Miscellaneous Items - 4/2/10

Illahee Speed Sign.  It was interesting to read in today's Kitsap Sun the article "Three 'Your Speed Is' Signs Now Operating" by Travis Baker, the Road Warrior, that there are two other solar powered speed signs operating in Kitsap County.  We were unable to find a link to the article today, and presume it will be added later, so when we find it we will put it in a later Update.

Last week we did receive information that the sign is slowing traffic some.  Below is the notice we received from the Port of Illahee, and attached as a pdf file is the chart they refer to.

I thought you might like to see the statistics of our labor. I've attached a chart showing the speeds before and after the sign was put up. You'll see a high point at the 25-29 mph which means more motorists are driving near the speed limit now. We have also reduced the number of speeders significantly. The number of motorists over the speed limit dropped from 622 to only 428, a 31% decrease. I hope the community has noticed a change out there.

Illahee Deer.  We did receive some pictures of deer recently, and with the white hindquarters it appears the albino genetic markings are still prevalent.  

Here is our most recent deer family in our back yard, they come almost every other day.

Illahee Code Revision.  With the Illahee Community Plan that was adopted at the end of 2008 were zoning requirements, including an item that needs to corrected. See the email we received from Katrina Knutson, the Planner who coordinated the preparation of the Illahee Community Plan. (Note that the staff report she refers to is attached as an executive summary.)

Attached, please find a staff report to the Planning Commission regarding the Illahee Greenbelt Zone.  It came to our attention recently that "Guest House" was inadvertently left out of the Illahee adopting Ordinance.  We need to correct the situation. 

Please take a look at the attached and contact me with any questions.  The Planning Commission will hold a work-study session and a public hearing at their April 6, 2010 meeting.  The meeting will begin at 6pm and is located at 614 Division Street  Port Orchard, WA  98366.  

Best,

Katrina

There was also a Legal Notice entitled "Notice of Planning Commission Regular Meeting, Public Hearing, and Work Study" the past two weeks in the Bremerton Patriot and the Central Kitsap Reporter that the Planning Commission will be working on the "Illahee Code Revision" at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, April 6th, at 6 pm at the County Administration Building.  The agenda for the meeting is linked:  http://www.kitsapgov.com/dcd/pc/agenda/cy2010/4-06-10.pdf

Illahee Preserve.  A number of different items forwarded to us regarding the Illahee Preserve - see the attached.

Illahee Forest Brush Picking

It appears to be harvest season in Illahee Forest and brush-picking is a thriving business.  I've had 5 different people tell me stories of their encounters with brush-pickers on various occasions within Illahee Forest over the past 3 weeks.  A couple people have had multiple encounters.  The activity has ranged from Doe Trail to the area along Thompson Lane all the way back to Heart of the Forest.  In most cases the people have confronted the brush-picker.  The brush-pickers are commonly described as small stature and Central American appearance.  The response by the brush picker is gamesmanship.  English is not spoken.  The observers have witnessed large bales of accumulated brush.  It appears the pickers are most often in Illahee Forest during the work week and during the mid-morning to mid-afternoon time lines.  I've encouraged all the observers to immediately call 911, but nobody had thought to do so yet.   It would sure be nice to make an introduction between brush-pickers and Kitsap County Sheriff.   Something to keep in mind in case you're walking the trails during the week. 

Illahee Forest Dumping

Below is a report from one of the regular trail walkers at Illahee Forest.  It was only a matter of time.  What is the cost of removing/dumping garbage versus fixing the gate?  Of course, the bad guys now understand they can have their way for a while if they continue to bash the gate and break it. 

Took a walk along the gravel road at the preserve yesterday.  

Sad to say that the trashers have been in there, dumping their loads.

There is now a mattress on the left side going north, and closer to the gate, on the right side there are some car doors, a car's seat, and numerous plastic bags of "something" (I did not go down the slight slope to check out)

Our Response to the Above Attached Preserve Comments.  Some of the Illahee Preserve Stewardship Committee members have been out looking this week for those picking brush and have not discovered them, though the Preserve is large and forested at hundreds of acres so it could be difficult to find them.  We did see the dumping of trash along Thompson Lane, along with lots of salal cuttings and wonder if the cuttings were from the brush pickers.  If you see any illegal activities in the Preserve call 911 or the Parks Department, or any of the Stewardship Committee members.  Also, we heard the Park's Department went out for bids to fix the gate and the estimates were just shy of $2,000.  Our recommendation is that the security camera be upgraded before the gate is fixed so that we can positively identify any who might be responsible for the destruction of the gate opening mechanism.

Jim Aho