Time to close the marine terminal

It’s time to close the marine terminal.

It’s $5 million in the red, and there’s no hope that it will ever pay its way. Let Tacoma deal with the log piles, fracking sand and endless war.

Let’s re-purpose our marine terminal property into something that’s sustainable and aligns with our values. People flock to towns like Gig Harbor and La Connor because those towns have recognized the magic of water.

Caught in this closure are the longshoremen. The port staff needs to do all it can to help them get jobs at other marine terminals. If there was enough work here, then when our marine terminal closes that work will go somewhere.

Closing the marine terminal should improve the civility and the transparency at the port. We can’t have any more of Commissioner Joe Downing’s shameful attacks trying to block transparency. We can’t have any more of Executive Director Ed Galligan’s attempts to deceive the public by having secret meetings with the military. What’s already transpired is enough to warrant his firing. Commissioner McGregor needs to understand that a loss is a loss is a loss. When a house gets flooded, another house may get built, but flooding doesn’t generate prosperity.

This story was originally published December 22, 2016 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Time to close the marine terminal."