City Council - Regular Meeting

I call the Wednesday, August 19th, 2026 council business meeting to order. I met with the council members at 5 p.m. in the sixth floor council conference room for a briefing to discuss tonight's agenda. At 5.30 p.m., we moved here to the first floor chambers to conduct the council business meeting in person. And because we encourage... Sorry. community involvement, we invite the public to join us in person. Attend via remote option through Zoom or view on BCAT. Please note that tonight's agenda has been amended to add item 4B under general business, which will include an executive session and action is anticipated. The order of items under general business has also been updated to reflect this change. The agenda packet was also updated to include letters to council that were received by noon yesterday. The council will accept spoken public comment on items under the consent agenda. We have also set aside time at the end of the meeting for community comment. This provides an opportunity for community members to address the council on topics not included on the agenda, but still related to the work of the city council. Each speaker will have 90 seconds during each spoken comment period to address the council from the lectern in the meeting chambers. As of this meeting, we are implementing our new process, which consists of an online registration form to sign up for remote spoken comment and sign-in sheets in the chambers. And if you didn't sign up to speak after all the folks who did sign up have spoken, then I'll also take comments from the rest of the audience. Signing up is a pretty new thing. Requests to comment via Zoom must be completed by noon on the day before the meeting. You can access the online request form on the City Council webpage. As always, written comments, questions are also welcome at any time at city.council at brummertonwa.gov or via mail. To be distributed to council members in advance of the business meeting, written comments must be received by noon on the day before the meeting. The city is committed to providing accessible meetings. Requests for accommodations, including sign language interpreters, hearing assistance, or other accessibility services should be made through the city clerk's office by noon on the day before the meeting. To arrange an accommodation, please contact the city clerk at city.clerk at bremertonwa.gov or 360-473-5323. We will start tonight's meeting with the consent agenda.

Thank you, Council President. For approval on the consent agenda are the following items. A, claims and check register, approval of the following checks and electronic fund transfers. One, check numbers 415839 through 415962, and EFT numbers V46860 through V46956, and the grand total amount of $3,391,247.58. Two, regular payroll for pay period ending July 31st, 2026 in the amount of $1,310,212.63. Three, regular payroll retro check correction for pay period ending July 31st, 2026 in the amount of $2,258.15. For regular payroll payouts for pay period ending July 31st, 2026, in the amount of $30,317.28, five regular payroll payroll void and reissue retiree checks for the pay period ending july 31st 2026 and the amount of 668 dollars and 72 cents b minutes of council meeting august 5th 2026 c minutes of study session august 12th 2026 And D, Department of Commerce grant agreement for Jarstead Aquatic Center assessment and roof repair. This concludes the reading of the consent agenda.

Thank you. Is there anybody who wishes to comment on any of the agenda items, consent agenda items?

Council President, there is a list of people who want to comment. OK. First we have, this is for the consent agenda, Mary Lou Long. Okay. Next we have, let's see, Tina Fox. This is for the consent agenda. Okay. Next we have Regina, Regina Hill.

Hello, council members and all in attendance. If I don't see my various self, there's a prayer visual going on for a young man who should be celebrating his 19th birthday. And I have many ties to the state of Mississippi and Louisiana.

Excuse me, ma'am.

My question about the consent agenda was, I always come each year and pick up the binder that you're nice enough to put out for the block grants. For this item on the aquatic center and the roof, is that one of the block grants that was presented in that binder? And if so, I've never asked a follow up questions about the grants. Is there data or information on how many women and minority owned businesses were in the running for any of those proceeds?

Not that I'm aware of, but perhaps our finance director. No. All right, thank you. Thank you. Are there any other comments on the consent agenda?

Roy Remnion, Bremerton District 6. Reviewing the minutes, there was one item on the previous council. meeting consent agenda. It was the contract with the Naval Museum. The representative for District 6 was the lone no vote. And I was checking to see if that council member may have explained what her no vote was. For the purpose of transparency and representation, I think we need an explanation of why someone votes no on something. You know, it's great to do that in a study session between yourselves, but this is for the public. This is our government.

I think this is a great comment to do during community comment, but not on tonight's agenda.

It is relevant because of the minutes. And so I was checking Council Member Mockler's report in the minutes, and she doesn't refer to the earlier vote. So I'm disappointed. Thank you.

Thank you for your comment. Are there any other comments on tonight's agenda? We also received some requests from Tiffany High and Darrell Fields to address remotely on consent agenda items. So I invite these speakers to address council now. Are they online?

I don't see those names.

Oh, but you're gonna speak in person anyway, so it wouldn't be a remote comment. So that's fine, okay. And you're Ms. High? Okay. And we don't see Daryl Fields online to give a comment.

I don't see the names. Oh, I see a bunch of names, but only iPhone and iPhone 6. If that's that person, they can raise their hand and I'll know. OK. Well.

The hand's raised. Oh. We do have a hand raised for Mr. Field. Okay, so Mr. Field, next time you want to do remote, you have to identify your phone if possible.

There is a hand raise. I'll see if it's them if you want me to. Sure. Check, please. Thank you.

Yes, good evening. This is Mr. Field. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to do that. I appreciate it.

So did you have a comment on the consent agenda, sir?

Well, no, I really, I had a comment concerning just the Larry Robinson, the rogue being named after him. I had a comment on that. Is this the time to do that?

No, this isn't the time. So we're just taking comments on the consent agenda right now.

Oh, no, ma'am. No, ma'am. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Okay, seeing as there's no additional comments, we will move to the council consideration for the consent agenda. I will now entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda.

Move to approve the consent agenda. Is there a second?

Second. Okay. All right, we have a motion and a second. Seeing no further discussion, I call for the question, please.

Council Member Chamberlain. Yes. Fry? Yes. Camerata? Yes. Goodnow? Yes. Mochler?

Yes.

Tift?

Yes.

Rebolowski? Yes. Motion carries unanimously.

I think this is out of order.

Council President, I just want a point of information. I just want to make sure that Mr. Fields is... That's the point of information. Council President, I want to make sure Mr. Fields is on to speak remotely for the agenda item in which he wanted. I want to make sure he was on the list for that. On the general business item? City Clerk, did he sign up for it?

It sounds like a mistake. Yeah, it would have been remotely, which I don't have access to those.

I'd like to request that we add him to that.

Yeah, we'll add him when that item comes up.

Council President?

Yes?

You guys are gonna have to speak more into the microphone. Me? Everybody, because it's not getting picked up. Okay.

Council President, would you like me to read the next item?

Yeah, my script isn't complete.

The next item on the agenda is, or the next section is general business. We have item 4A, which is resolution number 3416 to change the name of 8th Street from Warren Avenue to Pacific Avenue to Bishop Robertson Way. Tonight our presenter is project manager Katie Ketterer.

Good evening, Council. The Marvin Williams Center community spearheaded this effort to honor the late Bishop Lawrence Robertson. Their specific request is to rename the section of 8th Street from Pacific Avenue to Warren Avenue. to Bishop Robertson Way. Administration worked with Public Works, Fire, and Kitsap 911 and determined that that section could be renamed to Bishop Robertson Way. Prior to and while bringing this request to council, the Marvin Williams Center community was tasked with completing public outreach to the properties that would be affected by the change. They held two public meetings at Marvin Williams Center. They sent letters to both property owners and residents. And they canvassed the neighborhood. The city also sent official notices of the proposed change with the date of this meeting to both property owners and residents. The city used parcel and tax information to determine what properties would be impacted by the change. And that included 27 total properties. And from the information that we have, there were 16 that were likely rentals. Just to quickly review the process, should the council approve this change, I want to review the process and impacts of how the change happens. So Marvin Williams Center and Kitsap Community Resources have agreed to a delayed timeline for the implementation of the address change to allow Kitsap Community Resources to plan for the administrative workload to change their address and to use up their stock of printed materials. The agreement is for the change to go live on April 1st of 2027. So should that happen, in the background, the city will assign new addresses to each parcel in the addressing system. That's a county-wide addressing system. And we'll send official notices to each parcel informing them of the change. The addressing system will update parcel information in the countywide system and will also initiate the change at the Postal Service. City utilities, county tax assessments, and some utilities will automatically make the address change. I wanted to note that Assistant Fire Chief John Payne attended the public meeting at the Marvin Williams Center and explained that for emergency response, the change looks very seamless on the back end and he had no concerns for public safety impact. Basically, the location data collected by the 911 system can overcome any confusion a caller may have over the street name. The post office will continue to deliver to both addresses, the old 8th Street address and the new Bishop Robertson Way address, for some time, probably around 90 days, and they will also send out a little postcard notice of the address change. And residents and property owners will need to complete address changes before the end of the post office grace period. So any place where they would need to change their address with just about any other utilities, subscriptions, mortgage, insurance, employers, friends, family, all of those changes would need to happen before the end of the post office grace period. And that's all. I'm happy to answer any questions that council might have for me.

Any members of council have questions for Katie? Ms. Getterer? Go ahead. Council President, I believe we go to the public first. Before we can talk to Katie? Correct. Okay.

Okay.

Okay, I'd like to invite members of the public to the podium to comment on this item. Speakers will have 90 seconds to address the council. Please remember to state your name clearly before providing your comments if you wish your name to be included in the meeting record. Is there any member of the public who would like to discuss this? Did you give me a list?

Hello?

You can go first, but I don't have a list.

Was there a list? I'll step away.

Go ahead, Tony.

Okay, great. Good afternoon, members of the council, Mr. Mayor. It's great to be here. On behalf of I'm here on behalf of Kitsap Community Resources. We're in support of the change of the name, the renaming of the street. We recognize that for some residents, it may be an inconvenience. For KCR, there's a very real cost, a monetary cost with the name change. That, however, will not prevent our organization from supporting this initiative and recognizing someone that had given much to the city of Bremerton and to the community at large. With community leaders, KCR needs time to absorb some of the already sunk costs. These include marketing materials, checks, and the sheer number of hours and bureaucracy required to change the legal, tax, and administrative accounts that a community action agency like ourselves must maintain. For this reason, we asked the council to approve the change in coordination with the agreement that we have with community leaders, including Dr. Lydian Robertson. We also ask for grace period up to April 1, 2027 to affect the renaming. With community leaders and Dr. Robertson, we support this initiative should the council vote in favor of the renaming. By the way, I'm Tony Ives. I'm the executive director of KCR. I forgot that part. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to have the city clerk read out the list of people who signed up to comment, please.

So on our list, we have Mary Lou Long.

Well, we'll let this gentleman speak first. Good evening, city council and the mayor. My name is James Triplett. I'm here with my Emanuel Church family. Bishop Robinson was more than a pastor and a bishop. He was a community leader, a mentor, a father figure, and a man who believed that his responsibility extended beyond the church and into the community. His influence reached across our city, our county, and extended throughout the state of Washington and beyond. Through his ministry and his service to people, he encouraged families, strengthened individuals, mentored leaders, gave hope to those who needed it. Bishop had many sayings, and one of them was, it's a poor dog who won't wag his own tail. This room is filled with many tail waggers who were impacted by Bishop's life. Bishop Robertson understood that leadership was not about a title. It was about service. He invested in people. He believed in the potential of others, and he used his life to make a difference in the places and community he was called to serve. Today, we have an opportunity to do more than remember Bishop Robertson. We have an opportunity to preserve his legacy. A street bearing his name would serve as a lasting reminder to this community and to future generations of a man who gave his time, his faith, his leadership, and his heart to others. So today, I respectfully ask the city council to honor his life, his service, and his legacy by approving the naming of the street in his honor. Let his name remain where his life made a difference in this community that he served. Thank you.

Mary Lou Long. No doubt Reverend or Bishop Robertson is a very great addition to our community and loved by many people. And he's done great things for people. But with regards to the resolution 3416, I suggest it be reviewed by the proponents for a possible option to honor Bishop Robertson that would be more appreciated by the public. I would offer that a more visible type of monument such as a statue or a bust or a plaque on the waterfront or in Quincy Square or in Marvin Williams building might be seen by more people and add to the aesthetics of any one of these locations. The cost and inconvenience of a street name change is not as impactful as a tribute to this fine citizen. What was the cost of this change to date? How much did it cost to do the preliminaries? And I also want to know, if someone can answer it, what is the expected cost by completion? Thank you.

