<< Previous   of   Next >> Darren Breen / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Kadin Ruddell (left), 4, peeks over the railing while his mother's boyfriend, Craig Cabana of Everett, and his daughter, Alyssa, 9, look at the view from the ferry Kittitas as they travel from Mukilteo on Sunday. (click to enlarge)

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Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com

Mukilteo ferry terminal: State reveals scaled-back plans

By Scott Pesznecker, Herald Writer

MUKILTEO -- City leaders wanted a waterfront flourishing with parks and new businesses.

Instead, they might be stuck with a giant parking lot.

After getting their first glimpse of the state's two new plans for a ferry terminal last week, Mukilteo City Council members said they felt deflated by the scaled-back versions, even though either one could be built years earlier than the more elaborate version they wanted.

The most recent drawings of the project lack features such as over-the-water holding lanes and a commuter parking garage -- features that would have opened up the waterfront in Old Town for new development.

"I'm looking at a parking lot and cement on the most prestigious piece of waterfront Mukilteo has," Councilwoman Emily Vanderwielen said.

Washington State Ferries designed the new terminal plans with the goal of keeping project costs below $148 million, the amount state lawmakers have pledged for the project. Each of the concept designs would cost about $110 million to build. The state has already spent about $30 million on environmental studies and preliminary work.

The new design ideas are likely to change and would be built in ways that would allow them to be expanded later, said John White, director of terminal engineering for Washington State Ferries.

"These are just concepts," White said. "There are 1,001 questions we'd have to talk out from these."

Both ferry terminal concepts include two bus bays, short-term parking and Sound Transit parking. The new Sounder station would sit on the southern edge of the terminal, but without a pedestrian bridge over the ferry traffic. The plans also call for spending about $9 million to remove the pier that once served the former Air Force fuel depot, White said.

The state had planned to build the new terminal where the fuel pier meets the shoreline. The new drawings show the terminal being built slightly east or west of its previously planned location.

Mukilteo resident Dan Hammer, who lives near Old Town on Goat Trail Road, said he's disappointed with the new terminal plans.

"It seems to leave Mukilteo with nothing but parking and ferries, and parking and ferries," Hammer said.

State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, chairwoman of the Senate transportation panel, said the new concept drawings show a "more realistic" approach to building a new ferry terminal. Later this year, the state plans to finish studying the long-term needs of terminals in the ferry system, as well as the future financial outlook of Washington State Ferries, Haugen said.

"It's certainly something I want to happen, but at this point, it's hard to say," Haugen said. "It's going to be whether we can afford it."

For years, Mukilteo city leaders have pushed for a new ferry terminal with holding lanes over the water, which would open up the waterfront in Old Town for new development.

The city's preferred plan was expected to cost $167 million. Since then, several factors -- including unstable soil, rising construction costs and the possible archeological discovery of American Indian activities on the beach -- have driven costs above $300 million.

Construction was expected to start this year. Instead, work was delayed indefinitely, in part because state lawmakers balked at the notion of paying up to $54,000 for each over-the-water parking space.

The ferry system's terminal construction plans have come under increasing scrutiny after legislative consultants recommended shifting money to place more priority on replacing aging ferries. Some of the money for three new boats the state hopes to build first was already shifted from the Mukilteo terminal project.

A temporary solution to the traffic problem is under way. The owner of The Buzz Beach Bar & Grill, which sits next to the terminal, is considering demolishing his restaurant and leasing the property to the state to use for additional holding lanes.

If the existing holding lanes are expanded and the ferry terminal is never built, council members are worried they'll be stuck with even less of a downtown business district.

Even if the terminal is built, some council members don't see how it would benefit Mukilteo residents.

"If we get this in place, what are the compelling reasons to do this?" Councilman Kevin Stoltz said.

Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.