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Port Orchard staff outline downtown beautification plans after $3.5 million Bay Street funding announcement
Summary
City staff described a downtown beautification plan funded partly by council‑budgeted dollars and a newly announced $3.5 million award for the Bay Street project; items include furniture, murals, banners, wayfinding updates and potential public‑art installations.
Port Orchard city staff told the Economic Development and Tourism Committee they are designing a downtown beautification program and assessing how to size grants and loans for property and business owners between Harrison and Frederick streets.
"The city council had budgeted funds for downtown beautification," Community Development Director Nick Bond said. Staff mailed a letter to property and business owners asking whether they would be interested in grants, loans or both, and requested cost estimates to help size potential awards. Staff said initial responses have been limited and that follow‑up phone calls are planned.
Mayor (name not stated) announced the city had been informed it was awarded $3.5 million in additional Bay Street funding. "Senator Canwell informed me that her office said we were successful in obtaining $3.5 million for the Bay Street funding from her office," the mayor said. The mayor said the Bay Street project is an $11 million undertaking with roughly $8 million already committed and that the city must confirm eligible uses for some funding streams before final acceptance.
If eligibility is confirmed, the mayor said the city would delay construction one year to coordinate funding, plan to bid the project around November and begin construction after the new year. He estimated some beautification purchases that could use other council‑budgeted funds: about $50,000 for new waterfront furniture, mural touch‑ups and a new mural contract (pending permission from the Port), decorative banners to be coordinated with the port, hanging baskets, updated wayfinding with QR codes, restroom signage, a bike rack, pressure‑washing of sidewalks before May events, uniform streetlight bulbs, volunteer repainting of a marquee, new trash cans and a proposed steel 'scavenger hunt' public‑art installation along the waterfront.
Council members asked about program design and funding sources; staff said the council had budgeted $75,000 for a grant program this year and identified an additional $100,000 in a separate city bucket for city‑led work. Staff will report back to the full council with recommendations on program structure and an estimate of likely project costs.
The committee did not vote on program details at the meeting. The mayor said staff will present more detailed recommendations at the next council meeting.