Do we have, are there more people who signed up to speak on this?

There is a Lone Cox, Regina Hill. Regina Hill was first.

Yeah, she spoke.

Not on this item. She hasn't.

She deferred to me?

Yes.

Thank you. Good evening, City Council. Mayor Wheeler. Audience in attendance, my name is Claude C.J. Jones, member of the United Apostolic Church, and this evening I've come to address the issue at hand regarding the renaming of 8th Street to Bishop Robinson Way. As it's been stated to you, Bishop Robinson was not only a pastor, His legacy is so far and deep into the cities, the city of Bremerton, Washington State, along the peninsula. The legacy of Bishop Robinson began in 1978 when he came to Washington via the Army. He spent more than four plus decades in the community, Unifying and passing, by him passing in 2020, Bishop Robinson was such a great innovator. He was honored by Kitsap Strong for the Philanthropy Award. He helped bring people together across racial, religious, and community lines. An advocate for young people and helped create visions And create the vision and brought up the Marvin William Rex Center out of the ground.

Thank you.

If someone, Regina, if you would deflect your time to me, I have just a little bit more.

I'm sorry.

No? Okay. Thank you.

And I... This whole list is not working tonight, so just people, come up one by one, please, and talk to this issue.

Again, Regina Hill. And in the Bible, it says, he who finds a wife finds a good thing. And I've been coming out of Bremerton since 1996, and I knew the first Mrs. Robertson, and I'm proud to say that I know the second. Bishop Robinson was a man's man. I'm glad that I did not know his church. I got to know him personally. He showed up and he stood out, no matter what your politics was, your presence in the lives of the community mattered. If you go to the Marvin Williams Center today, you see homeless people who feel safe there. There's good work, there's good people. If he were an athlete like the young man who went to Permanent High School, you name the street after him before his trunks were dry. This should be a no-brainer. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening, city council and to our mayor. I'm Dr. Lillian Robertson, and I am the executive director of the Marvin Williams Rec Center. And I stand to you tonight on behalf of the Marvin Williams Center and the community members who support this request. Over the past several months, as Katie Ketterer, our project manager, mentioned, we've met with city officials, community leaders, we've held town halls, we've knocked on doors, talked to neighbors, distributed door hangers, sent letters, and invited community input. We've listened to all the concerns. When concerns were raised, we didn't dismiss them. We worked towards solution. As Tony Ives and KCR mentioned, we provided joint agreement opportunities. We've also held the Marvin Williams Center as a resource center, offered it as a place to help seniors with name change. So tonight, this is more about Changing the name, it's not just changing the name, it's about recognizing people whose service has helped make Bremerton the community it is today. Honoring service of someone who's five decades given their life to serve their neighbors. It's showing the next generation of leaders how to model to our youth, how to serve your community, take responsibility and invest in the community that can leave a lasting opportunity and impact. And it's preserving our local history. Bremerton will be remembered by who it remembers and carries forward in terms of who made it great. Bishop Robinson didn't ask for a name change. We're asking for it. And thank you for considering it on tonight. Thank you. Thank you.

Hello. I thought I had three minutes, so this is not going to be that helpful. I live on 8th Street in the section in which you are proposing change. Wow, what a lot of work you're handing down to me. I am not in opposition of honoring a great man, and I have no question that Bishop Robertson was a great man. My concern is how the impact on the residents who live on these blocks is being minimized. And while organizations are being taken into account, individuals do not seem to be. It is an enormous amount of work to change your address in many accounts, especially now where money does not seem to go as far as it used to. So I just respectfully request that there are more rules laid out about what designates a name change on a street Can any community leader have a name change? What makes that possible? And that there's more time for residents and that the city speak directly to residents, not hand it off to an organization to do that work. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Hello. My name is Caleb Roberts. I live on 8th Street. I'm here tonight because I'm not in favor of the street name change. Really, it's simply just because of the cost. two days ago when i found out about it i went and figured out uh like what i'm gonna have to pay um and i figured out it's gonna be 956 dollars and it's gonna take me about 34 hours i guess that's 34 hours over the course of three months um i'm just not excited about that um yeah that's it i i mean i Yeah, I'll leave it there. Thank you.

Thank you.

Afternoon, everyone. Afternoon, council. I'm Robert Harris, NAACP Bremerton president. I'm in District 7. I just wanted to let you know that NAACP Bremerton supports the renaming of 8th Street to Bishop Robertson's Way to honor trailblazers and community leaders whose decades of service strengthens Bremerton's civic, cultural, and spiritual foundation. This change ensures that future generations recognize and celebrate his enduring legacy of justice, compassion, and empowerment, and we strongly urge that the City Council take this into consideration and make the change to Bishop Robertson's way. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, I'm Lauren Cox. I am a resident of 8th Street. I live in Max Hale's old house, as a matter of fact.

Can you talk into the microphone a little bit more? Thank you.

Max Hale, who is honored by putting his name on a building instead of changing his street name and putting everybody who lives on that street under duress. I'm a father of a family of five. and I have high school children that are looking at colleges, and it's going to be a huge undertaking between passports, licenses, Wills is a huge endeavor to put on people. Listening to this, I think Bishop Robertson sounded like a wonderful guy. I never met him. But I think that there are better ways to honor people than just slapping their name on a street. And it's not even a very long section of street. There is Park Avenue running through there. I don't see why it wouldn't be acceptable to do a memorial on Park Avenue between like 6th and 11th, where the church was from what I understand, and have it be a memorial drive and still retain the name of Park Avenue. It's a shame. It really bothers me. I believe we should really honor people who deserve it, but it's just kind of ridiculous putting it on the shoulders of the people who live there. Thanks.

Thank you.

I'm Mike Simpson. I live in District 6. I think the bishop should be honored. Absolutely. He was a pillar of our community and a fixture here. But I think that naming the street in his honor is not enough for him. I don't think that we should do that. I think that what our council members should do is they should propose an amendment to this. And we should name our public works building on Oyster Bay, we should name that after the bishop. Because I want to see his name on my bill every month when my water bill comes in. That would be a much better way to address this. Rather than shifting the cost onto the people, do this for the city. The city can afford to do this because it's not a big change. Also, if we're going to go ahead and we're going to rename our public works building, because what better building to actually represent somebody who is a fixture in our community? What better way to do this? This is a cost that would be filled in from our city, and it doesn't shift the cost onto the people. Thank you.

Thank you. Is there anybody else who would like to speak to this issue? The gentleman who was online earlier who Daryl Fields. Mr. Fields, are you still listening in? This would be the time you could comment.

Mr. Fields, could you raise your hand, please?

Can you hear me?

Yes, we can. Go ahead, please.

Okay, good evening, Council and Mayor Whelan. Thank you. I'm gonna skip on some of it because some of the words have already been said of what I feel about Bishop Robinson, but I also wanted to speak to his civic duty as it relates to his political and his energy of what he brought to the community of not only serving on several boards, but the OC board of what he did with the education part of it and the housing authority of what he did with the housing and bringing in credit repair and all the things that he'd done to serve the community in that aspect. Also, our judicial system, he worked with that. So he touched many things, many lives. He's partnered with our mayors, Mayor Minter, Mayor Bozeman, and our current mayor, Mayor Wheeler. He touched hands and I know when they shook his hand, they felt that energy. So I believe that the building, that the building that he built last that bear his largest project there on eighth sheet should bear his name. So I'm asking you to consider to change the name of the road to Bishop Robinson's name. I appreciate and thank you for the time.

Thank you.

Thank you for waiting, sir.

Not a problem. My name is Floyd Houston. I'm a member of the Apostolic Church and also the pastor there now. I say ditto to everything that has been said by those who are in support of renaming the street. He also worked with gangs when the city was overrun with gangs. But one of the things that stuck out most to me, if all of us can remember that... that horrible hurricane in Louisiana. I'm a native of Louisiana. And some of the people that were affected by Hurricane Katrina, it was Bishop Robinson. who reached out and helped some of the people there in Louisiana. His reach is not just through this community, but is far reaching throughout this nation. And I ask that you would consider renaming 8th Street the Bishop Robinson Way. Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Rory Runyon, Bremerton. Well, I sent an email to the city council, and I want to modify my position. Originally, I was asking that the council vote no, but I'm going to modify this. One of the problems with this whole issue, it's not specific to Bishop Robertson or the supporters, but you don't have a policy. You know, let's adopt a renaming policy be an honorary or permanent. That's the thoughtful thing to do You're the city council. You're the policy making body of the city government. So do your jobs? Number two and people have pointed out that there's this is going to be hassle. It's going to be cost It's gonna be time we heard from the executive director of KCR and I appreciate him coming forward and giving us the official position of KCR, they're willing to incur the $30,000 cost and the bureaucracy. That's $30,000 that cannot be used to serve the people that need their services. Hey, I'm not going to tell them how to run their organization. We have two or three letters from residents, and we have other residents here on that affected section who are opposed to it, and I think we need to listen to it. I hope the representative of this district really takes that into account seriously. I appreciate Marvin Williams Recreation Center on page 50 of 252 of the packet provided a matrix. I'm suggesting maybe an honorary renaming and then work with the Marvin Williams Center and the supporters for a placard statue, which is educational to explain who Bishop Robertson was. So modify the resolution. Thank you.

Thank you. Do we have any other comments on this issue?

Good afternoon, Council. I'll get right to the point. Chairman of Pacific Northwest District Council, 21 churches across five states, including Japan. Commissioner of Bremerton Housing Authority. Chairman of Bremerton African American Ministerial Alliance. Member of the Venezuelan Work Release Board. Member of the Economic Development Council of Bremerton. Member of the Sun Editorial Board. Some of you, most of you probably knew, but there was a thing he brought about called the salad bowl. And that was another function he came up with in order to bring people together. When you think about all these things that he had his hands on, that tells me this is an individual who was not only concerned about this community, but he was concerned about the state as a whole. He was even reaching across the waters. I am a military member. My name is Darwin C. Tiller, retired US Petty Officer, US Navy. I have been to California, Florida, Hawaii, and here in Washington. I don't recall spending a whole lot of money, if any at all, to have my name changed, to have my driver's license changed. Those things were almost minimal to me. I have lived mostly in apartment buildings rather than staying on base. And again, in the different places I have lived throughout my 20-year career, I can honestly say that I don't remember Stephen Hawley dying. So it cannot be that expensive as it's being said. I'm not saying that there aren't expenses that are involved, but I'm simply saying that it cannot be that expensive. Please think twice about it. Thank you.

Are there any more comments concerning this issue? Okay, we'll go to council for a motion. Oh, I'm sorry.

Good evening, council members, Mayor Wheeler. My name is Akoya Karen Vargas. I have served this nation. I have also served this community, as well as this county, as well as this state. I am a historic person. preservationists and then we want to ensure that the legacy that Bishop Lawrence Ray Robertson has served this community this County this nation he gave his life he served our military his whole life was about serving and and supporting community members, making sure that community members had opportunities, opening up doors. And I think it would be a shame if we can't even come together as a county, as a council, as a community to honor him with a street name change. This is not like we're asking for the world. We're asking that there would be a recognition of a street named after a man that have served this nation and has served this community and have served not just here but internationally as well. And for us not to even acknowledge or not to even honor and pay homage to, to me speaks to what this community really values.

Hi, my name is BJ Herman. Hello mayor, council, love y'all. I've listened to everybody and I hear you. You gotta address us. Sorry, you, I hear them and I would like, I just have to say I disagree with renaming a street in Bremerton. It's too much. I love Bremerton, I own three businesses here and live here, and I hear what they're saying, and I think we could show homage. in another way. Name a park. Do what the other gentleman suggested. I like his ideas of a statue or something. That will give future generations actually something to look at and to learn about and understand. That's my opinion. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Is there anybody else from the public who would like to speak?

