*Sheesh, back to office as national news and algorithms are exploding with footage of increasingly awful immigrations enforcement occupations, innocent civilians being murdered in the street by government employees, a five-year-old kid being wrongly detained and used for bait, nationwide protests in response. Honestly, it’s making it a bit difficult to focus on writing this. But here goes. Meanwhile in Kitsap…
THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS finally approved the establishment of a local Agriculture Advisory Council at its regular meeting Jan 26. The decision comes years in the making, following outspoken contention with county deveopment decisions and processes from local agricultural and conservation proponents. A 2023 Kitsap County Farmland Preservation Analysis noted a 61% loss in local farmland between the years 1997 and 2017. This new Advisory Council will advise the board of commissioners on agricultural matters including policy updates, zoning decisions and such, aimed at protecting what farmland is left. The volunteer council is expected to be cheifly organized and guided by the WSU Kitsap Extension with input from the local agricultural alliance and the county derpartment of development.Related: The Kitsap Community & Agricultural Alliance’s Annual Meeting is 5:30 p.m., March 12 in the Eagle’s Nest at the fairgrounds.
In other local agricultural news: County Commissioners approved a small budget item in an agreement with the state department of agriculture for on-call trapping services if all other non-lethal methods have been exhausted (not-to-exceed-$18K-yearly) in response to problematic local beaver activity. Which is more active than you might think. Beavers have been returning to local stream habitats over the past 20 years and in the mid-to-late 2010’s nuisance beavers in this town made the news multiple times.
Construction on a culvert removal and bridge replacement project along Harper Estuary between Manchester and Southworth moved months ahead of schedule as work began late last month in response to a fish window closing Feb 15. Road closures and delays are expected for the duration of the project along the waterfront roadway near the Southworth ferry dock. Project completion is expected in fall 2026, with the construction of the new bridge, pedestrian improvements and expanded beach access in the area.
In other road construction: Bremerton’s city council heard an update on the next design phase of the 6th Street transportation project. Staff recommendations include pylon-protected bike lanes, center islands, new ‘bike’ and ‘no turn on red’ signals and designated street parking. Current city costs for design are forecasted overbudget while grant-funded construction and right-of-way costs are expected at a surplus. Next steps are: an engineering contract agreement on the docket for council March 4 and final engineering planned between March and October of this year. ‘No further public input anticipated.’ Construction slated for 2027.
The now-more-than-two-years-long process of trying to build a homeless shelter in Bremerton seems to have hit another snag last month. Earlier, the council had rejected the mayor’s proposal for development of a site near Oyster Bay, supporting a non-profit-led community effort instead and earmarking $1.3M for that project from covid-area funding which is set to expire at the end of 2026. In December, Bremerton Housing Authority (one of the non-profits involved in the project) purchased property off Wheaton Way as an alternative site and presented council with detailed design plans, construction plans and budget forecasts which would include congregate housing and pallet/tiny home shelters in addition to wrap-around support including on-site/off-site mental, physical and substance abuse services. However the property would need to be re-zoned and the group would need additional funding from the city for operations. The council was not so sure. The item was tabled for further discussion and is back on the agenda for the first meeting of February.
And the nation’s first-ever city-funded RecoveryCafe, part of the international Recovery Cafe Network, opened in Poulsbo last month as part of the North Kitsap Recovery Resource Center, open five hours a day, four days a week committed to serving people experiencing trauma, mental health issues, homlessness and substance use disorders. <3smokestack
