Speaking of South Kitsap

For a map of the area, courtesy of the City of Port Orchard, see below.

Proponents have strategy to extend the deadline for approval of the annexation petition.
By Chris Henry
chenry@kitsapsun.com
SOUTH KITSAP
Proponents of an annexation on the Bethel Corridor that would bring 387 parcels of property into the City of Port Orchard have not given up their plan, even though the original six month deadline for collecting signatures on the annexation petition has come and gone.
Joining the city would give property owners within South Kitsap’s main commercial thoroughfare the advantage of urban level services, said Gary Anderson of Kitsap Commercial Group. The city stands to gain increased revenue from the annexation, which includes the Safeway shopping complex at the corner of Bethel Avenue and Tremont Street, Walmart and the site of a future Home Depot.
The city has already annexed the Fred Meyer shopping complex at the south end of the corridor, as well as other properties at the intersection of Bethel Avenue and Sedgwick Road.
The total assessed value of properties within the 555-acre annexation area is $145 million. Property owners representing at least 60 percent of the total value must sign the petition for the annexation to move forward. Proponents have a six-month window within which to gather the required number of signatures.
The total assessed value represented by signatures collected to date is 53 percent, a mere 7 percentage points shy of the goal. The earliest signatures on the petition are dated July 29.
Although the six-month deadline is up, Anderson and others leading the annexation campaign have a strategy for staying in the game.
According to City Attorney Greg Jacoby, signatures older than sixth months are automatically invalid. However, nothing prevents those property owners from signing again.
“It’s as if those people have never signed,” Jacoby said. “All the other signatures on the petition though remain valid. So in effect you can have a rolling petition.”
Anderson’s plan is to revisit those who signed early in the campaign and ask them to sign again, with the new date recorded as the legal date of signing. Once the 60 percent threshold has been met, as long as all signatures are within a six month time frame, the petition is valid in favor of annexation.
The total assessed value required is just more than $87 million. So far just more than $77 million is accounted for (including signatures that are more than six months old).
“Trying to get that last 10 percent is always the toughest,” said Anderson.
Large retailers that have signed include Safeway and Rite Aid, Anderson said. Walmart and Home Depot are in the midst of processing permits with the county, and so have not signed. According to Anderson, representatives of those companies have said they’re not opposed to annexation but leery of affecting the permit process. If the annexation is approved, the Walmart and Home Depot properties would become part of the city regardless of if they’ve signed, because they are within annexation boundaries.

Bethel North Boundary Map

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

Yesterday, I spent the morning at Marcus Whitman Junior High School’s annual career fair. The gym was full of folks representing a range of professions: machinists, attorneys, animal control workers, a member of the county coroner’s staff, restaurant owners, medical personnel. It was our job to give the students a glimpse into the future and imagine themselves in our shoes.

Seeing them streaming into the gym reminded me what it was like to be in their shoes, drifting in that limbo stage between childhood and adulthood, trying to fit in while standing out. A few had that deer-in-the-headlights stare. Like, “Oh, man, I’m actually going to have to get a job someday.” Some knew exactly what they wanted to do … to the point they’d crossed all other possibilities off the list. The vast majority of them, however, were open-minded, politely but genuinely interested in prospect of being a journalist, at least for a minute or two.

I thought, what do I tell them about our industry, which has seen thousands of journalists laid off and hundreds of publications shuttered? Should I encourage these young people to invest their money, time and energy training for a career that may not exist as we know it by the time they’re out of school? It wouldn’t quite have been in the spirit of things to say, “Run!” So I told them the truth about journalism, at least as see it from my desk at the Kitsap Sun, a daily newspaper/Web site, published in Bremerton, Wash., circa 2010.

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions, and how I answered them.

Where do you get your story ideas?
We monitor state and local government Web sites and other Web sites for developments in and around Kitsap County. We stay in contact with sources with whom we’ve established relationships and use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to keep up with what’s going on. We receive e-mails and phones calls from readers and others about news or human interest stories. And sometimes, we get ideas that strike our fancy, like the story I wrote on the Mattress Ranch guy.

What’s the hardest part of your job?
Writing the first sentence of any story.

What educational classes do I need to take to become a writer?
Don’t wait to complete your degree to start writing. Sign up for the high school newspaper or year book. Take journalism, photography and videography classes (South Kitsap High School has a great video production program). Write as often as you can, and be open to constructive criticism. Pick a topic that interests you and start a blog.

How successful are students who major in journalism at getting a job?
This wasn’t a frequently asked question, but I thought it was a great question. I couldn’t speak to current statistics, but I can say that the job market for journalists remains tight. Journalists today are required to wear many hats, so successful applicants will be ready to demonstrate versatility and innovation. Here at the Kitsap Sun, we reporters now not only write stories, but shoot videos and, in a pinch, take simple photographs.

