Open Letter to Council: Some Facts on Port Facilities

— from Bea von Tobel —

As a former airport manager for the Port of Orcas, I am forwarding my comment about the proposed awarding of monies for the construction of a shower and laundry facility at the Orcas Island Airport.

The port does provide tiedown spaces for transient pilots who wish to camp under their wings or erect a tent for a short stay on the island. There is currently a ¾ bath (as defined by standards to include a shower, sink and commode) available for transient pilots. Entrance to this facility is provided upon request of airport staff, and was originally installed to provide hangar owners and transient pilots a facility close to their hangars or tiedown spaces.

There are, additionally, at least two well-maintained portable facilities (available 24/7) as well as two restrooms available in the terminal building (during operating hours).

The vast majority of use of the ¾ facility occurs during June-September, and especially during the upcoming fly-in on August 7-9. For years, a sign-up sheet was available for visiting pilots to avail themselves of shower times during the fly-in, and it seemed to function well with no complaints except a couple obstreperous faulty flushes, all taken care of promptly. Additionally, during the week of the fly-in, an additional three portable toilets with handwashing facilities were installed next to the fence which borders the Eastsound Sewer and Water facility.

During my tenure with the port, there did not seem to be any great call for additional facilities of the sort applied for. Of course, with possible cheaper fuel and the increased traffic after the recession (which has still not completely recovered at the port), this may still not be the right time to build the proposed facility.

From my standpoint, and with the continued accumulation of ‘stuff’ with no great place to put it, I’m behind the funding of ORS’s proposal. And improving the traffic flow through the proposed Exchange area is something of great economic benefit to those of us on the island who either provide or shop at the Exchange.