Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal December Edition

December 2014 Vol. 27 No. 12

Est. 1988

An edition of the Kitsap Sun

Forsaken site getting fit for new use

Fitness center coming to long-empty building in East Bremerton Page 4

Retail developments under construction Page 8 Mall making changes Page 7

Return service requested The Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal Post Office Box 259 Bremerton, WA 98337

Presorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 76 Bremerton, WA 98337 CAR-RT Presort

2 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

Business Calendar Dec. 2, 16, 23, and 30 Good Morning, Kitsap County Join the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce to hear from a different business professional each week during a Q&A session.

Where: Hop Jack’s, 3171 Bucklin Hill Road, Silverdale

When: 7:30-9 a.m.

Info: silverdalechamber.com Dec. 3, 10 and 17 Networking 101 Join this tutorial to help the tongue-tied business person learn or brush up on people skills. Sign up early, class sizes are limited.

Where: Round Table Pizza, Silverdale When: 1-2 p.m.

Info: s_smith@pdr-usa.net, 360-509-9111 Dec. 3 Silverdale Green Drinks Bring it together, keep it local. Please bring your own

glass.

Where: Tucker Distillery, 3537 NW Anderson Hill Road, Silverdale When: 5:24-8:03 p.m.

Cost: $10 cash donation to Central Kitsap Food Bank Info: silverdalegreendrinks. com

Dec. 5, 12 and 19 Bainbridge Business Connections Business networking and support community. Enjoy coffee, tea, discussion and a small presentation.

Where: OfficeXpats Conference Center, Bainbridge Island When: 7:30-9 a.m.

Info: bainbridgechamber.com Dec. 9 World Café on Collaborative Leadership in Kitsap County Hosted by the Kitsap Business Forum. Cover topics from voice and perspective to a vision for the next year.

Please RSVP. Where: Kitsap Conference Center, 100 Washington Ave., Bremerton When: 7:30-9 a.m.

Info: kitsapbusinessforum. com, 360-692-6800 Dec. 9 ‘Looking Back, Looking Forward’ with Alyse McConnell Register for this class looking at business, relationship and well-being wins for this year and looking forward to setting goals for the next.

Where: OfficeXpats Conference Center, Bainbridge

Island When: Noon to 1:30 p.m.

Info: officexpats.com/event/ looking-back-looking-forward-with-alyse-mcconnell Dec. 11 Port Orchard Chamber Luncheon and Holiday Party Participate in an ornament exchange, enjoy the South Kitsap High School Choir and in lieu of the regular raffle, participate in the gift drive for military children. See website for details.

Where: Port Orchard Pavilion When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Cost: $20 members/$25 others Info: portorchard.com Dec. 18 WSTA Holiday Celebration and Visioning Celebrate 2014 and look to the future while setting new directions. The event is open to all current and past West Sound Technology Association members, partners and sponsors.

Where: Non-Profit Retreat Center, 15710 Euclid Ave. NE, Bainbridge Island When: 4-7:30 p.m.

Info: westsoundtechnology. org/events/upcoming-events/ dec-18-holiday-visioning

Art studio’s Christmas event will benefit YWCA shelter Lisa Stirrett Glass Art Studio’s annual Christmas Celebration to benefit the YWCA Alive Shelter will be held Thursday, Dec. 11 from 5-8 p.m. at the Silverdale studio.

The event is open to the public, and attendees are asked to bring a new, unwrapped gift for the women and children of the shelter. For each gift donation, the art studio will offer a free glass cross as a thank-you for supporting the shelter.

The YWCA Alive Shelter is dedicated to ensuring the personal safety, rights, welfare and dignity of those who experience domestic abuse.

“We wanted to thank the community for all their wonderful support in 2014, while giving something back to those in need,” studio owner Lisa Stirrett said. “Gifts to the Alive Shelter will make someone’s Christmas brighter and we wanted to be a part of it.”

A list of gifts needed for the shelter can be found by contacting the studio. For more information, contact Lisa Stirrett Glass Art Studio at 360-613-5472 or by email at HouseofGlassArt@gmail.com, or visit them at 9536 NW Silverdale Way.

WWW.KPBJ.COM Check it out!

WWW.KPBJ.COM

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE • Entrepreneur hopes Harbor General Store will be anchor on waterfront, 5

• Insurance exchange for businesses goes statewide, 14

• Quilter opens fabric-filled shop in Poulsbo, 18 • Human Resources columnist Julie Tappero, 27

The Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal is published by the Kitsap Sun the first week of every month, and distributed to business addresses through Kitsap County, North Mason and Gig Harbor.

Brent Morris, Publisher brent.morris@kitsapsun.com David Nelson, Editorial Director david.nelson@kitsapsun.com Tim Kelly, Managing Editor tim.kelly@kitsapsun.com editor@kpbj.com

Mike Stevens, Marketing Director mstevens@kitsapsun.com Jeremy Judd, Digital Director jeremy.judd@kitsapsun.com For inquires to receive the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal at your business, contact Circulation Sales Director Hugh Hirata at 360-7925247 or hugh.hirata@kitsapsun.com.

To advertise in the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, contact Michael Stevens at 360-7923350.

TO SUBMIT NEWS: Tim Kelly, Managing Editor tim.kelly@kitsapsun.com 360.377-3711, ext. 5359 Standard mail postage to be paid at Bremerton, WA POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Kitsap Sun, PO Box 259, Bremerton, WA 98337-1413 © 2014 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal / Kitsap Sun ISSN 1050-3692 VOLUME 27, NO. 12

DECEMBER 2014 | 3

WELCOME | DAVID NELSON

Headwinds into the holidays

M

erry Christmas, Silverdale. And Gig Harbor, Bainbridge Island and Poulsbo, all communities booming with retail developments under construction. That’s the headline of this edition (see page 4), as we take a look at other aspects of the retail boost that arrived for 2014 on Black Friday — and the surrounding Thursday, Saturday and Monday.

The statistics on spending, as Tad Sooter explains on page 5, should be encouraging to retailers. Customer spending was up across the peninsula in the first half of the year, and based on the trend from 2013 it’s fairly safe to assume most businesses are enjoying some expansion in the economy.

But a figurative chill accompanied icy temperatures from our post-Thanksgiving snow. There’s an underreported story from Washington, D.C. that will rear its head before the holidays — Congress has yet to agree on a continuing resolution to keep the federal government operating.

One hangup, as reported by military columnist Tom Philpott and published in the Kitsap Sun recently, is between House

Absent a CR or spending bill, Kitsap County may be feeling the pinch of 2013 again, when sequestration and threat of a government shutdown shook businesses, nonprofits and households. and Senate armed forces committees that can’t agree on military pay increases or housing allowances. The Continuing Resolution is needed by Dec. 11 to keep spending at 2014 levels, in lieu of a new appropriations bill — which is unlikely before a new, decidedly more conservative Congress is sworn in.

Absent a CR or spending bill, Kitsap County may be feeling the pinch of 2013 again, when sequestration and threat of a government shutdown shook businesses, nonprofits and households. The uncertainty of a showdown now would go

on top of planned military spending cuts for coming years. Now, there is plenty of work at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, evidenced by another 850 openings posted in late November, so the local economy has something of a security blanket. But the chilling effect of a federal standoff isn’t the Christmas message military families need to hear, nor the merchants who depend on the economic activity from our major industry.

We should urge our congressional delegation to help avoid uncertainty, so the promise offered by the bright spots highlighted in this issue may be given the chance to flourish. But the play between those two things — economic threats vs. promise — should also come secondary this time of year, even for a business publication. I raise both in the interest of news, but close with a message that goes beyond holiday shopping.

This issue is the seventh since the Kitsap Sun purchased the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, and I wanted to thank readers and advertisers for your continued interest and investment in what we are doing. We look forward to a new year — with an awareness of the headwinds, but not a fear — and wish you a joyful conclusion to 2014 as well.

Merry Christmas and a great holiday season to all.

• David Nelson is editorial director of the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal.

4 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

RETAIL

Fitness Evolution investing in big-box site’s redevelopment

By Tim Kelly KPBJ editor

TIM KELLY

A large crane is shown Nov. 4 lifting old HVAC components out of the building that used to house Albertsons on Wheaton Way in East Bremerton. The site will see some redevelopment as Fitness Evolution plans to build a new fitness center in part of the long-empty building.

Retailers top pre-recession sales levels This year is shaping up to the best ever for retail trade sales in Kitsap County.

Traditional retailers (shops, dealerships, etc.) recorded more taxable sales in the second quarter of 2014 than they did over the same period in 2006 or 2007, before the recession slide began.

Sales in the first quarter of 2014 also topped pre-recession levels. Combined retail trade sales in the first half of 2014 were about 2 percent higher than in 2007.

The county nearly bested pre-reces-

A million-dollar investment in East Bremerton’s retail graveyard is not an exercise in futility, at least in Chris Finch’s view.

He’s optimistic that people will be exercising before Christmas at the long-deserted Wheaton Way site that Fitness Evolution picked for its first West Sound location.

“This is a perfect site for us, on a perfect location,” Finch said during a recent interview, over coffee at the Shari’s restaurant that sits like an island on the vast, mostly empty parking lot stretching from Riddell Road to Hollis Street. “This is the main drag right through Bremerton.

Everything aligned itself perfectly for us.”

Finch is the operating partner in the Northwest for Fitness Evolution, which is based in Maryland. He and his three partners in the company, which opened its first fitness center in 2010, are all former Gold’s Gym franchisees. The company operates centers in Seattle, Federal Way, Tacoma, Everett and Bellingham.

Fitness Evolution is leasing about 23,000 square feet of space at the south end of the contiguous big-box building that once housed Lowe’s, Rite-Aid and Albertsons, but has been empty for years. The space has been gutted,

sion sales records in 2013, but came up just short. Sales in the second quarter of 2014 improved by 5.9 percent from the same period in 2013.

Growth in retail trade sales were on par with the state as a whole, which posted a 5.4 percent increase over the same period, according to the Department of Revenue.

The picture is still positive but a little less bright when you factor in sales made in industries outside traditional retail.

Sales in fields such as construction, hospitality and manufacturing are growing, but they haven’t caught up with pre-recession levels yet. Those industries outside traditional retail posted 5 percent higher sales in the second quarter of 2014 than in 2013.

• From the Minding Your Business blog

by Kitsap Sun reporter Tad Sooter.

“We were fortunate to get that particular tenant, and hopefully it will generate some other activity in the center.”

Len Zarelli of Merit Co., which owns Wheaton Way site

ON THE COVER Chris Finch, managing partner in the Northwest for Fitness Evolution, stands inside the gutted former Albertsons space where his company will build a new fitness center on Wheaton Way in East Bremerton.

Photo by Meegan M. Reid

Club set up to work with anyone’s workout style

By Tim Kelly KPBJ editor

and Fitness Evolution will build an entirely new facility within the existing exterior walls.

Even those drab gray walls will be refreshed, Finch noted, since the property owner — Tacomabased Merit Co. run by brothers Carl and Len Zarelli — plans to upgrade the entire site.

“They’re going to redo the façade, and they’re basically going to make it brand new, from end to end,” Finch said. “They’re really going to freshen up the whole lot.”

Len Zarelli confirmed that, and said bringing in a tenant like Fitness Evolution could help draw others to the site.

Fitness Evolution aims to be the kind of place where anyone would feel comfortable, whether it’s coming in for a cardio workout, a group exercise class or a serious weightlifting session.

“I wanted my mom to be able to come in and have a great workout experience,” says Chris Finch, whose mother is 75.

“What we try to do is make this environment as comfortable as possible, from the color schemes to the way we staff, … it’s fitness for everybody.”

That broad appeal is why memberships are affordably priced —

SEE REDEVELOPMENT | 6

SEE CLUB | 9

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 5

Entrepreneur hopes store becomes downtown anchor ily’s business, Ohana Harbor Coffee Co. “Ohana Harbor was my first love and career, my first child,” said the mother of three children, ages 2 through 6.

Sagle’s grandfather was a rector at Gig Harbor’s St. John’s Episcopal Church in the 1970s, and her parents grew up in Port Orchard. The

RODIK A TOLLEFSON

Entrepreneurs Stephanie and Coby Sagle with their three children inside the building they’re remodeling for their new business, Harbor General Store, which they plan to open early in 2015 in downtown Gig Harbor.

Couple renovating building to open Harbor General Store near Gig Harbor waterfront

By Rodika Tollefson KPBJ contributor If everything goes according to plan, downtown Gig Harbor will get a new grocery store in the first quarter of 2015, closing a four-year gap left when QFC closed its doors on Judson Street.

Harbor General Store, slated for the old Seasons by the Bay building at the bottom of Pioneer Drive, will be more of a specialty convenience store as far as selection goes — offering a scaled-down version of a grocery shop.

But groceries will be just one part of the 3,700-square-foot retail space. Store owners Stephanie and Coby Sagle are planning a unique business model that will also incorporate a drive-through coffee shop, a wine shop, and a deli with café seating and a small commercial kitchen.

“It’s a lot of different concepts in a small space,” Stephanie Sagle said.

The couple have gutted the building, which was built in 1979 as a bank, and have been remodeling it for the past few months.

They have permits for almost everything, Sagle said, and have been sourcing products, including from local producers.

“We really want to show-

case food artisans, whether that’s a spice blend or local meats,” Sagle said. “I’m always looking for product that’s locally available, and that will never end because there are new local producers popping up.”

In addition to offering items like cold salads, crepes and paninis, the deli will have ready-to-go dinners that can be heated at home. The store’s selection will include nostalgic sodas and artisan bottled beers.

Harbor General Store will be environmentally conscious, offering as many organic products as possible — but Sagle noted she doesn’t want to compete with the Whole Foods Market down the street.

The goal is for at least half of the selection to be organic, and even the deli’s cups and containers will be compostable.

“Anything we can do to minimize our footprint is important,” Sagle said. “I feel Gig Harbor can grow as far as recycling goes and … I want to be part of implementing a new standard.”

LOCAL ROOTS Sagle is not a stranger to the Gig Harbor entrepreneurial scene. For the past six years, she’s been helping run and grow her fam-

family moved from Silverdale to Gig Harbor when Stephanie was in fourth grade. Her husband is also a Gig Harbor local — the two were high school sweethearts.

Her father, Steve Schreiner, was bit by the entrepreneurial bug when he looked to change careers after practicing law. After being intro-

duced through a friend to Kona coffee farming in Hawaii, Sagle’s parents decided to become coffee farmers. The idea to open a Gig Harborbased coffee company was more or less Sagle’s, and she immersed herself into growing the customer base and branding the label.

SEE STORE | 6

“It’s a lot of different concepts in a small space.”

Stephanie Sagle

6 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

RETAIL STOR E | F ROM 5

RODIK A TOLLEFSON

The building on Pioneer Drive just up from Harborview Drive in dowtnown Gig Harbor is being extensively remodeled and the Harbor General Store will open there early in 2015. The previous occupant was Seasons on the Bay gift store.

R EDEV ELOPM EN T | F ROM 4

“We were fortunate to get that particular tenant, and hopefully it will generate some other activity in the center,” he said. There are ongoing discussions with other prospective tenants, but nothing firm yet, he added.

“I think a lot of tenants look for active retail centers, and some hesitate to be the first ones to go in,” Zarelli said. “But once there are other tenants in the facility, there seems to be more interest from others who are looking at the market.”

