City Council - Regular Meeting

Okay. Good morning. Oh, correct. Good morning. It's been a long day. Good afternoon. It is March 9, and this is the 05:30 meeting. And this meeting is now called to order. And let's start with pledge allegiance. Pledge to

the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Yeah. It does. Okay. Thank you. And we have looks like two board appointments.

Commissioner, would you like me to read the instructions?

Absolutely. Yes. Thank you. Mhmm.

For members of the public wishing to comment remotely at the Board of Commissioners regular Monday business meeting during designated public comment times, business and consent agenda, public hearings, general issues, the following options are available. For Internet users, please click on the raise hand feature to signal that you would like to comment. The sound will be unmuted, and the Internet participant is encouraged but not required to identify themselves. The participant will be called upon to speak at the appropriate time. Closed captions have been enabled.

Members of the public can view the link to the instructions in the chat. Please note that we will not be able to assist you should you experience technical difficulties. For call in users, please dial 9 on your keypad to signal that you would like to comment. The last four digits of the call in number will be announced, and call in participants are encouraged but not required to identify themselves. Item two a, resolution appointing Tom Coleman to the Parks Advisory Board to complete a vacant three year term ending 12/31/2028. Okay. Do I have a motion?

Sure. I move to appoint Tom Coleman to the Parks Advisory Board to complete a vacant three year term ending 12/31/2028.

Second.

Right. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion?

Yes. So it's a little bit about the Parks Advisory Board. The board is exists to provide timely advice to the parks director and the county commissioners regarding the acquisition, development, and administration of Parks Park properties. The advisory board may also be asked to address specific issues related to property acquisition and park improvements. And so I am thrilled to appoint Tom Coleman.

He's an avid park goer and outdoors enthusiast. And as a retired school teacher, Tom has a long record of serving our community. He has served as the steward president of the Newberry Hill Heritage Park since 2008. And I also wanna say as park steward, he worked with my sons on their Eagle projects in Newberry Hill Heritage Park, and he's done such amazing work in that park. And with a passion for mountain biking and trail building, Tom is excited to represent District 3 and share his expertise on the Parks Advisory Board. And I can't give you him a higher recommendation. He's perfect for this.

Great. Great. Is he here?

And he is here. So, yeah, once we vote him in, we'll let him say something.

Yeah, absolutely.

As a teacher, I'm sure he has

a few words. He was also one

of my son's favorite teachers.

Okay.

Washington State history.

All those in favor, aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Welcome aboard.

Thank you. I'm Tom Coleman. And I'd like to thank you guys. I thought back to when this all started. In 2008, I sent an email to Commissioner Josh Brown and said, hey, I heard you got some property out around Seabeck. How about you give it to a bunch of volunteers that you don't even know? And he sent us a couple of very qualified county parks employees. And that was in 2008 and in 2010 that the community got together and said, this is what we want, and we put together a heritage park. It's now 1,100 acres. And four years from now, we'll celebrate our twentieth anniversary.

So I'd like to thank you guys for carrying on the legacy of stewardship where we trust people who are citizen scientists and volunteers to get out there and do the hard work. And it saves us a lot of money, saves us a lot of time, but it also is incredibly good for the people who are out there serving. For the kids, the boy scouts, the church groups, students, everyone who volunteers out there comes a way of better person. Thank you, guys.

Thank you so much. I'm really excited to have your expertise on our parks

board. Thank you. Welcome aboard.

Item two b, resolution appointing Wendy Robinson to the Veterans Advisory Board to complete a vacant three year term ending 12/31/2028.

That one is also mine.

Okay. Need to make the motion.

Okay.

So I moved to appoint Wendy Robinson district three to the Veterans Advisory Board to complete a vacant three year term ending 12/31/2028.

Great. Any discussion? Oh. Oh, second. Second. Okay. Alright. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion?

Sure. A little bit about the Veterans Advisory Board. They exist to advise the board of county commissioners on the needs of local indigent veterans, resources available to local indigent veteran veterans and programs that benefit the needs of local indigent can I say that many that many times? Veterans and their families. And so just a little bit about about Wendy.