Good evening, council members, mayor. I'm here to address, I am a member of Emmanuel Apostolic Church. I am also an employee of the city of Bremerton, and I'm here in support of renaming H Street to Bishop Robinson Way. Although I did not know him formally, I can personally attest and testify to the fact that his lasting legacy has impacted who I am today, who I serve, and how I serve the people of Bremerton. It's more than just showing up in the physical, but being there for them mentally, spiritually, and how I just show up all around, even as the employer I am or the minister I am. It just shows how far beyond his reach has extended to, even to a point, sort of people who haven't met him personally. It's filling the lassen. impact that he's had in the city of Bremerton. I remember first moving here to Washington, and I was employed with another law enforcement agency, and the first thing that a former sheriff has said to me was, if you are looking for a church, I would recommend Bishop Lawrence Robertson's church. He and I are great friends, and you will love him. And so I say all that to just say, please consider renaming the street to 8th Street. I understand the monuments and the statues, but I personally believe that renaming a street is less, there's less risk of damaging property. And I understand there's impact to the people whose address changes, but I think this is a great way to honor a man. Thank you.

Do we have any other member of the public who would like to comment on this?

Okay, seeing that there's no more comments, I'll go to council for a motion. Is there a motion to discuss the resolution as written? Do I have a motion for any modified Resolution. I need some advice from the city attorney.

OK, thank you. If there is no motion, then the item does not move forward.

Move to amend the motion to allow for an honorary street name change.

We would need a main motion, not an amended motion. So the motion that's in your packet is a recommended motion. So if you have a different motion all completely, I mean, this would be the time for a different motion.

So it wouldn't be amended, it would just be whatever your motion is. Are you making a motion?

I withdraw the amendment, the motion to amend.

You wouldn't amend, you'd be?

Okay, give me advice. I move, I'm gonna try to do this with correct parliamentary procedure, to adopt not resolution number 3416, but to adopt a different resolution, so far so good, that allows for an honorary naming of the street, of 8th Street from Warren to Pacific. All right. This would simply mean adding the word honorary to the current resolution 3416.

After we get a motion in a second.

I have a few thoughts.

when our parliamentarian indicated that it didn't move forward, that doesn't mean that you can't take this back and discuss it again in study session and come up with a resolution that you want to move forward. That's one option. If you need time to come up with a motion, we can take a brief recess and I can talk with Council Member Mockler and we can come back in session.

I'll just withdraw the whole thing. I have said nothing. Let's just pretend we were just rolling back time for about three minutes here, okay?

I think I would like the discussion, and I want to honor what you're trying to say, which means I can't speak against it when it comes up, but I'd like to make a motion. I'd like to make a motion to make an honorary renaming of 8th Street from Warren Avenue to Pacific to Bishop Robertson Way. Did I say it the correct way? Is that what you were trying to say, Councilor Mochler?

Yes. Okay. I second. We have a motion. Do we have a second? Second. Okay. Okay.

So now let's have a discussion amongst council, please. Okay. So I'm going to make the motion, and I'm not prepared to speak in support of or in opposition to it, but I would like to hear the discussion. So thank you.

Okay. Okay. OK. So I think Bishop Robertson was a great man. He was intrinsically good. And you don't meet people like that often. Not only was he intrinsically good, he did good works every minute of the day. And I really think he should be honored. I very much think this. It's my duty as a member of this council to prioritize the residents of the city. And not only is it a financial burden and a time burden on the residents, but every single email or communication we've received from the residents of this stretch is against the renaming. Even 10, 15 years ago, when you renamed a street, there wasn't so much data about you so readily available to so many people. There weren't so many credit agencies that could tack it off as a red flag because you just moved two years ago, why are you moving again? Because that's what a name change looks like to them. So I am perfectly happy to put my fundraising skills such as they are towards honoring Bishop Robertson with a fountain or changing the name of the public works building on Oyster Bay or any other way I feel that it would be great and that he would have welcomed a place for people to gather. And so these are the reasons that I would like to amend this to an honorary street name change. instead of a formal one to preserve his memory in this way and to preserve the residents who live on there. So that's what I'm up to.

Thank you. Are there other council members who'd like to comment on this?

Council President? Yes. I just need some clarification. Councilmember Chamberlain made the motion to adopt an honorary naming of 8th Street from Warren Avenue to Pacific Avenue to Bishop Robertson Way. Councilmember Mockler, are you?

I seconded it.

Right, I understand that. But during your comment, you had mentioned to amend it.

Approved the motion made by councillor Jennifer Chamberlain. So you are not amending I am NOT amending councillor Jennifer Chamberlain's motion in any way.

Sorry I Will explain what the difference is I

Point of order. I think a correction needs to be made for protocol. Don't we need to accept, once there's a first and a second, don't we need to accept public recognition or public comment on this and then we have discussion or do we just go straight to discussion?

It's up to council, but we've already done the public comment portion.

Okay, are parliamentarians spoken? Thank you.

I think it is important for members of the public to know the difference between an official and an honorary street name change. So if it's an honorary, you still get mail the way you used to. You don't change your passport, your driver's license, anything. So it would be the official sign up above for 8th Street and then below it in another color, usually historic honorary names are on a brown background and then his name would be on that. But it would not mean that people had to go through changing their name, their address officially. So that's the difference. So we can continue council discussion now. Are there any other members? Yes, Denise.

You know, I found myself earlier as residents. It deeply concerns us, as you can tell, when we hear from residents of 8th Street who are overwhelmed with the possibility of $1,000 worth of change fees. It does cost money if you have, you know, wills and other legal documents, you know, your car register, all of that stuff. It concerns us. And I try to think, and I think if Larry Robertson was here tonight, I'm sorry. I think he would be saying, let's come up with a solution that doesn't harm people living on 8th Street. I gotta say it. Let's come up with a solution. And I think that's what council is trying to do. We heard that honorary wasn't good enough. But that's on the table now. And I'm sorry if the perception is that it's not good enough. We have to balance a lot of different needs and a lot of different viewpoints. And we've got to make decisions that are best for all of Bremerton. And I would be very supportive of the honorary name change for that reason.

Did you want to speak? You don't have to. I'm happy to.

No, this is, so this is not the first time it's come before us. And we had a resolution for, am I close enough? I see. Okay, there we go. We had a couple of weeks ago here in city council an honorary and a permanent resolution. We had two that we were ready to discuss. And it was decided that nobody wanted to discuss that because what this group was looking at was a permanent name change for this. And so we tabled all discussions that we had about creating an ordinance that let everybody know what we would be looking for, what the criteria would be. things that would make this process easier and, to be perfectly honest, a lot more enjoyable than what it's been. And so you see the confusion, and I'm just as confused as everyone else because we had a resolution that would actually set something up that we would have an attainable goal and an easy way to, you know, figure out naming of streets and we decided not to do that and now we have a resolution in front of us for an actual gentleman and now we're going back to possible honorary so that's where you're getting all of this confusion with us because personally i think we need an ordinance and i've said that since the beginning i've said it you know i came out to the open houses at the marvin williams center it has been something that i have stated over and over because I think when you are clear about what the expectations are, especially when you're asking to rename a street, if we know what we're actually asking folks to do, and what does it mean when you go out to the community and ask them? What does it mean to get letters of support from organizations? Those are the kinds of things that I would love to be clear because then it feels like a decision is made jointly. I have experienced throughout all of this A significant amount of community members pitted against other community members who may have something named after them. And there's been discussions of who's more worthy than somebody else. And that to me is not something that sparks joy in any of this for me. That we're looking at one individual and somebody who has something else named in the community and pitting community members against each other. I just feel like if we're going to rename something after somebody, especially somebody who we've heard people talking about of what a joyous person he is and how much they've done for the community and how wonderful it is. My experience in the logistical process of this has not reflected that whatsoever. And I think that a huge portion of that is because it has not been a very clear process and it has created community members against community members in all of this. So that is, know there's there's just a level of confusion that's happening right now because again there's a resolution in front of us that actually has a gentleman's name associated with it but now we're discussing honorary again which we had a resolution that would have been clear with so i don't know how we're supposed to move forward with all of this i think it's it's messy and confusing

Well, I agree that we should have had the full policy in place before. I think a lot of people on 8th Street, even though there was an attempt to notify them, I think a lot of the residents didn't know about this until they read it in the Kitsap Sun over the weekend. So somehow there was some sort of disconnect and I'm not sure what that is. Council hasn't been given a list of addresses that the notification was sent to. So we're unsure. why at the last minute, which you have until noon yesterday to do it, we did get at least five from actual people who live on 8th Street who are opposed to a permanent name change. And I find that very impactful. And at this point, I am not willing to vote for a permanent name change for anybody. I think honorary, I'm not quite sure why honorary doesn't seem to be enough. I think it's important that, you know, I think there's plenty of people in the community who would help with fundraising for something a bit more permanent like, you know, a statue in a park or actual historical panels on Park Street that talk about the bishop, not just putting a plaque on a street sign. So if the choice is now to make it just honorary, I'm willing to vote yes on that. I support it. But I also support quickly having a real ordinance on street name changes. We do have an ordinance on how to name a new street that's been in place, but changing one where, especially one that's been in place for over 100 years. So in a grid pattern, is helpful for everybody to get around, and this breaks the grid, and it's weird, because across the street, across Warren, that's still gonna be 8th Street, you know? So I'm not in favor of a permanent name change. Are there any other council members who would like to discuss?

Yeah, I agree. And I wish we weren't already in the midst of talking about who we want to honor. But I would be happy to do an honorary street naming for Bishop Robertson. We've done research. We've looked at what other cities are doing and Other cities are doing honorary and when we brought this up last time I think it could have been a done deal and we could already have signs up Had we moved on it? We would just have to pick color and design and font and things like that and so, you know, I was just in Chicago and I Actually, there was interesting because I saw one that was an honorary honorary bishop and it's just it's an it's a beautiful sign of You know paired with the actual street name It's very low impact on on residents and I think it honors just the same. It's it's it's You know, in fact, they're kind of bigger and nicer looking than just a name change, but I would support moving quickly with what is on the table now and

Anybody else have any comments?

This is Rick Tift. I concur with Councilmember Camerata's comments that we need a process for folks to follow. And frankly, I thought that's what we were headed for about a month ago when we retracted the previous proposal, said we would go back and come up with a blueprint, for lack of a better term, on how to approach this. Naming Astrid also, I personally worked with Bishop Robertson myself through the years, and so I do remember him as a very influential, inspirational, can-do individual that did make a big difference in our community. So this is certainly not to diminish his contribution, but not having a process seems to me to be something that's important and that we ought to address that first. But I am not opposed to an honorary designation tonight if that's what we decide upon.

Yes. City Attorney, we have a question for you. Can we just go to that original resolution that we were discussing? I believe it was four weeks ago, and then we... Point of order.

I have a motion on the floor. It has to be withdrawn.

I'm asking her a question.

I'm sorry.

Right now? That's what one of the council members asked me. Or if we just move forward on this vote instead.

The latter of the things you just said.

OK.

Thank you. OK. So I made the motion so we could have the discussion. So many folks have been showing up, and you're here. And we needed to hear from you. We also needed to hear from the residents, too, of 8th Street, right? It would be a disservice to all the people that showed up today to let this die. So that's why I said I'm not prepared to vote either with or without, you know, just to speak with or without yet. May I ask what the original motion was that was referenced by another council member? Is that okay? May I ask that information what it was four weeks ago? I would just like to know what the wording is. I don't think it was the wording.

I think President Ravalassi was talking about the actual resolution that the council had considered previously at the beginning of the summer that had the whereases and all that. This would just be a motion. You can take action by motion and it will be reflected in the minutes as the decision of the council.

I understand the importance of it is because if we do adopt it, which you're reading the tea leaves, okay? Yeah, so I understand the importance of the whereas. It's because what we want is to have the information, the historic information preserved with our vote. Am I incorrect or am I correct in that assumption? The council member who was wondering about the resolution wanted the historic information from the whereas is preserved for this vote.

Did I say that too fast? Was that your question?

All right, to be clear, it was me. I wasn't trying to change anything of yours. No problem. I was just wondering if we could walk on. Get this done. Walk that one on. Get it on the books so we can do our job and write the ordinance. We had one that was ready to go that we were in support of. But I'm just trying to keep things neat. But let's wrap up this first.

Can we adopt that resolution at a later date? Yeah, we can do that.

Absolutely. We have a motion and a second and a discussion going on right now.

this is what this is what the council wants i'm going to vote with them y'all um and i appreciate i just appreciate so many people coming in and showing up to talk that's all thank you are there any other comments by any council member call for the vote please

Would you like me to restate the motion on the table? So the motion is move to adopt an honorary naming of 8th Street from Warren Avenue to Pacific Avenue to Bishop Robertson Way. Council Member Frey? Yes. Camerata? Yes. Good, now.

