To put this post in perspective, I had a casual conversation the
other day with Larry Keeton, director of Kitsap County’s Department of Community
Development. Usually, when I interview Keeton, I’m peppering
him with questions related to sticky land use issues. But on
Monday, I was there on other business, and Keeton was in a chatty
mood.
He happened to mention a random (or maybe not so random) idea he
has, i.e. that there ought to be a land use court. Just as there’s
a separate court for bankruptcy, Keeton said, there should be a
court in which judges are versed in the intricacies of land
use.
As someone who has at times struggled to understand land use
documents and rules, I can attest to the fact its a complicated
field, especially if you don’t deal with it routinely. Most of the
stories involving land use at the Kitsap Sun end up on the desk of
our environmental reporter Chris Dunagan. But every now and then
one comes my way. Most recently I wrote about the controversial
Woods View development in South Kitsap. Dunagan followed up
with a story about
tighter controls on sewer systems in rural areas that resulted
in part from Woods View.
The legal entity that owns Woods View is suing Kitsap County on
behalf of the former owner, who has declared bankruptcy. County
officials won’t comment on the case, which revolves in part around
an on-site sewage system proposed for the stalled development.
Keeton was going to pitch the idea of a land use court to fellow
planners from around the region Wednesday. He’d be willing to
shepherd the idea along but hasn’t got the time right now. Maybe it
will be a project for retirement, he said.
Here’s the what’s happening in Kitsap politics this week:
Kitsap County Board of Commissioners (meet at
619 Division Street)
Meeting dates:
Monday, June 14: 2 p.m. The board will meet for
an hour with Tom McBride to discuss its 2011 legislative
objectives. At 3:05 the board will recess into closed session for
an hour, followed by two executive sessions to discuss potential
litigation. Adjournment will follow around 4:35 p.m.
Monday, June 14: 7 p.m. The board’s regular
business meeting has the following public hearing items on the
agenda: A resolution authorizing the county treasurer to sell used,
surplus equipment; an ordinance to repeal the Rural Wooded
Incentive Program and Kitsap County Code Section 17.301.080 in its
entirety; an ordinance developing regulations for the application
of community sewage disposal systems and large on-site sewage
systems in rural Kitsap County; an ordinance regarding the
re-establishment of the Planning Commission; a resolution updating
the rules rules of procedure for the Planning Commission.
Wednesday, June 16: 8:30 a.m. The board will
hear a natural resources update that will take just shy of an hour,
a wastewater infrastructure
task force presentation will follow and take an hour. After a five
minute break there will be a wastewater facility plan update, also
slated to last an hour. The board will then recess into executive
session from 11:30 a.m. to noon to discuss real estate issues.
City of Bremerton (meet at 345 6th Street, Norm
Dicks Government Center)
Meeting dates:
Wednesday, June 9: 5 p.m. The City Council will
start with a 30 minute briefing upstairs before heading to council
chambers for the regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. The agenda includes
acceptance of a Department of Commerce Energy Efficiency
Conservation block grant for lighting and window upgrades at five
city facilities; discussion of an ordinance to amend “disabled
parking” under the city’s municipal code; and another ordinance
dealing with “separate general business license required” withing
the city code. The Council will recess into executive session for
20 minutes to discuss “potential litigation” and “pending
litigation.”
City of Port Orchard (meet at 219 Prospect
Street)
Meeting dates:
Tuesday, June 15: 7 p.m. The Port Orchard City
Council will meet for a work study to discuss a developer’s
agreement with Gem 1 LLC, in charge of McCormick Woods development;
sewer rates; the Bay Street Pedestrian Pathway; designated parking
permits for law firms of Dwight Street; Business and Professional
District revisions; and more. Also, Mary McClure of the Kitsap
Regional Coordinating Council will present on non-motorized
transportation.
City of Poulsbo (meet at 19050 Jensen Way)
Meeting dates:
Wednesday, June 16: 7 p.m. The City Council
will decide on a resolution for ALEA grant funding; hear a
presentation on the Liberty Bay Restoration Project; a presentation
on pet waste and the Mutt Mitt program; and a presentation from
Mary McClure from the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council on
trails.
Kitsap County Consolidated Housing
Authority
Meeting dates:
Tuesday, June 15: 8 a.m. KCCHA is calling a
special meeting to discuss legal matters. It will include an
executive session to discuss litigation.
Now here’s the test: How many of you really read all of these
agendas? Notice anything? I’m not trying to connect the dots for
anyone here, but three of our government agencies have called
executive sessions this week to discuss “litigation.” If you’ll
notice, the three recessing into executive session also happen to
have a possible lawsuit floating
between them. Hmmm…stay tuned.
Readers commenting on today’s story about
Lary Coppola’s court appearance Thursday in Pierce County
District Court on DUI charges had questions I will attempt to
address, having spoken with DUI defense attorney
Linda Callahan.
Callahan has offices in Seattle, Shelton and other Puget Sound
locations, and she is the author of the
Washington DUI Practice Manual, a tome that is updated annually
and referenced by defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges.
Callahan, obviously, could not comment on Coppola’s case
specifically. Her responses were to my questions about DUI law in
general and a “hypothetical case” (my quote marks).
Mojo7 asked, “Had the police officer actually SEEN him DRIVING
or had he just been walking outside his parked car?”
As reporter Josh Farley wrote on May 3, “Shortly after 1:30
a.m., officers found Coppola seated in a silver Mini Cooper,
according to Port Orchard police reports.”
The underlying question seems to be, “Is it a crime to be
sitting in one’s car in an intoxicated condition?”
“It depends. It can be,” said Clallahan, spoken like a true
attorney. “It depends on whether a person is in actual physical
control of the car.”
Questions attorneys on both sides might ask to prove or refute
the question of control: was there a witness? Was the car running?
Was the transmission engaged? And so on.
On one point Clallahan was clear: simply the fact of being in
one’s driveway does not put you in the clear of being charged with
DUI. Conceivably, she said, one could have attended a party, had a
few drinks, driven home without incident, realized one forgot one’s
cell phone in the car, went to fetch it, the law pulls up for
whatever reason, and, depending on other circumstances and
evidence, one could be charged with DUI.
To recap, the hypothetical defendant I described to Callahan has
no criminal history or prior driving offenses.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge but agreed to
a “pretrial diversion,” which is an agreement between the
prosecutor and the defendant.