Wendy is an honorably discharged US Navy veteran and with a more than thirty year career in naval ship maintenance, Wendy Robinson looks forward to supporting and helping her fellow veterans. Years ago, she needed assistance and didn't know where to go. She hopes to ensure that other veterans don't face similar circumstances. Wendy is an active and valued member of many veteran organizations, including Veterans of Foreign Wars post two three nine, Fleet Reserve Association branch twenty nine, the American Legion post one hundred forty nine, and the fraternal order of Eagles Ares one hundred ninety two in Bremerton and 4226 Belfair in 13 Everett. So I think she's going to make a wonderful addition to our board.

Yeah. Absolutely. Okay. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Welcome aboard, Wendy. Is she here online?

Yes. Wendy You is here

want to say something?

Hi. I'm Wendy Robinson. Thank you very much for allowing me to do this. I'm looking forward to helping people, helping our vets. We need a lot of help in this world. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Yeah. Welcome aboard.

Item three a, resolution proclaiming March 2026 as Women's History Month in Kitsap County.

Okay. Hi, Kimberly. Hello. How are you?

Good evening, commissioners.

Good evening.

My name is Kimberly Williams. I'm the DEI program manager, and I'm here to talk about Women's History Month here in Kitsap County. Whereas women of every race, age, class, and ethnic background have historically contributed to the growth and strength of Kitsap County, the state of Washington, our nation, and the global community in countless recorded and unrecorded ways, and whereas women have played and continue to fill critical economic, cultural, and social roles in every sphere of the life of this nation by constituting a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home. And whereas throughout history, women have provided the majority of the volunteer labor force and were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable and philanthropic and cultural institutions in our nation. And whereas women have been leaders in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity and in the movements for abolition, emancipation, industrial labor, peace, comprehensive planning, and other movements which create a more fair and just society for all.

And whereas, despite the innumerable contributions women have made and continue to make, the impact of American women in history has consistently been overlooked and undervalued in the literature, teaching, and study of American history. And whereas March has been designated Women's History Month in our nation, each year since 1987, the 2026 theme is leading the change, women shaping a sustainable future. And whereas Monday, 03/09/2026 marks International Women's Day, a yearly celebration remembering women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement, celebrating the economic, political, and social achievements of women and girls, past, present, and future. And now, therefore, be it hereby resolved that the board of Kitsap County commissioners proclaims the month of March, women's history month in Kitsap County, Washington, and encourages its citizens to pay tribute to the millions of women who helped create a better world for the times in which they lived as well as for future generations. Thank you.

I move to adopt the resolution, proclaiming March 2026 as Women's History Month in Kitsap County.

And I probably second. Any any discussion?

I mean, I certainly believe it's an important an important resolution. So I'm I'm just thankful that we're bringing it before the board and that the board is supportive and that the county is supportive. Really excited about it.

Yeah. And Kimberly, I wanna thank you for bringing this to us and for your work bringing us these months as these as we go throughout the year just where we can all reflect on different contributions that people have made throughout our community. I I wanna tell the board and folks listening, I just finished reading a book about Hetty Lamar, who was a starlet in, like, the twenties and thirties. And she was also an inventor, and she invented a new technology for torpedoes that she really wanted the navy to purchase. She patented it, and they eventually, they said no to using her technology.

She went to, like, the navy in Washington DC to present it. They said no because the sailors wouldn't wanna be using a weapon that a woman had invented that they didn't think people would trust it. And so they didn't, but she had the patent for it.

Mhmm.

And it turned out, like, in the nineteen fifties, they used her technology for buoys out in the ocean, and it's now a core component of satellite technology. So, like, this woman who was celebrated for being beautiful and a great actress actually was a brilliant scientist.

Yeah. Wow. That's so great.

Right?

It's so great. I love stories like that. I I don't like stories like that.

Okay. I thought it

was appropriate women's history. Great.

I agree. I agree.

And I'll be honest that I have two daughters, two young daughters, and my wife, obviously, and my mother and sister. And I look at the contribution that they give, not only to our home, but our community and our schools. It is just amazing to watch their their success. And boy, tell you, thank you very much for bringing this. And I work with two brilliant, very passionate, you know, women that are in leaders servant leadership positions and, you know, it's an honor. So Yeah. Good. Alright. Yeah. I'll stop there. Thank you. Okay.

