Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal 26/03

March 2013 Vol. 26 No. 3

The Voice of Kitsap Business since 1988

Kitsap Poultry Cooperative’s plan, p. 5

Sweets galore in Uptown Gig Harbor, p. 16

Inside Special Reports: Retirement Lifestyles, pp 6-13 The Business of Law, pp 28-31

Bookish pursuits Tim Kelly photo

Randy Kuckuck, left, stands by a display of book covers at Publish Next in Poulsbo with marketing director Trudy Catterfeld and editor Trey Schorr.

For some at retirement age, it’s time for a new enterprise

By Tim Kelly, Editor For some people retirement means they've left a career, but it doesn't necessarily mean they no longer need or want to be employed, even at an age when many peers have left the world of work behind.

Labor Department statistics from 2012 show that nearly 3 in 10 civilian workers in the U.S. were age 60 or older, and according to U.S. News & World Report, nearly a third of men and women age 65 to 69 are still in the workforce. In a recent

national survey of Americans between the ages of 45 and 60, almost two-thirds of respondents said they planned to delay retirement.

One possibility in such circumstances is becoming an entrepreneur.

Randy Kuckuck, for example, was a corporate executive who found himself out of a job a few years ago after he oversaw a merger of two companies that operated online sources for media and entertainment information.

People, pg 2 Financial, pp 14, 15 Human Resources, pg 28 Technology, pg 29 Automotive, pp 34, 35 Editorial, pp 36-38 Home Builders Newsletter, pp 19-22

Chris Grasser knows a lot about revving up hot rods and restoring classic cars, and that was before the owner of HMS Customs in Poulsbo went to college to get a degree with a dual major.

Cover Story, page 4

Tim Kelly photo

Classic car shop’s new owner is a hybrid of hot rods, high-tech

By Tim Kelly, Editor He didn’t need a college degree in hot rods, but Chris Grasser went off to school anyway.

Grasser, new owner of the HMS Customs hot rod and classic car shop that’s been in Poulsbo a dozen years, said there’s

a simple reason he enrolled at Minnesota State University, Mankato: “It has the only accredited Bachelor of Science degree for automotive engineering.”

(Actually, one other accredited school shows up in an online search, but it’s even Hot rods, page 18

Farmers market manager honored by state group Bremerton Farmers Market manager Julia Zander was recognized at the Washington State Farmers Market Association Conference as Market Manager of the Year for 2012.

Zander was recognized at the conference Jan. 26 with the award, which is based on adding value to the Bremerton community and connecting farmers to

consumers through fresh, locally grown foods.

She was nominated by the Bremerton Farmers Market board of directors for her achievements in three years as manager that have positively impacted the market and the Bremerton community. In Zander’s first year as manager, the market doubled its vendor sales and moved from a parking lot into a new location in Evergreen Park.

Additionally, she worked with the board, city officials and other community organizations to add an additional market

on Sundays in 2013, in a new location on the Bremerton waterfront.

She also helped the market build its customer base and increase sales through various activities and special events, which in 2012 included Chicken Day at the Market, Dog Day at the Market, Picnic at the Market, an off-season Holiday Farmers Market and a market at Harrison Hospital.

In addition to her work as manager of the Bremerton market, she also volunteers at the Poulsbo Farmers Market and is on the board of the Kitsap Community

Agricultural Alliance.

For more information about the market, that operates on Thursdays from May through October in Bremerton, email BremertonFarmersMarket@gmail.com or check the market’s Facebook page.

Kitsap Credit Union Employee of the Year Jayme Beason with CEO Elliott Gregg.

Credit Union employee recognized for March of Dimes fundraising success Jayme Beason was recently selected as 2012 Kitsap Credit Union Employee of the Year.

Beason’s recognition was the outcome of the tremendous fundraising efforts that resulted in the credit union’s placement among Kitsap County’s top contributors to the March of Dimes. CEO Elliot Gregg commended Beason for her passion and inspiration, referring to her as a “March of Dimes fundraising rock star.”

Upon acceptance of her award, Beason encouraged participation as she promised an even larger effort in raising awareness about the March of Dimes and support for healthier babies in 2013.

2 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

New radiologist joins Advanced Medical Imaging Advanced Medical Imaging has added Dr. Lakhwant Singh to the Silverton-based radiology practice that also has clinics in Poulsbo, Bremerton and Port Orchard.

Singh’s postgraduate training includes a Fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology from Yale University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Baylor Lakhwant Singh College of Medicine in 2010 and his internship at Genesys Regional Medical Center, Michigan State University. He received his medical degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2005 and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry in 2000 from the University of Washington. He is board-certified by the American Board of Radiology and a member of the Society of Interventional Radiology.

Prior to joining AMI, Singh was with Columbia Basin Imaging at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, Wash.

$9 million for shoreline restoration at risk in docks dispute State funding jeopardized by impasse over Port Gamble mill site cleanup Nord said Pope Resources has been cooperative throughout all the negotiations, and that the company has the right to its position on leveraging the two south docks.

But concerns about future dock construction in Pope’s town redevelopment plans are outside Ecology’s limited focus on the mill site cleanup, he said.

And to complete that cleanup, “you can’t work around (the two docks); you have to remove them,” Nord said. “They have the right to rebuild those. We’re not taking anything away from them.”

The most significant opposition to putting in a new dock — as well as to Pope’s expansive redevelopment plans for

the town — has come from the Port Gamble S’Klallam tribe, whose reservation is on the east side of the bay.

Tribal officials are typically unresponsive to media requests for comment, and there was no response to phone messages left for Tribal Chairman Jeromy Sullivan requesting an interview for this article.

The tribe’s only response to the breakdown in cleanup negotiations was a generic statement Sullivan issued through a public relations firm. It said the tribe was “disappointed” but remained “hopeful for a complete cleanup in the future.”

Sullivan made no mention of the docks issue in his statement.

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By Tim Kelly, Editor standards. But the company wants some A disagreement over delaying the flexibility in doing that, in order to protect removal of two docks as part of the cleanup its investment in Port Gamble by at the former Port Gamble mill site maintaining crucial waterfront access. threatens to scuttle a widely supported plan “We always agreed all the old stuff will to use $9 million in state funding to be pulled out of there,” Rose said. “We’re purchase and restore critical shoreline areas. just asking for two things: allow us to phase The state Department of Ecology has it to complete the cleanup, and allow us to been negotiating the final terms of the mill keep those docks” until permits for a new site cleanup with landowner Pope dock are secured.

Resources, which has been working for In a fact sheet prepared to update several years on a master redevelopment legislators on the status of cleanup plan for the town of Port Gamble. A key discussions with Ecology, the company piece of Pope’s plan — which the company states that without keeping the south docks filed in January with Kitsap County to to meet future mitigation requirements, begin the lengthy review process for “Pope’s legal rights to reconstruct a dock approval — is a community dock that will be severely, if not completely, disabled.” would be built north of the mill site, near a In a phone interview Feb. 12, Nord said proposed waterfront hotel that even though and retail center. negotiations have ended, Jon Rose, president of Ecology can issue an Check the online Pope’s real estate subsidiary version of this story enforcement action Olympic Property Group, said requiring Pope to complete to see an aerial the company asked Ecology to the mill site cleanup, photo of the Port allow a phased cleanup project regardless of the loss of Gamble millsite so that two docks on the mill funding for the related site’s south side could remain shoreline plan. intact until Pope obtains permits to build the Of the $9 million appropriated by the new dock. Rose said the two southern docks Legislature, $7 million would have gone would be removed in the future to meet toward purchasing the shoreline block mitigation requirements for getting permits south of the mill site, and $2 million would to build a replacement dock. have paid for removing a wastewater Pope, which has committed to spending treatment plant outfall on the bay’s north about $17 million to complete the cleanup, side that has closed some shellfish beds. would remove all other docks, over-water The $7 million represents the largest structures and creosoted pilings in the bay, contribution in an estimated $12 million in and the company says that dredging to grants the Kitsap Forest & Bay Project remove accumulated wood waste could be anticipated would be available when an 18substantially completed with the two docks month purchase option with Pope left in place.

Resources expires at the end of March. The However, the Ecology department available money will be used to acquire and disagrees with that assessment, and the two conserve as much forest land as possible in sides have been unable to resolve the issue. five separate tracts comprising almost 7,000 In a Feb. 11 letter to Pope Resources, acres between Port Gamble and Kingston.

Ecology official Tim Nord said the agency The 564-acre block that includes 1.8 was terminating negotiations over the miles of shoreline south of the mill site is cleanup because of the company’s refusal to the top priority, and a recently announced remove the two docks. $1 million grant from the U.S. Fish and As a result, a deal negotiated with Wildlife Service will go toward the multiple stakeholders — encompassing shoreline purchase. It requires a $520,000 cleanup, restoration and purchase of match in state and local funds, but that may hundreds of acres of property along 1.8 still be available from the Dept. of Ecology. miles of shoreline — stands to lose millions “I think all of us are very hopeful they’re in state funding. Nord’s letter states that the going to resolve this impasse (over the funding “has been redirected to higher docks) and move forward as we originally priority projects.” hoped,” said Sandra Staples-Bortner with His letter noted that the “combined the Great Peninsula Conservancy, one of efforts” of Ecology, Pope Resources and the key environmental groups involved. various public agencies and community “There’s just too much to be lost here.” groups had achieved an agreement that Other partners with the numerous “reflects our mutual interests and promotes conservation groups in the Kitsap Forest & a healthy and sustainable Port Gamble Bay Bay Project include Kitsap County, the ecosystem.” But he wrote that Pope’s Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe — which is “unwillingness to remove the two southern contributing money from a Hood Canal docks to conduct the cleanup collapses mitigation settlement with the Navy — and these efforts.” the Suquamish Tribe.

Rose, who’s been meeting in Olympia “The community has really invested lots with legislators to try to resolve the of energy, and we have our hearts in this disagreement with Ecology, said Pope project,” Staples-Bortner said. “It really Resources has always agreed that it would speaks to the future of Kitsap County, and remove all structures on the mill site and we think it’s too important to let it slip complete the bay cleanup to state away.”

from page 1 Recognizing the challenges that someone nearing 60 (with white hair) faced in the job market, he drew on his previous experience and started a small bookpublishing business for independent authors.

Joe Ladley is essentially in the third act of his working life, neither slowing down nor looking back. After operating a thriving veterinary clinic in Burbank, Calif., for almost 25 years, he returned to Washington and spent nearly as long — and $5 million — developing a 20-acre South Kitsap property that at various times was a bedand-breakfast inn, a rented site for weddings, and a home for foster children.

The property, which includes a private nine-hole golf course that Ladley sculpted into the Southworth waterfront setting, was sold at a foreclosure auction a year ago, and he runs a landscaping business.

The former owner of a constructionrelated business his father-in-law started, Hank Helm's unanticipated postretirement role is historian. Though in his 70s, he was willing to work and still needing a paycheck; he just had no desire to commute from Bainbridge Island to Seattle as he did when running his business.

A job search yielded an offer to work part-time in the office at the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum, where in a few short months a path opened up to an unexpected promotion and Helm became the museum's executive director. He may not be an entrepreneur per se, but he did take over a nonprofit enterprise that has attracted more visitors and grant funding on his watch.

4 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

Better than self-publishing The outside stairs behind a chocolate shop on Poulsbo's Front Street lead to the modest offices of Publish Next. Founder Randy Kuckuck and his small staff provide professional services — editing, design, marketing — for authors seeking an alternative to self-publishing their books.

He wasn't on a career path to be a publisher when he worked 15 years in the book printing industry in his native Michigan. But when the company for which Kuckuck was chief financial officer acquired a publishing company, they tabbed him to run it.

"Most book printers don’t know the publishing business very well," he said, recalling how he had to learn on the fly. But it gave him an opportunity to gain expertise

in all aspects of the book business, which would eventually serve him well as an entrepreneur.

Around 2000, Kuckuck joined the online migration, working for an Ann Arbor-based company called All Media Guide that operates the allmusic.com website. He left All Media Guide to join a similar company called Muze, which brought him to Seattle in 2006, and he was chief operating officer when Muze and his former company were combined in 2009 under the ownership of parent company Rovi Corp.

“The thing that’s really booming right now is self-publishing. But I really see an opportunity to do selfpublishing better.”

— Randy Kuckuck, owner of Publish Next Although he had known the merger was coming, it left him unemployed at one of the worst times. He found that a resumé with his many years in the corporate world wasn't necessarily an asset when looking for another job during an economic downturn.

"I definitely saw that jobs I was up for were going to someone younger ... and cheaper," he said.

"So since I wasn't quite ready to retire and I had all this experience and expertise, I thought 'What could I do?'"

That prompted him to take a fresh look at the book business.

"The thing that's really booming right now is self-publishing," he said. "But I really see an opportunity to do self-publishing better."

After doing some research, he launched Publish Next at the beginning of 2012. The business is finding its niche in "authorsubsidized independent publishing."

Where a major publishing house buys a manuscript and handles all the production and marketing, then makes its money from sales of the book, Publish Next inverts that model. The company's clients are aspiring writers who haven't landed a book deal but want a more professional public presentation of their books than the DIY method provides. These authors pay up front for editing, design, printing and marketing services, and Kuckuck said the

Coming Next Issue...

company charges reasonable fees.

"We work with authors who really want to make their book a commercial success," he said.

"We put books in the market, not in your basement" is the slogan on the Publish Next website, and the company has distribution tie-ins with Seattle Book Co., Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Although most clients are not local authors, one of Publish Next's first books and one of its top sellers to date was the posthumously published "At the Foot of the Snows" by Port Angeles author David E. Watters. His son Daniel, who lives in Poulsbo, arranged for publication of his father's story about the first Bible translator in Nepal, and Kuckuck said the book has sold about 3,000 copies.

The fledgling business published 30 titles last year and projects up to 100 this year, some of those coming out under the company's own publishing imprints — Engage Faith, Excite Kids and Cedar Forge Press.

Kuckuck said it's been challenging but rewarding to get his start-up business established, and he hopes to guide the company to more growth in the years ahead.

"And if the staff decides to buy me out in five or 10 years," he said, "that will be OK, too."

Lassie and Benji.)

He moved to the View Park property with his second wife, an attorney who remained involved in the property’s tangled history even after they divorced. That history includes a sale in the late 1990s to the infamous scammer Nolon Bush, who made payments on the property for a couple years before his Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of $35 million collapsed and he fled overseas. The Ladleys, who were not among those fleeced

by Bush, got the property back, and Bush was eventually returned to the U.S. and sentenced in 2009 to 30 years in prison.

The property, which Joe Ladley and his third wife began running as a bed & breakfast in 2005, was on the market listed through a succession of real estate agencies for several years before it was sold last year in a foreclosure auction for about half of its $1.56 million assessed value.

“We tried to sell the property for 10 years, and never could sell it,” Ladley said.

“It was such a high-end property, and nobody wanted to take that on.”

He expanded the original 4,000-squarefoot house to 5,700 square feet.

Construction is another job skill tracing to his college years, when as a veterinary student he spent summers in Pullman building spec houses with a developer.

No average Joe Maybe one of those circle-of-life hypotheses accounts for Joe Ladley — who says wryly that he’s “lived many lives” — getting back into landscaping work, which is how he put himself through school at the UW circa 1960.

Actually, landscaping became his livelihood again a few years ago, but working on landscapes took up a lot of his time during the retirement years he spent Tim Kelly photo developing his 20-acre estate on View Park Road Joe Ladley, who moved to South Kitsap after retiring from his career as a veterinarian in California, started his View Park east of Port Orchard.

"When you retire, you Landscaping business a few years ago. better damn well have a good game plan," Ladley said.

“I was so consumed with the property Seemed like he did upon his return to for years,” he said. “That’s what I did when Washington back in 1988, when he turned I retired; View Park was full-time.”

50 and retired from his veterinary practice, He built three other houses there, on the the Burbank Animal Hospital. (Which is original 20-acre site and on 10 more acres at where, he’ll tell you, his four-legged New enterprise, page 8 patients included showbiz dogs such as

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Poultry growers set sights on mobile processing ‘facility’ of Agriculture through the Rural Business Enterprise Program. The grant is paying for business, operational and marketing plans for the proposed mobile processing unit and the co-op.

Poultry, page 17

Kitsap Poultry Growers Cooperative president Stuart Boyle collects eggs.

Photo courtesy Michele M Gilles

March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 5

By Rodika Tollefson Like many small farmers in Kitsap County, Jerry Darnall can’t make a full-time living off his farm, so he has to keep a “day job.”

“Farming for us is a lifestyle choice,” says Darnall, who owns JJJ Farm in Kingston with his wife.

The main product for JJJ Farm is pork, but Darnall also raises chickens and turkeys. He would love to produce more poultry meat to sell, were it not for • For more a major limitation information — he can only sell about the Kiton-site, either live sap Poultry or whole birds Growers Cowithin 48 hours of slaughtering. operative, go “I can’t sell to to www.kitsap restaurants or poultry.com. farmers markets.

All my sales have to be presales, with customers showing up on slaughter day,” he said.

The way to get around this restriction is by using a commercially certified processing facility. The closest one was in Tacoma, but it closed last year. And transporting chickens long distances is not only cost-prohibitive for small farmers, it creates stress in the birds.

“Most Kitsap farmers are trying to create a superb product, and the stress you put on the animals affects the quality of the meat,” Darnall said. “You want to do it as quickly and as humanely as possible.”

Local farmers like Darnall and supporters are hoping to solve this dilemma. He is a charter member of the Kitsap Poultry Growers Cooperative, which has more than 100 members in Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam counties. The co-op was formed in 2010 and its major focus currently is on acquiring a mobile poultry-processing unit. The unit — which is essentially a commercial, USDA-certified kitchen on wheels — would allow local producers to process poultry and sell it to restaurants and grocery stores and at farmers markets.

Co-op president Stuart Boyle said the trailer is a doable goal for 2013 but ambitious because of needed fundraising.

Originally, he estimated the cost to design and build the mobile unit at $24,000, but more research found that models that have worked well for other groups are in the $75,000 range.

“It can happen if we make the right connections,” said Boyle, a computer programmer who is raising 75 layers with his wife on their Creekside Family Farms in Silverdale.

Already, the group has made one major connection that will help their project move along. Last year, the Kitsap Poultry Growers Co-Op and the Northwest Cooperative Development Center received a $21,200 grant from the U.S. Department

Travel in retirement — Oh, the places you’ll go

By Tim Kelly, Editor When it's time to travel, Mike and Billie Henry don't make flight reservations, book hotel rooms or download a road map and driving directions from Google.

The retired Bremerton couple just load

Mike and Billie Henry on their boat Peachy Bremerton Yacht Club. (Tim Kelly photo)

6 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

their supplies on the Peachy Keen and go north to Alaska on the comfortable 49-foot boat they've had for a quarter-century.

While plenty of retirees are members of yacht clubs around the region, the Henrys spend more time on the water — and farther away from home — than most of their boating peers.

For sheer globe-trotting, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who's experienced more cultures and countries than a retired Navy commander and his wife. Some of the trips abroad that Dean and Caroline Kiess made were to visit their children who were

Peace Corps volunteers.

And some retirees — or travelers of any age who have the time and inclination — find "voluntourism" appealing. That includes trips like one being organized by Mike Hancock of Seabeck, who's recruiting Rotary Club members for a weeklong stay in Guatemala, where they'll help build village schools and get a chance to be tourists, visiting Mayan ruins and seeing the natural beauty of the tropical country in Central America.

On the water The yacht clubs around Puget Sound that make up the Grand Fourteen aren’t marineoriented senior centers, though a lot of active members are retirees who have more time for Keen at the cruising, whether it’s cluborganized weekend trips or longer excursions on their own.

“It’s a thing that retired people like to do, but the club is not necessarily geared for retired people,” says Eric Lagergren, 65, a member of the Port Orchard Yacht Club who retired three years ago from a career as an engineer at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

The Grand Fourteen network holds intra-club events throughout the year at member clubs from Everett to Olympia and east to Meydenbauer Bay Yacht Club in Bellevue, one of Lagergren’s preferred destinations on the 44-foot power boat he built with his late father in the 1980s.

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One of the scenic settings where the Henrys anchor in the waters off Alaska’s southeast coast. (courtesy photo) It takes several hours to cruise across the Sound and through the Seattle locks to get there, but as he notes, “You’re on the water because you like being on the water.”

The Henrys share that sentiment, but Billie says the trips they make to Alaska most summers — usually for three to five months — are not vacations.

“We call it a working adventure,” she says. “It’s just like a different life from being at home, and we like ’em both.”

They’ve taken a few trips on cruise ships to warmer climates; “those are vacations,” Billie says with a smile.

She and her husband met when they worked at the Bremerton shipyard, and both were able to take early retirement in 1995.

