Bremerton is ready for a HAWK signal, city leaders believe.

And what does that mean? The High-intensity activated crosswalk beacon is a fancy way of saying pedestrians are getting their own traffic light to cross Sixth Street at High Avenue (concept pictured).

Currently, you have to walk to either Veneta Avenue or Naval Avenue to find a safe place to cross there.

The pedestrian improvement is one of five around the city, totaling $688,000 in grant-funded projects. The Bremerton City Council approved a contractor to begin the work in July, with completion in September.

Another intersection, Kitsap Way and Harlow Drive, is due to get a crosswalk, “flashing beacon” to help with crossing and a pedestrian island in the middle of the road to make easier as well. There have been recent calls from Kitsap Lake Junction to get something to help with crossing the runway-sized street.   

More pedestrian improvements are coming to Kitsap Way and 11th Street, Charleston Boulevard and First Street and 11th Street and High Avenue.

Councilman Greg Wheeler, himself a frequent walker around town, praised the changes, which he says have “opened up opportunities” for pedestrians of all kinds to get around town.

“We’ve literally had a hard time getting folks safely across our city,” he said.

County coming to help with streets — but there’s a catch 

The most contentious issue on Wednesday’s agenda was two contracts with Kitsap County, respectively, to do road striping and paving.

That may sound like routine work, but city and county lawyers have for months been disagreeing over the language of the agreements to do the work. “The holdup has been indemnification language,” Bremerton Public Works Director Chal Martin told the Council.

Basically, the county, in doing the work, does not want to be held liable for anything that happens along the way, unless they are the “sole” cause of it.

Martin ultimately asked the Council to approve the contracts, even with the language. The reason: the re-striping of the city’s streets will cost about $60,000 if the county completes it. A private contract would run about $120,000 to $200,000, Martin told the Council.

That risk-reward equation divided the Council. Wheeler and Councilwomen Leslie Daugs and Pat Sullivan voted against it. The other four voted for it, so it barely passed, 4-3.

H. Emily remembered

Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent praised H. Emily Moshay, a longtime Bremerton advocate and volunteer, who passed away Tuesday night. (You can read the story I wrote about her here.)

“Our city is a better place for her having lived here,” Lent said.

Bike patrol working well

In his monthly report, Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan talked about how the department is ramping up its bicycle patrols.

The goal, he said, “is to contact people who may be causing problems in neighborhoods.”

Strachan said that in April and May, cops on bikes hit the streets of downtown and in surrounding neighborhoods. Officers made 50 arrests in two months, to go with 361 “contacts,” or face-to-face interactions.

“We’re hitting it very very hard,” Strachan said.

Councilman Jerry McDonald, who represents downtown and Manette, was appreciative of the efforts and hoped the department could do more.

“I know they’re making a difference out there,” he said.

Trees at Blueberry Park

A $7,500 grant from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources will fund the planting of 50 trees at Blueberry Park in East Bremerton, which the Council approved.

Retirement system needs more money

The City Council approved $544,000 for a contract with Regency BlueShield to pay for medical expenses not covered by Medicare for what are known as the city’s LEOFF 1 retirees.

These retirees from the city’s police and fire departments have medical expenses paid for in retirement. That changed in 1977 and now police and firefighters are covered under the LEOFF 2 plan, which does not fund health care in retirement.

The Associated Press did a three-part series on the LEOFF system, which you can read here.

Parking study moves ahead

The Council did not discuss the “most comprehensive” parking study in city history, as some have called it, but simply approved it through the consent agenda. To read more about the $110,000 study, click here.

Building codes updated

The City Council passed an updated building code Wednesday night as well. Jeannie Vaughn, the city’s building official, went over several changes, including one involving “utility basements.” Basically, owners who only use basements for utilities but seek to make them habitable for people must have an “escape” or “rescue opening”

If you’re interested in learning more, check out the full Council packet here.

The City Council passed its once-a-decade comprehensive plan Wednesday night, but that wasn’t what dominated a more than four hour meeting.

The main topic? Parking.

At issue were changes in the city’s zoning code, to include how many parking spaces developers of apartments must install per unit they build. The city’s planning commission had recommended 1/2 of a space for every unit at the city’s biggest population centers EXCEPT downtown. That means for every 100 units built, 50 parking spaces are needed at a minimum.

But the City Council had, at its Wednesday meeting a week ago, raised that to one space per unit (e.g. 100 units=at least 100 parking spaces). And the Council approved that new minimum tonight.

But there’s one exception to that rule: the city’s downtown area has required just 1/2 space since 2007 and it is staying that way for now. That was the main bone of contention for a number of small business owners and others in the crowd. Chase Linbo, manager of Game Wizard Blue Sky Hobbies on Fourth Street, said his business has enjoyed much success in the location. Except for one thing. 

“The only problem I have is parking,” he said.

He and others worried about the idea developers could put in just one half parking space per apartment unit, saying it would make parking problems downtown worse.

Others supported the 1/2 space minimum for the downtown area. Dale Sperling, who is building a nearly 50-unit project on Burwell Street, said his project would not pencil were it not for the 1/2 space minimum.

“We would not be developing that building if it had to be one spot per unit,” he said.

City Clerk Shannon Corin said a parking study is ongoing and should provide analysis for what the city can do about what one property owner called a “parking disaster.” Many in the audience, as well as several on the Council, said they’re waiting for the results before jumping to a final conclusion.

