The Bremerton Marina project is moving ahead with the bidding process, following a group of decisions in January by the Port of Bremerton commissioners related to design, financing and other aspects.

The expansion project will increase the number of boat slips from 45 to 352. Of those, 230 will be permanent and the rest will be guest moorage. The commission decided to make the slips uncovered.

“The project in any event is very expensive; to put cover on them will cost about $2 million more and that doesn’t make it viable,” port Chief Executive Officer Ken Attebery said. The other aspect of that decision was the aesthetic appeal based on comments by the community, he said.

The commissioners decided to begin discussions with a bond attorney but left open other funding avenues for the estimated $22.9 million cost. Potential funding includes grants, levies, and city, state and county contributions. The port had already received a $955,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFW) that will be released once USFW and the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) finish their environmental review. The review was expected to be complete by the end of January, Attebery said.

The marina expansion discussions started in 2001, and design work followed. The design of the breakwater — a long, concrete box that reduces or defends against wave action — was tested at the University of Oregon. Bidding will start in February on the construction of the breakwater, which will be 24.5 feet wide, 1,400 feet long and 10 feet deep (with 2 feet of those above water). Breakwater construction is expected to last 12-18 months, after which the slips will be built, sometime in the summer or fall of 2007. A separate bidding process will be held for the slips.

Attebery said grant stipulations required a certain number of visitor slips and there is demand for that service. In Port Orchard, as many as 50 to 60 boats can be frequently seen visiting over the major weekends. “Based on national statistics of recreational marinas, they do contribute a significant amount to the local economy,” he said. The port estimates that more than $2 million per year in new economic activity could be generated, creating more than 200 jobs.