Under conditions of the diversion, the defendant agreed:
1. To undergo a chemical dependency evaluation, attend a drug and
alcohol information class and listen to a DUI victims’ panel.
2. He must pay $866 in court costs, a $200 bench probation fee and
$150 to the Washington State Patrol for its emergency response the
night of the incident.
3. The defendant is to remain clear of any violations for two
years, at which time the charge will be reduced to first-degree
negligent driving (that’s why he’s not pleading guilty to the
DUI).
4. The judge did not require the defendant to have an interlock
device on his car.
5. His not prohibited from drinking, but the judge advised the
defendant to “be very careful about any use of alcohol.”
In a case like this, Callahan said, “That is a standard
disposition. That is not a special case scenario.”
Clallahan specifically remarked on the standard-ness of a couple
aspects of the judge’s ruling, including the diversion itself for a
first-time offender and the lack of an interlock requirement.
The hypothetical defendant, as court records showed, had already
completed several terms of the diversion agreement, including the
chemical dependency evaluation. If the evaluation had shown the
subject was an alcoholic or had a problem with alcohol, an
interlock device unquestionably would have been required, Callahan
said.
As for condition 5, allowing for reasonable alcohol consumption,
Callahan said that, too, was typical in a hypothetical case like
this. The prosecutor would have been able to review results of the
drug and alcohol evaluation before refraining from adding a total
prohibition on consumption. If the assessment of a defendant shows
they have a problem with alcohol, such a prohibition is a given,
Callahan said.
On a final note, the diversion is an agreement between the
prosecutor and the defendant; it is the judge’s role to accept or
reject it.
In
Tuesday’s story you’ll find that the complaint against Doug
Richards for having a fire helmet in campaign ads appears to be a
done issue. County Democrats filed the complaint, arguing that
Richards’ South Kitsap Fire & Rescue helmet qualifies as a “public
facility” under state law, and candidates can’t use public
facilities in their ads. The state rule, however, states if the
candidate owns the piece disputed, then it’s usable in an ad.
Richards said he owns his helmet.
Jay Inslee, Democratic U.S. congressman from Bainbridge Island,
is expected to have two Republican opponents. So far, however, only
David Schirle has filed to run
against him. He lists himself as an independent. Assuming he’s the
same David Schirle, he ran as a member of the Patriot Party in 1994
for U.S. Senate, a party partly spawned by Ross Perot’s bid for the
presidency. Schirle didn’t expect to win then, and
he didn’t. Schirle is inviting people to local Starbucks to meet
him. He’ll be at the ones on Bainbridge Island and Poulsbo on June
23..
Running against Democrat Tim Sheldon in the 35th District Senate
race is someone we’ve mentioned before, but now she’s got a
nickname. Nancy “Grandma” Williams is running as a Republican.
The Washington Secretary of State’s office posts updated
candidate information here.
Here’s what your local elected officials are set to discuss this
week:
Kitsap County Board of Commissioners (meet at
619 Division Street)
Meeting dates:
Monday, June 7:
10:00 a.m. Board information sharing will
consume 1.5 hours of the meeting. That will be followed by 30
minutes of reviewing calendars and agendas.
2 p.m. There will be a 30 minute update on
resource conservation, then a 10 minute presentation on the Sheriff
grant approval request. At 2:45 p.m. the board will recess into a 2
hour closed session to discuss collective bargaining.
Wednesday, June 9: 8:30 a.m. The board will
begin the meeting by reviewing the agenda for its June 14 public
meeting, it will then spend 45 minutes sharing information. After a
five minute break the board will hear about the Risk Management
budget and work plan for an hour and then recess into executive
session from 11:30 a.m. to noon to discuss real estate matters.
City of Bremerton (meet at 345 6th Street, Norm
Dicks Government Center)
Meeting dates:
Wednesday, June 9: 5 p.m. The City Council will
start its study session with a presentation about a Department of
Commerce Energy Efficiency Conservation block grant for lighting
and window upgrades at five city facilities. Discussion items
include an ordinance to amend “disabled parking” under the city’s
municipal code; another ordinance dealing with “separate general
business license required” withing the city code and lastly a
proposed ordinance to create a new chapter in the city code that
deals with “rental license and inspection.”
City of Port Orchard (meet at 219 Prospect
Street)
Meeting dates:
Tuesday, June 8: 7 p.m. The city council will
hold its regular business meeting, starting with comment from
citizens. The public hearing section of the meeting will be on a
Byrne Justice Assistance Grant for Evidence Management System;
business items include approval of a change order dealing with the
contract with Berger/Abam Engineers, Inc., regarding the Tremont
widening project. Council committee reports will be heard, Mayor
Lary Coppola will give a report and then department directors will
give their reports which will include an update on annexations and
the Tremont widening.
City of Poulsbo (meet at 19050 Jensen Way)
The weekly meeting has been canceled because of a lack of agenda
items.
Time to clear the three-day weekend cobwebs from the brain, the
work week has started again.
For those of you who read the story I wrote May 18 about the
Port of Illahee having the option to buy 15 acres of land from
local developer Jim James, you may want to attend a meeting tonight
that the port commissioners are hosting. (Especially if my story
resulted in more questions than answers).
The details of how the Port of Illahee wound up in this position
— with the option to stop a 110 single family home development from
going into Illahee — is complicated. I explained it (for the most
part) here, and recommend you read
the story for background that I won’t go into.
One thing not included in the story is this:
If the port were to buy the land, it wouldn’t keep it. Instead
commissioners would likely look to sell it with the intent that
homes would be built. But the number of homes would be
significantly less — instead of 110, the development would likely
have somewhere around 30 homes because that’s what is allowed under
current zoning (1-4 dwelling units/acre). The Timbers Edge
development had higher density because when plans were submitted
the zoning in place at the time allowed for more homes per
acre.
If homes are developed, the port would make sure they are built
using green practices and with the intent to reduce the impact to
Illahee Creek (i.e. using rain gardens, septic systems, low density
housing).
I’m guessing port commissioners will go into more detail about
their plans for the land, and the financing side of the deal at the
meeting tonight.
But to make it clear, the commissioners will not make any
decisions until they hear from voters in the taxing district. If a
majority of the people are against the purchase, the commissioners
won’t support it, according to commissioner Dennis Sheeran.
