Posted on October 24, 2017
By Nathan Pilling, Kitsap Sun
Port of Brownsville commissioners are looking at forming a new taxing district that would raise taxes on properties in the port district to pay for a series of improvements to the port’s marina.
After hearing extensive public comment against the creation of an industrial development district (IDD) Wednesday night, a split on the port’s board ended with commissioners tabling consideration of the item, which was proposed to be used to raise property taxes by 17 cents per $1,000 of property value each year for 20 years.
The district would bring in roughly $2 million from properties within the IDD’s boundaries, which would mirror the port’s current taxing lines surrounding a large section of Central Kitsap near Highway 303, according to the port.
The IDD would provide funding for rebuilding the marina’s “A” dock and fuel pier, replacing its main pier, lifting its “I” dock and dredging the marina, interim port manager Matt Appleton said. The main pier’s creosote pilings were installed in 1977 and are deteriorating, according to the port.
“The pilings for our pier have holes in them,” Appleton said. “That is our lifeline to the marina.”
The marina’s “A” dock, which carries fuel, is old and is slowly starting to sink, he said. Currently, it can be difficult to get boats in and out of the marina at low tides, which the port plans to address with the dredging, Appleton added.
The work would wrap up $4.9 million in upgrades that have been ongoing throughout the marina since 2007, according to the port.
While most of their consideration focused on the IDD, commissioners also looked at a pair of other options: almost doubling moorage rates at the marina to qualify for revenue bonds and a voter-approved levy lid lift.
Many who attended Wednesday’s port meeting criticized the projects and the accompanying tax hike, saying the port was rushing into the projects, hadn’t communicated about them well enough to the public and that the port was considering replacement solutions where repairs would work.
“You don’t go out and take a look at something that’s been there, it looks pretty good, maybe not too good, and say let’s get rid of it for $400,000,” said Brownsville’s Ed Wurden. “I don’t like that.”
Said Dave Woodard, another Brownsville resident: “My taxes keep going up. Sorry, my wallets are empty. Every (jurisdiction) that can tax say they need more money. If I have to look at repairing my house instead of replacing things, maybe you guys with our tax dollars should do the same thing.”
The projects would be a long-term fix for the marina that would be good for generations, commissioner Fred Perkins acknowledged, but said he didn’t feel commissioners had enough information to proceed and said the port probably hadn’t communicated with the public as well as it should have.
Perkins is playing the role of the swing vote between the port’s two other commissioners: Jack Bailey, who supports the IDD concept, and Bob Kalmbach, who opposes it.
“I do believe after tonight, getting a lot of input, I think there’s a couple of studies that we probably should do,” Perkins said, before commissioners tabled the item.
Source: Kitsap Sun