They’ve been boating enthusiasts and frequent competitors in log races for a lot longer. They’ve had their boat, a 1972 Alaskan, since 1988 and it’s the third one they’ve owned.

They live in a house they bought nearly 40 years ago, which Billie notes is on a dead-end street that affords no scenic views. “We bought an old house and a new boat,” she quips about their lifestyle preference.

“When we first retired, I didn’t think we’d spend as much time on the boat as we did,” Mike Henry says, but the allure of Alaska is as strong for them as snowbirds’ attraction to Arizona in winter.

Other yacht club members have sometimes cruised with them up to Alaska or met up with them during the summer on previous trips, and the Henrys will occasionally dock in Juneau or Ketchikan to pick up friends or family members who fly up for a week of fishing. But the couple spends most of the summer exploring new stretches of the picturesque Alaskan coast.

“There are so many nice little coves and bays to anchor in,” Mike says.

They take along a 13-foot skiff to use for fishing, sort of like towing a car behind an

RV on a road trip, he says.

They load the freezer on the Peachy Keen with meals in vacuum-sealed bags that Billie prepares at home, and their goal is to return at the end of the summer with a freezer full of fish, crab and shrimp.

They’ll go into town when they need fuel or supplies, or once in awhile to enjoy burgers and beers at a boardwalk diner. But for the most part, they’re on their floating home.

Talking like a true seafaring couple, Mike says their basic needs are “beans, beer and fuel” — and “catch a fish now and then,” Billie chimes in.

Travel, page 12

For RVers Some retirees who travel in RVs are mixing work with retirement through “workamping,” and an online search of that term will bring up several websites for making such arrangements around the country. Workampers live in RVs while working in recreational areas such as parks, campgrounds, amusement parks or resorts in exchange for wages and a free campsite. More than half of all workampers work to supplement their retirement income and travel while doing so.

Affordable RV travel for military veterans is what SMART (Special Military Active & Retired Travel Club) offers. There is currently not an active chapter of SMART in the Kitsap Peninsula area, but the organization’s website (www.smartrving.net) has information about caravans that bring military veterans and their families together to share camaraderie while "seeing the country we defend."

Caravan costs include camping fees and any other attractions, tours, meals, etc. that the Wagon Masters have planned for the trips, which can last for several days or weeks and visit destinations such as the Albuquerque (N.M.) International Balloon Festival, national parks, Alaska, and Branson, Mo.

Retirees volunteer to give back, stay active sewing costumes for Bremerton Community Theatre.

“I had so much time on my hands and I needed something to do. Sewing has always been my passion and I was excited to find something where I could use my sewing,” she said.

Peterson has volunteered since her children were in school but this is the first time she’s been able to use her passion for sewing to give back. She sews 10 to 20 children’s costumes for each of the two annual plays, and occasionally does adult costumes.

“I enjoy working with the kids and watching them grow in size and years. A lot of them come year after year,” she said.

She also does pet therapy with her dog, Mylie, and has volunteered at an elementary school and with hospice since moving to Kitsap County from Snohomish in 2008. “(Volunteering) gives you a sense of usefulness and being needed and giving back to the community. I think we all need to feel that,” she said.

Many retirees use volunteering as their social outlet and to meet people in new

communities. Marilyn Maxwell, who retired la st May, has volunteered all her adult life. So when she moved from Denver last year, that’s one of the first things she looked for.

“When I moved to Silverdale, I thought (volunteering) would be an outlet to meet good people, and that turned out to be the case,” she said.

Through RSVP, she got connected with the Puget Sound Blood Center, not far from her home. She monitors blood Volunteer, page 11

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By Rodika Tollefson When Danna Webster moved from Colorado to the Key Peninsula more than 10 years ago after retiring from a 27-year elementary teaching career, she knew she wanted to meet new people. The best way, she thought, was by finding interesting groups and going to their meetings. She found such a group that was working on restoring Rocky Creek Conservation area, not far from her new home.

Then she found another group, and another.

In the 12 years since she’s moved to the community, Webster has been involved with at least a dozen local organizations, many of which were in formative stages. Currently the president of the Key Peninsula Community Council, she volunteers nearly full time, including weekends.

“There’s a wealth of amazing people in the community and it enriches your life if you associate with them,” she said.

Volunteering has also introduced her to new skills — when she started writing for the local nonprofit newspaper, for example, she had to learn computers, which were not widely used at her school before she retired.

“It seems to be an extraordinary exponential phenomenon once you start to volunteer. It consumes your time,” she said, adding that she hears from fellow retirees frequently that they now work more hours than they did when they had a job.

That experience seems to be supported by statistics. Although there are fewer people 65 and older who volunteer compared with any other age category under 25, these older Americans are putting in many more hours, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For example, 9.5 percent of them volunteer for more than 500 hours a year, compared with 5.5 percent of 45- to 54-year-olds, the largest volunteer demographic by number. On average, seniors’ annual hours are nearly double the average across all ages.

“Many of them enjoyed their life and now they have a little more free time and they want to give back,” said Inga Jennings, program director for Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), b ased at Lutheran Community Services in Bremerton.

RSVP is a federally funded national program that recruits volunteers age 55 and older and matches them up with local organizations. The Kitsap program has about 450 volunteers enrolled, 350 of them active, and works with 40 organizations ranging from schools and museums to food banks and hospitals.

“We’re like a personal placement service and we provide ongoin g support.

A lot of people like the idea of coming in to talk to someone in person. They still like the personal touch,” Jennings said.

For Eileen Peterson, RSVP came up with a dream match three years ago,

NEW ENTERPRISE

8 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

from page 4 two adjacent addresses, he said. Besides the golf course he created, he put in a lighted tennis court and trout ponds, and tended the lush grounds adorned with an abundance of hydrangeas, rhododendrons, azaleas, dahlias and gladiolas.

During those years he also owned vacation rentals on the Olympic Peninsula and other real estate, all of which he eventually sold.

Realizing his “retirement” days at View Park were numbered, he kept the name when he embraced his next phase and started View Park Landscaping Management about four years ago.

“It was probably way past time for me to move on from View Park,” he said. “I have no regrets.”

His ex-wife who ran the B&B with him now works for his current business, which has numerous commercial landscape maintenance contracts in Kitsap County.

“I thoroughly enjoy doing landscaping,” Ladley said.

The income from his business isn’t essential, he said, but it does allow him a more comfortable lifestyle.

“I tell people I still want to be waterskiing when I’m 96,” said Ladley, who

“So it’s partly for financial reasons,” he says of running his business, “and partly for the enjoyment of it and to keep busy.”

Immersed in history

Tim Kelly photo

Hank Helm is executive director at Bainbridge Island Historical Museum, where one of the most popular exhibits is “Ansel Adams — A Portrait of Manzanar,” which features photos Adams took in 1943 at an internment camp for Japanese-Americans. turns 75 in April. Although he sold his 19foot Bayliner a couple years ago, he still goes skiing at his cousin’s place on Lost

Lake in Mason County, and he still uses his favorite ski that he bought from Frederick & Nelson in Seattle in 1952.

Hank Helm assesses his situation much the same.

“I’m well past what many consider retirement age, but I don’t consider that a detriment,” he said during an interview at the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum.

“I plan to work as long as I can perform the job.”

Although he’s lived a long time on the island, it’s only been the last few years that he immersed himself in local history.

He did a lot of commuting to the Seattle area during the years he was running Industrial Pump Sales, the family business he took over from his father-in-law.

Helm stepped aside into a consultant role a decade ago and his son became president of the company, which subsequently moved into the Twelve Trees Business Park in Poulsbo. A few years after that, Helm said the decision was made to liquidate the company because of changing conditions in the industry.

When he started looking for another job, he said he faced age discrimination, though it wasn’t overt. He said he realizes New enterprise, page 9

Tech gadgets, tools that seniors love

By Rodika Tollefson Kathy DeLosReyes discovered the Kindle e-reader by necessity several years ago while undergoing chemotherapy. A voracious reader who reads more than one book at a time, she realized the convenience of taking the device with her to treatment instead of carrying several books.

Since then, she has accumulated a collection of about 9,000 e-books, most of them free. And not only has DeLosReyes upgraded her Kindle a couple of times, she has added to her collection of e-readers and tablets — she currently owns a Kindle, a Nook, an iPad and an Android tablet.

“I like my toys,” she says. “When the iPad came out, it was perfect for me because I wanted a toy that I could take with me to watch movies, listen to music and play games. You have a home entertainment center all wrapped into a 7or 8-inch device,” she says.

DeLosReyes, who’s been a member of Kitsap Computer Seniors since 1999, does presentations and classes for those who want to learn about tablets (she also teaches others how to do online genealogy research).

“If you don’t want a computer, (tablets are) a good alternative even though it doesn’t replace a computer at this time,” she says.

She thinks she’s middle of the road

NEW ENTERPRISE

TECH, page 13

presentation, which also includes artifacts and a video featuring historical newsreel footage and interviews with camp residents, won the Western Museums Association 2011 Award for Exhibit Excellence and got a lot of media coverage, including an article in The New York Times.

Helm said the museum also has gotten good response to outreach efforts to schools and community groups.

“Our fundraising activities have given us great exposure,” he said. “It’s a whole combination of things that have made us more viable in the community.”

He and his wife, Jacquelyn, have lived on the island since 1969 and been actively involved in the community. He’s served on the school board and the parks board in the past, and she was the first volunteer coordinator at Helpline.

Though Helm still works full time, over the years the onetime forestry major at the University of Washington has been able to pursue his hobby — rhododendrons. He’s a board member of the Rhododendron Species Foundation; he’s traveled to China and Indonesia looking for exotic varieties; and, “I’ve created some varieties of my own.”

His transition from running an industrial business to a history museum is a little unusual, he acknowledged.

“It is, but I always felt I had the capabilities for doing a variety of things,” he said.

“I do know how a business works, and how to evaluate and hire people,” he added.

“I think this is typical of mature people who have been in management.”

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from page 8 employers may have concerns about older people in the workplace, even if those concerns are sometimes unfounded.

When he was hired as a part-time administrative assistant and bookkeeper at the museum, the management skills he had from running his own business didn’t go unnoticed. After three months he became office manager, and he was appointed acting executive director of the museum in the summer of 2008.

“I have learned an awful lot about history,” said Helm, who now oversees a staff of four full-time employees and an annual budget for the nonprofit that’s grown in recent years from $150,000 to about $229,000. That reflects more successful grant applications for the museum, which maintains a 1908 oneroom schoolhouse for its main display area.

The museum moved from its location in a park to its more accessible downtown site in 2004. It was drawing a little over 4,000 visitors a year when Helm started there, but had 10,522 visitors last year.

He credits the work of his staff for the growth.

“We’ve developed some great exhibits that have drawn lots of people,” he said.

The most popular is “Ansel Adams — A Portrait of Manzanar,” which includes the famed nature photographer’s images of Japanese Americans in 1943 at an internment camp in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. The

when it comes to seniors and tablets because more older people are using these devices. And she is correct. According to a 2011 survey by the Pew Research Center, tablet devices are most popular in the 65 and older age category.

Tablets are not the only tech tools growing in popularity among seniors. In another study, Pew found an increased use in social networking sites among older adults: 33 percent in 2011, compared with 7 percent in 2008.

Pew cited staying in touch with family as the main reason for adults 50 and older to use social networking. That has certainly worked for Jack Harrington, who runs Labyrinth Hill Lavender Farm with his wife, Susan. Harrington, who retired from the publishing industry and still does consulting, maintains one profile for his professional contacts and friends, and a separate one for family.

Harrington was 12 years old when his family moved to the West Coast from New York, so he has only met a half dozen of his 33 cousins. Facebook provided the link: He connected with 20 of the cousins via the site. Now, he plans to meet as many in person as he can. One will be stopping over soon for a short visit in the area en route to a cruise. And when Jack and Susan take a

Belfair senior center could be closer to reality

10 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

By Rodika Tollefson A senior center for Belfair has been in the dream stage for a few years, but a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture could bring the funding total to the stage of groundbreaking. Faith in Action of West Sound, a local nonprofit spearheading the project, has applied for a $1 million loan that would close the gap in the $3.7 million funding needed for the first phase.

Faith in Action, based in Belfair, helps low-income seniors and the disabled from the West Sound area with services that range from transportation to emergency cash. The organization anticipates that the senior center would serve a total of 7,000 people ages 55 and up in North Mason and as many as 20,000 more in South Kitsap.

The idea behind the proposed facility, nicknamed the Hub, is to also be a center for the community, providing space for other nonprofits and hosting classes and events for all ages.

A lot of the preliminary planning for the 16,000-square-foot facility has been done.

There have been several iterations of the design for the two-story building, but the main components have remained. The Hub would be home to the FIA thrift store,

which helps support operations, a commercial kitchen that would be available for community use, a fitness room, adult day-care center, classrooms and offices, both for FIA administration and for other nonprofits.

Patti Kleist, executive director of Faith in Action, said several organizations have already committed or expressed interest in partnering up to provide programming, including Senior Services of South Sound, which would move its Belfair senior lunches and Meals on Wheels programs to the center.

Rita Dewald, one of the seniors who attend those lunches, said having a place for seniors to socialize and get a nutritious meal is important. Dewald volunteers as the activities director for Faith in Action, and has been trying to bring other activities to those lunches, such as art projects and bingo.

“I could bring so much more if we had our own facility,” she said.

The Hub wouldn’t just be a place for seniors, according to Kleist.

“We want to provide programs for older Americans who still work and need evening classes, retirees who are still active and the more frail seniors. We’re trying to fully

utilize this building so we can offer programs to all three groups,” Kleist said.

“We’re also heavily committed to doing intergenerational things, for example classes for seniors and teenagers to share their skills.”

The project has received broad support from many entities and individuals. The state Legislature appropriated $1.36 million in its 2011 capital budget for the Hub, with additional funds raised through individual donations, in-kind contributions and fundraisers including house parties.

Faith in Action already owns the 2.68-acre property slated for the center, thanks in part to the local Kruger family, who paid for half of the land.

Kleist’s ambitious vision was to raise enough money to open the senior center this year. While that’s now unlikely, a green light from the USDA would mean the project is much closer to reality. Kleist has been working with the USDA for several months and thinks an answer is very close.

She said a smaller loan would have been much easier to secure but she’s hoping for the entire $1 million so FIA doesn’t have to look for another source of money for the rest of the phase-one need.

The first phase of construction calls for the entire building to be shelled in but only the first floor, which includes the thrift store and the kitchen, will be built out. The offices, fitness room and day care are planned for the second floor, and the timing for that phase would depend on additional funding.

Once built, the Hub would be selfsustainable. It will be supported by thrift store sales, office space and facility rentals, class fees and other sources.

“We need help funding the infrastructure and after that, we’re selfsustainable,” Kleist said.

She hopes to do more outreach in South Kitsap to get support from that area. Port Orchard doesn’t have a senior meals program and many South Kitsap residents come to Belfair for it. There is no senior center in Port Orchard either, save for Givens Center, which hosts some senior programs.

“The center will give more access to seniors from South Kitsap,” Kleist said.

“We’re looking to connect with organizations there and people to do house parties.”

For more information about Faith in Action or the Hub, call (360) 275-9115.

VOLUNTEER

groups. Aho counts about 80 hours a month spent on various volunteer commitments, one of which is a newsletter about the preserve. Last year, he sent 93 of them out via email to about 500 people on the distribution list.

“We are this big preserve area and hardly anybody knows about us,” Aho said.

Volunteers say they get as much out of their time as they contribute, whether that’s personal satisfaction, social interaction or new friendship. And, if research is correct, there are tangible benefits as well.

“Research shows volunteers live longer and happier lives,” Jennings said.

The Corporation for National and Community Service reviewed a variety of longitudinal studies and concluded in a 2007 r eport that a growing body of research showed a direct link between volunteering and health, including lower mortality rates and greater functional ability. Other benefits included less risk of isolation and better mental health.

Webster doesn’t need statistics to confirm that. She says staying active through giving back makes her feel alive and healthy.

“What an amazing thing to have this opportunity. In a professional job, you owed your life to the entity. This way you can be your whole self because it’s all your choice,” she said. “It’s a wonderful stage.”

March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 11

from page 7 donors, many of whom are regulars, and she’s learning not only about them and their families but also about the area.

“When you retire, you kind of lose your space in life but it’s nice to turn the tables and give back, especially in these tough economic times so the organizations don’t have to hire,” she said.

The contribution to nonprofits is quite significant. Last year, seniors nationwide volunteered nearly 1.7 billion hours, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. Just in Washington state (which ranks ninth in the country for the overall number of volunteers, 34.4 percent of residents), the estimated 1.83 million volunteers of all ages totaled $4.9 billion in contributions.

As Webster put it, “time is the greatest weal th over money,” and retirees like her see this stage of their life as the wealthiest because they are free to give of their time.

“I can choose when I work and how much I work and the reward is appreciation,” she said. “I feel like I’m rich in life.”

Maxwell concurred, saying that the relationships she builds are “just as important as salaries.”

For people like Monna Haugen, it’s also about making sure worthy causes are receiving support. Haugen, a Belfair resident who retired in 2007 from teaching, grew up on a dairy farm. She said money was tight but there was always food in the house.

“I just can’t imagine what it’s like to go hungry,” she said.

Which is why the idea of feeding local kids in need tugged at her heartstrings.

Shortly before retiring from Crown Hill Elementary in Bremerton, Haugen became involved with a group of local churches that were organizing a Backpacks 4 Kids program, providing weekend meals to low-income students. The group, North Mason Coalition of Churches and Community, has since grown to serve 110 kids per school year, as well as coordinate free weekly lunches and monthly Sunday suppers for the community.

Haugen spends about 20 hours a week in all her volunteer commitments — which she’s had to cut back recently because of her packed schedule — and in addition to chairing the kids meals program, she is on the board of the childcare center at her church, Christ Lutheran, where she also teaches Sunday school and sings in the choir.

“I think people were looking forward to my retirement. The coalition and the childcare center at my church were eager to get me involved,” she said. “I’ve heard pe ople say they’re busiest now that they’re retired. It’s easy to leap into things.”

Part of that leaping comes from wanting to get things done, according to Jim Aho of Illahee, who’s been retired since 1999 from a civilian job with the Navy.

“If you want to have good things going on in your community, you have to be

ready to give of your time. You have to be involved,” he said.

Like other new retirees, Aho go t involved with one group, then another, then another. At first, retirement was a time for him to get back into gardening, so he became a Master Gardener. Once he was introduced to the WSU Co-Op Extension, he learned about other programs that interested him. He’s volunteered since as a beach naturalist, rain garden adviser and native plants educator, among other things.

Currently, the bulk of his attention i s spent on the Illahee Preserve Heritage Park, a 380-acre county-owned park that is maintained by volunteer stewardship

TRAVEL

12 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

“When we go into a country, it’s not only to see what the sights are, but to get from page 6 into the culture,” Caroline Kiess explains.

They enjoy experiencing “a lot of the dayAround the world to-day things in a country.”

Since former Navy Capt. Dean Kiess retired She sounds like she could be reading the in 1992 after the longest tenure as a table of contents of a world atlas when she commanding officer of the Strategic Weapons lists the continents and countries they’ve Facility Pacific (SWFPAC) at Bangor, he and visited. his wife have collected a lot of stamps on their “We have been to Africa, to Australia passports. But their travels abroad have entailed and New Zealand, China, Turkey, and all much more than sightseeing and photo ops in over Europe,” she says. “We’ve visited exotic places featured on postcards. family in England and Ireland.”

Family, no matter how distant, often figures in their travel. They once spent Easter with relatives in New Zealand, and another time stayed with descendants of her cousins they found in South Africa.

“My family is all over the world,” says Caroline, a selfDean and Caroline Kiess of Silverdale have traveled all over the world described Navy brat since he retired as commanding officer of the Navy’s Strategic Weapons when she was young.

“I think we all have Facility Pacific (SWFPAC) at Bangor. (courtesy photo)

itchy feet.”

And that’s a good thing, in her view.

She and her husband have traveled to Bangladesh and Cambodia when one of their sons and his wife were in the Peace Corps. Their youngest son, John Kiess, is on leave from his job as a water quality manager with the county health district for a two-month trip arranged through the Silverdale-based nonprofit Children of the Nations. He’s teaching science to teenagers in an orphanage in Sierra Leone, a small country on the Atlantic coast of Africa.

“My feeling is all young people should go into service somewhere when they’re young, and find out what the world is like and live in one of those cultures for a while,” she said. “I’m glad all our children had the opportunity.”

On trips abroad not planned around family visits, Dean and Caroline usually preferred small group tours arranged by Overseas Adventure Travel, an agency that appeals to “mature Americans and seasoned travelers” with offers of “vacations of authentic cultural discovery.”

