City rescinds offer of place to dock Kalakala

A potential agreement that would have provided a temporary nest at a Sand Point pier near Magnuson Park for the rusty but beloved old ferry Kalakala instead could be its swan song. The city Parks and Recreation Department rescinded the offer yesterday.


		Phil H. Webber / P-I
	The art deco ferry Kalakala now faces eviction.

The parks department said the Kalakala Foundation overseeing restoration of the vessel, whose name means "flying bird" in Chinook, failed to meet the conditions offered Dec. 7 to moor the vessel at a pier off Sand Point, primarily by failing to post a $1 million performance bond.

In short, the foundation couldn't show it had secured money for restoration so it could be docked there, a spokeswoman in Mayor Greg Nickel's office said. Parks department officials could not be reached for comment.

Kalakala Foundation executive director Art Skolnik responded angrily, saying the city's conditions were impossible for the financially strapped foundation to meet, since it needs a home in order to launch a capital campaign. It had planned to raise $750,000 to restore the vessel's exterior next spring.

"We just ran into the usual ridiculous bureaucracy. We feel they set us up for a fall," Skolnik said.

"We're in desperate shape. My board took serious action last night and said I have until the end of January to find moorage or we more than likely will offer the boat for sale," he said.

The Depression-era ferry that was a proud Seattle icon long before the Space Needle now is reduced to knocking on private sector doors to beg for a temporary home, Skolnik said.

Fans of the 67-year-old Kalakala, once world-famous for its streamlined, art-deco style and technology, have been scrambling for a home since they received word that the vessel will be evicted from its North Lake Union moorage by Dec. 31. It was berthed there after its triumphant return to cheering crowds in 1998, after its rescue by Fremont sculptor and businessman Peter Bevis from a muddy Alaskan grave.

"We have to be off the property by the end of the year, yet the Coast Guard cannot issue a permit to move unless we have an approved place to go," Skolnik said of another dilemma.

Despite efforts by historic preservationists and ferry fans, and the production of a business plan touting the vessel's trademark appeal alone as a moneymaker, good intentions since its triumphant return have outweighed much civic action.

Although the Kalakala's restoration is a $16 million project, Skolnik said he planned to spend an initial $750,000 on a three- to five-month project to restore the boat's exterior. The Kalakala needs to overcome its image as a bucket of bolts, he explained.

"It's all aesthetic," he said. "That's all I feel people are concerned about. When it's fully restored, though, I bet it beats the record of any other single landmark of being photographed."

But that might not happen here, he said.

"The lack of generosity is appalling," Skolnik said. "I can't believe this community is willing to turn its back on this landmark. I'm sad for my community."

P-I reporter Mike Barber can be reached at 206-448-8018 or mikebarber@seattlepi.com

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