Gig Harbor kayak team finally to have permanent home — and an eye on Olympics
After several years of negotiations, the Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak team will soon have a dock at Ancich Park they can call their own.
This past week, the team presented the City of Gig Harbor with a $100,000 donation as part of an agreement to begin construction on a dedicated dock in the fall, with construction expected by the end of the year.
The floating kayak dock is to be built as part of the adjoining commercial pier owned by the Jerkovich family at the south end of the park. The city committed to an agreement in August of last year to design, obtain permits for and construct the dock, which will replace a portion of the existing Jerkovich Pier float system.
The dock, which will rise and fall with the tide, will be used by kayaks and other paddle-craft, such as paddleboards, and will be open to the public.
The total cost of the project is still not clear, but Mayor Kit Kuhn said in July 2020 it would be “several hundred thousand dollars” less that the initial $1.2 million estimate for a stand-alone dock.
Dream a reality
At the presentation June 29, longtime advocate and team founder Alan Anderson expressed his thanks to the city for helping to make the longtime dream a reality.
“When you’re trying to accomplish something, you have to work together,” Anderson said. “The feeling is like I’m standing on top of a mountain because this has been a long project for me.”
Anderson wanted to emphasize that the work is about the youth who have benefited from the program.
“Very early on, this became much more than my dream. It became a dream of the community and a dream of many kids,” Anderson said. “I’m looking forward to getting this word out to all those pioneer paddlers that I started with that the mission is accomplished.”
Kuhn, who has said he won’t be running for reelection, said the project was one of those he had hoped to get completed before he departed.
“My daughter was in the program, probably about 12 years ago when Alan first started this,” Kuhn said. “When I became mayor, I knew how important it was to the community and I wanted to do everything I could to make it happen. It was a long road.”
Kuhn pointed to projects like this and a sports complex with the YMCA that he hopes can be part of his legacy in office.
“I’m just really proud of our work,” Kuhn said.
A long, tough road
With the long push for a permanent home behind them, including many long council meetings where the team would pack the chambers, Anderson said he is appreciative of all the parties efforts to get it done.
“There are certainly no ill feelings, it’s just appreciation for the tough deliberations that they had to do to finally get this one. I’m happy they finally got past that. It’s been a long climb,” Anderson said.
The years-long saga of the kayak dock was convoluted. At first, the plan was to build an entirely new floating dock out from the existing Ancich pier.
As The Gateway reported in June 2020, that would have cost $1.2 million, and the city has already lost a big chunk of tax revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. In addition, there was criticism that a new dock, jutting out at right angles from the Jerkovich pier, would obstruct the view of the harbor.
A solution proposed
In July of 2020, the Jerkovich family proposed the solution finally adopted. They would share their historic pier with the city.
The Jerkovich pier is a longstanding commercial pier just on the southern edge of Ancich Park, operated by Nicholas Jerkovich and other family members under a lease from the state Department of Natural Resources. The pier has been in the Jerkovich family since 1901.
According to a city memorandum, the family was facing a burdensome requirement from DNR to modify its entire float system. The Jerkovich family approached the city with a deal, according to Jeff Langhelm, the city public works director.
“The City’s agreement to modify that portion of the float system that would be subject to the sublease would relieve Jerkovich Pier of the burden to make those modifications in that sublease area,” the memorandum explained.
Anderson said it’s been was worth it to see the impact it has had on the area youth.
Stella DeSantis, 15, who has lived in Gig Harbor her whole life and been with the team since 2017. She was introduced to the program’s summer camp and “has loved it ever since.”
“It’s really crazy because ever since I joined the team, it’s been a constant storyline, right?” DeSantis said. “Trying to get a home, showing up at city council meetings, and it’s all really coming together.”
Another member of the team, 20-year-old Jonathan Grady, has been with the team since 2009 and said the dock brings stability.
“It’s comforting because I think there has always been a little bit of uncertainty of how permanent we actually are here at Skansie Park,” Grady said. “It’s a big step for just having a permanent home and being able to relax and focus on building the team more.”
A turning point
Coach Aaron Huston said the moment represents a “turning of the page for the team.”
“The team finally has a place to call home,” Huston said. “This means that the team is going to be around for a long time. I think that’s great for the youth of Gig Harbor.”
Huston said an agreement is in place, though they hope to continue fundraising to help get the project done. “Both the city and the club have signed,” Huston said. “We’re going to try to fundraise even more, we want to help out as much as we can.”
The dream for Huston as a coach is now to try to send kids to the Olympics, a goal that is shared by Anderson.
“Ultimately, we want to compete at the Olympic level. We’re very close and with Aaron, we’re going to take that final step,” Anderson said. “We’re not done yet: Paris 2024.”
This story was originally published July 3, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
