Local Video & Timbers Edge Decision - 3/25/09

Local Underwater Video. Next Tuesday evening there will be an opportunity to view a local underwater video presentation at the Norm Dicks Center, see the details below. We are looking forward to seeing what is underneath the surface of our local waters.

You might be interested in this:

Our Underwater Neighborhood: A Video Tour
Join filmmaker John F. Williams for a
tour of our local underwater
wilderness through the magic of
moving pictures on the big screen.
March 31, 2009 from 7-9 p.m.
Norm Dicks Govt. Bldg. Chambers, 345 6th St., Bremerton, WA 98337
$5 suggested donation at the door.

A stone's throw from shore is a world that very few get to see,
yet it is a major part of our neighborhood.
John will be showing excerpts from SEA-Inside: Pacific
Northwest — the only TV series about what's beneath the
surface of our Northwest waters. The evening will include
discussion about how art, science, education, recreation, and
volunteer service are important to the health of Puget Sound.

More info at:
http://SEA-Inside.org

John F. Williams
jw@StillHopeProductions.com

Still Hope Productions, Inc
P.O. Box 1407
Suquamish WA 98392
(360) 598-4152
www.StillHopeProductions.com

Timbers Edge Appeal Denied! While we were hopeful that the Hearing Examiner would listen to the arguments of the community, we were not surprised at his decision, which was sent out by email on Tuesday. We are still going over the 60 page document and will be interested to see what the Illahee Community Club will decide regarding a possible appeal. The appeal deadline is April 9, 2009.

Decision on Website? We will see if we can put the "Notice of Hearing Examiner Decision" on the community website so everyone can read it for themselves.

Kitsap Sun Front Page Article. The Timbers Edge decision made the front page of the Kitsap Sun this morning (3-25-09). We will try to contact the Illahee Community Club's lawyer to get his comments on what happened. Following is the link to the Sun's coverage:

http://kitsapsun.com/news/2009/mar/24/controversial-development-in-illahee-gets-a-go/

Comments? Let us know your thoughts on the decision.

Jim Aho

Illahee State Park on Mothball List - 3/22/09

Illahee State Park on the Mothball List. There has been recent information regarding Illahee State Park being on the list for possible mothballing. We know there are a number of you who do not get the local papers or are on travel. The first article came out in the Kitsap Sun on March 11th, and the second article came out this last Thursday in both the Bremerton Patriot and the Central Kitsap Reporter. See the following links:

http://kitsapsun.com/news/2009/mar/11/bremerton-park-among-33-on-states-145mothball/

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/pat/lifestyle/41532097.html

Illahee and Other County Residents Concerned. We have been inundated with questions about this issue, and have been asked what, if anything, should be done.

The Short Answer. As we understand it, this is presently a budget driven exercise to determine the options available to resolve the state's money problems. If it gets more serious there is a process that will be followed to determine which parks will be affected.

In the Meantime? In the meantime we would like to get more answers, beginning with those who are representing our area in the state legislature.

Help Appreciated. We would appreciate any help in getting more answers so we can respond appropriately.

Jim Aho

Wildlife Update - 3/20/09

We have gotten behind in passing wildlife information on and other information and will try to catch up.

Bats. We have heard some interesting bat stories this past year and thought about those when we saw a "bat box" when touring the new Fish Park in Poulsbo. We have attached a photo of the "box" and would like to publish some of the bat stories of local residents if you send them in.

Eagles. We have been forwarded a number of eagle pictures and stories and will devote a separate update to those later.

Humming Birds. We recently received pictures of a humming bird nest from an Illahee resident wintering in Arizona and have attached their comments and pictures.

I have enjoyed the wildlife pictures that have been posted by my Illahee neighbors through the winter, especially the ones about the hummingbirds. I am in Yuma right now, I winter here. I have attached a couple hummingbird pictures from here. The nest is 1 ¼ inch diameter.

Jim Aho

Kitsap Sun Article re Outfall Settlement - 3/13/09

The Sun Article. The following linked article will be in Saturday's Kitsap Sun:

http://kitsapsun.com/news/2009/mar/13/illahee-developer-reach-deal-on-stormwater-pipes/

ICC Letter Sent to Newspapers. The February 25th letter from the Illahee Community Club, that is referenced in the article, was linked in the Illahee Community Update of March 5, 2009. It was also sent to all the local newspapers and the Seattle Times, so it is nice that the Sun did the article.

Two Projects Left. Some in the community are concerned that residents not forget to continue to follow through with a rain garden on Fern Street and an infiltration pit in the Illahee North detention pond which should even further diminish the amount of stormwater going to the new outfall and into the Sound.

Letter Reprinted. The two above mentioned items are described in the Illahee Community Club letter, which we are going to reprint at the end of this Update.