“We’ve done some traveling in Europe on our own using rail passes,” Caroline says, “but as you get older, it’s nice to have someone else making the arrangements.”

They may have been ahead of the curve in their preference for more intimate travel

experiences in smaller groups.

According to a recent New York Times article, the aging Baby Boomer generation — the first wave of them heading into retirement — is reshaping the travel industry: “Whether it’s a yen for Wi-Fi in the Serengeti or a disdain for bus tours, boomers’ latest needs, whims and aspirations are determining 2013’s large and small vacation trends.”

Those trends outlined in the article include shorter (and more affordable) itineraries for cruises and tours, more amenities in exotic destinations but lodging that “reflects the local character of the destination,” arrangements for multigenerational travel, and customized travel options rather than being herded around in conventional sightseeing tourist groups.

As a seasoned international traveler, Caroline offers some advice for other retirees planning big trips.

“I would say for people who are older and traveling, it’s important to know your limitations,” she says. “A group can only go as fast as the slowest member; you have to really be sensible about it.

Travel, page 13

Travel exchange options Another travel option is a homestay, where visitors work a few hours a day for a host who provides free lodging and meals in exchange. One source for such arrangements is Help Exchange, an online listing (helpx.net) of hosts at farms (some organic), homes, ranches, lodges, B&Bs, backpacker hostels and even sailboats who invite volunteer helpers to stay with them short-term.

HelpX functions as a cultural exchange for working holiday makers who would like the opportunity during their travels abroad to stay with local people and gain practical experience.

In the typical arrangement, the helper works an average of four hours per day and receives free accommodation and meals.

Swapping homes for a vacation can be arranged through a service such as homeexchange.com. There are two types: home exchange and hospitality exchange.

Home exchangers trade their homes, condos or apartments at a time that is convenient to both parties. Other types of accommodations offered in an exchange might be a yacht or an RV. Often, home exchangers will include their automobiles as part of the package.

Hospitality exchangers, on the other hand, host each other in their homes at designated times. Your home exchange partners stay with you as guests and then you go and stay with them as their guests.

children in a village collect inorganic trash such as plastic bags, chip packets and polystyrene and stuff them into plastic bottles until they are hard like bricks. The eco-bricks are stacked between chicken wire, and covered with cement to form the walls of the school.

Hancock, a mortgage loan officer with The Legacy Group who was active for many years in the Silverdale Rotary, went to Guatemala last April on a bottle school trip after he met the founders of a San Diegobased nonprofit called Hug It Forward (hugitforward.org) that started the program.

“I was pretty impressed One of the places Dean and Caroline Kiess visited is majestic Iguassu Falls in Brazil near the borders of Paraguay with what they’re doing,” he and Argentina. (courtesy photo) says.

So he put together a program and made couple years ago, though Caroline says presentations to about a dozen Rotary they are going on an annual family trip to clubs around Puget Sound and the Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in the spring. from page 12 Olympic Peninsula. Those clubs have Tourist helpers “Can you walk 3-4 miles a day, or will raised almost $20,000 for the bottle A close connection to the local culture that wear you out? If meals are at irregular schools project. is in store for anyone who joins the “bottle times, can you handle that?” And perhaps “As a result of all these efforts, I decided school voluntourism trip” Mike Hancock is most importantly, she adds, “Can you to put together a trip for Rotarians, spouses organizing to Guatemala. travel light?” and guests, so they’d have an opportunity The tour group will help build bottle The Kiesses have been on one cruise, to to participate in a bottle school project and schools, which instead of having cinder the Carribean to celebrate their 40th do some tourism,” Hancock says. block walls, use “eco-bricks” made with anniversary 10 years ago. They’ve also had The group trip from April 25-May 1 is plastic bottles.

The schools are built with a condo at Whistler, B.C., where their organized through Serve the World Today post and beam framing, and have family that loves winter sports — she met (servetheworldtoday.com), the conventional foundations and columns of her husband in college at an ice skating rink fundraising arm of Hug It Forward. It’s not reinforced concrete.

— has gathered for ski trips. an official Rotary trip and anyone To make eco-bricks — about 6,200 are The couple has not traveled as interested is welcome to sign up, but needed to build a two-classroom school — extensively since Dean suffered a stroke a

Hancock hopes Rotarians will fill most of the available spots.

The cost of the trip includes all accommodations, meals and transportation within Guatemala, but not airfare. The group will be accompanied by an English-speaking local guide, and will spend a few days helping on school construction and a few days sightseeing.

“It was a life-changing experience for me,” Hancock says of his trip last year.

TECH

One of Dusavage’s favorite tech tools is Skype, an online service that allows people to make “calls” via their computer and webcam, free to anywhere in the world.

Dusavage, who has a degree in computer science and is retired from the Navy, says he was missing out on his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“I’ve been Skyping with my grandkids in Florida almost every week and I can see them all,” he says. “We can be part of their life.”

Voluntourism For more information about the voluntourism trip to help build bottle schools in Guatemala, call Mike Hancock at 360-509-4351, or visit www.servetheworldtoday.com/rotary.

While there are dozens of organizations that offer the opportunity to volunteer while traveling abroad, a Huffington Post article highlights some good ones that attract a lot of retirees: Earthwatch Institute: A global nonprofit that offers one- and two-week expeditions that focus on environmental conservation and field research projects all over the world.

Globe Aware: Offers one-week volunteer vacations in 15 different countries.

Global Volunteers: Offers a wide variety of two- and three-week service programs in 18 countries, including the U.S. Road Scholar: Formally known as Elderhostel, they offer a wide variety of volunteer service programs both in the U.S. and abroad, usually to the 50-plus traveler.

Habitat for Humanity: Offers a variety of house-building trips through its Global Village Program and RV Care-A-Vanners program.

TRAVEL

classes. Membership is only $20 per year and open to people of any age, and members have access to as many as a dozen hours’ worth of classes every week. KCS also donates refurbished computers to seniors and others who cannot afford them.

“If they’re not up with technology, they isolate themselves,” KCS president Larry Dusavage says of older Americans.

“Computers open up their world and get them connected.”

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from page 9 cross-country trip later this year for their lavender business, it will include stopovers to meet some of the cousins in person.

“It’s going to be very interesting when we gather in small reunions along the way,” he says. “Our family is tighter due to the fact we know each other vicariously now.”

Linda Thompson got on Facebook to keep up with family as well, but uses it just as much as a tool. Not fully retired at 66, Thompson does campaign work, so she uses the social networking site for political purposes, to share her faith, as well as to keep in touch. It’s also her breaking news venue, as she has several newspapers on her feed.

“The thing about Facebook is that you can keep in touch with a lot of people at the same time,” she says. “I think relationships can build to some extent even if you’re not having personal conversations.”

She acknowledges it can be overwhelming not just for older people but for anyone to use the site because of the constant changes, but finds there’s another reason older people don’t use it or at least don’t post: “They’re worried about offending others,” she says.

It’s the same worry that keeps seniors away from blogging, says Rosie Atkinson, a

Port Orchard resident whose career was in publishing, including as a reporter for the Kitsap Sun and editor at the Port Orchard Independent. Atkinson, who is now in her 80s, says she sometimes has to watch what she posts on her blog because her grandchildren are reading it.

Atkinson first wrote her memoirs on Rosie’s Blog, and got as far as five or six chapters before delving into other topics.

She still posts almost weekly, using Blogspot (rosieatkinson.blogspot.com).

“My kids talked me into blogging. They said I should be writing things down even if I didn’t write a book,” she says.

Atkinson, who’s been using computers for a long time, has no problem finding her way around her Mac, and even has her printer programmed to spit out the crossword puzzle daily. She’s fond of her Kindle, too — and not only reads a lot but also writes prolifically.

A novella is already done and a mystery novel is next, while the memoir is still an ongoing project. She says the blog has been a good avenue for the memoir.

“It’s easier for me to type on this, and then I don’t have to keep paper records,” she says.

For seniors who are not as savvy with computers, Kitsap Computing Services is a place to start. The organization, which has 235 members of all ages, offers about 300

Take advantage of higher IRA contribution limits

By Todd Tidball For the first time since 2008, contribution limits have risen for one of the most popular retirement savings vehicles available: the IRA. This means you’ve got a greater opportunity to put more money away for your “golden years.”

Effective earlier this year, you can now put in up to $5,500 (up from $5,000 in 2012) to a traditional or Roth IRA when you make your 2013 contribution. And if you’re 50 or older, you can put in an additional $1,000 above the new contribution limit.

Over time, the extra sums from the higher contribution limits can add up. Consider this example: If you put in $5,000 per year to an IRA for 30 years, and you earned a hypothetical 7 percent per year, you’d wind up with slightly over $505,000. But if you contributed $5,500 per year for those same 30 years, and earned that same 7 percent per year, you’d accumulate almost $556,000 — about $51,000 more than with the lower contribution limit.

Keep in mind that if you have invested the above amounts in a traditional, tax-deferred IRA, you’ll be taxed on your withdrawals at

14 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

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your ordinary income tax rate. With a Roth IRA, your contributions are made with aftertax funds, but your withdrawals have the potential to be tax-free — provided you’ve had your account at least five years and don’t start taking withdrawals until you’re 59½. (Not everyone is eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA, as income limits apply.)

If you have an IRA, you already know its advantages. If you aren’t investing in an IRA, you should be aware of these key benefits: Tax-deferred growth — A traditional IRA can provide tax-deferred growth while a Roth IRA can potentially grow tax-free, provided you meet the conditions described above. To get a sense of just how valuable these tax advantages are, consider this example: If you put in $5,500 per year (the new IRA maximum) for 30 years to a hypothetical investment that earned 7 percent a year, but on which you paid taxes every year (at the 25 percent tax bracket), you’d end up with slightly more than $401,000 — about $155,000 less than what you’d accumulate in an IRA. As mentioned above, you will eventually have to pay taxes on your traditional IRA withdrawals, but by the time you do, you might be in a lower tax bracket. Furthermore, depending on your income level, some of your contributions to a traditional IRA may be tax-deductible. (Roth IRA contributions are not deductible.)

Members SIPC

Variety of investment options — You can invest your funds within your IRA in many types of investments — stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit (CDs), U.S. Treasury securities and so on. In fact, within your IRA, you can create a mix of investments that are suitable for your risk tolerance, time horizon and long-term goals. Of course, investing always carries some risks, including loss of principal — but the risk of not investing may be greater, in terms of not having enough assets for retirement.

Here’s one more point to keep in mind: The earlier in the year you “max out” on your IRA contributions, the more time you’ll give your account to potentially grow.

By reaching the new, higher contribution limits, and by fully funding your IRA as early in each year as possible, you can help yourself take full advantage of this powerful retirement savings tool.

• Todd Tidball is an Edward Jones financial advisor in Poulsbo.

Put your tax refund to work

By Erin Abrigo Not everyone gets one, but it’s always a welcome sight — a tax refund. If you receive a refund this year, how can you best put it to work?

The answer depends, to a large extent, on the size of your refund. In 2012, the average tax refund was about $3,000, according to the IRS. Let’s look at a few possibilities for how you might use this amount: Help fund your IRA — In 2013, you can now put in up to $5,500 per year (up from $5,000 in 2012) to a traditional or Roth IRA. And if you’re 50 or older, you can put in an additional $1,000 per year above the new contribution limit. Consequently,

your $3,000 refund could cover more than half of your maximum IRA contributions, or slightly less than half if you’re 50 or older.

And if you don’t think that $3,000 would make much of a difference, consider this: If you invested the $3,000 in an IRA that earned a hypothetical 7 percent annual return, and you never put in another dime, you’d end up with nearly $23,000 after 30 years. And if you put in that same $3,000 per year to your IRA — well below the maximum — every year for 30 years, earning that same 7 percent annual return, you’d accumulate more than $303,000.

(Keep in mind that you’d eventually be

Refund, page 15

NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT TO KEEP YOUR FUTURE ON TRACK. Your local Edward Jones financial advisors:

Lots of times, changes in life also affect your investments. That’s why there’s never been a better time to schedule your free portfolio review.

We’ll talk about the changes in your life, and help you decide whether it makes sense to revise your investments because of them.

A portfolio review will help ensure your investments are keeping pace with your goals. Call your local financial advisor today.

Ron Rada

Pat McFadden

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Don’t put up with a horrible boss when that boss is you

By Dan Weedin Do you work for a horrible boss?

Many in business for themselves have “bosses” that do things that would never be tolerated by anyone else.

They can be demeaning; insulting; overbearing; demand overtime without pay; not allow vacation; and most importantly ridicule with bad language that promotes poor performance, lack of creativity, and really bad morale.

Unfortunately, those “bosses” are you.

Poor self talk is endemic in small business owners and executives. It’s so easy to fall into patterns of self-flagellation and nothing good comes from it. There are many reasons for it:

• • • • • •

Poor self-confidence Low self-esteem (which is different) Challenges in business Lack of support Depression Outside influences Positive self-talk is critical to your success both professionally and personally.

I’m not talking about spouting affirmations mindlessly. I’m talking about an intentional paradigm shift in your brain that instills confidence, self-worth, perspective and excitement.

Here are some techniques to use when you find yourself slipping into horrible boss mode: Have perspective. I doubt you’re in a foxhole where people are shooting at you. It’s

doubtful you are in a life-and-death situation.

There are few things that can’t ultimately be fixed. Relax. Get a grip. Understand most of the population on this planet would trade places with you in a heartbeat.

Take a deep breath. Breathing properly is fundamental to good health (and a pulse). Lack of sufficient oxygen to the brain causes bad things. Take a breath.

Focus on the most important thing you can do at this moment. Be positive and use your brain, not your harmful words, to solve it.

Remember that you are improving the lives and conditions of others. People are counting on you and need you to be at your best.

Take a walk. Play with your dog. Talk to

REFUND

Help build an emergency fund — Life is full of unexpected events. If you need to purchase a new furnace or pay for an expensive car repair or incur a hospital bill, will you have the money available? If you don’t, you might be forced to dip into your IRA or other investments. This move could result in taxes and fees; more importantly, it will reduce the financial resources you’re counting on to help meet your long-term goals. You can help avoid this problem by building an emergency fund containing six to 12 months’ worth of living expenses, kept in a liquid, low-risk account. Your tax refund could give you a nice start to this fund.

Invest in a 529 plan — If you have children (or grandchildren) whom you’d

like to send to college, you may want to invest in a 529 plan. Your earnings grow taxfree, provided withdrawals are used for qualified higher education expenses.

(Withdrawals for other purposes will result in taxes and possible penalties.)

Contribution limits are quite high, so you can put in significant amounts each year — including a $3,000 tax refund.

As you can see, you’ve got some attractive options for using your tax refund — so consider them carefully. If you can apply more resources to your various financial goals, you may find yourself in a better position in the future.

• Erin Abrigo is an Edward Jones financial advisor in Gig Harbor.

from page 14 taxed on your traditional IRA earnings; Roth IRA earnings grow tax-free, provided you meet certain conditions.)

Pay off some debts — In the last few years, Americans have done a pretty good job of lowering their individual debt loads, according to the Federal Reserve. But if you still have some outstanding loans or a credit card balance that carries a high interest rate, you might want to consider applying your tax refund to these debts. The lower your monthly debt payments, the better your cash flow — and the more money you’ll have available to invest for your future.

your spouse or significant other or friend. Play with your kids. Heck, watch television. But for goodness sake, change the scenery.

Get off Facebook. There is a new sort of “disease” going around called Facebook envy.

It’s where you see all your friends (and many “friends” you haven’t seen since they had braces in junior high), living great lives, going to exotic ports, with great hair and all the glories of life. And, many are lying through their teeth.

Regardless, you need to be happy with who you are and what you bring to the table. You’re better off watching a repeat of Gilligan’s Island.

Don’t take yourself so seriously. Really.

Get help. If you need a therapist, fine.

But in many cases, you need a coach, mentor, accountability partner, colleague or friend. Don’t hold it all in. Find someone who will be there as a sounding board but not allow you to wallow in self-pity.

Get a dog. (I know Captain Jack and Bella keep me grounded and show that unconditional love we all need.)

Bottom line, treat yourself better and start by keeping the thoughts in your head about you positive. You are your biggest asset. Treat yourself like it!

• Dan Weedin is a Poulsbo-based management consultant, speaker, and mentor. He helps entrepreneurs and small business owners to significantly transform their businesses and their lives.

He is one of only 24 consultants in the world to be accredited as an Alan Weiss Master Mentor. Reach Dan at (360) 697-1058, dan@danweedin.com, or visit www.danweedin.com.

360-876-1938 • 1590 Bay Street, Port Orchard • pacificasset.com

March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 15

Gary Lucy / CPA, CFP • Alison Fong • Brian Cox • Don Cox / CPA

Sweet Melissa’s gives visitors an excuse to indulge

16 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

By Rodika Tollefson When Melissa Beers saw the new Uptown Gig Harbor shopping center several years ago, she eyed the shops located right next to the Galaxy Theater and thought they would make a great place for a bakery. And although she’s had the dream for one in the back of her mind for years, she didn’t think much of it at the time. But last year, when the opportunity presented itself for one of those same spaces, Beers decided to finally take a plunge.

Beers discovered a talent for making and decorating sweets long before Gig Harbor became her home 12 years ago, when she was a stay-at-home mother of five. She recalls that people used to keep her Christmas decorated sugar cookies as ornaments because they were so beautiful.

“The idea developed over the years,” she said. “My youngest daughter was getting older so I thought the time was right.”

Beers opened Sweet Melissa’s last April, offering cupcakes, cookies, éclairs and other treats, along with ice cream, tea and coffee, generous seating space and WiFi for people who want to stay awhile.

“I thought it would be nice to have a place where people could meet,” she said.

She tries to buy locally when possible, using vendors such as Olympic Mountain Ice Cream from Shelton and Mad Hat Tea from Tacoma.

The selection has been growing and

• To watch a video with this story, go to kpbj.com

Rodika Tollefson photo

Melissa Beers owns Sweet Melissa’s bakery in Uptown Gig Harbor.

includes specialorder cakes, sugarfree, vegan and gluten-free goodies. Everything is made from scratch in-house, from the caramel to the marshmallow cream. New flavors are added every month and Beers is not afraid to experiment — cupcake flavors have ranged from eggnog and lemon lavender to

creamcicle (asked which one’s her favorite, Beers said it’s like asking someone what their favorite chocolate is). At Thanksgiving, she even made a savory cupcake that included stuffing, gravy and turkey.

“The ideas just come to me,” she said.

“You’re always thinking how would this taste with that. … It’s fun to experiment and try something different.”

Beers had her fair share of challenges when she launched the business, but she’s worked her way through the learning curve.

One of her biggest challenges was to create consistent quality — while she was an experienced baker, making commercial-size batches required different formulas. Not only was she trying to work out the process, but also train all new helpers at the same time.

“We made a lot of mistakes at first so it was up and down until we streamlined and made everything consistent,” she said. “It took about four months to perfect the process and I’ve worked hard to come up with moister and more flavorful cupcake.

We’ve improved a lot.”

The Beers family has been a part of the business. Beers’ husband helped design the store and did much of the woodwork; the two youngest children, who are still at home, help out regularly and the other three, who are adults, come in when they’re in town. Beers has seven employees and says getting to know them, as well as being able to offer job opportunities to young people, has been the best part of owning her business.

While she’s still trying to understand demand and customer need, Beers already has several dreams and plans. One is to finish the second-story alcove area so she could host parties there (Sweet Melissa’s Bakery, page 18

POULTRY

from page 5

In its three years since inception, the coop also has helped local producers to improve productivity. The group rents portable processing equipment to members, along with providing access to other resources. For a small farmer, even that portable equipment is not feasible because it would take years to pay for itself.

“The equipment is a godsend,” Darnall said. As one example, he said plucking a bird used to take him as long as 30 minutes, a process he can now do in under a minute by using the rented equipment.

Boyle said the co-op has been gaining momentum not only among poultry producers. In fact, only about 20 of the members are producers — the rest are local chefs, small business owners and the general public. Membership has grown every year, as has demand for the

Olympic Outdoor Center owner picked as Kitsap VCB board’s president The Kitsap Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau has elected John Kuntz, owner of Olympic Outdoor Center and a leader in the outdoor recreation industry, as KPVCB board president. He takes over from Diane Robinson, owner of Elandan Gardens, who had been board president since 2010.

equipment. Last year, members processed 2,000 birds using the rentals.

He notes that Kitsap used to be a major producer of eggs and had a co-op in the 1900s. “That infrastructure has been lost,” he said, adding that one of the group’s goals is to educate the public as well as the producers on food safety and other topics.

The co-op is self-supporting, with memberships and rental fees paying for equipment maintenance and other needs.

The mobile unit, however, will likely require a mix of public and private funds.

Darnall thinks the mobile unit will help many local producers increase their operations, and said there’s definitely a demand from restaurants and resellers.

