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10/14/2019 - Minutes 1 City of Port Orchard Economic Development and Tourism Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, October 14, 2019 Committee Members Present: Council Members Bek Ashby (Chair), Scott Diener, Jay Rosapepe City Officials and Staff: Community Development Director Nick Bond, City Clerk Brandy Rinearson, Long Range Planner Keri Sallee Guests: Jack Edwards, Matt Murphy, Kathleen Wilson Chair Ashby called the meeting to order at 9:31 am. 1. Business Community Discussion. Matt Murphy, executive director of the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber would be holding an “after hours” at Port Orchard Ford at 5:30 pm on October 16. POBSA President Kathleen Wilson said that the Port Orchard Bay Street Association (POBSA) is getting quotes for replacement of the automatic irrigation system for the hanging baskets that are strung along the downtown marquee. The plastic irrigation tubing was not sufficiently UV-resistant and has degraded over the past ten years, resulting in leakage. Estimated replacement cost is $10-15,000. POBSA does not have funds for the replacement at this time, which may result in no hanging baskets next year. Chair Ashby said that the City has been concerned about investing in projects on the marquee, since its condition and long-term future are questionable. Councilmember Diener said that the City’s contract landscaper could be contacted to see if watering the hanging baskets could be added to their existing contract. Wilson said that the Bay Street Boo Bash downtown trick-or- treating event will be on October 26th from 1-5 pm. She noted that it has a significant impact on downtown traffic, and last year the traffic was backed up all the way to the Bethel Ave roundabout. Ashby said that this year the City needs to have event and detour signage warning of traffic delays in place. Long Range Planner Sallee will have Public Works Director Mark Dorsey contact Wilson about signage. Wilson said that POBSA’s next meeting will be on October 17 at 7:30 am at the Brick House. 2. Update: Lodging Tax Advisory Committee. City Clerk Rinearson said that the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) has voted on funding recommendations, which will be discussed at the City Council’s October 15 work- study session. Ashby said that the City appreciates the time and effort made by the LTAC during this process. 3. Update: Community Center. Community Development Director Bond said that he and the Mayor recently met with the Public Facility District’s (PFD) Brian Lawler and Mike Walton. Lawler is working on an updated interlocal agreement (ILA) that will address the entire award rather than just the feasibility phase. Rosapepe said that the Mayor has asked for a show of support at the PFD’s next meeting, which will be at 5:30 pm on October 28 at the Norm Dicks Building in Bremerton. Bond said that the City is still requesting $12 million. Councilmember Rosapepe said that the City is not asking the PFD to write a check for that amount, but rather to have an agreement and commitment for the entire project. Changes can still be made by either party during the different project phases. The agreement will probably be adopted by a PFD resolution. 4. Discussion: Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance Education. Long Range Planner Sallee said that Kitsap County has completed most of its plastic bag reduction outreach to larger retailers and at major events. The County continues to reach out to retailer organizations and chambers of commerce to provide information which can be disseminated to their members, and will maintain their website informational resource page. Ashby said that she would like committee members and staff to do in-person outreach to Port Orchard retailers at the management 2 level, and provide informational flyers. Sallee is available to provide an information presentation at POBSA and Chamber of Commerce meetings. She will also obtain an address list of retailers within the City from the Finance Department, to be used for an informational mailout. Murphy said that a boosted Facebook post or other social media information would get more attention than a traditional newspaper ad. Sallee will follow up with the County to see if they already have flyers or mailers that can be reused for a City mailout. 5. Discussion: Summer Sunday Ferry Service. Ashby said that the City has been funding the Sunday foot ferry service from LTAC funds for some time. She said that the City tends to think of the foot ferry more as a tourist attraction or a visitor amenity, and less as a mode of transportation, and this mindset should gradually be changed. LTAC will be providing fewer dollars next year to fund the summer foot ferry. On October 11, Ashby, Rosapepe, Rinearson, Bremerton city staff, Kitsap Transit and Kitsap Harbor Tours met to discuss future funding. One option discussed was providing Sunday service only for the weekends of Harborfest, 4th of July and the Taste of Port Orchard. Ashby provided a handout showing foot ferry ridership from 2011-2019 on key summer event dates, which show overall declining usage of approximately 50%. This decline may be due to the limited ferry hours and lack of user interest. Wilson said she believes a majority of downtown businesses have Sunday operating hours and could benefit from the ferry, but the lack of Sunday bus service is a larger problem. Rosapepe said that Kitsap Transit is not even in the discussion phase of starting downtown Sunday service for either Bremerton or Port Orchard. Wilson said that the foot ferry service is not shown on Kitsap Transit’s online schedule. Rinearson said that Kitsap Transit hopes to update their website with this information next year. Ashby said that downtown merchants used to do more to publicize the ferry by putting flyers in their windows, etc, and Rinearson said she had heard from Bremerton staff that Bremerton’s downtown merchants used to make more of a similar effort. Ashby said that she will ask Council to consider whether, as downtown Port Orchard and Bremerton both continue to densify, the foot ferry should be considered and funded as a means of mass transit infrastructure linking the two communities. Rosapepe agreed and said that LTAC dollars being spent for this purpose is not the best way to get people to visit Port Orchard. 6. Discussion: DCD Report on Permit/Development Activity. Bond said that DCD has been asked to provide a regular report showing building and land development permit applications that have been submitted, and a draft has been provided to the committee. Public Works and DCD are working on an online portal similar to the one provided by Kitsap County, which will allow viewers to click on a parcel and view detailed information about it, including permit information, but this is not available yet. In the meantime, DCD staff can provide a spreadsheet- type report which can be provided to Council and made available to citizens online. Sallee said that this would not necessarily inform the community about upcoming demolitions and street closures, concerns about which had been expressed to her by Murphy. Demolition permits are issued over the counter as a Type 1 (administrative) permit, and may not make it into a report before the demolition is carried out. Street closures require a street use permit issued through Public Works, and these are also issued fairly quickly and do not require notice to surrounding property owners. A traffic control plan may or may not be required. Murphy said that there should be notice requirements that would help minimize impacts to nearby businesses. He also expressed concern about fencing that remains long-term around demolition and building sites. Jack Edwards, manager of Days Inn, said that a report showing what new businesses are coming to Port Orchard would be helpful. Bond said that the permit applications could potentially be revised to suggest, but not require, that demolition and street use permit applications provide notice to neighbors of the upcoming activity. He would like to consider these issues further. Sallee will make changes to the report format and bring the updated report to the committee at the next meeting. Chair Ashby adjourned the meeting at 10:42 am. Next Meeting: To be determined; the next scheduled meeting falls on November 11 (Veterans Day).