PORT TOWNSEND — The Port of Port Townsend will receive $1.3 million from the federal government toward building a passenger ferry boat to run between Port Townsend and Seattle.

U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks said Monday that he was informed of the allocation by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood through the government’s “ferry boat discretionary” program.

The port received word of the funds late Friday.

The money will be used for the design and construction of a new boat specific to the needs of traveling the route, which will cut the travel time from Port Townsend to Seattle to 70 minutes, Dicks said in a statement.

The port has enough money in the bank to complete the project, but will not spend the money until reimbursement is assured, according to port Executive Director Larry Crockett.

This is the third attempt in as many years to build or purchase a boat, and until last week the port thought the grant application would be unsuccessful.

The news of the award was received as a mixed blessing: The money means the port will be able to build the boat with a target date for operation of early 2013, but it will need to be completed under the supervision of Crockett and port Deputy Director Jim Pivarnik, in addition to their regular duties.

“When the county has to complete a new project, it can delegate it to staff members,” Pivarnik said.

“Larry and I will have to do this ourselves.”

The grant money will be used for construction of the boat, which will be sent out to bid after plans are developed.

A second bid process will call for companies to operate the boat.

“No port money will be used for operation of the service, which is the opposite what they are doing with the Kingston passenger ferry,” Crockett said.

The Port of Kingston operates the SoundRunner ferry — with two boats it purchased in 2009 — weekdays between Kingston and downtown Seattle.

One of the boats, the Kingston Express, is the former Victoria Express, which provided passenger service between Port Angeles and Victoria until last year.

Dicks on Monday noted that he and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Bothell, had sought help from the Transportation Department to match $1 million in funding that previously had been allocated by the state to establish a regularly scheduled link between Port Townsend and Seattle.

Washington State Ferries scrubbed its role in that plan, freeing the funds for the Port of Port Townsend, he said.

The $1.3 million is designed to assist in construction of the boat as well as terminal facilities.

Crockett said the Port of Port Townsend, which has jurisdiction over all of Jefferson County, plans to hold a series of public meetings to determine what the community wants from a passenger ferry, then design the boat and the service using those specifications.

Crockett said the project’s first public discussion will be at the next regular port commission meeting at 6 p.m. on Aug. 24 in the port’s Point Hudson headquarters at 375 Hudson St., Port Townsend.

Agencies that will be directly solicited for input include the city of Port Townsend, Jefferson County, the Port Townsend Main Street Program, the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council/Team Jefferson with meetings scheduled to begin in the next six months, Crockett said.

While public input will provide the fine tuning, there are some aspects of the project that have been determined.

The port envisions a boat about 56 feet long that will carry 49 passengers — ahead of the threshold that requires additional crew and increases expense, Crockett said.

The boat will be able to make the trip in 75 minutes with two round trips a day to start.

Because of the requirements of the Point Hudson dock, the first trip will leave Port Townsend in time to arrive in Seattle at 10 a.m., return to Port Townsend and make a second late afternoon/evening run to Seattle.

Crockett said the boat will be “bare bones” and be constructed from aluminum.

It may have limited food and coffee service, but will probably not have Wi-Fi for computers, Crockett said.

It will not be a commuter service, although people with a flexible schedule may be able to use it for that purpose, Pivarnik said.

It will instead be more geared toward tourists, a possibility that excites Port Townsend city marketing director — and Jim Pivarnik’s wife — Christina Pivarnik.

“I am ecstatic about this,” she said. “This opens a lot of possibilities for downtown businesses.”

Christina Pivarnik said the ferry can be marketed to tourists and those whose spouses are in Seattle for weeklong conventions, who want to take day trips “to see something different.”

Packages including lodging at local hotels and bed and breakfast inns will also appeal to visitors, she said.

Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Teresa Verraes said the passenger ferry could change how people travel from Port Townsend to Seattle, and thinks it will greatly benefit both cities.

“This is the best [economic] news I’ve heard in years,” she said.

Crockett said the development of the ferry will be an open-door process, and anyone with an opinion should contact him at larry@portofpt.com or at 360-385-0656.

“If they can’t make it to the meetings, they should just come down to the office [at Point Hudson] for a cup of coffee,” he said.

No port money will be used for the coffee; that cost will come out of his own pocket, Crockett said.

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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.