Port Purchases Lantec’s 41 Acres on North Shore

Audrey Wells brandishes a candy cane, which she observed is missing the crook to represent a shepherd’s crook. She invited all at the celebration on Sept. 12 to take a candy cane in recognition of their efforts to “shepherd” the Lantec property purchase.

By Margie Doyle

Port of Orcas Commissioners and invited guests including Eric and Lorie Johnson, former owners, gathered at Port offices this week to celebrate the Port’s purchase of the 41.5 acres at the northwest corner of the airport property, commonly called the Lantec Property. The purchase price was $1,230,000.

Port Commission Chair Audrey Wells said that 90 percent of the purchase price was obtained through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); the remaining 10 percent came from the Port’s Capital Improvement Fund. “That’s why we don’t spend from that fund every year,” said Wells. “You have to have a reserve.”

Commissioner Dwight Guss commented on the long process involved in purchasing the Lantec acreage, much of which is designated wetlands. “It took a lot of due diligence, meetings, discussions and give-and-take from all parties. There were wetlands studies and environmental studies; the one thing we didn’t have to look into was the presence of middens [archeologically significant sites], because there has been so much excavation already at this site.”

Commissioner Steve Hopkins gave a shout-out to former Commissioner Al Edwards, now at a convalescent center in Friday Harbor, who worked as a Port Commissioner for many years. He recalled Edwards’ saying, “When the weight of the paperwork equals the weight of the aircraft, you’re ready to take off.”

In remarks at the Sept. 12 gathering, Wells said that the property purchase was the culmination of three major projects undertaken by Port District Commissioners in recent years. Other endeavors were negotiation for extended hangar leases( until 2047); and renovating the south “parking lot” with the “wild idea’ of turning the property back to grass to improve the drainage.

Port Manager Bea vonTobel expressed her appreciation to David Williams of WH Pacific, who planned and managed the project, which also employed island contractors. She also thanked regional FAA officer Karen Miles for her assistance in obtaining the funding for the Lantec property.

“Looking down the runway,” the Port District plans “a breather for 2013” according to Commissioner Dwight Guss, and then re-surfacing the runway in 2014. That project will involve basic rebuilding of the runway — raising the elevation at the north end  and moving the taxiways so that the 156 foot separation between runway centerlines will be met.

Wells said that at the Port’s next meeting, Commissioners would look at a plan and budget for the “lo-o-o-o-o-ng term” that are not directly related to aviation, “but make some sense and we may find a relationship.”