Many members of the Council acknowledged the parking problems downtown. But an upbeat Council President Eric Younger seemed to signal that it sure beat the alternative — a downtown with no one in it. “This is potentially a good problem to have,” he said.

I chronicled other zoning changes, including the resurrection of duplex construction in some areas, in this previous story.

Elsewhere in Wednesday’s Council meeting:

Tax Exemption: The Council extended the city’s multifamily property tax exemption. Downtown developers could already access eight years without property taxes for building there and 12 years if a percentage of the units met the definition of “affordable.” In a unanimous vote, the Council voted to extend the exemption beyond downtown to areas like Charleston, Wheaton Way, and other more dense areas of the city called its “centers.”

Pathway Extension: The Rotary Club of downtown Bremerton donated $20,000 Wednesday night to build a new 350-foot waterfront pathway at Evergreen-Rotary Park. I had previously asked Colette Berna, the parks department’s preservation and development manager, about the work. She said it will connect a new waterfront outlook — where the old pump station used to be — to the city’s 9/11 Memorial. About $17,000 in federal funding is also being pursued to complete sidewalks in the area of the new portion of the park, Berna said.

If you’ve been down to the newest portion of the park lately, you know the grass is growing in well. For background on the project connecting the old park to the new, click here.

Crime stat suspicions: During Police Chief Steve Strachan’s monthly report, he noted arrested were up, from 179 in April 2014 to 212 to April 2016. He again chalked that up to a number of warrants for failing to appear in court on previous charges. Some other crimes were increasing too, including trespassing, which rose from 18 reported incidents in April 2014 to 45 in April 2016.

Comprehensive Plan fruition: Last, but not least, the City Council tonight passed the Comprehensive Plan, a roadmap for growth in the next 20 years. The city is continuing its “centers” concept, encouraging more dense growth in certain areas — Charleston, Manette, downtown, Eastside (where the hospital is now), Wheaton Way and the Puget Sound Industrial Center near the airport.

The city expects 14,000 people and 19,000 more jobs to be located in Bremerton in 2036, city planner Allison Satter told the Council Wednesday.

A number of changes are being made to the comprehensive plan regarding land use. Satter described the changes Wednesday night as a simpler regulatory framework — “Tangible, readable, and comprehensible” — than the plan that precedes it.

More to come. For the entire agenda Wednesday, click here.

The Bremerton City Council voted on three items Wednesday evening that might not be front page news. But they will have an impact on how government business is done in the city and county. 

Here are the three items the Council passed:

Taxicab regulations: Bremerton City Attorney Roger Lubovich introduced two updates to the city’s taxicab regulatory framework, passed in 2014. First, the city will not be regulating “transportation network companies” like Uber and Lyft. And second, the police chief now has the authority to immediately suspend a cab license without an appeal period. Lubovich said that was necessary to get the driver off the streets should public safety be threatened.

“If we have an incident — a public safety issue — we need to be able to revoke that immediately,” he said.

RESULT: Passed unanimously.

CenCom changes to Kitsap 911: As you may have read in the Kitsap Sun recently, CenCom (or Kitsap County Central Communications) is becoming Kitsap 911. The county’s dispatch service is becoming a standalone agency separate from Kitsap County. Like other agencies that use the dispatch services, that involves moving assets to Kitsap 911 so the switch can occur.

Councilman Greg Wheeler noted that the public will notice no change to 911.

“Everything you’ve come to expect will remain the same,” he said.

RESULT: Passed unanimously.

Car tab fees: The Bremerton City Council is the board which oversees the pot of money that is our accumulated $20 car tab fees. But under state law, the Council had to hold a separate meeting of something called the Transportation Benefit District board to discuss the funds and how to use them. No more. In a vote Wednesday, the Council has effectively merged the benefit district with the Council itself.

Councilman Dino Davis, who serves as chairman of the benefit district board, hailed the move. He said the benefit district was “redundant.”

“More government and more boards … just make for more work for an already overtaxed staff,” he said.

RESULT: Passed unanimously.

Also during Wednesday’s meeting:

Fisher’s departure: The Council bid adieu to Bremerton Police Lt. Pete Fisher, who is taking the job as Fife Police Chief. I have a full profile of Fisher here.

The curbs are coming: Mayor Patty Lent acknowledged that this year, all of the curb ramps at intersections on Warren Avenue and Wheaton Way will be replaced and modernized. The state is doing the work in preparation for repaving the thoroughfare — Highway 303 — in 2017. I have more background on this process here.

Chief’s report: Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan produced some interesting statistics. Arrests are up in the city from 155 in the month of February 2014 to 210 this past February. He blamed many of those on offenders who skipped court dates (therefore they’re not new crimes). Thefts ticked up in the same period in the city though, from 39 in February 2014 to 53 last month.

Strachan also pointed out police are stepping up efforts at the intersection of 6th Street and Park Avenue. Between January and early March, there had already been 11 assaults there.

Strachan introduced his department’s professional standards report, which documents officer discipline and use of force, among other things. He noted the department has adopted a more strict policy when pursuing eluding vehicles — basically they can chase someone by vehicle suspected of a violent felony. He does not believe the chases are safe on city streets, and Bremerton has the most strict of pursuit policies. The numbers showed what that can do: pursuits were down from 21 in 2014 to 8 last year. You can read the whole report here.

Quote of the night: The honor goes to Mayor Patty Lent. In describing a Puget Sound Energy outage map app, Lent described our recent stormy weather this way: “March madness. It isn’t just basketball.”