Yes.

Mockler? Yes. Tift?

Yes.

Chamberlain? Yes. Revolowski? Yes. Motion carries unanimously.

It's almost executive session time. Do you want to introduce? Yes.

Our next item on the agenda is item 4B, Authorization for Council President to Negotiate Compensation and Extend a Conditional Offer of Employment for the Position of Legislative Office Manager. Our presenter is Council President.

Well, we are gonna go into executive session for 15 minutes. So right now it is 6.38, so

Council President, I'll read the RCW into the record. The council will meet for 15 minutes in executive session to discuss the qualifications of an applicant for public employment as allowed under RCW 4230-110-1G. Action is anticipated. What's the time now? So the time is 6.39.

OK. We'll return at 6.54. Recording stopped.

Turn your microphone back on, please.

Sorry. I call a meeting back to order. The next item, and it's one that we just discussed in our executive session, is we had a former legislative office manager who left. And we had a committee of three people, myself, the council vice president, and Michael Goodnow. We interviewed four internal candidates. The reason why we did internal candidates is the last time we went nationwide at a cost of like $30,000 and hired somebody from Kitsap County. And plus we wanted to hire somebody, get somebody on board quickly if possible. So the person that the committee recommends that we hire is Lindsay Victor. She currently works in our legal division doing public disclosure requests. And she's got a fantastic resume. She's done a lot of work, a lot of it in emergency management services. She even worked in Antarctica doing emergency management. We would like to hire her. And if anybody would like to comment on pros or cons of us hiring an internal candidate, Lindsey Victor, I welcome you to come up and speak at the podium.

Rory Runyon, you shredded my application, didn't you? No. Is Ms. Victor here today? Is she? Did she?

No. Okay.

All right. Well, congratulations. Hopefully she'll be able to manage the office, help run the office as efficiently as the previous employee did. So thank you.

Thank you.

regina hill and i have bugged lindsay over the years many a times and thirty thousand dollars must be the significant number this evening so thank you for saving money and for hiring someone internally a lot of people don't want to come to the beautiful pacific southwest but i'm glad to be here this evening because money does matter thank you thank you ma'am

Oh, and one other thing I wanted to add. Lindsay Victor also is, she fills in for our city clerk, too. And so she's got a lot of skills that I think are going to be very helpful to us. Would you like to speak, Mike?

Mike Simpson, District 6. Council President, I think it's an overstep of the council to be able to negotiate any wages, benefits, anything like that. I think that's something that should be left to the executive branch, to the mayor. I'm glad that you're picking an internal candidate. I think it's absolutely appropriate for you guys to approve or decline, but I think it's an overstep for you guys to be able to negotiate whatever their benefits package is. I think that it would be more appropriate for the mayor to dictate that since that's more in his view or his pathway and his purview. You guys are going to approve or deny whether this person is going to be hired into that position.

Well, actually there is a pay ban listed already. I'm not officially negotiating

It's just the way it was the way that yeah the way that it's presented in the in in the literature It says that you're negotiating. Yes. That's not what you guys are supposed to do You're supposed to approve you're supposed to approve or decline It is our employee though, but thank you.

Is there anybody else who would like to speak? Okay seeing none I go to the council for a motion I Move to authorize the council president

To extend a conditional offer of employment for the position of legislative office manager to Lindsay Victor.

I second.

Is there any further council discussion? I call for the vote, please.

Council member Camerata? Yes. Good now?

Yes.

Mochler?

Yes.

Tift?

Yes.

Chamberlain?

Absolutely, yes.

Frey? Yes. Robolowski? Yes. Motion carries unanimously. The next item on our agenda is item 4C, ordinance number 5540, to increase vehicle license fees. Our presenter is Council President?

Yes. First, I want to make a correction. I saw on Facebook that the Kitsap Sun said that we were trying to raise the transportation benefit district by $40, and that was incorrect. People who were unable to click on and read the article were asking to raise it by an additional $20. currently the transportation benefit district fee is $20 per vehicle per year and we would like to raise it to $40 the last time well when it was first initiated I believe it was 2009 and Things have gotten much more expensive, just the cost of concrete and asphalt and of course labor. And this money will be used only for non-major streets. Major streets is something that engineering would work on, usually with grant monies. This is for our street crews to repair sidewalks, continue some neighborhood street paving, their chip sale program that will help pay for that. small sections of sidewalk, additional ADA ramps. And to let you know some of the cost savings that our crews do versus when we contract out is very, very significant. I don't know if anybody's been out to Werner Road lately. Our crews have done all that work. They've replaced all the ADA ramps to current standards, and they've repaved the road, and we did it at 40% of what a contractor would cost. Well, no, that section is Werner. Werner near Loxahegans, but... Anyway, the road changes names quickly there. But I think once you're over the highway overpass, it goes back to Werner. So another example is ADA ramps that our crews build. They cost, depending on how many and what type of street they're on, it costs our crews anywhere from $3,500 to $5,000 And they design them themselves, construct them, pave the asphalt in front of them. They cost about between $3,500 and $5,000. If you look at some of our most recent contracts when we go out to bid, they're averaging over $30,000 to have a contractor do it, They're also paying for the engineer who designed it from a contractor, from a contract. They're also paying for a contract inspector to inspect the work of the contractor. So it's a substantial savings by using our crews where we can to do these types of smaller projects. So let's see. If we rate, currently we're bringing in about 600,000 a year and we would like to double that. So with that addition, and right now. I'm sure. But that's not how we're gonna get more ADA ramps repaired or fixed or put in areas that don't have them at all. or to fix our sidewalks. I mean, the money isn't the same as it was. And for big projects, you can get grants. You cannot get grant money to work on residential streets to do chip sealing on your neighborhood streets. It's not there. There's no state funding for it. We have to come up with the funding. So I would like to invite... Any members of the public to come and comment on this proposal?

Good morning. My name is Dennis Stone. I was born and raised in this city. So I've been here for a while and I know a couple of things. One of them is that I have to balance my own checkbook. I can't go out and ask for money when it's not needed. The work hasn't been done. The stuff is in terrible shape. We get billed on our property taxes for two different types of road work, repairs. None of that's ever been done. We do the same thing on our licensing, if you read it, when you get your tabs. If you can save all that money by having the city do it, then that's what needs to be happening. That chip seal stuff is not a money saver. Instead of chip seal, it's a cheap seal because it doesn't last. You figure out how long the chip seal is going to last compared to paving it and being done with it. i hope you uh see the benefits in saying no it's ridiculous we got enough expenses as it is to try and make it we're living on a fixed income so unless you want a bunch of people to to leave this city just keep raising stuff like that thank you

Mary Lou Long. Yes, I'm also retired, and I know there's probably a lot of retired citizens in this community. I don't know how you expect to keep affordability in the city when you keep raising taxes and fees, increasing the fees from $20 to $40 per car. is going to cost us, because we have three cars. We have a truck for work functions, like hauling stuff. We have his car and her car, three cars. And then my husband has a, I don't like to brag about it, but he has a little toy car. So that means that we have to pay three to four times, four times twice what we're paying now. And that's going to be a lot of money. I find it unsatisfactory and I hope that you don't do this. I think that there are other ways that the city can find some more money to do the things that they need to do. I think some of the positions that you recently created are very, very costly and I don't think that they're absolutely necessary. I also think that the bike People in this community don't pay any taxes for all those wonderful bike paths that you painted all over the streets and all the contouring for them. And there's no licenses for their doing or transporting on the streets. And from what I've heard, there have been lawsuits because the streets have potholes.

Hey, I'm Chance Corey. I live in District 5. I want to thank you guys. I understand that a lot of people in here are not going to be happy about this. But I also happen to live on a street or next to a street that was redone. And I've seen a lot more kids playing in these neighborhood streets now that don't have big potholes in them. I've watched my neighbors not pop their tires on potholes. And overall ownership of car prices do go down when you don't have streets messing up your car. 2009 is the last time this fee was adjusted. I think anybody else who wants to live on the same wage they lived on in 2009 is not being honest with you. And while I wish there was a more equitable way to distribute this, by the car and by person who can afford multiple cars seems to be the least harmful way to collect extra revenue. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is BJ Herman. And thank you all I absolutely agree with chance and I say just do it raise it. It's time I have five vehicles if I can't afford a hundred bucks a year then this is ridiculous, so I Say do it. We need it. We need the money. We need to fix our streets. I love it. I like what he said do it Thank you

Council members, I'm Diane Manning, District 2. I was disappointed to see the proposal to raise Bremerton's vehicle license fee to $40. I understand the challenges, and I love what Public Works does and the street work they do, but this increase will hit the residents who can least afford it. For families already struggling with rent, food, medicine, and childcare, $20 is not small. It's a real sacrifice. And for many workers, especially those earning minimum wage or juggling multiple jobs, a car is essential. And they only have one, usually. When you increase this fee, you're not asking people to contribute more. You're forcing them to give something up. You're asking them to sacrifice a basic need so they can keep the one thing that allows them to stay employed, reach childcare, and access medical care, their car. I know this reality personally. As a single parent years ago, every dollar mattered. Every unexpected cost caused real fear. Costs went up, but wages didn't. That hasn't changed. For people living on the edge, an extra $20 is not manageable. It's destabilizing. We say we're committed to preventing homelessness, yet this fee adds pressure to the very households most at risk. It's giving with one hand and taking with the other. I strongly urge you to reconsider this increase. Bremerton needs solutions that support stability, not solutions that push vulnerable families closer to crisis. Thank you.

My name is Debbie Santini. I live in a community where all of us are retired. There is better resources available that you guys have not clicked in. We drive every day and see cars that don't have current DABs. Go after them for the money. Go after people that ride those bikes. Make them license those bikes, both electric and regular paddle bikes. As kids growing up, we had to buy licenses for our bikes. There's better ways to come up with resource for that money if you want to repair the roads. Thank you.

Here's a dollar to get head bike licenses.

Hi, my name is Alton Bradford. And though I don't like it, I do am a car owner in this city. I wish it didn't have to be that way, but the buses just don't run enough to be able to do everything I want to do without a car. And owning a car costs quite a lot of money. I've got a repair coming up in the next month. I need new spark plugs. happens on a regular basis, and you have to budget for that sort of thing. The least expensive thing that I do with my car is pay for the registration. I get tremendous value out of that, and I get that value because everybody who has a car in the city pays it. So I'm proud to pay this additional tax. I think I'm going to get tremendous value out of it. I encourage you to pass it. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, everybody. This is not my normal space or place. Don Michelle Wilson, born and raised in Bremerton. I live over by Lyonsfield. I just did some really quick math. $20 a year is $0.05 a day. Literally $0.05 a day. It's not a lot. I would like to say that I am having to repair the front end of my vehicle again. Unfortunately, I live on one of those very, very old roads that has massive potholes. And so I just want to say that I hope that this money, I'm for it. I hope that it ensures that our roads get better because sometimes I drive through Bremerton and I think to myself, my nine-year-old grandson probably could have done a better job at paving this street. And the other thing that I would like to mention and bring up is maybe some of these developers that are coming in here that are getting large tax cuts to build here to bring in population, maybe they can kick in to help repair our roads. Just a thought.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Christy Schultz. I live out in the UGA out to the east of town. I can see that there is a need for more revenue to take care of things because we have some rough weather here. Try driving through Oklahoma if you want to see what rough weather does to things and no one maintains it. Anyway, the point is that I think that we're not being equitable exactly here. People with snow tires in the snow, when we have snow, we had a good year last year. But they tear the roads up quite a bit. So I think that perhaps people who put snow tires on their cars need to be taxed just a tad more than the rest of us. And I also like the idea of the bicycle people having to get a license. I had to have a license for my bicycle when I was a child, and I think we need to bring that back because we are doing a lot of things to take care of our bicycle population here. That's all. Just spread it out a little bit more. Let's be more equitable about these things. Thank you. Thank you.

