The oldest tenant at Fishermen's Terminal, Fishing Vessel Owners sits on Port of Seattle property beneath the west side of the Ballard Bridge and directly in the path of the planned monorail route across the Ship Canal.
An integral part of the business, explains president and CEO Don Lindblad, are the two sets of tracks the company uses to haul ships out of the water, and coming up with a replacement looks nigh on to impossible.
"Everything we've come up with, they [SMP staff] say it would cost too much," groused Lindblad. That includes various replacement systems for the tracks and for setting up in another location, he said.
One of the latest options involves a floating drydock, but that pencils in at a Monorail-budget-busting $12.5 million, said SMP spokeswoman Natasha Jones. Spending that much taxpayer money is simply not defensible, she said.
The situation is further complicated by the groups involved.
"The problem here is, there are three parties whose interest you have to balance," Jones said of not only the SMP and Fishing Vessel Owners but also the Port of Seattle. What works for one doesn't always work out for the others, she added.
Port spokesman Mick Shultz said that that agency is in a "holding pattern" over the issue.
"We did get an offer from the Monorail [Project] a week ago," he said last week. But Port staff is still evaluating the offer - and the appraisal of the property, Shultz added. "And we have our own appraiser reviewing that."
The SMP has the right of eminent domain, as long as fair market value is paid for property. So neither the Port nor Fishing Vessel Owners has any real choice about a monorail moving in, a point that's come up in endless meetings with the SMP, Lindblad said.
"Every time we have a meeting, they threaten us with condemnation," the 63-year-old grumbled. "I'm getting too old to be threatened."
Jones said the agency is hoping to come to a solution with the company. Countering Lindblad, she said relocation - possibly involving the purchase of a surplus Navy drydock - has always been an option for Fishing Vessel Owners.
The SMP would pay for transporting the surplus drydock to Seattle and for storage, but the business would have to pay for any permits, Jones noted.
"We pay all their relocation costs," she said of other businesses whose property the SMP needs. That also could include up to $50,000 to help a business reestablish itself, according to Jones. "So it's a much more generous policy than required by state law."
"We looked at one other place," said Lindblad, who added that it was judged to be too expensive. He also said another option would be for the agency to pay the company enough money so it would close down and just go away. Still, SMP has made no concrete offers along those lines, Lindblat said.
In any event, the SMP filed a condemnation action in court in December, although a continuance has been granted so the Fishing Vessels Owners can get a better handle on the agency's relocation policies, he said.
Lindblad won't give up easily. "I don't care who they are; we will fight. If I just fold on them, I'll feel bad for the rest of my life," he stressed.
"The point is, all of our customers are here," Lindblad said of Fisher-men's Terminal. There are also 34 employees to worry about. "A lot of these guys started working here in the '70s," he added. "Right now they're going to stay here to see what the end is."
"I've worked here for over 18 years, and we're all worried about our future," said a grim-looking Bill Corey. "I think most people think the Monorail is going to push its way through."
Asked about his own plans for the future if the business closes, Lindblad shrugged and said, "What am I going to do at 63?" He has one idea, though. Lindblad said he could go stand in front of the SMP office and panhandle.
Staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or 461-1309.[[In-content Ad]]
