The Fort Warden Public Development Authority had a noble mission. The PDA would take a central vision for the aging campus of Fort Worden and transform it into a bustling haven for the arts. Space would be available to almost any group without traditional rent. Instead, individual tenants would invest in the buildings as a form of rent, and pay their share of utilities. Collectively it would be enough to maintain the space. That may have been the case, if those were the primary expenses. Instead, management of the PDA took out a series of loans that today total nearly $6.3 million.

Recent superior court filings in the case of Kitsap Bank versus the (PDA) begin to illuminate a history of public policy and financial decisions dating back to 2009 and the PDA’s inception that have brought the beleaguered entity to its current place — defunct and in receivership, with unpaid bills, facilities that remain in dire need of repairs and maintenance, and many solid Fort Worden tenants unable to plan for the future. Meanwhile, professional and legal fees mount, and the lingering question remains: Who, if anyone, is responsible for re-paying Kitsap Bank?

It’s a lot to untangle.

The 15-year history also involves a long cast of characters including PDA board members and appointees, city councils, mayors and city managers, bank lenders, PDA staff and managers, corporate professionals state officials and most recently, a Jefferson County Superior Court judge. What follows is a glossary of all the entities involved or connected to the management of the PDA compiled to help readers understand the players involved, their contributions and how those decisions paved the PDA’s road to receivership.

People working to resolve various issues with the PDA refer to its various management eras as PDA 1.0, lead by Dave Robison, PDA 2.0 lead by Dave Timmons, and PDA 3.0, lead by Celeste Tell. All of the debt was taken on during PDA.1.

THE PLAYERS

The Fort Worden Public Development Authority

The Port Townsend City Council created the Port Townsend Public Development Authority in 2009 as a public corporation. Originally tasked with focusing on Fort Worden, affordable housing and historic buildings, the PDA was reorganized in 2011 as the Fort Worden Lifelong Learning Public Development Authority. The PDA’s mission was to manage, promote, develop, secure funding, and enhance Fort Worden State Park, including facilitating the implementation of a Lifelong Learning Center at the Park as envisioned by the 2008 Long-Range Plan. The PDA and Washington State Parks entered into a co-management agreement to carry out the lifelong learning mission. 

Source: City of Port Townsend Municipal Code (PTMC) Chapter 2.84, former city manager David Timmons.

Port Townsend City Council

The Port Townsend City Council created the PDA in 2009 and the first line of the municipal code summarizes the two entities’ roles and relationship: “Authority created — City liability limited.”

According to the code, the city council established the authority as an, “independent legal entity exclusively responsible for its own debts, obligations and liabilities.”

The code also reads that, “All liabilities incurred by the authority shall be satisfied exclusively from the assets, credit, and properties of the authority, and no creditor or other person shall have any right of action against or recourse to the city, its assets, credit, or services on account of any debts, obligations, liabilities or acts or omissions of the authority.”

Source: City of Port Townsend document archives

Kitsap Bank

Port Orchard-based Kitsap Bank provided a series of loans, in the form of revenue bonds, to the PDA. Those bonds date back to 2018, and currently represent, with fees, $6.2 million in unpaid debt. The PDA and Kitsap Bank disagree on the amount owed. According to PDA documents, they say they owe the bank $6.18 million. The bank says the amount is $6.26 million. Key players at Kitsap Bank include Alan Crain, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Carol Kowalski, vice president of business and community and government relations and Linda Smith, executive vice president and chief credit officer.

Source: Jefferson County Superior Court documents filed Oct. 3, 2024 “Letter Regarding Facts in Kitsap Bank Filing”

Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (Parks)

The state parks commission owns the 434-acre Fort Worden State Park. The PDA leases a portion of the park from the parks commission. The leased portion of the park is called the “Upper Campus,”or “Lifelong Learning Center Campus.” The lease is commonly referred to as the “Master Lease.” 

Source: Washington State Park and Recreation Commission web site

Fort Worden Hospitality

Fort Worden Hospitality was a separate non-profit entity created to provide hospitality services at Fort Worden State Park.The PDA entered into a concessionaire agreement with Fort Worden Hospitality for the organization to operate the vacation home rentals, venue and meeting space rentals, Reveille Café, Guardhouse Pub, Cablehouse Canteen and catering services. Hospitality operations included 43 historic vacation rental houses; nine indoor venues; five outdoor venues; three onsite eateries; a catering commercial kitchen all within the 90-acre area that is under the PDA Master Lease with Washington State Parks.

Source: Jefferson County Superior Court documents dated Oct. 4, 2024 “Order Appointing General Receiver,”and Fort Worden Hospitality web site.

Elliott Bay Asset Solutions

The Bellevue-based company appointed by Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Brandon Mack to take over the PDA and manage PDA assets to recoup the $6.2 million owed to Kitsap Bank. Stuart Heath is the company’s founder and principal. His PDA team includes Bill Weisfield, Lennart Bentsen and Brooke Knight.

Source: Jefferson County Superior Court Documents dated Sept. 27, 2024 “Declaration of Stuart Heath in Support of Motion for Appointment of General Receiver”

Campus Partners and Tenants

As of January 2024, the park included a combination of non-profit and for-profit entities and the State of Washington. Those partners and tenants include: KPTZ, the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Peninsula College, United Earth Networks, the Coastal Artillery Museum, Friends of Fort Worden, Northwind Art, the Port Townsend School of Wood Working, Madrona Mind Body Institute, Corvidae Press, Copper Canyon Press, Rain Shadow Recording, Centrum, the Fort Worden Foundation, Fort Worden Hospitality, the PDA and the state parks commission.

Source: State Parks Commission “Fort Worden Public Development Authority Update,”January 2024