6-9-2001
Governmental center inches forward
Commissioners split vote to commit $320,000
to move the project forward
By Lary Coppola
(L-R) County Commissioners Tim Botkin, Jan Angel and Chris Endresen listen as Port Orchard City Councilman John Clauson reads a letter from Port Orchard Mayor Jay Weatherill against building the new governmental center.
   By a 2-1 vote, the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners are moving ahead with plans to build a controversial new governmental center in downtown Bremerton. The building would house a number of county offices including those of the commissioners, as well as state and federal offices. It would also become the new Bremerton City Hall, housing all the city government offices.
   It was standing room only in the commission chambers, with opponents, mostly South Kitsap business people, smiling and nodding their heads in agreement as Commissioner Jan Angel read a letter into the record explaining why she would vote against the project. However, she was outvoted 2-1 by Commissioners Chris Endresen and Tim Botkin when it came time to commit the county to advancing the project to its next phase — studies and designs for the $33 million center.
   
Commissioner Jan Angel reads her letter of opposition to the proposed Governmental Center in Bremerton
In a move seemingly meant to placate both the mostly hostile audience and address Angel’s concerns, Botkin amended his original motion not to move forward on land acquisition for 30 days. That would allow the information Angel requested to be developed, and resolve concerns voiced earlier in a letter read by Port Orchard City Commissioner John Clausen from Mayor Jay Weatherill who couldn’t be at the meeting. Approval of the motion however did commit the county to spending $320,000 to move ahead.
   “This is not the final decision about building the government center,” Commissioner Tim Botkin said emphatically.
   If construction is approved, the design costs would be wrapped into the total cost of the project which will be managed by the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority (KCCHA). Kitsap County will pay 80 percent of the costs of the building with the City of Bremerton and the housing authority splitting the balance.
   Angel said she supports the revitalization of Bremerton, but believes a convention center in downtown Bremerton might be a better idea than a government building. She added this isn’t an issue for the commissioners to decide. “I believe the citizens should decide by their vote.”
   Angel outlined five reasons she was voting against the project. The first was legal, and she called for an outside legal opinion on whether or not the project constituted moving the county seat. To do so requires a vote of the citizens.
   She also wanted a clarification on how the housing authority could act as developer of the project, since it doesn’t have anything to do with housing. KCCHA director Norm McLaughlin has previously argued that the project will cause additional housing units to be built in the area.
   In a related wrinkle challenging the KCCHA’s authority to initiate the project, Silverdale resident Ron Ross has written a four page letter to State Auditor Brian Sonntag asking his agency to look into the matter as well. Ross cited numerous legal reasons and specific RCWs he believes prevent the KCCHA from being involved in the development.
   Angel also questioned the parking scheme proposed as well as the traffic issues. She said that the proposal for citizens to park in a Kitsap Transit lot at 6th and Montgomery — over a mile away — and be shuttled, is unacceptable. In response, Botkin suggested that ferry commuters and PSNS workers who currently park close to the project site could be forced to use the 6th and Montgomery shuttle so citizens utilizing the governmental center could use the parking closest.
   One of the arguments Angel cited as being presented in favor of the project is that it is more convenient for north end residents than Port Orchard is. However, she pointed out that between the Kitsap Way freeway exit to the proposed site at 6th and Pacific, there are at least a dozen stoplights. From the same spot to the current courthouse in Port Orchard, there are none. “The reason for the acute parking and traffic problems is due to Bremerton’s location at the end of a peninsula. Try getting in and out through the city these days and you’ll see what a burden we will place on our public by making them fight that battle,” she stated.
   Angel also felt the cost was a major issue. “For 35 million of your tax dollars, we could allow each community over $8 million to develop capital facilities that each area desperately needs, combine in a satellite county office using new technology, internet and fiber optic solutions. You may then be able to conduct business with the county from your office or your home and not even have to make a trip to the courthouse,” she added
   Acknowledging that the county has a space crunch, she pointed out the county already owns land adjacent to the current courthouse and that the City of Port Orchard has pledged its cooperation in helping the county develop there.
   When Angel was finished, Botkin launched into an impassioned, point by point defense of the project, promoting it as an example of Smart Growth. “Bremerton is our largest city and hasn’t had a building built there in 30 years,” he said. “Visions are wonderful, but we’re dealing with the real world.”
    As far as the question of moving the county seat, Botkin stated, “That’s an absolute, flat no. I would absolutely oppose moving the county seat.”
   He also disputed the numbers Angel quoted, saying the county’s portion of the costs were $18 million, not $35 million, and the money would come from revenues derived from the real estate excise tax and already earmarked for capital facilities, not from new taxes.
   In addressing the economic impact on Port Orchard that Clausen questioned earlier, Botkin said the economic study the city insisted on showed that the impact amounted to one percent of the city’s revenues. He stated it would only take two months to make up the shortfall.
   That comment brought chuckles from many in the audience as they shook their heads in disbelief. “I’ve heard enough of his bulls_ _ _ ,” muttered one audience member as he got up and left the meeting in disgust.
   In conclusion, Botkin said, “There are some downsides, but they don’t appear to be insurmountable. The risk you run is you not only delay, but you kill a vision by inaction.”
   Commissioner Chris Endresen decided the matter by voting in favor. She too cited a litany of reasons why the project should move forward, and reiterated much of what Botkin had said. She also reminded everyone that disagreements should be discussed with civility.
   Endresen noted the loss of business in Port Orchard as a concern. “I love Tweten’s, as Commissioner Botkin will attest,” she laughed. She also said she did an analysis of her own spending in Port Orchard, revealing she had spent $610 at Tweten’s and $120 at the Courthouse Cafe.
   She suggested that the Port Orchard and Bremerton Chambers “sit down and look for a win-win solution.”
   Endresen also pointed out that law and justice is the fastest growing portion of the county’s budget and it will need to hire more deputies, judges, attorneys and clerks to man the law and justice center that the current courthouse will evolve into. She added that the civil courts are growing as well. “More population means more adoptions, probates and divorces — all in Port Orchard.”
   She finished by saying, “It’s time to put the past behind us and look to the future.”
   After the vote, in the public comment portion of the meeting Realtor Dick Brown called for an appraisal of the property for the governmental center. “If it’s assessed at $1.2 million, why is the county paying in excess of $4 million for it?” he asked. “That’s $27 a square foot. Can you find me any other property in downtown Bremerton that’s selling for $27 a square foot?”
   Port Orchard businessman Bryan Petro closed the meeting by saying, “Our downtown core is not thriving, it’s surviving.”
   After the meeting, Endresen said that there were possible accommodations that could be made with the businesses that will suffer the most impact from the move, but the governmental center needed to move forward. “It’s the right thing to do,” she said.