At a Belfair Sewer work session on Aug. 20, Mason County commissioners discussed an interlocal agreement with the city of Bremerton that would make up to 160,000 gallons per day of Belfair sewer capacity available to Bremerton and agreed to place the ILA on an upcoming regular meeting agenda for formal consideration.

The discussion centered on who would pay for design and expansion work, what value the county should require for the 160,000 gallons, and what protections should be written into any ILA before the county signs. The commissioners said a $3 million Commerce grant is available for related studies; according to comments during the meeting, Bremerton and Mason County have discussed splitting that grant so Bremerton would receive $1.6 million and Mason County $1.4 million to fund feasibility and design work.

Commissioners emphasized that a professional feasibility and scope of work are required before committing the county to a permanent allocation of capacity. “If they want a 160,000 gallons, what is the actual value of that?” Commissioner 3 said, calling for a feasibility study to quantify cost and value. Several commissioners said metering and any system expansions needed specifically to serve Bremerton should be paid by Bremerton, not by Mason County ratepayers or taxpayers.

Some commissioners argued the ILA is the necessary next step to begin formal negotiations and to access design funding. “We either kill it or we move forward,” Commissioner 4 said. “It’s time to either, to use the sewer metaphor, crap or get off the pot.” That side of the debate said signing an ILA that states the county’s intent to negotiate would let the parties use grant funds to complete feasibility and design work and then negotiate payment terms before any construction or permanent commitment.

Opponents cautioned against signing a binding agreement before the county establishes exit clauses and payment terms. Commissioner 3 repeatedly urged that any ILA include protections allowing Mason County to withdraw if the negotiations do not yield terms that compensate the county for value already invested in Belfair infrastructure. Commissioners raised multiple unknowns in the financial analysis: current break‑even rates and the number of additional equivalent residential units (ERUs) required to offset capital and operating costs were discussed as estimates rather than settled figures.

The record shows earlier work by the FCS group, described in the meeting as a prior financial analysis, informed prior decisions about expansion options but did not replace a site‑specific feasibility and design study for a Bremerton hookup. Commissioners described a history of drafts and letters exchanged with Bremerton, including a county draft ILA the commission worked to add protective terms to and an unsigned draft or letter that had been sent as a discussion document in prior meetings. Commissioners said a signed ILA has not yet been exchanged.

Commissioners identified regional growth pressures — officials at the session referenced large naval shipyard investments and growth tied to Naval Base Kitsap and Bremerton — as a factor that makes sewer expansion likely over time and that therefore strengthens the case for negotiating compensation for county ratepayers. At the same time, they said Bremerton should contribute for equipment such as metering and for any additional capacity or lift‑station upgrades that would be required to serve Bremerton customers.

For next steps, commissioners directed staff to prepare a bridging/cross document and bring the ILA forward on the next available meeting agenda for formal consideration. One commissioner said staff would “take the lead” on preparing the package to be put on the agenda. No formal signature of the ILA occurred at the work session; commissioners described this placement on the agenda as the mechanism to move from discussion to negotiation and, if acceptable terms are reached, eventual execution.

The conversation lasted about 52 minutes and featured repeated calls for a professionally scoped feasibility study, explicit payment terms for a 160,000‑gallon allocation, metering and expansion costs to be borne by Bremerton, and contractual exit clauses to protect Mason County ratepayers.

Staff and commissioners indicated the Commerce grant timeline is a critical external deadline: if the grant money expires, the opportunity to fund feasibility and design work through that source could be lost. The county’s staff comment in the meeting said the draft ILA the commission previously worked on contained protective language the commissioners had added and that those protections were the basis for earlier support from multiple commissioners.