The Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council is no more, at least as we know it.

The County Commission, wanting to focus its resources in growth areas, has cut GHAAC from its list of official county community advisory councils. GHAAC will meet to decide whether to continue as an independent organization or disband.

This is not a negative reflection on the north end; it’s quite the opposite. One of the major concerns that north-end residents have is preserving the area’s rural character. They’ve accomplished that so far. Secondly, as Art Ellison points out in our story on page A1 Sept. 20, Hansville is known as the volunteer capital of Kitsap. The area is not without a voice, with the Greater Hansville Community Center, Friends of Point No Point, Friends of Norwegian Point Park, Hansville Greenway Stewards, the North Kitsap Trails Association, and the U.S. Lighthouse Society. And, the county is still maintaining a presence; Norwegian Point Park, Point No Point Light, Buck Lake and the Hansville Greenway are county parks. Should GHAAC members decide to continue as an independent organization, it could help provide a unified voice for the north end.

The elephant in the room is Hansville Road being the only road in and out of the north end. Technically, there are two other options in an emergency: Little Boston Road-Hansville Road, and 288th-Gamble Bay Road, but those connections are two- and one-mile, respectively, from Highway 104. If an emergency occurs on Hansville Road between 288th and Little Boston Road, as happened last year, you can’t get to and from the north end. We don’t know what the solution is, but we know the discussion has to happen.

The Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council was established in 2007 as a communication forum, information exchange, and direct link to county government. It can continue to do so, if residents so desire, as an independent organization. We encourage them to keep a good thing going.