Hello Bloggers,
This is reporter Rachel Pritchett. Bremerton Mayor Cary Bozeman was a guest yesterday of a Kitsap Sun editorial-board meeting, and from that, I began to identify what I believe is a change in direction he will attempt to bring to the port.
That change might be toward making the port a player in education, in expanding higher-education opportunities here, and even more specifically in the area of four-year degrees in areas such as sustainability. He even spoke of a “sustainability institute” at the port, just for that purpose. The port has had some modest partnership with Olympic College, but the port becoming a partner in education has never been discussed on my watch.
Like many others, Bozeman said our best and brightest young people leave and don’t come back because of a lack of higher-ed opportunities and non-military, non-government jobs for highly trained people.
He’d like to change that, and if I had to guess at this early juncture, he’ll be working to make that happen. And I’m guessing Olympic College could be a part of that, in a much bigger way.
That might mean a reinterpretation of the port’s wished-for SEED project, which calls for a business-incubator building at the port to spawn clean-tech businesses to grow and diversify Kitsap’s employment base. At the very least, Bozeman said he doesn’t think the port will even call it the SEED project anymore.
The SEED program has at least one friend on the Port of Bremerton commission in Bill Mahan, and it remains to be seen whether Mahan signs on to this new education emphasis I expect from Bozeman. We don’t yet know if Commissioner Cheryl Kincer, who seems supportive of SEED, is going to go for a new term. Mahan, after all, has done a lot of groundwork to lift SEED off the ground, including trying to set up a relationship between the port and a WSU-affiliated incubator in Spokane, as well as advocating for a SEED nonprofit board.
Rachel
The Port of Bremerton as a player in education for the 3 port districts. The Port of Bremerton as a player in watersports (2 marinas. The Port of Bremerton as a player in airports ( 1 airport). The Port of Bremerton as a player in attracting development (SKIA and 1 empty rental building). The Port of Bremerton as a player in “green industry” (SEED). Is it just me, or can not the Port of Bremerton make up its mind as to what it is a player in? Oh, I did forget the potential as a parking lot owner for KCHA. The Port of Bremerton needs to show us taxpayers and voters in its 3 districts what benefits we are gaining from the millions of Federal, State, and County tax dollars they have spent over the years. I doubt a shotgun approach to economic development will work even if you throw many more millions at it. If anything can bring economic development to the 3 Port districts it would be to make it easier on a business to survive. Reduce the time and effort it takes for permitting. Reduce or eliminate the B&O for a start-up business. Improve the infrastructure at the same time you help the districts voters and taxpayers. Don’t just throw money at your favorite hobby or cause. It should be very interesting at the future Port meetings. Maybe they will even start them again at the airport.
Roger Gay
South Kitsap
And with the arrogance reminiscent of Tim Botkin, the Port now envisions SEED as a “sustainability institute”. Yeah. The Port (who exhausted their Industrial Development levy capability with their last “stealth” tax increase), their new CEO (who leaves Bremerton as they lay off staff to pay the bills for all their “improvements”)and Kitsap County (who has gone to four hour work weeks) are going to teach ANYONE about sustainability. Rich.