All in favor? We we need a vote.

Yeah. We need a vote. Yes. All in favor, say aye.

Aye. All

opposed? Motion carries. Thank you very much. Thank you.

This is an opportunity for the oh, did you see

something? Okay.

This is an opportunity for the public to address the board on our regular business agenda, including consent agenda.

I do not have anyone signed up for consent agenda. Anybody on the line?

Oh, wait a second. Okay. And there is none. I need a motion to approve the consent agenda.

Nope. We need to do administrative Oh, I'm sorry.

I didn't skip that. Yes. Administrators comments.

Good evening, mister chair and board members. I'm Kirsten Jewell, assistant county administrator. I do not have any additional comments for you tonight. I hope you have a good evening.

Okay. Thank you. Alright. Make a motion.

Alright. Yeah. With that then, I'm I will move to approve the consent agenda. Second.

Okay. All those in favor?

Aye.

All those opposed? Consent agenda is passed.

And I'm the I'm

gonna meeting. We're just gonna go go back right down the line. So it looks like I'm not sure. Is it Don Gore? G o a r, last name? Yeah. John Gore. John Gore. Okay. Nice to meet you.

Hi. I'm John Gore. I'm from Silverdale, Washington. So I was here last month and spoke to you, and I offered you to provide any information you need for the support of a proclamation declaring International Dark Sky Week, March '19. And I did hear back from commissioner Rolfs who asked about whether the Dark Sky Week coincides with bird migration.

And the answer is, yes, it does. Fun fact, 13.1 or more million birds will fly over our county in a season. And the Audubon Society sponsors a Lights Out Washington program, which is targeting the months of April and May. So I'm if there's anything, any other information that I could share to help support, get your support for International Dark Sky Week, March 2026. I'm at your service.

Is it March or April?

It is April. I said March. I'm sorry.

Because I believe we will have this on our agenda at the end of the month. I'm editing it to add that data.

Sounds good. Any questions for me?

No, I think we're good. Thanks, Sean. Appreciate that.

Thank you so much.

Good to see you again. Okay. Next, Wendy. Oh, she looks like she left already.

Oh, yeah. She got signed up for it then.

Okay. And Steve, looks like he left too. Okay. Mr. Van Cleef.

Good evening, commissioners.

Good evening.

I was going to take the night off. I just went through a procedure, so I'm a little tender. No big deal. I'm going to live. But I checked the mailbox tonight and just changed my mind. I'm not taking the night off. This is about our firefighters and it's not to disparage them in any way. However, me and my wife were passionate about the funding of the sheriff's department, our office. And so I'm asking myself, what's the common denominator here? They're both emergency services.

They're both about public safety. So why the discrepancy in funding? Why does one have the latest, greatest state of the art? By the way, I've watched the fire departments for many years, been involved at a certain level and thought, do you guys ever walk past a piece of equipment you just didn't have to have? Just my take.

My question is after realizing the funding source is entirely different for these two entities, maybe we should contemplate changing things on how we fund both these agencies. Because when you've got one public safety department starving to death and if you look at the stats, crime stats, what have you, these guys are touting how much the county is growing and all of their new personnel and all of their new equipment. And then I look over there across the street. What is the discrepancy here? I believe the public themselves are naive on the subject, meaning they understand the funding, where it comes from, how both these agencies are funded.

So in me looking at it and I'm just scratching the surface, I want to figure out is there a way we can change the way we fund both these agencies to make

it

more equitable. Everybody likes that word these days, More equitable for the public safety sake. Thank you. And mister Van Cleef, if

you wanna get together, we could we can meet sometime this next week and we can talk about it. We're right in the midst of all this right now. So yeah. Absolutely.

Love to.

Okay. Okay. Missus Van Cleave, you're next. Well,

this is timely. I was gonna follow this is a follow-up. I didn't mean it to be. So just today, in regard to the sheriff, I ran across this from the Kitsap County Sheriff Office where a Bremerton area man faces charge of assault and illegal firearms possession following a violent domestic incident, A background check of this individual revealed he had 26 prior felony convictions and is prohibited from owning or possessing any firearms. Deputy seized multiple firearms at the resident, including one reported stolen and two that were classified as illegal.

