President’s Report
June 22, 2010
Presented by Bill Mahan
President, Board of Commissioners
Port of Bremerton
The reactions of the voters to the collection of Industrial Development District tax levy
was heard loud and clear by me and other port commissioners. The message was that
our constituents did not ever again want a decision of that magnitude to happen without
their knowledge and input.
Although it was evident the Bremerton Port Commission had followed all of the rules
regarding public notice, action in open meetings and public discussion, the Commission
could have done more to inform the public about the financing of the Bremerton Marina
project. In order to provide a more transparent decision process, the Port Commission
took action to approve the Port of Bremerton’s Community Outreach/Participation
Policy. The Goal of this policy is to enable the citizens, business persons and other
stakeholders of the Port District to become better informed and engaged in Port
business and its processes. The Policy sets out a plan to provide Public Outreach, Public
Notice and Public Participation.
I would like to review our progress since adopting the Community
Outreach/Participation Policy.
The first and most important action the commission took was to provide access to Port
Commission meetings by having regular meetings recorded and televised by BKAT for
public viewing. We also archive the recordings on our WEB site for public viewing at
their convenience.
The commission moved its meetings to the Norm Dicks Government Center to provide
easier access for the public to attend as well as enabling us to record our meetings.
The Port held its first Annual Port meeting that was attended by over 250 persons.
The Port publishes monthly detailed financial reports that inform the commission and
public (on a quarterly basis) on the financial status of the Port as well as port
investments report.
The staff is currently rebuilding its website to make it more easily navigated with more
information available to the public and persons that wish to do business with the Port.
Last year, the Port held special meetings in each of the Port Commissioner Districts to
meet with our constituents regarding Port projects and plans. Those meetings also
allowed citizens to inquire about Port actions.
Citizens are provided an opportunity at every meeting to comment on every action item
and to voice their concerns and ask questions of the staff and commission.
Our staff has provided Public Notice of our meetings and agendas as required by the
Policy and by state law. Further, our staff has done an outstanding job in providing
public access to public records. They continually receive compliments on how quickly
and thoroughly they respond to public record requests.
There are more actions called for in the Community Outreach/Participation Policy that
need to be implemented by the commission. As required by the Policy, I will be placing
the Policy on the agenda of a study session for a review of the policy’s goals and action
steps for discussion and possible amendments.
In conclusion, I believe the citizens know more about the business of the Port of
Bremerton and are more involved in its decisions than ever before. As a result, the
decisions of the Port Commission better represent the desires of its constituents.