The port has a larger goal of protecting Illahee’s natural
systems through its habitat conservation plan. This plan will also
be a part of the discussion at tonight’s meeting, along with
information about the Illahee Community Club’s petition that
they’re trying to get at least 1,000 people to sign. (The taxing
district has roughly 2,000 registered voters, Sheeran estimated,
and about 1,500 people voted in the presidential election in 2008.
On average during non-presidential election years about 1,000
people vote, he guessed.)
So if you have questions for port commissioners, or you want to
hear them explain the settlement option they’ve reached, I’d
recommend attending the meeting. It starts at 5:30 p.m. at the
Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue station 41 off Old Military Road.
(If you can’t make tonight’s meeting, they’ve scheduled a second
one for June 14, same place, same time.)
Tonight I’ll be attending a special meeting that was called by
the Port of Brownsville commissioners. I was told the meeting was
called to specifically discuss the vacant fire hall building they
own and the possibility they could have an interested tenant.
It wasn’t that long ago that the commissioners voted in favor of
the conversion of the building into a pub/small-scale brewery that
the restaurateur hoped would become a happening gathering place.
But alas the conflict between commissioners
ultimately resulted in the business partners deciding they wanted
to locate elsewhere.
I’ve only been covering this potential decision for a few
months, but it’s been an ongoing discussion between the
commissioners and the community for the last couple years. From
where it stood at the end of 2009, two of the commissioners (Bob
Kalmbach and Allen Miller) supported the transformation of the
building into a brew pub, while the other commissioner (Jack
Bailey) was vehemently against the idea.
I’m not sure where they stand on the latest proposal, to
transform the building into a marine/kayak supply store. At
an April meeting the commissioners didn’t say much about the idea
because they hadn’t received an official proposal from the business
owners. I wasn’t able to attend the May meeting, but followed up
with Port Manager Jerry Rowland who said nothing was decided.
That’s why this special meeting has been called for tonight —
for a discussion to take place. I know everyone is getting anxious
to see something happen, including the commissioners — Miller said
he’s pretty tired of seeing that building sit empty while the port
pays for it.
Lets hope all goes well tonight and I return Wednesday with
something to report on.
Kitsap County Board of Commissioners (meet at
619 Division Street)
Meeting dates:
Monday, May 24: 2 p.m. After approval of
minutes there will be a 30 minute update about resource
conservation which will include the review and approval of key
measurable goals for developing an Energy Efficiency & Conservation
Plan for Kitsap County. This includes a status update on the Kitsap
Green Jobs initiatives. From 2:35 to 4:05 p.m. the board will hear
from Mark Abernathy about the risk management department’s budget
and work plan (remember last week they heard from Information
Services about that department’s budget). Then from 4:05 to 4:35
p.m. they’ll hear a budget update from Amber D’Amato and adjourn
following.
Monday, May 24: 7 p.m. This is the board’s
regular night meeting. After various appointments and recognitions
and the approval of the consent agenda the board will vote on some
of the following “big ticket” items: they’ll vote on two contracts
for medical coverage of county employees, the first with Group
Health Cooperative is estimated to have an approximate $5,402,208
impact to the General Fund under the 2010 budget. The second with
Premera Blue Cross goes from Jan. 1, 2010 – Dec. 31, 2010, and is
estimated to have an approximate $6,259,154 impact to the General
Fund under the 2010 budget.
The agenda also calls for the approval of a resolution
authorizing the sale of three condominium units from the Bremerton
Harborside Condos. Total revenues before brokerage and other fees
is listed at $894,000.
Lastly there are a series of items on the public hearing agenda
for the night. They include:
Enacting an Ordinance amending Kitsap County Code Chapter 2.104
regarding Emergency Management.
Enacting an Ordinance reaffirming the Kitsap County Health
District.
A Resolution temporarily closing Stottlemeyer Road NE at
Dogfish Creek Middle Fork in North Kitsap for culvert
replacement.
A decision only (no public testimony allowed) on an
administrative land use appeal filed by Jackie W. Stanfill and the
Citizens of Chico Creek Water Basin of the Hearing Examiner’s
decision to grant a Conditional Use Permit application for the
Ueland Tree Farm Mineral Resource Development, as well as an appeal
of the Hearing Examiner’s decision to deny an appeal of the
adequacy of the Environmental Impact Statement for that project
pursuant to the State Environmental Policy (SEPA).
A public hearing to consider nine current use open space and
timber use applications.
The meeting will adjourn following this hearing.
Wednesday, May 26: 8:30 a.m. The board will
approve minutes then review for 30 minutes “Westbury Section 108”
(I assume this relates to the Westbury business that wanted to move
into North Kitsap just outside of Poulsbo, that was awarded Section
108 monies with conditions. Here’s a recent story I wrote on where
everything stands between the county and company executives). The
board will spend 30 minutes on “Boards Agenda Briefing” which I’m
not quite sure what that means and the link didn’t work for me to
try and figure it out. The next hour starting at 9:35 a.m. will be
dedicated to the Public Facilities Financing Options/Debt Policy
(this was on the agenda last week, then got bumped to this week.
They could make a decision on the funding at this meeting. Here’s
the last story I wrote on this
topic). After a five minute break the board will spend almost an
hour on information sharing, before recessing into executive
session until noon to discuss real estate matters.
City of Bremerton (meet at 345 6th Street, Norm
Dicks Government Center)
Meeting dates:
Wednesday, May 26: 5 p.m. The City Council will
hold a study session. The following items are on the discussion
agenda: proposed public hearing to hear Local Solicitation 2010
Justice Assistance grant application; proposed resolution in
support of the Belfair Bypass Project; approve parking enforcement
service contract with Diamond Parking LCC; proposed public hearing
and ordinance to amend Chapter 17.04 titled “State Building Code
Adoption” of Bremerton Municipal Code, to repeal the adoption of
the Washington State Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality Code and to
adopt the 2009 editions of the various building codes; proposed
public hearing and ordinance to amend Title 18 titled “City Fire
Code” of the Bremerton Municipal Code and to adopt the 2009 changes
to the International Fire Code; contract award for construction of
the Lions Park renovation project; update on the Evergreen Rotary
Park expansion. The meeting will conclude following council
committee chair reports and other general business.
City of Port Orchard (meet at 219 Prospect
Street)
Tuesday, May 25: 7 p.m. City Council will
announce committee members chosen to write “pro” and “con”
statements for the Port Orchard Library annexation measure to be on
the August primary ballot. (Chris Henry wrote about this on the
Peninsular Thinking blog, you can see that post here.)