With migration to the Internet, reporting the news is shifting from a series of static episodes to a fluid, quickly shifting landscape of information. News Web sites not only report news, sports, features and opinion pieces (as in the print paper), they serve as an online community forum. Readers can comment on stories and blogs, submit their own pictures and videos, and write their own blogs. In that was were are becoming a virtual community.

The Kitsap Sun will continue to publish the print edition of the paper. At the same time, our Web site is evolving rapidly. Both serve different, valid purposes. By the time these Marcus Whitman students graduate from college, it’s likely there will be jobs that don’t even exist (at least as separate jobs) right now. The titles “data base wrangler,” and “news cartographer” come to mind, for example.

To the student in the Twilight T-shirt who said she likes to write fantasy stories I said:
Hold that thought, keep writing and send your stories out to fiction publications as often as possible. At the same time, consider how you’ll earn a paycheck while waiting to become the next Stephenie Meyer.

To guy who wants to be a sports writer but wasn’t sure how he’d do it since he plays sports year ’round:
Cover the girls’ games.
I loved his reaction, at first, stunned silence, then a little ah-ha moment, then a slow sideways grin. They can be taught.

Is your job, like boring?
Yes, sometimes. Welcome to the real world.

Is your job stressful?
Yes, often. Welcome to the world of journalism.

Have you ever interviewed a celebrity?
I tried to tell them about Loretta Swit, aka “Hot-Lips Hoolahan,” who was in town a few years ago promoting her personal cosmetic line to a group of women. She gave me a mini-makeover in front of the group, but it didn’t take. The students were clueless about the significance of this story. They got the connection to M*A*S*H* after I primed their little neuron pumps, but they were unimpressed with Swit.

Debbie Macomber? Isn’t she that author lady? I think my mom reads her books.

Delilah? The South Kitsap resident and radio personality with millions of fans on the airwaves? No, never heard of her.

Seriously, next time Death Cab comes to town I’m on it. Just maybe they’ll know who Ben Gibbard is.

Do you like your job?
Yes, unequivocally. Stress turned inside out is excitement, and this job is frequently exciting. I’m not just talking about breaking news here, but also about how much fun it is not to know exactly what I’ll be doing each day when I walk in the door. Oh, sure, I have a plan, but often circumstances shift me to another track. We’re a small staff so I get to write news, features, Code 911 items and pretty much whatever comes along. I enjoy the variety, and I’m always amazed at how people allow me into their lives, often at deeply painful moments.

I also like the folks I work with, and I’m not just sucking up because I’m stuck with them. Over the past three years, it has sometimes seemed as if we were bailing out a leaky dingy while building the Titanic. We got this far though teamwork (and sometimes wacky outbursts of humor). Call me a terminal optimist, but I believe I’m not alone in saying things are looking up for the Kitsap Sun. It’s a work in progress. I can’t wait to see how it turns out, and I sure hope there will be someone to pick up where we leave off.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

By Chris Henry
chenry@kitsapsun.com
SOUTH KITSAP
With foreclosure pending on the Woods View development, proposed for 78 homes on 12 acres along Woods Road, neighbors are wondering who is responsible for the land.
Earlier this week, neighbor June Garrett-Groshong, a member of the Beaver Creek Conservation Group, questioned who would be held accountable to protect Beaver Creek from run-off from the site while negotiations on the foreclosure are still in progress. The site is partially cleared and covered with straw.
The Kitsap County auditor’s office shows the legal owner of the property as Woods View II LLC. Darlene Piper, who owns a law firm in Port Orchard, formerly owned Woods View II LLC but said on Tuesday she is no longer the owner.
According to Guy Beckett, a Seattle attorney representing Piper in a legal claim against Kitsap County related to the development, the legal owner of Woods View II LLC is Beckett Trust. Yes, Beckett said, it’s no accident his name is on the trust, but he is not the legal owner of Woods View II LLC either.
Beckett explained that the trust was set up some time ago as “an estate planning” tool and that it had nothing to do with the legal and logistical morass Woods View, the development, has become.
A significant issue is an on-site, self-contained sewer treatment system that will serve the single-family homes. One lender backed out over the appearance that the system classified the development as a condominium project, said Dave Walden of John L. Scott in Port Orchard, who has worked with Woods View since 2005.
According to Walden, a new potential lender has been identified, and a semantic change names the entity responsible for the system as a homeowners association.
Woods View II LLC owes First Citizens Bank and Trust Co. of Tacoma more than $1.2 million. Terrence J. Donahue, the attorney representing First-Citizens in the foreclosure, did not return calls from the Kitsap Sun this week.
Walden on Tuesday said that negotiations which could avert the foreclosure were under way with potential buyers for the project, including NeuBuilt Homes of Tacoma. Rick Neumann of NeuBuilt was out of town and unavailable for comment. On Friday, however, Neumann said that while he at one time had a conversation with Walden about the possibility of purchasing Woods View, he had never made a commitment to do so.
Neumann, whose company was set to build homes on the property, said he would not consider such a purchase unless certain problems, including the septic issue, were worked out. He has “moved on” to other projects, he said.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

I apologize for the confusion created by an inaccurate statement in the story on a proposed public park at McCormick Woods (the online version of which has been corrected): “The city also will assume responsibility for an existing 1-acre park within McCormick Woods, a trail head and a partially built trail system that connects to the county-owned Coulter Creek Heritage Park.”

