Ribbon cutting welcomes McCormick Woods into Port Orchard

The McCormick Woods subdivision was welcomed into the city of Port Orchard at an official ribbon-cutting on Monday afternoon, during which Mayor Lary Coppola marveled about a new population achievement.

“For the first time in Port Orchard’s history, we have over 10,000 people,” Coppola said, standing in front of a sign posted outside McCormick Woods that demarcated the new city limits. “This is a great day for us.”

Coppola was joined by several members of the city council, as well as Annexation Committee Chairman Dick Davis and committee member Dick Ziglar.

Ray McGovern, who had worked in tandem with Davis prior to moving out of the area in February, also returned for the ceremony.

“This is a result of work by a lot of people and I want to make sure they are recognized,” Coppola said. “The members of the annexation committee worked long and hard convincing people to sign the initiation petition. I also want to thank city staff, specifically James Weaver, our development director, and Mark Dorsey, our city engineer, who made sure that people had the right answers to their questions and that we didn’t tell them anything that wasn’t true or that we didn’t know that was right.”

“This is a red-letter day for the city as well as the community of McCormick Woods,” Davis said after the ceremony. “We can make a significant contribution and create an entity that will be a marriage that works. In the years ahead, we will be able to look back and say that we were proud to participate in this effort.”

McGovern said he was happy to return to the area and see the culmination of the effort. He joked with Davis about the latter’s mayoral aspirations, which Davis refuted.

After the ribbon-cutting the group adjourned to the McCormick Woods Clubhouse for drinks and appetizers.

Davis said he expected McCormick Woods residents to become involved politically, but expressed support for the current council. Waiting until 2011 to elect a subdivision resident to the council will not affect the quality of representation, he said.

However, he said that he would begin an effort to redistrict the area from the 35th to the 26th Legislative District.

Currently, the new city limits cross the boundaries of the two districts.

“I think it’s better for us and better for the city if we are represented by someone who lives in the Port Orchard area,” Davis said.

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