Port of Brownsville (meet at the Brownsville
Yacht Club, 9756A Ogle Road NE)
Tuesday, May 25: 6 p.m. Port commissioners have
called a special meeting to discuss the vacant fire hall building
they own and are hoping to find a tenant to lease the facility.
(Here’s the latest story I wrote on this
subject).
We all know what we should do to take better care of ourselves —
eat healthier, exercise more, reduce stress (good luck on that last
one). Employee wellness programs aim to get workers practicing
better self care, but are they actually effective? And in the long
run will they save companies, agencies or government entities money
on health care benefits and reduced sick days?
If one goal of health care reform is to promote wellness, when
and how will implementation of such programs be mandated?
The Kitsap Sun is doing an article on the effectiveness of
employee wellness programs. We hope you’ll take part in our online
survey. Click here
to take survey.
Also, let us know if your company has some innovative ideas on
promoting employee wellness.
If you have any questions about the story or about how your
responses will be used, or if you’d like to comment on your
company/agency’s employee wellness program, call reporter Chris
Henry at (360) 792-9219, or e-mail chenry@kitsapsun.com.
Here’s what’s on the agenda for the week of May 17 for Kitsap’s
various governmental agencies.
Kitsap County Board of Commissioners (meet at
619 Division Street)
Meeting dates:
Monday, May 17: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. The board
will recess into executive session to review performance of public
employee.
Monday, May 17: 2 p.m. The meeting will begin
with the approval of minutes, followed by a expected two-hour
review of information services’ work plan and the 2011 budget,
presented by Bud Harris. From 4:05 to 4:50 p.m. the commissioners
will review the debt policy/public facilities financial plan
presented by hired financial consultant Susan Musselman (the last
discussion on this resulted in this story). From 4:50 to 5:05
the board will recess into executive session to discuss existing
litigation.
Wednesday, May 19: 8:30 a.m. The board will be
in executive session until 9 a.m. to discuss real estate issues. It
will start the meeting at 9 a.m. with the approval of minutes,
followed by a 45 minute review of the agenda for its May 24 nightly
meeting. Information sharing will follow from 9:15 to 9:55 a.m.,
followed by a five minute break. The meeting will resume at 10 a.m.
with a 30 minute presentation on pet licensing by county
administrator Nancy Buonannon Grennan. The board will recess into
executive session at 10:30 until noon to discuss real estate
matters.
City of Bremerton (meet at 345 6th Street, Norm
Dicks Government Center)
Meeting dates:
Wednesday, May 19: 5 p.m. The City Council will
hold a briefing until 5:30 p.m. Its regular meeting will begin at
5:30 p.m. in council chambers. The agenda includes a report from
Mayor Patty Lent, public recognition, general business to be
discussed includes a grant agreement with the state and the
recreation and conservation funding board for Kiwanis Park
improvements; a resolution establishing conditions for the limited
tax general obligation bonds for the Park Plaza project, the Lions
Field renovation and for the purchase and renovation of a building
to be used as a Municipal Court building. Council members will give
their respective reports and the council will then recess into
executive session to discuss existing litigation and the
acquisition/sale of real estate for about 30 minutes. Action is
anticipated, the agenda states.
City of Port Orchard (meet at 219 Prospect
Street)
Tuesday, May 18: 7 p.m. There is a work study
scheduled, however no agenda is available on the city’s website, so
I don’t know what they’ll be discussing. The website to download
the agenda (if it’s posted) is found here.
City of Poulsbo (meet at 19050 Jensen Way)
Meeting date:
Wednesday, May 19: 7 p.m. The meeting kicks off
with a report by Mayor Becky Erickson who will be giving a regular
city hall update. The business agenda includes a special event
approval for the Americana Music Festival, approval of draft vision
for the city’s Shoreline Master Program update, review of a
contract for ASP service with SunGard public sector, approval of a
services agreement with Right Systems, Inc., a joint meeting with
the Port of Poulsbo commissioners — expected to last one hour. The
meeting will conclude with committee reports from council
members.
That’s all I have for the week (note: The Kitsap County Planning
Commission had a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 18, but that
meeting has been canceled).
Perhaps, like Vivian Henderson, you noticed this item on the
Kitsap County Commissioners’ weekly schedule, “May 10, 9 a.m.,
Executive Session – Review Performance of Public Employee.” Time
allotted, 2 hours.
Vivian asked me to do a reality check, since the executive
session, to which the public is not allowed, was to take up such a
large chunk of the commissioners’ time.
I heard back from the county’s personnel director, Bert Furuta,
as follows, “The executive session is directly related to a
comprehensive performance evaluation process that the board is
currently completing for their County Administrator. Nancy Buonanno
Grennan has been employed in her position for 3 years and the board
had determined that Nancy and the public is appropriately deserving
of a formal and in-depth review of her performance.”
The board at the executive session discussed Buonanno Grennan’s
responsibilities and measures of her performance on the job.
Furuta clarified that Buonanno Grennan’s evaluation, as a
personnel matter, is exempt from public records request “unless
misconduct is involved and let me assure you that is not the case
here.”
Furuta said his reference to “public” was related to the board’s
intention “that the evaluation process should promote productivity
and accountability to the board as elected representatives of the
public.”
At 7:30 a.m. Wednesday (May 12) the chamber will host 26th
District Legislators Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, Rep. Jan
Angel, R-Port Orchard, and Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor at its
monthly community affairs forum. The event will be held at City
Hall, 216 Prospect St. Get coffee and muffins at 7:30 a.m. Program
begins at 7:45 a.m.
The chamber’s legislative committee and board of directors have
approved the following legislative priorities, including more
efficient ferry service, low cost and flexible health care options
for small businesses. In one proposal, the chamber would have the
state freeze the minimum wage, which the committee and board say
“was never meant to be a living wage.” Instead of increasing the
minimum wage, they suggest creating a training wage and tip credit
for workers who fall into those categories. Click here to see a
copy of the
Chamber Priorities 2010 document.
On Thursday (May 13) the state’s chief economist willl speak at
the chamber’s monthly General Membership Meeting. The event is at
11:30 a.m. at the Clubhouse at McCormick Woods, 5100 St. Andrews
Drive, Port Orchard. Dr. Arun Raha will speak on “Economic Outlook
– What Will the Recovery Look Like?”
