Kathleen Byrne-Barrantes attempted to re-write of history regarding the Wheaton Way Wal-Mart. I was County Commissioner when it was built. Site preparation didn’t begin in the rainy season. Regulatory delays did push the start date back from spring into early summer. Heavy fall rains came earlier than usual. They were of such great intensity that muddy water also filled all of Elliot Bay, but no Ecology fines were levied for those causes.

Wal-Mart erred by selecting an Oregon contractor, who wasn’t acquainted with the impact of rains here or what to do to minimize the impact once they came. They were unable to cope with the glacial fines that once suspended in solution, wouldn’t precipitate out even after standing in a holding pond. They looked bad because they colored the water, but left only a fine film. There was no long-term damage as there wasn’t along the shore after earlier construction on the Illahee North development, which created the same problem at the outfall by the Illahee dock.

In fairness to that contractor, every major project prior to that time had caused similar and in many instances far worse problems because the standards established by the county were inadequate. The terrible impact of County projects at the Fair Grounds on Barker Creek was the reason that the Chums of Barker Creek were founded. To Ron Perkerwicz’s credit, efforts to further tighten site development regulations began. Subsequent projects such as the Silverdale Harrison Hospital campus didn’t do harm in this manner.

Prior to building Wheaton Way Wal-Mart, there were no salmon in Steele Creek because the culvert at Glud’s Pond Road and Brownsville Highway denied them passage. Wal-Mart’s fine provided a means for concerned citizens like Ron Ross to build a holding area where salmon are captured and released above the offending culverts. Thanks to Wal-Mart seed money, we have seen a tremendous increase in the salmon run up Burke Bay. Thanks to that increase, the county is sitting on a $750,000 grant to route Steele Creek around the offending culverts so that even more salmon can swim almost all the way up to the Wal-Mart parking lot.

A whole bunch of county merchants, may justifiably feel threatened by the competition that Wal-Mart brings. Unions dislike Wal-Mart because their employees will not accept the yoke of collectivist control.

The same no-growth crowd, who have turned rural Washington into an economic wasteland, fret that Poulsbo&Mac226;s vision of economic vitality runs counter to their dream of cleansing the countryside of human habitation other than themselves.

These are not legitimate reasons to deny any project.

Regarding the litany of supposed toxic wastes left at the old Nike site, if any is left, isn’t it better to have it sealed beneath asphalt and concrete under Wal-Mart than let water seep through it from open land? As for Bainbridge activist Ahern’s concern for Poulsbo’s children, may I suggest she show as much concern for Bainbridge’s as the city creates a park over the site of the old Eagle Harbor creosote plant?

Matt Ryan
Bremerton