This is inaccurate on several counts.

1. The City of Port Orchard will not as a result of the pending inter-local agreement between itself and Kitsap County have any responsibility for parks, other than the 63.5-acre McCormick Village Park, either within McCormick Woods residential area or The Ridge at McCormick Woods.

2. The park, trailhead and partly developed trails I mentioned in the original story are in The Ridge (also known as McCormick North) and belong to The Ridge’s homeowners’ association, not the McCormick Woods homeowner’s association.The trails connect The Ridge with the proposed McCormick Village Park.

3. The agreement between the city and the county simply states that if, in the future, the Ridge homeowner’s association wants to enter into negotiations with a local government entity on a potential sale of its park, trailhead and trails, or an agreement about upkeep or development of same, that government entity will not be Kitsap County but the City of Port Orchard.

4. The Ridge is McCormick North, which is partly built out. McCormick West is yet to be built.

5. Finally, to reiterate, the McCormick Village Park will be open to the public.

For more information on the McCormick Woods annexation, the McCormick Village Park and the City of Port Orchard parks survey (for all city residents) visit the city’s Web site.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

Check the march to the Roses blog for the latest feather in South Kitsap High School Marching Band’s cap.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

Tomorrow, Robin Vergara, a South Kitsap resident, will board a plane bound for the Dominican Republic. There, Vergara, an emergency room nurse at Tacoma General Hospital, will meet with other Tacoma General doctors and nurses who have teamed up to provide medical care in Haiti. The group, which Robin said will operate under the umbrella of Destiny World Outreach of Texas, will spend a week in the earthquake-stricken country. According to Robin, Destiny World Outreach has been working in Haiti and so is able to provide her group with local contacts and transportation. She said the organization is helping teams like hers make week-long stints, which, back-to-back, will provide ongoing support without unduly taxing volunteers, who must take time out from their jobs and families.

I hope to catch up with Vergara after her week in Haiti. (Today she is running around taking care of last minute details.)

As we continue to report on Kitsap County residents and organizations involved in relief to Haiti, it bears repeating that potential donors should be fully informed about where they send their charitable dollars.

“I tell people to do their research online to find out how long the organization has existed and what they have been doing in the area,” said Janet Heath, Westsound director of the American Red Cross.

Web sites like charityguide.org, which Heath recommended, offer guidelines for choosing a charity. According to information on the Web site, the American Institute of Philanthropy provides a watchdog service to help donors understand how well their dollars are being spent. The AIP gives letter grades to nationally prominent charities (smaller charities may not be listed – that’s really where doing your homework comes in). A grade of B means the organization openly shares audited financial statements and income tax forms, spends less than $25 to raise $100 and allocates at least 75 percent of money raised towards charitable programs (not fund-raising and general administration).

The Better Business Bureau reports on charities based on its Charity Accountability Standards, which are listed on the Web site. The BBB also lists complaints it’s received about charities (absence of a charity on the complaint list doesn’t necessarily guarantee its worthiness).

Heath also recommends you review the organization’s 990 tax information form. Finally, she said, read as much as you can about the organization and talk to people you know about it.

If you visit the Westsound Seattle Red Cross, you’ll see a section called “Accountability” which includes links to the organization’s annual report along with other information made in the interest of full disclosure.

Heath encourages donors to consider that the relief effort in Haiti will be a long-term process.

Here is a list of tips for giving from the American Institute of Philanthropy (explained more fully on their Web site).
Know Your Charity
Find Out Where Your Dollars Go
Do Not Respond to Pressure
Keep Records of Your Donations
“Tax Exempt” Does Not Always Mean “Tax Deductible”
Do Not Be Misled by a Charity’s Familiar Name
Do Not Be Enticed by Emotional Appeals
Ask if the Charity is Registered by Federal, State or Local Authorities
Beware of Charities Offering Gifts