Finch said he’s excited about the new venture because he’s been interested in the Bremerton market a long time, going back to when he was West Coast regional director for Gold’s Gym franchising. He also mentioned the possibility of another Fitness Evolution in the Kitsap region.

“We were looking at areas in Silverdale, and we still are,” he said. “Silverdale, Poulsbo — I think this market can have more than one club, but Bremerton was our focus.”

Although the property owner is sharing some building renovation costs with Fitness Evolution, Finch said his company’s investment will be “well over $1 million” to open the Bremerton facility, and that doesn’t include the cost of all the exercise equipment. The structure will get a new roof and HVAC system.

“This will be probably the largest construction project we’ve done to date, in terms of the cost,” Finch said.

“This is a very expensive project.”

It’s a very welcome one to city officials who have long wanted to see a revitalization of the gaping hole in East Bremerton’s commercial corridor.

“Thank God we have something taking place in there; I couldn’t be happier,” Mayor Patty Lent said. “With each thing that happens, we’re hoping it will be a magnet for more.”

The first of two hurdles to redeveloping the site was removed with Rite Aid’s departure in 2012, long after the

Draft Buildable Land Report released The 2015 Kitsap County Buildable Lands Report (BLR) is now available for review and comment.

Kitsap County worked closely with the Cities of Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Port Orchard and Poulsbo to produce an all-inclusive analysis of land capacities for residential, commercial and industrial development.

Comments on the draft BLR will be accepted until Jan. 31. The report is available at http://compplan.kitsapgov. com/Pages/home.aspx.

“I like the ‘unknown’ element, the problem solving,” she said.

“There’s always a way to tweak things and if you can dream it, you can do it. You can fail a bunch of times, but eventually you’ll succeed.”

The idea for Harbor General Store was inspired by a visit to the Oakville Market, located in Napa, Calif., where her sister studied to be a chef. Sagle loved the simple but beautiful merchandising and the comfortable feel of the store.

The Sagles looked for a location for nearly a year, signing a fiveyear lease (with option to renew) in December 2013. They put together financing through personal investments as well as small

other large spaces had been vacated. Zarelli explained that Rite Aid’s lease was for Merit’s entire property, not just their store space.

“We owned the buildings, but we leased whole center to Rite Aid,” he said. “They had control of the center, so we didn’t have an opportunity to speak to other tenants at the time.”

The other major change was the Bremerton City Council’s decision earlier this year to rescind the sub-area plan that had been implemented as part of the city’s 2004 comp plan update. The Zarellis’ commercial site was

loans. Sagle said the process of remodeling and launching the business has been deliberately slow.

“We didn’t want to rush the process. We wanted to take a mindful approach,” she said. “I want this to be an anchor of our town and that takes time.”

The excitement around the opening of Harbor General Store has already been building. Mary DesMarais, executive director for Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance, said a grocery store would especially be good news for boaters, who currently don’t have many options within walking distance.

“I think it’s a wonderful concept and it’s going to be a great asset,” she said. “It will revitalize that area and be a draw.”

within the sub-area plan, which set building, parking and access road requirements that proved unrealistic and deterred potential redevelopment there.

Those requirements only applied to new construction, so reuse of the existing buildings for developments like the fitness center would have been allowed.

However, Lent said eliminating the sub-area plan’s restrictive conditions “made a big difference, because we were losing opportunities.”

She added that city officials are working with Merit to SEE REDEVELOPMENT | 7

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 7

Kitsap Mall getting new look, new tenants an amenity that Leedham said shoppers and merchants will appreciate.

“Retailers love to have you hooked up into their applications to be able to see what’s on sale,” she said.

Some parking areas will be brighter, as the mall is doing an LED retrofit of

TIM KELLY

The new Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant is expected to open sometime in December in the food court area by Kitsap Mall’s main east entrance.

By Tim Kelly KPBJ editor Kitsap Mall’s dominant visual these days is the long yellow wall emblazoned with a Buffalo Wild Wings logo and “Opening Soon” in giant block letters. However, the restaurant’s imposing indoor billboard has a rival for most head-turning display.

“I don’t know any other mall that has a sluice in the middle of it. We do,” says the mall’s obviously pleased general manager, Erin Leedham.

In case you’ve never been a miner, a sluice is a long inclined trough with a series of gates controlling the flow of water over riffles as a means of sifting treasure from dirt and gravel.

A contrivance similar to ones used by prospectors in the Klondike Gold Rush is on display this holiday

season in the Kitsap Mall.

It’s operated by Carbon River Mining Co., and curious shoppers can have a prospector experience of their own by purchasing a few pounds of pre-bagged soil and using the sluice to pan for gems and decorative stones.

A Pierce County couple operates the mobile attraction as a family business, and their setup at this year’s state fair in Puyallup caught the eye of the mall’s specialty leasing manager. It’s been drawing a lot of attention, Leedham said.

A number of other changes are in the works at the mall, though they’re less noticeable than the sluice and Buffalo Wild Wings, which is scheduled to open sometime in December in the food court by the east main entrance.

The mall is installing wi-fi,

R EDEV ELOPM EN T | F ROM 6

“repurpose everything” at the former big-box site.

One change resulting from rescinding the sub-area plan is that redevelopment now could include new construction in the wooded area (owned by Merit) behind the commercial site, though a buffer would be required between any new buildings and adjacent residential areas.

Zarelli said the zoning change likely will have an impact on future redevelopment efforts, “not only for this property but other properties that were affected by that (subarea) plan.

“I think it will make a difference in the ease of redeveloping the existing properties in that area.”

As for Fitness Evolution, Finch said it should open by March or April, but presale memberships will be offered starting in December when an adjacent space will be set up as a temporary workout area.

He agreed that Fitness Evolution’s arrival may help draw other new businesses.

“I’m excited that they’re going to redevelop this kind of distressed building,” Finch said.

light poles in its parking lots. Other lots controlled by anchor tenants aren’t getting the retrofit, but Leedham said those tenants might be interested in upgrading to LEDs when they see the marked difference from the lighting enhancement.

She said Kitsap Mall is

one of the first among 28 owned by Starwood Retail Partners to get the energy-saving LED upgrade, which qualified for a Puget Sound Energy rebate. Chicago-based Starwood, which bought the mall in 2013, plans to put LEDs at all its properties.

SEE MALL | 8

“We actually have a lot of construction that’s going to break in the very beginning of the year.”

Erin Leedham

8 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

RETAIL

New shopping centers taking shape across peninsula

By Tad Sooter KPBJ contributor For now, the future Trails at Silverdale is just a muddy plateau rising above Highway 3.

By the time the retail center opens a year from now it will have transformed into a spacious, walkable shopping destination, intersected by promenades and dotted with outdoor seating areas. That’s

how its backers envision it, anyway.

“What we think we’ll be developing is a really amazing mix of retail, entertainment and restaurants in an architecturally charming manner,” said Fred Bruning, CEO of California-based development firm CenterCal. The Trails is one of several retail developments taking shape on the Kitsap Peninsula that promise to bring a host of new businesses to the region. Work on a Bain-

bridge Island shopping center at the corner of Highway 305 and High School Road is also well under way. In Gig Harbor, the planned Olympic Towne Center off Highway 16 will be anchored by a Fred Meyer store and Hop Jack’s restaurant.

Smaller retail projects are popping up around the county, including a CVS pharmacy in Poulsbo that opened in November. Located at the corner of Hostmark Street and Highway 305 in Poulsbo, the

M A L L | F ROM 7

TIM KELLY

This sluice set up by Carbon River Mining Co., a business operated by a Pierce County couple, is a prominent new attraction for this holiday season inside the Kitsap Mall. Shoppers can use the sluice to pan for gemstones.

close to other restaurants. That’s not an issue at all,” she said. “In fact, I think that’s a bonus, and I think any restaurant thinks that’s a bonus too.”

In addition to perennial seasonal shops such as Hickory Farms and See’s Candies, the mall has a few local retailers as short-lease tenants through the holidays, including the Brothers Powersports apparel outlet and PNW Crafts.

There’s also the Christmas Market, with local craft vendors set up in the space that the Hollister clothing store moved out of in May. “We’ve had a Friday market here that wouldn’t fit in the common area over the holiday,” Leedham said. So the setup was moved inside the available space and is operating with a rotating group of vendors.

“It’s like having a Friday market every day,” she said, and it caters to holiday shoppers who might want unique locally made items, “rather than something you could buy in Michigan too.”

Malls do a lot of specialty leasing to temporarily fill open spaces, especially during the holidays. Leedham said it enhances the shopping experience for customers, and is a good way for retailers to try new concepts without committing to a long-term lease.

She said the mall’s leasing development manager, Dan Zapatka, loves to “incubate” new businesses that way, and a tenant’s successful short-term arrangement sometimes leads to establishing a permanent presence in the mall.

Kitsap County’s thriving retail hub in Silverdale is getting a new shopping center, with construction in progress on The Trails at Silverdale on the other side of Highway 3 from the mall. Leedham said she welcomes the new development.

“In Kitsap, and here in Silverdale, for all of us, to have more locations to choose from is just a benefit,” she said.

While malls across the country face the unrelenting challenge from online retailers, she said Kitsap Mall is well situated in an area that’s growing but still has the feel of a smaller community.

Another advantage is the mall, especially during the holidays, functions as a community center.

“I can’t even tell you,” Leedham said, “how many people are going to be singing and performing here over Christmastime with their local troops and schools and stuff.”

store is just the third the national drugstore chain has opened in the state. The site was also approved for a fast-food restaurant, but a specific proposal has yet to materialize, according to city planners.

THE TRAILS The Trails at Silverdale, which broke ground in August, will bring 200,000 square feet of commercial space on 12 SEE SHOPPING CENTERS | 10

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 9

CLU B | F ROM 4

— ranging from $9.99 to $29.99 a month at the five Fitness Evolution clubs in Washington. There are sign-up fees that vary with membership levels, but no contracts, only monthly memberships.

Finch said the center planned for Bremerton likely will offer the same membership deal as the new Fitness Evolution in Tacoma — a basic option for $9.99 a month and a $19.99 premium membership that includes unlimited group exercise classes and access to any Fitness Evolution center. The sign-up fee will be only $1 as an introductory offer.

“Making fitness affordable is really what it boils down to,” Finch said. “It’s very easy and very inexpensive, there’s no contracts, and that seems to work really well so far.”

Fitness Evolution, started in 2010 by a group of partners who were Gold’s Gym franchisees, is based in Maryland and has about 40 fitness centers in six states, the majority in California. The Bremerton club will be the 11th corporate operation; the rest are franchises.

In addition to cardio and weightlifting machines and a large free weights area, the centers offer classes such as Zumba, BodyPump and BodyFlow, CXWORX, aerobics and yo-

The interior of the Fitness Evolution center in Federal Way, one of five the company operates in Washington state.

FITNESS EVOLUTION PHOTO

ton center, both got their start in the fitness business working at the same Gold’s Gym in Seattle. ga. Some centers also offer tanning, which is in the plans for the Bremerton facility.

The design for the new center hasn’t been finalized, so it’s uncertain if that location will offer the “cardio cinema” amenity available at some Fitness Evolution centers.

“It’s like a movie theater, but instead of having chairs, we have treadmills, bikes, ellipticals,” Finch said. Watching a movie can make cardio workouts less boring, he said, “Plus there are people that want to work out that don’t want to be looked at. So when you’re in a dark room, you can get that cardio experience without a bunch of people staring at you.”

Overall, Fitness Evolution aims to design “about the least intimidating environment you could possibly create.”

Finch and Ryan Anderson, who will be fitness director at the Bremer-

L&I workshop in Bremerton to explain OSHA 300 recordkeeping requirements The state Department of Labor & Industries is offering a workshop to inform employers about Occupational Safety and Health Administration 300 requirements called OSHA 300 recordkeeping. A workshop will be held Jan. 14 from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the fifth-floor conference room at the Labor & Industries office located at 500 Pacific Ave. Advance registration is available by calling 800-5742859, or visit the website www.lni.wa.gov for online registration. When registering, reference course number 3-880107.

This workshop explains the recordkeeping requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act. Participants will learn which types of injuries and illnesses are recordable under OSHA and how to make entries on OSHA/ WISHA recordkeeping forms. The session also covers the OSHA 300 posting requirements and the annual survey of occupational injuries and illnesses.

This training is also available to employers who desire the L&I workshop held in their own facility. For more information, call 800-574-2859.

Finch, who’s originally from Wisconsin, said he was hired when he was 18 to be a maintenance technician, working the graveyard shift to keep the exercise machines functioning properly. He worked his way up to the front desk, then became a trainer, a fitness manager, a gym manager and eventually a franchise owner. He also was the director of Gold’s Gym international fran-

chising.

The fitness director for all Fitness Evolution centers in Washington is a former baseball standout in the Kitsap area. Jason Valley played for North Mason High School and went on to Washington State University, then had a professional baseball career that included two seasons pitching for minor-league teams in the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization.

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 19

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 11

RETIREMENT PLANNING | JASON PARKER

Stress test your retirement plan

O

n Oct. 23, the Federal Reserve issued the supervisory scenarios that will be used to stress test banks.

The Fed’s press release stated, “The aim of the annual reviews is to ensure that large financial institutions have robust, forwardlooking capital planning processes that account for their unique risks, and to help ensure that they have sufficient capital to continue operations throughout times of economic and financial stress ...”

Under the most severely adverse scenarios the Federal Reserve will test banks to see how they might hold up under hypothetical conditions. These are not forecasts. Some of the hypothetical conditions are: • Unemployment rising to 10 percent • Equity prices drop by 60 percent • House prices drop by 25 percent • A rise in oil prices to $110 a barrel The aim of a good retirement plan is to help you have a forward-looking, capitalplanning process that accounts for your unique risks to help ensure that you will have sufficient capital so that you won’t run out of money in retirement, never become a burden physically or financially to your family, and that your financial strategy will continue though times of economic and financial stress. Have you ever considered stress testing your own investment portfolio and retirement plan?

In 2008, I met a couple who shared with me that they had experienced a 49 percent drop in their investment portfolio during the financial crisis. Before the financial

meltdown, they had an investment portfolio valued at $1 million. They were in their mid 60s at the time, and their financial adviser had told them they could draw out 4 percent per year without having to worry about running out of money. Four percent of 1 million dollars is $40,000. They had built their lifestyle expectations around that income. By the time they came into my office for a second opinion, their $1 million had eroded to about $500,000.

This couple had a very difficult decision to make. Should they reduce their income to reflect the current value of their portfolio?

Or should they continue to take the income they needed and significantly increase the probability of running out of money?

The prudent person will want to stress test their retirement plan. While the methodology may vary, the principles are similar and should include: • How would a significant health care event that required a prolonged level of care impact your financial well being?

• What if your spouse dies and then you experience a decrease in pension and Social Security income?

• How might your investment portfolio perform under different macro-economic scenarios?

• Are you being too conservative with your mix of investments? Or are you being too aggressive?

• How might a low rate of return or severe market correction impact your financial well being?

• If you own bonds or bond mutual funds, how will increasing interest rates impact your portfolio?

• How will inflation impact your purchasing power over time?

FINANCIAL FOCUS | EDWARD JONES

A year-end checklist to review Article provided by Edward Jones for use by financial advisor Patty Perez of Bainbridge Island.

A

s 2014 draws to a close, you may want to look back on the progress you’ve made this past year in various areas of your life — and that certainly includes progress toward your financial goals. At the same time, you may want to make some end-of-year moves that can close out 2014 on a positive note while paving the way for a productive 2015.

