In case you missed it, there’s a new blogger in town. Cary Bozeman, former Bremerton Mayor and current CEO of the Port of Bremerton, launched the aptly named Bozeman Blog Sept. 14.

As with our other reader blogs, Bozeman’s comes headed with the following disclaimer: “The Kitsap Sun neither edits nor previews reader blog posts. Their content is the sole creation and responsibility of the readers who produce them.”

Today, Bozeman recapped his power lunch with Port Orchard Mayor Lary Coppola. Coppola has said he admires Bozeman and aspires to emulate his git-er-done attitude and its impact on Bremerton.

In the post, Bozeman shares some advice he had for Coppola. He wrote:

“Yesterday I met Mayor Lary Coppola for lunch in his wonderful City of Port Orchard. The man gets it, he knows what he wants to accomplish, and is a little like a bull in a china shop in his effort to get some things done. I like Lary, I like people who get stuff done, but sometimes I remind the Mayor that its ok to carry a big stick just dont use it all the time.”

Bozeman goes on to say the port wants to partner with both Port Orchard and Bremerton to promote their economic development. Steve Gardner, who writes the Bremerton Beat, and I have some fun with the perception of rivalry between the two towns. It will be interesting to see how Bozeman’s pledge plays out, especially if limited funding is at stake. Stay tuned.

Kitsap Sun intern Tara Garcia-Mathewson and I are working on a story to run later in the year about the greens industry. We are specifically interested in salal, which is used in floral bouquets. In addition to reporting on this lucrative industry, we would like to address the history of brush-picking in Kitsap and Mason Counties. In a previous life, I worked with older adults, some of whom told me of their Mom & Pop brush-picking business in the early to mid-20th Century. If you have information on the history of the greens industry in this area, call or e-mail me. Or post your comment here. Thanks, Chris Henry, South Kitsap/ government reporter

(360) 792-9219
chenry@kitsapsun.com

Kitsap County’s Parks and Recreation Department’s director position has been marked by considerable turnover, with three directors over the past decade. In June, former director Chip Faver resigned abruptly, saying he intended to move back to the Southwest.

Seeking stability for the department, the county undertook an exhaustive recruitment process to find Faver’s replacement, polling parks “stakeholders” on selection criteria and assigning a committee to sift through 52 resumes they received from a nationwide search.

Kitsap County’s new parks director, Jim Dunwiddie, will move across the country to assume his post Nov. 9. Dunwiddie, 54, whose appointment was announced Wednesday, most recently served as assistant director of the Somerset County Park Commission in Bridgewater, New Jersey. He lost his job in what park commissioners for that department describe as “downsizing.”

Despite turmoil in the Somerset park department in 2008, Dunwiddie is clearly “the right guy for us right now,” said County Administrator Nancy Buonanno-Grennan.

According to Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido, county staff thoroughly researched Dunwiddie’s background and had no
concerns about a 2007 investigation of Somerset County Park Commission’s management and financial practices. In fact, people contacted for references indicated Dunwiddie acted in a whistle-blower role that may have cost him his job.

Commissioner Josh Brown, who was new on the board when Faver was selected, said he has confidence Dunwiddie represents a long-term “good fit” for the county. Brown drew parallels between Dunwiddie’s selection from among three finalists and the appointment of Larry Keeton in 2007 to the head the county’s troubled Department of Community Development. Brown said the county has gone to extra lengths to find the right match. He praised Dunwiddie’s potential to work well with public groups and potential to contribute to the sustainability of parks despite continued budget cuts resulting from county revenue shortfalls.

“I think he has a great passion to serve in parks, and I think he’s going to be a great fit,” Brown said.

Dunwiddie’s move to Kitsap County represents considerable downsizing. Somerset’s park department, with a heavy emphasis on golf facilities, had nearly a $20 million operating budget in 2008 and 200 full-time employees. Kitsap County’s Parks and Recreation Department, by comparison, operates with 35 full-time employees and a budget that was cut from $3.9 million at the start of 2009 to $3.7 million.

Despite more cuts to come, Dunwiddie is looking forward to the challenge. Kitsap’s level of parks stewardship is ahead of the curve in the nationwide parks trend of doing more with less, he said.

Dunwiddie said he is looking forward to “dialog” with stewardship groups, which the county sees as key to its ability to maintain parks despite budget cuts.

“You work with them. You don’t tell them what’s going to happen,” he said.

More on Dunwiddie: He has an extensive background in community service, including coaching baseball, softball, basketball and soccer. His volunteer work also includes service on the Somerset County’s aging advisory board, and in 1981-82, he chaired the area’s Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Buonanno-Grennan described him as “very even-keeled” and said references called him a “Steady Eddie.”

Dunwiddie will make $101,000 plus benefits with Kitsap County, as compared to the $136,707 he made in his previous job. Kitsap County commissioners reduced the parks director salary range 15 percent before advertising for the job. They offered Dunwiddie the high end of the range.