Boating group to buy Lakebay Marina in hopes of turning it into a state park

The state’s largest boating organization has reached an agreement to buy the troubled Lakebay Marina, in hopes of eventually making it a state marine park.

The dilapidated marina with its decaying buildings and scuttled boats has been a major eyesore on the Key Peninsula. Now it could become its crown jewel.

Bob Wise, president of the Recreational Boaters Association of Washington, said the nonprofit has agreed to pay $1.25 million for the property, which includes the pier, the warehouse and cafe, and five parcels of land surrounding Mayo Cove.

Wise said the boating organization plans to deed the property to the state for use as a marine park, similar to those the state already runs on Blake Island and Sucia Island.

The marina is directly across Mayo Cove from Penrose State Park, which makes it a good fit for incorporation into the park system, Wise said.

“Our intention is to place this property in conservancy status, basically, forever,” Wise said. “This will protect a really important part of the Key Peninsula’s history, and preserve a marina that’s important to boaters throughout the Sound Sound.”

Anna Gill, communications director for the state Parks and Recreation Department, confirmed that there have been talks with the boating group.

“We have been in contact with the boating association about the marina,” she said. “However, a decision as not been made at this time.”

Gill noted that the state parks commission included the Lakebay Marina in a long-term boundary for Penrose Point State Park in 2011, identifying it as a “good candidate for potential park expansion or shared management.”

Pierce County a partner

Pierce County has budgeted $250,000 to help with the purchase of the property, said County Council member Derek Young, who represents the peninsula. The rest will have to be raised.

“It’s a contingent on the acquisition on some additional funds,” Young said. “We are hoping the state or some other financing source will pop up, but more than likely it will be the state legislature.”

Wise said he’s “extremely confident” the boating association, which includes 50 yacht clubs and claims 10,000 active members, can raise the rest of the money. Member clubs include the Gig Harbor, Fox Island, Poulsbo, Port Orchard, Tacoma and Totem yacht clubs.

The historic marina has been a landmark on the Key Peninsula since the 1880s, but it has been in rundown condition for decades. The current owner, Mark Scott, has struggled with maintenance and numerous regulatory problems.

“It has fallen on hard times, but it could be a real gem,” said Wise, whose organization lobbies on behalf of nearly 250,000 registered boaters in the state.

Once a 19th Century timber-loading dock and later an egg warehouse, the Lakebay Marina is the only public marine facility on the Key Peninsula.

Scott took it over in 2013 but has struggled to keep up with electrical and structural problems dogging the deteriorating pier and warehouse.

At one point, the entire facility was closed by Pierce County until it was brought up to fire and safety codes.

“He probably bit off more than he could chew,” said Wise. “But hats off to Mr. Scott — he had a vision, and he made great strides in improving the property.”

The RBAW signed a purchase agreement with Scott on Tuesday, Dec. 3. He was traveling out of the country this week and unavailable for comment.

History of problems

The marina and its adjoining Lakebay Cafe reopened in July following months of reconstruction and work to meet state and county standards.

The marina, cafe and campground were dogged in the past by county permitting and health violations. It was cited in June for an unapproved water system and for not having power in the cafe, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said.

“It struggled, in all honesty, and there have been quite a few issues over the last few years to keep it running,” said Young.

Over the years, county and state cited Scott in a slew of investigations, including operating an illegal RV park and campground, improper food handling, water and sewer violations, allowing illegal live-aboards, illegal clam and oyster harvesting, and illegal scuttling of boats.

Scott said last year he was being red-taped to death and considered abandoning the property following months of violation notices and issues. Some with mobile homes or boats saw advertisements on Craigslist and began to live on the property without proper facilities, and Scott was caught up in a long-running feud with a tenant who refused to leave.

“The discussion in the community turned to if there is a way to acquire this site.,” Young said. “When the opportunity came up for the recreational boaters, I was pretty excited to help. It’s a huge issue for the community but also boating in south sound in general.”

Young said the county agreed to help fund the acquisition because access for boaters is in the public interest. The appropriation was included in the county budget approved in November.

The marina began as a pier used to transfer lumber for Tacoma in 1884 and was a stop for vessels in the “Mosquito Fleet” of small steamers that plied the sound. It was used as an egg warehouse for the Washington Co-Operative Egg and Poultry Association until 1956.

Like Sucia Island

The template for the rehabilitation of Lakebay is Sucia Island State Marine Park, in the San Juan Islands. Reachable only by boat, it includes several sheltered bays for moorage and 640 feet of dock.

The Sucia Island park was the first project, in 1956, of the newly formed boating association, then called the Puget Sound Interclub Association. The club raised $25,000 to purchase land in danger of being developed for vacation cabins, and then deeded it to the state.

Another example is Blake Island State Park in Kitsap County, which features overnight moorage, electrical service and a sewage pumpout station.

Neither park has a fueling station, which would make the Lakebay park a draw for cruising boaters.

“It is the only fuel dock south of the Point Defiance until you get down to Olympia, so there is a huge gap,” said Young, speaking of the west side of the Narrows. It is difficult to get permits for new fuel docks in today’s climate, Young said, noting that Gig Harbor has tried unsuccessfully for years.

“Here you have an existing one, so the desire is strong,” he said.

The fate of the Lakebay Cafe, a popular music venue in the summer, is unclear, but Wise said it could become a concession under state parks management.

Wise, who heads the boating association, is a longtime boater who owns three marinas, including Harbor Place Marina in Gig Harbor. He lives on Bainbridge Island.

“I grew up on the Olympic Peninsula, so anything having to do with the waterways around there pulls on me,” he said. “I love Mayo Cove; it’s a beautiful spot. The water there gets really warm in the summer, and you see people swimming and kayaking and paddleboarding.”

“I’m super-excited to be part of this,” he said.

Persons interested in donating to RBAW’s Lakebay Marina fund can email Lakebay@RBAW.org

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story stated incorrectly that the Lakebay Marina is the only public marina on the Key Peninsula and has the only fuel dock between Point Defiance and Olympia. The Longbranch Marina in Filucy Bay is open to the public as well as members, and there is a fuel dock on Day Island.

This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 12:00 AM.