Here are a few such moves to consider: • Boost your retirement plan contributions. This actually isn’t an “end-of-year” move because you have until April 15, 2015, to contribute to your Roth or traditional IRA for the 2014 tax year. Nonetheless, the sooner you get extra dollars working for you in your IRA, the better. You can put in up to $5,500 to your IRA (or $6,500 if

you’re 50 or older) for 2014. If you are selfemployed, or run a small business, you also have until April 15 to contribute to a retirement account, such as a SEP IRA or a SIMPLE plan. In addition to helping you build resources for retirement, these types of plans can offer you some tax advantages — so if you haven’t established a retirement plan yet, consult with your financial and tax professionals • Sell your “losers.” If you own investments that have lost value since you purchased them, you can sell them before 2014 ends and use the tax loss to offset some capital gains you may have earned in other investments. If you don’t have any capital gains, you can use up to $3,000 of your tax losses to offset other ordinary income.

And for a loss greater than $3,000, you can “carry over” the excess and deduct it from your taxes in future years. If you still liked SEE CHECKLIST | 13

Many investment advisers have the ability to run forward-looking stress tests of both an individual’s retirement plan and their investment strategy to uncover individual risks.Every investment portfolio contains risks and by using forwardlooking macro-economic stress testing models you can begin to formulate whatif scenarios and explore proactive solutions. One of my favorite online tools for stress testing a portfolio is called Hidden Levers. Visit the website at www.Hiddenlevers.com and run a free stress test on your portfolio.

A comprehensive retirement plan considers risks to mitigate, opportunities to capture and is more than a risk tolerance questionnaire and an investment diversification strategy.

I’ve worked with hundreds of retirees, and I’ve learned that retirement is all about cash flow. It is your income that will determine your lifestyle in retirement, not your net worth. Consider this quote from one of the recent guests I interviewed on my weekly radio show, “Without income there is no retirement.”

If you are thinking of retirement, be sure to start the journey by creating a great retirement income plan. Married couples should know the strategies to maximize their Social Security benefits and have a good handle on how much they spend every month on basic living expenses.

In years past the general wisdom was to allocate more money to bonds and less to stocks as you grow older. The idea was that bonds were safer than stocks. Much

of this advice is based upon past performance of how bonds and bond mutual funds have historically performed. The problem we have today is that the economic landscape looks much different going forward than it did in the past. We have been in a falling interest rate environment for 30 years, which helped make bonds an attractive investment from a historical standpoint because they produced income and capital appreciation as interest rates fell. With the Fed funds rate sitting at zero and 10-year Treasury notes currently paying less than 2.5 percent, the prudent investor should be asking if bonds will provide the downside protection in their portfolios going forward that they have in the past.

Designing your retirement plan based on what has happened in the past would be like driving your car while only looking in your rearview mirror. A good retirement plan should consider what has happened in the past but also have a forwardlooking approach. The prudent retiree should conduct a comprehensive stress test on his or her retirement plan.

• Jason Parker is president of Parker Financial LLC, a fee-based registered investment advisory firm working primarily in wealth management for retirees. His office is in Silverdale. Parker is insurancelicensed and holds his series 65 securities license. He offers annuities, life and longterm care insurances as well as investment services. Follow Jason’s blog at www.soundretirementplanning.com.

12 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

BUSINESS COACHING | DAN WEEDIN

Are you sprinting or limping into 2015?

L

ast month, my wife and I planned a rare opportunity to share an hour together in Seattle for a date. Barb works in Seattle and she was planning on meeting our daughter at 6:30 when Kelli got off work. I needed to catch the 4:35 Bainbridge ferry, meet her at the terminal, and then walk into the city for happy hour.

After dropping off the dog at home after a veterinarian appointment, I grabbed my sports coat, sprinted out the door, and raced to the ferry from Poulsbo. Everything was going swell. I was making all the lights and based on my keen calculations, would be on the boat with a cool five minutes to spare.

Then it happened. Approaching my final stoplight, a “cautious” driver slowed me down and I missed the key light. After an excruciating two minutes, I jetted into the parking lot only to be met by nary a spot due to a Sounders playoff match. I found one a distance away that another driver had parked poorly in, so I had to maneuver to get in. Tick tock, tick tock. I frantically bolted down to the pay area and inserted my credit card. The machine toyed with me with a brutally agonizing simple transaction. Then I hear, “This is your 30-second warning!”

I sprint down the ramp, counting the seconds in my head trying to gauge if I would make it. Some young guy goes racing by me. When did I get so slow? As I approach, the gatekeeper starts to close the door and I fly in as the door hits my backside (well, almost) and the people on deck give me empathetic applause for my efforts. I had made the ferry with my Achilles still attached.

The next morning didn’t feel that way.

While that nagging Achilles felt okay the rest of the night, the morning came with it screaming at me. I struggled to stand up and was barely able to walk. I knew my trip back into Seattle for a full day retreat with a new client was going to be more painful for me than it was for them! My smirking daughter offered to fetch my dad’s old cane.

Funny. As the old 10cc song from the 1970s exclaims, “The things we do for love…”

It was easy for me to blame others for my painful limp. The other drivers, the stop-

light, and the pay machine could all be held culpable, right? No, it was my fault.

Had I simply planned just a little bit better, I would have arrived sooner and gently sauntered onto the boat.

Too many of you are limping into 2015 because you didn’t do a good job of planning last December. Before you knew it, the sound of “30 seconds” was happening to your year and you are now in full sprint mode. The end result regardless of how you finish will ultimately leave you limping and in pain. You can avoid all of this with a little work on the front end that will allow you to saunter gently next December.

1. Take responsibility. Stop blaming others and making excuses. The economy is fine and getting better. The government isn’t out to get you. Your employees work hard and care. You are in control of your own destiny, so resolve to blame no more and take control.

2. Create a marketing plan. Business plans don’t work because you might actually hit them. Exceed your expectations by focusing on activities and behaviors that enhance your brand and get your business in front of buyers. This isn’t an occasional task to do when it’s “convenient.” No matter your industry, marketing should be a daily function that is intentional and strategic.

3. Improve yourself. What’s your professional development plan for yourself and your key people? Have you budgeted time and money for it? Many of you don’t, contemplating that money and time are best spent elsewhere. News flash — the best investment you can make is in yourself.

The second you stop investing there, the sooner your talent “market” crashes.

4. Schedule your year. Your calendar should already be replete with data. Take time now to schedule conferences and development opportunities, vacations and family time, volunteer activities, and all business activities. If it’s not scheduled, it may never get done. Set priorities now and stick with them.

5. Dump baggage. This is a tough one. Do a candid assessment of activities you are doing and who you associate with. If you have things and people that are keeping you from meeting your objectives or cause stress and anxiety, dump them. Bad business relationships and activities you find

SE A SON | F ROM 10

land Downtown Association.

“You can visit with your neighbors and grab a cup of coffee and a scone,” Lane said. “It’s definitely a different pace.”

Business has been good for main street shops, she said. On the island, visitors from the Seattle ferries have been up by about 13 percent this year. Bainbridge boosters are using island tours, coupon books for local stores and special downtown events to entice people back.

“It feels a lot like the holidays should,” Lane said.

attention on local stores the day after the Black Friday frenzy dies down.

“It’s important to bring awareness that the value of the small retailer is what gives your community its personality,” Teague said.

Light displays are popping on in downtowns around Kitsap. The cozy atmosphere can be a welcome respite from the mall and big-box scene, said Jerri Lane, executive director of the Bainbridge Is-

to be drudgery are exhausting and keep you from maximizing your own talent.

6. Get healthy. Stop just adding this to your resolution list. Health and discretionary time are your two most important “assets.” Make sure you ferociously guard and improve them.

7. Commit to fun. Life’s too short to not have fun. By accomplishing the list you just read, this final one will be made much easier!

As a final remark, I want to thank all of

you for reading my column again in 2014.

I’ve been blessed to be a contributor and hope my work has helped you and your business. I’m excited for next year and hope you will continue to allow me to provoke, guide, and hopefully inspire you to greater things. My warmest wishes to you for a happy holiday season. Here’s hoping you slide in ahead of the tag in 2015!

• Dan Weedin is a strategist, speaker, author and executive coach. He helps business leaders and executives to become stronger leaders, grow their businesses, and enrich their lives. You can reach him at 360-697-1058; e-mail at dan@danweedin.com or visit his web site at www.DanWeedin.com.

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 13

FINANCIAL FOCUS | EDWARD JONES

Share your ‘bounty’ with loved ones Article provided by Edward Jones for use by financial advisor Chris Renfro of Poulsbo.

T

he Thanksgiving holiday once celebrated the harvest season. Although many of us today may not be directly connected to agriculture, we still gathered on Thanksgiving with our loved ones to share whatever “bounty” we may have. But this practice doesn’t have to begin and end with food. Why not incorporate the spirit of sharing into your overall financial strategy?

Here are a few suggestions for doing just that:

• Make financial gifts. You could give shares of stock to your loved ones, or perhaps give them money to help fund their IRAs. (They must have earned income, however, to be eligible to contribute to an IRA.) You can give up to $14,000 per year, per recipient.

If you are married, you and your spouse can each give up to the $14,000 yearly limit.

• Invest in your children’s future. To help your children meet the high costs of higher education, you might want to invest in a college savings vehicle. One option to consider is a 529 plan.

When you contribute to a 529

CH ECK L IST | F ROM 11

the investment that you sold at a loss, and you want to keep it in your portfolio, you could repurchase it, but you’ll have to wait 31 days to avoid violating the IRS “wash sale” rules. Keep in mind that these suggestions only apply to investments held outside your employer-sponsored retirement account; you can’t take a tax deduction on capital losses in a 401(k) or similar plan.

plan, your earnings are subject to tax-free growth potential and distributions are free of federal taxes, provided they are used for qualified higher education expenses. (Keep in mind, though, that Section 529 plan distributions not used for these qualified expenses may be subject to income tax and a 10 percent penalty.) Furthermore, if you invest in your home state’s 529 plan, you may receive state tax incentives.

Tax issues for 529 plans can be complex, though, so you’ll need to consult with your tax advisor about your situation. Another benefit of 529 plans: You control

• Evaluate your 401(k) investment mix.

You may be able to adjust the investment mix in your 401(k) as often as you like. So when evaluating your 401(k), make sure your holdings aren’t concentrated in just a few investments, and try to determine if your portfolio is still appropriate for your risk tolerance — not too aggressive or too conservative. Also, if your plan offers a Roth option, consider taking advantage of it — with a Roth, you won’t be able to de-

the assets right up to the point at which they are actually used.

So, if you have been putting away money for a particular child (or grandchild) and he or she decides against college, you can easily switch to another beneficiary.

• Review insurance policies. If something were to happen to you, is your life insurance sufficient to take care of your family? In other words, would there be enough money available to pay off your mortgage, send your children to college and help your surviving spouse meet at least some of his or her retirement expenses? A financial professional can help you determine if your life insurance is sufficient for your needs.

• Consider involving your family with your estate plans. To help ensure your wishes get carried out the way you intended, con-

duct your 401(k) contributions from your taxes, but once you retire, you won’t be taxed on your withdrawals.

• Review your insurance coverage. If you’ve experienced any changes in your life in 2014 — new spouse, new child, divorce, new job, etc. — you may need to review your life insurance coverage to make sure that it’s still sufficient for your needs and that you have the correct beneficiaries in place.

sider keeping family members informed of your estate strategy, which could involve your will, living trust, power of attorney and other legal documents. And don’t forget to keep your beneficiary designations up to date on your retirement accounts and your life insurance policy. So if you’ve gone through changes in your family situation, such as a divorce or remarriage, work with your professional team, including your financial advisor and your tax and legal advisors, to make ensure your investment strategy aligns with your estate goals.

Once the turkey is eaten and the football games have ended, Thanksgiving draws to a close.

But consider these strategies sharing your “bounty” with your loved ones all year long — and throughout your lifetime.

By making these and other moves, you can say a fond farewell to 2014, knowing that you’ve done what you could to help bolster your financial position — for 2015 and beyond.

(Edward Jones, its employees and financial advisors are not estate planners and cannot provide tax or legal advice. You should consult your estate-planning attorney or qualified tax advisor regarding your situation.)

14 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

Health insurance exchange for businesses expands statewide

By Rodika Tollefson KPBJ contributor Washington state employers with fewer than 50 employees can now purchase healthcare insurance plans through the state’s Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP. Plans were only available in Clark and Cowlitz counties in 2014 because the only health plan provider in SHOP, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, chose limited participation.

The addition of statewide plans through Portland-based Moda Health officially launched Washington Healthplanfinder Business at the end of October. According to director Catherine Bailey, about 350 employers had

set up accounts and 11 selected plans in the first couple of weeks.

“We’ve had a fair amount of interest … and we’re really encouraged that this is going to be much more popular in terms of viable options,” she said.

Moda Health is offering 14 plans statewide (Kaiser has 23 plans but continues to be limited to two counties). Moda uses the First Choice Health Network, which Bailey said is one of the most extensive provider networks.

The carrier, which is nearly 60 years old, started out in the dental insurance market and added medical coverage more recently. Bailey said Moda has been active in Oregon and Alaska before expanding into Washington.

The business exchange is different from the individual marketplace because employers don’t have to go through an eligibility review. They only need to select the health plans they’d like to offer — or just a “metal level” — and send the link to employees for enrollment.

“One of the great value points is that this is one of the only places, if not the only place, where the employer can select a metal level,” Bailey said. “Most employers (so far) are selecting metal level options.”

Employers can sign up through the exchange year-round but must submit payment by Dec. 15 for coverage effective Jan. 1, 2015. They can sign up directly

at www.wahealthplanfinder.org or through an authorized broker.

The website provides a side-byside comparison of the plans, including benefits and premiums.

Employers can select how much they want to contribute toward the coverage and then make one monthly payment for all the plans.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires states to operate SHOPs for small group employers, which it defines as employers with 100 or fewer fulltime equivalent employees.

However, the ACA gave states the discretion to set the definition of small employers until 2016. Washington state selected to offer the exchange to em-

ployers with 50 or fewer employees for 2015, but will expand the eligibility to 100 in 2016. In Kitsap County, the majority of employers are now eligible to enroll through the business exchange.

The ACA exempts employers with fewer than 50 employees from providing mandatory medical coverage altogether, and employers with 50 to 99 employees are exempt until 2016.

Employers that have 25 or fewer employees and meet other criteria can receive a tax credit for providing insurance when they buy the plans through the state exchange.

“The smaller the employer, the greater the tax credit,” Bailey said.

BUSINESS BRIEFS Café Nola owners plan new restaurant in Bainbridge Island shopping center

Business forum’s World Café to discuss collaborative leadership in Kitsap County

The owner of the Island Village shopping center on Bainbridge Island announced that the operators of Café Nola will open a new restaurant in the center on High School Road.

Urban Renaissance Group, the Seattle-based commercial real estate firm that bought Island Village two years ago, said the new family-friendly restaurant and sports bar will be called The Plate & Pint.

Kevin and Whitney Warren, who own Café Nola on Winslow Way, will renovate the 2,992-square-foot space that formerly was Island Grill. They expect to open in the spring and plan to add outdoor seating.

“We’ve been fans of Café Nola for a long time, so we fully supported the concept change when this opportunity presented itself,” Urban Renaissance Group founder and CEO Pat Callahan said.

