Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rick Larsen, the newly elected representative from the 2nd Congressional District, took a tour of the Everett base and left convinced that the maintenance facility should be a high priority in the next federal budget process. But just because the state officials want it doesn't mean the money will be there, Murray cautioned. The legislators were accompanied by base commanding officer Capt. Kim Buike, who made the point that maintenance now is being done on three World War II-vintage barges.
Work includes pipefitting, machining and fixing electronic equipment on the destroyers and frigates.
The three old barges located on a wharf near the ships' piers stand in sharp contrast to the campuslike setting of the rest of the naval station, the newest and most modern in the country. The proposal was excluded from final plans after a great deal of wrangling in Congress about the cost of the new home port. The barges were brought in as a temporary measure when the base opened, but it's not an efficient solution, Buike said. The sailors spend too much time maintaining the barges instead of concentrating on work for the ships, he said. An average of five days a year of work are lost on the barges because of rough weather.