Fall 1996 Tenas Chuck Co-Op

1 FOUNDED 1962 FLOATING HOMES ASSOCIATION 2 3 2 9 Fairview Avenue East Seattle, Washington 98102 Phone: 325-1132 Numbe r 128 '}.[ews fetter Fall 1996 Tenas Chuck Goes Co-Op The smiling faces belong to (left to right) Mike Handron, Caroline Kuknyo and Tom Stockley, three ofTCM's first Co-Op board. After almost two years of negotiation, the 32-site Tenas Chutk Moorage at 2331-2339 Fairview Avenue East has changed hands to become Lake Union' s newest cooperative, TCM. Tenas Chuck is one of the old-style moorages going back to early days when it was owned by Dahl-Hendrickson. In 1980, the moorage was purchased by five couples (some of whom lived on the docks) who formed a corporation ultimately known as Lake Union Moorings Associates. LUMA announced their decision to sell in 1994 and current tenants on the two docks decided to purchase and form a Co-Op . This is yet another example in the steady trend towards houseboaters owning or leasing their water as well as owning their houses -something the Floating Homes Association as always sought for their member-ship.]

2 Not only does it provide a sense of financial security, it acknowledges that special sense of commu-nity that makes the houseboat lifestyle so special. When Howard Droker published his historical jewel-" Seattle's Unsinkable House boats" in 1977 - there were four cooperative moorages and in the final sentence of his book he points to the expansion of this system as the "ultimate security for Seattle's house boats ." The FHA has always agreed with that point-of-view. (Another photo, pg 2.) Lease Logjatn Loosens by Bill Keasler We are finally making some tangible progre ss against th e five-year backlog of unrenewed state leases. Early in the year, the Floating Homes Association (rather naively) thought that our agreement with the Department of Natural Resources on the lease language itself would allow moorage owners to proceed with their renewals. The devil, of course, popped up in the detai ls and stalled everything until the end of summer. Now, however, a number of docks (most notably Tenas Chuck and Dox on Fairview) have signed new leases with the state and more are in progress.

3 By the time of the our annual meeting las t April, the Association team which had negotiated the new lease language with DNR had lost most of its initial euphoria over the agreement. The spirit of cooperation which had marked most of 1995 seemed to have evaporated. Moorage owners were pondering a new seven-page renewal application requesting information far beyond anything the state had required before. We found out the new leases were going to be back-dated (as much as five Conrinued on pagt 4 .. NEWSLETTER 2 Friends and neighbors from land and sea gathered October 5th in the parking lot of the Tenas Chuck Moorage on Fairview A venue East to celebrate the birth of Lake Union's newest cooperative. Peg's Log (Peg Stockley is Office Manager of the Floating Homes Association and also is editor of this newsletter; thus-by editorial perogative-a new feature.) As Tenas Chuck Moorage becomes the lake's newest cooperative, it brings to mind the history of houseboat co-ops on Lake Union and Portage Bay.)

4 First on Lake Union was Flo-Villa and first on Portage Bay the same year was Houseboat Harbor Inc. (3110 PBPL). Following is a list of known co-ops identified by the FHA office: Floating Homes Association Board President: Bill Keasler (2037 FV) Vice President: Marty Alexander (2466 WL) Treas: Ed Waddington/Julia Forbes (2339 FV) Secretary: June Fauchald (2466 WL) MEMBERS-AT-LARGE: Ann Bassetti (2420 WL) Jan Eisenhardt (2420 WL) Sheri Gotay (3110 PBPL) Jann McFarland (2025 FV) Susan Susor (1409 N .E . Boat St.) Phil Webber (2466 WL) OFFICE MANAGER: Peg Stockley NEWSLETTER STAFF: Peg Stockley, editor 329-7973 John Nelson, production Office Hours 9-1 Tuesdays and Thursdays (The Floating Homes Association office is located at 2329 FV. roughly two blocks north of Lynn Street. Phone 325-1132) Log Foundation, Flo-Villa, DOX, Tenas Chuck Moorage, 2460 Inc., Nesika Chuck , Mallard Cove, Houseboat Harbor Inc., and Salix Dock. According to our records, there are the following condo moorages: Lee's Moorage, Roanoke Reef, Fairview Moorings, Phoenix Moorage, Pettus Cove and Portage Bay Condo Association.

5 If there are others in either category. please notify the FHA office at 325-1132. The highest number of calls to the FHA office continues to be concerning potential rentals. If you need help in finding a tenant, call the office. We do no screening and take no responsibility but will share our "informal" list of people looking for both short-term and long-term rentals. Houseboaters are always looking for insurance advice. Recently, someone pointed out a homeowners insurance policy for houseboats that is open to veterans and their dependents. I checked it out. The organization is . (United Services Automobile Assn). They do write such a policy for commissioned officers and their dependents, but each houseboat case is looked at individually. Call 1-800-531-8111 for more information. Donations are still being sought for the renovation of the historic steamboat Virginia V. The 74-year-old steamboat is the sole survivor of the "Mosquito Fleet" which plied the waters around Puget Sound long before there were highways or superferries.