The shopping center also has added Westside Pizza and a Starbucks in recent months.

The Kitsap Business Forum will host a World Café facilitated by Shannon Bruce, executive coach of Excell Puget Sound, on the topic of Collaborative Leadership in Kitsap: Where Are We Now? on Dec. 9.

The forum has gained momentum in 2014 using a collaborative leadership model for its success and will build upon this foundation at the December meeting. The forum will engage attendees to participate in a fun and creative process known as a World Café to offer their insights on topics for the business forum in 2015 For more information on the process, visit www.theworldcafe.com.

Within this interactive discussion, participants can expect the following contributions and take-aways: • An opportunity for local business leaders to bring a unique voice and perspective to influence and shape the Kitsap Business Forum topics for 2015 • The chance to interact in a creative process that you can use again in your

own business • A celebration of the progress of the Kitsap Business Forum in 2014 with a chance to cast vision for next year The Kitsap Business Forum is organized by the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Excell Puget Sound, the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance and PMR Consulting.

The forum is held at the Kitsap Conference Center’s third-floor room, 100 Washington Ave. in Bremerton. The program starts at 7:30 a.m. and finishes at 9, and parking will be provided for attendees.

Registration for the forum is free and available online at KitsapBusinessForum. com, or by calling 360-692-6800.

For more information on Excell Puget Sound Kitsap, visit www.excellpugetsound.com.

Volunteer opportunities available on advisory boards Kitsap County residents have the opportunity to provide input to remapping boundaries, assessed property taxes and county code revisions by serving as rep-

WWW.KPBJ.COM Check it out!

resentatives on county advisory groups.

There are currently vacancies for an atlarge representative on the Washington State Boundary Review Board; a District 1 (North Kitsap) representative on the Board of Equalization; and District 1 (North Kitsap) and District 2 (South Kitsap) representatives on the Kitsap County Planning Commission.

The Boundary Review Board representative will serve with governor-appointed members to review boundary extensions within land-use plans. The Board of Equalization is an independent body that hears appeals to Assessor determinations, including property values and home improvement exemptions. The Planning Commission assists the Department of Community Development in the preparation and implementation of the Comprehensive Plan, including public hearings and the review of ordinances and code updates.

For an online application and more information, go to www.kitsapgov.com/ volunteer/current.htm or contact Kitsap County Volunteer Service at 360-337-4650 or by email rpirtle@co.kitsap.wa.us.

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 15

16 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

TECHNOLOGY | CHARLES KEATING

Hour of Code is here again — Why it’s not just for students

W

est Sound Technology Association is ready to launch Hour of Code events again this year, with four events hosted in partnership with Kitsap Regional Library (www.krl. org) during Computer Science Education Week, Dec. 8-14. Last year, 5,000 students from districts throughout the Kitsap region participated, and 40 million students worldwide, for the largest mass education event ever.

From a Washington Tech Cities meeting in 2013 where we met Hadi Partovi from Code.org, WSTA jumped at the opportunity to spearhead Kitsap’s involvement.

As a result, Bainbridge Island School District (and soon after, Bremerton School

District) became two of only 30 nationwide to strike up a Code.org partnership that included resources and year-round content taught in the schools.

What is the Hour of Code?

You can read all about it at www.code. org, but basically it’s an initiative to introduce everyone to the fundamental concept of programming — which applies to automation, remote control, advanced manufacturing, and pretty much every future career. These events are held for a week, and this year organizers hope to reach 100 million people — a serious global movement.

This is not just for students. Every citizen worldwide is encouraged to embrace a basic knowledge of coding. Why? Variables, routines, loops, these are the logical building blocks of software and auto-

BUSINESS BRIEFS Area technology alliance hosts holiday celebration and visioning event West Sound Technology Association is hosting its holiday celebration and visioning event on Dec. 18, from 4-7:30 p.m. at the Non-Profit Retreat Center on Bainbridge Island.

WSTA members and guests will celebrate 2014 and set future directions together. Bring your ideas, listening skills, and collaborative energy, and enjoy the camaraderie of friends and colleagues with a shared goal to promote and expand an innovative tech economy in the West Puget Sound region.

This event is for all current and past members, partners, sponsors — and their guests/invitees. Drop in during the day at the board retreat, or early evening to share thoughts on WSTA’s mission, and learn more about what the group has accomplished and envisions.

Starting in 2015, WSTA will host quarterly briefings and roundtables and occasional social/networking events in lieu of its current monthly meetings format. Stay tuned for exciting program details.

WSTA began in 2000, but its mission has grown from hosting meetings on technology and promoting local technology professionals. The group’s broader mission includes being a community resource, offering peer-to-peer best practice forums, strategic partnerships and initiatives, and advocating and shaping the vital role of technology in economic, workforce and community development.

Anyone who has considered joining the board or supporting WSTA’s efforts is encouraged to attend this event.

The Non-Profit Retreat Center, formerly the Yonder Retreat Center, is at 15710 Euclid Ave. NE. There is no charge for admission. A suggested donation of $10 will help defray some expenses. Light refreshments and beverages will be provided. Registration is available under the Events tab on the WSTA website: westsoundtechnology.org.

Library adds titles from Simon & Schuster to ebooks Kitsap Regional Library is now able to offer ebooks from publisher Simon and Schuster, the last of the “Big 6” publishing houses to allow public libraries to circulate copies of their ebooks.

KRL, like many other libraries, contracts with a service called Overdrive to provide access to downloadable ebooks. The Overdrive catalog interface allows library patrons to check out ebooks and download them to personal devices such as Kindles, iPads and cell phones. The ebooks automatically expire from the devices when the 21-day circulation period ends.

The Big 6 publishers are responsible for most of the major titles that are released each year. Each has set different conditions for its ebooks to be obtained by libraries for circulation to their patrons.

Simon & Schuster delayed making any ebook copies available to libraries at all, but now has agreed to make its ebooks available through Overdrive, with the condition that libraries that purchase the rights to those books must enable a “buy it now” feature in the Overdrive catalog.

That feature allows a library patron to choose to buy the ebook rather than waiting for a library copy to become available.

mation. If you remember when the first VCRs came home, parents handed the manuals to their more technically inclined children to program, allowing families to watch shows on their own schedule. Others never bothered to set up their VCRs, and the blinking 12:00 became a meme indicating a lack of technical capability. Programming is like that today, only more important – an enabling skill some feel is just too complicated and not worth the bother.

Preparing Today’s Workforce With technology change is coming faster, more jobs require tech skills now, and these skills also dominate the most valuable careers. Despite the obvious needs, only last year did Washington state count computer science as a graduation requirement and other states are still slow to change. For the last 20 years, University of Washington turned away computer science degree applications because there were not enough slots. Just this year, Olympic College started its four-year IT degree programs, which should increase capacity.

People obviously believe in the need for better education, as the recent passage of I-1351 indicates, despite the broad concerns that funding for a reduction in class sizes is the wrong approach and might even force reductions in high school education and STEM initiatives. Like all industries, technology is also evolving education even if policy and perceptions are behind the curve. With the right tools, technology goes well beyond delivering

an improved version of the 1960s classroom experience with everyone receiving a lecture; it provides tools to support individualized education and collaboration that never existed before.

Driving an Innovative Technology Economy At a recent Kitsap Economic Development Alliance Decision Makers II event, the same performance charts touting Silverdale retail sector growth also showed the average Kitsap wages fell below other parts of Puget Sound — and statewide.

The tech sector drives East Puget Sound forward, but Kitsap needs to do more to actively support technology and STEM education, and attract and grow technology businesses. Without the high-wage tech jobs, the lower-wage retail and military pay will continue to limit our growth and overall quality of life.

Join us at one of our Hour of Code events or host your own. Volunteer with West Sound Technology Association (WSTA), and sponsor our important efforts and mission to drive an innovative technology economy for the West Puget Sound region.

• Charles Keating is president of Keating Consulting Service, Inc. (www.kcsco.com), an IT consulting firm serving global clients since 1983. He is also a partner in K2 Strategic Solutions (www.k2strategic.com) and Professional Options (www.professionaloptions.com), and current president and co-founding member of West Sound Technology Association (www.westsoundtechnology.org).

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 17

18 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

New housing developments sprouting in Silverdale

By Tad Sooter KPBJ contributor While high-profile commercial developments are making waves in Silverdale, new residential neighborhoods are taking shape as well.

Most recent to break ground was a first phase of Woodbridge Crossing, which will bring a bevy single-family lots to Silverdale Way, just north of Highway 303. Site work is well underway at the property across from Silverdale Rotary Gateway Park.

The site was originally approved for multifamily homes in 2009. Developer Gary Lindsey, of Kitsap LLC, said those plans were amended to meet changes in demand.

“The market right now is better for single family,” Lindsey said.

The first phase of Woodbridge Crossing will produce 42 lots on about 7 acres. Lindsey expects to finish the plat by mid-2015.

The initial phase is the start of a much larger development, which could eventually create 300-400 units on more than 90 acres. That broader vision will take a number of years to com-

TIM KELLY

Work is underway on single-family lots at the Woodbridge Crossing development on Silverdale Way, just north of Highway 303. plete, Lindsey said.

Across town on Anderson Hill Road, an initial phase of the 151lot Sterling Hills Estates is complete. A second phase is working

its way through permitting and is tentatively scheduled to appear before county commissioners Monday for approval, according to county documents.

Also freshly approved is a site plan for 45 townhouse units on a 3.6-acre property between Randall Way and Dahl Road. The homes will be clustered into 14

buildings.

More residential construction is underway in pockets around town, said Kathy Olsen with Windermere Real Estate in Silverdale.

As the economy improves, developers are dusting off plans for projects sidelined during the recession. Olsen said the demand for new homes in Central Kitsap is very high.

“I think there’s been some pent-up demand over the last few years, with builders waiting to build,” she said.

Buyers are feeling more urgency with Kitsap home prices beginning to inch up and the potential for rising interest rates.

Olsen said many buyers are seeking out new homes because they’re turnkey and efficient.

Single-family homes with yards are especially coveted in Central Kitsap.

“People want to feel like they’re in a more rural neighborhood,” Olsen said.

• Tad Sooter is a business reporter for the Kitsap Sun and contributes to the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal.

Lease for proposed racetrack transferred to new group

By Tad Sooter KPBJ contributor The effort to bring a fullscale motor sports park to South Kitsap is shifting gears.

Port of Bremerton commissioners agreed Tuesday to transfer the lease on port property proposed for a racetrack complex from the nonprofit Bremerton MotorSports Park to Circuit of the Northwest LLC. The new company is seeking investors to back a more than $30 million racetrack on 250 acres along Circuit of the Northwest’s preliminary Highway 3, across from Bremerton National Airport.

Bremerton National Airport. It’s the same location served in motor sports, as anyBremerton MotorSports planned one who goes to racing will atto build its facility. test,” Nilsen said.

Circuit of the Northwest partThe proposed 2.4-mile road ners Brian Nilsen and Mike Burcourse could accommodate a vadick, both former Bremerton riety of motorcycle and auto racMotorSports board members, es. In addition to the main track, presented their plans Tuesday to the facility would include space the port commission. They said for a motocross track, kart track, the track would fill a void in the a clubhouse, convention center region. and spectator seating.

“The Northwest is very under-

site plan for racetrack facilities

“We want to make it a best-ofclass facility,” Nilsen said. “We want to make it something special.”

Circuit of the Northwest hired German engineering firm Tilke to design the track. Nilsen said the narrow, hilly property, with more than 130 feet of elevation change, required a unique layout. The proximity to Seattle

metropolitan area and the airport make the site geographically ideal, he said.

“Usually these tracks are in the middle of nowhere,” Nilsen said.

The port entered into a lease with Bremerton MotorSports Park in 2002 for property surrounding a closed runway adjacent to the airport. The group made the property available for auto groups for popular events, including road and drag races.

With construction of a connector road threatening to displace the park, near Bremerton MotorSports accelerated plans for a fullscale racing facility at a different location. In 2011, the port leased the group the 250 acres along Highway 3 deemed undesirable for commercial development. Nilsen said Bremerton MotorSports eventually obtained land-use approval for a multipurpose racetrack on the land.

According to Nilsen, the group recently determined it couldn’t operate a commercial track as

a nonprofit, and the board voted to allow Burdick and Nilsen to carry on the effort with a forprofit partnership.

Nilsen believes the Circuit of the Northwest’s plan for the facility won’t require new land-use permits, as uses for the property have been reduced. The design does not include an oval track or drag strip.

Nilsen said the time line for building the track will depend on funding. He and Burdick are currently vetting their designs with players in the motor sports industry. They’ll begin seeking investors in the Puget Sound region first before expanding their search, Nilsen said.

Circuit of the Northwest is taking over leases on both the 250-acre Highway 3 property and closed runway property, with original terms still in place.

For information on Circuit of the Northwest, go to www.circuitofthenw.com.

• Tad Sooter is a business reporter for the Kitsap Sun and contributes to the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal.

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 19

20 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 21

22 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 23

BUSINESS OPENINGS

Cupcake baker finds right fit at Kitsap Way Junction

What: A new cupcake and dessert bakery.

Where: 6715 Kitsap Way, Bremerton When: Available for orders and pickup seven days a week. Call 760-672-6405. The shop is open for retail sales Tuesday through Saturday (it’s a good idea to call ahead to make sure the baker isn’t out on deliveries).

By Tad Sooter KPBJ contributor The cupcake craze is supposed to be over, right?

Baker Trisha O’Meara isn’t buying it.

“People always say that,” she said with a laugh. “Then they come in and eat cupcakes.”

O’Meara just opened her cupcake shop, Goody Cottage, in a little house in Kitsap Lake Junction, across the street from the Red Apple grocery store. She believes her product variety and baking style sets her apart from other cupcake shops that have popped up in recent years.

O’Meara bakes cupcakes from scratch in a few dozen different flavors, and whips up batches of Parisian macarons (not to be confused with macaroons), gourmet cookies, breakfast muffins, and tres leches cakes served in Mason jars, among other desserts and savories.

Many of O’Meara’s cupcakes are baked without gluten and she offers vegan versions. Her cupcakes tend to be less sweet and more flavor-focused than some bakeries, she said.

“It’s a whole different niche.”

Goody Cottage is a business O’Meara transplanted from Southern California, where the real estate professional turned baker first started hawking cupcakes out of a converted ice cream van.

“I wanted to do something

GOODY COTTAGE

MEEGAN M. REID

Trisha O’Meara places freshly baked cupcakes for purchase on the front counter (which is made from a recycled door) at her Goody Cottage in Bremerton. simple everyday,” she said. “And make enough money to do something I was passionate about.”

O’Meara’s cupcakes and cookies were hot sellers along the beaches in Carlsbad, but when her Goody Van blew a head gas-

ket, she decided to move into a brick-and-mortar shop. Eventually, tight restrictions on cottage food businesses convinced O’Meara to move out of California. She and her boyfriend came north to Bremerton, where

O’Meara had previously worked in real estate.

The cottage on Kitsap Way allows O’Meara the flexibility she didn’t find in California, with room for a store and commercial kitchen in front and a living

space in back. She’s renovated the front room and sun porch of the former rental house to create the retail area. The homey shop is outfitted with vintage furniture (an old door serves as a retail counter) and a friend loaned her an antique cash register for added effect.

