PATRIOT BREMERTON
PASSING THE TORCH: A new generation of jewelry experts IN THIS EDITION
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2014 | Vol. 17, No. 43 | WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
Council approves $37.5 million budget for 2015
SWIRLING TO THE SEASON
Full-time auditor position, two new firefighters part of ‘status quo’ plan BY LESLIE KELLY LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
In a 6-1 vote Wednesday, the Bremerton City Council approved a $37.5 million budget for operation of the city in 2015. Councilwoman Leslie Daugs was the lone “no” vote. The budget, which was first presented to the city council by Mayor Patty Lent on Oct. 22, includes funding for two new firefighters and keep a full-time city auditor, but does not include body cameras for the city’s police officers. The budget is an increase of $3.1 million, up from this year’s $34.4 million budget. In order to fund the increase, last month, the council approved a one percent increase in the city’s property taxes, and added increases to
its utility fees and user fess, such as park facility rentals. When those increases were up for a vote, Daugs also said “no.” “I just think now is a time when we should be controlling our spending,” Daugs said last week. “I think there are areas in this budget that we still need to fine tune. So at this time, I’m not in support of the budget.” Other council members said that while they understood her concerns and the need to keep spending in control, they saw the budget as “status quo.” “This is really a status quo budget,” said Dino Davis. “There are some increases, but nothing major and I am very glad to see that we are adding
Luke Wesson photo
Dancers perform during Bremerton’s Winterfest on Dec. 5 in the Harborside area of downtown. Behind them is the city’s Christmas tree which was lit by Mayor Patty Lent during the festivities. Santa also made an appearance.
SEE 2015 BUDGET, A9
Man’s long fight to stop Hanford Avenue speeders may finally be won Some motorists drive 70 miles per hour in 25 mph zone, do doughnuts, he says BY LESLIE KELLY LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
For more than a decade, Vern LaPrath has been coming to Bremerton City Council members asking them to consider placing speed bumps along the street where he lives. It looks like his hard work may soon pay off. “I just keep beating the drum and hope it pays off,” LaPrath said last week. LaPrath lives at 902 Hanford Avenue, which is in East Bremerton and just off Wheaton Way. Hanford Avenue is a long straight-away with a hill and a downward incline that evens out a third of the way down the block. At the end of the street there’s a sharp curve to the left. Vern and his wife have lived on Hanford since 1973 and in those years, they’ve seen just about everything.
“Cars come speeding down this street at least three times a day,” he said. “Sometimes I can’t believe that they can go as fast as they do.” He estimates he’s seen cars go from one end of the block to the other in five seconds, which means they’re going anywhere from 60 to 70 miles an hour. The posted speed limit is 25 miles an hour. “Most of the speeders are going between 35 and 50 miles an hour,” he said. “But they’re all well over the 25 mile an hour limit.” Many of the speeders are young drivers, he said. Like the young man who he recently saw do an “e-brake.” “We used to call them donuts in my day,” he said. “He slammed on the breaks did a 360 and fished tailed just missing my neighbors mailbox.” LaPrath was out in his yard at the time and wrote down his license plate number and called 911.
Leslie Kelly / staff photo
Vern LaPrath stands in front of his house on Hanford Avenue in East Bremerton. He has been campaigning for speed bumps for years. “It was a little black fastback car, real low to the ground,” he said. “I reported it and the police caught up with him soon after. He admitted what he’d done.” Because it’s long and straight, the street appeals to those who want to speed, LaPrath said. And it’s a short-
cut through the neighborhood, so that drivers don’t have to wait for the light at Sylvan Way. LaPrath isn’t just the angry complaining neighbor, he said. His concern is for the kids that live along the street and the elderly who walk there for exercise.
“There aren’t any sidewalks,” he said. “Right now we probably have a dozen to 20 kids who stand out by the road and wait for the school bus. I just know something’s going to happen some day.” When he started his campaign for speed bumps, no one really listened. In February of 2012, the city placed an electronic speed board trailer on the street to collect speed data. That showed the bulk of drivers were doing the speed limit, so no speed bumps were added. But he challenged that data. “If that was the case, I wouldn’t be down at City Hall complaining,” LaPrath said. “When people saw the traffic trailer, they slowed down. It wasn’t really very representative.” At that time, he gathered information for the city which showed that three speed bumps along Hanford would cost about $1,500. He recently did the same and found that the three speed bumps he’s suggesting will now cost $4,565. “It would have been much cheaper SEE SPEED BUMPS, A9