T he city of Port Orchard drew a line in the sand and Bremerton stepped over it. The question now is whether we plan to do anything about it.

And to carry the playground bully analogy to its logical conclusion, the feeling here is that a retaliatory punch in the nose might be just the thing to persuade our neighbors across Sinclair Inlet that Port Orchard simply isn’t going to take any more of this guff.

In voting last week to annex the South Kitsap Industrial Area (SKIA) North property, the Bremerton City Council blatantly snubbed Port Orchard’s repeated requests to be involved in the process and violated the terms of an existing Memorandum of Understanding between the two cities and the Port of Bremerton that SKIA would be developed as a joint effort of all three parties.

Whether or not that agreement is actually binding is a matter of opinion. Port Orchard believes it is, and from a narrow legal perspective, any document that includes an offer, terms and acceptance would generally be considered a valid contract, so it’s not like the city’s leaders are just barking at the moon here.

Again, however, it comes back to whether Port Orchard officials have the stomach to deliver a metaphorical punch in the nose in the form of a legal challenge to Bremerton’s hubris.

And frankly, we wouldn’t mind seeing that happen if only to send a message that this city is entitled to be a full partner in SKIA and not just an afterthought at best.

After all, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened — lest anyone should forget the Port of Bremerton’s vote to raise property taxes here to pay for a lavish upgrade to the Bremerton Marina, or the city of Bremerton contemplating asking that the county seat be moved from Port Orchard and its threat to annex McCormick Woods.

And who knows what mischief they’ll think of next?

It also bears remembering that Bremerton’s vote last week only applies to SKIA North, which is a 150-acre parcel within the massive 3,400-acre SKIA site.

But if the bullies over there get the idea Port Orchard will simply roll over and decline to fight for its rights on the smaller tract, how long will it be before they go for all the marbles?

At an absolute minimum, Port Orchard is the logical choice to be awarded the lucrative contract to provide the project’s sewer service — particularly after the city invested millions to upgrade its existing treatment facility specifically to accomodate SKIA.

And yet Bremerton City Council President Will Maupin last week refused to concede even that much, saying it was too early to make any such commitment.

This despite the fact that Bremerton’s own treatment plant in Gorst is already operating at near-capacity providing service to the city and to the Navy, and there is no plan to secure the funding needed to expland.

All of which only underscores the disdain with which Port Orchard is evidently viewed by Bremerton’s leaders.

And that isn’t going to change unless or until Port Orchard takes off the gloves and fights back.

Port Orchard Mayor Lary Coppola is saying the diplomatic thing when he emphasizes that the city has no desire to take this matter to court and would much prefer to simply sit down with Bremerton officials and hammer out an equitable solution.

He also scores points for candor when he allows that, if the roles were reversed and he were in Bremerton’s shoes, he might be tempted to do exactly what it’s doing.

But the shoe isn’t on the other foot and Coppola’s responsibility to Port Orchard is to see that we don’t get steamrolled on SKIA — either partially or totally.

If it’s a fight the Bremerton City Council and its accomplices the Port of Bremerton commissioners want, maybe it’s about time we gave them one.