To some, Kitsap Lake Junction, at Kitsap Way and Northlake Way, is off the beaten path.

But O’Meara saw the high-traffic corridor and eclectic mix of businesses as ideal. Her shop shares a driveway with a drivethru espresso stand and tacqueria.

“I envisioned it, and thought it was a perfect spot,” she said.

O’Meara is holding store hours to five days a week, while filling orders for curbside pickup everyday. She also delivers to homes and businesses. While most of her sales typically come from special orders, she still enjoys catching up with customers at the shop.

“I have lot of people who just drop in for a goody,” she said.

Craft distillery pouring samples at new waterfront tasting room KPBJ staff report Heritage Distilling Co. has joined Gig Harbor’s downtown scene, having opened a waterfront location where visitors can sample the spirits in a family-friendly setting.

Owners Jennifer and Justin Stiefel opened their second HDC location on HalJosh and Erin Hughes of Tacoma sample Heritage Distilling Co. spirits while talking with tasting room associate Jordan Stewart at the location Heritage opened recently on the Gig Harbor waterfront.

RODIK A TOLLEFSON

loween and saw a lot of foot traffic – which was the only traffic that night as downtown streets were closed so trick-or-treaters could roam safely.

Since the Heritage tasting room is not a bar or tavern, there are no age restrictions for customers. Those of legal age are allowed to taste up to 2 ounces of samples of the craft distillery’s spirits, but no mixed drinks are served.

“We have toys and things to entertain kids, and we try to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone,” said Gabby Gore, a tasting room associate.

There’s a variety of merchandise offered at the new location, including glassware, apparel, caps and beanies, as well as gift SEE DISTILLERY | 30

24 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

BUSINESS OPENINGS

Adventurous quilter left UW career to open shop in Poulsbo “My passion has always been in fabrics and quilting and sewing,” she added.

She started designing her own quilt patterns a couple years ago, and last spring Beatrice Marx has crossed the water the French seamstress visited numertwice to reach the place where her latest ous shops on a road trip to Paducah, adventure is taking shape.

Kentucky, where she was an instructor She left her native France and came to at QuiltWeek, an the United States American Quiland the Seattle arters Society annuea in 1998. After al event that draws 13 years living in thousands of peoShoreline — and ple. often contemplatShe also starting life on the Kited an online busisap Peninsula side ness, Beatrice of Puget Sound, Marx Quilt Dewhich looked invitsign, though she ing to her — Marx said that was more decided to cross as a hobby while over. she still had her “Three years ago I found the house Marx holds up one of the many Northwest- UW job. The Quilt Shoppe is not an of my dreams in themed fabrics she will offer in her shop. extension of her Kingston,” she said. online operation, she said, and she actualShe kept her job as a program manager ly plans to cancel it and create a website in computer science at the University of linked to the new store to inform people Washington for awhile, but didn’t find the about classes, etc., but not to sell online. commute so dreamy.

“I prefer human contacts to virtual inSo a year ago Marx left the universiteractions,” Marx said. ty where she had studied and worked for Her store will sells patterns, kits and years in various roles (including translatfabrics, as well as some custom handing books and television production for made items such as silk pouches and stylPBS), to pursue a business opportunity ish tote bags she designs. The most exbased on her longtime avocation — quiltpensive ($495) of those is the Rio Grande, ing. made with Texas rawhide and lined with The Quilt Shoppe opened the day after heavy leather and golden silk.

Thanksgiving, in the blue house opposite Marx — who learned sewing, knitthe Sons of Norway lodge on Front Street ting and crocheting from her mother and in Poulsbo. grandmothers in Normandy — plans to “I’ve been a quilter for more than 20 offer quilting classes starting in Januyears now,” Marx said. “It’s been my ary at her new shop, which she hopes will dream since I was little girl to open a draw folks of all ages. store,” though in her youth she envisioned “My goal is to expand really the intera shop selling “notions and everything to est to all generations,” she said. “In talkdo with sewing.”

Beatrice Marx stands in front of The Quilt Shoppe, her store that recently opened on Poulsbo’s Front Street.

By Tim Kelly KPBJ editor

Kitsap Transit requests use of temporary bus lot during Poulsbo construction Kitsap Transit has applied for a conditional use permit from the city of Poulsbo to temporarily park buses on a vacant lot on Viking Avenue during construction of new facilities at the agency’s north base.

The permit application said there would be a minimum of 44 buses using the temporary operation, which Kitsap Transit wants to set up on the former Poulsbo RV site at the southeast corner of Viking Avenue and Liberty Road.

There is an existing structure on the lot that would be used as an office for drivers and other staff. Construction-type chain link fencing with slats will be placed along

the perimeter of the lot, and Kitsap Transit security staff would check the site regularly.

A mobile fueling truck would be used to fuel buses on the site, but no outdoor fuel or other storage is proposed. Bus maintenance and repairs and washing would be done at another location.

Kitsap Transit is expanding its north base, located off Viking Avenue north of State Route 305. The $13 million project will include a permanent fueling station, a bus washing facility, a new 269-stall parkand-ride lot and a transfer center.

No public meeting or hearing is required to issue the permit requested for the temporary bus lot. However, a public comment period on the permit application is open through Dec. 9.

PHOTOS BY TAD SOOTER

ing with people I realize there are a lot of younger people who would like to learn how to quilt.”

There was an opportunity for her in Poulsbo because Heirloom Quilts & Fabric closed last year. Marx said her business is at Heirloom’s original location, before it moved to a larger downtown site.

She plans to feature “reproduction fabrics” among her shop’s array of materials.

Those are prints that have been re-created or styled after the quilts of a historical era. She said she’ll have Civil War-era reproductions, and batiks with patterns that

reflect traditional Native American art from the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

Marx, 56, makes clear that her departure from an urban university environment to become a small-town shopkeeper is not a transition to retirement.

“I don’t like the word retirement, because I will never retire,” she said. “It’s true that the University of Washington made it possible to achieve this dream; I took the money out of savings for this adventure.

“My life has been a series of adventures, this is a new one.”

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 25

26 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

Union Bank closing Kitsap, Olympic peninsula branches

By Tim Kelly KPBJ editor Union Bank is closing all of its branches on the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas early next year, except for the Bainbridge Island branch.

The seven branches that will close by the end of February 2015 are in Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Gig Harbor, Port Townsend, Sequim and Port Angeles. All of those are former Frontier Bank locations; Union Bank acquired Frontier after the bank was closed by the FDIC in 2010.

“In order to remain competitive in a tough environment, we made the difficult decision to close our branches on the Peninsula,” Union Bank corporate communications director Alan Gulick said in an email to the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal.

Gulick said the decision to close those branches — as well as numerous others in Pierce County, Everett and elsewhere — was made after considering “market and economic factors, and the changing preferences of customers.”

The bank sent letters in November to customers of the 20 former Frontier branches that will be closed in Washington state, notifying them of the planned closures.

Gulick said Union Bank will “continue to offer a full range of financial services to all of our individual, commercial and

market (Washington and Oregon) that we remain fully committed to today.”

Union has plans to open new offices in both states in the next few years, he said.

Union’s decision to withdraw from the peninsulas surprised Kitsap Bank president Tony George.

“I just find it interesting that they would close all those branches, and not look for anMEEGAN M. REID other institution to The Union Bank branch in Silverdale is one of seven on the Kitsap assume those deand Olympic peninsulas that will close in February. Union Bank is posits,” George closing a total of 20 branches in Washington state. said, noting that thousands of customers will be left without an in-person business clients throughout the PNW. We banking option in their communities. are investing in new approaches to bet“Typically there are banks that would ter meet the needs of our customers, inbe interested in that deposit base, so I am cluding enhancing our online and mobile a bit surprised they didn’t attempt to find banking solutions.” another institution to assume those, and He also said the acquistion of Frontheir employees,” he said. tier Bank a few years ago provided Union According to 2014 FDIC, the seven Bank “an important entrance into a new

branches closing on the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas have about $270 million in deposits. George estimated the amount of deposits could be more than $500 million in the footprint where Kitsap Bank operates its 20 locations in Western Washington.

He anticipates many of the affected customers will not be happy with Union’s decision to abandon the peninsulas market.

“I think there will be a lot of very disgruntled bank customers on the peninsula, and understandably so,” George said.

“We stand ready to accept a lot of those deposits, given that we have branches in all those markets that are affected,” he added, and Kitsap Bank also will be interested in talking with businesses who might want to refinance loans they had with Union.

Union Bank hopes to retain employees at the branches closing in February, Gulick said, and those who are not offered another position in the company will receive “career transition assistance.”

MUFG Union Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan’s largest bank, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. There are nearly 400 Union branches in California, Washington and Oregon, and the bank had $108.8 billion in assets as of June 30, 2014, according to its website. Its main office is in San Francisco and corporate headquarters are in New York.

Hospice of Kitsap County fires its executive team

By Tad Sooter KPBJ contributor Hospice of Kitsap County trustees fired the organization’s executive team in November, following the recommendations of a consultant study.

Terminated administrators included Executive Director Corrigan Gommenginger as well as the group’s human resources and compliance director, development director and chief of clinical services. Board President Suzanne Plemmons said the 11-member board was responding to guidance from an independent organizational assessment completed this fall. Consultants who led the study recommended an overhaul of Hospice leadership among other changes, she said.

Plemmons declined to discuss specific shortcomings of the executive team. She said the board felt the change was necessary to move the organization “in the right direction.”

“It was a very difficult decision,” Plemmons said.

Gommenginger was named executive director in 2012. He oversaw the rollout of a palliative care program, the opening of a Bremerton thrift store, and the cre-

ation of an in-home, nonmedical care program, while working to curb ongoing budget shortfalls.

“I am honored to have worked with the remarkable staff and volunteers and led Hospice of Kitsap County for the last two years,” Gommenginger said in an email. “... I am a true believer in service of Hospice. I am excited for the direction Hospice of Kitsap County has been set on.”

The board selected Denise Hendrickson, an experienced nurse and manager, to serve as interim executive director during the search for a permanent replacement. Plemmons said she expects no interuption in services for patients during the transition. Hospice of Kitsap provided end-of-life care to nearly 700 patients in 2013.

“We’re really blessed to have dedicated, competent staff,” she said.

Some Hospice of Kitsap employees had expressed concerns with the executive team. Alexander Pangborn, a registered nurse and case manager with Hospice, said a letter of no confidence signed by 17 employees was submitted to the board earlier this year.

The bulk of hospice employees voted to SEE HOSPICE | 30

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 27

HUMAN RESOURCES | JULIE TAPPERO

Helping employees who struggle with mental health issues

T

here was a collective gasp of shock when we all heard of the suicide of Robin Williams. How could a man who constantly made everyone laugh be so depressed that he would take his own life? How could those around him not see the signs?

Depression and suicide are at a crisis level. According to Kitsap Mental Health Services, someone in the United States dies by suicide every 16 minutes.

Bringing it closer to home, data provided by Kitsap County Coroner Greg Sandstrom shows that in 2013 there were 30 suicides in the county. Of those, 77 percent were males and 57 percent were over the age of 40. This year we have already had 36 suicides, of which 83 percent were male and 67 percent were over 40.

Frequently, people think that it’s teenagers we need to worry about, but these statistics show that it is more often middleaged men like Robin Williams who fall victim to depression and then suicide. So what does this have to do with the workplace?

A 2013 Gallup poll revealed that about 12

percent of workers have been diagnosed with depression. The Centers for Disease Control estimates depression causes 200 million lost workdays each year, and costs employers $17 billion to $44 billion. Clearly, depression has a serious impact on our workplaces. What can we, or should we, do as employers to help our workers with this issue?

First of all, we need to recognize the signs of depression. Many of those exhibited in the workplace can be performancerelated. They can include poor quality work, procrastination, accidents on the job, indecisiveness and forgetfulness, missed deadlines, poor relationships with others, low morale, absenteeism and tardiness, and lower productivity. You might see the employee become more prone to anger, irritability or tears. What you will be witnessing is a change in your employee’s performance due to their depression.

Obviously, we are not mental health counselors, therapists or doctors. It is not your position or place to diagnose an employee’s depression. Your job is to deal with the performance issues.

Your conversation with the employee might go something like this: “Julie, I’ve

PEOPLE IN BUSINESS Community Foundation adds five new board members The Kitsap Community Foundation has announced five additions to its board of directors and the hiring of another employee.

The new board members are Tina Bright, an associate consultant with The Focus Group; Steve Green, president and CEO of Land Title Co.; Joan Hanten, a retired Olympic College administrator; Alice Tawresey, former Bainbridge Island mayor; and retiring Kitsap County Auditor Walt Washington.

“We are delighted that the foundation has grown so quickly,” Kitsap Community Foundation executive director Kol Medina said. “The addition of these individuals to our team will help us bring a whole new level of giving to Kitsap County.”

The foundation has also hired Ani Gatz as a communications and design specialist. She has more than a decade of marketing, writing and design experience, along with years of nonprofit administrative and marketing volunteer experience.

For more information on the Kitsap Community Foundation, call Medina at 360-698-3622 or visit the website: www. kitsapfoundation.org.

noticed you’ve been late five times in the last two weeks, and your weekly report was incomplete. Also, I asked you to participate in yesterday’s strategy meeting and you failed to show up. This just isn’t like you. What’s going on?”

Be ready to refer your employee to appropriate resources. If your company has an Employee Assistance Program, that’s a great place to start. If not, know what resources there are and what your company is willing and able to do for your employee. Kitsap Mental Health Services is a great resource in our community. Their website explains their services, provides connections to other local resources, as well as links to a wealth of online resources. They also offer Adult Mental Health First Aid Training to organizations as well as members of the community. This training can help an individual assess a situation, recognize signs of mental health concerns, and help them connect others with effective treatment.

If you don’t know much about depression yourself, get educated on it. Clinical depression is not just feeling sad, and it’s not something you just snap out of. It doesn’t necessarily make sense to others either. It might seem to you that Robin Williams had a lot to live for, but that obviously wasn’t how he felt.

Studies show that employees aren’t likely to voluntarily come to their employers to tell them they are depressed. They fear the stigma attached to depression, and they frankly fear for their jobs and their careers. We can help remove that stigma by

beginning to have open conversations in our workplaces about depression and mental health. Treating it as a health condition, talking openly about it, and making all of our employees aware of their options helps our employees feel comfortable seeking the assistance they need, when they need it.

This is not just about doing what’s right.

It’s also about doing what’s required by law. Employees with depression are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, and employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for them. Oftentimes what’s needed is a flexible work schedule, or some time off work until the right medication has time to take effect.

The good news from the CDC is that 80 percent of patients with depression will improve with treatment.

Depression is a life-threatening disease, as we all learned by the death of Robin Williams. But it is a preventable death. There are a lot of very good people in Kitsap County, led by the League of Women Voters, working on a task force right now to lower the incidence of suicide in our community. We, as employers, can take part in this effort by becoming more aware of the signs of depression in the workplace, encouraging conversations about depression, and removing the stigma from mental health issues.

• Julie Tappero is president and owner of West Sound Workforce, a professional staffing and recruiting company based in Poulsbo and Gig Harbor. She can be reached at julie@westsoundworkforce.com.

28 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

BUSINESS OPENINGS

Drawing on Navy career to launch a knowledge-based business

By Tim Kelly KPBJ editor Hong Kong changed everything for Steve Shapro.

He joined the Navy when he was 19, and spent roughly the first half of a 34-year career on submarines.

