One of the unique characteristics of North End living is that we are a series of unincorporated communities that have no city government to do things for us. We receive what I call “core” services like law enforcement and roads and parks from Kitsap County. We rely on community organizations and our own involvement to make things happen.
The closest things to formal community-wide representation are the community advisory councils that exist in Suquamish, Kingston and Greater Hansville. These organizations are formally recognized by the county since they are broadly representative of the organizations and interests in each community. The role of the advisory councils is to “advise” the county about local issues and to help the community get involved in the bigger issues.
One of the challenges for any formal “public” organization is how to inform and involve the public. In my experience, public organizations work really hard to involve their constituents using techniques like articles in newspapers and local newsletters, special mailings, signs, Web sites and public meetings. Unfortunately, no matter how strong the effort, many residents don’t read the information or respond. Everyone is busy and there are lots of public agencies trying to get our attention. Unless it is an issue that we are already involved with, we often don’t pay attention to that outreach.
But when action is finally taken, it is amazing how many people will come up and say “Why didn’t somebody tell me about this? This has been a secret process!”
Recently, we had a similar situation in Hansville. Increased growth in the area has raised concerns about increased traffic and safety for kids, families, pets, horses, etc. that must use road shoulders for walking. Speed counts conducted by the county indicated that some drivers were driving 70 mph in a 30 mph zone and others were driving 50-plus mph in a 25 mph zone in “downtown” Hansville.
An initial public meeting in March 2006 attracted about 100 concerned local residents. (That would be the equivalent of more than 16,000 people attending a meeting in Seattle!) The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office said it was the biggest meeting on traffic concerns they had ever seen! Volunteers from that meeting formed a committee that sought increased enforcement from the sheriff’s office and wrote articles for newspapers and local newsletters asking folks to drive more carefully. Radar trailers were brought in and speed reminder signs were posted.
After a year’s worth of enforcement and education, speeding actually increased! One county adviser said the only way to control speeds was with “traffic calming” devices on the roadway. After a great deal of research, the committee recommended to the Greater Hansville Advisory Council that the county install several speed tables that would allow travel at posted speeds but no speeding. In May 2007 about 100 residents attended a well-publicized meeting (the county sent out 2,000 notices to area residents and articles were placed in local newsletters) where the committee presented its recommendations. There was broad support for the plan with only one person objecting to the speed tables. Both the sheriff and deputy chief of North Kitsap Fire and Rescue supported the plan. Meeting results were reported.
The tables were recently installed and now some local residents are complaining about them, claiming they never heard anything about the planning effort. One objector told me he either didn’t subscribe to or read the local papers, didn’t read the local newsletters, didn’t see the county’s meeting notice and, if he had, he probably wouldn’t have attended the meeting. But he might have submitted written comments. Of course, by not attending the meetings or reading any of the material that was sent out he wouldn’t have seen any of the information collected by the committee about the need for the speed tables.
So both sides ended up being frustrated. The committee felt personally attacked and unfairly criticized; especially the allegations about NIMBYism and a “secret” process. Those who, for one reason or another, didn’t know about the devices must have had quite a shock when they saw them being installed.
When I look at this situation, I’m reminded of two things. First, you can’t ever do too much to try to inform the public. We constantly need to be looking for new and better ways to get information out. Second, we live in a Democracy and enjoy many privileges. But along with those privileges comes responsibility. It is our responsibility to be aware and informed of issues that affect us. If we choose not to exercise this responsibility, then we need to accept the results of the efforts of those who do.
Hopefully, there will always be folks who step up to take on issues of concern to each community. If their actions would have an effect on the rest of the community then they have an obligation to involve and inform the rest of the community. But at the end of the day, there can only be discourse and debate among those that choose to participate. And the results can only be decided by those who do.
The vitality of our communities in the North End relies on volunteers working through various organizations to make things better. Even if we aren’t involved in these groups, we need to be “connected” enough to pay attention to what is happening so that we are informed citizens and to see that our interests are represented.
Our communities thrive when we are involved. This latest example shows what happens when this doesn’t happen. We develop factions and bad feelings that, for some, can be irreparable. As we enter the New Year, I hope that we can resolve to become more involved and informed in order to truly preserve vibrant communities that meet the needs of all of us.
Contact Commissioner Steve Bauer with comments or questions at sbauer@co.kitsap.wa.us or (360) 337-7146.
