KINGSTON — Throughout the passenger-only ferry rigmarole that has enveloped Kingston and the rest of Kitsap County, many North End business owners have been excited by the possibilities of economic growth.
They recently weighed in on Proposition 1 — which would bring a Kitsap Transit run ferry to Kingston within six to seven months by raising the sales tax by 3/10ths of a cent — and explained how that small raise in prices might affect business and tourism in the North End.
“I don’t think it will have a detrimental effect on the prices around here,” said Sacks Feed and Garden owner David Hildebrand. “It’s a pretty insignificant amount.”
He added if there were car dealerships and other businesses of that nature in Kingston, the story might be different. But since there are mainly antique and specialty shops in the downtown area, along with cafes, grocery and hardware stores, visitors and residents alike probably wouldn’t notice a difference.
“It will be like an extra $3 on a refrigerator, and that won’t prevent anyone from buying a new fridge,” said Kingston Chamber of Commerce president and S&J Graphics owner Jana Kramberger. “This sales tax will provide us with a forward thinking way to interact with Seattle.”
“My business will survive if the foot ferry is not voted into service,” said Grassroots Gardening owner Annie Humiston. “But to conduct business if it passes will be more expensive.”
The tax could discourage local residents from being consumers, but those non-customers could more than likely be made up by the tourists who use the passenger-only ferry, said Truly Scrumptious co-owner Kristine Wraspir.
“Seattle taxes everything, they’re used to paying higher prices,” she said. “We would make whatever we lost up with the people visiting Kingston.”
Humiston, on the other hand, feels the passenger-only ferry would not bring tourists to Kingston because there is nothing to draw them.
“What do we have here to attract people?” Humiston asked. “We have grocery stores and hardware stores, which benefit the locals, but don’t bring in a lot of tourists. I think this will hurt the local community.”
“I have two kids, and with the new high school going in, there are going to be a lot of kids ready to find a way to Seattle,” Kramberger said. “I really hope this passes. There are people who don’t agree with this, people get nervous about taxes, and I think they should be. But property taxes go up 1 percent a year, no matter what, and people think they will skyrocket. We’ll pay the 1 percent every year whether we get the ferry or not.”
Humiston disagrees, however, noting property taxes have doubled since 2000, and she still isn’t seeing the kind of service Kitsap Transit has promised.
“I don’t see the major benefit to the majority of the taxpayers this will affect,” she said. “We need a better bus service first. Much as I would like to see a passenger ferry, this isn’t the way to go about getting one.”
