. We’re a young organization, absorber,” Hasse said. “All the The sandwich shop is in a the fi rst time in 60 years that a energy that crashes in here four primo location, abutting the edge public utility has bought a private times a week in six months of the of the bay. But that put it right in utility (from Puget Sound Energy), year (during the southerly storm the path of gale-force winds and a and we grow by a factor of fi ve, from season) gets dissipated by the rock.” king tide that combined during an eight employees to 40, roughly, and After researching wave energy, incoming storm to assail the shop a $2 million budget to a $35 million talking with fellow sailors, calling with a torrent of seawater. budget — massive growth.” the harbormaster at Hat Island “When the wind started Randall and fellow commission- and talking with the engineers who picking up, I called whatever ers Kenneth Collins and Wayne King designed the new jetty plan for the employees I had coming in and spoke directly to Dunbar during the port, Hasse wrote a letter to port said, ‘Stay home,’” Howell said. meeting. commissioners. “I made the decision to close at “Personally, I have enjoyed work- “A refl ective surface bounces back 10:30 or 11 o’clock when the water ing with you, but I feel that what the a wave’s energy, causing it to grow started coming in a bit.” organization needs at this point — by 1.4 to 2 times its original size,” There were no customers in and we are at a crisis point — is to Hasse wrote. “Wave heights and sea the shop at the time, and Howell take a different direction,” Collins states generated by the proposed had to turn others away for their said. “And I say that with a great steel combi-wall will likely create safety, he said. deal of regret. Lost sleep for the last whirlpools as well as standing waves “The real tell for me was when several days, struggling with this. and breaking seas. These conditions I started to hear the windows Mike Howell of Howell’s Sandwich Co. vacuums water brought in from the storm. I’m glad there is a provision in the pose serious threats, putting vessels crack,” Howell said. “It had been Leader photo by Lloyd Mullen contract that fairly compensates you. at risk of breaking seas from astern “I’ve come to the conclusion that and abeam.” the fi t just wasn’t right.” Hasse believes a steel combi- In his remarks, King said he felt wall is not the right choice for Point the utility was getting away from Hudson. what it needs to do to move forward “We did take a very careful look Two injured after man drives for customers. from Day 1 at the wave climate,” said Dunbar will be on paid leave for port Deputy Director Eric Toews, up to 30 days. who was the director of planning car into Port Hadlock QFC “We have signifi cant challenges, when the port went to bid on the and I think to proceed in the direc- jetty. CHRIS MCDANIEL tion we need to go to be successful, “Mott MacDonald is one of a [email protected] “The 82-year-old driver reported there are challenges we need to handful of coastal engineering fi rms that he accidentally pressed on face,” Randall said. “I would say that has sophisticated wave-model- Two pedestrians who were standing outside that, to meet those challenges and ing software that they used to try to the entrance of the QFC in Port Hadlock were both the brake and gas pedals address them successfully, I feel help us assess this and come up with injured Dec. 20 when a vehicle jumped the curb when coming into the parking like we need to go in a little differ- the optimal design. … Their conclu- and ran into them. ent direction than we are currently sion was that (the metal) was not The incident happened shortly before 1:55 space.” going.” going to have a material impact.” p.m., when Thomas Anderson, 82, of Port Ludlow Dunbar was hired in April. PUD Mott MacDonald is an engineer- drove his SUV onto the sidewalk in front of a Art Frank Communications Manager Will ing consulting fi rm based in the parking space he had entered, Jefferson County O’Donnell said Dunbar put a lot of United Kingdom. In initial wave Undersheriff Art Frank said. JEFFERSON COUNTY UNDERSHERIFF effort into professionalizing the orga- simulations presented to the port “The 82-year-old driver reported that he acci- QFC near Starbucks, he said. nization, building teams and trying in a preliminary design proposal in dentally pressed on both the brake and gas pedals “One person suffered a broken leg and was to improve communication.