The San Juan County Council unanimously approved the purchase of a boat dock, building and land adjacent to the Orcas Ferry Terminal for $2.85 million dollars at its meeting on Tuesday.

The purchase, which will be financed out of the County’s Road Fund, will give the county ownership of a dock large enough to moor five to 12 boats, several parking spaces on Orcas Road across from the Orcas Hotel, a 4,000 square foot commercial building that currently produces $75,000 in lease revenue per year, a storage building and an area which Washington State Ferries has expressed an interest in acquiring to improve traffic flow and make terminal improvements.

Public Works Director Jon Shannon said that the sale should be complete and the dock open for public use shortly after the first of the year. He said that county operation of the dock “will provide a major benefit to the marine transportation community and residents of non-ferry served islands by providing convenient access to the county road system, the WSF terminal and the commercial facilities in Orcas Village.”

Shannon noted that the county has submitted a grant application to the State Resource and Conservation Office Boating Facilities Program that could result in a grant of up to $1 million toward the cost of the purchase. By using the new facility, the county could also save the $4,500 per year that it now pays a commercial dock to accommodate county vessels on Orcas.

The county first began exploring the purchase of the property in conjunction with Washington State Ferries in 2005, but WSF backed out of the deal after months of negotiations and the deal fell through until the new owners of the property expressed interest in selling the property in 2007.

Council Members lauded fellow member Alan Lichter for his work in keeping the acquisition project alive for more than three years. Lichter was initially involved in the negotiations as a County Commissioner and continued to focus interest on value of the potential acquisition throughout the process.