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

By Chris Henry
chenry@kitsapsun.com
SOUTH KITSAP
Teresa “Terri” Messing, a seventh-grade geography and reading teacher at Cedar Heights Junior High School was honored in Olympia Monday as the 2010 Washington Legislature’s Civic Educator of the Year. Messing has used a program called “Project Citizen” in her classroom to help students understand public policy and to realize they have the power to make changes in their school and community.
The annual award recognizes a teacher in the state who has been most involved in teaching students about government at the state and local levels.
Other local teachers receiving civics educator honors during the awards ceremony at the Washington State Capitol were Amanda Eisele, a first-grade teacher at Sunnyslope Elementary School and Ken Brown, a social studies teacher at Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor’s Peninsula School District.
The three teachers from the 26th Legislative District were nominated by Rep. Jan Angel (R) Port Orchard. A total of seven educators from throughout the state were recognized at the ceremony.
“Too often, students may feel they have no say in their government, or that civics is boring and should be left to the politicians,” said Angel. “But these outstanding teachers have made this subject come alive with their students and have shown them the importance of their involvement in government. They are a great influence for the next generation of our leaders and I am proud the Legislature is giving them the honor they deserve.”
Award recipients were chosen by the Civics Consortium, a 19-member panel that consists of House and Senate staff members, representatives from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington State Bar Association, TVW, and several other groups.
Monday was Civics Education Day at the state Capitol. The state House of Representatives entertained a resolution honoring civic educators. Award winners attended a luncheon and ceremony with Legislators in the John A. Cherberg Building.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

If you read the headline and subhead for today’s story on the Sidney Museum and Art Gallery in the paper version of the Kitsap Sun, you might get the impression that the Port Orchard City Council is taking a rigid stance on its plans for a parking garage/community center that shows encroachment on the museum’s property. Both are literally true. The headline reads, “An Uncertain Future For an Icon of the Past.” The subhead is “City community center plans may hurt a bid to put Sidney Museum on the national historic register.”

But if you read farther down in the story, you’ll hear Councilman Rob Putaansuu say the plans, drafted by Art Anderson and Associates, are far from set in stone and can be changed. Councilwoman Carolyn Powers said it is unlikely the city would use eminent domain to acquire the property, even as a last resort.

In fact, the council, through verbal consensus, responded to museum spokesman Jud Turner’s plea for formal protection by asking Development Director James Weaver to draft a resolution to be posted on the Web site explaining that the council supports the museum’s right to remain where it is. The resolution will come before the council at its Feb. 9 meeting.

Turner was asking for written assurance from the council in part because the museum board has applied to the National Register of Historic Places. The city has tried to negotiate with the museum board on options for saving the building, either temporarily or permanently. While the talks were cordial, Turner said, neither of those solutions is acceptable to the board. Moving the building would definitely nix its chances for historic status. Making the national register is not just a nicety, according to board member Mary Peterson. It will put the museum in better position to receive grants and corporate sponsorships.

Now, a caveat: even if the council does pass the resolution protecting the status of the museum, a new council could, at some future date, override that resolution if they determined that the original plans better meet the city’s needs. Based on conversations I’ve had with City Engineer Mark Dorsey and others, Art Anderson included the museum property in its plans because that provided the most favorable layout for the garage, giving the maximum number of parking spaces, while protecting views from uphill homes.

Don’t look for any movement on the parking garage/community center this year; there’s just no funding for it. We’ll hear whether the museum made the national register in February. Stay tuned.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

Find video coverage of the Port Orchard City Council’s Jan. 19 work study meeting, courtesy of the City of Port Orchard, at www.kitsapsun.com. Scroll to “Videos” and find it under “recent.” Or watch it here:

Note: I get a message that says “no image” on the screen. If you see this, just click play. The video works fine. Let me know if you have any glitches.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

Following on my recent post about the popularity among City Council members of the finance committee, here’s the council’s recommendation for appointments to committees for the upcoming two-year term. A resolution on committee appointments will come before the council on Tuesday.

Finance Committee: John Clauson (chair), Rob Putaansuu and Jerry Childs.

P.S. Putaansuu at the council meeting Jan. 12 was appointed mayor pro tem for 2010 by the council.

Public Property Committee: Fred Olin (Chair), Carolyn Powers, Fred Chang

Tourism Committee: Jerry Childs (Chair), Jim Colebank and Fred Chang

Utility and Sewer Advisory Committee: Rob Putaansuu, John Clauson and Fred Olin

Fred Chang is the council member overseeing the city’s lodging tax advisory board.

Carolyn Powers, who has served as alternate to the mayor on the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council for six years, was approved by the council on Tuesday to be the second voting member to the KRCC. Now that Port Orchard has grown by roughly 2000 in population due to annexations, the city is eligible for an additional voting member on the county-wide board that coordinates on policy decisions. Members of the KRCC, including Powers, represent Kitsap County’s interests to the Puget Sound Regional Coordinating Council. Coppola welcomes having the added vote on the KRCC. “Any time you have a bigger voice, it’s a benefit.” he said. Jim Colebank is alternate to Powers.

Colebank alternate

KRCC
Caroly powers
Colbank alterate
City because of growth get s wtwo vting seta mayor and Carolyn (caroly alt 6 yerars )

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post