“Every small farmer that’s raising meat chickens is in the same boat — they’d love to increase production but have this marketing roadblock,” he said. “Chicken is one of the best and cheapest proteins to raise and to buy. They’re efficient to raise, I just can’t market it fully.”

“The KPVCB has worked to establish the Kitsap Peninsula as a mecca for adventure sports, tournaments, and eco-recreation activities.

John and his colleagues at the North Kitsap John Kuntz Trails Association have played a major role,” Robinson said, “and thanks to their efforts and the KPVCB branding strategy initiated in 2009,

Stuart Boyle feeds the chickens he and his wife raise on their Creekside Family Farms in Silverdale.

Photo courtesy Michele M Gilles

visitors are flocking to the area to enjoy our natural environment.”

The organization also elected Monica Downen, owner of Monica's Waterfront Bakery & Cafe in Silverdale, and Kevin Wojtick, manager of the Super 8 Motel in Bremerton and past KPVCB board member, to serve on the board from 201316. They fill expired board terms for Silverdale art gallery owner Lisa Stirrett and attorney Ron Templeton, who will continue to serve as the board’s legal

advisor.

Other members elected to the KPVCB executive board include co-vice presidents Steven Gear, manager of the Oxford Suites & Inn in Silverdale, and Jack Edwards, manager of the Baymont Inn in Bremerton. Sharon Shrader, chair of the Bremerton Housing Authority and former Kitsap County Treasurer, was elected secretary.

March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 17

“One of the big things we want to be here is to be a place people can go and really spend some time talking about what they want to do with their cars.”

HOT RODS

18 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

from page 1 farther away in Michigan.)

Grasser, who lives on Bainbridge Island, worked as a carpenter before going to college to make a career change. He graduated with a dual degree from Mankato, also completing the program for manufacturing engineering technology.

He and a couple partners bought the business from Howard Stump, a longtime hot rod guru who was ready for somebody else to take over his car shop and thought Grasser had the right stuff.

They got to know each other a couple years ago when Grasser was restoring an old Mustang, and discussed a possible deal.

“I always wanted my own speed shop,” said Grasser, a 35-year-old who’s had a jones for customized hot rods “ever since my first Matchbox car.”

They worked together in the HMS operation for a year, giving the newcomer a chance to get to know Stump’s customers, then Grasser bought him out. He moved the business in December to a new location in the North Kitsap Business Park.

“The majority of people we get for clients are old-school hot rodders, who know exactly what they want,” even if they no longer have the zeal for working on their own cars, he said.

— Chris Grasser, owner of HMS Customs

Tim Kelly photo

A 1967 Chevelle and a 1947 Ford convertible are two of the classic cars Chris Grasser is working on at HMS Customs in Poulsbo.

One such car in his shop is a 1947 Ford convertible, glossy black with lots of chrome up front, that belongs to Leroy Silva, a member of the Old Timers vintage car club in Bremerton.

"Chris is really knowledgeable about everything he does," said Silva, who may bring his 1959 T-bird to HMS Customs for a drivetrain upgrade.

Grasser's capability to restore and rev up classic cars is complemented by the skills and knowledge about modern engines and manufacturing that he brings from his college courses.

"I see what he does with real high-tech stuff, and he's a real good fabricator," Silva said.

Stump has been similarly impressed.

"He's really gifted at the old-school stuff, because that's a can of corn," Stump said.

"Then he goes all the way up through 4x4 stuff I've seen him fabricate, and of course he (knows) turbo cars, exotic german import cars.

“He's real gifted on how to make those things run more efficiently and have more horsepower."

Stump paid him a grease monkey's compliment, noting that Grasser's not like some younger, tech-savvy guys who analyze engines on computers but "don’t tend to get their hands dirty."

Learning to work on cars was a trial-anderror process throughout his youth, Grasser said, adding that he grew up with muscle

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cars, “and I matured with high-tuned imports.”

One of the more interesting and extensive projects he’s working on is an overhaul of a 1966 Mustang convertible.

The woman who brought it in is on her second go-round with the car, having found the guy she sold it to decades ago and bought it back from him.

All that sits in the corner of Grasser’s shop now is the red shell, which needed a lot of metal work. It will eventually be restored with a match of the car’s original interior, and be powered by a 4.6-liter supercharged V-8 engine that Grasser said will kick up about 500 horsepower.

“When she gets in, she’ll be sitting in ’66 seats,” he said, “but when she turns the key, she’s going to be driving a 2003 Mustang Cobra.”

He enjoys talking about cars with other aficionados as much as working on them.

“One of the big things we want to be here is to be a place people can go and really spend some time talking about what they want to do with their cars,” he said.

Grasser’s got plenty of stories of his own to share in those discussions, going back to his first car, a 1977 Honda Accord.

“I’ve probably owned 30 cars in my life, and I couldn’t leave one of ’em alone,” he said.

In addition to the HMS shop, Grasser, Isaac Weddell and Ricky Wood are partners in Hyndra Motorsports LLP. With Weddell handling administrative and marketing and Wood managing the production side, they’re developing a business line designing and engineering after-market parts and other new automotive products.

But when Grasser’s standing in his shop between that vintage ’47 Ford and a sweet ’67 Chevelle, it’s obvious that working on hot rods is a labor of love.

“The main focus of this place,” he said, “is keeping these pieces of history on the road.”

from page 8 currently offers party in the main seating area). Another is to add a breakfast omelet bar and high tea.

“I have a lot of ideas. It would be half of those if people slapped some of them out of me,” she said, smiling.

She said response has been good and it’s helped that Sweet Melissa’s is filling a niche in Gig Harbor.

“I like having a place where people come,” she said. “I like the idea of being in the community, providing something that makes people feel good.”

March 2013 Edition

Events And Activities VISIT the NEW HBA Website! www.kitsaphba.com Online Registrations!

Tuesday, March 5, Noon Spring Home Show Cmt. Mtg. Wednesday, March 6, 4 p.m.

Kitsap HBA Remodelers Council Built Green® Roundtable: Products and Building Practices for Today’s Builder Thursday, March 7, 7:30 a.m.

Developers Council Mtg. Thursday, March 14 CLOSED HBA Office Closed in Bremerton All Staff at Fairgrounds March 15 - 17 Home & Garden Expo Visit: kitsaphbahomeshow.com for Expo hours, latest details & a discount admission coupon Saturday, March 16, 2:00 p.m.

SEE Ciscoe Morris!

FREE w/ Paid Expo Admission Monday, March 18 CLOSED HBA Office Closed in Bremerton All Staff at Fairgrounds Wednesday, March 20, 11 a.m.

Understanding How L&I Computes Your EMR Register w/BIAW Thursday, March 28 Executive Cmt. Mtg., 2 p.m.

Gov. Aff. Cmt. Mtg., 2:30 p.m.

Board of Directors Mtg,, 3:30 p.m.

VISIT the NEW HBA Website! www.kitsaphba.com Online Event Registrations!

Peninsula Home & Garden Expo!

2013 OFFICERS President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Baglio First Vice President . . . . . . Judy Mentor Eagleson Second Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Leage Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Randy Biegenwald Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dee Coppola, CGA Immediate Past Pres. . . . Wayne Keffer, CGR, CAPS

March 15, 16, & 17 Kitsap County Fairgrounds (3 Buildings!)

Mark you calendar now! The annual Home & Garden Expo is just around the corner and so is Spring! As always the parking is FREE! Admission prices are very low, but why pay full price admission? Check out the Kitsap Sun, our websites, and stores throughout the community for discount admission coupons --- and don’t forget, children 12 & Under are free with a paid adult. If you’re a member of Expo Sponsor, Kitsap Credit Union, be sure to look in your newsletter for a $2.00 off admission coupon!

This is the Biggest and Best Home Show West of Seattle!® Find out why at our Expo Website, www.kitsaphbahomeshow.com. There you will find a list of current vendors (updated regularly right up to the first day of the show!), special features — including information on the Habitat for Humanity Surplus Building Materials Sale, and important information on the FREE (with paid admission) seminars throughout the weekend!

Are you or someone you know a Ciscoe Morris fan? Join us on Saturday, March 16 at 2 p.m. to learn from Ciscoe, ask him questions about your landscape and garden challenges, and enjoy his high Ciscoe LIVE energy presentation.

Your paid admission to the Expo is all that is required. Seating will fill up, so come early, enjoy the Expo and secure you seat!

The Peninsula Home & Garden Expo is your local resource for all the services you need for the home you have now, or that home you’re planning to build! Throughout the Expo’s 3 buildings you will find builders, lender, landscapers, garden art, and so much more! Leaky roof?

What better place to find the company to solve your problem? Curious about the energy efficiency upgrades and tax rebates? Check out RePower Kitsap and many of their trade allies at this 3 day event! Interested in a new deck, or a modern railing system? We have that too! The garage is often the most visible feature of your home. Worried that your garage isn’t giving your house that “WOW!” factor? Upgrade your curb appeal with a new garage door and check out the Expo for the right company to do it!

Be sure to visit www.kitsaphbahomeshow.com for all the latest details!

Interest rates remain low, our market is improving, and 2013 should be a year of growth. Be a part of it and get inspired at the Peninsula Home & Garden Expo.

VENDORS — Don’t delay! If you’re interested in being seen in the Kitsap market, this is the show for you! There may be a spot left, please call the HBA office at 360-479-5778 to find out if we can fit you in!

2013 BUILDER & ASSOC. DIRECTORS Karla Cook • Judy Granlee-Gates Joe Hurtt • David Godbolt, CAPS, CGP, CGB, CGR Berni Kenworthy • Miriam Villiard Kevin Ryan • Leslie Peterson, CGA Shawnee Spencer • Jim Way, CGB

2013 STATE DIRECTORS Robert Baglio • Kevin Hancock Lary Coppola • Judy Mentor Eagleson Justin Ingalls, RCS • Wayne Keffer, CGR, CAPS John Leage • Ron Perkerewicz

2013 ALTERNATE STATE DIRECTOR John Armstrong • Walter Galitzki Brent Marmon • Greg Livdahl • Jim Heins

LIFE STATE DIRECTORS Bill Parnell

2013 NATIONAL DIRECTORS Robert Baglio • John Leage

2013 ALTERNATE NATNL. DIRECTORS Michael Brown • Jeff Coombe

LIFE DIRECTORS Rick Courson • Jim Smalley • Bob Helm Bill Parnell • Larry Ward John Schufreider • Dori Shobert

2013 COUNCIL & CHAIRS Build a Better Christmas. . . Randy Biegenwald Built Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walter Galitzki

By Laws & Nominations . . Wayne Keffer, CGR, CAPS Developers Council. . . . . . . . . Berni Kenworthy Golf Classic . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shawnee Spencer Govt. Affairs Cmte . . . Judy Mentor Eagleson Remodelers Ccl Chair . . . . . . . Walter Galitzki Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Leage Parade of Homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dee Coppola Peninsula H&G Expo. . . . . . . . . . Ardi Villiard Peninsula H&R Expo . . . . . . . . . Dee Coppola

HBA STAFF Executive Vice President . . . Teresa Osinski, CGP tosinski@kitsaphba.com Events and Administrative Assistant . . . Katie Revis hbaevents@kitsaphba.com Administrative Coordinator. . . Kathleen Brosnan info@KitsapHBA.com

Home Builders Association of Kitsap County 5251 Auto Center Way, Bremerton, WA 98312 360-479-5778 • 800-200-5778 FAX 360-479-0313 www.KitsapHBA.com

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March 2013 Edition

Good Job Kitsap County In early February I attended Robert the monthly meeting of the Baglio HBA’s Developer ’s Council.

The main focus of the meeting The BJC Group was for the Department of 2013 President Community Development to report on their latest efforts to improve their permit processes.

As I had reported in previous articles, the County has undertaken efforts to improve almost all aspects of their permit approval processes. Their permit checklists have been revised, they have implemented an over the counter (OTC) same day permit approval process, and they are working to simplify the Land Use Tables. They have also initiated “Lean” process management analysis. This analysis has been used to review their processes and identify ways to make them more streamlined and efficient. To date they have undertaken this process on their Single Family Residential (SFR) Building Permits, the Building Inspection Process, and now the Type 3 Land Use Permits are being reviewed. A Type 3 Land Use Permit is for those projects that require a public hearing and ultimately a decision by the Hearing Examiner. Next in line for the “Lean Process” is the Site Development Activity Permit (SDAP).

The results from the “Lean Process” to date have been pretty impressive, with the most significant improvement being the reduction in the review time for SFR permits to about 12 days.

With the Type 3 Land Use Permits, the current median timeframe is 261 days, almost 9 months. Their target is to reduce this timeframe to 120 days (4 months), with the ultimate goal being 90 days or 3 months. That is truly amazing. I do not know if they will achieve their goal, but I hope so.

It is incredibly refreshing to find a government entity interested in making changes and being open to new ways of doing things. Change is usually resisted, but not at Kitsap County. Not only are they open to change, but they solicit input from private industry, from the people and entities that use and go through the processes on a daily basis. What an ingenious idea. This public/private partnership and cooperation is a great example of how to work together to the benefit of everyone involved. For we are all in this together, whether you are a Permit Technician, Planner, Permit Facilitator, Plans Examiner, or Building Official whether you are an Engineer, Architect, Developer, Contractor, or Home Owner to streamline the permit process and make it more efficient benefits everyone.

The efforts to improve the permit processes must be recognized and applauded. I would like to thank everyone at the Department of Community Development for their efforts, their willingness to try new things, and for participating in the process with an open mind and positive approach. I would especially like to thank Larry Keeton and Jeff Rowe for their leadership in spearheading this process and I would like to thank the County Commissioners, Charlotte Garrido, Josh Brown, and Rob Gelder for their faith and trust in Larry and Jeff to allow them to undertake this process.

Perhaps we can all learn by the County’s efforts for continual improvement. Good job Kitsap County. Keep up the good work and thank you for your efforts.

The Legislative Session is Underway and our 9 legislators have a lot to tackle. The State’s economy is anything but robust CGP and with the State Supreme Courts ruling on fully funding Executive public education, Vice President Representatives and Senators alike will be faced with another session of tough decisions. The Home Builders Association respects and appreciates the hard work they are faced with and stands ready to provide any information or assistance we can along the way.

I do want to take a few minutes to illuminate a unique leadership structure the Senate is under this session. As was explained by Judy Mentor Eagleson, HBA 1st Vice President, in her article in February, a “Majority Coalition Caucus” formed and historic leadership structures put in place. Under this MCC, the Senate Republicans were joined by two Senate Democrats (one being our own Senator Tim Sheldon from the 35th District) to break the log jam that has crippled the Senate the last several years. Many of you may recall that at the end of the last session, the Governor had to call not one, but two, special sessions just to get a budget approved. The final approval happened when members crossed the aisle to work toward a solution and not just more of the same partisan inertia. As a result of this session’s MCC a broader view of issues should be realized.

In a historic move, the MCC set up the Senate committee leadership with some committees chaired by Democrats, others Chaired by Republicans, some with a Chair and Vice Chair of the same party, and some with those positions split. It is a fascinating step and I know I will be watching closely to see what this bipartisan process can produce. The catch is that ultimately all that gets through the Senate must also make it through the House where this approach is not in play and one party holds a meaningful majority over the other. Likewise, anything the House passes must gain approval in the Senate so there is a mechanism to encourage cooperation between chambers.

If you admire and appreciate the efforts of Senator Sheldon to participate in our legislative process and to avoid policy stagnation please take a minute to just let him know. He has been a long standing member of the Washington State Legislature representing the 35th District (parts of Bremerton and into Mason County). He has also served for many years as a Mason County Commissioner.

He has dedicated his life to public service and to serving the people of the 35th District. He has taken heat many times over the years because he votes as his constituency expects above any pressure imposed by the Party. If you would like to encourage Senator Sheldon or just say “Thanks,” please call his office at 360-786-7668 or email him at timothy.sheldon@leg.wa.gov.

There are many days left in this 90 day session. BIAW’s staff and contract lobbyists are working hard on many issues, including L&I reform, Building Code Update Cycles, Deferred Impact Fees, and Land Use Remedy among other items. If you have any questions about the process, bills that are in play, or need to reach your legislator don’t hesitate to call. I will do what I can to help you find the information or assistance you need.

Teresa Osinski

March 2013 Edition

In 2009, Kitsap County Government closed its doors on Fridays due to the County’s dire economic straits. This was supposed to Judy Mentor Eagleson be a temporary fix. We are Mentor Company now entering our fifth year 2013 Chair and there is no plan in place to return to five day a week public access to government. Yes, we have adapted, but what choice do we have — we cannot just take our business down the street. As the economy has been slowly improving, local businesses are finding the continuing closure on Fridays as a ceiling to continued growth.

We believe that having County government closed one day a week has a direct, detrimental, impact on many industries in Kitsap County.

Thus, in September 2012 the HBA Board of Directors adopted a resolution asking the Board of County Commissioners to return County services to five days a week. That resolution was delivered to the Commissioners and several other County elected officials in October and was printed in the November Kitsap Business Journal.

The November HBA Government Affairs Committee meeting was packed as we discussed this issue with Auditor Walt Washington, Treasurer Meredith Green and Assessor Jim Avery. It became clear to us that these elected officials do not agree that there is a need for County Government to be open 5 days a week.

While adamant that her office could not open on Fridays, Ms. Green seemed to have the most to offer — a “virtual” closing module would be added to the County’s system so properties can close on Fridays (or any other day of the week) without an “in person” transaction. This service would be linked to the Auditor’s office and would be in place by the end of the 1st quarter 2013.

All three; Mr.Washington, Mr. Avery and Ms.Green were invited back to our February 28th meeting to give us an update. As I write this, the meeting has not yet happened, but we expect to see Ms. Green and Mr. Avery at the meeting.

Economic growth in Kitsap County is not only dependent on the Auditor, Treasurer and Assessors offices being open on Fridays, it also needs the involvement of the Department of Community Development (DCD). I am happy to report that while we have a long way to go, DCD seems to understand that their services are necessary to the future growth of the building industry. They are now offering inspections on Fridays, and are looking at other Friday options.

Everyone is pointing to the budget as the reason for Friday closures. The budget, as we all know, is controlled by the County Commissioners. During last year’s candidate interview process, all candidates running for County Commissioner were asked if the

Government Affairs Committee

24 hour emergency clean-up

ACTION

O T ff In he eri Se Be ng rv st ic e

County was providing the proper level of service by being open only four days a week; every candidate said no. Many good ideas were suggested during these debates, but nothing has changed. The HBA met with Commissioner Rob Gelder in January, and he assured us that he understood the need and would make this issue part of a work study session.

While we believe the County’s role is to serve the public, and can only do so effectively by being open five days a week, we have argued that if the County truly needs to be closed one day a week, they should pick another day — preferably Wednesday.

I am writing this article on President’s Day weekend. If you wanted to purchase a home and move in this weekend, you would have had to sign documents over a week ago. If you are a builder, permits cannot be submitted, inspections cannot be requested, and any questions that arise on a permit will have to wait. If you are a broker, hopefully you got your package loans closed on Thursday and are ready to submit to the secondary market; otherwise, you will need to scramble because you will only have three days next week to complete a package. If you are a title company, you will most likely need to work overtime this coming week to get a full week of recordings completed in three days. If you are a moving company, some of the jobs you had scheduled for Friday, because people were hoping to close and move in over the long weekend but their lenders are from out of town and didn’t realize that Kitsap County is closed on Fridays and didn’t get all the documents done in time, will need to be rescheduled. Shall I go on?

Friday closures are a big issue for the HBA Government Affairs Committee this year and we will continue to monitor and report on our progress. Stay tuned.

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March 2013 Edition

Welcome New Members Salo Brothers Construction, Inc. David Salo 22971 Port Gamble Rd. Poulsbo, WA 98370 (360) 779-7989 FAX: (360) 779-7480 dsalo@yahoo.com And the SPIKE goes to...

Randy Biegenwald Randy Biegenwald CPA

Law Office of David P Horton, P.S. David Horton 3212 NW Byron Street, Ste. 104 Silverdale, WA 98383 (360) 692-9444 FAX: (360) 692-1257 dhorton@davidhortonlaw.com And the SPIKE goes to...

Mike Eddy Hood Canal Heating & Cooling, Inc.

Hager House Stuart Hager 26119 Calvary LN NE, Ste 200 Kingston, WA 98346 (360) 930-4392 Stuart032@hotmail.com And the SPIKE goes to...

Robert Baglio The BJC Group

Kitsap Fire & Security Isaac Harder PO Box 2898 Poulsbo, WA 98370 (360) 626-8882 Isaac@kitsapfireandsecurity.com And the SPIKE goes to...