Hi. Mike Simpson, District 6. So I think the car tabs are raising the price of the car tabs. Bad idea. If you've ever heard of the Laffer curve, it's not a ha-ha funny thing. It's an economics model. The higher you raise taxes, the less revenue you're going to get because people are going to scoff law. They're going to not pay for their registration. They're not going to not do those things. We can look only over across the water. With Sound Transit 3, how many of those folks that have cars over there register them here in the city and in Kitsap County? Because they don't want to pay for the taxes over there. If we're looking for a way to generate revenue for the city, there are several positions that we could eliminate within our city that would pay for this increase to the car tabs. Also, the idea has been brought up, why not do a licensing and registration for all our e-bikes, e-scooters, and the adults that ride their bikes? paying their fair share. And that would be a more appropriate place for you to draw the revenue from. People that choose not to participate in gas-powered machinery don't pay our gas tax that helps pay for our roads and our streets and our sidewalks. And I think that would be a much more appropriate place to do it. And I think the council should reject this notion of raising our TBD. Thanks.

Thank you.

Roy Runyon Bremerton. I'm not opposed to increasing funding for our street grid, our infrastructure. You did a community needs survey that fed into the budget or informed you maybe about budget priorities, and that was towards the top of the list. Infrastructure, maintain our roads. What was near the bottom of the list was diversity, equity, and inclusion. You folks fund the DEI outreach manager position to $150,000 a year. In addition, some things to consider, I want you to vote no on this. And as someone else pointed out, indirectly, 13.8% of our residents live in poverty. Of the 20,000 people, residents who are in the workforce, almost 14,000 of them rely on their personal vehicles to get to work. Consider that. There are many other sources of funding. I mentioned the DEI position. Restructuring the Parks Department can save considerably by eliminating one or two positions. Negotiate with our nonprofits that own real property in the city. Negotiate payment in lieu of tax. They were exempted by the legislature from paying property tax. So the legislature, in all of its wisdom, shifted that property tax burden onto the rest of us.

Mm-hmm.

Stand up for us, for the residents, the people who need their personal vehicles. I can personally pay the increase. I'm not speaking for myself. I wish some of you would think about speaking for others. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, Council President. Dan Heron, Bremerton District 6. I'm here tonight to ask the Council to raise the vehicle tax from $20 to $40. I know nobody likes another fee, but I believe an additional $20 a year is a reasonable investment in our community. We all depend on Bremerton streets every day. Work, school, errands, getting safely around our neighborhoods. Maintaining roads and improving pedestrian safety requires reliable funding. The additional revenue would provide dedicated funding for roads, road maintenance, sidewalks, and transportation safety improvements. I also ask the council to be transparent on how this money is spent with clear priorities and regular public reporting. $20 a year is less than $2 a month for vehicle owners. Collectively, however, it can make a meaningful difference for Bremerton. I respectfully ask you to raise the vehicle tab fee to $40 and invest that additional revenue to our transportation system. By the way, I am retired. Thank you. Thank you.

Does anybody else from the public wish to comment on this issue?

okay seeing as there's no other public comment ask for a motion move to pass ordinance number five five four zero to increase the bremerton transportation benefit district vehicle license fee from twenty dollars to forty dollars for the purpose of funding transportation improvements second

I'm going to open it up for council discussion. Would you like to start?

Yeah. So. Every year I've been on council, we have talked about this. So we don't take it lightly. And we are, as somebody mentioned, really trying to find priorities in the budget, trying to have the most sort of bang for the buck, I think somebody also used. But, you know, thinking back a little bit, I don't remember what year the I'm in initiatives is what brought us down. It was a very popular thing. They get a lot of people to vote for a $20 car tab, car tabs in Washington. Some folks were paying closer to $400 for their car tabs. I've lived in different states. I've definitely paid a lot more, but I never want to pay more, but I paid a lot more. We have the privilege of seeing firsthand what we can do with the $600,000 that we get off the 20. And we have a great plan moving forward for more funds on that. Every year, we kind of say we maybe have a balanced budget. But when we defer any maintenance on anything, equipment, roads, office, computers, anything, we really have a gap and we're really just kind of pushing that down the road. So again, it's come to the time that the council felt that it was the time to look at this. The other thing I wanted to kind of mention, and the finance director can correct me if I'm wrong, but if we don't, If we don't, if we opt not to do this, the county can actually still levy Bremerton residents the additional $20. So anyways, they can opt not to, but that's my understanding. But I'm not doing it to beat them to the punch. I really want us to have a more solid budget, get the things done we need to do, and not defer maintenance on our roads. Thanks.

Anybody who's next? Ana, I'm sorry. Thanks.

I support this. And I would just add that in 2010 and 2011, the minimum wage in Washington was $8.55. The current minimum wage is $17.13. I don't think this is unduly onerous. It's not too much. For me, I haven't heard this mentioned so far, but what I hear from constituents that they want on streets is they want the speeding to stop. slow the heck down. They want their kids to be able to walk along the street. They want to walk along the street themselves. They'd like to walk their dogs. They'd like to push a stroller or a wheelchair. They'd like to be able to keep pets without people bombing down their street at 60 and 80 miles an hour. So traffic calming is what I hope this year's council will choose to do with the extra revenue. If you look at this, this is set up to be very flexible. Every year, council will look at projects on which to spend this money. If there gets to be a council that's like, I would like to close Kitsap Way on Sundays in summer for drag racing, then that might be something that the council would do. At this time, I don't think anyone on this council is interested in that. We would like, or constituents would like, and here, honest to gosh, this is running at least 20 to one, is that people want the cars to slow the heck down. Just really quickly, slightly tangential, Gary Sullivan on 15th Street in my district was hit for the third time January before last. Fourth time. Fourth time by a person clocked at over 81 miles per hour and texting who, very fortunately for Mr. Sullivan, cannonaded off a tree trunk So not going into his living room. And pushed a Jeep in the garage all the way through and out the other side. And thank you, Mr. Simpson. That was the fourth time. These are things we need to slow the traffic the heck down. And that's why I am voting for this. Thank you.

Rick.

I'm not in favor of this proposal for the following reasons. One, our citizens have been very generous in the past few years, voting yes for the levy lid lift. We consistently pass Bremerton school levies and bond issues. And we recently passed our fire levy lid lift. I'm opposed to the imposition of any further taxes or fees on our citizens at this time. I feel like they need a break. Another thing that might not be obvious, but personally I just stumbled across it recently, that the state increased the registration fees for trucks effective July 1st, now basing your registration on your gross vehicle weight if you own a vehicle. pickup truck for me that was a 33 percent increase in the registration fee effective one so you will you may not have renewed your license fee yet but you will soon so therefore your fee will go up for the registration the admin fee went up it's still five dollars if you want to contribute to the parks and then at least in bremerton the twenty dollars for the um for the uh transportation benefit district So I just, $40 will never go down. We've moved it to 40. It was 20, it's been that way prior to my arrival on the council. 40 will never go down. And so Bremerton will be, Bremerton and Paulsville will be the most expensive place in Kitsap County to own a car. with that fee. So it would contribute to me, it would contribute to some of, some of our, I'm trying to search for the right, some of our, contributing to the view, some of the view that Bremerton is an expensive place to live. No, not necessarily from a housing perspective, but the fees and so forth. All of that adds up. So again, I'm opposed to it. I believe, as I said up front, that I'd like to give our citizens a break and thank them for the generosity that they've shown us over the last three years. And it's our chance to do that. So thank you.

There are other council members who would like to talk to this issue.

So looking at this, the fact that it hasn't been addressed since, I mean, December 7, 2011 is when it was established at $20. And what I don't want to have are fees that are out there for a decade and a half or more, actually. Uh, so yeah, like a lot more actually. We're like, anyway, um, 16, it just really like to have a fee that's out there that is just continuous and isn't being looked at of, is it meeting the needs? Is it doing what it needs to do? And it's just out there, not, not doing what it means in all of this. I just, I cannot believe that we've had a car tab fee since 2011 that hasn't been addressed and it makes me wonder what other fees are out there that people forget about that are just sitting there that aren't being addressed so while this one is going from you know this suggestion is 20 to 40 dollars it makes me think about what else is out there because when i looked at this it was more from a lens of i cannot believe this hasn't been addressed and should it stay should it go or should it increase because the need that it it is filling is not being filled right now we we do not have six hundred thousand dollars is not enough to do the things that we need to do with it and it's very unfortunate that you know we do have to increase that for people and i absolutely agree with rick on this that It doesn't make me happy. It doesn't make me feel good about this. However, I do want a city that has safe streets. And in doing that, we have to have the resources to ensure that we have those safe streets. And for me, this one is actually hitting people who utilize the resources. And that's another thing that really gets me is when we're taxed for things that we never use. And this is actually one that is asking for more money from those who utilize the service. And I'm more in favor of these kinds of adjustments to things and ensuring that when we are asking for these fees that they're meeting the expectations of our residents to make sure that we do have these safer streets and that the streets are not horrible potholes that are injuring the fronts of people's cars. That's terrible.

Did you want to speak?

All right. I will probably be the last one to speak. I don't think we're going to. No. OK. I'll be speaking. OK. Well, I mean, we already know where you stand on it. I really appreciate what Councilor Camerota is stating about a fee that's not looked at. We think about inflation and the cost of things and the cost of construction costs are going up. And this is an easily attainable cost. something that's councilmatic, a fee that we can raise without having to put it to the voters. And for that very reason, it makes me feel super uncomfortable. And I'm going to take a different stance than some of the folks here who have come against it. But my perspective, and there's data to back it up, is that we're in the most regressively taxed state in the union. We tend to go after these taxes because our constitution prohibits income tax. I am a fan of millionaire's tax. I am not a fan of a millionaire's tax and continuing to have more taxes levied on the city without a look at how these taxes are levied and whether they should be changed. So it just doesn't feel right to me. I'm not in favor of just councilmatically putting another fee or tax onto the citizens.

Thank you. Okay, so I wanted to address a couple of the comments that were made. Currently, the county does have a road tax, so that's how they collect money from people who live just in the county, right? I live in the city of Bremerton, so I pay county taxes too. And so they get their money from their citizens for roads and, or I'm sorry, two different ways. In their general tax that they tax county residents, tax all of us, and then they have a separate road tax. Most of the cities that have a transportation benefit district do it through sales tax. And yes, I agree, Washington State has a terrible taxing system. And it's all fee-based or sales tax. And sales tax is the worst tax for people of lower incomes. I mean, it's horrible. And if you're really wealthy, you just go buy your big ticket items in another state that has no or a lower sales tax. As far as there are some comments made about the bike lanes, those are typically put on arterial streets that our share is based on property tax. So bike riders are paying that way. But I'm also, and I'm a big bike advocate, I think licensing bikes, again, like they used to be in Bremerton, I mean, it was only a dollar when I... I think in 1940-something they set that, and it stayed forever before they just got rid of it. I don't see a problem with bringing that to council and seeing if council is interested in licensing bikes. We have an electric bike and a standard bike in my household. No, actually, we have two electric bikes now. So I... I don't have an issue with that, and I certainly will bring it up at a study session sometime. I was on the Public Works Committee for two years, and my career was as a public works inspector. Things that cost us $1,000 15 years ago are costing us $5,000 now. The costs have just gone up so much, and this is a way for us to not have to contract out so much work to do more of this type of repair work. with our own forces that saves us a lot of money doing it that way. About two years ago we hired a new person to oversee our street crews and he's doing an excellent job and he has taught our crews so much more and has told them how to manage their projects better at a lower cost, and there's a lot more planning going on. So I really think that this additional money will go much farther than it ever has. And we have very well-trained crews now, and I really, I very much support this. Are there any other council comments? Call for a vote, please.

Council member Goodnow?

Yes.

Mockler? Yes. Tift?

No.

Chamberlain?

No.

Frye? Yes. Camerata? Yes. Rebelowski? Yes. Motion carries. Five yeses, two noes.

Sure.

There are some people who are requesting that we take a short break and others that don't wish to take a break. So that's what the conversation is up here.

I would be happy to proceed. And I believe I heard my colleague, Councilor Frey, would love to proceed as well. I'm not going to speak for you, of course. I'd like a break.

So it's 737 right now.

We'll come back at 747. Recording stopped. Meetings back in order. Next up, I believe it's item 4D. Am I correct? That's correct.

