A group of islanders is exploring the idea of creating a public development authority on Vashon, something they say could stimulate economic growth and possibly lead to the development of the K2 building.

Those involved call a public development authority (PDA) a “quasi-governmental” entity that would be formed by King County to do work on Vashon. A PDA is a government-owned corporation that cannot levy taxes and does not have power of eminent domain. On Vashon, a PDA would be overseen by a board and could enter into public-private partnerships, purchase property and lease it, issue tax-exempt bonds and — in what those involved say could be a huge boon for the island — could access local, state and federal funds not available otherwise.

Though there are currently no other public development authorities in unincorporated King County, Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the Seattle Art Museum and King County 4Culture are operated by PDAs.

“What we are hoping to accomplish with this is to have it be an economic development engine,” said Jacquie Perry, an islander who is closely involved with the group. “It started in regard to K2, but as we added people we started having more conversations about what it is we want.”

Perry, who moved to Vashon in 2007, is a former advisor with Washington’s Small Business Development Center and has owned several small businesses herself. When she moved to the island she naturally began thinking about small business issues, she said, and she took note when several years ago a group looked at developing the large, empty K2 building.

“There is really a need for more jobs, and there are people who are desperate for work here,” Perry said. “If there’s a way I can bring my expertise to help that way, I would like to.”

Last year on the ferry, Perry was chatting with Bill Moyer, a local activist and director of the Backbone Campaign, when they found they were both interested in seeing the K2 building redeveloped, and the two vowed to talk further.

In spring of that year, they brought more islanders into the conversation and reached out to an official at the state Department of Commerce to discuss economic development opportunities. The group has also met with a consultant, Pamela Shirley, who has helped start several PDAs in the state and has worked with the group on a mostly pro-bono basis.

Though as many as 50 people have attended meetings to discuss a Vashon PDA, a core group of eight islanders is now exploring the viability of a PDA on Vashon and may eventually present King County — the entity that would have to approve and form the PDA — with an official proposal.

At a meeting on Monday evening at the Vashon Library, Perry announced that after getting receptive feedback from King County, she recently spoke with a legislative aide to King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, and the aide is now arranging a meeting with county officials and members of the PDA workgroup. After gauging the county’s level of support, she said, the group will likely begin more public outreach around their effort, possibly organizing a community survey or public education about what a PDA is.

The workgroup includes Perry and Moyer, as well as Jenny Bell, Bob Fuerstenberg, Kevin Joyce, Wayne Miller, Merrilee Runyan and Rex Stratton.

“We have an idea of what can be done with a PDA. I think before it’s sent to King County, it’s going to have to have a very concrete business plan,” said Stratton, a local lawyer and community activist. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to have King County create a PDA that has no specific purpose and business plan.”

Those involved in the workgroup say they’ve yet to hash out details about what a PDA would do on Vashon, and the idea of a PDA is fluid because every PDA is different.

For instance, a PDA was formed in Bellevue in 1989 to construct and operate a convention center and theater. The resulting Meydenbauer Center still exists today. A PDA in Elma inherited a 1,800-acre failed nuclear facility and over the course of a dozen years created a business park that was eventually taken over by the Port of Gray’s Harbor. A PDA formed in Bellingham in 2008 is currently working to develop four specific vacant or under-utilized properties in that town.

Members of Vashon’s PDA workgroup say that a PDA could possibly do a number of things on the island, including developing the K2 building. When a marijuana edibles company came close to purchasing the building earlier this year, Moyer, who publicly called for better environmental testing at the site, also pointed out the PDA opportunity, as he and a small group had already begun investigating the idea.

A document the group presented at its Monday meeting and to the board of the Vashon-Maury Island Chamber of Commerce last week identifies K2 as a possible first project for the PDA.

“K2’s continued non-use represents both a potential environmental concern, and a significant missed opportunity for our community and the region,” the document reads.

It goes on to say that the group expects a PDA may be able to immediately seek at least two specific grants  for the development or remediation of K2 — one from the state’s Community Economic Revitalization Board and one from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program.

Members of the group also say the K2 site could simply be an example of a project the PDA would take on. They cite multiple challenges with the property, and they recently learned it may currently be off the market.

“I don’t think K2 is the end all and be all,” said Kevin Joyce, a member of the workgroup. “I think that it’s got a boatload of problems that would be hard to supersede.”

“This is more like a template to look at a bunch of different types of projects,” he added.

Chamber Director Jim Marsh said he sees the benefits a PDA could bring to the island but was hesitant to comment on the idea before the group has a more detailed plan. He noted that there are many community leaders and activists on the workgroup, but not many business owners or chamber members.

“I’m not seeing a lot of the larger business community represented, and that’s cause for concern, but that’s something that can change,” he said.

Alan Painter, who manages King County’s Community Service Area program and has been briefed by Perry on what the workgroup is doing, also said it was too early for him to comment on the idea. He said he would recommend the group gather feedback from Vashon residents and identify clear goals, noting there may be other ways to achieve them besides forming a PDA. He was unable to name other opportunities for economic development in King County, but said he could put the group in touch with officials most knowledgable in that area.

“Clearly there are a number of steps that need to take place before the county considers something,” he said.

Joyce, who owns EnJoy Productions and is currently in a master’s program for organizational leadership, said he got involved in the PDA workgroup because he is interested in a broader idea — boosting the community’s resilience in an unpredictable economic future, changing environmental conditions and other factors. At the meeting on Monday, the workgroup also discussed the idea of community resilience. Some said a PDA could be a resource where there are community needs and could partner with all types of organizations, from social service agencies to health care providers.

“Hopefully it will be a viable and flexible group,” Runyan said at the meeting.

Others said they liked the idea of community resilience, but the PDA may need to start with a more tangible goal, such as developing K2 or another property, in order to develop a solid plan and gain approval from King County.

“The idea conceptually is great,” Stratton said in an interview. “The goals are good; the direction is positive. The stumbling blocks are how do you make it work.”