The Harper community and Port of Bremerton officials could not have asked for better weather to reopen the newly constructed Harper Pier.

After several days of rain, sunny skies welcomed a gathering of more than 100 people who attended the grand reopening ceremony Jan. 16.

Ninety-five-year-old Betty Juneau, the oldest member in the Harper community, along with port officials, several elected officials and two other community members stood under an arch of blue and white balloons for the ribbon cutting.

“She (Juneau) is the first person who wrote a letter about getting this project done,” Port of Bremerton Commissioner Larry Stokes said.

“I’m glad everyone had a chance to participate in this,” Juneau said. “They all love the Harper Pier.”

Since September, the community watched as the new 400-foot-long steel structure took shape. Orion Marine, of Tacoma, was the contractor for the project.

Jim Heytvelt, co-chair of Friends of Harper Pier, said he loves the community and the support they shown.

“More than the pier, I love my community,” Heytvelt said. “I love everyone who supported us through this whole process. It has been amazing and you have inspired me.”

Molly Rainey, of Friends of Harper Pier, recalled a meeting three years ago at the Colby Methodist Church when officials told the community the pier was doing to be demolished.

“There was a lot of tears,” she said. “But we persevered, you wrote letters and supported us. And here we are. We are going to play host not only to Harper, but all of Kitsap County and the state. Harper be very, very proud.”

Port of Bremerton CEO Jim Rothlin also thanked the local community for getting behind the project.

“If they we’re not behind it, we could have not gotten it done,” he said. “We couldn’t go by ourselves and say, ‘We want this to happen.’ For people to get the money, they have to know that there is people behind it.”

“This was a team effort,” Rothlin said. “Each of you should be very proud of what we have today.”

Rothlin said total cost for demolishing and replacing the pier was $1.7 million. He said the Department of Natural Resources paid about $400,000 for removal, design and engineering of the pier; a $500,000 grant from the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office towards construction; and $800,000 from State Appropriation through the Legislature.

Rothlin said most of the money came from Sixth Congressional District U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, while he was a state senator, along with Sen. Jan. Angel and other legislators.

He also thanked the port staff and commissioners for their help during the project.

Port Commissioner Axel Strakeljahn said he’s excited about the new pier.

“I’m pleased to be standing here on this newly reconstructive piece of Puget Sound history,” he said. “Most of us wasn’t here 100 years ago when it was originally built. It was a very historical place.”

Strakeljahn said the new pier is an example how agencies and the community worked together for a common goal.

“It just shows it can be done,” he said.

Strakeljahn thanked the Friends of Harper Pier for their letter-writing campaign to get the new structure.

“There was a lot of hard work on their behalf and they stood behind a common cause,” he said. “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have got it going.”

Strakeljahn noted that Democratic and Republican legislators help with securing money for the project.

Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor) said there is a lot of celebrate in reopening the new pier.

“This is a celebration of the ability to work together and get things done,” said Kilmer, who helped secure funding for the project. “The boat moves best when all oars are in the water and rowing in the same direction rather than having then out of the water and beating each other over the heads.”

He said federal and state agencies helped in funding the project.

“The most important oars in the water was you — the Friends of Harper Pier — who helped make this happen,” Kilmer said. “Because you saw this as a community asset that we need. You saw it as part of our past, part of our present and a part of our future.”

Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido said the pier is something generations can enjoy and the project couldn’t have happened without the Harper community.

“You had a group that specifically maintenances vigilance over the entire project, offer opinions and suggestions every step of the way,” Garrido said. “That’s the Harper way.”

“This is long and coming, and I was delighted to help with funding the project because I know how important it was and is to the community,” wrote Sen. Jan. Angel, in a letter read by Strakeljahn.

Rothlin read a letter sent by Port Commissioner Robert Zabinski, who wrote, “The project was made possible by the teamwork and community support. There was a lot of people involved to develop this project.”

Stokes thanked the community of their support and work.

“This is a special of a group of people that’s worked together than I have ever seen. Everyone was on the same page,” said Stokes, who recalled coming to the old Harper Pier when he was a diver in the U.S. Navy in 1971.

Kitsap County Commissioner Robert Gelder, Port Orchard Mayor Tim Matthes, former Port of Bremerton CEO Tim Thomson and former District 26 State Rep. Larry Seaquist also attending the ceremony.

Balloons lined the pier as two scuba drivers walked out to the end of the pier and jumped into the Puget Sound.