Go ahead. 4D, review of complaint against Councilmember Jennifer Chamberlain.

Thank you, and I will explain the procedural posture of this item. A complaint was received against Jennifer Chamberlain from Denise Allison on the 22nd of July. Councilmember Chamberlain has requested that the discussion of the complaint be held in an open session. The council members will discuss the matter as it specifically relates to the role of the council's code of conduct. Council members don't have to participate in the discussion, but this is an opportunity to do so if you would like to. And following the discussion, council will determine next steps or can also take no action. If a motion is made and a second is made, we'll then open the floor for public comment. If at this time there's no action taken, then this item is on for information only and there won't be public comment. But I'd like to first offer the opportunity to speak on the matter to Councilmember Chamberlain. The complaint is in the packet, so you've had a chance to review that. And I would ask that the chair then direct the first comment to Councilmember Chamberlain.

Okay. Councilor Chamberlain, would you like to talk? Yes.

Yes, thank you. So council, thank you for the opportunity to do this publicly. This was not something I felt like we needed to do privately. So this is regarding an incident that happened on July 22 between me and Ms. Allison. So I'm not going to argue semantics, but I'm going to say that there was definitely a verbal interaction that roundabout resembles what was stated by Ms. Allison. And so, you know, my commitment is to have more positive interactions in our public spaces with our constituents. It's never been my intent to inhibit freedom of speech at all, you know, from folks or to make our constituents feel like their voices cannot or will not be heard. But just to kind of bring it back to the reasoning behind my it was a matter of fact statement. And there was in the past, quite a lot from our leadership, the perspective of our leadership about a very important issue in our community. I felt like there was a lot of misinformation being spread and that there continues to be misinformation spread. And another thing that I felt troubled by is that a member of our community was offered privilege in being in some of our private spaces as council members. So this community member was in a privileged space. It's close to our break room during our study sessions. It's kind of like having a customer in your break room if you work in retail. And so that, I believe I've worked out with leadership. I think that you guys understand that's probably problematic. There was a time where we prohibited folks from going back there. I think we had somebody who made their way up to our meeting and after that we had a little chair that said only staff members beyond this point. So I have addressed that with leadership and I believe that we have an agreement. The other thing is that I will not back down on my advocacy. From my perspective and because my perspective I share with hundreds if not thousands of other Bremertonians to be in support of our unhoused neighbors to to be in standing in solidarity with folks to speak the truth about what this really is the issue of zoning a pallet shelter community and And so I don't know if I have anything else to add to that. I just again want to reiterate my commitment to be more professional in our public spaces.

That's all, thank you.

Are there other members of council who would like to make any comments or motions regarding this issue? All right, as council president, pardon me. Go ahead.

This is a very difficult type of situation where we're asked to somehow stand in judgment of a peer. It doesn't feel comfortable. This doesn't feel comfortable. And I'm reminded, it just exacerbates the issue for me because I'm reminded that it isn't just the person who the complaint is against that has rights. And so this was made public, this discussion, without any consideration of the person against which the action was taken. And that bothers me. There are sensitive issues that come to council almost every week, almost every meeting. But this issue is probably the most sensitive that we've dealt with since I've come onto council. And certainly, I'm involved in it. It's my district. But I have not spoken out. I have not spoken out from the dais about this, and you will not know how I'm going to vote until that time comes. How the conflict is settled is what's important. That there's conflict is going to happen, but it's how we conduct ourselves during that conflict that makes or breaks us. I thought that the first interaction, which happened at the study session, was probably out of passion. And for the issue and all of that, that quick interaction, it was the next week when the signs were brought and the person who was verbally attacked in our office was mocked. from the dais. That's unacceptable. Unacceptable for any of us to mock a constituent like that. At least that's my sense, and I think it is the sense of the council. There is no issue, none, including this one, that it can allow us to abuse a constituent, especially in our council offices. And so this is unacceptable. I'm not saying we should take action, but it was called into public, and I'm gonna say what I need to say. This is unacceptable behavior, period. I have not yet heard an apology. I think we are all due an apology. And I am not satisfied at the solution of somehow making our office out of bounds for the public. We can look at those things, but I don't care where that behavior happened. It was unacceptable. That's all I have.

Is there anybody else on council would like to make a statement at this time? Okay.

So I'll be honest. I kind of didn't know why we were discussing this and was very curious to see what your statement was going to be because when, I mean, we all got a copy of the email, the emails in your packet, it's on page three 10 and you know what it states is that, Oh, I'm sorry. that somebody had a conversation with another person and some language was used that was colorful. And it was between two adults, It's not like there was a child involved or something. It was just colorful language was used. And my understanding was that when we were going into executive session, which did not happen because we were doing this publicly, that there was going to be something of like, are you going to apologize? Or are you not? Because sometimes you're just caught in a really bad moment, and you say something. And you're like, I feel that way. I shouldn't have used that language, maybe terminology, maybe something. Was it a little extreme? What concerns me is the fact that we then had props. There were signs that were brought in. And I will only speak for myself of how I felt in it, but I felt like you were making fun of somebody. and that was something that i felt was wildly unprofessional not something that i want to be a part of and my expectations of you as a fellow city council member were higher than what i was witnessing and it's those moments where you don't know what you're actually able to do or what you should do and you kind of go home and say i should have stopped that i should have been like why are there signs involved right now that you're visually and audibly mocking somebody who's actively in the audience, whether they were or they weren't, of a community member. and it was just wildly disappointing and tonight we've seen where there's confusion with us that we don't always know the right thing to do or say or you know how to conduct ourselves sometimes but we're absolutely doing the best that we can and the public has no idea the scrutiny that we are under that we get sent to us that is out on the internet about us it is unbelievable and not something that I expected. So when I saw the first interaction that happened, i immediately felt like this was just a conversation that needed to happen between two adults again whether you apologize or you didn't that was completely up to you when signs got involved and it was brought up that there was another community member who was in on this and it just it was ugly and i i don't think it was necessary and it genuinely made me really sad about elected officials and you know who we are who we stand for and It makes me sad that you didn't address that tonight, that you only addressed the first part when the second part to me was the part that's like, I cannot believe that we're sitting through this. So I don't know what's allowed in all of this, if she's allowed to address or anything. I will be perfectly honest. The mechanism that we have is called censoring, and it's just if we decided to do anything of that path, then it just is a collective group of us going, shame, shame on you. And then we all go about our business. I have absolutely no want or need of doing that. I did not feel that this needed to be brought into the public at all whatsoever. For what I'm seeing on here and what I know of you in the last few months, I think you were caught in a bad moment of, that's how you felt. You were just caught in a bad moment and said something that this could have been done and over with right then. But it was made significantly larger, which causes confusion to me of why. That's it.

Anybody else? Ana, go ahead.

Thanks. I concur with the remarks that have been made. I have pretty hot temper myself. I can easily understand saying something that I would regret immediately, but I can't imagine not voicing my regret immediately. And then the follow up with the signs I don't think that was professional conduct. In fact, that was not professional conduct. And that reflects poorly on all of us. And what that means is there's just that one little bit more that people don't trust their government. That's the Sisyphean boulder we keep trying to push up the hill is like really trying to run a government so that you will trust it and Trust us to do our imperfect best for you In our rules and procedures alleged violations of the council rules and procedures go from verbal admonition written reprimand censure required training to removal from office or chair role and or committee assignments. Okay, I'm apologizing for this in advance. I'm really thinking about the good of the council and of the people who live in the city. I think that we should seriously consider censure and possible anger management training for Councillor Jennifer Chamberlain. I'm sorry, what?

Um,

I'm not going to get into this. I will say to everyone that it's pretty remarkable how great the acoustics are in here. Like when Finance Director Riley whispers to Mr. Sorenson, I can hear that. So I'm just going to keep moving to that, ahead with this main thing, okay? I think that... This was just really out of line. It was over the line. And I think censure is appropriate for this action. I'd like to, before I stop talking, I'd like to say that Councilor Jennifer Chamberlain's advocacy for homeless people, for vulnerable people, for those subjected to our aggressive tax in the state of Washington has been constant unremitting and You know really a committed advocacy but committed advocacy can't Be expressed in in Swearing in cursing in using inappropriate language in putting a finger into the air against somebody That's just over the line. I think So I really hope counselor Chamberlain that you will continue your advocacy because I think the better angels of your nature are pretty darned good and

Councilman Tiff, we're good now. Do you have comments before I do? OK. I was really upset when I got, or disturbed, when I got the email from a constituent telling me what she had heard. And in not our break room, it was in our office manager's office. Okay, well, the break room is off limits, although people have been invited back there for snacks during some of our meetings, so it's not 100% off limits. But beyond that, There's a lot of misinformation going on about the proposed shelter. I'll put that out there. There's so much misinformation from all points of view out there. I read stuff that, oh, well, this has happened and that happened, or this isn't going to happen, or council's already decided this. It's all BS until we take a vote. And plus, there's a lot more information that everybody, including council, needs to get. So I can understand being an activist. But when you sit behind here, we're legislators. And I think it's really important that we don't mock people from the dais. I think that I've heard people say plenty of things about council while I'm sitting up here, and in my head, I have a lot of responses, but I don't say them out loud, because as a legislator, you just, you can't do that. So, That's how I feel on this issue. If you were in a disagreement with somebody over bicycle licensing, I mean, it'd be the same thing. You can't turn around and mock a constituent in a council meeting. I just don't think that's how we should should project ourselves into act as counselors. That's my full take on that. And I also do think that the format that we have, that unless somebody makes a motion to censure or do anything, that the person who feels she was wronged, who is sitting in the audience, doesn't have any part in this and doesn't get to give her opinion on it. I guess that's the way the law works. I disagree with that. Is there anybody else who would like to say anything? Jennifer, would you like to?

Okay, so I want to make sure that I'm, and the reason that I wanted to have this public is because there is a lot that we do behind the scenes and the public wants to know what we talk about. And this is theoretically what we would be saying if we were back in that room and the public has a right to hear. And what we do as human beings is we learn and grow, and we find resolutions. I know that the sign felt like mocking a constituent, and that wasn't my intent. My intent was instead to address what was perceived by many constituents to be harmful misinformation. And in doing so, my delivery was off. But it's a pretty common practice. And I know you want me to say that I'm sorry. What is hard about apologizing for it is because I don't want to apologize for correcting what I believe to be harmful language that's delivered on to a population. So I'm just being honest with you in that way. What I also want to make sure of is that I don't continue to perpetuate harm. Part of being in a recovery program that I'm in, being in therapy, working on these issues, is to take the information that you're giving me and to learn and grow from it. And I want to hear it, and I want to process it, and I want to do better for my constituents, for the community, and for folks that may or may not even have the ability to vote for us. So I think, I don't know if there's a mechanism, but I would be open to, let's see. I would be open to, I don't know if I'm supposed to do this or not. I'm just gonna do it. I'd be open to hearing from the person who was harmed, if that's allowable. I think that I don't want to.

If the council president would like to hear from the person they can be heard from. Yeah. If she wants to. I didn't want to.

If she wants to, and if she does not, this is not a call, and that's okay.

I certainly didn't want anyone to feel like they had to speak publicly, having been made a written complaint.

I think it's an unfair thing that you're asking that. Okay, okay. So you have acted what I think you guys should do, which is you should fire her. Yes. to actually look at.

sir i'm sorry but somebody can you can you you're more than welcome to give to give comments at community comments or i'm sorry yes so okay so here's the next step for folks that would like to um continue to help me in this process uh we will have community comment and at that point in time then those things should be shared

If there's no other council member who wants to make a motion.

Ana, did you want to speak? I do. I move that we should center. since your counselor jennifer chamberlain for for this action is there a second i'm sorry were you not going to take public comment not on this issue yet thank you thank you though for coming up thank you jennifer

So there doesn't appear to be a second, so then I can't move it to public comments on this issue, but you'd be able to comment during community comment period after the mayor's report. Welcome, Mayor Wheeler.

