By Nancy Covert
“There appears to be some cleanup efforts underway at the Steilacoom Marina site,” reported Paul Loveless, Steilacoom’s Town Administrator. Mr. Loveless gave Town Council an update about cleanup progress at the burned-out marina facility during its May 3 meeting.
A crew of five young men was at the site this past Wednesday morning, taking advantage of the rain-free weather, to continue sorting through fire-damaged debris. One of the men said they had “until May 15” to get it all cleared up.
After waiting many months to see signs of work at the Saltar’s Point location, Town Council requested that Mrs. Shirley Wang have the site cleaned up before the middle of May.
The marina that she and her late husband, Paul, owned, was destroyed in a fire in Oct. 2009. In a 2010 news article Mrs. Wang had said that, eventually, she wanted to reopen the business.
Although there was a minus tide that morning, the cleanup crew said the materials would be removed as soon as a vessel was able to get there.
The timing of debris removal is of special concern to the Town, explained Mr. Loveless, because of DNR and Department of Fisheries restrictions affected by a seasonal “fish window.”
Mark Burlingame, Public Works Director, said that same “fish window” also impacted removal of sand from the Town’s Union Avenue boat launch area.
Mr. Burlingame added that bids for the town’s $1.623 million Starling Street improvement project were to be opened at 11 a.m. on May 11 at the Public Works Bldg.