Tomorrow, I’ll be attending a meeting of the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council, at which members will outline a process for evaluating Kitsap’s membeship in the Puget Sound Regional Council. You can read the most recent story about Kitsap and the PSRC here, but in a nutshell, South Kitsap Commissioner Jan Angel and members of the community, most notably Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners, have questioned the value of Kitsap’s membership in the PSRC.
An evaluation by county staff shows Kitsap received roughly $31 million more in funding for regional transportation projects from 1992 through 2007 than it would have if it had operated as its own independent planning organization. But critics and Angel say that PSRC takes away local control. Angel was among a handful of PSRC members who recently voted against that entity’s Vision 2040 plan.
Because the question of whether the PSRC is good for Kitsap has been raised, all local entities involved need to be able to weigh in said Mary McClure, KRCC’s executive director. McClure and others have suggested that an equally timely discussion would be how Kitsap can increase its effectiveness on the PSRC, which also includes King, Pierce and Snohomish County.
Central Kitsap Commissioner Josh Brown, who serves on the PSRC’s executive committee, would like to see more involvement on the part of Kitsap’s committee appointees to the PSRC. Just by showing up and taking part, they can exert significant influence despite Kitsap’s relatively small size compared to the other counties, Brown said.
Here’s a list of Kitsap appointees to the PSRC (below, I’ll list
Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council’s 2008 membership so you’ll
know who fits where).
KConPRSC.pdf
Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council 2008:
Chair
Council Member Carol Arends
City of Bremerton
Vice-Chair
North Kitsap Commissioner Steve Bauer
Kitsap County
Members:
Kitsap County
South Kitsap Commissioner Jan Angel
Central Kitsap Commissioner Josh Brown
City of Bremerton
Mayor Cary Bozeman
Council Member Will Maupin
Council Member Nick Wofford*
City of Bainbridge Island
Mayor Darlene Kordonowy
Council Member Debbie Vancil
Council Member Kim Brackett*
City of Port Orchard
Mayor Lary Coppola
Council Member Carolyn Powers*
City of Poulsbo
Mayor Kathryn Quade
Council Member Ed Stern
Suquamish Tribe (Membership Memorandum of Understanding in
Progress)
Council Chair Leonard Forsman
Rob Purser*
Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
Council Chair Leonard Forsman
Rob Purser*
Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe (Membership Memorandum of
Understanding in Progress)
Council Chair Ron Charles
Doug Quade*
Port of Bremerton
Commissioner Cheryl Kincer
Commissioner Bill Mahan
Naval Base Kitsap (ex officio member)
Captain Reid Tanaka
Tom Danaher, PAO*
Mary McClure
Executive Management
McClure Consulting LLC
The original arguments opposing getting out of PSRC are now moot.
Why?
Kitsap has the opportunity to join two other cities that remain in PSRC’s MTPO solely for transportation dollars, but have opted out of PSRC’s land use and economic development plans.
Now we will find out the true motives of PSRC advocates. Will they come up with a new excuse to remain part of it? Will they reveal their true motives now that the smokescreen is gone? Or will they have the courage to get us out now that transportation funding is no longer a factor?
The interesting part of this ongoing drama is when Kitsap played a significant role in PSRC’s economic development plans and initiatives over the years, few had anything negative to say about it. I don’t recall if it was Jan Angel or Chris Endresen who actually chaired, but back then it was the bees knees and a point of pride. Now that the topic or focus is transportation or growth management, the entity has spawned a third head and sits to the left of Satan.