Monthly Archives: October 2016

More self storage space proposed in Poulsbo

With limited development land available, self storage companies are building up to meet demand.

That’s the case in Poulsbo where Pro-Guard has proposed a new three-story storage building on the site of its existing facility at 20554 Little Valley Road NE, near Central Market.

The 45,000-square-foot structure would replace a portion of RV parking on the property, according to a notice of application issued by the city.

Pro-Guard submitted the site plan review application Oct. 5. The city will accept comments on the proposal through Nov. 11.

Pro-Guard’s proposal is one of several possible storage developments in the north end of the county.

Urban Self Storage recently submitted an application for a multi-story storage building near Safeway in Poulsbo. On Bainbridge, Urban is considering plans for self storage on Day Road near Highway 305.

Fewer insurers offering exchange plans in Kitsap

Tad Sooter

Kitsap residents shopping for 2017 coverage through Healthplanfinder will have four insurers to choose from.

BridgeSpan Health Company, Group Health Cooperative, LifeWise Health Plan of Washington and Premera Blue Cross were approved to offer plans in Kitsap through the state exchange, according to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

Regence Blue Shield and United HealthCare, which offered exchange plans in Kitsap in 2016, aren’t selling exchange plans in the county for 2017. United HealthCare dropped out of the state exchange entirely.

Three carriers — Group Health Cooperative, Group Health Options and Regence Blue Shield — are offering individual health plans in Kitsap outside of the exchange.

Here’s a breakdown:

Statewide, rates for plans sold in the individual market will increase by an average of 13.6 percent for 2017.

Insurers selling in Kitsap will raise rates by an average of 15.13 percent:

Open enrollment for the individual health insurance market starts Nov. 1, 2016 and runs through January 2017.

Enrollment in Apple Health (Medicaid) is open all year.

Click here for enrollment info.

Census acknowledges data gap that led to faulty fast ferry numbers

Tad Sooter

The U.S. Census Bureau has acknowledged a data gap in one of its online applications that led Kitsap Transit to publish untrue statements about local commuter trends.

While fact checking campaign materials for Kitsap Transit’s fast ferry sales tax proposal, the Kitsap Sun discovered Census’ OnTheMap employment mapping tool doesn’t display civilian Department of Defense jobs, even though documentation for the application stated those jobs were included.

The omission was readily apparent in Bremerton, where defense jobs represent a large segment of the labor market.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility employed about 11,000 workers in 2014, the most recent year OnTheMap has data for. But OnTheMap showed only 218 jobs in the area of the shipyard.

The Sun contacted the Census Bureau regarding the discrepancy on Oct. 12. At first, bureau representatives were unable to confirm whether shipyard jobs were included in OnTheMap data. Then on Friday, Census provided this statement:

“The U.S. Census Bureau’s OnTheMap tool does not include civilian employees of the Department of Defense and Armed Forces.

“We have updated the application documentation for the tool to reflect this exclusion. We are committed to providing data that gives an accurate snapshot of our nation’s communities.”

Without the disclaimer regarding civilian defense jobs, OnTheMap presented a skewed snapshot of many communities like Kitsap with a strong military presence. The Department of Defense employs nearly 800,000 civilians, according to its careers website.

By relying on the incomplete Census data for its research, Kitsap Transit drew the incorrect conclusion that more Kitsap residents work in Seattle than work in Bremerton — a talking point that helped bolster the case for fast ferry service across Puget Sound.

Kitsap Transit removed fast ferry materials that referenced the claim after the discrepancy in OnTheMap data was brought to light.

We don’t know how many other local public agencies have used OnTheMap for planning.

Puget Sound Regional Council spokesman Rick Olson said council staff do not use OnTheMap for research, but do recommend the tool to people looking for a quick overview of commuter trends.

Including civilian defense jobs in OnTheMap would be a useful service to the public. Users of the application will at least now be warned a large gap exists in the data.