All right. Good evening, Council, members of the public. So a couple items here. All right. Everybody's well aware, but I wanted to publicly thank the citizens of Bremerton for voting for Prop 1. So this is a big deal, it's a big investment in your future here as far as public safety goes. And I just kinda highlight as a reminder what we all have coming our way now with this positive vote. We will be hiring nine firefighters. Replacement of two fire engines and one ladder truck. critical updates to Fire Station 1, and the creation of a dedicated equipment and replacement and revolving fund to ensure long-term fiscal responsibility. So again, thank you. And thank you, Council, for your support. The Fund at the Playgrounds. Now, this is just a quick recap. And I do want to thank our partners. You know, between working with the Berman School District, and a lot of folks didn't know that we were in partnership with them, providing between 60 and 150 free lunches every day to children in our community. And this was at Haddon and Blueberry Park over the summer. Gosh, I hate saying that we're over the summer. It's like we're almost done. We're getting close to the start of school. But thinking Western Washington University, where not only was there games being played, But there was instruction. And mainly this was about gardening, how to plant and grow and harvest and turn it into food. And so it was just, there was families, there was volunteers and families, of course our Parks and Rec staff, tireless, and special guests. You can see in one of those, I think we have the Berman and Fire up there. So, yeah, great work this summer. Looking forward to doing this again. Next slide, please. All right, so, you know, we're talking about some of the work going on to create good multimodal opportunities on kind of main, these are like main thoroughfares. Elmira is a pretty heavily traveled north to south street And there's some, if you can look up here where you see phase one and phase two, you can see the length of this project's going from Riddell all the way into Sylvan and into the school district property. So I'm inviting everybody, if you haven't heard already, to join city staff and the design team to View Ridge Elementary School on August 25th from 5 to 7 p.m. as we begin to finalize that design. This is going to be a huge improvement for that neighborhood in so many ways. The month of September is Emergency Preparedness Month. We kicked this off last year. Bremerton is the host. And I wanted to kind of reaffirm that we are committed to this fair and we're moving it from the Olympic College parking lot down to Evergreen Park. You can see it's from on September 19th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. And when I say we, this is really a lot of hard work from the Kitsap Department of Emergency Management, and this is Kitsap County, and of course working with our staff. And Bremerton Fire will also be down there as one of the sponsors. And it's just getting everybody dialed in to the different things that might happen and how we can prepare if there is a natural disaster like an earthquake. It's important. This will highlight it for the month. You'll see more from me on this, and I invite folks to put this on their calendar and just stand by for more information as we get closer. And that concludes my report tonight, Council. Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor. Seeing as this has been a really long meeting, I was going to move the agenda around a little bit and allow for community comment first. And then everybody who wants to hear our council reports, we welcome you to stay after community comments and listen to our reports. Do we have anybody sign up online to give community comment?

It was Jacqueline Reed, but she said she may be in person.

Is Jacqueline Reed here? OK. All right, great. And we're not going to do the sign-up sheet either, because it didn't seem to work too well. So just come on up if you would like to give a comment. You have 90 seconds. Thank you.

Hi, everyone. I'm Jocelyn. I'm with the Bremerton Prayer Walk, and I also do some stuff with Rock the Block. And I come in here every time, every opportunity, to give you an idea of what I see down on the streets, because we've got a pretty regular presence down on the street. and one of the things that i keep begging and asking for right now because we do not have a shelter for for individuals to use is for us to do a moratorium on this anti-camping ordinance that was passed a few years ago because what it's being enforced in a pretty aggressive manner for individuals and i came in here last week and it was so sad because i we had an individual that we had just gotten off the streets with a medical issue because of the fact There are so many medical issues on the streets, and nobody can rest. Nobody can rest at all. They just keep getting moved around and moved around. And this individual went to the hospital and ended up losing him. And I'm telling you, this man was a beautiful man. We ran out of resources before we could offer help to this individual, and this world is forever changed because he existed, and he's not in isolation down there. There are so many individuals that have hope that are worth protecting, that are worth... And I understand it's... Not a fun thing to look at. But people are dying. When we look at the difference between people dying and you not liking something because you don't want to see it, it's a no-brainer on what we should do.

Hello, I'm Regina Hill, and the last time I was at a city council meeting was the first one to congratulate all of you for taking office. I know very well you have a touch job, and I want to tell you, to backtrack, I am so proud. Martin Luther King had a saying about, we'll remember the silence of our friends. So for you to go forward with that motion for an honorary street for Bishop Robertson for me is very much appreciated. Mrs. Chamberlain, I came here to the first meeting because I was situationally unhoused after being married to someone for 27 years. Sometimes money in the bank can prohibit you from getting housing. I have an 87-year-old mother who lives in Wisconsin, so I've been going back and forth, and I have a son that was at PLU. No one from the Housing Authority got back with me. I've spent almost $50,000 since last October to be unhoused in Kitsap County. So for KCR to say that $30,000 was not a lot really did not sit well with me. I put gas in my car. It's usually $60 to fill it up. close to that. So the first question that I have is, is it true that the Bremerton Housing Authority no longer has funding? Because I believe I was on Ritten Cafe for that one. And of course, because I'm 63, the other one that I was on, I guess, is two years long. So is anybody going to get back with me about housing? And thank you. Tonight was really a lesson in civics. And Ms. Chamberlain, if you Google me, In the 80s, I did anger management. Barack Obama told me to run for office. I did. He didn't say you should win. But that taught me that I don't think I could be a legislator. I would not be effective, but I'm friends with many people. I've been coming out of Bremerton since 96, and Greg Willer will tell you. i met him at ebenezer he came in with the woman that i knew was good looking and i asked him to be the first white speaker at the naacp uh freedom fund banquet and when i tell you about nolan wells i'm in with this my son was here last with his best friend and integrated this room so please keep coming and don't put these gag orders in anger management is real Thank you. Thank you, Miss Reed.

I'm back. Don Michelle Wilson. Still live in Bremerton. I actually came here tonight to talk much about what Jocelyn was talking about, because I held that man's hand while he died. I sat in the ICU with him for three days. I took his dog. I found his child and his only living sibling. I did all that. So I came to give you guys an idea of the trauma that we undergo out there and why we come in here sometimes and we're so passionate about it. So I understand passion. I understand what fuels it. And I understand how we can get a little crazy when we feel a certain type of way about some things. I just watched a gentleman in the audience, very passionate. act inappropriate. I just watched Denise Frey passionate and act inappropriate to me. I get it. I do. But what I'm going to say to you guys is please do something. Because I'm tired. I said it last time. I'm tired. 20 plus years I've been doing this. 20 plus years I've been having these conversations. The faces have changed. You know, I don't know what year it was that I had rocked the block. Greg wasn't even married yet. I was having those conversations then. Greg was at my event. I rocked my block. I rocked my whole street, took it back. That's real life. Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening, President and Council. My name is Zachary Martin. This is my second time speaking to you. I've been homeless since 2015 and I arrived in Bremerton in April of 2025. I want to live in a way that follows the law. Right now, Chapter 9.32 makes it unlawful to camp in any park or public place at any time. The city has said enforcement would be based on whether shelter beds are available. I need to be transparent. I am unable to use the local shelters. I am also unable to use Kitsap Transit until June 2027. My only income is EBT. For me, there is never an available bed. That means every night there is no place in Bremerton where I can legally sleep, even if I use a small tent at night and take it down every morning and leave no trace. I'm not asking to live in a park or to stay all day. I'm asking for a legal way to sleep at night. I am respectfully asking you to amend 9.32 to allow overnight rest, for example, from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. in a designated park or public place with a requirement to pack up daily. Council already has this power under 9.32.040, which allows camping by director permit. Please give people like me who have no access to shelter, no bus and no income a way to follow the law and still get safe sleep. Thank you for your time. Thank you.

I'm back. Diane Manning, District 2. I want to address the tone and conduct of civic engagement in Bremerton. We all know that disagreement is a part of public life. Strong opinions are a part of democracy. But how we disagree matters. There's an old line that says, never argue with a fool. Listeners can't tell which is which. It's a reminder that when public conversation breaks down into shouting or insults, everyone involved looks diminished and the public's trust in the process erodes. Emotions seemed to run high in what the complaint discussed earlier states occurred. At Monday night's planning commission meeting, emotions ran high. A member of the audience walked out yelling profanity at opponents in front of young children. That moment wasn't about land use policy. It was about the example we set for the next generation and for each other. Elected officials carry an even higher responsibility. The community looks to you to model calm, respectful and professional conduct, especially when discussions are difficult. Leadership means setting the example, not becoming the example. We can disagree without being disagreeable. We can debate without demeaning, and we can show our children and grandchildren that civic participation is something to be proud of, not something to be shielded from. Thank you.

I'm Jack Reed. I'd like to draw your attention to speeding vehicles on Trenton. The stretch of Trenton that my home backs onto is just north of the turn at East 11th Street. Over the last couple of weeks, I've been monitoring speeds from outside my home for stretches of 30 minutes to an hour using my speed radar gun during daylight hours only. In that time, I measured speeds of 40 miles per hour on this residential street with a 25 mile per hour speed limit. My previous monitoring that I have shared with the city council captured even higher speeds, and the city's own data for this stretch of Trenton has measured speeds of 50, 60 and 70 miles per hour. The city's Buckman Park is about a tenth of a mile away, and the city's Manette Playfield is about a tenth of a mile away. The city's senior centre is next to the playfield, and just beyond that is the Catalyst K-8 school. Just over the last couple of weeks, I have monitored speeds outside my home. I saw the occasional cyclist, including teens, pedestrians on the side of Trenton that has sidewalks, cats and even deer walking on Trenton. During this year, numerous neighbours along this stretch of Trenton have separately reached out to the city about the need to address speeding. Respectfully, please address this public safety and quality of life issue and install traffic calming infrastructure on Trenton Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. Is there anybody else who would like to speak for a community comment?

Roy Runyon Bremerton. Well, I'm going to thank Councilmember Mockler for trying to do the right thing. I'm disappointed in the council. You have rules and procedures, codes of conduct, appearance of fairness doctrine. that you need to follow. And you guys failed. No second on the motion to have a discussion and a vote because you're afraid of one another. I think you should be more afraid of us because you work for us. We pay your stipends. We have the right of initiative in this city. And you just decided to increase the car tab fee. I need $1,000. registered voters to sign an initiative petition. We can get that on the ballot. That's how easy it is. It's not easy, because I've done it before. It's difficult. But you can't discipline yourselves. You hold us to a different standard. You work for us. You need to be an example. I heard no apology. I would prefer, yes, a censure and an apology. from the offending council member, and we heard none of that. I mean, that's, I'm disappointed. I'm proud of the council member that represents the district I live in. She tried to do the right thing, and you failed us.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Mike Simpson. I live in District 6. And maybe we should have done this meeting next month when it's disaster preparedness month, because it's just been a disaster today, okay? Now, on that note, I'd like to thank my representative for actually representing us and standing up and doing the right thing, even though the person that she put the motion in to censure is probably one of her besties. That being said, thank you again, Council Member Brockler. Now, Without being disparaging towards another member of the council, this is not the first occurrence of this sort of behavior with that particular council member. The way that Judge Tracy Flood was treated when she came here in front of the council and how she was mocked and ridiculed from the diocese, that was abhorrent. And that council member probably should have been censured then. Now, because you have a pattern of behavior, and that's not the only instance, but since there is a pattern of behavior, it needs to stop. And when you're abusing folks that are in the community, a constituent no less, you should at least apologize at the get-go. Thanks.

Thank you.

Good evening, Council. My name is Richard Peplinski, and I wasn't going to speak, but after hearing you all, most of you, talked about this incident, and then you guys couldn't second the motion. You all should be ashamed of yourselves. She mocked her, she mocked her again tonight in front of her, trying to put her on the spot, showed no dang remorse at all. And here you guys let her sit there. She stole signs from a community development and mocked them at the last meeting. But here she is mocking our citizen, your constituent with no remorse. You guys should think about what you guys just let get away and like other has spoken. It's a continued pattern.

Hi, I'm Paula, and I've said before I live by Lyon Park. I had some of these, I had two signs in my yard. I live half a mile away from Jennifer. And one sign disappeared. And it's interesting to me that the sign is perfectly in her shop's window now, changed, but it was basically the signs that we made and that we paid for. So someone, and I'm not saying, I'm not accusing you, but someone came into my yard and stole a sign on private property that I paid for. And I think freedom of speech is what this is about. Those signs were not offensive and they were not misinformation. One sign was the dates and times of the meetings for the planning commission and the city council. The other sign was about safety for all, including our seniors. How is that misinformation? But that's what it's labeled as. It was not. And after that was stated that we had misinformation, I did go around the neighborhood. I drove up to SARS and all around trying to figure out what sign this was. I could not find one sign in anyone's yard that was misinformation. Thank you.