Raha is chief economist for the State of Washington and
Executive Director of the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. He
is responsible for preparing and presenting quarterly forecasts of
Washington’s economy and general-fund revenues. He also advises
state legislative committees and other government agencies
regarding economic and revenue activity in the state.
So, a few questions. What do you think about the chamber’s
minimum wage proposal? … and … What signs of economic recovery (if
any) have you seen? What indicators are you looking for that will
signal Kitsap is in economic recovery?
I promised last week a blog post on the potential move of the
Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority from its Silverdale
location to Bremerton’s Norm Dicks Government Center.
At last week’s KCCHA board of directors meeting the board once
again discussed the move. As noted in a small story I wrote up,
County Commissioner Steve Bauer questioned why the board was still
talking about the move. He wants a decision now. (Here’s that
story.)
Out of courtesy to the new director Tony Caldwell, the board
conceded in March to give him until April to find a potential new
location, or someone to fill the Norm Dicks space the authority is
currently paying for, but not using. The April meeting came and
they postponed a decision based on a discussion had in executive
session. (Here’s the story about the March
postponement, and here’s the story about the April
meeting).
At the May meeting, commissioner Bauer asked again why a
decision wasn’t being made. Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson, also a
KCCHA board member, asked why housing authority staff was so
reluctant to move to Bremerton.
Here’s some of the reasons listed:
– The building doesn’t fit the agency’s operations and would
also need tenant improvements to accommodate staff
– KCCHA doesn’t offer programs in Bremerton, so why locate in a
city where it doesn’t have a presence?
– Clients would have to pay to park to come to the office or to
participate in services/programs offered
– Staff would have to pay to park
– There is a perception staff morale would go down if they moved
to Bremerton
– Some employees expressed concern about safety and leaving the
building after night meetings or events
Bauer came to Bremerton’s defense as it relates to safety.
“Hearing the concerns about safety truly distresses me,” he
said. “It says something about the perception of Bremerton that I
don’t think is true. I don’t think this is an unsafe
environment.”
As reported last week, KCCHA has until July to find an
alternative. If no new tenant for the building can be found, or if
an alternative home for the society isn’t located, they have to
make the move — this time for real.
Well it’s been a busy weekend being the lone weekend reports, so
forgive me but I’m going to cheat this week on the agenda write up.
Instead of writing up what each jurisdiction is set to review this
week, I am going to post the links to their websites where the PDF
files of the agendas can be found.
Kitsap County Board of Commissioners (meet at
619 Division Street)
Meeting dates:
Monday, May 10: 9-11 a.m. (this meeting
is entirely an executive session to “review the performance of a
public employee”)
Monday, May 10: 2-4:50 p.m. (the last hour of
this meeting is executive session to “discuss collective
bargaining”)
Monday, May 10: 7 p.m. Regular nightly
meeting
Wednesday, May 12: 8:30-9 a.m. (this meeting
starts with an executive session to “discuss real estate issues.”)
It opens up at 9 a.m. for the public and will recession back into
executive session at 10:45 a.m. to “discuss real estate
matters.”
The website to see the agendas for each meeting can be found here.
City of Bremerton (meet at 345 6th Street, Norm
Dicks Government Center)
Meeting dates:
Wednesday, May 12: 5 p.m. Study session open to
the public
The website to download the agenda for the meeting can be
found here.
City of Port Orchard (meet at 219 Prospect
Street)
A lot was discussed at Tuesday’s meeting of the Kitsap County
Consolidated Housing Authority, and as you may have already read,
the biggest thing to come out of the meeting was discussed
primarily in executive session. (The second part of the meeting
detailed the move from Silverdale to Bremerton. That will be a
separate blog post to come.)
The authority’s board, with the three county commissioners
recusing themselves, voted unanimously to pursue litigation against
the city of Bremerton in an attempt to get the city to pay the
authority $2 million. The money is a loan the city said it would
give the authority under a contingent loan agreement it entered
into on Aug. 30, 2005. The details around the agreement and who
owes what are in my story. (Read it here).
I want to use the blog to share part of what didn’t fit in the
story.
Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent wasn’t surprised to learn that the
housing authority board took up the discussion in executive
session. The county (which would be the lead agency if a lawsuit is
filed) gave the city a heads up that this could be coming. The only
surprise was the approval of the resolution to seek legal remedy,
she said. Lent called the resolution the equivalent of the
authority board putting its foot down on the matter.
She also said she understood why the authority was trying to get
the money.
“We’re all at a situation where we have no money,” she said. “I
think every jurisdiction is at a position where they can no longer
function and are grasping at straws. I have to say I would be doing
the same thing.”
Lent is willing to meet to try and find a solution, she said.
But, she also said the city’s position is that it does not owe the
$2 million. City Attorney Roger Lubovich didn’t want to get into
the legal details for publication, but said the city and authority
have met over the past few months to talk about this. However,
based on the board’s vote Tuesday, it’s clear the authority was not
satisfied with those talks, he said.
County Commissioner Josh Brown hopes the county, city and
authority can come to a resolution on the disagreement without
spending the time and money involved in legal proceedings.
It’s been one year since commissioners voted to take out $40.5
million in debt to back the authority’s loans with Bank of America,
so I asked why is this coming up now? Why not last year when the
city and county were going back and forth on who owed what?
The delay was because the authority and county realized the city
was not equipped to handle the discussions with former Mayor Cary
Bozeman leaving his term early to join the Port of Bremerton, Brown
said. Bozeman announced his departure around the same time the
county took on the housing authority debt. It would have been
unfair and potentially unproductive to try and negotiate a deal, or
file a lawsuit against Bremerton, at that time, Browns aid. With
Lent now in office for about six months, its an appropriate time,
he said.
Brown reminded Lent was a county commissioner at the time the
county and city entered into the 2005 agreements with the
authority.
The county and housing authority believe they have upheld their
legal obligations set out under the contingent loan agreements,
Brown said. He added he finds it discouraging that the city isn’t
living up to the responsibilities of its contractual obligations
for an economic development project that clearly benefits the
city.
The city says there is more to this discussion that could come
out during litigation, but until then those issues will be handled
behind closed doors between the agencies.
Below you can read the resolution passed by the housing
authority board Tuesday.
At the end of last week I wrote about a meeting held between
Port Orchard city officials and Kitsap County officials, at the
request of Mary McClure, executive director of the Kitsap Regional
Coordinating Council. The topic: a revenue-sharing agreement in
place that dictates how annexation or incorporation should proceed
between the county and the surrounding four cities. (Read that
story here).