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Thank You Renewing Members 44 Years Evergreen Lumber Inc. 25 Years Olympic Property Group Over 10 Years Camp Corporation Hanson Sign Co. 10 Years Cloise & Mike Construction Inc. Ahearn Electric

Over 5 Years AmericanWest Bank (9) Robison & Sons A Kitchen That Works Pacific Kai Homes, LLC Over 1 Year Estes Builders 1 YEAR Anniversary Hope Roofing

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Former gas station site turned into gateway to Winslow from ferry The site of a former Unocal gas station on Bainbridge Island was recently converted into a public space after a communitywide effort. What was once an eyesore is now The Waypoint, which features a plaza and a wide walking space.

The vacant property had been jointly owned by the city of Bainbridge Island and Kitsap Transit, and the site had underground contamination from the old gas station.

The Waypoint is located at the southeast corner of Winslow Way and Olympic Drive, an intersection that sees an estimated 6 million people a year, including ferry traffic.

Project leaders hope the park will serve as a gateway to direct ferry passengers to downtown.

A citizen-led steering committee worked on the project, which received support from a variety of businesses and organizations as well as volunteers. Several corporate donations and grants, including $80,000 from Bainbridge Rotary, contributed toward the project cost.

Photos courtesy Shannon Evans

The site of a former gas station at the southeast corner of the Winslow Way/State Route 305 intersection on Bainbridge Island has been transformed into the Waypoint, with wide walkways that curve around both sides of a landscaped area. The Waypoint, which was to be dedicated March 1, will offer an attractive welcoming gateway to the downtown area on Winslow for passengers coming off the ferry.

“The focus of the Waypoint project is the spirit of welcome and the natural beauty of our Bainbridge Island community. It will have a lovely, simple design that allows a moment of pause among daily comings and goings on

the Island,” said John Paul Jones, the project architect.

The park will be maintained by Bainbridge Island Metro Parks and

Recreation. A dedication ceremony on March 1 was expected to be attended by a variety of dignitaries, local leaders and members of the public.

Montessori schools on Bainbridge consolidating

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Partners In Success PNWT’s Chief Title Officer, Julie Goodman has been appointed Vice President! Julie has 24 years in the title industry, eight of those years with PNWT. She retains a wealth of knowledge of almost every aspect of our business. She is certified as one of our clock hour instructors and handles our most intense commercial projects. She has a hand in our title department like no other, her expertise is relied upon daily. Please join us in congratulating Julie on a well deserved appointment!

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March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 23

Montessori Country School and Voyager Montessori Elementary School will consolidate at the end of this school year. The consolidated school will be administered by Montessori Country School, which this year celebrates its 40th year on Bainbridge Island.

Beginning with the 2013-14 school year, MCS will be offering programs for children from 18 months through sixth grade. The school launched its new website in January and has begun the admissions process for next year's classes.

The idea of bringing the schools together began with a shared vision of one Montessori school serving children from toddler age through sixth grade. Last fall, the boards of both schools announced their decision to bring the schools together.

Effective July 1, Meghan Skotheim, a longtime MCS teacher and administrator, will become Head of School for Montessori Country School as Patty Christensen steps down after 26 years of leadership. MCS is planning a celebration on June 22 to honor these transitions and to commemorate its 40th anniversary.

For more information, contact Christensen at patty@MontessoriCountrySchool.org or Skotheim at meghan@MontessoriCountrySchool.org, or call 206-842-4966 or email countryschool@hotmail.com.

No development proposal yet for Poulsbo’s old City Hall site Four-month option period with Lorig Associates expired, but company still exploring options for possible partnership deal

24 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013–

By Tim Kelly, Editor What will become of Poulsbo’s old City Hall site remains an open question, after a Seattle-based real estate developer’s fourmonth option on the property expired with no proposal presented to the city.

Mayor Becky Erickson said recently that Lorig Associates remains interested in potential development of the property, which has been considered for a hotel.

“We’re still working on it,” Lorig CEO Tom Fitzsimmons said in early February.

“We looked at a number of different alternatives,” he said. “We have been trying to recruit a partner and we haven’t yet been successful, but we’re still hopeful.”

Last fall, the city signed an agreement not to consider any other purchase or development offers on the property for 120 days while Lorig — at no cost to the city — researched development possibilities.

When the city made the deal with Lorig last fall, Erickson said at the time that the expectation was the developer would come up with a proposal to build a hotel on the 1.8-acre site, and that the venture probably would involve a public-private partnership.

The city hired a consultant to do an analysis of the site and the regional hotel market last year, and the study concluded that a 78-room hotel with underground parking could be viable there.

Since Lorig’s period of exclusivity ended in January, the city is open to other offers to buy or redevelop the property, Erickson said.

The city had listed the property at $1.25 million on the commercial real estate market after the site became vacant when Poulsbo’s new city hall opened in 2010.

However, Erickson said continuing to explore partnership possibilities to redevelop the property may work out better for the city than just selling it off.

“There’s still a belief that an outright sale would leave the city with very little control over what happens to the property,” she said.

The mayor remains optimistic that discussions with Lorig Associates could lead to a viable project.

“I think Tom understands that downtown Poulsbo has some real vibrancy,” Erickson said, adding that she’s been impressed with the developer’s

efforts. “They’re doing all this leg work, and really trying to make things happen.”

Both Fitzsimmons and the mayor said the recently announced plans to build a major convention center and second hotel at Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort might boost prospects for getting a hotel built at the Poulsbo site, because large conferences at Clearwater would increase demand for lodging in nearby areas such as Po ulsbo.

“I see (the expansion) as more marketing that will bring more tourists, and they will find Poulsbo,” she said. “I think it

only enhances the value of that (city) property for a hotel.”

Although there’s not set timeframe for making a decision on the old City Hall site, Lorig will probably conclude its efforts to arrange a viable partnership within a month or so, Fitzsimmons said.

“We’re acting in good faith and the city knows we’re trying to pursue it,” he said.

“So we’ll either come up with a proposal for them to consider, or give them a more final answer if it’s not going to work.”

Port Orchard police chief selected for Poulsbo job KPBJ staff Poulsbo’s new police chief will be Al Townsend, the Port Orchard police chief who was a late applicant for the position after helping Poulsbo city officials interview finalists for the job.

Mayor Becky Erickson announced her hiring decision at the Poulsbo City Council meeting Feb. 20. There are still some background checks that must be

completed, but the council is scheduled to vote March 6 on approving Townsend’s hiring and his salary.

His salary in Poulsbo is still being negotiated, but it will be less than the $126,000 he’s paid in Port Orchard.

Townsend, 46, has been police chief in Port Orchard since 1999. His contract with the city reportedly requires a 60-day notice of resignation, so he would not start in Poulsbo until around May 1. He will succeed Chief Dennis Swiney, who retired in January.

In an interview after she announced earlier this month that Townsend would be added to the finalists for the police chief position, Erickson acknowledged the circumstances and timing were somewhat unusual. But she said the top priority was to hire the best person for the job.

“Do you ignore a very well-qualified candidate, even if it comes up late in the process?” she said. “Our goal is not to have a great process; our goal is to hire a great police chief.”

Townsend, who was part of the panel that interviewed five other finalists, applied through the company the city contracted with to recruit candidates, and he was interviewed Feb. 5.

He has said he decided to apply for the Poulsbo job because while helping with the city’s hiring process, he was impressed by the professionalism and cooperation among elected officials, department heads and city staff.

That implies a contrast with the situation he faced in Port Orchard, where there have been strained relations between Mayor Tim Matthes and city department heads and the City Council. Townsend’s departure will be the third by a department head since Matthes took office in January 2012.

Planning and Community Development Director James Weaver resigned in December to take a position on Bainbridge Island.

New office, staff changes for Hospice of Kitsap Co. The administrative offices for Hospice of Kitsap County have moved to 10356 Silverdale Way, across from the Kitsap Mall.

The Hospice operation is the sole occupant of the building, which is 2,000 square feet larger than the previous office at 3100 Bucklin Hill Road. Executive director Corrigan Gommenginger said the move gives the organization more space at a lower cost.

Hospice of Kitsap County’s Fred Lowthian Care Center remains at its current location at 570 Lebo Blvd. in Bremerton.

Hospice also has Michael hired Michael Goodnow Goodnow as director of development and promoted Mary DeMers to director of patient care services.

Goodnow, who replaces Wendy Rohrbacher in the position she left in July, is filling a much-needed spot on the revamped leadership team at Hospice. His department includes marketing, fundraising and volunteer services.

Goodnow served 20 years in the Navy and has worked 10 years in the nonprofit sector. Most recently he served as executive director for a health foundation.

Demers, a longtime nurse who was formerly manager of referrals and admissions, has been with the Hospice since 2000. Her responsibilities include the day-to-day delivery of clinical services both for the inpatient unit and patients being cared for in their homes.

For more information about local Hospice services and programs please call 360.698.4611.

Education training program for entrepreneurs resumes through Kitsap Community Resources Kitsap Community Resources has announced that its Business Education Support & Training program (BE$T) will be providing entrepreneurial training to Kitsap residents in low-income situations who want to start or expand a business.

The next “Get Ready for Business Boot Camp and Orientation” will be March 19 at 6 p.m. at the KCR Community Resource Building, 1201 Park Ave. in Bremerton. The session is free to anyone interested.

For program information and preregistration, contact BE$T program manager and business specialist Stuart Walton at swalton@kcr.org, or call 360-473-2141 or 206-914-4824.

The name of Business Education Support & Training describes

what the program does, and with the help of interested community leaders, clients, volunteers and local entrepreneurs, the name fits with Kitsap Community Resources’ organization and mission. This program previously operated in Kitsap County as CASH (Community Alliance for Self-Help), which helped many individual entrepreneurs learn how to start businesses.

The program includes an introductory orientation, followed by an eight-week professionally taught business training program.

Following completion of the training class, clients may apply for the on-going business support group, obtain peer micro-loans, receive individual business counseling, attend advanced workshops and legal clinics, and continue in group support meetings held every two weeks.

Bremerton chiropractic center adds acupuncturist

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March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 25

Acupuncture is a new service now available at Chiropractic Lifestyle Center in Bremerton. Licensed acupuncturist Kieran Jones has joined the group of natural health care practitioners at the center.

Jones grew up in the Pacific Northwest and attended Five Branches University in Santa Cruz, Calif., where he studied Chinese acupuncture and herbal medicine.

He has pursued additional training in Master Tung Style acupuncture, nutrition and functional medicine. He lives on Bainbridge Island, where he also maintains a small private practice.

“We are excited to bring Kieran, with his knowledge and passion for natural health care, into the clinic,” said Dr. Meg Simans, the clinic’s director.

Jones is taking appointments on Mondays and Thursdays at the center, located at 991 NE Riddell Road in East Bremerton. Call 360-373-2225 to schedule an appointment.

Waste Wise @ Work

Newsletter — March 2013

Waste Reduction for Local Businesses We Recycle!

We’d like to recognize the following businesses who have met the membership criteria and are now official members of the program:

26 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

Art Anderson Associates Bremerton Tennis and Athletic Club Clark Whitney, PS Cox and Lucy, CPA Dispute Resolution Center of Kitsap County Ed’s Fly Meat Express Services Plumbing Fisher Distinctive Dentistry Herdman Plumbing Hope Center Kitsap Sun Michael Angelo Construction, Inc. Military Air Cargo Novus Windshield Repair Office Xpats Pacific Northwest Title Peace Lutheran School & Church Peninsula Fleet Services SC Fuels Sound Appraisal Group Wall Liebert & Lund P.S. Wet Apple Media

Your company can reduce waste, too!

Kitsap County Program Provides Incentives for Businesses to Reduce Waste This year, through a state grant, Kitsap County has launched a program to give businesses new tools to increase recycling and cut waste. Businesses can now access and utilize the following:

Business Recycling Kits Businesses can request new toolkits for helping to start or improve recycling. The kit includes information about local recycler options, resources for recycling unusual items such as fluorescent lights, and tips for reducing waste.

Recycling Containers Durable, blue, deskside recycling containers are provided as an incentive for businesses that improve or add recycling. There is a limit of 10 per qualifying businesses while supplies last.

Recycling Stickers Stickers with photos of items that are acceptable for recycling are available to place on or above containers or on employee boards.

Onsite Waste Evaluations by Recycling Specialist Businesses can have a recycling expert visit their location to do a quick onsite review, provide recommendations, and help implement new conservation strategies.

Online Resources to Help Your Business What Do I Do With It? This database lists recyclers or drop off locations for many unusual materials including paint and batteries. (www.kitsapgov.com/sw/recycle.asp) Local Recyclers for Businesses. Information on which recyclers will provide recycling service onsite. Call them for pricing. (www.kitsapgov.com/sw/pdf/3741_Business_Recycling.pdf)

Use this “checklist” of informative tips to conserve resources at work.

Waste Reduction and Recycling: Purchase products made from recycled content.

Check your copier or printer paper. It should say “made from recycled content” on the wrapper. If it does not, ask your vendor about different options they have available.

Make double sided copies.

Reuse single-sided pages for drafts and note paper.

Establish a “Good on one side” tray near printers and copiers so single-sided sheets can be reused.

Proofread documents on the computer screen before printing.

Reuse office supplies such as file folders and envelopes (manila and padded).

Set up a “re-use station” area for employee use.

Recognition Opportunities

Avoid cover sheets for faxes. Use a rubber stamp or fax transmittal sticky.

Water Conservation: Waste Wise @ Work: Kitsap County Business Recognition Program Businesses qualify by the amount of material they recycle, how they reduce waste, and by purchasing office products with recycled content. Qualifying businesses will be listed on Kitsap County’s website, receive a window cling to display, and will be considered for the Business of the Year award. Membership is easy and free. www.kitsapgov.com/sw/ww.htm

EPA’s Waste Wise: National Recognition Program This program provides waste reduction tools to help your business reduce waste. Membership is free. www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/smm/wastewise/index.htm

Energy Star: National Recognition Program This site contains resources to “grade” your building, as well as monitor your energy use. Free to use. www.energystar.gov/

Complete a Waste Wise @ Work Membership Application On Our Website

Greening Your Business!

Place aerators on your sinks. They are inexpensive and will reduce your water use, and also energy use needed to heat water.

Consider purchasing low flush or dual flush toilets for your facility.

Energy Conservation: Purchased Energy Star certified equipment.

Install occupancy sensors for lighting.

Retrofit lighting with compact fluorescent lamps, T8s, T5s or LEDs. If you have vending machines onsite, install vending misers to allow the machine to go into “sleep” mode when not in use.

If you were able to “check off” most of these items, consider applying for Kitsap County's Waste Wise @ Work Recognition Program. Give us a call for a site visit!

Contact Kitsap County Public Works, Solid Waste Division: 360-337-4898

www.kitsapgov.com/sw/ww.htm • solidwaste@co.kitsap.wa.us

Layoffs, staff reorganization will reduce Port’s expenses Restructuring plan focuses on more than Bremerton Marina losses

By Tim Kelly, Editor To rein in unsustainable operating losses at the Bremerton Marina, the Port of Bremerton is laying off five employees and also will not fill a vacant management position.

The changes are part of a broad restructuring plan developed by CEO Tim Thomson for all port operations, and it will save an estimated $443,555 over the first year.

The plan cuts three maintenance worker positions and consolidates maintenance functions for all port facilities into one department, supervised by a new manager position. The marinas in Bremerton and Port Orchard will be placed under the supervision of a single manager, instead of having one for each facility.

In addition, the Director of Business Development position currently held by Rich Peterson will be eliminated. The position of Director of Marine Facilities, vacant since Steve Slaton resigned in January, will not be filled.

Marketing for the port's industrial facilities and for the marinas will be contracted through outside agencies, and Thomson said that will include finding a marina marketing specialist to focus on attracting more boaters to Bremerton. The restructuring plan calls for other business development duties to be taken over by Director of Airport/Industrial Operations Fred Salisbury and Thomson.

"To my knowledge, this is the most radical change in the way the port does business in recent memory," Thomson said when he first presented the plan to port commissioners at their Feb. 5 meeting. He expressed confidence that the plan is "fiscally sound," and stressed that the goal of the restructuring is "to make the port more efficient, not to target a certain cost savings."

However, the plan's estimated savings of

$443,555 will be roughly the same amount as operating losses projected for the Bremerton Marina in the port's 2013 budget. One commissioner said the bookkeeping isn’t as simple as that.

“The Port's overall bottom line costs went down, but the proportion that is attributed to marinas may or may not absorb that entire cost reduction, so the marinas may still 'artificially' reflect some 'losses’,” Commissioner Roger Zabinski said in comments emailed to the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal. He added that reducing the port’s overall operating expenses “enables us to reallocate resources in other areas” such as economic development and business recruitment, and that “the term 'losses' here are more of a bookkeeping concept.”

The restructuring at the port follows an unsuccessful attempt to find a private firm to take over management of the unprofitable Bremerton Marina, which has run about a one-third occupancy rate since opening in 2008.

A Request for Proposals issued in December drew two responses, but the commissioners rejected both in January based on the recommendation of a consultant who evaluated the proposals and said they would not reduce the port's operating costs for the marina.

Both companies that submitted proposals had expressed concern that the RFP — which did not allow a private management firm to make cuts that subsequently were made in the restructuring plan — was too restrictive and made it difficult to reverse the marina's losses.

The commissioners didn’t think having the broader restructuring plan in place before issuing the RFP would have affected the marina management proposals the port received.

“If our costs were lower and we had

“To my knowledge, this is the most radical change in the way the port does business in recent memory.

— Port CEO Tim Thomson on restructuring plan fewer employees, that still may not have made it easier for private businesses to make a successful proposal,” Zabinski said.

Commissioner Axel Strakeljahn said the restructuring is “more about being more efficient and more streamlined than just making cuts; that’s not really what it’s about.”

He said it was the right approach to have the CEO decide the best course of action for reducing expenses and making sure the port operates as efficiently as possible.

“I think it was a prudent decision to look at the efficiencies and make some adjustments,” Strakeljahn said. He added that the marina situation has drawn a lot of public attention lately because “the decisions the port makes, whether it’s by the port commissioners or the CEO, impact the community.”

Thomson, who acknowledged that such a plan to reduce expenses at the port may have been overdue, has come under criticism along with the three port commissioners as the Bremerton Marina's financial woes have drawn public and media scrutiny in recent months.

But Thomson took issue with a Kitsap Sun article from Feb. 6 reporting on the restructuring, saying at the Feb. 12 commission meeting that the story was "misleading, speculative and inaccurate" and had caused "extreme anguish" for one of the port employees potentially affected by layoffs.

Thomson clarified in a later interview with the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal that the article had incorrectly speculated that Bremerton Marina manager Kathy Garcia would be laid off and the Port Orchard Marina manager, Brian Sauer, would take over both facilities.

Thomson called that "a false conclusion" by the reporter. "I didn't identify any names in my presentation," he said.

The business development director, Peterson, will be out of a job he's held for less than a year. He was hired last spring, just a few months after similar downsizing circumstances led to his departure as publisher of the Port Orchard Independent newspaper.

Rebuilt Water Street boat launch open for use in Port Orchard The Port of Bremerton announced that construction to rebuild the public boat launch at Water Street in downtown Port Orchard has been completed and the launch is open for public use.

Recognizing the need for improvements to the facility, the port partnered with the City of Port Orchard to modernize the ramp. A ribbon-cutting Ceremony was held Feb. 27 for the reconstructed ramp.

For many years the Water Street ramp has served recreational boaters and businesses that rely on launching and recovering boats at a convenient, costeffective and reliable facility. During this time, the partnership between the port and the city was key to keeping the ramp operational, with the port owning and maintaining the parking lot and adjacent

park, and the city maintaining the ramp and floats.

In 2011 the port and the city recognized that time had finally caught up with the ramps and floats, and modern, more energy-efficient lighting was needed in the parking lot. The Port of Bremerton has taken the lead in financing and managing the project.

The $402,000 project designed by PND Engineers and constructed by Quigg Brothers Inc., of Aberdeen consisted of demolishing the old ramps, removing the old concrete floats and wood piles, building new ramps, and installing new steel piles to hold in place modern aluminum frame floats. The deepwater end of the ramps was rebuilt to better stand up to tidal and boat prop wash currents.

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Commercial CBA509296 Commercial (For Lease) Class a office space in downtown bremerton. 6,108 sq ft on 2 levels with high quality improvements, excellent visibility, with lots of parking. Victor Targett, CCiM for details 360-731-5550.

Poulsbo # CBA 509029 adjacent to new Safeway Supercenter on 10th ave., approved for 4,790 sf building, this site is available for $249,000 or call for price on turnkey commercial space. Call Kelly Muldrow at 360-710-0509 or Joe Michelson at 360-282-5340.

Bremerton CBA482983 Great office space in downtown bremerton with views & good parking. 1300-7700 sq.ft.

