When the near-capacity crowd gathered in Bremerton on Wednesday evening was asked if they supported the Port of Bremerton’s Sustainable Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) project, those for and against seemed to have equal numbers.
But informal polling was not enough for Commissioner Larry Stokes.
“I want to put this to a vote of the people,” Stokes said during the opening comments of the first of two sessions held to collect public opinions Nov. 12, adding that he planned to make a motion the following night during the port’s regular meeting suggesting just that. “Let’s put it before the people paying the bill and let them decide.”
Healthy applause greeted his announcement, though at least one of those attending told the commissioners he didn’t think a district-wide vote on whether the port should launch a clean-technology business park and start-up incubator was the best course of action.
“Most residents will not understand all of the positives and negatives of this complex project,” said Charles Keating, a resident of Bremerton. “They are looking to you for leadership.”
“If they don’t understand,” Stokes responded, “it’s my duty to make sure they do understand.”
Port Chief Financial Officer Becky Swanson also addressed the crowd, explaining that her job was to present the facts and clear up any misconceptions about how the port issuing general obligation (GO) bonds would affect the tax bills of property owners in the port district.
“This will not make your property taxes go up,” Swanson said, explaining that if the commissioners approve the 2009 budget that includes issuing enough GO bonds to match a $2.58 million Economic Development Administration grant allocated for a SEED building, she will only be allowed to distribute certain funds differently.
However, when another citizen asked the commissioners why the public seemed to think their taxes would be raised by issuing the GO bonds, Stokes said, “If (we don’t) issue the bonds, they might go down.”
To illustrate exactly how much money property owners in the port district have paid for SEED so far, Swanson divided the amount of money spent by the number of tax parcels and determined it had been $2.74 a year.
She reached that number, she said, by taking the amount of money the port has paid “out of pocket” so far for SEED — about $544,000 — and dividing it by the number of taxed parcels in the the port district — about 49,000. By those numbers, she said, each parcel owner has so far paid $10.96.
“I divided that by the four ‘significant’ years of SEED progress,” Swanson said, explaining that the year the project was initiated, 2004, only $34,000 was spent. If that year was included, the amount per parcel would be $2.19.
Tim Matthes, who appears to have lost Jan Angel’s South Kitsap commissioner seat to Charlotte Garrido, said the voters should be given a say on SEED.
“I think we can make an educated vote on SEED,” he said, “and we should be allowed to.”
Vivian Henderson also supported a public vote.
“You’re asking the taxpayers to sign a blank check,” Henderson said. “If (SEED) fails, who will take responsibility? All three of you will probably be gone.”
Waiting until after most others had spoken, former SEED director Tim Botkin took the microphone.
“I am the notorious Tim Botkin, and I am extremely proud of this project,” Botkin said, repeating his challenge for anyone who did not support the project to “come up with a more promising economic development project.”
He also criticized the port for going “too slowly,” and said if this region would not adopt SEED, others would.
“SEED is in my head, and I promise you, I can take it somewhere else,” he said, addressing the audience as well as the board with what he said was “not meant as a threat. If this commission wants to be the one that says, ‘We let that go,’ so be it.”
Others spoke in favor of SEED, describing it as a “fishing pole with bait to collect some of the federal dollars that will be floating by in the next four years,” and that, “The port is obligated to make jobs, and this seems like a heck of a fine way to do it.”
Those against it described the project as one that “has just as much of a chance as succeeding as your (Bremerton) marina did,” and said they would rather see money invested in the Bethel corridor, or spent to support more established job providers such as the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard or Harrison Medical Center.
