Mason County commissioners spent an extended portion of Tuesday’s briefing re-opening a long-running discussion over sewer service in Belfair and a letter from the city of Bremerton seeking further talks on sewer connections and cost sharing.

Commissioner Netherland requested the commission develop a clear, commission-approved set of expectations — including dollar or percentage figures and feasibility findings — before meeting again with Bremerton. “We should be doing a feasibility of our own when we're looking at any of that stuff,” he said. Commissioners asked staff to prepare data and a recommended starting point for negotiations.

County staff outlined past work on the Belfair sewer system and emphasized the need for hard numbers and feasibility analysis before negotiating with a potential partner. Staff said Bremerton and other external entities have stated they would want a feasibility study and clear cost/benefit figures to proceed; the Port of Bremerton’s briefing on the same topic also recommended a feasibility analysis as a prerequisite for any hookup or expansion.

Commissioners discussed options for the near term. The board agreed to schedule a special commissioner work session to consolidate priorities and requested each commissioner submit their suggested negotiating positions and numbers. Commissioners discussed setting that work session for a date following the commissioners’ regular meeting on the 20th (several commissioners said scheduling constraints might push a substantive session to the 22nd). Staff offered to compile Commissioner Netherland’s suggested starting points within a week to distribute before the meeting so commissioners could prepare.

The briefing also reviewed historical details of the Belfair system, including prior engineering work, the system's current roughly 250,000-gallon operating capacity (staff clarified it can be expanded toward a higher capacity) and earlier refinancing and repayment planning. Commissioners repeatedly emphasized that any negotiation should protect Mason County’s fiscal interests and be based on documented costs, capacity and risks.

No formal interlocal agreement or vote was taken at the briefing. Commissioners directed staff to prepare a package of feasibility estimates, options and recommended negotiating positions to present at the scheduled work session.

Ending: Staff will assemble background materials, cost estimates and a proposed negotiating posture for the commissioners; commissioners asked for the materials to be available in advance of the scheduled special session so they can refine a county position before meeting with Bremerton.