Barring any unforeseen expense associated with the project, changes to the appearance of the Bay Street marquee will happen this year, Port Orchard City Councilmember Carolyn Powers assured business leaders this week.

Powers, who chairs the council’s Public Property Committee, spoke on Thursday in a meeting relocated to City Hall to accommodate downtown business owners anxious to discuss the future of the marquee.

Several business owners, as well as Don Atkinson of the newly re-formed Downtown Merchants Association, attended the meeting with Powers and fellow Councilmembers Bob Geiger and John Clauson.

“We’re definitely committed,” Powers said of the committee.

The council decided in February to spend $24,983 to determine whether last fall’s repair estimates are indeed what the repairs would cost.

CTS Engineers of Bellevue, which told the council that immediate repairs to the marquee would cost $41,000, has agreed to provide the city with plans for the repairs, plans the city can use to elicit contract bids, and estimates of what the bids might run.

According to Public Works Director Maher Abed, bids could be accepted as early as this month. Work could begin on the marquee in June and, if so, would be complete in August.

According to Powers, once bids are accepted, the signs currently posted on the marquee’s pickets will have to come down, as will the pickets themselves. Repairs will be made and the awning will be repainted.

She is working with the downtown merchants on the details — color scheme of the repainted marquee, sign placement and the possible painting of the buildings themselves.

“Consideration has to be given for the portion of that marquee that is not located on Bay Street,” Powers added. “These things don’t go very quickly.”

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