PORT ANGELES — The Border Patrol plans an invitation-only grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at its new complex at 110 S. Penn St. on Friday.
Because of seating limitations, the 10 a.m. event will be open “only to media with credentials and invited guests,” the Border Patrol said in a statement requesting RSVPs.
The event will include remarks by guest speakers — including Blaine Sector Chief Patrol Agent John C. Bates and Jay Cumbow, patrol agent in charge in Port Angeles — a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a few short presentations, the Border Patrol said.
Agents are moving from the Richard B. Anderson Federal Building at 138 W. First St. to new headquarters in a 19,000-square-foot remodeled building surrounded by a security fence and featuring a kennel, three dog runs, a 40-foot radio tower and a fitness center.
The new headquarters has the capacity to house 50 agents in the Border Patrol contingent that covers Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Border Patrol staffing for the North Olympic Peninsula has increased from four agents in 2006 to 42 in February.
The cost of the building, originally contracted at $8 million, rose to $9.8 million earlier this year.
The Army Corps of Engineers, which oversaw the project, paid Eagles Aerie 483 $2.1 million for the site in 2011.
Protest planned
The Stop the Checkpoints group plans to protest the opening of the new headquarters.
Group members will rally at 9:30 a.m. Friday outside the building, said Lois Danks, coordinator of Stop the Checkpoints.
The group has opposed an increase in Border Patrol activity, saying the increased surveillance is not necessary in an area with only water international borders.
“It’s symbolic of the waste of money and militarization and policies in general,” Danks has said.
The Port Angeles station is one of four in the Blaine Sector, which serves Alaska, Oregon and the western half of Washington state.
Other stations are in Blaine, Sumas and Bellingham.
The Border Patrol said the agency’s mission is to prevent the entry of terrorists and terrorist weapons into the United States, to deter the illegal entry of aliens and contraband, and to interdict and apprehend persons and contraband that have illegally entered the U.S.