Порт Порт-Анджелес впервые за год вышел в плюс в июле, но остается в долгу перед бюджетом

Port of Port Angeles finances in black for July Published 1:30 am Thursday, August 27, 2026 PORT ANGELES — The Port of Port Angeles finished in the black for the first time this year during the month of July, although it remains more than $1 million behind budget for the year to date. The $2,437 in the positive was a small but meaningful step, Jennifer Baker, the port’s chief finance and administration officer, told commissioners on Tuesday. “We are pinching every penny,” she said. Port CEO Paul Jarkiewicz linked the improvement to business at the Marine Terminal and Port Angeles Boat Haven. “We had a pretty good idea that we’re going to see an uptick, but not a 65 percent uptick over what was budgeted,” Jarkiewicz said of the Boat Haven’s revenue. The gain could be traced largely to bulk fuel sales to commercial customers — pilot boats, U.S. Coast Guard vessels and Canadian fishing boats — senior operations manager Scott Hough said. The added revenue covered about $130,000 in one-time expenses at the Boat Haven and still left it roughly $130,000 ahead for the month — a $260,000 improvement overall. Jarkiewicz described turning the port’s finances around as a two-pronged effort: austerity paired with watching each business line’s performance more closely. Commissioner Colleen McAleer pushed back on the “austerity” label, noting the port had hired “a bunch of people” this year. Jarkiewicz didn’t dispute the hiring but said it was deliberate and tied to the port’s growth strategy. “That was part of the plan,” he said. Baker’s report marked the port’s first monthly reforecast, which will update year-end projections using actual results rather than the 2026 budget. McAleer asked staff to prepare a side-by-side comparison of that budget against the updated numbers, broken out by business line. Jarkiewicz proposed spending the first half hour of their Sept. 8 meeting going through those figures in a workshop. Commissioners McAleer, Connie Beauvais and Kelly Kidwell agreed. Meanwhile, commissioners unanimously approved signing a letter backing Osprey Logistics LLC’s bid for $1.3 million in federal Maritime Administration funding to buy loading equipment for its facility north of Everett, the port’s second such endorsement this year. The port can weigh in on those applications because it has sponsored the federal Marine Highway Route M-5, which runs along the Pacific Coast from San Diego to the Canadian border, since 2024. It is the only port among the route’s three other sponsors: the California and Oregon transportation departments and Oregon’s business development agency. Katharine Frazier, the port’s grants and government affairs manager, said the role brings no direct funding but raises the port’s profile with the Maritime Administration. In other business, commissioners unanimously approved an amendment to increase the port’s professional services contract with Carletti Architects by $598,600, bringing the total contract value to $719,750, for upgrades to existing facilities and design work on an additional building for Port Angeles Composite Aerospace Manufacturing located at the port’s industrial park. The amendment covers design for the construction-document phases, plus bidding and permitting assistance, not construction administration, on top of $192,000 that already has been committed. Commissioners also agreed to reappoint Bill Hermann as the port’s representative on the Clallam County Opportunity Fund Program. ________ Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at [email protected].