A revenue-sharing agreement has been in place for almost a
decade through the KRCC. The county and the four cities all agreed
to adhere to the rules of this document. It spells out how an
annexation or incorporation should proceed by way of sharing the
cost of services and revenues. Under the agreement the transition
takes three years and goes as follows: Year One: the city takes 25
percent of revenue, the county 75 percent; Year Two: it’s a 50-50
split between the entities; Year Three: the city takes 75 percent
of revenue, the county 25 percent.
The city of Port Orchard has made its intention known that it no
longer wants to be a part of this agreement. Under the laws of the
agreement it states a city or the county wanting out may request an
immediate reevaluation of the agreement by the KRCC’s revenue
sharing policy committee. If a resolution/reevaluation is not
agreeable to the requesting party within six months, the party can
initiate the steps to get out of the agreement. That’s what Port
Orchard has done at this point.
Termination is a 12-month process, and Port Orchard has about
five months to go before its free and clear, Mayor Lary Coppola
said last week.
But just because the city asked to get out of the
revenue-sharing agreement doesn’t mean they will, he said.
Ultimately the city feels a “one size fits all” approach to
handling revenue sharing is not the answer. Port Orchard learned
this after annexing McCormick Woods last year, Coppola said.
That’s why they’ve proposed some alternatives. Those
alternatives were presented in a letter written by Coppola to
McClure. I’ve attached them below through Scribd. As you read
through Coppola’s proposal, remember he wrote this letter to get
the conversation going about changing the agreement. What is
detailed in the letter IS NOT what the final
agreement will look like. As Coppola says in the letter this is
“boiler plate” language to give the county and future annexing
cities a place to start the conversation.
You’ll note his letter includes suggestions for annexing Port
Orchard’s Bethel Corridor from the county into the city. One
example gives a one-year transition period, where the city and
county split everything 50-50 the first year; while the second
example suggests a two-year transition period starting with a 50-50
split the first year, following by a 75-25 split the second year in
favor of the city.
It sounds like from last week’s meeting the city, county and
KRCC folks realized this was a good thing to start talking about.
No one was against it, and everyone (at this point at least)
sounded ready to work together on a solution that would benefit the
county and cities.
This makes sense when you look at state law. As much as some
people don’t agree with it, the law is written so that urban growth
areas will annex into neighboring cities (or in Kingston and
Silverdale’s case they’ll incorporate). As a result the county will
lose a significant portion of its tax base, and will be forced to
reduce the services it provides from a more urban level to a
regional level. (Regional services include: assessor, auditor,
prosecutor, district and superior courts, and coroner).
Below you’ll see Coppola’s letter to McClure (again remember
this is just a letter to get a conversation going); and if you
really want to geek out, I’ve attached a KRCC analysis titled “KRCC
Urban Services Delivery Project” from 2007. I found it interesting
and easy to understand. (While it was written three years ago, it
does a good job of explaining what needs to be done when looking
into annexation/incorporation).
Starting a new month, which means another go-round of meetings.
Here’s what’s slated for this week:
Kitsap County Board of Commissioners (meet at
619 Division Street)
Monday, May 3
10 a.m.: The board will be in executive session
until 11 a.m. to discuss the performance of a public employee. The
open part of the meeting will kick off with the approval of
minutes, following by information sharing and then board review of
calendars and agendas. Meeting should adjourn around noon. (Sounds
like there won’t be much information to share this time
around…)
2 p.m.: Following minute approvals the meeting
will get started with an hour-long legislative debrief from Tom
McBride; Eric Baker (special projects manager) will follow up with
his 15-minute economic stimulus update; then Angie Silva (also a
special projects planner) will discuss a Port Orchard stormwater
inter-local agreement for roughly 30 minutes; the board will
consider a resolution authorizing the condemnation of private land
and adjourn shortly after 4 p.m.
Wednesday, May 5
8:30 a.m.: After approving minutes the board
will review the agenda for its May 10 regular meeting (this usually
takes about an hour); they’ll do information sharing from roughly
9:20 to 10:05; then hear from Maxine Schoales about open space
classification and forest land classification for the next hour.
Shortly after 11 a.m. they’ll take a five minute break, then
discuss planning commission rules of procedure with DCD planner
Scott Diener for 20 minutes. The meeting will end with the board
recessing into executive session at 11:30 a.m. until noon to
discuss real estate matters.
City of Bremerton City Council (meet at Norm
Dicks Government Center, 345 6th Street)
Wednesday, May 5
5 p.m.: The council will hold a 30-minute
briefing to discuss general council business before heading
downstairs for their regular meeting which begins at 5:30 p.m. On
the agenda for the night the council will hear the regular report
from Mayor Patty Lent, followed by a briefing from Bill Stewart,
executive director of the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance. The
council has no general business items for the night, but its public
hearing docket is as follows: public hearing and release of
easements to Harrison Medical Center; public hearing and ordinance
amending Bremerton Municipal Code Title 20 of the zoning code
related to the comprehensive plan/zoning code consistency and
community facilities; a proposed public hearing and resolution
adopting the 2011 CDBG/Home Policy Plan. The meeting will adjourn
following council committee reports.
City of Port Orchard: No meeting this week.
City of Poulsbo (meet at Poulsbo City Hall,
19050 NE Jensen Way)
Wednesday, May 5
7 p.m.: The meeting will kick off with a
regular report by Mayor Becky Erickson and will be followed by the
business agenda, which includes an Olhava development update by
Mark Zenger; the request for contract approval for ASP service with
SunGard HTE; the acquisition of right of way at the Lincoln Well
site for the planned Noll Road roundabout, followed by the approval
of a contract amendment in place between the city and Parametrix
for the Noll Road roundabout work; a public hearing will be held on
the Gaines Annexation (this is set to start at 7:15 p.m.);
following the public hearing the council could vote on an ordinance
authorizing the annexation.
Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority
(meet in suite 100 at Norm Dicks Government Center, 345 6th
Street)
Tuesday, May 4
1 p.m.: The meeting will likely immediately
recess into executive session following approval of the consent
agenda. The session will be closed to discuss real estate and
potential litigation. The meeting will reopen with reports from the
organization’s executive director Tony Caldwell, as well as update
reports from the organization’s management team; the relocation of
the agency to the Norm Dicks Government Center is next (although
last time they didn’t say much here because they already discussed
it in executive session); and the meeting will end with an update
from Kitsap County on the status of KCCHA properties listed for
sale. Adjournment should happen around 3:30 p.m.
Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council (meet in
main chambers of Norm Dicks Government Center, 345 6th Street)
8 a.m.: The meeting will start with a study
session looking at projections of population / housing units and
distributions from the state’s Office of Financial Management. The
regular meeting will begin at 9 a.m. with citizen comments.
On the agenda: a public hearing on the Community Development
Block Grant Program regarding the 2011 application and policy plan;
the work program report includes an update on the
revenue-sharing/Urban Growth Area discussion (Read the story about
a meeting of the minds on this between Port Orchard and Kitsap
County here); followed by a report on
transportation that is scheduled to take 40 minutes — the report
includes recommendations from TransPOL on 2009 “left over” ARRA
funding, PSRC rural corridors program project applications; it also
includes information on non-motorized facilities and
recommendations from the ad-hoc trails committee and information on
the project selection process to receive transportation enhancement
funds for FFY 2010-11; the next work program report is on city and
county roles and a report from the Kitsap Economic Development
Alliance/Kitsap County Community Development Corporation.
After all that the member agency’s will be able to give their
comments, citizens may or may not get the chance to comment again
(agenda says “as time permits”) and adjournment should fall around
11 a.m.
Alright folks, my brain is mush after translating/transcribing
all those meeting agendas, so I’m signing off. Hope I didn’t miss
anyone and I can’t wait to do it all over again next Monday
morning. See ya then. Au Revoir.
Here I am, yet again writing a blog post about Silverdale
incorporation. I’ve been reading the comment thread on the story I
wrote last week about a yet-to-be-formalized incorporation effort
that will likely become the real deal later this summer. (That
story is here).
The comments range from supportive, to cautious, to outright
against incorporation. They also raise the big question: Will taxes
go up, or down, if Silverdale incorporates?
While everyone wants an answer to that question, the reality is
it’s unknown. (I know, not what you want to hear right?) During the
meeting last week Silverdale CPA Randy Biegenwald told the group he
couldn’t say one way or the other if taxes will go up or down.
Ultimately the cost will depend on the structure the public votes
to have in place.
I’m resurrecting a blog entry I wrote in October 2007, after the
last incorporation talks fizzled. In the entry I sent 10 questions
to Tacoma attorney Jennifer Forbes, who works for the firm McGavick
Graves. She lives in Poulsbo and was asked by Hank Mann-Sykes back
in August 2007 to attend incorporation meetings to offer a legal
perspective to the discussions. (Read the complete blog post,
formerly on the CK Beat, here.)
Here are the questions and Forbes’ responses:
My Questions:
1. Will water or sewer rates increase/decrease/stay the
same?
2. Will the cost of utilities like garbage collection or electrical
service change?
3. What will happen with the cost of television, satellite TV and
phone service, will it change?
4. Will the cost of fire/police protection change, and if
Silverdale became a city would it have to establish its own
fire/police departments?
5. Will property taxes costs more/less?
6. Will the sales tax rate change?
7. If a city government is established along with a court system,
will that cost more money and what are the pros and cons?
8. How will the road maintenance be handled?
Jennifer’s Response:
Questions 1-8 can generally be answered in the same manner – No
one at this stage can guarantee what taxes will or will not be
imposed or increased by the City. The City would have the authority
to impose or increase certain taxes but they are not required to do
so. What this means is that the answer to the questions will depend
heavily on who is elected to the governing body (City Council) of
the City of Silverdale. Citizens can participate in that decision
through their votes and by participating in City Council
meetings.
The City can initially contract with the County, other Cities,
or Districts for nearly all government services, such as police,
fire, road maintenance, and the court system. Once again, this is a
decision that would be made by the governing body of the City. The
governing body may decide that they do not want to contract for
some or all of these services. That being said, however, the
typical way most recently incorporated Cities address these issues
is by contracting for a period of time for the provision of these
services and then slowly taking them over themselves. This provides
a somewhat seamless transition of services into an incorporated
City.
There are certainly pros and cons to having a City municipal
court system versus contracting with the County. This is something
that many existing cities struggle with. I cannot speak to the
financial costs or benefits, as I think this varies widely from
jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I will say that it appears to me that
most jurisdictions choose to have their own court system for a
variety of reasons including but not limited to: providing a better
level of service to citizens, having a better sense of the issues
that are facing the community, and providing a more convenient
forum for those who are parties to the court system.
As you can see, there isn’t one clear answer to the questions.
But, I think as talks kick up again an answer might be more
definitive once the public weighs in on what type of city
government it wants to see.
If I look only at the comment thread on my story, I also think
incorporation proponents are in for a fight. I haven’t been here to
cover previous incorporation efforts, but in the four years I have
covered CK for the Sun it has been easy to see there is some
serious baggage tied to the idea of incorporating Silverdale. (The
baggage falls on both sides of the aisle).
I hope that as this new effort kicks off all sides come to the
table with open minds and leave history where it belongs — in the
past. I know that might be wishful thinking, but it’d be nice to
see people engage in a discussion on what’s proposed, instead of
heading into a debate with their minds already made up based on
what’s been proposed in the past.
Here’s what’s coming up this week by way of government
meetings.
Kitsap County Board of Commissioners (meet at
619 Division Street)
Monday, April 26
2 p.m.: The meeting will kick off with the
approval of minutes from 04/12/10; a legislative update from Tom
McBride will follow and last about 15 minutes; Eric Baker will then
discuss two items with the board for the next 45 minutes, the first
being an economic stimulus update and then a review of a draft
Memorandum of Understanding between the county and Olympic Property
Group regarding the North Kitsap Legacy Partnership (read about
that partnership here, here and here.); the meeting will end
with an hour-long budget update from Stephanie Pinard, resulting in
adjournment around 4 p.m.
7 p.m.: The board’s nightly meeting will kick
off with a number of presentations, recognitions and board
appointments. A contract for $358,907 with Freeman Bell, LLC will
be voted on. That contract is to “mitigate flooding during severe
storm events in the Converse Avenue area by constructing a regional
storm pond and a closed stormwater conveyance system in South
Kitsap, Commissioner District #2.” The money will come from the
SSWM Construction Fund. The only public hearing is on a resolution
amending the first quarter of the 2010 Annual Budget.
Wednesday, April 28
8:30 a.m.: The board’s regular work study will
be a joint meeting with county planning commissioners, scheduled to
last two hours. At 10:30 a.m. the board will have information
sharing until 11:30 a.m.