“I was in Hong Kong on a ship visit when I was on a submarine, and I said ‘I really like this place. How do I get a job here?’” he recalled. “They said the only way you can get a job there is to be the officer in charge of the contracting department. So I said how do you get that?”

To pursue his new career interest, he had to head back stateside — to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., where he completed a master’s degree in Acquisition and Contract Management.

Shapro — who recently started his own consulting business based out of his home in Seabeck — was rewarded with a duty tour as contracting officer in Hong Kong from 1995-98. It was an eventful time; during his tenure he witnessed “the handover,” the official transfer of sovereignty over the region from the United Kingdom to China in 1997.

The rest of his naval career was spent mostly on Kitsap bases, as he eventually rose to the rank of captain and was commanding officer of the Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Puget Sound.

He retired from the Navy in 2009 but stayed with contracting work for another five years at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC Northwest), where he was Deputy for Small Business.

“Then I was Chief of Contracts before I decided it was time for me to leave federal service after 39 years and try something different,” he said.

Not too different, though. With his Seabeck Research consulting firm, the 58-year-old Shapro plans to use his access and experience on the other side of the system, helping businesses interested in getting federal contract work.

The Navy and other federal agencies have requirements for awarding significant portions of construction, maintenance and services contracts directly to qualified small businesses. Shapro said another way he’ll assist local businesses is

SEABECK RESEARCH Steve Shapro is a retired Navy contracting officer who has launched a new consulting business, Seabeck Research. He also will be a Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal contributor, writing columns about business opportunities for government contract work. His first column for KPBJ is on page 36 of this issue.

connecting them with big companies that are prime contractors on Navy projects and are looking to hire subcontractors in Kitsap.

“Because we’re a state that has a large number of military bases and a lot of federal facilities,” he said, “there’s a lot of big national and international firms that come into the state and into Kitsap County to do some of the big projects we have.”

Part of his role as a consultant will be determining whether local businesses “know who the players are in the federal contracting market, and do they know who’s getting those prime contract awards.”

Shapro noted that the “primes” typically don’t perform all or even most of the work themselves on large projects. So local businesses can “look for opportunities as a subcontractor or supplier of those real significant federal contracts in the area,” he said.

Shapro is well aware of the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) in the state, which are a valuable free resource for small businesses wanting to enter the federal contracts marketplace.

He supports the PTAC mission, and said it would be “disingenuous” for any consultant to charge clients for services those centers provide.

“Where I view myself coming in is number one, I’m going to be helping the PTAC where I can,” he said. “For example, I’m doing a workshop on construction contracting for them free of charge in Kent in January.”

That will give him exposure to poten-

workers who have to be certified to handle contracting and acquisitions.

“There is a lot of opportunity for somebody who’s k nowledgeable about what those requirements are to help with course development and presentation of course material” to government agencies, Shapro said.

The last couple months he’s been focused on startIn total, $7.363 billion was awarded by DOD to firms with WA addresses during FY2013 up tasks such as registering in SAM (the federal SEABECK RESEARCH System for Award This graph provided by Seabeck Research shows the total amount Management), getof federal Department of Defense contracts awarded each of ting a website up the previous five years to businesses in Washington’s Sixth (www.seabeckreCongressional District. search.com) and launching a blog that presents informatial clients who might advance in the contion about the scope and types of federal tracting network to the point they’ll need contracts in the region. the more extensive services a consultant “I’m at a very preliminary stage right offers. now, I’m just starting to go out and make “A lot of times we have PTAC clients those kind of contacts,” he said. “There who want to work with a consultant,” said are a lot of folks who know what I did beKathy Cocus, director of business develfore that are not aware that I’m out there opment at the Kitsap Economic Developdoing this as a consultant.” ment Alliance, which operates the PTAC While he envisions moving beyond a serving Kitsap, Mason, Jefferson, Clallam home office, his consulting operation will and Grays Harbor counties. remain small even as he develops a roster Those are clients, Shapro said, who of clients. “maybe need some more in-depth assis“It’ll never be really big because this kind tance with a proposal preparation.” of business is knowledge-based,” Shapro Besides working with small businessexplained. “You have to have the knowles looking to enter the federal contracting edge of how this weird acquisition system network, Shapro also can assist compacalled federal contracting works, so that nies at the other end of the spectrum. you can sort of be an intermediary and “I definitely will be in the market for a translator for the small business that helping larger businesses that are not able wants to have a place in that marketplace, to avail themselves of the PTAC, … that but needs help speaking the language.” are trying to develop a subcontracting With his extensive career experience to plan, trying to work with the local mardraw on, “I figure I have a few-year winket,” he said. dow to take advantage of what I know, beAnother area where he sees his experfore I lose currency.” tise being useful is in training federal

Historical Trend

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 29

30 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

BUSINESS OPENINGS

Crafting couple trades show circuit for mall shop

By Tim Kelly KPBJ editor Bill and Polly Allen found a home for the holidays.

No hauling their PNW Crafts merchandise — scrapbooking materials, handmade holiday decorations and wood items, and more — to holiday fairs and craft shows around the region this season. The couple switched from mobile to mall, to see if customers will find them there instead.

“This year instead of truck-andtrailering everything around, we thought we’d give this a shot,” Bill Allen said the day before Thanksgiving, standing in the PNW Crafts store set up on a TIM KELLY temporary lease at Kitsap Mall.

PNW Crafts owners Polly and Bill Allen stand in front of their new store in the Kitsap Mall. The Bill, who makes most of the couple is leasing the space during the holiday season as an alternative to selling their crafts at wood items on display, retired holiday fairs and shows. from his shipyard job in October, and within two weeks their (Zapatka), the leasing manager of the group of local craft vendors operated in seasonal store opened at the mall. mall,” Bill said. “They were aggressive in the Kitsap Mall.

The Allens aren’t newcomers; they used trying to get places filled.”

“We were well acquainted with Danny to be part of the Friday market that a

HOSPICE | F ROM 2 6

join the Service Employees International Union this fall. Pangborn, who helped organize the union vote, said employees wanted to ensure adequate staffing levels and support for staff and have a stronger voice within the organization. Many felt administrators hadn’t been responsive to their input, he said.

Pangborn declined to comment on the board’s decision to remove the management team but said union employees are looking forward to working with Hospice leadership.

“Really the goal of this is to make a stronger organization,” he said. “Our mission is a strong one. We do good work in the community every day. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

Plemmons said the new director will need to help refocus Hospice of Kitsap on its in-home care mission, after the group closes its Bremerton inpatient care center at the end of the year. The board hopes to find an executive with hospice or other medical experience, and strong management skills, Plemmons said.

“Our goal is to build stability in our organization,” she said.

BUSINESS BRIEFS E-Cycle hits milestone for recycling electronics OLYMPIA − E-Cycle reached a milestone in November as Washington’s statewide electronics recycling program passed 250 million pounds of TVs, computers and other electronics collected since starting in 2009.

Over the past six years, Washington residents have turned in more than 5.4 million electronic devices. Electronic items contain toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium, and should not go to a landfill.

The state Department of Ecology esti-

mates the E-Cycle program has prevented 23 million pounds of lead from ending up in the trash.

“Computers and electronics are essential to our society, and so is a clean environment,” Ecology director Maia Bellon said. “It’s programs like these that make a profound difference for all of us right now and for future generations.”

E-Cycle accepts computers, monitors, laptops, tablet computers, televisions, portable DVD players and e-readers at no cost.

Manufacturers pay for the program under a 2006 Washington law.

There are 340 E-Cycle drop-off sites across the state. To locate the site nearest you, go to www.ecyclewashington.org.

DISTILLERY | F ROM 23

packs that figure to be popular during the holiday season.

There are pre-assembled options, such as one with a bottle of Fall Classic Apple Cider Whiskey, two glasses and a bag of almonds from a local vendor that roasts nuts in Heritage spirits. Customers also can choose their own items — maybe some whiskey stones to put in the freezer and use instead of ice to chill a glass of

The space leased to PNW through midJanuary is next to JC Penney, and it was already outfitted for wall displays that made setting up their shop easier, he said.

The Allens expect being in the mall will give them more exposure, in a retail location where they can display more of the crafts they make than at a show booth.

“We expect to do better than at the shows,” Bill said. “This is something we’ve been thinking about for a year, so we’ve been building up our (inventory) of products.”

Some new items Polly created for this holiday season include glass-block nightlights (some adorned with images from the popular animated movie “Frozen”), shadow boxes, and glass garden totems.

She’s been selling her scrapbooking and papercraft items online for several years, through an Etsy shop.

They don’t expect to operate PNW Crafts at the mall other than during the holidays, but if the store does well they’ll probably return.

“We just decided let’s give this a try,” Polly said. “If we do well, we’ll be back next year.”

And if the mall experiment doesn’t work out, she said they’ll probably be back to schlepping their stuff around the craft show circuit. bourbon or vodka — to put in a gift pack.

HDC introduced its line of flavored vodkas about the same time as the new tasting room opened. The distillery also still has available some of the limited-edition bourbon it produced recently in partnership with the Tacoma Art Museum.

The new tasting room — which may be a model for future HDC expansion — is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 31

32 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

Sculpture by Gig Harbor artist donated to Marine Corps museum A Gig Harbor sculptor’s life-like bronze statue, “Soul of the Forward and Faithful,” honors the U.S. Marine Raiders and was donated to the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Nov. 12 in Triangle, Virginia.

The sculpture created by Mardie Rees first went on display this past summer in Tacoma, and most recently was displayed at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. It will now take its place among the many exhibits telling 239 years of Marine Corps history at the national museum.

The Raiders were the Marine Corps’ first elite force created to serve in the Pacific Theater. They originated the Marines’ appropriation of the idea of “Gungho,” the spirit of cooperation and mutual support the sculpture depicts. They were constantly deployed considerably “forward” of the main body of Marines in combat, and as such, pioneered insertion and extraction methods that are still in use by special operations units today.

So iconic were the Marine Raiders that earlier this year, Gen. James Amos, then Commandant of the Marine Corps, announced that all units within Marine

The sculpture titled “Soul of the Forward and Faithful” created by artist Mardie Rees of Gig Harbor was donated to the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia.

PHOTO COURTESY MARDIE REES

Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) would change their names from Marine Special Operations Regiment or Battalion to Marine Raider Regiment, Marine Raider Battalion, and so forth.

“I knew in sculpting this piece that all the gear had to be historically accurate,” Rees said, “from the sight on the Browning Automatic Rifle right down to the laces on the boots.”

The sculpture takes the museum visitor

back to November 1943 in the humid jungles of New Guinea. It features a Marine Raider holding a rifle, a War Dog Handler holding his German shepherd, and a Navajo Code Talker relaying intelligence.

“This sculpture is full of life,” said Lin Ezell, director of the museum. “It pleases the eye as a work of art and meets the museum’s high standards for historical accuracy. The sculptor took great care to model from actual examples of the clothing, weapons, and accoutrements used by these Marines during World War II.” “It has been a great honor to sculpt a work that by its very nature is a World War II Memorial,” Rees said at the formal unveiling in Tacoma. “This memorial is dedicated to our fathers, uncles, and grandfathers who served in WWII, to their bravery, their courage, their resolve and strength.”

Rees added that two of the original Marine Raiders were expected to be in attendance for the ceremony at the national museum.

For more information, visit the museum’s website at www.usmcmuseum.org.

PEOPLE IN BUSINESS Bainbridge Arts & Crafts director plans to retire after 13 years with gallery

Retrospective of local artist’s work shown at Collective Visions gallery in December

Bainbridge Arts & Crafts executive director Susan Jackson has announced she will retire next summer, bringing to a close a 13-year tenure with the nonprofit art gallery.

“Under Susan’s leadership, Bainbridge Arts & Crafts has moved from a small, local craft and art store into a real player in the regional art scene,” BAC board president Ellin Spenser said.

Jackson, who previously worked at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Aspen Art Museum, was hired as publicist for Bainbridge Arts & Crafts in 2002, and took the helm as executive director the next year.

Her legacy includes the launch of many popular programs and partnerships, all of which increased the organization’s focus and reach while underscoring its mission to support Northwest artists and provide art education to the community.

Thanks in large part to Jackson’s leadership, BAC in 2008 was the recipient of an anonymous $1 million donation, which the organization used to establish a longterm endowment.

She also oversaw substantial improvements to the gallery. Jackson and her curatorial team have organized 255 shows over the years, many highlighting the work of local and Northwest artists.

While her target retirement date is next August, Jackson said she intends to stay on the executive director position is filled.

Collective Visions Gallery in downtown Bremerton is featuring an exhibition by local artist Irm Bruser during December.

The gallery at 331 Pacific Ave. will host “Retrospective — More Than 45 Years of Artistic Expression” to display the many mediums Bruser has explored over her long art career, such as water color, acrylics, etchings and collographs.

The show runs Dec. 3-28, with an opening reception from 5-8 p.m. on Dec. 5.

Collective Visions has new hours. The gallery is open Wednesday-Saturday from noon to 7 p.m., and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. For complete listings and artist information, visit the gallery’s website at collectivevisions.com, or call 360-3778327.

“Joy” is a watercolor by artist Irm Bruser of Bremerton, part of a retrospective display of her work at Collective Visions Gallery in December.

Volunteer helper Kevyn Ward lifts a turkey into a bleed cone at Clark Farms in Sequim on Nov 23. The farm used a new mobile processing unit to prep more than 50 Thanksgiving turkeys.

TAD SOOTER

Mobile processor for turkeys gives small farms a big boost

By Tad Sooter KPBJ contributor SEQUIM — Stuart Boyle plucked the last soggy feathers from a turkey carcass Sunday at Clark Farms and stuffed the naked bird through a small hatch at the end of a cargo trailer.

That one, unceremonious gesture marked the start of something big for small West Sound poultry producers.

The custom trailer Boyle was working with Sunday contains a mobile poultry processing unit, one of only a few

of its kind in the state. A group of partners recently banded together to buy the $20,000 unit, and it’s being offered for rent to members of the Western Washington Poultry Farmers Cooperative (formerly the Kitsap Poultry Growers Cooperative).

On Sunday, co-op members put the trailer to work for the first time in the West Sound harvesting Thanksgiving turkeys at Clark Farms in Sequim.

While making poultry and rabbit processing easier for farmers, and meat safer for consumers, the mobile unit promises SEE PROCESSOR | 34

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 33

34 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

Airporter has helped Kitsap connect for 35 years

By Ed Friedrich Kitsap Sun Thirty-five years ago, when BremertonKitsap Airporter started with eight daily round trips to Sea-Tac, the vans often ran empty.

Today, service has grown to 21 trips from Kitsap and another nine from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, carrying 15,000 passengers a month.

The business plan proved correct.

Owner Dick Asche traveled while in the Navy and found getting between the airport and Bangor difficult, compared to a duty station at Ogden, Utah, that had a shuttle. He sat on the idea until retiring after 21 years as a lieutenant commander.

At a Bangor officers’ wives luncheon, Asche’s wife, Helen, asked who would use an airport shuttle.

“Every hand in the joint was raised, so that was our marketing study, and it proved to be correct,” he said.

The couple initially operated the company from their Port Orchard home, sharing space with five kids. They had three Ford vans that fit a total of 11 riders, and four employees.

“I did just about everything in those days,” Asche said. “I washed vehicles, detailed them, changed oil in them, drove, dispatched. Same with my wife.”

