It happens each year. We endure all the grayness of winter, usually a soggy spring and the days drag on. Summer finally arrives and the passing of the days accelerates. Each weekend seems jammed with things to do but not enough time to do all you want. Then nightfall starts arriving just a little earlier each evening and…
Enough of that. We sure are having a great summer. The Fourth of July party is in the history books. From what I know, everyone had a good time.
The Independence Day party was a great time to break in the new performing arts pavilion down at the port. Standing on that stage and seeing all of the happy faces listening to music and waiting for the fireworks made me feel very proud to be part of this community.
It was nip and tuck right up to the end, though. The building inspector and fire marshal gave their final approval for us to occupy the structure on July 3. Pretty good planning right?
As nightfall approached, I took a walk down along the marina walkway toward the boat launch ramp and saw several hundred people sitting in chairs or on the grass where all of the new landscaping has been placed. I think we did a pretty good job there too. We were having a conversation at the June commissioners’ meeting that this new marina walk garden and lawn space area ought to have a name — something apart from Mike Wallace Park. Any suggestions?
What about that kayak facility? Yes it is here and it sure looks great. But when do we get to use it? Hopefully that will be a moot point by the time you read this. There were a few issues with level floatation when the structure arrived, but Caicos Construction fixed them all up and we were just about ready to occupy it when we looked at the placement of some of the racks. A few of them would make stacking and removal of kayaks awkward, so we moved them around. Once those finishing touches are done, we are looking forward to a lot of new activity down there in the north corner of the marina.
Near the public restrooms we’ve placed a sign acknowledging all of the local crafts, trades and businesses that have supported our projects over the past few years. It is just so neat to have all of the stuff we need to do all of these projects right here in North Kitsap County.
Seawall construction should be well under way with the repair of the North Beach revetment and trail to the beach. It is unfortunate that timing for this project had to occur right in the middle of summer, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. Remember, Arness Park also provides great beach access and has some nice picnic areas as well.
Our little electric car gets a lot of use these days. I was visiting with some friends in an RV over the Fourth of July and in the course of 45 minutes the car left and returned three times — with different people in it each time. That’s what I call grassroots economic stimulus. Each time the car returned, the back cargo area was full of things they had purchased in town.
Speaking of RVs, someone asked me why we let those big things into the parking lot. Well, they are treated the same as visiting boats and pay by the foot for their “land yacht” slip in the parking lot, just like boats do in the marina. Inside a few of the light poles, there are electrical hook-up outlets for them too.
There sure is a lot going on down at the port these days. The Kitsap Arts and Craft Festival late in July was a great addition to our list of activities. Paddle Kitsap will once again bridge the span between July and August with music and fun, and then we begin our Downtown Kingston Association’s schedule of free concerts each Saturday throughout August. And PawFest is returning to the park with their Pet Festival and Adoption Fair on Sunday Aug. 2. More info on that is at PAW-Fest.com.
Well, it looks like I am getting near the edge of the page once again so it’s time to sign off for another month. Thank you as always for reading this stuff. I will be seeing you around town.
Pete DeBoer, Port of Kingston Commissioner, pete@petedeboer.com.
