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Thoughts from Port of Bremerton CEO Cary Bozeman.
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Thanks To The Good People of Seabeck

Last night, our leadership team at the Port of Bremerton traveled to Seabeck for a community meeting.

The length of the trip itself was a good reminder of why citizens there feel distant from the Port and frustrated over what they get in return for their taxes. They are distant from our airport, industrial and business parks, and marinas. They’d like a marina of their own, or at least something in their community to show for the taxes they pay.

The Port has tried in the past to make a couple of projects work in Seabeck. We tried to work with the state in rebuilding the Misery Point boat ramp and parking area. But the state’s design was controversial, it was rejected by the county and then the state, which owns the ramp, decided not to proceed with the project. Another time, we tried to partner with the county to build a restroom and sewer lift station at the site of the old Seabeck marina. That effort collapsed because we couldn’t obtain an easement for shoreline access and because of a legal question about the county’s use of public funds for the project.

So with these failed efforts, we knew to expect frustration, and we were right.

But here’s an important point in this time of sometimes unruly public discourse: The folks of Seabeck expressed their frustrations, but they spoke their piece in a conversation that was civil and constructive. We listened to what they had to say and learned from it. They listened to our answers and respected us for making the effort. They still want more to show in Seabeck for their tax dollars, even as they acknowledged how difficult it is to achieve tax equity in a sprawling district like ours. We think they are right and we’re going to keep trying.

Thanks, Seabeck, for proving that it still possible for citizens and government to talk to each other in a positive way.

(You can watch for a broadcast of the meeting on BKAT and we’ll post it to our website once BKAT provides us a copy.)

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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One Response to “Thanks To The Good People of Seabeck”

  1. Rich Jacobson Says:
    October 14th, 2009 at 3:13 pm

    The good people of Seabeck have all suffered a number of disappointing and frustrating setbacks to various improvements/projects that would’ve added needed value to the community. The Misery Point public boat launch is a perfect example. Why couldn’t the State simply amend their design to accomodate/compromise with the County’s concerns? The need for a new ramp at this strategic site is obvious and highly warranted. Thanks for your ongoing commitment and efforts on their behalf!