After opening Oct. 10, 1979, they averaged about 300 riders a month that first year.

The company moved into a two-stall garage in Retsil and eventually to its long-

MEEGAN M. REID

Richard Asche, founder of the Kitsap Airporter, stands in front of one of the first VW buses the company used, as well as a van and bus that are currently in service at the Port Orchard company. time site at 5748 Bethel Road. Now it operates four 21-passenger minibuses, eight 24-passenger buses and four Ford vans. It employs nearly 50 people.

Much has changed during the past 35 years. Among the most important for the Airporter was replacing manual credit card sliders with card readers.

“It was a pain in the neck because many of them would bounce,” Asche said of the sliders. “The automated card was a real boon, a lifesaver.”

The company also scored with its Web page, where 30 percent of reservations are now conducted. It’s especially convenient during the holidays when phone lines back up. Asche recommends making reservations at least a day before the travel date. Limited service runs Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The opening of a second Tacoma Narrows Bridge worked wonders for a business built on timeliness.

“We pay $5,000 a month to cross that

Cooperative.

Boyle said few local farms have already invested in their own on-site processing facilities. But for many small producers, spending tens of thousands of dollars on equipment they’ll use a few times a year isn’t feasible.

“For a small-scale farmer, that’s pretty tough,” he said.

That’s where the mobile processing unit

loaded turkeys upside down into metal cones and made careful Nathan Allison incisions in their necks to bleed (from left), them out rapidly. Once the birds Tom Clark, were dead, Boyle dunked them inHolly Clark to a bath of scalding water to loosand Michele en their feathers, then ran them Gilles clean through a spinning, defeathering turkeys inside machine. the mobile Finally, he slid the plucked turprocessing unit. keys through hatch into the saniThe “clean tized interior of the trailer, where room” inside another team cleaned the carthe trailer casses and laid them into a tub of helps prevent chilled water to cool. Later, the turcontamination. keys would be dried, weighed and vacuum packed. A state inspecTAD SOOTER tor stopped by at midday to ensure food safety regulations were being followed at each step.

Processing turkeys still is hard, unpleasant work. But Boyle said the mobile unit makes the job a lot simpler, safer and cleaner. comes in. Farmers will be able to rent the “What we’re trying to do is give farmers trailer for a few hundred dollars a day and as turnkey a system as possible,” he said. it comes equipped with just about everyFor information on the Western Washthing needed to efficiently process a bird ington Poultry Farmers Cooperative, go or bunny. to www.kitsappoultry.com.

Sunday at Clark Farms, the mobile unit was set up a stone’s throw from the pen • Tad Sooter is a business reporter for where the turkey flock milled and gobthe Kitsap Sun and contributes to the Kitbled contentedly. Outside the trailer, volsap Peninsula Business Journal. unteers Hayes Clawson and Kevyn Ward

PROCESSOR | F ROM 32

to open a world of new marketing opportunities to local producers.

“It’s huge,” Holly Clark of Clark Farms said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

Heritage turkeys, like the Narragansetts the Clarks raise, have become a wildly popular gourmet option for Thanksgiving dinners. The more than 50 turkeys the Clarks processed Sunday were reserved weeks ago.

Until now, however, the Clarks and many other small farmers have been limited in how they can market their birds.

Without access to a clean processing facility, poultry producers can only sell their chickens, turkeys or ducks directly to customers at the farm. The birds had to be sold whole and unfrozen within 48 hours of slaughter, which presented a host of logistical challenges for farmers and their customers.

By using the mobile processing unit, and obtaining the necessary licenses, farmers will be able to sell their meat to anyone anywhere in the state. They also can freeze the meat, store it for sale later, or market it in cuts. The greater flexibility will allow small producers to take their poultry to farmers markets, stores and restaurants, said Boyle, a Silverdale farmer and president of the Poultry Growers

bridge, but it’s well worth it, Asche said.

“It was a godsend for us, to keep us on schedule.”

The shuttle picks up and drops off passengers at 10 stops, from Poulsbo to Gig Harbor. Customers avoid the generally messed-up drive on Interstate 5 and parking lots.

“The Airporter is the way to get to the airport, and the price is just right,” customer Nancy Cox said.

That’s because prices are regulated by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission because it’s not a competitive marketplace.

Dozens of people wrote in the Kitsap Sun about the Airporter, the majority of them happy with the service. A few complained about overaggressive and grumpy drivers.

“That does not affect my ride, just their tips,” another rider reasoned.

“I travel for the shipyard. My father also does,” David Fortier said. “We always use the Airporter. It’s fast, prices are fair and their departure times and locations are convenient. The return from the airport (where it’s first-come, first-served) is less organized and you don’t know if you’ll make it on or not if it’s a busy time.”

For Asche, 78, the Airporter has been a wonderful second career, helping to get five kids through college.

“My middle daughter is going to take it over when I decide to step aside or they find me slumped over my desk someday,” he said. “But I’m pretty happy. My health is pretty good. I figure you’ve got to keep busy, keep your mind active.”

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 35

36 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

FEDERAL CONTRACTING | STEVE SHAPRO

Understanding the scope, processes of the federal marketplace in Kitsap

B

ecause of the presence of large Navy bases in our area, federal contracts are an important part of our local economy.

During the last fiscal year ending Sept. 30, morethan $172 million in contracts were awarded to companies with Kitsap County addresses by government agencies and the military services. Local businesses need to understand this marketplace if they are to compete successfully for these federal contract dollars.

Of the $172 million awarded to county businesses, about $64 million was awarded to local businesses supplying parts and equipment to the military and federal agencies. This includes Safe Boats International, which manufactures small craft for the Navy, Coast Guard and foreign military sales. It also includes suppliers such as KLB Enterprises of Silverdale and Westbay Auto Parts of Bremerton, which source repair parts and equipment for the Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency.

About $43 million was awarded for construction and repair of facilities. Firms such as Triton Marine Construction of Bremerton repair piers and do waterfront work in Hawaii and Pennsylvania. Others, such as Vet Industrial of Bremerton, tend to work construction projects on local bases. Another $33 million was awarded to local firms providing technical advice, IT support and other consulting services, both locally and on behalf of program offices located around the country. These companies include Applied Technical Systems of Silverdale and Paladin Data Systems of Poulsbo. Skookum Educational Programs of Bremerton, which provides employment for disabled workers, was awarded nearly $56 million last year to provide facilities and public works services for the Departments of Defense, Energy and Veterans Affairs at locations around the country.

In total, more than 70 firms in Kitsap County were awarded federal contracts last year. Of these firms, 10 received over $1 million in total contract awards.

Many of the businesses receiving the larger contracts tend to spe-

cialize in federal work and develop expertise in working with the complicated federal procurement system. Knowing which Kitsap County businesses receive prime contracts is important to firms seeking a market for their supplies and services in the federal sector. It may not be possible for every business to compete as a prime contractor, but there are opportunities as a supplier, subcontractor or teaming partner.

It’s also significant that nearly 90 contracting offices nationwide awarded the $172 million in contracts to local businesses.

Very few of them were located in the county. In fact, of the 21 contracting offices awarding more than $1 million to local businesses, 18 were located outside the state. In some cases, supply chains for equipment, supplies and services are managed centrally for economies and efficiencies. If you are a grocery supplier, there’s very little return in marketing your products at the local base since the Defense Department’s supply chain for food products is managed centrally from Philadelphia. To market your company’s products or ser-

BUSINESS MENTOR | KEN SETHNEY, KITSAP SCORE

Q: What is my small business worth?

A: Depends on what you want to do

A

t first glance, this may sound like a difficult question to answer. But it’s an important one if you’re considering taking on a partner or selling your company.

If you’re in the market to buy an existing small business, you want to know exactly what you’re paying for, and how that value was determined.

There may be other situations where establishing the value of a business may be important. You may be considering spinning off part of your current business, or dealing with a dispute or litigation. Business value also figures

in divorce proceedings and other cases where the value of one’s assets is factor.

An accurate, up-to-date financial statement is only the first step in setting the value of a business. You must thoroughly analyze the past several years of business operations, and make an informed projection about the future. How will your industry and the economy unfold?

And how will your company compete?

Most people look to the Fair Market Value of a business, defined by the Internal Revenue Service as “the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and willing seller when the former is not under any compulsion

to buy and the latter is not under any compulsion to sell, both parties having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.”

However, there are several ways to determine a fair and equitable price for the sale of the business. Among them: • Capitalized Earning Approach. This is the return on the investment expected by an investor.

• Excess Earning Method. Similar to Capitalized Earning, except that return on assets is split from other earnings.

• Cash Flow Method. A method usually used when attempting to determine how much of a loan the cash flow of the business will support.

• Tangible Assets/Balance

dling Wharf II project at Bangor, includes Skanska USA, American Bridge Co. and Nova Group.

Chugach Federal Solutions, an Alaska Native Corporation from Anchorage, was awarded the contract to provide tens of millions of dollars of public works and base operating services at West Sound Navy bases.

Local firms that have a good understanding of the workings of the local, federal marketplace are better positioned to use their company’s resources to target the best business opportunities. Knowing the marketplace, they can decide if is better to seek prime contract awards or pursue opportunities as a supplier, teaming partner or subcontractor.

vices, you may have to look further than the base or federal facility just down the road.

Of the contracts awarded to local businesses, only about 20 percent of the work (buildings built, facilities maintained, service provided, parts supplied or equipment manufactured) was done in the county. About half the contract dollars were for work done outside the state. The other half of the work was done

by Kitsap County firms in other states, at bases and facilities located across the nation. This tells us that local businesses are competing and winning work in a national marketplace. Conversely, just as our local businesses are awarded work in other states, prime contractors from outside the area successfully compete for work at local bases and facilities. The large Navy presence on the peninsula and the opportunities for big-dollar contracts attract prime contractors from across the country.

About $181 million was awarded to firms from outside the county for work to be performed in Kitsap County. Some, like Washington Patriot Construction of Gig Harbor or Notkin Engineering of Seattle, are located in the Puget Sound region. Others are large national corporations such as Mantech Systems Engineering, Trane, or BAE Systems Technology. EHW Constructors, the joint venture awarded the construction contract for the $715 million, multi-year Explosive Han-

• Steve Shapro recently founded Seabeck Research, a consulting firm providing information and analysis to companies interested in government contracting work. Previously he was a Navy Supply Corps Captain and did a Command tour at the primary logistics hub in the Pacific Northwest before retiring from the Navy in 2009. He subsequently held the civilian post with the Navy of Chief of the Contracting Office, as well as Deputy for Small Business, promoting small business participation and supplier diversity efforts in support of Navy contracts. His website is www. seabeckresearch.com.

The data to develop the information in this article was obtained from USASpending.gov.

Sheet Method. This method values the business by the tangible assets.

• Value of Specific Intangible Assets Method. This is based upon the buyer’s desire to purchase an intangible asset versus creating it. It also considers the value of the business’s goodwill.

Unsure which one to use?

That’s why professional assistance can be extremely helpful when dealing with business valuation issues.

The National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (www.nacva.com) offers a free directory to help you find a business valuation expert who specializes in your particular situation. They can help you get the number right.

• For more help with valuing your small business, contact SCORE — Mentors to America’s Small Business. SCORE is a nonprofit organization with more than 12,000 volunteers who provide free, confidential business mentoring and training workshops to small business owners.

To contact Kitsap SCORE, email kitsap@scorevolunteer.org, call 360-328-1380 or visit kitsapscore. org.

• Ken Sethney is a volunteer business mentor and branch manager with Kitsap SCORE, and a a former ad agency creative director and marketing coach who worked with the owners of midsize companies throughout the U.S. Contact Ken via email at ken.sethney@scorevolunteer.org.

WWW.KPBJ.COM Check it out!

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 37

REGIONAL ECONOMY | JOHN POWERS

OC’s recognition among top tier of community colleges not surprising

L

ast May, I wrote about the critical role Olympic College plays in developing our local economy, and its most essential capital — human capital. I highlighted OC’s proud six-decade legacy of educating, training and inspiring the careers of tens of thousands of local students for generations of Kitsap citizens.

So when I learned earlier this fall that Olympic College had been named one of 10 finalists for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence (10 out of over 1,000 community colleges nationwide), I was not surprised; excited, yes — surprised, no.

The Aspen Prize for Commu-

nity College Excellence aims to honor higher education practices, policies and leadership that significantly improve student outcomes. The annual prize is bestowed by the Aspen Institute, an esteemed policy studies organization. Its mission is to foster leadership on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for addressing critical issues of our day (www.aspen institute.org).

Olympic College is among 10 community college finalists; and, by virtue of being identified as in the top 1 percent of national peer colleges, OC is already judged to be an exceptional institution of higher education.

At the heart of this award is a keen understanding of the critical role community colleges can play in improving student access and

success. That is certainly the case in assessing the exceptional success Olympic College has achieved in serving a diverse range of students, with a wide range of needs and interests. As an economic developer, I can personally attest to the vital role Olympic College plays in developing a skilled and productive workforce for thousands of organizations and businesses — large and small, public and private, throughout Kitsap and our region.

The process to award the 2015 Aspen Prize began last January when the institute identified 150 colleges as “eligible” to compete for the prize. Over 100 pursued the prize, and by this fall the field had been winnowed down to 10 finalists. From there the Aspen Institute conducted in-

tensive two-day site visits at each finalist institution. These site visits included extensive interviews with a variety of key stakeholders: students, faculty, administrators and community leaders.

It was an honor to be invited to join a cadre of local leaders who were interviewed by a panel of four examiners wanting to learn firsthand about OC’s impact on our local workforce, economic and community development goals. Our panel included: Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent; Rick Tift, executive director of PSNS-IMF; Robert Olsen, dean of WSU College of Engineering; and Linda Brown, executive director of The Doctors Clinic and chair of OC President David Mitchell’s Business Advisory Council.

We were all very grateful for the opportunity to share our perspective on the remarkable job OC does in providing access to education, and catalyzing career success. For thousands and thousands of local citizens, and for over 68 years, OC has been the guiding light in their career endeavors. For me personally, it was

a wonderful opportunity to once again share my firm belief that Olympic College is the #1 asset on Kitsap’s economic and community development balance sheet.

Early next year, the prize jury will review the quantitative and qualitative data to select a winner and up to four finalists with distinction. So we will just have to be patient as the Aspen Institute completes the evaluation and deliberation process and presents its findings next March in Washington, D.C. Please join me in congratulating David Mitchell, president of Olympic College, and the trustees, faculty, staff and students of OC for being recognized as one of the top 10 community colleges in the United States. While we already know OC is ‘tops’ ... it won’t surprise me if OC is also recognized as ‘unsurpassed’ in the coming years.

Here’s to Olympic College.

Here’s to the Rangers. Here’s to them all!

On Kitsap!

• John Powers is executive director of the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance.

BUSINESS COMMENTARY | DON BRUNELL

A tax on business is a tax on you

J

onathon Gruber recently created a stir with his comments about Obamacare and “the stupidity of the American voter.”

Gruber, an MIT economist, was one of the architects of the President’s health reform law. Recently, videotape surfaced of Gruber’s appearances over the past several years in which he described how the drafters of Obamacare used deception and manipulation to get the bill passed.

In one venue, Gruber noted that because taxes were a hard sell politically, “This bill was written in a tortured way to make sure [the Congressional Budget Office] did not score the [individual] mandate as taxes.” But when the law was later challenged in court, administration lawyers successfully argued before the Supreme Court that the mandate was a tax.

