The Port of Olympia Commission authorized the sale of two parcels of land to the City of Olympia for the expansion of the Hands On Children's Museum on Monday, May 12.
The agreement is for $2.1 million, with the deadline for the purchase set for Nov. 7.
The parcels are at 427 Marine Drive and 517 Marine Drive, located adjacent to the parking lot behind the museum.
Patty Belmonte, CEO of the Hands On Children's Museum, previously talked about the intended use of the expanded space. The expansion aims to include parking for additional school buses, an event space, a gallery for traveling exhibits, a Kids Culinary Institute, which will serve as a cooking space, additional classrooms for preschool and day camp programs, and a STEAM lab for pre-teens.
Belmonte also envisions connecting the existing museum with the new building through a bridge.
The museum currently attracts 315,000 visitors a year with 28,000 square feet of space. Designs for the expansion have not been finalized, but Belmonte’s presentation indicated an expansion doubling the size of the museum could increase the number of annual visitors to 491,000.
Before any sale moves forward, the Olympia City Council would also have to approve the agreement at a future council meeting.
Once the sale and designs have been finalized, the museum plans to start construction by the fall of 2026 and open the new building by winter of 2027-28.
The museum plans to spend $35 million for the project, with $25 million already secured through sales tax generated by the Capital Area Regional Public Facilities District.
The land beneath the museum has a history of contamination due to historical industrial activities, an issue that resurfaced during a public hearing before the commission approved the sale.
As a procedural requirement, the commission opened a public hearing as they had to surplus the property and remove it from the port’s Comprehensive Scheme of Harbor Improvements, which serves as the port’s master plan.
Resident Lee Riner commented about the presence of dioxin hot spots in the area, which she believed would put children at risk. She further criticized the port for its lack of transparency about the locations of these hot spots and the impact of remediation on contamination.
Mike Reed, the port’s community and economic development director, responded the site is one of the most heavily scrutinized areas in Olympia. He expressed confidence that all safety standards would be met or exceeded and praised the Hands On Children’s Museum for having taken extra precautions to protect children’s health in the past.
“There is no place that I feel cares more about our children and the safety of our children than the Hands On Children's Museum, so the idea that they would be intentionally remiss associated with caring for our kids — I don't think is a concern that I have,” Reed said.
Furthermore, the sale agreement contains an environmental covenant between Olympia and the Washington Department of Ecology that specifies the mitigation and cleanup requirements for the property.
The deed also restricts the use of the property to the children’s museum and allows the port to take back the property if the condition is not followed.
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JnNwmn
The Port has done little to locate hot spots of dioxin on land. The Port is only sampling the water in East Bay and West Bay to facilitate dredging. The Port peninsula needs an advanced study for contamination. No one should be walking bare foot in any tidal areas on Port lands either. Least of all children.
Friday, May 16 Report this
HarryBranch
I believe that the Port selling the parcel adjoining the Hands on Children's Museum to the City is an excellent idea, for the Port. I'm having a hard time understanding why the City wants to buy it.
The sampling in East Bay indicates that there's an area of contamination adjoining the HOCM. The next step in the process is going to be to determine the nature and extent of the contamination. There's a good chance the land in question is the source. "Heavily scrutinized" is not a science based term. In situations like this anyone who has ever owned, rented or done business on a contaminated parcel becomes a partly or potentially liable or responsible party (PLP or PRP). Teams of lawyers sit around a big table figuring out who owes what. Buying the land gives the City a seat at the table.
East Bay has the poorest water quality in Budd Inlet. The best and perhaps only way to restore chemical parameters like dissolved oxygen is going to be to restore some physical parameters, especially salt marsh and tide flats. Yet somehow whenever the subject of East Bay comes up, restoration is NEVER mentioned.
Friday, May 16 Report this
DougRiddels
Will the City's purchase be contingent upon an environmental analysis, to determine if there is in fact any PCB contamination of the proposed site? If contamination is found, will remediation by the Port prior to purchase be required?
Saturday, May 17 Report this
Boatyarddog
In the Ports Mind, as always, and now the DOE and City, "Remeadiation" means as little clean up as They can get away with.
We witnessed that with the Westman Mills Project. Pockets of Contamination still exist on that parcel, now Has shops and housing built upon it! They dug some out and left some, but that doesn't begin to "restore" the Damage done in The Past. The Port will not acknowledge the DAMAGE they have caused to The East Bay area. Even though SEA LEVEL rise continues to be more of an issue now. Why? Their reasoning is "they" the Port thinks and acts as though they are not responsiable for "PAST DECISIONS" THAT the current Commission did not make. YET, here they are Making the SAME DECISIONS their predessors made, ie: do only the Minimum to get the sale. IT IS CRIMINAL IN MY EYES to Pass on LEGACY POLLUTION TO FUTURE GENERATIONS. THE Port Should abandone all projects that stir-up contaminated soils.... PERIOD!!!
Sunday, May 18 Report this