Citizen Editorial

It’s hard to believe, but employers across the state will tell you: we have jobs, but not the people to fill them.
A skills gap is garnering both national and local attention. Mason County’s unemployment rate remains higher than the state’s average, yet recently almost one-fifth of area employers trying to fill jobs couldn’t find qualified applicants. Sadly, some positions remain unfilled. People who want to work aren’t getting the jobs they need to support their families. Firms that need more workers aren’t getting properly skilled people to grow their businesses.
A solution that deserves renewed commitment and resources is our career and technical education (CTE) institutions.
Unemployed people flock to community colleges to gain new skills. Ironically, drastic drops in revenues lead to cuts that lay off the very people meant to teach them. Our economy needs skilled men and women with degrees and certificates in sectors like composites, healthcare, marine technology, engineering, metalworking and media technologies. We must partner with local industries to invest in our workforce now to reap the rewards of a new economy tomorrow.
Additionally, high schools offer courses through West Sound Tech in Bremerton and New Market Skills Center in Olympia. Young people have access to meaningful, relevant, hands-on education leading to apprenticeships, industry-recognized certifications and higher education. Every student deserves a pathway to engaging work and lifelong learning.
February is Career and Technical Education month. Join me in learning more about how career and technical education programs benefit our people and our businesses.
--Jeff Davis

The Belfair Waste Water Reclamation System (Belfair Sewer) cost has doubled from $26.4 million in 2007 to roughly $48 million and growing daily. This is a very small sewer system with only about 220 Phase 1 hook ups and 3 more planned phases with fewer hook ups. With about a 100% cost over over run to date, with a heavy debt service  of millions of your tax dollars not covered by grants and numerous loans, with no advisory committee involvement during actual construction helping control spending and creating transparency in government and finally with skewed  ERU calculations, the result is abnormally high hook up costs and excessively high monthly sewer rates. All structures in the Belfair UGA are forced to hook up. Our sewer system will likely force too many businesses to immediately close, discourage new business and create more unemployment. Who in their right mind would ever consider moving to Belfair with such high sewer costs? How badly was this project mismanaged by Mason County government?
     Mason County admits an initial hook up fee of $3000 per ERU but that was only good for existing businesses and homes until January 31, 2012. Now new and existing structures will pay $6000 per ERU until January 1, 2013, then $7900 per ERU before January 1, 2014 and $10,200 per ERU until January 1, 2015. Worst of all sewer hook ups will steadily increase until 2025 when Mason County projects $20,600 per ERU. Many Belfair structures have 3 to 10 ERUs.
     Mason County admits initial $96 monthly sewer rates per ERU but steadily increasing to cover excessive cost over runs and operating costs. National sewer rates are commonly between $40 to $60 a month. Sewer rates do increase over time but our rates are excessive now and could soon nearly double simply because we may lose more sewer customers than gained. Everyone in Mason County may have to make up the difference.
     Mason County believes Belfair has a 155 gallon per day ERU. ERU is Equivalent Rural Use of water per day per structure. Always remember less gallons per ERU means more ERUs per hook up with higher monthly sewer rates and higher hook up costs. A 10 ERU structure now pays 10 x $6000 or $60,000 to hook up now and would pay $206,000 in 2025. Monthly rates are 10 x $96 or $960 now and much more over time.
     Why all the doom and gloom? Sewer shock is expected but we'll be the laughing stock of the state with an inaccurate ERU rate and abnormally high sewer construction and debt service. Bremerton's ERU is 250 gallons per day, City of Shelton is 225, Case Inlet (Allyn) is 219 and Silverdale is 199 gallons per day. Belfair residents bath daily, wear clean clothes and use indoor plumbing no different than Shelton or Silverdale.
     Mason County projects Belfair growth at 5% yearly through 2019 and 6% thereafter. The City of Shelton originally projected 2% yearly growth and Kitsap County used 1 to 2.5%. These sewer systems were built in better economic times and not in the deep recession that could evolve into a depression .
     I believe this sewer system is a TRAIN WRECK waiting to happen. The next Phases have smaller populations mostly single residential ERUs while Phase 1 is about 75% commercial with multiple ERUs. In Phase 1, QFC will be forced pay $400,000  hooking up to this TRAIN WRECK. The laundromat has 22 ERUs (22 x $3000 or $66,000 to hook up and 22 x $96 or $2112 per month).  How much more will the next Phases cost everyone countywide?
     This is an UNACCEPTABLE and UNFORGIVABLE sewer system that instead of being a magnet  for growth will likely make Belfair look more like a ghost town with even more empty buildings, higher unemployment and less revenue for Federal, State and County coffers. Everyone in Mason County will likely chip in to resolve this dilemma.
     Even though the sewer system will help improve long term Hood Canal water quality, it could devastate Belfair and definitely effect everyone in Mason and even Kitsap County. Will population growth outside the Belfair UGA be encouraged when the Washington State Growth Management Act established UGAs as centers of concentrated growth to discourage sprawl?
     Why did Emmett Dobey abruptly resign as Mason County Director of Utilities & Waste Management early December 2011 without finishing the Belfair Sewer?
      Would the last person to leave Belfair please flush all the toilets.
                                                       Sincerely,
                                                      Bob Harris
                                                