City of Bremerton City Council (meet at Norm
Dicks Government Center, 345 5th Street)
Wednesday, April 28
5 p.m.: The council will meet in a study
session. The first three items on the agenda say no
discussion and indicate they may appear on future agendas
for action, but no action will be taken on the items at the work
study. The items include: a proposed resolution approving the first
phase of the Bay Vista Final Plat in the area formerly known as
Westpark; an interlocal agreement with the city of Shelton for
interim traffic signal repair and maintenance services; and a
proposed public hearing and release of water easement for Harrison
Medical Center.
Items on the agenda up for discussion include:
authorizing expenditures for legal services agreement with Gordon
Thomas Honeywell; a proposed public hearing and ordinance amending
Bremerton Municipal Code Title 20 of the zoning code related to the
comprehensive plan/zoning code consistency and community
facilities; a proposed public hearing and resolution adopting the
2011 CDBG/Home Policy Plan; approving the Highway 303/Manette
Bridge bridge replacement city construction support cooperative
agreement; a proposed resolution authorizing the local agency
agreement for Pacific Avenue improvements (6th to 11th
Streets).
The meeting will end with general business and updates from the
council’s committee chairs.
City of Port Orchard (meet at 216 Prospect
Street)
Tuesday, April 27
7 p.m.: The city council will hear a
presentation about municipal clerk’s week and the Silver Star
Service Banner Day before going into its business agenda. The
business agenda includes the following: adopting a resolution
authorizing the purchase of a 2010 Ford Escort for the storm
drainage utility from Bay Ford; adoption of an ordinance that
amends the city’s code regarding the parking of boats and
recreational vehicles; adoption of an ordinance that request an
election set for Aug. 17, 2010 regarding the annexation of the city
of Port Orchard into the Kitsap County Rural Library District;
approval of a contract authorizing the mayor to enter into a
contract with Henderson Construction for the Bay Street seawall
construction project; approval of a contract that authorizes the
mayor to enter into a contract with Krazan and Associates for
materials testing; approval of an event application for the
“World’s Biggest Disc Golf Weekend.”
And I believe that is all that’s going in this week in Kitsap by
way of city/county meetings.
If you’re a property owner/taxpayer in unincorporated Kitsap
County, you may want to be heads up — regardless of what area of
the county you live in — about a meeting on April 29 between city
of Port Orchard and Kitsap County officials on an inter-local
agreement regarding annexations.
The meeting does not, to my understanding, involve a quorum of
either government, so may not be open to the public. I will be
following up on the results.
The long-standing agreement between the county and Kitsap’s
cities addresses how transfer of responsibility (and tax revenue)
will take place when unicorporated areas are annexed into cities.
Port Orchard, which has had a number of significant annexations
over the past year or two, is particularly interested in the aspect
of the ILA that involves revenue sharing.
The city wants immediate access to tax revenue from annexed
properties, especially businesses along the Bethel corridor. The
ILA now states that the revenue will be shared over a period of
three years after annexations, with the county getting 75 percent,
50 percent and 25 percent in each year before all of the revenue
goes to the city in the fourth year and thereafter. City officials
have given formal notice that they would opt out of the ILA if
negotiations don’t meet their desired result.
The county has been analyzing the potential impact of the loss
of revenue on the county’s budget. The question county taxpayers’
may ask themselves is, “How will this affect me?” Will my taxes go
up, down, sideways or what? Hopefully all that will be clarified by
county officials in the upcoming weeks and months.
Even if you’re not a property owner, you may want to know how
the potential loss of revenue will affect the county’s ability to
deliver services, including the building of roads and other
infrastructure, law enforcement and so forth in all areas of the
county.
From the city’s perspective, they say access to the full amount
of revenue is needed if they are to provide adequate police
patrols, roads and other infrastructure to the newly annexed
areas.
Port Orchard’s annexations have recently drawn some interest
from outside Kitsap County. I got an e-mail from Thomas W.
Bradbury, a real estate analyst with Private Valuations Inc. of
Bellevue, who asked how the Bethel North annexation is
progressing.
I asked Tom what was his interest in the Bethel Corridor. He
told me, “I’m appraising some proposed improvements on Bethel Road
and needed to know if the parcel would be part of the city for the
appraisal date.”
If you remember, Bethel North was the humongous proposed
annexation representing the largest part of the Bethel Corridor.
The total assessed value of the land in the 555-acre annexation
area is $145 million.
After checking with Port Orchard’s development director James
Weaver, I reported to Thomas that the Bethel North annexation was
dead in the water.
On Feb. 5, annexation backers were still hopeful they could get
enough signatures for the required 60 support, even though they had
only collected 53 percent as of that date. They had six months to
gather enough signatures for approval, with the first signature
dated July 29. Their strategy was to “roll-over” signatures in
order to keep the annexation petition alive, basically approaching
those who had already signed and asking them to sing again once
their signatures had expired, all legal according to the city
attorney. They collected signatures representing 57 percent of the
property but were unable, however, to bring the last 3 percent on
board … at least at this time.
The largest (and key) hold-out property owner was Walmart, which
is part-way through permitting for an expansion, Weaver said.
According to Weaver, the company did not want jeopardize the
forward movement of permitting by switching horses in mid-steam, so
to speak. This does not preclude another attempt at annexation some
time in the future, however.
Weaver said the “silver lining” for the city in the annexation
failure is that if the Bethel North folks want to try again later,
the effective date of the annexation would likely be after Port
Orchard pulls out of the revenue sharing agreement (PO has until
November to decide if they will do so). Hence the city would have
immediate access to what’s sure to be a honking big chunk of sales
tax revenue (my words BTW, not Weaver’s).
This is not to imply that city officials did anything other than
comply with state statutes and the GMA in accepting the Bethel
North annexation proposal, Weaver said.
The Bethel North annexation, sweet as it would be for the city
(my words/ not Weaver’s), is “citizen driven. It’s citizen
initiated,” Weaver said. “If the citizens don’t have the desire to
continue it, it’s out of the hands of the city.”
The latest annexation in the works in the Blueberry Road
annexation consisting of 57 parcels on 49 acres. The city council
recently accepted property owners’ notice of intent to annex. Now
they have to gather the required signatures in the required time
frame.
Here’s the city’s map of annexations completed, in the works and
possible future annexations.