6 It is one of only two historic steamships left in the United States. As houseboaters, we enjoy the sight and sound of this 125-foot National Historic Landmark in our own backyard. Send contributions to the Virginia V Foundation, Box 24805, Seattle, WA 98124-0805. According to Lt. Joanne Hunt, Commander of the Harbor Patrol, a new patrol boat is on the drawing board and when it is built it will be assigned to our local waters. The boat will have a dramatically improved firefighting capability-3000 gallons a minute or the equivalent of two fire pump trucks. Hopefully, the new boat will be ready by the 4th of .T uly 1997. Maybe we should have a name-it contest?. Kudos to WRQ, Makers of Retlection Software, headquartered on Dexter A venue North, for matching the cash contribu-tion of houseboater Robert afSandeberg. Many fine companies are doing this kind of thing these days for not-for-profit organizations. Money that comes into our Legal Fund is used to monitor (lobby when necessary) issues that affect our house-boat community.

7 Call the offfice (325-1 132) for information. NEWSLETTER 3 Mike Ryherd by Peg Stockley What's your idea of the perfect lobbyist? How about one who comes into the interview with fresh produce from his organic farm garden in hand? That's Mike Ryherd, who has been our FHA lobbyist in Olympia for about 4 years. Mike and his wife, Dottie Parcheski, live on Bainbridge Island where they own Willow Brook Farm. Eighteen acres of the 25-acre farm are planted in hay plus an orchard that produces 65 varieties of apples and perennials, herb and berry gardens. A team of white miniature horses provide what Mike describes as "our source of free organic fertilizer." Farmers Dottie & Mike are professional partners as well in Soren NW Inc., a lobbying firm that represents (in addition to our houseboat community) such diverse clients as the Puget Sound Air Pollution Authority, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition and the Teamster's Union. Dottie handles public disclosure, taxes and the business side while Mike works directly with clients.

8 "Our profes-sional life is mental," he says, "so it's great to work with your hands in the soil in the off-hours." Before moving into the world of lobbying, Mike was chair of the King County Democratic Party from 1968-72. In 1973, he turned to consulting, focusing on environmental statements and public policy issues. It was the era of public disclosure and he edited a compliance handbook for lobbyists. Purchase and preservation of open space and water was his spe-cialty. He explains the role of lobbyist as getting people to focus and priori-tize. "You have to know the system and issues as well as the personalities involved. You seldom change people's mind," he says. ''The idea is to remove obstacles so that you can force a decision within a reasonable period of time. What makes it worth doing is the knowledge that you can make a difference." The last three weekends in October are pumpkin time at Willow Brook. There is hand-pressed cider, cornstalks and gourds. Available in their "country store" are Halloween items as well as herbal & berry vinegars and certified organic seeds.

9 And, it's open to the public. For info: 842-8034 KAYAKING CAROLERS SEEK HOSTS This year's dates: Dec. 13, 14, 15 & 16 from 68 p .m. The kayaking carolers need a few good parties! For the past 10 years, the NW Outdoor Center has organized these outings as a fundraiser for the Seattle Children's Home. Forty kay akers per night pay $25 each to participate of which $20 is donated to the children's home. NWOC furnishes kayaks, gear, four instructors and song sheets. The carolers are led by opera singer Norman Smith and accompanied by concertina player Thomas Slye. All that is asked of floating homes residents is to provide an enthusiastic audience (refreshments are also gladly accepted). The kayakers visit four homes per night serenading for about 20 minutes from their kayaks. If you live on Lake Union (sorry, Portage Bay is a little too far) and you would be interested in hosting th e carolers this year, please call Bill Stewart at 281-9694. NEWSLETTER 4 Lease continued from page 1 years in some cases) to the expiration date of the old leases.

10 No one could explain precisely what the basis for calculat-ing back rent was going to be. And, most puzzling of all, DNR was signaling that it might not approve a simple transfer of a lease from an old moorage owner to a new one (at Tenas Chuck ). The Association state lease team, Sheri Gotay (3110 PBPl), Bill Keasler (2037 FV), attorney Peter Eglick and lobbyist Mike Ryherd, who had grappled with this issue for years, gathered themselves together once again. They decided that the roots of the problem were partly fostered by having to measure every decision against its "statewide significance." They asked Jennifer Belcher, Commissioner of Public Lands, for help. As she has done every time we have been able to get her attention in this process, Belcher responded sympathetically to our concerns. She assured us that the new manager, Warren Warfield, was a "problem solver" and would be up to speed shortly. Warfield, over the course of two meetings (including a Saturday morning tour of the lake), managed to smooth our feathers a bit.