Travelocity names Kitsap a top 10 destination for beer tourism

Tad Sooter

brew2_21667175_ver1-0_640_480 Kitsap County ranks among of the best destinations in the country for a “beercation,” according to one major travel website.

Travelocity recently released a beer tourism index to assess what areas of the nation are best suited for beer-centric travel.

The index ranks metro areas based on the number of breweries in the area, the availability of rideshare services, air accessibility and the cost of lodging.

Kitsap County (listed as Bremerton-Silverdale) landed at No. 10 on Travelocity’s list of top beer destinations in the small metro area category:

beerdestinations

It’s not a big surprise Kitsap would make this list, considering more than a dozen craft breweries are in business across the county.

Groups like Visit Kitsap Peninsula are already marketing West Sound as a “hops-lover’s heaven.”

PSE selling surplus land in Port Orchard

Tad Sooter

Puget Sound Energy is selling an undeveloped property off Mile Hill Drive where a substation was planned.

Realty Marketing/Northwest listed the 7.5-acre property in a fall auction catalog released last week, with sealed bids due by Nov. 15.

The sale includes portions of two long parcels stretching north off Mile Hill Drive and a smaller parcel connecting to Baby Doll Road (see inset image). The land is zoned commercial and could be developed as apartments or “entry level housing,” according to Realty Marketing/Northwest.

PSE spokesman Ray Lane said a substation was planned on the property 25 years ago.

“However, our electric load in that area is static,” Lane said. “We have no plans to construct a substation in the near future, and when we do, we don’t need that much land.”

PSE will hang onto 2 acres along Mile Hill Drive in case a substation is needed in the future.

Minimum wage initiative would affect thousands of Kitsap workers

Tad Sooter

20060124-061050-pic-985377851_5739340_ver1-0_640_480 A minimum wage initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot could boost pay for thousands of low-wage Kitsap County workers, according to analysis by a state economist.

But nailing down exactly how many jobs would be affected if the initiative passed is no easy task.

If approved, Initiative 1433 would incrementally increase the state’s minimum wage from the current $9.47 an hour to $13.50 an hour in 2020.

To help understand the implications of the initiative, state Employment Security Department economist Scott Bailey created a hypothetical scenario in which a $13.50 minimum wage was applied to 2015 labor markets in each county. He used a $12.23 minimum wage to account for inflation between 2015 and 2020.

B0013070067--582128 For job and wage data, Bailey turned to a database of quarterly wage records.

The records include most jobs covered by unemployment insurance, but exclude federal jobs, private household employment like nannying, and home health care workers.

Bailey also noted the records capture three-month periods, which makes it difficult to create an exact point-in-time job count, since individuals move in and out of labor markets, and many jobs are short-term.

With all those caveats in mind, here were key takeaways from Bailey’s analysis of Kitsap County’s labor market in 2015:

— Somewhere between 3 percent and 6 percent of non-federal jobs in Kitsap paid minimum wage ($9.47, plus or minus 18 cents).

— Somewhere between 19 percent and 26 percent of non-federal jobs paid less than $12.23 an hour (the equivalent of $13.50 in 2020). That was between 9,000 and 19,000 jobs.

— Jobs paying less than $12.23 an hour accounted for 8 percent of Kitsap’s non-federal payroll.

— Payroll would have to increase by about 1.2 percent to meet the minimum wage requirement under 1433, a change of about $29.7 million.

Bailey also took a statewide look at what industries would most be affected by the minimum wage hike, again using 2015 labor market numbers.

This chart shows the percentage of jobs by industry paying less than $12.23 an hour (the equivalent of $13.50 in 2020):

Create bar charts

Developer shares plans for Rolling Bay project

Tad Sooter

A Bainbridge developer plans to seek approval this fall for a project that will bring new homes, shops and a restaurant to the island’s Rolling Bay center.

Sunrise Square, which came before the city’s Design Review Board in 2015, will be located on Sunrise Drive, just north of the intersection with Valley Road.