Hi, council.

I'm going to do something that drives me absolutely crazy. I'm about to agree with Mike Simpson and Roy Runyon. This isn't easy. There is literally a power imbalance here. You are literally on a pedestal, and you took that power, that office, and you used it to attack one of your constituents. That's hard to overlook. And I adore you as an activist. We are friends. but it was wrong. I heard about it. I saw the signs that you posted on Facebook and then I went back and I watched the meeting and that was wrong. So yes, I want to thank Councilor Mochler. I agree there should have been a censure and there probably should be some retraining of what is public decorum from the dais. I still adore you. I still think there's room for you to grow, but that was wrong.

Talk about my name is Shannon Turner and then who boy it's been a night. I'm telling you I Know where you guys said that and I know it's not easy Sitting in those seats is hard taking it and just taking it. It feels like why the hell But we do hold ourselves to a higher standard Level professionalism. I admire what you did by bringing in public That takes a lot of courage and a lot of guts to do that. I What was done is wrong, and I'm sure things will take place in order for you not to. And you said, you'll make sure something like this doesn't happen again. So with that being said, you guys are courageous in doing what you're doing. And I commend you for that. And I want to say thank you for that. But I'm going to end this on a positive note since I only got 40 seconds left. I just want to say thank you for attending the Willow Center, which is the respite center that's opening up on the 27th. So thank you for attending, and thank you for bringing the collaboration of A Drop of Hope to Bremerton, to the county. I mean this, and showing up, and it says a lot. And now we do have hope. So when someone does get released from the hospital, they've got somewhere to go to get that treatment and hopefully keep them from returning to the streets. That's what this is. And that's what this does. And that's what you guys did. And so for that, I just want to say on behalf of PCHS, thank you. And thank you for attending, especially you guys, too. Thank you. It means a lot. I'm done.

Thank you. Is there anybody who hasn't spoken who would like to speak? Okay, well, I'm happy you're still all here, because now it's time for council reports. I know you've been waiting for them. I'm not sure what order the slides were tonight, starting at District 7.

Okay, good evening, everyone. I had the privilege to attend the PSNS and IMF Change Command Ceremony last Friday, where Captain J.D. Crinklaw was relieved by Captain William Sumson. And there was high praise for Captain Crinklaw and the work that he managed during his tour, and confidence that Captain Sumson will continue that. The one noteworthy comment I wanted to bring forward tonight, in addition to just those gentlemen and their command tours, but there were three admirals there, a three-star and a two-star, and in their comments regarding the work of those commanders, they also praised Bremerton. as a community supporting PSNS and IMF. And they also commented that the upcoming construction in that footprint, which Captain Sumption will at least start to oversee, represents the largest military construction project in the history of the United States Navy. And you would think how old the Navy is and all the bases and whatnot have been built across our nation, that that's a pretty large commentary about what's going to happen next door to us. So at any rate, it will start soon. And it just was remarkable that both of those admirals chose to one, thank Bremerton for our undying support, and number two, bring up that particular construction project for the future. So thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Mockler, would you like to give a report?

I would, yeah. First slide, please. Thanks. Next slide. So on September 10, from 4 to 7, you guys all know the St. Vincent de Paul site. They're by 13th and Callow, 13th and Wyckoff. So at the food bank, which is 1117 North Callow, Joe Crane of Star of Hope is going to talk about this extremely large project for which they, oh my gosh, finally have the money. So I hope you can come. I can't tell you if there'll be snacks. I'll try and bring them. Next slide, please. Is that it? OK, then could you take down the slide? Thanks. You all know that back in March, the mayor determined that he wasn't comfortable with my having a key to the Public Works building. I've been looking for a town hall Venue that's in district 6. Yes. I have found one. It is the subway community room Up on Kitsap Way. You guys all know the family pancake house It's right down there next to the next to the licensing place where you will soon be paying $20 more per town I So I just wanted to, even though Roy Runyon has departed, I thought his point was valid. And I should explain why I voted against the consent agenda two weeks ago. During the briefing, I learned that the federal government had lined out prohibition of segregated facilities and the requirement for equal opportunities, which have been a normal part of government business for most of my lifetime. And I was pretty stunned by it, and then when the vote came up, I just... I just couldn't. So that was that vote. There's really nothing else happening in District 6. It's kind of a quiet district. But I hope that you guys can turn out for the St. Vincent de Paul and for my town hall, which will be on the second Monday in September from 5 to 6.30 at the Subway Community Room on Kitsap Way. And there'll be a proper flyer sent out pretty soon. And thank you for showing up to be part of government. Thank you for your comments. Thank you for your many respectful comments. Appreciate them very much. Any time you want to get a hold of us, we really do read our email. So please do. Thanks. Enjoy the rest of summer.

Next we have District 5. Councilmember Michael good now for his report.

I Don't think I have any slides this time because the staffing so I'm glad we're hiring somebody new and You know I I I really would like to see the council as a whole operate with more grace. I think it is not a one-time issue. It is not just the folks we're talking about tonight. I think we are, I think our country So we may be lagging that but we just need to be kind and we need to move with grace and I This is something I've felt for a while, and I feel like I've voiced my opinion on this. And we put the time in to come up with those rules, and we're not following them. And it disappoints me. And it's kind of why I stayed out of the conversation. A wise woman once told me, don't make your own news. I really hold that pretty close. So I'm just hoping moving forward that we can all just be kinder and move with grace. Thanks. That's all I have.

Thank you. District 3, Ms. Camerata, do you have a report?

No slides just an update I've been going out I think I brought it up the last time that I had made a survey to small businesses So I've been running around Doing that in the downtown section so far. So I even before this meeting was running around picking up surveys that I had dropped off for businesses it seems like it's well received and There was one business downtown that let me know that my questions are garbage. So that's going to be a fun Easter egg for everybody to find when it's publicly out there, where it was like, oh, that's nice feedback. Thank you. um so it has been nice it has allowed me to stop into every business i've just been going to businesses that i may not have a general business to do in such as the auto collision place so now i've said that out loud um so it was kind of fun i've got to meet new business owners that i had never met before and i'm just very grateful for the opportunity to go out and meet everybody and thank you so much for taking the time to fill these out because it's a full page of paper both front and back and it was the questions that i came up with and i have to apologize to everybody as i hand it i'm like i've made this in my house these are just my questions but they have been amazing for the most part so i just really appreciate everybody that's it

Good job. District 2, Vice President Frye, do you have a report tonight?

Yeah, I think there's, I've got one slide, kind of duplicating the mayor's, kind of, it's exactly the same slide. So we won't be redundant. I'm sure I'll see you there, Mayor. It is a good time to come together. The Bakke's are going to be there, and I think Greg Nance is going to be there. A lot of people have worked hard on this for a long time. So people are coming together kind of to celebrate, not just to hear more about it and give input. So please try to join us if you can. And then I want to just end by making some comments. I think when the four women were first elected, we came into council and we were going to change the world. And none of us are shy. All of us were activists in our own ways and still are in our own ways. And it is an important part of evolution because at the end of the day, it's not about us. I worked in domestic violence for almost 40 years. I didn't own that issue. It's not mine. It's not mine. And how we conduct ourselves in this, we are stewards of this work. I've misbehaved. I've misbehaved plenty. You call me on it, or sometimes you don't call me on it. Censorship is a huge deal. It might not carry a lot of impact to many, but I'm going to say publicly, the last censorship I remember was Richard Huddy. And he was behaving inappropriately with minor age girls. Okay. That's a tough choice for me to make to then censure a council person tonight. So all of that is combined in our thinking about this. And, uh, I was that close because of how serious I feel about it. But I couldn't make that final move because of the context. I was involved in that earlier complaint. I was involved in that reason why he was censured. And I don't feel the weight of that this time. So that was for me personally. I know that Roy always likes to know why we make the decisions that we have. So Mr. Runyon, that's why I made that decision. And that's it for me tonight.

Thank you. Council Member Chamberlain.

Council Member Chamberlain, do you have a report? Wait a minute. I would rather hear that ringtone, whatever that was. I want to thank my son for joining us today. Nobody knows he's back there. So I welcome accountability, and I did all this in front of my child. So... Ooh. So... I think that there's some things that came out of this meeting that I'm going to take away with me. And I want to just quickly just talk about it. So Mr. Corey mentioned power imbalance. So thank you for reminding me of that. I want to address Mr. Perlinski's concern that I stole signs. I did not steal signs. I took a photograph in front of Homestead. Both signs had it printed at a local business and then I took it to another local business and we did our arts and crafts project. I stole no signs. And I want to just let everybody know that I do welcome accountability. And that's why I wanted this to be public today. It was not easy, but this is part of the process. And again, when I say something, I mean it. And when I give you my commitment to bettering my behavior in our council chambers, that's no problem. You also know that I'm not going to back down on my advocacy. And the reason that things like this are so difficult, censures and the like, are because they can often be tools to silence us as elected officials that were elected here to represent our constituents. And the way that I chose to represent my constituents may not have been palatable. it just is what it is and it happened so I appreciate all the feedback and I've taken a lot to heart and I just wanted to also demonstrate how women lead this is how we lead and we're doing a damn good job so thank you thank you I think I have a couple slides maybe

So Doc Loved the Kids Day is coming up Saturday, August 22nd, noon to 3. It's a great event. They still need volunteers. It's where kids get free backpacks filled with school supplies. And last year, they must have had over a dozen bouncy houses. There was a lot of fun for both... the kids and their parents, there were a lot of people there, and it was a really hot day, so I hope it's not quite that warm for them this year. Oh, that's right, yeah. Christie even signed up to work at the dodgeball game, and nobody but Christie played. but anyway I hope people stop by spend a couple hours and get your kids some school supplies and let them play on all the fun things that we got going on down there so next please okay so well upcoming meetings audit committee I'm sure everybody wants to listen in there. It's on the 25th at noon. Finance Investment and Parking Committee is on the 25th at 1.30. I know, it's you again. Study session will be next Wednesday starting at 5 upstairs. The first, Public Safety and Parks Committee will be meeting, and then our regular business meeting will be on the 2nd of September. Yeah, pretty much. So I wanted to talk about a couple things that I've done recently. I went to the opening of the Willow Center, that's Peninsula Community Health's new respite center, and there were so many partners. Shannon, maybe you remember, there is well over a dozen partners in helping that come to fruition. It's a really wonderful, wonderful place that's gonna serve the community. for a long time, community members that haven't always been served well. There's a full medical clinic there with, I mean, they even have suture rooms there. I mean, they have their own lab. There's 22 rooms for folks who are coming out of the hospital and need a place to recover. And they can stay initially up to 30 days, but if they need to stay longer, they can make arrangements for them to stay longer. In their private areas where the rooms are for them, there's also two apartments for live-in staff who will be there 24-7. There'll be staff members there. helping the folks that are not feeling well and helping them to feel better. They even thought of small things that probably don't mean a lot to others, but like they have an arts and craft room. They have a little music room. And then one of the coolest things they have is a rooftop deck that is all fenced in with comfortable patio furniture. So somebody who's recovering from an illness or injury can walk up there at 2 o'clock in the morning and look at the stars if there isn't too much light pollution. Anyway, it's really a wonderful, well thought out facility that they traveled all over the country looking at different facilities to get ideas. And now other people are coming to look at the great work that they did. So I'm really very proud that this is in our city and that along with the city of Bremerton, there were so many other people who helped either financially or in other ways to make this happen.

And we did the money.

Yes, we did. And then if you live in District 4, or actually if you live anywhere in the city, Bremerton Food Line's in my district. And the city public work staff has been working hard to do upgrades around that for the past couple years. Replacing all the ADA ramps, putting in marked crosswalks, putting in handicapped parking spaces, putting in a loading zone for the access bus who brings a lot of the people who use our food bank. So I'm really very thankful to our Public Works Department for putting in all that work, and it looks great. They really did a good job. So I don't think I have anything else, so meeting is adjourned.