Gruber also acknowledged that supporters of the bill disguised how the program would be paid for — that young healthy people would pay to finance care for older, sicker people. That’s why there is such an aggressive effort to enroll young people in Obamacare.

As Gruber put it: “Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. And basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to get the thing to pass.”

Gruber told another audience that Obamacare’s 40 percent “Cadillac tax” on generous employer-provided health plans — many of them union plans — will ultimately end all employer-provided health coverage.

“Over time it’s gonna apply to more and more health insurance plans,” he said. “[The] tax that starts out hitting only 8 percent of the insurance plans essentially amounts over the next 20 years [to] essentially getting rid of the [tax] exclusion for employer-sponsored plans.”

But Gruber may have actually done taxpayers a favor.

In one appearance, he revealed what is an open secret at all levels of government: That a tax on businesses is a hidden tax on consumers.

Gruber said that, to make the so-called Cadillac tax more politically palatable, the drafters “mislabeled” it, “calling it a tax on insurance plans rather than a tax on people, when we all know it’s a tax on people who hold those insurance plans. … We just tax the insurance companies, they pass on higher prices. It’s a very clever, you know, basic exploitation of the lack of economic understanding of the American voter.”

Politicians are loath to raise taxes on individual voters. Remember the voter-approved initiative that overturned Washington’s car tab tax in 1999? That was a check voters had to write every year, and SEE BRUNELL | 38

TIMELLY

Erin Adamson with the United Food and Commercial Workers union gives a sticker (image at left) showing support for Walmart workers to a customer in front of the Port Orchard Walmart on Black Friday, Nov. 28. She and Port Orchard resident Carl Olson, left, were among several community members who showed up for the short demonstration, which ended when the store manager called police to have the people leave. Similar Black Friday demonstrations were held at Walmart stores in Bremerton and Poulsbo, as well as many stores across the country.

WWW.KPBJ.COM Check it out!

38 |DECEMBER 2014

WWW.KPBJ.COM

CAR REVIEW | 2015 KIA SEDONA

All-new minivan reinvents itself as ‘multi-purpose vehicle’

By Lary Coppola For KPBJ In response to the growing popularity of crossover utility vehicles (CUVs), it’s no secret that the minivan market has shrunk considerably the past few years, and 2015 will see three fewer minivans available. Conversely, Kia has uncovered the fact that almost as many empty nesters buy minivans as young families.

Accordingly, Kia has reinvented its 2015 Sedona as a “Multi-Purpose Vehicle” aimed at what it calls “bi-modal buyers.”

It’s easy to understand why minivans are popular with growing families — but older folks seem to enjoy the extra seating capacity and easier rear seat access via sliding doors for grandkids or to accommodate friends with limited mobility. And like crossovers, there’s large, flexible luggage and storage space.

Model Lineup: Safety features on all models include dual front airbags, front side-impact airbags, full-length curtain, antilock brakes, electronic stability control, traction control, brake assist, electronic brake distribution, and active headrests. Optional features are Vehicle Stability Management, Lane Departure Warning System, Forward Collision Warning System, and front and rear sonar.

The Sedona L comes with A/C with front and rear controls, YES Essentials fabric upholstery, seven-passenger seating, Slide-N-Stow second-row, thirdrow sinking seat, third-row 60/40 split folding seats, cruise control, power door locks with remote keyless entry, AM/FM/CD with MP3, four speakers, satellite audio, USB, Bluetooth, backup warning system, tilt/telescop-

ic steering wheel, 12 cup holders, three 12-volt power outlets, manual tailgate and sliding doors, and 17-inch alloy wheels.

Sedona LX upgrades include an eight-way power driver’s seat with two-way adjustable lumbar, six-speaker audio, UVO2 eServices and TMU with rearview camera and auto light control, second row and liftgate privacy glass, power-folding outside mirrors, roof rails and upgraded exterior lighting.

The Sedona EX adds tri-zone automatic A/C with filtration, eight-passenger seating, auto-up/ down front and rear windows, smart key with push-button start, leather-wrapped steering wheel, dual glovebox with cooling feature, upgraded interior trim, instrument cluster, exterior lighting, heated mirrors, wiper deicer, power sliding doors, smart power liftgate with sensor, upgraded exterior trim, Homelink garage-door opener, 18-inch alloy wheels and fog lights.

Sedona SX adds navigation, eight-speaker Infinity audio, electric power steering (hydrau-

BRU N EL L | F ROM 37

they felt the pain directly. So, elected officials prefer to tax businesses instead, knowing full well those businesses will have to pass along the tax to individuals through higher prices wherever possible.

Think of that the next time you buy gasoline. In Washington state, we’re paying 56 cents in federal and state taxes on every gallon of gasoline; 62 cents on each gallon of diesel. At current prices, that’s about a 20 per-

lic steering is standard), sevenpassenger seating, four-way adjustable lumbar for driver, eightway power front-passenger seat, heated and ventilated front seats, heated second-row seat cushions, seating memory, upgraded meter cluster, blind-spot detection with rear cross traffic, console-mounted 110-volt power inverter, Vehicle Stability Management System, premium wheel finishes and LED taillights.

Sedona SX Limited adds Nappa leather upholstery, seven-passenger seating with first-class lounge seating (eliminates SlideN-Stow), wood-trimmed, heated steering wheel, premium headliner, second-row floor console, front and rear sonar sensors, chrome outside door handles, unique grille, front and rear panel trim, aeroblade windshield wipers, dual sunroof, SUS door step and transverse trim, and 19-inch chrome alloy wheels.

Options include separate Convenience, 8-passenger, Premium, Technology and Rear-Seat Entertainment packages.

Walkaround: The 2015 Sedo-

cent tax.

Take a close look at your phone bill. Washington has the highest state tax in the nation on cell phone service — adding up to a whopping 24.4 percent in state and federal taxes. And many cities assess their own cell phone taxes, as well.

Many taxpayers enthusiastically support higher taxes on business, not realizing that they, as consumers, will actually pay those taxes. But the politicians know it. While it’s politically risky to openly tax the voters,

na is 1.6 inches longer than the previous version, and like most big crossovers, features short front and rear overhangs. It has an aggressive face for a minivan, featuring a prominent version of Kia’s signature grille. Large headlamps and LED positioning lights compliment the slotted bumper with end panels mirroring the grille. Fog lights on the side edges of the bumper on the upscale models, and a bash plate under the bumper panel round out the Sedona’s CUV look.

The Sedona’s profile showcases a slightly wedged greenhouse, steeply raked windshield and rear side glass shapes attempting to minimize that boxy minivan look.

Muscular wheel well openings and attractive wheels give the Sedona a sporty-looking stance.

A standard roof spoiler, angular rear window glass and asymmetrical lights diminish an essentially rectangular look, while an under bumper guard adds to the CUV illusion.

Interior: Comfort and ease of access rack up strong points for the Sedona. Although largely unchanged dimensionally, the Sedona’s interior delivers more space and an elevated, CUV-like driver’s seat that’s roomy, supportive and offers a good view of the road.

2015 Sedona models come standard with YES Essentials anti-microbial, anti-static fabrics for protection against spills and shock.

Instrumentation has a horizontal, symmetrical focus, featuring two large gauges with slashcut tubular housings inclined toward the driver, while the gearshift has been moved to the center console. The Sedona is also the first Kia to offer the company’s UVO3 telematics package, which features various eService applications as well as access to Pandora, iHeart Radio and Yelp Access to the center row is easy via wide, power sliding doors.

The First Class seats featured in the Sedona SXL are easy chair comfortable. In spite of center row and fairly high floor, access to the third-row isn’t too difficult. However, like most three

slipping those taxes through by taxing businesses or phone bills or utility bills — or your insurance company — happens every day.

So, the next time elected officials talk about raising taxes on business, pay attention. They’re talking about you.

• Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He recently retired as president of the Association of Washington Business, and now lives in Vancouver. He can be contacted at theBrunells@msn.com.

row vehicles, the low headroom suggests the third row is best suited to kids or small adults.

The seating arrangement is flexible depending on trim and options selected. The SXL model we drove had the second-row First Class two-seat arrangement, but a bench seat set up is also available for eight-passenger capacity.

Under The Hood: All 2015 Kia Sedona models are front-wheel drive, and feature the same 3.3-liter direct-injection V6 under the hood of the Cadenza and Sorento, boasting stronger power and torque characteristics than the 3.5-liter V6 it replaced. It’s married to a 6-speed Sportmatic automatic transmission and delivers 276 horses and 248 lb. ft. of torque. All-wheel drive is not available. EPA fuel economy ratings are 18/city and 24/highway for a combined rating of 20.

Behind The Wheel: We testdrove the Sedona on a variety of roads around Orange County, California. Our Sedona SX Limited offered both refinement and poise thanks to the compliant suspension and improved torsional rigidity that kept the ride well controlled, quiet and comfortable.

Even at an aggressive pace driving the hilly, winding Ortega Highway, quick back and forth turns were accomplished without roll or wallow. Acceleration is respectable for a two-ton minivan with a 3.3-liter powerplant.

In a vehicle designed to transport seven people in comfort, that’s a noteworthy achievement.

Whines: The electronic steering is somewhat light and numb on center, but the Sedona responds accurately.

Bottom Line: The all-new 2015 Kia Sedona offers compelling value in a shrinking market segment. There are cheaper minivans, but they aren’t as well-equipped as the base Sedona L, so equipment-based price comparisons give the Sedona a strong advantage.

• For more car reviews, visit www.autoreviewers.com.

WWW.KPBJ.COM

DECEMBER 2014 | 39

CAR REVIEW | 2015 MAZDA CX-9

A fun-to-drive alternative to boring crossovers

the screen are big and simple to use.

There’s plenty of head and legroom up front. The heavily bolstered front seats are firm and snugly supportive — although larger occupants may feel constrained.

Cloth seats are standard on Sport models, while leather comes on Touring and Grand Touring trims.

By Lary Coppola For KPBJ In the competitive large crossover segment, the elder statesman of the Mazda lineup — the CX-9 — has to work hard to distinguish itself in a sea of crossover SUVs that include the Chevy Traverse, Ford Explorer, Buick Enclave, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot among others. While the 2015 CX-9 — Mazda’s largest vehicle — is basically a carryover model, this fun-to-drive SUV deserves a second look in its updated form.

It includes seating for seven in three multiconfiguration rows, a new recreational accessories package and attractive Titanium Flash Mica finish — which our Grand Touring model test vehicle featured.

Model Lineup: The CX-9 again comes in three trim levels: Sport, Touring and Grand Touring. All are available with either front or all-wheel drive.

Standard features on the Sport include 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels, AM/FM/ CD with six speakers, and black sport cloth seats. One available Sport trim package offers an eight-way power-adjustable driver seat with power lumbar support, heated front cloth seats and heated outside mirrors. Previously manual, the lumbar support was upgraded to poweroperated for 2015.

The Touring model adds standard leather-trimmed upholstery, eight-way power-adjustable driver seat with power lumbar support, four-way power-adjustable front passenger seat, auto on/off headlights, Blind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, rear backup sensors and rearview camera.

Available is the Touring Technology Package, which offers a premium 10-speaker Bose® Centerpoint® Surround Sound System with AudioPilot®, TomTom-based in-dash navigation with real-time traffic, power lift gate, fog lights, moonroof, Advanced Keyless Entry and SiriusXM® Satellite Radio with a complimentary four-month subscription.

New for 2015 is the aforementioned Recreational Accessory Package, which includes roof rails, cross bars, cargo net and stainless steel rear bumper guard.

Grand Touring models upgrade to 20-inch satin chrome-finish aluminum alloy wheels, chrome exterior door handles, rain-sensing windshield wipers, anti-theft alarm, fog lights, exterior mirrors with turn indicators, power outside mirrors with memory and automatic tilt-down feature, power lift gate, auto on/off bi-xenon high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights with manual leveling, LED daytime running lights, three-position memory driver’s seat and HomeLink® auto-dimming rear mirror.

Two other package options are avail-

able for Grand Touring model. Although it can’t be combined with the Technology Package, a Rear Seat Entertainment Package offers most of what the Technology Package does, along with a nine-inchscreen DVD player, upgraded 11-speaker Bose Centerpoint Surround Sound System, and a 115-volt outlet. Both packages include features of the Recreational Accessory Package.

The final option — and only available on Grand Touring models — is the Towing Prep Package. While CX-9 FWD vehicles all boast a 2,000-pound towing capacity, the Towing Prep Package boosts that to 3,500 pounds, and adds a heavy-duty transmission cooler, radiator fan, and revised engine control module. The Towing Prep Package is standard on all AWD models, but the tow hitch isn’t included and must be purchased separately, while recreational accessories are not included either.

Walkaround: Changes for 2015 are primarily cosmetic and somewhat evolutionary from the CX-9’s 2013 facelift. From the side, the prominent nose looks almost shark-like, featuring Mazda’s “signature wing” five-point grille with chrome trim.

The steeply raked windshield and angular headlamps combine for a determinedly aggressive look when paired with the Grand Touring’s recessed fog lights and 20-inch wheels.

At 200.6 inches long, it’s one of the larger vehicles in its class — but drives smaller, thanks to having one of the tightest turning circles in the segment — which makes a real difference when navigating tight parking spaces.

Interior: The CX-9’s interior trim underscores the crossover’s sportiness, as does the organized and efficient interior layout. Material quality is high, with lots of soft touch points.

The center stack is dominated by the 5.8-inch touch screen, which houses the navigation system as well as the audio controls, which are also accessible from the steering wheel. Instrumentation is whiteon-black for the gauge cluster as well as the center console buttons and information screen. The climate controls located below

There’s ample room in the second row, and the seats slide and recline while folding fairly flat for cargo. To get to the third row, the seat can be easily moved with one hand, but the opening is pretty narrow because of a protruding wheel hub. It also has a high step-in height and the bench seat is set low to the ground for a kneesup sitting position With the third row seat up, the CX-9 has 17.2 cubic feet of cargo space, and 100.7 with both rows down.

Under The Hood: Mazda’s 3.7-liter V-6 engine powers the CX-9. It delivers 273 horses and 270 pound-feet of torque at

4,250 rpm.

Behind The Wheel: The words “agile” and “sporty” don’t usually come to mind when describing a large crossover — except with the CX-9. One of its strongest attributes is that it drives like a much smaller, sportier vehicle. Ample power, good acceleration, a responsive transmission, light precise steering, and agile handling make it downright fun to drive.

The V-6 is spirited from a stop and delivers even, linear power on the highway.

Prompt, certain downshifts from the sixspeed automatic transmission make passing a breeze.

The ride is on the firm side but not overly harsh, adding to its overall sporty nature.

Whines: The TomTom Navigation could handle some refinement. It was both easy, and overly complicated at the same time — if that makes sense. The 5.8-inch screen is small in comparison to others in the class, and annoyingly requires several steps to accomplish certain tasks. The lack of a tether anchor in the third row means installing a forward-facing childsafety seat is not safe. For a vehicle this size, we found the amount of road noise on some pavements disappointing.

Bottom Line: Striking good looks and sporty driving dynamics make the 2015 Mazda CX-9 a standout, sporty alternative in a segment defined by its blandness. It’s still the underdog of the segment — but the CX-9 is the most fun to drive. It’s a natural for families looking to add some excitement to cruising in the carpool lane.

• For more car reviews, visit www.autoreviewers.com.