And he was charged with a number of things. So again, my concern is followed up from last time is funding the sheriff's first. It just seems like that is pretty critical and all the rest of it, you know, this looks like it was a time bomb waiting to go off. He was and also intimidated a witness after allegedly telling a witness he would kill them while he was being taken into custody. And we also had the recent incident over in Pierce County, just across the county line where five people died because it took forty five minutes for an to an hour for the sheriffs to make it over there.

And we were also told during the budget hearings last September that we had similar situation here in Kitsap. If they were all four in a call up in Hanceville, if we called them down in Alala, it would be least forty five minutes till they could make it. So I'm just kind of thinking the same thing that that's really a priority and my understanding is three percent's been cut across the board, but if I decided to cut 3% things like my property taxes or I don't wanna pay 3% on you know, take off 3% on my sales tax or you know, those kinds of things that that or or my mortgage or my insurance or whatever, know, that might not go very well. So, again, I'm just advocating for priorities like that one, which I think are critical. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay. Last person looks like Robert Larson. Mister Larson. Adrian, did you did you sign up?

I came in late.

Okay. I'm gonna add you then. Okay. Alright, Larson. Yeah. Go ahead. Mister Larson, on

up. Yeah. Last time I here, mister Root offered a meeting with me also, but I never got that I never got that call. So I don't know if you'll really get one. I did get a letter from you. I did get a letter. You did. But I didn't get the contract. Okay. First off, gang, my name is Robert Larson.

I bought a piece of property, and I confirmed with Kitsap County Public Works, it had a sewer connection. Now the gentleman I bought the property from tore out an old mobile home that was on it. The only way that you can disconnect and stop billing of a sewer from Kitsap County is if you pull a sewer disconnection permit. You pull it, they you do the digging on your property with the county inspecting. Okay.

You cap it. It's the only way you can stop billing. Okay. So you made reference that, oh, it happened when he did his his did his demo permit of the house. Not true. Okay? But you didn't allow me to have a meeting with you to bring out this fact. Okay. I also received a letter from Jewel. No, not Jewel, but Alex. And she said, the main was disconnected or no, pardon me. The suicide jeweler is disconnected with the main one by. All I said was, who can make that claim? Okay. She tried to put me away on the side on that.

Secondly, she said, you were required to replace it anyway. Well, that's not true because that of coordinates didn't go into effect until October '25. I applied in February '25. This is ridiculous, gang. And also, you've mentioned, mister Rolfe, commissioner, that I when I gave you the purchase agreement, it was as is. No. I own 21 properties in Kitsap County currently with another one coming on board and I own six in other counties. Okay. So I'm a professional. Okay.

I do due diligence. There is no as is. You do due diligence which I did. I went into a Kitsap County Public Works facility and got my documentation like I have previously. Well, how could you say that it was as is when it wasn't? And where was my meeting that you promised?

Okay. Thank you very much.

No response? You're not you you you offered a meeting with that gentleman. You offered a meeting with me. I didn't get my meeting.

Did you did you call and schedule a meeting with me?

I will do it tomorrow. Oh my goodness. I didn't know. I will do that, sir.

I I think I think I spoke about that a couple of times. I'm not gonna get back We we won't. We won't. But but I tell you what, I'd be more than happy to sit down and talk to you about the letter I sent you that I signed and where I came up with that determination because it really it was kind of put on my lap to make the decision and I made it. We can talk about it.

It took seven months to get that decision.

Well, and if you read the letter

I did. I got it right here.

That's right. That's right. There's we did our due diligence to make sure because I wasn't here when that was done.

No,

sir. You this board wasn't here. So we had to go back and and look at all the records. So that's why it took so long to make sure that we had all the data to make a educated and informed decision. Okay. We will talk about that at our meeting.

Beautiful. Okay. And I I will have facts because I think they're pulling something over your eyes, pal.

