The parking garage in downtown Port Orchard is a good idea. To put it underground with the new library on top of it is brilliant.
We the people will have our waterfront back rather than having a park-and-ride for Bremerton and Seattle.
It has been stated that there will be elevators to provide access for the disabled and all who choose to not use the stairs.
I have never seen a wheelchair going up or someone on crutches walking up Sidney or Fredrick to get to Prospect, so with the new project completed the elderly and disabled folks will now have easy access to that street and the new library.
All people will have access to the new library from a covered parking area that will be a bonus for library patrons.
The rest of downtown Port Orchard will also have covered parking.
With the parking for Port Orchard not disrupting the possibilities for expanded waterfront usage, our little city might grow rather than be stifled by the Port of Bremerton’s Park and Ride.
Just think about all those cars parked there all day long, leaking oil and doing more damage to Puget Sound.
Our city is mandated to comply with the stormwater regulations of the state and with the new parking facility contained underground there is a chance that this will aid in complying with those regulations.
Our mayor has done a good job at trying to get this little city moving. It is taken many more hours than the part-time position implies.
It is a full-time position, as our previous mayor found out.
She was spending so much time as mayor she decided to not run for another term. She stated that she “wanted to spend more time with (her) family,” so this is an indication she wanted a part-time position and not the full-time position the job of mayor of Port Orchard required.
The current mayor, Lary Coppola, is working very hard to get something done and is doing so in terrible economic times and yet progress is being made.
He is putting in full-time hours in a part-time position.
Now does anyone want a part-time mayor in a city that obviously requires a full-time mayor?
It is sort of like trying to get a doctor to work full-time when he’s on a part time contract. Ever try to get a timely appointment with one of these doctors?
We need a full-time mayor and as such that position should receive the pay that goes along with that responsibility.
I agree completely with Councilman Jerry Childs and Councilwoman Carolyn Powers about the position of mayor and the growth of our city.
STEPHEN SWEENEY
Port Orchard
