COUNCIL SCORECARD: Police promotions and LED lights

The street lights will stay on in Bremerton, and, city officials hope, they’ll save some money too. At a brisk meeting Wednesday night, the Bremerton City Council approved the retrofit of 531 street lights with LED technology, meaning they’ll last longer and require less maintenance.

The cost: $268,000. A state grant and a rebate from Puget Sound Energy drops the cost to the city to $140,000, which officials say will pay for itself in six years. The $194,000 installation cost will be paid to the Consolidated Electrical Distribution company, which has a Bremerton location.

You might remember the demonstration project on Dr. ML King Way that spurred the latest purchase, one spearheaded by Public Works Director Chal Martin. There are a total of 1,619 street lamps in the city, so many will still be of the traditional variety.

Also at Wednesday’s City Council meeting:

Sworn officers: Bremerton’s newest lieutenant, Mike Davis, was sworn into office Wednesday night. Davis, who grew up in Kitsap County, became a Bremerton officer in 1998; he’s trained fellow officers, instructed on defensive tactics, been a detective and K-9 officer and, more recently, was promoted to sergeant.

Put simply, Davis has been an integral part of criminal cases that jolted the community conscience — murders, assaults, the Arnold’s Fire and the killing of Buddy the police dog. Police Chief Steve Strachan read an email from retired Bremerton Police Sgt. Bill Endicott at the meeting, who said Davis would provide the “professional, ethical, and moral” tutelage for a new generation of officers.

Three sergeants — Tim Garrity, Aaron Elton and Keith Sargent — were promoted Wednesday. (And, as Strachan pointed out, that means the city now has a Sergeant Sargent.)

Also on Wednesday, Officer Jeff Schaefer was promoted to corporal (for background on the position, click here). Former Poulsbo Officer Jennifer Corn and former Bainbridge Island Officer Mike Tovar were sworn-in as new officers in Bremerton as well.

Chromium-6: Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent addressed new fears that the chemical has been found in unsafe levels in most every state in the country. She claimed Bremerton’s drinking water is well under federal limits. “We have a much lower (level) than current standards,” she said. To see the city’s water quality, click here.

Public Works Turmoil: Councilman Greg Wheeler talked about the investigations that led to discipline among personnel in the Public Works Department during his report. He said the Council learned of the investigations because the Kitsap Sun was set to publish a story, and that, though he’s the chairman of the City Council’s Public Works Committee, the situation was appropriately handled by Lent and the city’s administration.

He did add he was “very concerned about the morale of the city staff and our employees” and that he hoped to see more “communication and trust” being built. “This change starts at the top,” he said.

Beautify Bremerton: The annual city “Beautify Bremerton” day is from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Residents here, as well as landlords, can take all yard waste free of charge to a disposal site near Legion Field off Sheridan Road. There’s also an army of volunteers and workers that will clean up parks and plazas around the city, including the Pat Carey Vista, Madrona Trails and medians near the Navy’s Farragut gate off Charleston Boulevard.

To see the full minutes and agenda of the City Council meeting, click here.