“Presidential Primary Storm Heading This Way.”
                Washington voters are often overlooked every four years in the presidential primary/caucus storm for one of two simple reason.  Either, because by early March after 11 other primaries it may be expected that both parties have narrowed their choices down to one each, or because its proximity to “Super-Tuesday” on which ten states hold their primary or caucus.  Only three days separate Washington’s caucus on Saturday March 3rd from Super-Tuesday on March 6.  There are still 7 primaries after yesterday’s Florida Primary until this political hurricane reaches the Evergreen State.  But as this process draws out, it seems that in a little over a month, Americans may still be watching closing to see who will challenge the President in November. Many of us would like to give advice to candidates vying for the electoral votes of the party loyalists in this state.
If given that opportunity, I’d like to suggest some things that may or may not actually help candidates win, but will certainly make them more deserving of a win and may actually score points with Washington’s “let’s get real” pragmatic attitude toward life:
1-Be Yourself.  Simply put, candidates, Washingtonians are well-equipped with a bologna meter.  Pretending to be just like us, when you clearly aren’t, will only breed distrust.
2-Be Honest.  Let’s be clear.  Newt Gingrich has never been a lobbyist, President Obama is not a secret Muslim terrorist, Mitt Romney didn’t get rich by killing strong companies and firing people just for fun.  In the heat of an election it becomes easy to adopt dishonest sound-bites that scare people away from another candidate.  It may play well in certain parts of this country.  I really don’t believe it will play well here.
3-Be realistic.  Promising things that no one politician, even if he is or becomes president, can deliver will only cause us not to take you seriously.
4-Be positive.  Things are tough.  We know it.  We get it.  But, we haven’t forgotten that we live in the greatest place to live anywhere on planet Earth.  And last, but not least:
5-Be clear.  In other words, candidates, tell us your plan and be specific.  Washington State is, arguably, the heart the of information age.  We know the records of the candidates and we are familiar with the rhetoric.  Here’s what I believe we truly want to hear.  Tell us what your vision is for where America can be in four and eight years.  Then, tell us your plan to get us there.  On March 3rd you might find out that if Washingtonians like your plan, it will matter more to us than how much we like you or dislike the other guys.
G.E. Cummings

The Legislature adjourned its special session on Wednesday, Dec. 14. The lawmakers left town with little to show in comparison to the $2 billion in spending cuts they must make to balance the state budget the next few years. At the end of special session, the legislature had made $480 million in fund transfers and minor cuts. I am unsure whether the cost of conducting the special session was worth the cost, considering how little was accomplished.  Though the Governor called the special session in hopes of wiping out the entire $2 billion revenue shortfall and possibly sending a revenue package to voters in the spring, far less work actually was accomplished. In other words, the Governor has the power to schedule a special session but she has no authority to require how much work gets accomplished. The sad part about all this is that now, the budget problem will worsen.  Every day that goes by without making spending cuts sees the financial hole getting deeper.  When the legislature returns January 9, 2012 the revenue shortfall will be magnified.  The chance that swift action will occur the first part of January is slim.

By Mark Johnson