For some of us, 2014 was not a great year. Not the worst by far but not the best either. I am happy to close the door on it and focus on easing into 2015 instead.

2015 is going to be an interesting year for Bremerton. A year filled with opportunity and promise if those involved are courageous and bold enough to take it on.

On the city side there will be the coming city council elections for three of the districts.

This election will be the first since the entire council was up for election after the voter approved reduction from nine districts to seven districts.

Going forward, the odd and even number positions will begin to rotate through their new cycles.

2015 is the year that the bulk of the work on the amendment/update to the City of Bremerton Comprehensive Plan will be completed.

The city comprehensive plan is the blueprint for strategy and growth within our community.

Some of the harsh restrictions on drive-thru lanes contained within the comp plan were recently eased in certain areas such as the East Bremerton corridor.

But so many more changes are needed so that for profit businesses looking to locate here are not driven away by the continuation of a strangled, dysfunctional and prejudiced process.

For more information on the comprehensive plan amendment process and opportunities for participation from the public, go to the city website at www.ci.bremerton.wa.us/display.php?id=843.

In 2015, there are some significant decisions to be made by the Bremerton School District. Bremerton schools have been a bright spot of success for our community.

With increased organizational success comes interest, attention and increasing student enrollment.

The Bremerton School District, like many others in the state, has had to navigate the failures of educational funding from the legislature; the push and pull of the McCleary decision as it worked its way through the court systems and now the passage of the voter approve Initiative 1351 Class Size Reduction Initiative.

Additional meetings and study sessions will be held by the school board in the coming year as a plan of compliance to additional challenges, unknowns and changes works itself out.

In a nutshell, 2015 is setting up to be the year of opportunity for citizen involvement and participation at a number of levels.

As stakeholders keeping up with the issues that face our community is more important now than ever before.

Take the time to start reading through the local publications that are available like the Bremerton Patriot.

Also, take advantage of social media. A host of community and neighborhood pages have established themselves over the past couple of years. Find some that apply to you and join in information sharing and the larger community conversation.

Let’s make this new year one of increased knowledge and participation.

Colleen Smidt is a longtime resident of Bremerton and writes weekly on community and political issues that matter to residents of Bremerton and Central Kitsap.