A Major Accomplishment. This is a significant and momentous success for the Illahee Community, and the community needs to be proud of its efforts.

But Costly. It was costly in terms of emotional energy and thousands of dollars and we would like to express our appreciation for all who helped, whether moral encouragement, letters, or financal support.

Jim Aho

Illahee Community Club

P.0. Box 2563

Bremerton, WA 98310

February 25, 2009


To: Distribution List

Subject: Illahee Outfall Settlement Support Statement

The Illahee Community Club (ICC) entered into an agreement or “settlement” with the MT Illahee Corporation, Kitsap County, and the Port of Illahee with regards to the relocation of a storm water outfall from the Illahee community dock to an undeveloped right-of-way on Berg Street, and associated area storm water improvements. Integral to the settlement the ICC agreed to issue a public statement of support for the settlement plans and has further agreed not to make public statements regarding the Sunrise Terrace or Rest/Olive/Hardt Development lot sizes.

The Illahee Community Club is very supportive of the resultant outfall agreement and feels that the settlement is beneficial and advantageous for each of the involved parties. The ICC is appreciative of the efforts by all parties to reach this agreement and the MT Illahee Corporation for working with the Illahee community. The following excerpt from a community member illustrates community sentiment:

The Illahee community strives to be a leading example in the area of responsible environmental preservation. Leading by example, both the Illahee community and the MT Illahee Corporation have shown what rewards can be produced by reaching a solution settlement that benefits all parties involved. Furthermore, the agreement is a step forward for one of the goals of the Puget Sound Partnership which is to control storm water in our waterways. For these reasons, there is strong community support for the settlement agreement.

The benefits of the agreement are many for the community, the environment, for the waters of Puget Sound, the Port of Illahee, Kitsap County, and the MT Illahee Corporation. Approximately 90 percent of the storm water that comes from our normally slow rainfall will be cleaned naturally through bio-infiltration swales and infiltrated back into the aquifers from the MT Illahee project. Only the remaining roughly 10% that comes from heavy rains will not be infiltrated because of high flow volumes and will need to be diverted to overflow outfall pipes that flow into Puget Sound.

There are a number of different aspects to the MT Illahee project that were part of the agreement. The first is the improved roadway being planned along Sunrise Terrace and the need to manage the storm water coming from the road surfaces. Bio-infiltration swales will be used at several locations along Sunrise Terrace to help clean the storm water with any overflow connecting to the existing Ocean View storm water system that discharges at the existing outfall. This is a major improvement as previously the storm water was going to be tight-lined (piped directly) to Puget Sound following the removal of suspended solids. This would have required the installation of a new storm water conveyance piping system and another outfall at the Illahee community dock.

The Illahee community at large and the Port of Illahee benefit as a new storm water outfall will not be going through the base of the Port of Illahee’s dock structure nor will the effluent be discharged at the Port’s public beach and swimming area. The Port and the community were already concerned with an existing 24 inch diameter outfall just a few feet south of where the new outfall was being proposed. Many in the community feel the discharges from the existing outfall have resulted in decreases in the fish and shellfish population. They also remembered the dock area being posted for fecal coliform pollution emanating from the existing outfall. With that history there were major concerns with another outfall that was again tight-lining storm water at the dock. The settlement agreement not only eliminates the need for new outfall at the base of the dock; it also results in a decrease in the storm water that will be discharging to the existing outfall.

The Illahee community benefits from a second outfall along the shoreline in that storm water overflows are more equally distributed into Puget Sound, rather than concentrating all the stormwater for the entire hillside to the Illahee dock area. In retrospect, it appears the existing Berg Street right-of-way should have been used years earlier for the storm water overflows from the Illahee North project. At that time there was less of a concern by the county with running large volumes of stormwater into Puget Sound and a readily accessible right-of-way existed at the community dock. Any future developments in the uphill drainage sub-basins north of Berg Street would have likely required the use of this right-of-way for a new storm water outfall to handle the overflows. The settlement agreement just initiates the use of an outfall at this location earlier rather than later.

The ultimate goal of the Illahee community is to clean and infiltrate storm water to the maximum extent possible, such that the only the overflows from major storm events enter into Puget Sound. The storm water flows going into the settlement outfall from the MT Illahee project will also go through a bio-infiltration swale where the 90 percent of our normal rainfall is expected to be captured and infiltrated. This will help reduce the settlement outfall overflows. The community notes that there is more work to be done by the community and possibly the county, which is outside the responsibility of MT Illahee, to further clean and infiltrate the storm water going into the settlement outfall. There is a small runoff from the north Fern Street area that would benefit from a rain garden upstream of its storm water overflow pipe, and the northern most cell of the Illahee North detention pond would benefit from a possible infiltration pit. Both of these items would satisfy the goal of cleaning and infiltrating storm water to the maximum extent possible and would ensure that only overflows from major storms would enter Puget Sound waters.