Joe Michelsen 360-692-6102/360-509-4009.

Port Orchard CBA493192 Professional Office bldg in private, peaceful setting off Mile hill Rd. 3840 SF divisible to 2 - 1920 sq.ft. sections w/aDa access. Reception, kitchen, conf room, private offices, garage. $17/sq.ft., full service.

Mark Danielsen 360-692-6102/360-509-1299.

Bremerton CBA485909 excellent 9400 sq.ft. warehouse/distribution center with hwy 3 visibility, easy access to freeway, office, dock high and PSe energy package. all at very competitive rents. Joe Michelsen 360-692-6102/360509-4009. $590,000 Bremerton CBA521419 Permit for up to 46,000 sq.ft of industrial buildings ready for pick-up. Central location with easy freeway access. Six building site plan complete.

Christine Salo & Joe Michelsen 360-509-0908/360-509-4009.

Silverdale 406781 $2,500,000 beautifully developed 3.28 acre parcel w/approved Site Dev. Permit (SDaP) for 101 unit Sr. Care facility in heart of Silverdale. eng. Plans; storm drainage & roads done; hookups paid. adjacent 1.96 acres also available.

Mark Danielsen 360-692-6102/360-509-1299.

March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 27

PROPERTY FOR SALE OR LEASE Commercial CBA486951 $95,000 Downtown Redevelopment in bremerton offer one level Commercial retail/office space with 1,240 SF, 2 restrooms, 5 parking spaces plus on street parking in an area of redevelopment.

Victor Targett, CCiM for details. 360-731-5550.

28 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

New approach to advocacy for workers changes labor movement

By Julie Tappero By the time this article is printed, we will probably know whether Boeing and the Society for Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) have been able to come to an agreement about their contract. Right now, the news is full of discussion about the appropriateness of President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, allegations that the NLRB is overstepping its authority by extending its reach to nonunion shops, and concerns that unions are losing membership and clout. Whether you’re management, a union member, or none of the above, unions and labor relations affect our lives and the local economy, creating news and making us take notice.

First of all, I have a disclaimer to make. I am not an authority on unions or labor relations. I’ve never been in management in a union environment, and in fact, it’s been about 30 years since I’ve worked in a unionized company. But I think there are some workplace changes afoot that are interesting for all employers to note and consider.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that union membership did, indeed, fall across the country in 2012 from 11.8 percent to 11.3 percent of the workforce, with union membership of 14.4 million workers. In fact, it’s the lowest percentage of unionized workers in the workforce since 1916. In the private sector, the percentage fell to 6.6 percent, down from its peak in the 1950s at about 35 percent.

One can imagine the many possible contributing factors to this changing dynamic. Increasing regulations have made our workplaces safer and have resulted in better protections for employee compensation and rights. The changing nature of work itself has automated our industrial workplaces, eliminating many of the traditionally unionized jobs.

Globalization has facilitated outsourcing and other options for businesses. More and

more people are working as independent contractors and contingent workers. And our workforce itself is changing, as women, minorities, and young people become a more important component.

But as the pendulum swings, there is a new voice for workers that is rising and starting to be heard. These nonunion organizations are called “workers’ centers” or “workers’ alliances” or alternative-labor organizations (alt-labor). While they possess similarities to unions, they have very key differences as well.

These workers centers are usually incorporated as a traditional nonprofit 501(c)(3). This is different than a labor union, which is a dues-charging membership organization, as defined by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and governed by the IRS. Alt-labor groups are often funded by grants, sometimes from unions, and from donations from individuals, other nonprofits, charities, and even from government funds. Less often, they are funded by member dues.

Instead of organizing employees in a particular business, as a labor union would, an alt-labor organization focuses more on people in an entire industry or a geographic area, such as an inner city. Janice Fine, a Rutgers University professor who has studied this movement, defines workers’ centers as “community-based and community-led organizations that engage in a combination of service, advocacy, and organizing to provide support to low-wage workers.” Fine describes this as “community unionism,” wherein “the community is the fundamental economic organization through which people are connected.” These centers originated in communities and professions that have been traditionally difficult to organize.

There are many examples now of these alt-labor groups. The Restaurant Opportunities Center organizes low-paid restaurant workers in many of the major cities across the country, advocating for better wages and benefits. The National Domestic Workers Alliance exists to benefit traditionally low-paid, often minority domestic workers, whose hours and working conditions are often unregulated.

Another example would be the Koreatown Immigrant Worker Association in the

Koreatown area of Los Angles. This group represents a traditionally low-wage immigrant community. Today, there are literally hundreds of these types of organizations in the United States.

Since these organizations are not labor unions, they do not have to comply with the same legal requirements and responsibilities of labor unions. As an example, they do not represent individual employees in grievances with their employees and do not negotiate labor contracts.

They have three main areas of focus.

One is on providing services to their constituents, such as education, employment placement, legal advice, training, and child care. The second area of focus is advocacy, and could include lobbying, research and public policy influence for the purpose of promoting positive change for workers and the protection of workers’ rights. The third point of focus is on the more traditional union territory of organizing. In this regard, they might organize pickets, boycotts or protests, advocate for employees with their employers, and even pursue legal remedies.

Their concerns dovetail with those of traditional unions as pertains to working conditions, compensation and benefits.

It probably won’t come as a surprise that, as union membership has waned, and as these alternative labor organizations have flourished, there have been some joining of efforts between these two worker advocate groups. Traditional labor organizations, such as the AFL-CIO, have been funding and partnering with their

alternative counterparts to facilitate changes for workers. And one can imagine that, as the NLRB continues to expand its authority, scope and reach, more power may well be extended to these more organic labor advocates.

Labor unions have been around since the mid-1800s. The NLRA (Wagner Act) was passed in the 1930s as part of the New Deal, and the labor union movement hit its peak in the mid-1950s, when about 35 percent of workers belonged to a union.

Compare that with today’s 11.3 percent membership figure, and it immediately becomes clear that the big picture for unions has changed a great deal. When you factor in the rise in these new alt-labor organizations, and their looser representation of a growing population of the immigrant low-wage segment of our workforce, you realize that not only has the big picture for organized labor changed a great deal, we are, in fact, now looking at an entirely new big picture. Stay tuned for the Labor Movement, Part Two! (Editor's Note: Julie Tappero is president and owner of West Sound Workforce, a professional staffing and recruiting company based in Poulsbo and Gig Harbor. She can be reached at julie@westsoundworkforce.com.

View her LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/in/jtappero.

The recommendations and opinions provided are based on general human resource management fundamentals, practices and principles, and are not legal opinions, advice, or guaranteed outcomes. Consult with your legal counsel when addressing legal concerns related to human resource issues and legal contracts.)

New retirement community planned for Gig Harbor Redmond-based Emerald Communities is planning a new retirement community in Gig Harbor. According to the nonprofit organization, the “life care” retirement facility will be unique and feature “the most innovative concepts, designs and approaches in senior living.”

It will be Gig Harbor’s first CCRC (type A continuing care retirement community).

Heron’s Key is planned for a 17-acre site in the Harbor Hill area that will reportedly include 170 independent-living apartments, along with duplex cottages, assisted-living suites and 45 private rooms offering skilled nursing. The anticipated completion date is in 2017.

Rice Fergus Miller of Bremerton is developing the master plan and the project is undergoing design review process through the city of Gig Harbor.

Emerald Communities operates a CCRC in Redmond that has 450 residents. The company is accepting non-obligation memberships for its Priority Program at the new Gig Harbor community, which will allow members to participate in the design and other aspects.

For more information, go to www.theemeraldcommunities.org.

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Congress will battle over Internet privacy in 2013

By Mark M. Jaycox, Electronic Frontier Foundation Last year, we saw more battles in Congress over Internet freedom than we have in many years as user protests stopped two dangerous bills, the censorshiporiented SOPA, and the privacy-invasive Cybersecurity Act of 2012. But Congress ended the year by ramming through a domestic spying bill and weakening the Video Privacy Protection Act. In 2013, Congress will tackle several bills — both good and bad — that could shape Internet privacy for the next decade.

Some were introduced last year, and some will be completely new. For now, here's what's ahead in the upcoming Congress: Reforming draconian computer crime law The Computer Fraud and Abust Act (CFAA), was one of the key laws the government used in its relentless and unjust prosecution of Aaron Swartz. Zoe Lofgren has proposed "Aaron's Law," which ensures that breaking a terms of service or other contractual obligation does not amount to a CFAA violation. Lofgren's reforms are a terrific start and will be introduced in Congress over the coming weeks. EFF has also proposed revisions to Lofgren's language and overall reform to the CFAA that reduces the draconian penalties and clarifies key definitions in the statute.

The proposed reforms will go a long way in preventing a similar situation from happening to a freedom fighter like Aaron again. It's unclear where the language stands in the Senate, but senators like Ron

Wyden have voiced support for Lofgren's bill and should take up CFAA reform.

Update to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) Once again, Congress will try to update the archaic Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The law, which was passed in 1986, lays out procedures for when the government can obtain private electronic messages, such as email or Facebook messages, from service providers. ECPA states that the government doesn’t need a warrant for emails when they are older than 180 days — even though the Sixth Circuit held that this “180-day rule” violates the Fourth Amendment. Despite the ruling, the Justice Department continues to argue that the DOJ does not have to obtain a warrant.

Last Congress, Sen. Patrick Leahy successfully moved the Senate Judiciary Committee to approve an ECPA amendment mandating warrants for all private electronic communications, but the bill didn’t get to the full Senate. This year, both Leahy and House Reps. Goodlatte and Lofgren will introduce similar legislation to ensure that the same protections that apply to physical private messages also apply to virtual private messages.

Congress should take the lead from the courts and move the legislation forward.

Restricting government, corporate use of cell phone GPS info Updating ECPA is also about protecting users geolocation information, especially after the Supreme Court’s decision in the GPS case, United States v. Jones. Wyden and Rep. Chaffetz's GPS Act mandates that

Kitsap Economic Development Alliance releases website and logo RFP highlight Kitsap and Puget Sound • Provide clear and easily navigable menus and pages • Integrate KEDA’s email marketing, news releases and social media sites • Provide optimized searches for Kitsap, business and economic development • Provide quality and historical performance tracking • Optimization for mobile devices (phones, tablets, etc.)

The current logo will be updated and integrated into the new website and all future and current marketing materials.

The new logo will: • Provide synergy with existing logo • Utilize similar colors with updated feel • Convey the Kitsap story in its look and feel • Be provided in screened format with ability to use vertically and horizontally on color backgrounds as well as in color and b/w Full details of the RFP are online at www.kitsapeda.org ; proposals are due by March 12. Questions about the project may be directed to Kathy Cocus at 360.377.0180 or cocus@kitsapeda.org.

“cybersecurity” loophole into all US privacy laws, while also granting new powers and legal immunity to companies.

The Internet community helped defeat the Cybersecurity legislation and Congress needs to craft any new bill with the utmost concern for privacy.

FBI silent about wanting to ‘back door’ the Web Finally, there are rumors that the Obama administration will propose a new Internet surveillance law, which will expand the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which forces telephone companies to build a wiretapfriendly backdoor into all their technology — but not social networks and other webbased communication services. In 2005, the FBI pushed the FCC to rule that VOIP and "facilities-based internet access providers" had to abide by CALEA requirements.

Now they want even more power. This expansion is in spite of the fact that the FBI has yet to respond adequately to EFF's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking records that would justify the need to expand federal surveillance laws, given they have a myriad of ways to get such data already (Google’s transparency report Internet, page 31

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March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 29

The Kitsap Economic Development Alliance (KEDA) has issued a Request for Proposals for website development and a logo update. Details are available at www.kitsapeda.org.

This RFP provides an opportunity to create an updated KEDA website and logo.

The organization wants to create a new and improved standalone site that showcases KEDA’s mission and goals via the latest web technology. The site will: • Promote and differentiate the Kitsap brand: “Kitsap — Positioned for Prosperity” • Provide information and data relevant to site consultants and corporate real estate managers • Highlight existing Kitsap connections to the following sectors: aerospace and defense; technology; maritime • Highlight existing Kitsap sites for expansion and relocation • Identify Kitsap as part of the regional and state focus on aerospace • Refer to KEDA’s work plan for direction and highlights • Use maps and other location tools to

the government obtain a warrant before it seeks a user's geolocation information.

Currently, the government can obtain such information without a warrant or probable cause, which is something the government has done at a staggering rate.

But the government isn't the only entity spying on cell phone users. Over and over, users are learning the hard way that private companies surreptitiously collect information from users' mobile devices and often share that data with unknown third parties. That's why congressmen like Rep. Markey and Sen. Al Franken introduced legislation last Congress that requires clear notification and disclosures when a company collects and shares user information with third parties. Both congressmen plan to reintroduce and move the legislation forward.

Cybersecurity legislation Congressmen are also girding for another fight on cybersecurity. Along with more warnings of an upcoming "cyberPearl Harbor," congressmen named cybersecurity a priority in 2013 and are planning to reintroduce a new version of an “information sharing” cybersecurity bill called CISPA, which as EFF described at the time, carved a giant and vague

Law firms are businesses, too A Q&A with Ron Templeton and Ed Wolfe

30 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

By Rodika Tollefson A law firm is the last thing that comes to mind when someone thinks about entrepreneurship and small businesses.

Yet, like any other small-business owners, lawyers have a company to run — with many of the same challenges other entrepreneurs face. And like many other industries, the legal professional is seeing a shift toward downsizing and consolidation.

The Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal met with two of Kitsap’s prominent attorneys, Ron Templeton and Ed Wolfe, to talk about the business side of law.

Templeton, whose solo firm is based in Old Town Silverdale, focuses on real estate and development, business and wills/estate issues. He has been practicing since 1978 and has owned his own firm for most of his career (working with a partner for a long time). He has been general counsel for Kitsap Transit for 13 years and for Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority for five years. A long-time Rotarian, he is an active supporter of several organizations including the Boy Scouts.

Wolfe’s solo law office is based in downtown Bremerton but he also has an office in Silverdale, and for many years maintained one in Seattle. He focuses on litigation, including personal injuries, real estate and business disputes and employment discrimination.

He launched his practice in 1997 after serving as deputy assistant secretary of

state (with rank of ambassador) in Washington, D.C., and then as a corporate attorney. Wolfe also owns and manages several properties with his wife under separate LLCs. He has been active with many organizations, ranging from Rotary and Bremerton Chamber of Commerce to Olympic College Foundation.

KPBJ: What attracted you to the legal profession?

Templeton: I came of age politically during the Vietnam era and was galvanized to do something to change what I saw as the evils of the system — as a lot of young people were. I saw it as a way to make change from inside. … But the reality of coming back from law school set in — in a small town like this, you’re not in a position to make systemic changes to society; that would have required a government job.

Wolfe: Perry Mason. I watched the show on TV when I was 7 or 8 and I liked the courtroom stuff. He won every case and I said, that’s what I wanted do to, be a lawyer, even though I wasn’t a good student by any stretch of the imagination — so I had to work hard.

KPBJ: Why did you decide to open your own firm?

Templeton: At the time I was representing Ed Bremer and one of my assignments was to track rumors about land for a mall in Silverdale. That seemed like the place to be — I wanted to make

Rodika Tollefson photo

Ron Templeton runs his own law office in Silverdale and has been a practicing since 1978. my practice in real estate and I wanted to move to Silverdale (from Bremerton).

KPBJ: Is a law firm different from running any other small business?

Templeton: I think most lawyers are bad business people. We want to do the work but hate the details of keeping track of billing and people paying us. Then you wind up doing a lot of free work. Some lawyers are better at keeping track than others.

Wolfe: I am constantly doing a development plan — how I want my practice to change because of the reset in the economy. I constantly have to develop and reset where the firm is going, and I did that from day one, constantly

watching my profit and loss. I review it every month and I look for places to cut.

I’ve been doing that from the beginning — it’s always about the overhead. I’ve got the equation down now: I want to retain my staff, I want my staff to be trained and I want them to be energized and grow with my firm.

KPBJ: What makes this profession or business unique?

Wolfe: A lot of things make it unique.

One is the constant deadlines. A lawyer cannot miss deadlines and by that I mean the statute of limitations. I wake up at night thinking about the calendar. It’s always on my mind. Another aspect is Law firms, page 32

Health care reform: What business owners need to know

By Rodika Tollefson With the time ticking closer to full implementation of health care reform, business owners are bracing for impact.

The law kicks in on Jan. 1 of next year, making it mandatory for every individual to buy health insurance (with some exceptions) and adding new responsibilities to companies. Below are a few of the highlights business owners need to know.

The obligations are different for companies that have fewer than 50 full-time employees, but full-time is defined as fulltime equivalent. Full-time employees are those who work an average of 30 or more hours a week, and part-time employees’ hours count toward the full-time equivalent (the calculation is different for year-round part-timers and seasonal employees).

While businesses with fewer than 50 FTEs do not have to provide insurance under the new law, they can take advantage of the health exchange being set up by the state. The exchange will function as a marketplace for individuals and these small companies to shop for insurance plans offered by different carriers, as well as sign up for them. The exchanges will be the only place where individuals can buy subsidized insurance if their income meets certain criteria.

“If you’re at less than 50 employees, it’s business as usual but there’s a few administrative things you’ll need to do,” said Will Compton, director of marketing for Capital Benefits Services, which provides insurance plans for BIAW association members.

Compton, who did a presentation in

February at the Homebuilders Association of Kitsap County, said for the purpose of calculations, companies owned by the same individual (even if it’s not sole ownership) count as one entity.

Employers with 50 or more employees will need to not only offer insurance for employees and dependents but also make sure the coverage is affordable (employee’s share should be no more than 9.5 percent of income). The company doesn’t have to pay for the dependent coverage, only offer it.

Those that fail to provide affordable coverage will face penalties if even one employee enrolls in a subsidized plan through the exchange.

“It’s possible for dependents to get coverage in the exchange while employees get it from employer,” Compton said.

The penalties for not offering an

affordable plan are steep — $2,000 or $3,000 per employee per month, based on certain criteria, and could add up to hundreds of thousands dollars or more, depending on the size of the company.

According to Compton, the company will not be penalized, however, if no employee enrolls in a subsidized exchange plan.

Employers will be given maximum amounts of time for determining whether an employee is part-time or full-time. The part-time vs. full-time hours measurement period is three to 12 months; additionally, an administrative period of no more than 90 days will be given to allow the employer to determine the status. The length of those periods total to create the stability period — this means the time during which the status is locked in. If a full-time employee

Health care, page 31

Common mistakes in intellectual property misuse

By Rodika Tollefson The dust has settled over Instagram’s change in terms of services, which gave the photo-sharing site broader control over users’ content. Most people are more aware about the loss of control over their words or photos — their intellectual property — once they join free sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But what many people don’t think about often enough — and what can get entrepreneurs and others in hot water — is when and how they can use other people’s content.

Copyright laws are complex and best understood with the help of an attorney, but there are some common mistakes worth noting. Best way to summarize is by comparing other people’s intellectual work with real property: Unless you have explicit permission, you have no right to use it, even if you’re just “borrowing” it to post on your own blog, publish in your brochure, attach to your video or whatever.

Too often, business owners think they can just copy an image off someone else’s website and use it in their own materials. Even if that image is a logo of a company sponsoring your event, or a photo of a product you’re selling, you are violating that company’s copyrights unless you have its permission to use those images.

(Logos are not always protected by copyrights but are protected on a much more limited basis by trademarks. But why take the risk?)

Same goes for words — you can’t simply lift a product or company description verbatim, for example, and include it on your site, in your report, etc. The law, of course, does allow for “fair use” in various circumstances (which doesn’t mean using the intellectual property without giving proper credit, by the way), but fair use

from page 29 shows the government requests for user data is skyrocketing).

The White House and the FBI have not released what is in the proposed legislation, but one report states the FBI wants to require Internet companies, like Google, Facebook and Twitter to build the same type of backdoors for real-time government surveillance. This would not only create a huge Internet security problem, making the Internet less safe just as Congress pushes for a cybersecurity bill, but threatens basic privacy on the web.

The potential for Congress to introduce backwards bills like CISPA and CALEA is great. But Congress, and especially new members, should take note of the Internet community's strong — and successful — opposition to bills like SOPA. It's time to curry favor with everyday constituents, and not with giant corporations or overreaching law enforcement.

HEALTH CARE

from page 30 drops to part time during this stability period, for example, the company must still provide insurance until the stability period expires. Additionally, a probationary period after which employees become eligible will be limited to 90 days starting next year.

One change that will impact all companies is a new reporting requirement of the individual cost of health-care plans on W2 forms. This requirement already kicked in for employers that issue 250 or more W-2s.

