Bay St. may be resurfaced curb to curb.

After a series of missed messages between the city of Port Orchard and the Washington State Department of Transportation, it appears that downtown Bay Street will be paved from curb to curb instead of just down the middle.

“We want to set this right,” said WSDOT Assistant Revision Manager John Wynands. “Our purpose is to make it work for the taxpayers and the city and compensate for this communications breakdown.”

Representatives from the city and the WSDOT are scheduled to meet this week in order to discuss the problem and find a solution, according to sources from both agencies.

The project, which covered the entire expanse between City Hall and Peninsula Feed, was originally scheduled for early 2007. The city requested a postponement in order to install new utility infrastructure, but did not respond to WSDOT requests about commencing the work this year.

After this time the WSDOT continued plans for the project, but only for the center two lanes. Due to cost increases and a lack of response from the city, paving of the angled parking area was then removed from the project.

If completed in this manner, the result would be inconsistent and unsafe, according to city officials.

The city first learned of the situation when an unnamed city employee struck up an informal discussion with a road worker several weeks ago. This was brought to the attention of newly appointed Public Works Director Mark Dorsey, who sent a concerned letter to State Sen. Derek Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor) asking that the funding be restored.

Kilmer contacted Wynands, who responded that the city was informed of the WSDOT’s plans in February but did not provide any input regarding the change.

The paving cutback was a money-saving measure, resulting from increased fuel costs. By the time the city responded in June it was too late to submit a change order to bring the project back to its original scope, according to Wynands’ communication with Kilmer.

“My role is to get everyone together and make sure that the project is completed within the budget,” Kilmer said. “I want to get everyone at the table so they can find a solution.”

Kilmer’s efforts apparently succeeded with regard to this meeting, which was unscheduled as of Thursday afternon.

Dorsey said he is always finding unfinished aspects and incomplete correspondence when he “scratches the surface” on certain projects.

Had he known the truth, he would not have written Kilmer but would have worked through “proper channels.”

Port Orchard Planning Director James Weaver seconded Dorsey’s assessment, saying he has found incomplete projects daing back to 2004.

Like Dorsey, Weaver was appointed by Mayor Lary Coppola, who took office in January.

All those contacted were careful to not criticize Dorsey’s predecessor, Maher Abed, for his failure to respond to the DOT. However, Wynands’ letter to Dorsey stated that the situation existed because “the previous public works director did not make the council aware of the situation.”

Instead of a continued lobbying effort to restore the funds, the city now plans to send letters to Wynands and Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond thanking them for their help, according to Dorsey.