News of another big-ticket project coming down the pike for the money-strapped Port of Coupeville prompted brief discussion last week of running a levy lift in the near future.

No details have been ironed out, but the commissioners will likely continue talking about the issue in months to come.

Executive Director David Day told commissioners the wharf’s fire suppression system is starting to show signs of aging with leaks and corrosion. The estimated cost for replacing the system is upwards of $150,000.

“Without a fire suppression system, nothing happens out there — no tenants, no fuel — people might be able to walk out there,” Day said. “There are no ways of getting around that. We’re going to have to address this if the community wants that building.”

This latest project is just one of many the port has had to deal with in recent years.

“This is what the port does week after week,” said Commissioner Mike Diamanti. “It’s something we’ll have to grapple with. We’re faced with infrastructure issues and compliance. We need to look at a levy lid lift — something.”

The Port of Coupeville currently collects 0.17 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The homeowner of a $300,000 home in the district currently pay about $51 to the port.

Tax revenue totals about $350,000, Day said. Of those funds, $106,000 goes to pay the bond for the Greenbank Farm. That leaves roughly $250,000 for the port to maintain and operate both the wharf and farm.

With both being iconic and historic Whidbey structures, the port is faced with ongoing maintenance and limited funds.

Several projects were accomplished in the last couple of years with the help of proceeds from the sale conservation easement at the farm; the district also applied for rural economic development funds, known as “.09 funds,” through the county.

The port is sitting on $180,000 of conservations easement funds, but Day said the port uses that money as leverage to secure the .09 funds.

Day submitted a proposal in hopes of securing an additional $50,000 in .09 funds for an engineering study on the wharf’s substructure. The application was approved by the Council of Governments and will next be presented to Island County Commissioners for approval.

Day said the study would look at the wharf’s 265 pilings, piling caps and joists.

“We know there are pilings that aren’t there anymore,” he said. “The west side of the building is bowing out. A lot of what’s happening to the building is a symptom from below.”

Day said he is hoping the study will shed light on what exactly is happening underneath the wharf.

“We know there are at least 20-25 pilings that need serious repair or replacement,” Day said.

To his knowledge, this proposed study may be the first ever for the 110 year-old wharf.

Some of the pilings under the wharf may be original. When looking underneath, spikes from former pilings can be seen. Years of patches to deal with rotting wood, deteriorating ocean life and settling lead to some concern for the port.

All of the projects and maintenance done above mean nothing if wharf doesn’t have a secure foundation.

And it may be a costly fix.

“We want to find the most cost effective and sensible way to keep the wharf standing,” Day said.

Repairing the pilings, adding a fire suppression system and a whole list of other maintenance needs plague the port everyday, officials say.

Legally, the port could propose a levy of up to 0.45 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for up to five years.

“I think that’s something for the port to consider,” Day said. “I think we have a valid story to tell our constituents.”