Reporter Central Kitsap
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2013 | Vol. 29, No. 11 | WWW.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM | 50¢
HE’S RINGING IN THE SEASON Fire officials
are leery of records request
BY LESLIE KELLY LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
It’s Frank Bowers’ third season as a Salvation Army bell ringer. And for the past two years, he’s been stationed outside the northeast door to JC Penney’s at the Kitsap Mall. Just about every weekday morning, and on Saturdays throughout the season, you’ll find him ringing the bell from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “I love it,” said Bowers. “It’s a great way to get into the spirit of the holidays.” Originally from Oakland, Calif., Bowers now lives in Bremerton where he had a daughter and three granddaughters. A disabled veteran, ringing the bell is a way to supplement his disability income. “It helps the Salvation Army and it helps me make a few dollars,” Bowers said. While he doesn’t sing or dance, he does have a very distinctive rhythm to his ringing. “It’s up and down and up, up down, down,” he quipped. “And then I change hands.” Shoppers this year seem to be in a good mood and are being generous, he said. “I can’t tell you much about the economy, except that it’s not stopping them from shopping or giving,” he said. “People are generous.” And whether they give or not, they’ll always get a smile
Union asks for documentation and answers BY LESLIE KELLY LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Leslie Kelly/staff photo
Frank Bowers is one of more than 80 Salvation Army bell ringers who will stand at their red kettles from now until Christmas Eve. Bowers loves meeting and talking to shoppers. and a “hello” from him. “Some of them stop to talk a bit,” he said. “We talk sports (he’s a Raiders fan…) or the military or the weather. This year, it’s been a lot about the weather.” As for the cold streak that Bowers has had to endure, he’s not a wimp. “I dress warm and it’s a mind thing,” he said. “I just
convince myself that I’m not cold.” But he’s glad there’s been no snow. “If I’m dry, then I’m good,” he said. “I don’t want the rain or the snow. That makes my bones hurt.” Bowers spent eight years in the Air Force and served in Vietnam. He’s also been an General Motors auto worker
in Fremont, Calif. He’s worked at the Oakland International Airport driving fire and rescue equipment and he’s been a dining supervisor at a residential home. Four years ago at age 60, he retired and moved to Bremerton. When he first rang the Salvation Army bell three SEE BELL RINGER, A13
Hearing date reset for SMCI project BY LESLIE KELLY LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
A hearing on the proposed plan to add nine single family residences on 1.65 acres near Tracyton Boulevard and Kint Drive has once again been postponed. It was set to be heard by the Kitsap County Hearing Examiner on Dec. 12, but now has been rescheduled to March 13, 2014. Originally, the matter was set for a hearing on Aug. 22 of this year, but was then abruptly postponed to December. County community devel-
opment officials said that postponement was to allow the developer, SMCI of Gig Harbor, more time to revised the development plans. The project had been determined by the county’s department of community development to not meet county regulations concerning storm water and drainage mitigation. Jeff Reed of SMCI appealed that decision to the county’s hearing examiner and a hearing was set for July. But that hearing didn’t take place because the county’s hearing examiner asked Reed to meet with county development offi-
cials and begin negotiations to see if the project could be amended to meet the county’s requirements. That was when a hearing date was set for August and eventually postponed to December and then extended. Larry Keeton, director for Kitsap County department of community development, did not return emails or calls to The Central Kitsap Reporter regarding the delay until March of next year. A neighborhood group that opposes the development led by Ron Gillespie, has sent a letter to Keeton asking why
another extension has been allowed, but also did not received a response, he said. “It seems as if everyone is leaning over backwards for the developer and the community just sits in limbo,” Gillespie said. “What additional information is the county requiring that is taking Mr. Reed so long to fulfill? Or is Mr. Reed submitting a new proposal all together? The community needs to know where the county stands on this.” Reed did not respond to multiple requests for an interview from The Reporter.
A request from the firefighter’s union for multiple public records dating back to 2008 has been sent the Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue District. And Fire Chief Scott Weninger said meeting the request could take up to three months. “We don’t know just how long and how much staff time it will take to meet the request by the IAFF 2819,” Weninger said. “But it could take until March.” Fire district officials said the request is for documents related to overtime pay to firefighters and information about a recent reduction in minimum staffing, from 19 to 17 firefighters per shift. Following a written request, a copy of the records request made by the union was given to the Central Kitsap Reporter on Tuesday. It shows that union officials want documents and records related to all notes, drafts, emails, written analysis, internal documents, meeting minutes and correspondence generated from commissioners, the fire chief, assistant chief, deputy chief, HR manager, division chiefs, battalion chiefs and staff related to any reduction in minimum staffing, overtime and safety analysis and studies since January 2008. A similar request was made for documents regarding the development of the position of career lieutenant for administrative emergency operations. Ronny Smith, president of the local IAFF 2819 representing union firefighters in the Central Kitsap Fire District, said the request is being made so that firefighters can review
what took place before commissioners approved a reduction in minimum staffing. “The decision came too quickly,” Smith said. “All we’re trying to do is to look at what went into making that decision and whether there was any analysis done about whether the reduction would impact the safety of residents in the district.” The CK Fire board of commissioners voted last month to drop the minimum number of firefighters per shift from 19 to 17 to reduce the amount of overtime the district accrues. This year, the district expects to pay out $886,000 in overtime pay, Weninger said. Overtime happens when firefighters who are scheduled to work are ill or at training and are replaced by other employees who reach more than 40 hours of work in a week. Smith said the records request is not being made lightly. He said he and others are concerned that district officials didn’t really look at what response times would be if the minimum staffing was reduced. “Did they even do a safety analysis before reducing staffing?” he asked. “If so, then the documents shouldn’t be that hard to find.” The requests for documents dates back to 2008, Smith said, because he is trying to figure out whether the district knew it needed to hire more firefighters years ago to avoid the large amount of overtime in the past five years. “If we’d hired appropriately back in 2008, we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in right now,” he said. Smith also said that the district failed to have community meetings about staffing, even though they are now planning community meetings in 2014 about the possible closure of SEE FIRE RECORDS, A13