Other changes relevant to businesses that Compton notes include a 40 percent excise tax starting in 2018 for companies whose benefits exceed a certain threshold, an increase in Medicare taxes employers will have to withhold, a requirement to provide breaks and appropriate space for breastfeeding mothers to express milk, and the ability for employers to charge smokers up to five times more than nonsmokers for their portion of the coverage.

some company sue you for stealing their image off the web? Not likely unless you have deep pockets. But stranger things have happened. Even a “polite” cease and desist letter on an attorney’s letterhead is enough to ruin a perfectly fine Monday morning.

The same rules apply when someone’s work simply happens to be in a photo you’re publishing (even architecture is protected by copyright, not to mention that lovely painting that happens to be on the wall next to your subject).

One last common mistake: Just like that iTunes song you can’t use even if you own it, paying for something and having it in your possession doesn’t mean it’s free to use. You can’t use your favorite painting or purchased Mount Rainier photo as your ebook cover or blog illustration — you shouldn’t even share it on Facebook — no matter if you paid big dollars for it.

For business owners, this issue especially comes up when they commission something from a contractor or artist, wheth er it’s a newsletter design, portrait or article.

Unless you have a contract that says this was “work for hire,” chances are the

creator still owns the copyright to this work. Yes, you can freely use it for the purpose you commissioned it for, but beyond that, you’re in murky waters.

Plus, the creator of the work can reuse that concept or work, whether for selfpromotion or with a new client. So, again, the key word is homework.

By the way, also think about permission you need when you create your promotional goodies. For example, asking a person in a photo if you can use that for advertising is not just common courtesy. Using another person’s photo, likeness, etc. for your own gain is protected by law (another good reason you shouldn’t tag clients on Facebook without asking). This is a legal domain that has nothing to do with copyrights, but it’s a little extra food for thought next time you get ready to create that awesome promotional campaign, write that insightful blog post or film that fascinating how-to video.

• Editor’s note: Rodika Tollefson is a graduate student in the University of Washington Master of Communications in Digital Media program. This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 31

INTERNET

is often not very black and white, so do your homework carefully.

On the other hand, ideas (among other things, such as facts and, strangely, recipes), are not copyrighted, only the way they are expressed. But unless it’s your original idea, best rule of thumb is to give attribution, even if you rewrite it in your own words.

Even when a photo or graphic is free, such as those offered on various websites, you have to read the fine print. They usually require a specific way to give credit (and if you can’t, you either have to pay or you cannot use that art). Don’t confuse “royalty-free” with “cost-free.” Royaltyfree simply means you have a certain license to reproduce the images for your own benefit, not necessarily for free.

Same is true even for things like fonts.

If you download a free font from a website repository, if there’s a text file attached to it, read it — often times they specify the font is for personal use only and cannot be used in any public-facing work.

Music is another frequently misunderstood IP. Owning a tune doesn’t give you the right to use it as a track for your video. And if you’re using music from one of those free-music websites, you better give credit. If you can’t, don’t use it. Period.

(A word on personal videos: Once you post them to YouTube or another service for all your friends to see, you’ve just distributed it, and along with it, that cool Adele song you love. Don’t be surprised if YouTube takes that video down.)

Music is actually, by far, the most complex IP issue because of the numerous licenses governing every use.

Suffice it to say, you are technically not even supposed to play your favorite CD in your shop for customers without a specific license or two.

Will the labels go after every momand-pop retailer violating the law? Will

LAW FIRMS

from page 30 that clients are rarely 100 percent happy because you rarely get a full loaf from the courts.

KPBJ: Do you have an advantage due to your legal background?

Templeton: I don’t follow my own advice. I’m like the cobbler without shoes.

My wife and I, for example, went for 30 years without a will. I get so wrapped up in what I’m doing that I take on more than I should.

KPBJ: Was it Ed Wolfe challenging to get started as a business?

Wolfe: I just thought of it as being glamorous because lawyers had a good reputation in those days. In law school, they never taught you to be a businessman. Because I’ve been in business so long and had 50 people working for me (in DC) and managed budgets, I had an advantage. I was corporate counsel for a multimilliondollar company but I didn’t run the business. When I started, I didn’t know what I w as doing. I’d never been a litigator so I took a course from the state bar association. I read books on how to start a law practice. I took out a lot of credit but I’m proud that I’ve never used it.

KPBJ: What are all the hats you wear as a business owner?

Templeton: You have to supervise employees. You have to watch the overhead. For example, all the (legal) books I keep require maintenance (it costs $12,000 to update them), but I need to have them because I like having several books open in front of me.

Wolfe: I had to learn IT, human resources, how to hire the right people and most importantly, how to market. I’m very good at marketing because I’m out in the community almost as much as I’m practicing.

KPBJ: What are some of your biggest challenges?

Templeton: Forcing myself to keep track of my time on a daily basis. On the other hand, you’re constantly under pressure to pump up work. People are so used to the drive-through mentality, and they see complex cases being solved in an hour on TV. KPBJ: What’s the advantage of having a solo firm versus a large one?

Templeton: In the big firms, they have tremendous overhead so there’s immense pressure on young associates to bill a lot of hours. Most of us have a difficult time billing for more than five to six hours a day. I look at what they do in the big firms and I can’t imagine how they put in all those hours. But the advantage of a big firm is getting more interesting cases — they have big staff and resources to devote

“I had to learn IT, human resources, how to hire the right people and most importantly, how to market.”

— Attorney Ed Wolfe on running his own small business

very quickly. And if you stick with it long enough to make partner, you can make a lot more money.

KPBJ: What do you like about being a lawyer in a small town?

Wolfe: I love saying I’m a country lawyer. The camaraderie of the bar is much different here than in Seattle. We have a very competent bench. I feel comfortable going to the courthouse with fellow attorneys and the judges, and our court clerks are very friendly. I’m very proud of being a small-town lawyer.

KPBJ: What has been the biggest surprise from the perspective of a smallbusiness owner?

Templeton: The attention you have to give to business and overhead. Up until 2008-2009 I built it up not to have those problems, but with the economy collapsing and a lot of my clients being builders, it impacted my practice. But I can still be selective. If I don’t like the

story or what they’ve done, I don’t have to take the case.

Wolfe: One of the surprises was that lawyers aren’t taught to run a business.

Another surprise was managing an office — I don’t want to manage people but I have to. I wasn’t prepared for it.

KPBJ: What do you think it takes to start a firm now?

Wolfe: It’s so competitive today, it’s much harder. The jobs for new lawyers just aren’t there. The law is changing, the way we bill our clients. Clients are much more savvy too. It has reset the law, just like other industries.

KPBJ: What has been the best part about being a lawyer?

Templeton: I enjoy my work and have no plans of retiring. I’m fortunate because I can pick and choose what I do and I’m not afraid to jump into new practice areas, and people come to me with very complicated transactions — so I lock myself up in my office on weekends to do research. I like the freedom of being my own boss. I don’t like being told what cases I’ll take or not take, or asking anyone when I can take vacation.

Wolfe: The most satisfying part is helping people with the next step in their lives. I get thank-you letters and I keep them all. One of the best things is to win in court with a jury. That’s No. 1 for me.

The other is the flexibility I have with the job to go out and do things in the community.

State business groups set 2013 legislative priorities, starting with budget business associations are urging state lawmakers to take key steps to encourage economic recovery and long-term growth.

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The Association of Washington Business, together with the Washington Roundtable and the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce, support these four legislative priorities for the session.

In 2013, we will work actively and collaboratively with lawmakers to: Prioritize spending: Develop a sustainable biennial budget that prioritizes funding for services critical to economic recover and growth.

Washington ranks eighth in the nation for private-sector job growth, and 36th amon the states based on the lowest business tax burden as a share of privatesector gross state product (GSP).

Invest in education: Advance systemwide education reforms designed to increase overall student achievement, improve graduation rates and increase postsecondary participation and graduation.

Washington ranks 37th in the nation for students graduating from high school, and 38th based on the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded per capita.

Fund transportation Support a statewide transportation investment plan that funds the most critical maintenance, operations and preservation needs of our state highway

system and complete projects under way in critical transportation corridors.

Washington ranks 42nd in the nation in the percentage of bridges deemed to be functionally obsolete, and 37th in the nation with an average commute time of 25.3 minutes.

Reduce costs: Take steps to foster a competitive business climate and encourage job creation. This includes retaining incentives, reducing duplicative or unnecessary regulations, and continuing to implement reforms in the workers’ compensation and unemployment systems.

Washington ranks first in the nation with the lowest electricity rates; fifth highest in terms of unemployment insurance taxes; and 50th in the nation — the most expensive state — for workers’ compensation benefits paid per covered worker.

In addition, the Association of Washington Business and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce will work with lawmakers to preserve association health plans that serve small and medium-sized businesses.

• Data sources: Benchmarks for a Better Washington — Spring 2012; and 2013 Competiveness Redbook.

IRS simplifies process for claiming deduction on home-office

LAST WORD

from page 38

expertise, we have more problems on the horizon than we’ve already got. In my experience, Portland is without a doubt the most difficult city to get around I’ve ever encountered. And that includes cities I’ve visited in Europe where I didn’t speak the language.

In Portland, there’s no signage, one-way streets that make no sense are everywhere, and a light rail system slower than molasses if you have to go any distance. Making it worse, there are no park-and-ride lots at the train stations!

So I hope Portland-style “innovation” isn’t what we have to look forward to with Inslee’s choice of Peterson.

available for 2013 and beyond, allows owners and employees who work from home to deduct $5 per square foot of home office space per year, up to a maximum allowable space of 300 square feet.

The write-off is capped at $1,500 per year, but the hassle factor is negligible.

Here’s how it works. The Internal Revenue Code permits you to deduct expenses for a home office that is used “exclusively” and on a “regular basis” as your principal place of business “for any trade or business,” or as a place to meet with clients or customers.

Provided you qualify on these threshold tests, the code allows you to deduct mortgage interest, property taxes, rent, utilities, hazard insurance and other expenses based on the percentage of the

total space of the home that is attributable to your business use.

Though this method can produce sizable deductions, critics have long argued that the computations for some of the allowable items — depreciation on the house you own is one — can be tricky and require significant record-keeping and time expenditures to get it exactly right.

Plus the IRS has acknowledged a homeoffice deduction on a taxpayer’s filing may increase that taxpayer’s potential for being selected for audit.

The new streamlined approach essentially boils everything down to just one measurement: How much square footage that qualifies for business-purpose treatment are you using?

Multiply that number by $5 per square foot and you’ve got your deduction amount.

As long as this does not exceed $1,500, you can use the new short form write-off. If the total is more than $1,500, you can use the more complicated option, which is spelled out in IRS Form 8829 and available at www.irs.gov.

Abe Schneier, senior technical manager for taxation at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, says it should be a money saver for small-scale enterprises and startups.

“Anybody who’s going to start a new business working from home will probably find this a great advantage,” he said.

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March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 33

By Kenneth R. Harney, The Nation’s Housing columnist WASHINGTON — If you’re one of the millions of homeowners and renters who work or run a business from the place you live, here’s some good news on taxes: The Internal Revenue Service wants to make it easier for you to file for deductions on the business-related use of your home.

Rather than the complicated 43-line form you now have to fill out to claim a write-off — the instructions alone take up four pages of text and involve computations ranging from depreciation to utility-bill expense allocations — the IRS has come up with a much simpler option: What it calls a “safe harbor” method that allows you to measure the square footage of your business space and apply for a deduction.

The move comes at a time when the use of homes for work is soaring, thanks to technologies such as high-speed Internet and Skype.

Last October the Census Bureau estimated that as of 2010, the last year when data were available, 13.4 million Americans were making some type of business use of their homes, and that home businesses employed nearly 10 percent of all workers.

During the same year, the IRS says 3.4 million taxpayers filed for the home-office deduction.

The sheer size of the gap raises the question: Are millions of people declining to seek write-offs for which they’re qualified?

Kristie Arslan, president and CEO of the National Association for the SelfEmployed, thinks so.

The IRS rules for home offices have been “cumbersome and time consuming,” she said, “ ... and year after year hard-earned dollars were left on the table.” Otherwise qualified business owners and entrepreneurs were daunted by the recordkeeping and paperwork required. They also worried that they could be exposed to an audit by the IRS if they made mistakes in filing.

The new IRS option plan, which will be

2013 Volvo S60 AWD: Scandinavian Super Sedan

34 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

By Bruce Caldwell The Pacific Northwest has a strong Scandinavian heritage with many Nordic influenced communities. It’s no surprise that Swedish automobiles have always been popular here. A survey of Port Townsend back alleys might lead to the conclusion that this is where old Volvos retire. Newer ones are well represented throughout the region.

Volvo SUVs have taken place of the once ubiquitous Volvo wagons, but not everyone needs to haul large items from IKEA. Volvo sedans are excellent choices for people more interested in comfort than cargo capacity.

We tested a 2013 Volvo S60 T5 AWD sedan and found it ideally suited to the area.

Walkaround: Volvo long ago lost its reputation for only building conservative, somewhat dowdy sedans and wagons. The boxy days of the venerable 240 series Volvos gradually morphed into the current generation of sleek, sexy sedans. The Volvo S series sedans and XC series SUVs are all very handsome. Styling is crisp with sharp edges and a sense of forward motion, but without the overly busy lines of some Asian competitors. We think the Volvo S60 matches Pacific Northwest sensibilities —

modern and contemporary, but with just enough reserve to avoid being gaudy.

The S60 is offered in 13 different trim levels. The flair factor rises along with prices, topping out with the ultra sporty T6 R-Design.

We tested the attractively priced entry level T5 with AWD (the T5 FWD is the most basic offering). AllWheel-Drive is a $2,000 option on the T5, but well worth the money.

Interior: The S60 interior is a combination of mostly good news with a little not-so-good news. If you’re riding in the front seat everything is great. The back seat is fine for kids, but tight for big adults. Volvo bucket seats are legendary for their firm support and numerous safety features.

Some people might deem them a little firm, but we adore them.

Interior materials, design, and ergonomics are all excellent. There is

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stretch-out front legroom and adequate headroom for tall people. The headrests are comfortable and designed for safety.

Both front seats had manual lumbar adjustment and 3-temp heat. Interior storage spaces are on the small side. A thick, contoured steering wheel was easily adjusted with tilt and telescopic features.

The steering wheel partially blocked the “ticket zone” portion of the left side analog speedometer, although the digital speed readout was easy to see.

The great front seat legroom comes at the expense of rear seat passengers, but compromise positions aren’t too difficult to find. I hit the top of the sloping roof getting in and out of the rear seat. The center floor hump is quite tall, which affects the ability carry three adults in comfort. Rear seat storage opportunities are limited.

The split rear seats fold to increase cargo space. They don’t fold completely flat, but the pass-thru is big and trunk floor is flat. Total cargo capacity is good for a sedan.

Under The Hood: Our test S60 was equipped with the base 2.5-liter inline fivecylinder turbocharged engine. It’s rated at 250 horsepower with an excellent torque rating of 266 lb-ft at a low 1800 rpms. That makes for a responsive combination. As powerful and fun as the five-cylinder is, the two inline six options are even better. The base 3.0-liter I6 (in the T6 models) produces 300 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque, while the top-of-the line R-Design version jumps to 325 horsepower with 354 lb-ft of torque. All three engines are mated to an excellent 6-speed automatic transmission.

Our S60 T5 AWD was EPA rated at 20-

mpg city and 29-mpg highway, but we managed a 31-mpg average of mostly highway driving. That’s an excellent number for an all-wheel-drive vehicle with such peppy performance. The T5 uses regular grade gas.

Behind The Wheel: Volvos are known worldwide for safety, but most of those features are hidden and hopefully never needed. The safety of Volvos is based on excellent engineering, part of which is handling, braking and the ability to avoid accidents. These active safety features are a lot of what makes the S60 so enjoyable to drive.

A noteworthy new safety feature is the standard City Safety accident avoidance system, which automatically applies the brakes at low speeds to avoid an impending vehicle or pedestrian collision.

The S60 is athletic in a confidence inspiring way, but not brutal like some sport sedans. We did a lot of highway driving, but we also made time to blast through some twisty mountain roads. We feel the S60 AWD blend of agility, foul weather reliability and comfort is ideal for both Pacific Northwest drivers and roads.

Whines: The sunroof is rather small. A larger opening would be more in keeping with the sunny day touring personality of the S60. Interior small item storage was a little lacking. Backseat legroom can be quite snug for tall passengers.

Bottom Line: We liked the 2013 Volvo S60 T5 AWD a lot. It was a pleasure to drive in all the conditions including the region’s highly variable weather. By treading lightly on the option list, a Volvo S60 T5 AWD can be had right around $35,000. That’s a very competitive price for such a comfortable and capable midsize sedan.

2014 Kia Sorento updated and re-engineered seven-inch LCD screen (8-inch with optional Navigation), an analog tach, and trip information.

Higher trim levels include fashionable touches such as heated and ventilated leather power front seats, front and rear dual zone auto climate controls, premium audio, pushbutton starting, leatherwrapped steering wheel, second row sliding sunshades, illuminated door handle pockets, and a 115-volt power inverter — not to mention a large power sunroof, with a power-operated shade, plus a programmable power rear liftgate.

The Sorento’s somewhat larger size pays off in interior roominess, as it continues to offer a three-row, seven-passenger seating configuration.

The Sorento does boasts lots of cargo capacity — 72.5 cubic feet with the middle seats folded flat, and almost 40 behind the middle seats in five-passenger configuration.

The 2014 Sorento also offers a sonarbased blind spot monitor system — a first for Kia. Like other blind spot systems, it tracks vehicles in the rear quarters and provides visual alerts, followed by audible warnings if the driver begins to move into the occupied lane.

Under The Hood: The 2014 Sorento’s optional new 3.3 Liter V6 engine is rare in this class. The Mitsubishi Outlander is the only competitor offering a V6. The powerplant utilizes direct injection to deliver 290 horses, and 252 pound-feet of torque. It replaces the previous 3.5-liter V6.

Fuel economy is an EPA-estimated 18/25 City/Highway, 18/24 with AWD on regular gas.

Only the base Sorento LX comes with a four-cylinder engine. New for 2012, the 2.4-liter four-cylinder with GDI direct injection is rated at 191 horses, and 181 pound-feet of torque. Fuel economy is EPA rated at 20/26 City/Highway, 19/24 with AWD. Behind The Wheel: Our initial test drive was in Arizona behind the wheel of loaded, V6 AWD SX. There were no fourcylinder LX models at the event.

Designed to automatically and instantly transfer 100 percent of power to the wheels with traction at either end of the vehicle, the sophisticated AWD system is essentially transparent in operation, although the nature of the Arizona drive route didn’t give us any reason to find out.

The too-short run from Globe back to Scottsdale on fairy smooth, semi-winding two-lane roads offered little in the way of challenge aside from avoiding radar gunwielding local law enforcement.

However, I did have the opportunity to take the SX from Scottsdale to Sedona by myself later. Cruising through the mountains on Highway 87 to the junction at 260, was much more challenging in terms of handling and acceleration. Coming back on I-17, I found the 75 mph speed to little more than a suggestion, because at 90, I was often holding up traffic.

Both ways, I found the 3.3-liter V6 to be

smooth and generally quiet, as was the 6speed automatic, which handled downshifts for passing or hill-climbing effortlessly. Ride quality is quiet, smooth, yet firm enough to convey a sense of confidence at higher speeds, and the new Flex Steer option, particularly in Sport mode, adds a more fun to it. After experimenting with all three settings, I left it in Sport, which delivered the best feel. The larger brakes are much improved as well.

Whines: Personally, I think the Sorento is better as a two-row, five-passenger vehicle. Adding that third row consumes a fair amount of cargo space, with third-row legroom at a premium.

Bottom Line: One knock on the previous Sorento was interior noise at freeway speeds. No longer. This is a muchimproved version of what was already a pretty darn good vehicle.

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March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 35

By Lary Coppola The popular Kia Sorento, Kia’s flagship SUV, has received a major update for the 2014 model year. It could be viewed as a mid-cycle refresh, although Kia marketeers are careful not to use the term “all new,” the Sorento sports about 80 percent new and/or re-engineered content, with a list of revisions much more extensive than the usual mid-cycle facelift.

The 2014 Sorento, like every vehicle in this class, is front-wheel drive with an allwheel drive (AWD) option and unibody design. It boasts cosmetic updates front and rear, an optional new V6 engine, a reengineered chassis that might as well be called new, numerous suspension changes, improved braking, a new electric steering system, an upgraded interior, plus new infotainment and telematics.

Structural improvements include a higher percentage of high strength steel for an 18 percent increase in torsional rigidity that contributes to more precise handling and first rate crashworthiness.

The Sorento competes in the compact crossover segment, where it has a distinct size advantage against the Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4, and Ford Escape.

Kia and Hyundai (Hyundai owns Kia) have made huge strides in quality in recent years, and the Sorento comes to market with a long list of standard features even in base LX model.

