Local gathering place gutted by fire

These days, you can never be sure where a bride might like to hold her wedding reception. But no matter how unconventional the affair, it’s a pretty good guess a blackened building reeking of smoke would not be her first choice.

Unfortunately, that’s the condition of one of South Kitsap’s most popular sites for wedding celebrations after three vandals set a garbage can on fire two weeks ago and snuffed out all plans to use the community center at Long Lake County Park.

“Basically, the building’s going to be gutted,” said Beverly Reeves, superintendent of operations and maintenance for Kitsap County’s Facilities, Parks and Recreations Department. “It’s horrible. You just have to go in there and see it.”

Although there was relatively little fire damage to the site, Reeves said the smoke damage was extensive.

“Anything plastic was ruined. The tables, chairs, all the windows need to be replaced, along with all the light fixtures,” she said. “I’m not sure yet, but they might be able to save the floor tile.”

Reeves said the damage estimates are not finalized, but preliminary numbers hover between $50,000 and $70,000.

“And that’s not including the loss of revenue,” Reeves said, explaining that the steady stream of events including family reunions, birthday parties and wedding receptions held there brought in approximately $3,000 a month for the county.

Spokeswoman Terrie O’Neill said the county will take a big hit financially since it self-insures the building.

“This is coming out of our maintenance budget, and $60,000 goes a long way in our budget,” O’Neill said. “It’s so disappointing.”

Despite the financial losses, O’Neill said she sympathized with all the people who have had their events cancelled.

“Can you imagine if you had sent out wedding invitations?” she said.

In fact, Reeves said one couple did have a wedding reception scheduled for the weekend immediately following the fire, which was set June 12.

“We moved them to Island Lake,” she said. “Nonetheless, the invitations had been sent out, and it was a scramble to find a place.”

And it’s not just the public that depends on the center for gatherings. Reeves said the building hosts county commissioners’ retreats, department meetings and numerous community programs.

She said as many of the programs as possible, such as a recent piano recital, have been moved to Givens Community Center, another county facility in South Kitsap.

“Givens is a place where we can plug a lot of these activities,” said Karen Hagstrom, who books events at the park. “But Givens is a popular place, too, and if you’ve got something on the weekend, or for more than one day, such as a week-long music camp, it will be tough to schedule that now.”

And even if you’re fortunate enough to find an open slot at another facility, she said, “you still have to notify all your folks that it’s moved. It’s just a pain.”

Normally, Hagstrom said she recommends people book their summer events several months in advance to guarantee a spot in one of the community centers.

Hagstrom said she is not sure how long the facility will be closed, but she estimated it will be at least through the month of August.

“And if people want to schedule for September or October, we’re cautioning them that it still might not be ready then,” she said.

Two teens and one adult have been charged in connection with the fire at the facility. Joshua David Heuer, 19, was charged with first-degree arson and burglary; his two 15-year-old accomplices, both of Olalla, were each charged with one count of second-degree burglary.

According to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Department, deputies responded to the community center shortly after 5 a.m. when one of the suspects called 911 after the fire got out of control.

Heuer and the teens changed their stories several times, but eventually admitted to throwing a rock through one of the building’s windows, then crawling inside and setting a wad of toilet paper and paper towels on fire in a garbage can.

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