NOAA considers leaving Seattle

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has maintained a presence on Lake Union since shortly after the Ballard Locks opened in 1916, is considering a move from its longtime Seattle home.

"Presently, NOAA is looking at sites within Washington and Oregon," said Mark Ablondi, an NOAA commanding officer. "But no decision has been made."

Nearing the end of its current lease and more than a year since a fire destroyed its piers, the federal research and science agency is awaiting a report of potential sites for its Seattle-based research operations. The report, due in December or January, is being conducted by an outside agency.

On July 4, 2006, a fire caused by an electrical short destroyed two piers and two storage buildings on the Lake Union property leased by NOAA.

A year later, the piers have not been repaired, which is a factor as NOAA evaluates about 80 sites in the Puget Sound region and along the Oregon coast for its Marine Operations Center, Pacific.

"We're hoping that they [the property owners] will eventually rebuild," Ablondi said.

There are 60 employees in the administrative building who would be relocated if NOAA left Lake Union. NOAA also has a research and administrative-support center in the Sand Point area that would not be part of the proposed move.

The Lake Union location is home base for ships of NOAA's Pacific fleet, which gather information on the oceans, atmosphere, space and sun. The base provides fuel, spare parts and crew needs, and technical staff compile hydrographic and photogrammetric surveys of the Pacific and Arctic oceans.

NOAA leases the Lake Union land and piers from five families that own the property. But because NOAA is a government agency and must undergo a review before a lease is re-signed, it cannot give the landowners the assurance that they will lease the land again in 2011, said Michael Gallagher, a commander with NOAA. The last lease was renewed in 2000.

Moving along

The lack of a guarantee that NOAA will stay for the long term has slowed the rebuilding, NOAA officials said.

But the owners say they intend to rebuild the piers. Bill Wilson, an attorney and owner who represents the families that lease the pier to NOAA, said they have been working with engineers to move reconstruction along.

"Within 60 or 90 days we'll see construction," he said.

He hopes the progress will entice NOAA to stay in Seattle.

Wilson said the piers were blocked off for the first 90 days after the fire while the cause was being investigated. Five months after that, engineering firms assessed what repairs were needed and whether the whole pier structure had to be rebuilt.

He said the owners put out requests for bids and received their first response about two weeks ago.

"There was no delay in rebuilding," Wilson said

Still, NOAA will continue to review other sites for possible relocation. One of the locations most actively pursuing NOAA is in Bellingham.

"We have a very strong interest in NOAA's presence in Bellingham," said Jim Darling, executive director of the Port of Bellingham. "We have one of the stronger marine-trade centers in the state."

Since last year's fire, NOAA's four research ships have been scattered throughout Puget Sound. But in Bellingham, he said, "we have the facilities ready to go."

NOAA has received letters — ranging from Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels to business owners in the area — urging the agency to stay in Seattle, Ablondi said. "The mayor feels strongly that the NOAA presence is a good thing," said Martin McOmber, a spokesman for Nickels.

Longtime presence

NOAA traces its history to the U.S. Survey of the Coast, which received its charter from President Thomas Jefferson in 1807. A permanent office of the U.S. Survey was established at Puget Sound in 1898, according to NOAA's historical records.

After the completion of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and the Lake Washington Ship Canal in 1916, the ships were moved to Lake Union. In 1947, the agency's fleet was homeported in the southeast corner of the lake until NOAA's current facilities opened in 1963.

John Lockwood, of Todd Pacific Shipyards, located on the northwest corner of Harbor Island, said the impact of a NOAA move would be devastating.

He said he and representatives of other businesses have written to NOAA to discourage it from moving out of Seattle.

They wrote, "For decade upon decade, our local businesses have provided professionally trained and skilled employees to repair, replenish, and sustain your ships. ... We are the support side of a vibrant and longstanding public-private partnership that works well and provides significant benefit to both NOAA and local businesses."

Nancy Kelsey: nkelsey@seattletimes.com

Information in this article, originally published July 26, 2007, was corrected August 19, 2007. A story Thursday about NOAA's possible move from Seattle reported that Todd Pacific Shipyards was located on Lake Union. Actually, the shipyards are located on the northwest corner of Harbor Island.