Model Lineup: The 2014 Sorento comes in four trim levels — LX, EX, SX and Limited. All come standard with a 3.3-liter V6 except the base LX, which comes with a 2.4-liter four-banger. A 6-speed automatic transmission with front-wheel drive is standard on all, with AWD optional, as is a third row seating package.

Walkaround: The Kia Sorento is classified as a compact crossover utility, but is big by the standards of the class. It shares many structural and powertrain commonalities with its sibling Hyundai Santa Fe. However, while the Santa Fe is available with two different wheelbases for 2014, the Sorento is restricted to the same 106.3-inch wheelbase as the Santa Fe Sport.

Front and rear styling updates give the Sorento a wider, somewhat more aggressive stance, and the subtle effect is aided by moving the optional fog lamps out to the edges of the bumper and changing from horizontal to vertical. The most distinctive change is a semi-circle of LEDs flanking each projector beam headlamp, and also illuminating rear turn signals and back up lighting.

Interior: The Sorento’s interior features serious upgrades from the previous model, with higher-grade materials throughout that have the look and feel of a more expensive vehicle. Instrumentation is redesigned, there’s a new electric steering system (Flex Steer) with three driver presets, and enough electronic connectivity options with Kia’s new UVO system to connect with anything anywhere.

The new instrumentation includes a

Publisher

Telling Kitsap's story — Pictures worth 1,000 words

Lary Coppola Editor Tim Kelly Advertising Sales Dee Coppola Creative Director Steve Horn Webmaster/IT Greg Piper Graphic Design Kris Lively Office Administration Jennifer Christine Web Host PCS Web Hosting LLC Contributing Writers Rodika Tollefson Don Brunell Dan Weedin Julie Tappero Jason Parker

36 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

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The Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal is a special interest publication dedicated exclusively to providing news, information and opinions to the business communities of the Kitsap and Key Peninsulas, and North Mason County. It is published monthly by Wet Apple Media. Copyright, 2013, with all rights reserved. Postage is paid at Tacoma, WA. The Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal is read by more than 26,000 business, professional, political and military leaders in Kitsap, Pierce, and Mason counties. Additional copies are available for $1.50 each. Annual subscriptions are available for $25.

Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content contained herein in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written consent of the Publisher is strictly prohibited. The Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal is proudly composed using Apple Macintosh® computers and printed by The Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA. Views expressed herein are strictly the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the advertisers or ownership of The Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal.

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Member Kitsap Economic Development Alliance Kitsap Visitors and Convention Bureau Homebuilders Association of Kitsap County Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce North Mason Chamber of Commerce Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce Silverdale Chamber of Commerce

By John Powers, Kitsap Economic Development Alliance For the past 18 months, I have been accorded an opportunity to write a 'guest column' about economic development matters in Kitsap County; and, for that I am most grateful to the publisher and editor of the KPBJ — Larry Coppola and Tim Kelly. Thanks, Gentlemen.

I very much enjoy writing about issues and activities that impact our local economy; and, do my best to share views on a personal level and to tell stories about real people and matters that directly affect our local businesses, institutions and communities. Nonetheless, I sometimes feel that I fall short of effectively "telling" the story of Kitsap's economy — its character, composition, competitiveness and its promise.

Nevertheless, I know the power of "story" in impact — fully informing others and inspiring them to believe and to act on belief.

When reaching for new ways of disseminating the story — The Kitsap Story — I knew the best approach would be to give voice to others and back them up with images that show Kitsap and what make it special, for as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. I also realized that in today's multi-media, socialmedia culture of commerce, the new twist on an old adage may be: viral video messages tell (and sell) in 1,000 different ways.

On Jan. 29, at our Economic Forecast Conference, KEDA debuted a 10 minute video: Kitsap—Work+Life-Connected. This video is the centerpiece of a multi-media marketing campaign —"KitsapConnected" — aimed at telling and selling the Kitsap Story.

The story of an exceptional community: a

community positioned for prosperity; a competitive community; a community well connected to and substantially contributing to one of the most robust regional economies in the world — the Central Puget Sound – commonly known as the Seattle Market. Nearly 300 conference attendees got the message and enthusiastically responded to the Kitsap story via the “Kitsap Connected” video. On Feb. 4 the KPBJ helped spread the word of Kitsap Connected by including a story in the Business Journal's daily web-based Breaking News.

If the initial market response is any indication (3,000-plus views of the video in the first week after it was posted at www.kitsapconnected.org and www.kitsapeda.org) Kitsap's story is resonating far and wide and we are rapidly experiencing a new level of connectivity. To take our story to an even higher level (dare I say viral); I invite you to place another set of eyeballs on www.kitsapconnected.org; and, join us in telling Kitsap’s story about economic opportunities in Kitsap by posting the video link

on your website, or Facebook page, and by forwarding the website link to your friends, colleagues and customers inviting them to enjoy our story – “Kitsap Connected.” We are grateful for all those who have already spread the good word about Kitsap.

Many thanks to the project underwriters: Puget Sound Energy; Port Madison Enterprises; The Doctors Clinic; Kitsap Credit Union; Harrison Medical Center; West Sound Workforce; and Kitsap Bank. These great corporate-community citizens are a big part of why Kitsap has such a compelling story to tell.

On March 21, at our annual meeting, KEDA will debut six additional 90-second videos highlighting specific enterprises in Kitsap. For more information, or to register to attend, please contact us at info@kitsapeda.org or call 360-377-9499.

Come join the chorus in telling Kitsap’s story.

On Kitsap!

• John Powers is executive director of the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance.

If this is Governor’s plan to grow the economy, we need a new one

By Erin Shannon Washington Policy Center In his recent state of the state address, Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled his “Working Washington Agenda,” a package of “legislative proposals to create and sustain a thriving economic climate.” In a press conference, the Governor claimed his plan will “create a positive climate for job growth” and “give Washingtonians the tools to get back to work.”

The governor’s five-prong plan centers around expanding and enhancing STEM education, providing targeted tax relief for research-based, high-tech industries, investing in the state’s aerospace industry with aerospace education and training

programs and targeted tax breaks, investing in clean energy, and embracing the health care reforms and Medicaid expansion to create jobs.

I guess Inslee’s plan might be good news if you are in the high-tech, research, clean energy, aerospace or health care industries.

Unfortunately, this highly targeted plan won’t improve our state’s lackluster business climate. He offers no relief to the thousands of small business owners who are trying to grow their business and create jobs.

The governor’s plan doesn’t include even a mention of the issues employers have identified as real obstacles to running a Plan, page 37

A hydropower renaissance

By Don C. Brunell, Association of Washington Business When Grand Coulee Dam was completed in 1942, it was called the “Eighth Wonder of the Modern World.” With its 151-mile-long reservoir and ability to produce 6,809 megawatts of electricity, no one could imagine a bigger or more powerful dam — and no one realized the scope of economic development that low-cost, reliable hydropower would create.

Actually someone did. China.

This year, China completed its gargantuan Three Gorges hydroelectric project with triple the power generation of Grand Coulee.

The controversial project is the largest dam in the world. The Chinese government defends it and other proposed hydro projects as critical to curbing disastrous flooding on the

Yangtze River and generating electricity needed to power China’s economic growth.

New mega-dams are also planned on the Amazon and Mekong rivers. What’s behind this renaissance of hydropower?

First, hydropower produces no greenhouse gases and generates large amounts of electricity in one spot. The electricity produced by the Three Gorges Dam is equivalent to the output of 15 nuclear reactors. The comparison to wind and solar power is even more striking. It takes thousands of acres of wind turbines and solar panels to produce an equivalent stable supply of electricity and that generation occurs only when the wind blows or the sun shines.

Second, electricity powers manufacturing which, in turn, creates economic growth and family-wage jobs. Like wind and solar, it is clean energy but it is more reliable because water is stored behind the dams, available for use on demand.

In Peru, former President Alan Garcia believes his country can increase its electricity

LETTERS Toll increase adds up fast for bus company increase citing the increase might injuriously affect the rights and interests of the public and would result in rates that are not fair, just, reasonable and sufficient and we were verbally told that we were currently in an “overearning” position. A quarter of a dollar? Our average passenger fare is $0.40 per mile, possibly the lowest in the nation. We subsequently withdrew our request for this increase in fares.

We will not request any further increase in fares if the proposed $0.50 toll increase is approved. It is not worth the time, effort and expense involved in doing so. Rather, a discounted future toll for Auto Transportation Companies and other frequent users would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, Richard E. Asche President Bremerton-Kitsap Airporter, Inc.

PLAN

greatest potential for phenomenal growth.”

Unfortunately for the economy of our state, focusing his attention like a laser beam on a handful of industries will not create the jobs that will help our state recover. Only government reforms will accomplish that.

Small businesses are the engines of our state’s economy—96 percent of the companies in Washington state are small businesses, and they employ a third of the state’s private sector workforce.

Contrary to the governor’s belief that only a handful of potentially high-growth industries will turn our economy around, history has taught us it is small businesses that will lead us out of recession. Traditionally, jobs created by entrepreneurs are a major catalyst for revitalization during times of economic stress. But small businesses can’t blaze a path to economic prosperity with the roadblocks our state imposes on them. Sadly, it sounds like our new governor has little appreciation for the role small businesses play in our economy or for the obstacles they face.

• Erin Shannon is director of the Center for Small Business at the Washington Policy Center.

from page 36 successful business. Issues such as costly workers’ compensation taxes, the burdensome and unfair Business & Occupation tax, complex government regulations, high minimum wage and skyrocketing health insurance costs are the roadblocks the majority of business owners say must be reformed.

However, he did mention his support of a single-business portal through which businesses could interact with state agencies.

The business community has asked for a single-business portal for years, and it is a longstanding WPC recommendation.

Beyond that, it appears most small businesses outside of these industries have no part in the new governor’s plan. When asked by an astute reporter about the lack of relief for businesses in the non-targeted industries (the reporter used the example of a momand-pop grocery store owner), the governor replied that the state must “channel our scarce resources into investments that have the

hydropower advantage offsets other higher costs in Washington.

Even so, some people think we should remove the dams, particularly the four dams on the lower Snake River. But those dams are integral to our river transportation system, and they produce the electricity that pumps irrigation water into Eastern Washington vineyards, orchards and fields. Removing them will cripple our economy and kill jobs.

Unlike the controversial Xayaburi and Three Gorges dams, our Columbia and Snake River network did not cover millions of acres of farmlands and forest, nor did they displace millions of people. Over the years, we have learned to balance fisheries, flood control, power production, transportation and irrigation needs.

We should realize that we have what the rest of the world is seeking: a reliable source of clean, affordable, renewable energy.

• Don Brunell is president of the Association of Washington Business. Formed in 1904, AWB is Washington’s oldest and largest statewide business association, and includes more than 8,00 members representing 700,000 employees.

AWB serves as both the state’s chamber of commerce and the manufacturing and technology association. While its membership includes major employers like Boeing, Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser, 90 percent of AWB members employ fewer than 100 people. More than half of AWB’s members employ fewer than 10. For more about AWB, visit www.awb.org.

March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 37

To whom It May Concern: The headlines of the February 1, 2013 edition of the Kitsap Sun indicate "Bridge tolls set to rise again". This means that if tolls are increased as projected, our busses will pay a $4.50 crossing fee. Our busses cross the Narrows Bridge an average 25 times per day.

Currently, the Bremerton-Kitsap Airporter, Inc. pays a $4.00 crossing fee, for an average total of $3100.00 per month. A $.50 increase will increase our fees to nearly $3500.00 per month.

Tolls were raised from $2.75 to $4.00 on July 1, 2012. Soon thereafter, the BremertonKitsap Airporter, Inc. filed with the WUTC for a $0.25 increase in our fares to recover the increase in tolls (TC-120816). Our tariff increase request was suspended and an investigation was ordered. The WUTC subsequently denied the “pass through”

generation eightfold by harnessing the tributaries to the Amazon River. In turn, Peru would use the power to expand its manufacturing and agriculture base and export a big chunk of that electricity to neighboring Brazil and Chile.

Peru is one of the world's fastest-growing economies, averaging 6 percent GDP growth since the turn of the century. Garcia’s plan is to use energy, particularly electricity, to diversify its economy, spur investments in manufacturing, create jobs and increase wages.

Halfway across the world, the Laotian government is proposing a network of 11 dams on the lower Mekong River, similar to our Columbia and Snake River hydro network. China already has dams along the upper Mekong and is building more.

Laos’ centerpiece is the mammoth and controversial 1,260-megawatt Xayaburi dam on the lower reaches of the Mekong River.

Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam say the dam violates a 1995 treaty for shared use and management of the Mekong River Basin. Still, Laos is pushing ahead because of the dam’s potential to spur economic growth.

We often overlook the importance of hydropower in our state. Roughly threequarters of our electricity comes from our dams. Low-cost, reliable hydropower is the foundation of our state’s manufacturing sector, and it heats and lights schools, hospitals, nursing homes, office buildings and homes throughout the state. In fact, our

Transportation and the Law of Unintended Consequences Recently, a group of more than 40 mayors — including Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and Marilyn Strickland of Tacoma, sent a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee and to legislative leaders urging them to pass an 8-cent gas tax increase, claiming more than $3 billion is needed to maintain roadways and bridges over the next 10 years.

Meanwhile, House Transportation Committee Chair Judy Clibborn (DMercer Island) will seek a 10-cent-pergallon gas tax increase, although at 37.5 cents per gallon, ours is already among the highest in the nation. The proposed hike will reportedly be a part of a much larger transportation revenue package.

I’ve had some past dealings with Clibborn, and have found her to be a pragmatic, moderate, business-friendly Democrat for the most part, so I was somewhat surprised to see her bring this forward.

Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom (D-Medina), said last month he would support a gas-tax hike; however, any increase will face stiff resistance in the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans and two Democrats — Tom and Tim Sheldon (D-Potlatch).

What’s so ironic about these recent proposals is that they are the direct result of the Law of Unintended Consequences at work.

Congress mandated our cars will get better gas mileage via what’s known as the CAFE standards. Being good stewards of the earth, literally hundreds of thousands of people bought high-gas-mileage hybrid

cars. Wanting to do the right thing for our environment, they voluntarily paid an extra multi-thousand-dollar premium for them — which generated a substantial amount of additional, one-time sales tax revenue. That money went into the general fund — not the gas tax fund.

The unintended consequence is that the combination of hybrids, and higher gasmileage cars complying with the CAFÉ standards, reduces the amount of fuel being bought on an ongoing basis, which reduces the amount of gas tax dollars collected, hence the shortage of revenue to LARY COPPOLA maintain and build roads, fund The Last Word the ferries, etc.

Still more unintended consequences of the move by the ruling class elite to get us out of our cars and on to mass transit, is that fewer cars will be bought. New and used car sales are the single largest generator of sales tax revenue for our cities and counties.

Reducing the amount of car sales will negatively impact not only the state’s general fund, which will increase the deficits we’ve gotten used to facing, but also reduce gas tax revenues even more. Meanwhile, cities, counties, and the state itself, will still require money to maintain their existing roads.

Where will those dollars come from?

And then there are the increased tax

subsidies that will be required to operate mass transit, since fare-box revenue doesn’t even come close to meeting operating costs, maintenance, etc. The ferries are a perfect example.

Higher gas taxes — as well as increasing other taxes — will also take money directly out of the economy that would otherwise be spent on things that generate the sales tax revenue that our cities and counties run on — another unintended consequence.

But if all else fails, the Puget Sound Regional Council has a plan. Its Transportation 2040 Plan (www.psrc.org/transportation/t2040) recommends imposing a Vehicle Miles Driven Tax (VMT) — taxing you for EVERY mile you drive. This is in addition to tolling I-5, I-90, I-405, and I-82, as well as adding HOT Lanes (Read: Toll) to many state highways, including Highways 3 and 16 — just as they’ve already done on Highway 167. They’re not proposing to build new lanes, just make you pay to drive in the ones you’ve already bought and paid for.

Isn’t anyone actua lly thinking through the unintended consequences of things like the CAFE standards and mass transit before their knee-jerk cave-in to the politically correct elite and their vision of transportation Utopia?

The fly in the ointment for a gas or VMT tax to be passed into law, is it will require either a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate, or a vote of the people.

Thank you Tim Eyman.

• • • • Inslee recently named Lynn Peterson to lead the state’s Department of Transportation. She will replace Paula Hammond, who, after 34 years as a state employee, is leaving this month.

Peterson, who has served as a transportation adviser to Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, has been primarily focused on rail, transit and alternative fuels — but definitely not highways. According to Inslee, Peterson will help the state develop an “innovative approach” to a transportation network Inslee believes is outdated and hampers economic growth.

He’s right that our overly congested highways are impeding economic growth, but there’s also a large segment of that powerful, politically correct ruling class that eschews economic growth.

Inslee was also quoted as saying, “Lynn has the experience, creativity and leadership skills to help Washington build a transportation system for the 21st century.

And we’ll do that in a way that more efficiently moves people and goods and reduces carbon emissions.”

What’s really scary, is that if what’s done in Oregon is the governor’s idea of an “innovative approach” to solving our transportation problems, we’ve got a long, slow, even more heavily congested road ahead over the next four years.

If Portland is an example of Peterson’s Last Word, page 33

38 • Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com March 2013

A lot at stake in standoff over Port Gamble mill site cleanup A remarkable level of cooperation among all the stakeholders who want to see: 1) Port Gamble Bay cleaned up; 2) critical shoreline areas restored; and 3) nearly 7,000 acres of forest land preserved for public recreational use; led to a heralded plan that was designated to receive $7 million in state funding. That would be combined with about $5 million more raised from grants and other sources, for the Kitsap Forest & Bay Project — a coalition of community and conservation groups — to buy as much as possible of the land Pope Resources wants to sell.

“It was robust and big, it was visionary,” Tim Nord said of the agreement.

“Everybody was supportive of it.”

But Nord, manager of the Land and Aquatic Lands Cleanup Section at the state Department of Ecology, said recently that Pope Resources is responsible for an impasse that may undermine the deal and result in the loss of that $7 million.

Jon Rose, president of Olympic Property Group and the determined point man for Pope’s ambitious redevelopment plan for the town of Port Gamble, says Ecology is being inflexible in negotiations to complete the cleanup of the former mill

site on Port Gamble Bay. And there may be other actors influencing this standoff who remain in the background while the developer and government regulators are in the spotlight.

The one thing that’s certain is the cleanup of the site where the Pope & Talbot TIM KELLY sawmill operated for 140 years will Editor’s View be completed, and Pope Resources will pay about $17 million for it.

The company knows this and has never disputed its obligation. Pope has spent about $10 million to date on cleanup projects around the town and mill site, as Rose noted in a recent email updating Kitsap Forest & Bay Project partners on the impasse with Ecology.

Pope is at odds with Ecology over two docks on the south side of the mill site.

What it boils down to is Ecology saying “take them out,” and the company responding “we will, but not yet.”

There’s a lot more than these particular

docks that will be torn out — larger overwater structures and 1,800 creosoted pilings that will be pulled from the bay.

Plus, there will be extensive dredging to remove accumulated wood waste, and Pope maintains a lot of that cleanup work can be done with the two docks in question left in place.

What’s so critical about those two south docks? Pope wants to build a dock north of the mill site in the future as part of redeveloping the Port Gamble community, and Rose said that could never happen if the company has to remove all the existing docks on its property before getting permits for a new dock. Pope wants to keep the south docks for now, and take them out when the removal could meet mitigation requirements for a permit to build a replacement dock.

But Nord says Pope’s request for a phased completion isn’t feasible and the docks have to go for a full cleanup to be done, and that plans for any future dock are not Ecology’s concern.

Rose, however, claimed in his email that, “When we entered into the voluntary cleanup program 11 years and $10 million ago, DOE never told us we would have to forfeit our legal rights to water access.”

So who wears the black hat in this drama? Depends on your perspective.

But one might ask: Since the mill site cleanup will be completed either through a negotiated agreement with Pope Resources or by Ecology issuing an enforcement order, why is Ecology threatening to deny the $7 million for the related conservation project?

All the docks will be removed one way or the other, so why does Pope’s insistence on a phased cleanup (to protect their investment in Port Gamble) have to jeopardize the goals of the Kitsap Forest & Bay Project that everybody supports?

There’s another $7 million in play here, which is what Pope planned to voluntarily spend for additional restoration on shoreline property it would retain. That contribution also would fund creation of a Marine Resource Center run by Western Washington University on a site also to include a native shellfish hatchery and a Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe cultural center.

But if Ecology won’t budge and the $7 million appropriated by the Legislature is off the table, then Pope’s money will be, too.

In his email to stakeholders, Rose wrote, “We can’t imagine who, if anyone, would be served by this outcome.”

• • • •

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March 2013 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal • KPBJ.com 39

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