Letters to the Editor

Editor’s note: The following letter is substantially longer than the Journal’s typical 300-word letter policy. It is being allowed at the editor’s discretion to encourage an important, continued local dialogue.

Belfair Sewer Connection to Bremerton

Editor, the Journal,

The City of Bremerton has requested a connection to the Belfair sewer system. At first glance, this might seem far-fetched—but it’s not. The City of Bremerton has annexed land all the way to the Mason-Kitsap County line. Not long ago, Mason County used county funds and grants to extend the Belfair sewer line through a large landholding—at no cost to the landowner—behind the McDonald’s and above the newly constructed development and to the first traffic circle on Highway 3.

Bremerton has expressed interest in supporting industrial development in the area south of the airport with the sewer extension and possibly in the Port of Bremerton industrial area east of the airport this same line could also facilitate future retail expansion including big-box stores. Additionally, the line would connect to property recently purchased by the Suquamish Tribe (located in Kitsap County), reportedly for a casino or large gas station.

While it might sound appealing to have a casino, mega gas station, or a Home Depot next door, these developments could significantly harm our local retail businesses. More importantly, Mason County could lose a substantial portion of its sales tax revenue. Currently, Belfair generates the majority of sales tax revenue for the county. Other areas, such as the City of Shelton, primarily benefit from their own retail tax collections. In 2024, approximately $9.5 million in sales tax revenue funded essential county services—sheriff’s office, jail, courts, emergency dispatch, social services, parks, and other county operations.

Those who have lived here for a while understand the immense effort and financial sacrifices Mason County made to build the sewer systems in both Allyn and Belfair. Many remember the shellfish closures and public health threats in Case Inlet and Hood Canal before the sewer system was installed. The Belfair sewer was originally designed to extend down Old Belfair Highway, with earlier plans envisioning it continuing down North Shore Road and a couple of miles beyond Belfair State Park.

Recently, the county commissioners met with officials from the City of Bremerton. You can find the meeting on Mason County Web TV. Commissioner Neatherlin deserves credit for asking tough questions and clearly outlining the potential negative consequences of this proposal. He also highlighted how the county had to divert funds from the lodging tax and other critical areas to finance the sewer system.  Bremerton officials admitted they do not have a clear method to restrict retail growth in the proposed sewer corridor and noted that their comprehensive planning process is nearly complete.

The city indicated it would cost somewhere around $127 million if they were to develop their own sewer system.

The Port of Bremerton’s industrial area east of the airport already has its own small sewer system, and from what I’ve seen, there’s still ample room for development within that existing infrastructure.

There are certainly potential benefits to expanding sewer connections—such as increased industrial and retail job opportunities and more connections for the Belfair sewer but at what cost to Mason County?

Our county faces an important decision. I hope our commissioners will weigh the long-term consequences carefully and make a choice that protects our local business and essential services.

Phil Wolff, Allyn

Local tinkering movement

Editor, the Journal,

Due to the local tinkering movement aimed at changing our voting method perhaps we should review systems already in place, (facts not in order).

The following post is part (300-word limit) of a series of numbered lists, followed by explanations from the American Bar Association ( http://www.AmericanBar.org ) titled “Understanding American Elections and Why They Are Trustworthy.”

Fact No. 5: Mail in voting is secure and highly resistant to fraud.

Fact No. 8: Poll workers and election officials are your neighbors and fellow citizens, and not political operatives or foreign actors.

Fact No. 10: When it comes to elections, it is better to be accurate than fast.

Fact No. 11: Teams of people from both political parties work together at every step of the voting, counting and reporting process.

Fact No. 2: American elections are well engineered to prevent hacking.

Fact No. 3: Illegal immigrants and noncitizens cannot and do not vote in federal elections.

Fact No. 14: Teams of election officials go through a meticulous list of steps to verify election counts before reporting them.

Fact No. 4: Voting rolls are regularly updated to ensure accuracy, and do not contain significant numbers of dead people.

Fact No. 6: Changes in vote totals the evening of Election Day or during the next several days occur because of how votes come in and are counted, not because of fraud.

Fact No. 7: Media outlets do not call the outcome of an election, only election officials do.

Fact No. 13: Votes cast by machine are backed up by paper ballots.

Fact No. 15: Pre-election polls run by media organizations are projections made at a moment in time based on contacting a limited number of people and then making extrapolations from that. They often do not reflect reality on Election Day.

Scott Peterson, Shelton