Patriot Bremerton
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2013 | Vol. 16, No. 43 WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
SUNRISE OVER BREMERTON
Keep it classy Expanded classifieds inside Kitsap Week
After years at sea and in ‘port,’ it’s time to retire BY LESLIE KELLY
LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Kevan Moore/staff photo
The sun peeks through a ridgeline as it rises over downtown Bremerton. Despite all the sunshine, clear skies have led to some pretty brisk days and freezing overnight temperatures.
Warren Ave. waterline work slated BY KEVAN MOORE KMOORE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Folks who regularly travel north over the Warren Avenue Bridge can expect to see work crews, some lane closures and pedestrian revisions in coming months. Work to replace 1,700 feet of a 20-inch steel water main suspended under the bridge, which was first installed in 1958 and is responsible for the majority of 2.5 million gallons that flows into East Bremerton every day, is set to start this month. Bill Davis, an engineer with the city of Bremerton, said the water main is approaching the end of its useful life and has substantial corrosion with leaking
Kevan Moore/staff photo
Work crews will begin prepping this month to replace the waterline suspended under the Warren Avenue Bridge. joints and couplings. It also needs seismic upgrades. Seismic ball
joints will be installed at four locations to allow the suspended water
main to flex and move SEE WATERLINE, A13
There was never any question in Tim Thomson’s mind. He knew he was going to grow up to become a naval aviator. “My father was a naval aviator and he used to do loops over the lake where we lived,” Thomson said. “It was a given that that was what I was going to do.” And after 28 years in the Navy and another 15 years in the private sector, most of those being at the Port of Bremerton, come Dec. 31, Thomson will retire. He is currently the chief executive officer at the port, a position he has held for two-plus years. Prior to that, he was the real properties manager, the chief operating officer and the director of business development. He’s been with the port since 1999. “The title kept changing, but really, I was in charge of marketing the port properties,” he said. He is most proud of his work with tenants at the port’s Olympic View Industrial Park, he said. “I’ve enjoyed working with them and helping them find ways for their businesses to grow,” he said. “When I came to the port, there were 360 jobs in the industrial park. Now there are more than 1,000.” Thomson is quick to say that he isn’t taking sole credit for the the growth, but that it’s been a team effort on the part of all port management. He’s also pleased with the amount of infrastructure that been added in the industrial park. “We’ve worked hard to develop the properties and the infrastructure to accommodate the needs of the private sector,” he said. As a taxing entity, that’s
the ports responsibility — to complete capital projects as a means to provide for private business development and job expansion, he said. Thomson also takes pride that he was a part of the creation of the Bremerton Marina. The marina, opened in 2008, has received criticism because of its lack of tenants, until recently when a consultant doubled the occupancy rate at the marina. “For all the good and bad, it was quite an undertaking,” he said. “It’s the biggest project we’ve done in the 100-year history of the port.” Thomson also is pleased that the port has been able to complete the northeast campus which now has all sites pad-ready and makes them more attractive to potential tenants. “It’s a real positive for the port because we are ready for the economic recovery,” he said. “It puts us in a great position to attack new businesses to locate and build here.” Probably the most difficult time for Thomson in his years at the port was in March of this year when he had to restructure the port’s operations to make it more cost effective. “I’m sure that will be my legacy,” he said. “It was a painful experience, but it was the right thing for the port to do — to cut expenses.” He said having to cut positions and knowing that that was affecting employees and their families was hard. “I take no pride that it caused hardships for some families,” he said. “But the result was a significantly lower dependency on tax dollars to operate and maintain the port.” As CEO at the port, he’s SEE THOMSON, A13