Lakebay Marina Restoration Proponents Seek County’s Help

The six-person citizens' advisory committee was formed by Key Peninsula residents, including three active members in the KP Historical Society.”

The Recreational Boaters Association of Washington Marine Parks Conservancy asked Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello’s Office June 23 for $300,000 to begin restoring Lakebay Marina.

The historic Washington Cooperative Poultry and Egg Association Lakebay Station building was once a regular stop of the Mosquito Fleet of Puget Sound. The creosote pilings supporting the pier need to be replaced or upgraded, and the building it supports needs repair.

Doug Levy, retired former lobbyist for RBAW, now advocating as a member of the RBAW Marine Park Conservancy, said, “The county contributing $300,000 would be very timely, and critical to get the pier removal and replacement financed to restore public access and recreational use of a beloved treasure.

“That’s what makes the project ‘real’ and enables people to get out and start using the site,” Levy said.

The local Lakebay Marina Citizens Advisory Committee added its support for the funding request from RBAW in an email to the Pierce County Executive and Pierce County Council July 8.

“The site is important for boaters and non-boaters alike, and it includes one of the most important pieces of KP history still standing … listed on both Pierce County and Washington State Registers of Historic Places,” the committee said.

The six-person citizens' advisory committee was formed by Key Peninsula residents, including three active members in the KP Historical Society, to communicate the concerns of KP residents to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, which owns the Lakebay Marina site, including aquatic land and adjacent uplands.

In an email to KP News, Pierce County Director of Communications Libby Catalinich said the Executive’s Office is currently reviewing proposals and funding requests for the budget proposal due to the council in September.

“The county is in a difficult budget situation with decreased tax revenues due to the recent economic slump, reduced investments from the state, and significant budget reductions from the federal government.”

“Having said that,” Catalinich said, “as Executive Mello indicated in his response directly to the Washington Recreational Boaters Association, access to our history and recreational spaces are important. Their request for funding will be considered as we move through what promises to be a very challenging budget development process.”

Recent state-funded restoration at the site was related to shoreline restoration work previously budgeted but delayed until funding conditions were met.