The Illahee Community Club would like to again express its appreciation to MT Illahee, and specifically to its representative, Bernie Johnston, who worked with community representatives to come up with a mutually acceptable solution for all parties.

Please refer any questions regarding this agreement to the Illahee community members, Jim Brady (360-377-8345) and Jim Aho (360-479-1049), who represented the Illahee Community Club in this matter.

Barney Bernhard 

Illahee Community Club

Copies to:

Port of Illahee

Vancil Law Offices

MT Illahee (via GordonDerr LLP)

Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Civil Division

Shorelines Hearings Board

Department of Ecology

Department of Fish & Wildlife, Kitsap County

Puget Sound Partnership

Kitsap Health District

Kitsap County Public Works

Kitsap County Department of Community Development

Team 4 Engineering

Kitsap Sun

Central Kitsap Reporter/Bremerton Patriot

Seattle Times

Port of Illahee Distribution Letter - 3/6/09

Port of Illahee Letter. We received the attached Port of Illahee letter ( page 1 - page 2 ) a few days ago and forwarded the accompanying "Executive Summary" in an earlier Update. The Port's letter distributes a major report on the Illahee Creek Watershed to a number of recipients and to our website person, Laurie Jones, who is trying to figure out how to put the 500 plus page report on the community website.

Excellent Summary. We found the Port letter to be an excellent, but very brief, summary of the deteriorating conditions of the creek, the culvert, and the bay that prompted the Port to apply for the Department of Ecology grant.

Next Steps. Now that the Port and the community have scientific data that backs up their claims that Illahee Creek has some major issues that need to be dealt with they will need to determine what the next steps will be. We quote one of their closing statements:

"The Port of Illahee requests report recipients utilize the information contained herein to assist the Port, the Illahee Community, and Kitsap County to correct past mistakes and to promote the protection of Puget Sound, Illahee Creek, the Illahee Creek watershed, and the underlying aquifers for the present and future generations."

Report Information. We will begin to share information in the report periodically in future updates. We understand Kitsap County is already looking at areas where efforts can begin.

Please Read the Port Letter. The Port of Illahee needs to be commended for their interests and concerns for Illahee Creek that resulted in their efforts to secure the Department of Ecology grant that funded a major scientific study of the watershed. The next steps will be up to everyone to help with the necessary fixes. We ask each Illahee resident to read the letter and to become aware of what is needed to "correct past mistakes."

Jim Aho

Outfall Settlement Statement - 3/5/09

Illahee Outfall Settlement Statement. We have received a copy of the "Illahee Outfall Settlement Support Statement" that has just been mailed out by the Illahee Community Club (ICC) to a rather lengthy distribution list.

Background. We have not gone back to get all the dates, but we remember being aware of the MT Illahee development plans in 2007. According the "Settlement Agreement" copy we have Kitsap County issued a "Mitigated Determination of Non Significance" or MDNS ruling for the project on October 23, 2007. This was approval for a new 42" storm water outfall located at the base of the Illahee Community Dock and the storm water system and development of a roadway and 10 lots on Sunrise Terrace, along with planning for a future development along Rest, Olive, and Hardt Streets.

Port & Community Appeals. The Port of Illahee and the Illahee Community Club each appealed the project, only to have the Hearing Examiner deny the appeals.

Appeal to the County Commissioners. The Port and the Community appealed the Hearing Examiner decision to the County Commissioners, only to have Commissioners' Angel and Bauer deny the appeal on June 9, 2008 (Commissioner Brown supported the appeal).

Appeal to the Shorelines Hearings Board (SHB). The ICC filed an appeal with the SHB on July 7, 2008, feeling the County, the Hearing Examiner, and the two Commissioners did not consider all the facts.

Port Action. In addition the ICC actions, the Port of Illahee had filed a no trespass lawsuit with Kitsap County Superior Court on March 4, 2008 to prevent the developer from cutting into the dock's foundation to install the new outfall.

Settlement Option. With the pending legal hearings and costs to both sides, ICC members met with one of the developer's engineers to see if they could come up with a mutually acceptable solution.

Settlement Agreement. The meetings eventually resulted in a "Settlement Agreement" signed by the MT Illahee Corporation, Kitsap County, the Port of Illahee, and the Illahee Community Club.

Agreement Timetable. The timetable of the agreement required revisions to the Shoreline Permit and the storm water system which were recently completed and approved by Kitsap County.

ICC Required Actions. There were several stipulations or requirements for the Illahee Community Club, including completing a "Settlement Statement" and sending it to the ICC email list, posting it on the Illahee Community Website, submitting it to the County, and forwarding it to local papers.

Jim Aho

ps Attached is John Lind photo of a tugboat going through Illahee.