Port leaders discuss breaks on the breakwaters

Readers,

It’s only early August, well ahead of the fall budget-writing season, but already Port of Bremerton commissioners are tossing around which work projects they’d like to fund next year.

Commissioners discussed the placement of restrooms on the breakwaters at the Bremerton and Port Orchard marinas, at $100,000 apiece. One for the Bremerton Marina is in the current budget though the grant money that covers 75 percent of the cost hasn’t arrived yet. They talked about putting a line item in the 2013 budget for the Port Orchard Marina.

The price tag astounded fiscal conservative and newest Commissioner Axel Strakeljahn.
“You’re telling me it’s a $100,000 project?” he asked. Yep, they answered.

Discussion of more modest port-a-potties didn’t go anywhere.

Port staffer Steve Slaton, who oversees the marinas, and port CEO Tim Thomson said the golden potties will boost use of the marinas. Boaters, walkers and participants of events at the marinas now have to walk to shore when nature calls.

“We think it’s an attribute that would be appreciated by the public,” Thomson said.

Also, they spoke about spending as much as $40,000 in grant money to study whether it would work to have a recreational-vehicle park somewhere near the proposed new site for Bremerton MotorSports Park (BMP). Commissioners decided to hold off on a study for a while until BMP gets a little farther into fundraising for the relocation.

Also up for discussion was a rebuild of the Harper Pier, dependent on receiving grants. Slaton was to be in Olympia on Wednesday to make a plea for the grant money, but he admitted there’s a lot of competition. Commissioners want Kitsap County to help with restrooms and parking, but haven’t had much luck.

Commissioners seemed to agree they want the port to be ready for any opportunity that might come about to support a marina at Seabeck. They thought it might work to begin putting $100,000 aside each year into a fund in anticipation of any opportunity, such as purchasing uplands for parking, for instance.

They also talked about logging an 11-acre section between the port’s industrial park and Highway 3, so that passers-by could see it and want to bring business there. No decision.

And, while the port’s website was redesigned only a year and a half ago, commissioners and staff consider it cheap, limited and hard to use. They are looking at $30,000 for a site revamp.

Enlargement of the Port Orchard Marina Park and improvements to a nearby boat ramp now are slated for this fall, rather than this summer. The port is waiting for permits to come through.

More work gets done on the road that is to lead into the South Kitsap Industrial Area if and when grants come through.

The budget get-together was the first of three preceding more formal deliberations later this fall. The next one is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 27.

— Rachel Pritchett