BREMERTON — A day after suggesting his fellow commissioners had violated the Open Public Meetings Act, Bremerton Port Commission President Roger Zabinski apologized at a port meeting Nov. 25.

“What I did was not appropriate on my part,” Zabinski said after opening the regular meeting Nov. 25. “I want to apologize to my fellow commissioners. How we treat people is important. How we treat people is paramount.”

Zabinski said he has another year on his term as a port commissioner and wants to finish it out, hinting that he hopes to improve his relationship with commissioners Axel Strakeljahn and Larry Stokes.

Neither commissioner responded to Zabinski’s words and the meeting continued without incident.

On Nov. 24, Zabinski accused Strakeljahn and Stokes of violations of the Open Public Meetings Act, citing that it appeared to him they had had conversations about the possibility of a 1 percent increase in port taxing authority to support the 2015 budget.

Stokes said no such violation had happened.

“Let me be clear, I have never knowingly or willingly violated the (Open) Public Meetings Act,” Stokes said.

Strakeljahn said he didn’t know what Zabinski was referring to.

“I want more details, because I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Strakeljahn said.

Heated exchanges between the commissioners went on for more than 10 minutes with Zabinski saying that conversations about port business outside of public meetings had gone on for some time.

He said former port CEO Tim Thompson was hired in that manner by Stokes and then- commissioner Bill Mahan.

Stokes then told Zabinski to “stop lying.”

The exchange ended only after Zabinski said he planned to bring in formal training for the commissioners on the Open Public Meetings Act.

During the public comment time at the Nov. 25 meeting, Chris Tibbs, chairman of the Kitsap County Republican Party, told commissioners and port staff that he was troubled by the comments made by Zabinski.

“I’ve heard about the comments made here on Monday and for the record, I want to say I am thankful for the leadership of both Larry Stokes and Axel Strakeljahn,” Tibbs said. “Your service is appreciated.”

Tibbs said he had received telephone calls from Republican elected officials throughout the area who were upset by what Zabinski said and he wanted to attend the meeting Nov. 25 to emphasize that the Kitsap Republican Party supports Stokes and Strakeljahn.

Earlier Nov. 25, it was reported that a representative of the state Auditor’s Office will visit with Port of Bremerton officials in January to review the Open Public Meetings Act. Carol Ehlinger, an audit manager for the state who lives in Port Orchard, said her visit is planned in response to a request from Zabinski.

Zabinski asked Ehlinger to speak to commissioners on the Open Public Meetings Act after comments made by his two fellow commissioners indicated to him they may have discussed a matter in private before a vote, and a port staff member told him she didn’t know what a serial meeting is.

A state law that went into effect this year requires all elected and appointed public officials to undergo training in the Open Public Meetings Act. Ehlinger said this visit will be in addition to that training.

When Zabinski relayed his concerns to her, “I asked him if it would be helpful if I came and made a presentation and answer questions and share best practices with them,” Ehlinger said. “He said yes. That’s why we set up this meeting.”

The state’s Open Public Meetings Act, or OPMA, was written to ensure that public agencies discuss public business in public. Issues that may be discussed in a closed session, called an “executive session” — like real estate transactions and personnel matters — are regulated as well: The commission must announce at its meeting that it will go into executive session, cite the reason, and state whether it anticipates making a decision. Any vote must be made in public when the commission returns from executive session.

Violation of the OPMA is not a criminal violation, but can lead to fines assessed by a Superior Court judge.

In a Nov. 5 letter to Zabinski — copied to commissioners Strakeljahn and Stokes, Port District CEO Jim Rothlin, port attorney Gordon Walgren, and Ehlinger — Assistant Attorney General Nancy J. Krier wrote that it’s a violation of the Open Public Meetings Act for commissioners to discuss with each other port matters outside of a public forum — “in person, by phone, by email or even by text,” she wrote. Having such a discussion is called a “serial meeting.”

Krier wrote, “For a three-member commission, that means when two members are communicating to transact agency business, those discussions are subject to the [Open Public Meetings Act]. And if a quorum participates in the discussion in a serial fashion, that can result in a ‘serial meeting.’”

In an interview before the Nov. 24 meeting, Strakeljahn, a store manager elected to the commission in 2012, said he and Stokes have never discussed port matters outside a public forum — in private, by phone or by email. “I’m not aware of any concerns,” he said.

Stokes, who has served on the commission since 2008 — and before that from 1979-1989 — said, “I have never knowingly violated or done something wrong.” Regarding email communications, he said, “I don’t send out emails. I don’t like emails because they’re one-direction communication. Plus, I’m not computer smart.”

He added, “If we’ve got a commissioner looking for a ghost in the closet, he can go ahead and keep looking. I’ve been on the commission this time seven years and two terms back in the 1980s. My interest is in doing what the people elected me to do.”