Rolling Bay Land Co. owner Lisa Martin said she expects construction to begin by next summer, if permitting goes smoothly. The development could be ready for tenants in by early 2018.

Plans for Sunrise Square include 6,700 square feet of residential space (both detached homes and apartments), 4,100 square feet of commercial space and a 2,300-square-foot freestanding restaurant.

Martin and architect Russ Hamlet, who’ve teamed up on several eco-friendly projects, emphasized energy and water efficiency in the design of Sunrise Square.

Geothermal and solar systems will help offset the development’s energy needs, Martin said.

Buildings in Sunrise Square will feature vacuum toilets that use far less water than even low-flow toilets. Waste will be composted before it’s discharged into the development’s septic drain field.

The western portion of the 2-acre parcel will be left undeveloped as an open space meadow.

Rolling Bay Land Co. is seeking tenants for the future development. Leasing information and more designs are posted below.

Renderings courtesy Rolling Bay Land Co. and Studio Hamlet

Harrison Port Orchard Urgent Care cutting late night hours

Tad Sooter

20090113-181808-pic-839579123_5852379_ver1.0_640_480 Harrison Port Orchard Urgent Care will reduce evening hours this fall in response to complaints regarding long wait times and understaffing.

The new clinic hours will be 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily, beginning Oct. 31, according to a letter sent to CHI Franciscan Health patients. The clinic is currently open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

According to the letter: “This change will ensure that three providers are in clinic during all business hours, which will improve access to our providers and decrease the time patients spend in the waiting room.”

CHI Franciscan spokesman Scott Thompson said the clinic saw an average of 8 patients between the hours of 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.

“We are much busier during the day,” Thompson said.

South Kitsap patients needing care overnight will have to travel to an emergency department in Bremerton, Gig Harbor or Silverdale. CHI Franciscan Health also offers virtual urgent care 24 hours a day.

The Port Orchard clinic was originally open 24 hours a day. CHI Franciscan eliminated overnight hours at the urgent care in 2015.

The full letter to patients is posted below:

PO.urgent.hours by Tad Sooter on Scribd

Peninsula Cancer Center adds oncologist

Tad Sooter

A fourth physician has joined Peninsula Cancer Center in Poulsbo to help meet increased demand for services.

The independent cancer treatment center announced the addition of radiation oncologist Dr. Aaron Sabolch in a news release Thursday.

“There’s a growing demand for our services and the addition of Dr. Sabolch will allow us to continue to provide timely, high-quality patient-centered care for new and existing patients,” practice co-founder Dr. Berit Madsen said in the release.

Sabolch received his medical degree from the University of Michigan and completed his residency at University of Michigan, Department of Radiation Oncology.

Peninsula Cancer Center was founded by Madsen and Dr. Alex Hsi in 2009. Dr. Heath Foxlee established a satellite clinic in Port Townsend in 2010.

See the center’s website or Facebook page for more information.

Marijuana grow approved in Bremerton; SK retailers on the move

Tad Sooter

The state approved a marijuana grow Wednesday off Auto Center Boulevard in Bremerton.

Producer and processor United Western Green will be located in a warehouse at 111 Bruenn Ave., according to Liquor and Cannabis Board records.

United Western Green is the 16th producer/processor licensed in Kitsap County.

Retailers on the move

Marijuana retailers originally licensed in South Kitsap are shuffling locations this fall, perhaps seeking less crowded markets.

po-pot_-stores — Eight marijuana retailers were approved in the Port Orchard area. Now some are moving out. Click to enlarge.

The board recently approved an address change allowing 21+ Recreational Marijuana to hop from Bethel Road in Port Orchard to 3062 SW Hwy. 16, Suite A in Gorst.

Two other South Kitsap marijuana stores have applied to relocate to Silverdale.

Fillabong, which also operates a shop in Silverdale, already shifted its license from Mile Hill Drive to 3249 Perry Ave., just outside Bremerton limits.

Here’s my map of Kitsap marijuana businesses. I’ll update the new retail locations once they’re approved by the board: