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Port commissioners reconstitute Economic Development Corporation, elect 2025 officers
Summary
At the Jan. 14 meeting the Port of Bremerton commission, acting as the board of the Bremerton Economic Development Corporation, elected officers for 2025 and reviewed the EDC's purpose of facilitating nonrecourse industrial revenue bonds for qualifying businesses.
The Port of Bremerton commissioners, sitting as the Bremerton Economic Development Corporation (BEDC), elected officers for 2025 and reviewed the EDC's role in supporting industrial development at a Jan. 14 meeting.
Commissioners elected Gary Anderson as chairman, Carrie (Ginger) Boseman as vice chair and a secretary identified on the record; the motion to elect officers passed unanimously. "I'd move to elect Gary Anderson chairman, Carrie Bozeman vice chairman and [a secretary]," a commissioner said during the BEDC session; the motion was seconded and approved. The commissioners then reconvened the regular Port meeting.
Port staff provided an overview of the BEDC, describing it as a vehicle established roughly 30 years ago to allow the Port to facilitate issuance of nonrecourse industrial revenue bonds for manufacturers, processors and wholesale distribution centers investing in facilities or equipment in the industrial park. The presentation said the bonds are nonrecourse to the Port and taxpayers; debt service is the responsibility of the private party using the financing.
"The purpose of why we have this is to encourage relocations and or expansions of businesses that could provide jobs and expand the economic opportunities for the community," a Port presenter said, adding that the BEDC charges no cost to the Port and preserves a financing tool the Port can offer should market conditions make bonds marketable.
Commissioners discussed that the BEDC is an amenity the Port does not use often but that it remains valuable if needed. One commissioner cited a prior use involving a $30 million marina project. The BEDC meeting also included procedural business such as approving minutes from a prior meeting.
The BEDC election and explanation were administrative in nature; commissioners recorded approval of minutes for an earlier meeting and then adjourned the BEDC session back to the Port's regular meeting.
No formal contracts, bond issuances or incentives were approved at the Jan. 14 BEDC session; staff said the EDC framework remains available for future projects.