Then let's look at it. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, mister Larson. Okay. Adrian. Alright. Thank

you. So Adrian Bremerton, I want to admit that I work for Kitsap Housing Authority and I believe that my time was do the best that I could under the conditions and that during that time being scapegoated, having not abusive employers but employers that put you in kind of the wrong position to handle the needs of the people there. So kind of my plea to the Board is if you are a commission and you meet with the Kitsap Consolidated Housing that you not just look at the statistics and their presentation but that you look at the people that you represent, the people in the housing departments that say send in either complaints or etcetera, that you possibly talk with maintenance and field people like property management. I can't say for myself, you know, employment is done, water under the bridge, but I do ask that you take more consideration into their Yardi, look into the human aspects, look into the human aspects of like personal emails about receipts. I think there's a lot of leads that needs that aren't kept with the people the genuine needs with the people that live under those conditions that post COVID they haven't had real solid support from their maintenance department and their property managers, and I really urge that you can do deep dives and into with those people.

I'm not I'm not going to disparage them, but I think it just serves yours in the public interest to do solid work.

Thank you, Adrian.

Thank you.

I was I was processing that. That's important. So is there anybody online? I'll give it a second. Okay.

And no one is raising their hand.

Well, okay. Do we have good of the order? Anything to share?

Yeah. I do have to find it out.

Okay. Hold on a moment.

No worries. Went too fast. I know it wouldn't. Yeah. It's pretty fast here.

I'll start with a couple of things. One is I'm gonna steal your thunder, Orin, to announce military appreciation day.

Thank

you. So I'll let I'll let you do that. But Saturday, May 14 or March 14. The only thing I want to, mention is this week we have the Kingston Community Advisory Council Meeting. And there are two things on the agenda. One is, related to the youth or provide or making a presentation to the community about what they see as their needs in the community. And then the second item on the agenda is a feasibility study that we're going to be sharing an outline with that the county is doing related to whether Kingston getting Kingston the data they need to have the incorporation conversation. Oh. So it's not about incorporation. It's just what are your taxes?

How much does it cost to run a small town? What are comparable small towns in Washington? How many have incorporated in the last thirty years? That kind of information. So I don't think that meeting will be lively. It will be informational and then we'll have a follow-up that will probably be lively. That's what that's what I got this week.

Alright. That's big. That's interesting.

Okay. No. I'm still still digging, but I what I wanted I have a couple things I wanted to share. The first one, let's see if I can find it in here. Just wanna make sure I get my my dates in order that this Saturday, March 14, there's going to be a fix it fair out in Seabeck at the Cosby Community Center and those are super fun.

If you have things that need to be fixed, we have people who will sew and repair small items, so I just wanted to to put that out there. And then also there's one of my favorite things, it's the second annual daffodil festival in Old Town Silverdale. And I keep saying those, the daffodils are already in bloom throughout Old Town, so they just need to stop. They have to hold until the twenty first. But it's so pretty if you get a chance to go walk through downtown Old Town or drive through Bay Shore, it's really beautiful and and even just driving into Silverdale, I had volunteers and public works that put daffodils in the roundabout and there's daffodils at the Silverdale Waterfront Park.

And so from one to four on the twenty first, the Navy Band Northwest is going to be playing, and there's going to be a little just a little parade through the park. So if you have a dog that you wanna dress up in yellow or a stroller or a wagon, we're just gonna do a little parade to the park and the title holders will be there, and it's just always just like a fun welcome to spring. I think it's just a fun way to bring community together and it's very joyous, so that's March 21.

Fun. Fun. That is your passion, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Well, let's see. I have two things. We'll just go military appreciation date this weekend, Saturday the fourteenth. Starts at 11AM at the Kitsap Sun Pavilion where we're gonna celebrate our our military members and their families. And there'll be a lot of vendors there with with services and opportunity for them.

And so we do it every year and it's it's an honor to to be able to be there and to honor them as they especially especially today with a lot going on in the world. So and so you're all invited to that. And then I think I'm going to I'm gonna say, I'm gonna give it looks like our derelict vessel. Legislation has gone through and I wanna thank representative Addison Richards for all the work he did with the bill and he pushed it forward and the community got together, our board got together, and the whole region here, anywhere that has shoreline understands the pain of derelict vessels and, looks like it's on the governor's desk for signature. So it is a positive piece of legislation that's gonna really help us out kinda keep our waterways clean.

So, thank you again to representative Richards and all involved. This was a team effort and I think we got it. It's not there yet. So we'll it will be there. Yeah. Yeah. So thank you again. Other than that, all right. Anything else? Okay. Meeting adjourned.