HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 2014From Mayor David King July 2014
Thanks for the Concern
My thanks to all who expressed their concern about my injuries from the bicycle accident I had in March.
I was very lucky and have healed nicely. Now everyone that receives a City utility bill gives me a hard
time if I ride without my reflective vest. But I’ve also had several people thank me for getting them to wear
their own helmets – which was my purpose in writing.
Council’s Commons Conundrum
As I write this in the middle of June it is exactly 5 years to the day that the buildings at Mountain View were last operated
as a school. In response to shrinking budgets and student enrollment the Port Townsend School District consolidated
operations in their Grant Street, Blue Heron and PT High School campuses in 2009, closing their middle school at Moun-
tain View. The City, which had been considering options for relocating our city police from the Cotton Building, decided to
relocate police operations there. This saved the cost of a new Police Station and kept Mountain View and the swimming
pool open. Mountain View School became Mountain View Commons.
Since then the community has taken to the Commons in a big way. But the hustle and bustle at the Food Bank and the
Pool can’t disguise the poor condition issues that have only worsened in the five years of our occupancy because our
short-term lease has not permitted significant capital investment of City funds. The estimated cost for the repairs at
Mountain View plus the City Facilities Energy Retrofit (more on that in a minute) is $5,316,410. Poor condition also con-
tributes to the City’s operational cost of $272K per year, and make for daily risk of some catastrophic failure.
For some time Council has been struggling with a chicken and egg conundrum – we needed a long-term lease in order
to make significant repairs at Mountain View but we had to be able to afford those repairs in order to commit to a long
term-lease. Because of the high cost of repairs we felt that a partner to share the cost or a voted bond from the tax pay-
ers would be a precondition to staying there. But at our meeting on June 9 Council adopted Resolution 14-016 – a strat-
egy for Mountain View commons – adopting a plan for the capital repairs to Mountain View and Energy Improvements to
Mountain View and the Library. What has changed?
We have enough funding to start the project and to complete emergency repairs
We have a plan for completion
We’re out of time Phase 1 –Emergency Repairs – Commit with What We Have
The cost of emergency repairs to the classroom building roof and the HVAC systems is $2,727,363.
Prop 1 Safety Sales Tax—We have executed an amendment to our joint agreement with the County that places a cap on the total
contribution of our Prop 1 Safety Sales Tax to the County. Transfers stop once the total reaches $852,716 – the amount estimated
under the original 2010 agreement - or on 5/31/2015, whichever comes first. The funds will be fully available for City use in 2017 after
we reimburse EJFR for our share for one of the fire trucks they purchased. We propose to split the allocation of these funds between
the Mountain View project, Parks, and Community Services. Energy Retrofits—Critical to the success and funding of the project are the energy use improvements we will make un-
der our agreement with the Washington Department of Enterprise Services. These qualify us for a $500,000 Department
of Commerce Energy Efficiency Grant for energy cost reductions and $300,000 Department of Ecology Grant for replac-
ing the oil-fired boilers of the heating system. We are also well positioned for $180,000 electrical rebate program for en-
ergy improvements working with Jefferson PUD. This will lower the Phase 1 project cost to the City to $1,747,363.
The agreement with Enterprise Services guarantees that utility and operational savings will come from replacing the
heating and air conditioning systems in Mountain View and the Library. The utility savings (fuel costs) are guaranteed by
Honeywell – the contractor for the improvements. If they’re not achieved after we make the improvements Honeywell will
write us a check for the difference. The operational savings are calculated from the labor savings resulting from modern-
izing the systems.
New Funds for Available Debt Service and Operations
Prop 1 Safety Sales Tax 212,000$ Base Year Amount
Utility Savings - Mountain View 107,850$ Guaranteed by Contract
Utility Savings - Library 19,337$ Guaranteed by Contract
Operation Savings - Mountain View 69,564$ Estimated by Contract
Operation Savings - Library 1,435$ Estimated by Contract
$0.12 Levy Contribution 160,333$ Amount to be Levied Limited by Ordinance
570,519$
Allocation to Debt 369,332$
Allocation to Operations 201,187$
570,519$
On the strength of being able to complete the emergency repairs to the facility we have negotiated a 15-year lease with
the PTSD adequate for investing in capital repairs and long enough for the City to pay off the debt required. The lease
includes an option to extend another 15 years which we can exercise when we’re able to commit to all phases of the pro-
ject. Here is the complete project broken down both by the phases and by the source of funding.
Phase 2 – Completing the Energy Improvements
We have incorporated this combination of secured grants and re-directed existing funds into a three phase plan center-
ing on energy improvements to City facilities.
Upgrading the HVAC systems in the Library and the Pink House was to be part of the Library Expansion project. With
the failure of the Library bond measure in 2013, there are no current plans for expansion, but we still need to take care of
it. After the failure of the bond measure Honeywell agreed to extend their energy audit and credits to the work on the
Library and the Pink house, so Council has committed to that investment as Phase 2 of our plan. Completion of the ener-
gy improvements at all these facilities will accomplish one of the major goals of the Climate Action Plan we adopted in
2011.
Phase 3 – Finishing the Job
The ongoing expense of maintaining Mountain View Campus in its current condition, the likelihood of the State sweeping
our grant funds if they are not committed before the end of August 2014, the end of 2015 deadline for the completion of
the energy improvements in order to comply with terms of the grants, and most of all the ongoing danger of some cata-
strophic failure to the roof or HVAC systems, particularly with another winter approaching, dictate that the City take ac-
tion now. We can use bank credit and Councilmanic bonds to complete the first two phases and pay the debt service
with the funds as I’ve described. But Phases 1 and 2 are as far as we can prudently go with existing City revenues with-
out reductions in other areas and possibly endangering our reserves.
Phase 3 includes necessary (but not yet emergent) items like exterior paint, parking lot repair; mechanical improvements
to the pump room at the pool, providing ADA approved openers for the exterior doors, roof repairs to the Gym, etc. with
an estimated total of $1.8 million. Council’s plan calls for requesting the voters to pass a voted bond for $4.1 million – the
City’s cost for the whole project – that would:
Complete the remaining necessary repairs to Mountain View Commons
Restore the City’s non-voted bond capacity for emergencies or other uses.
Enable the City to immediately extend the lease for another 15 years – ensuring City occupancy for 30.
Though the bond would be for the entire $4.1 million the amount levied would only be for the additional costs and be lim-
ited by ordinance to $.13/1000 of assessed value - $39 per year on a house worth $300K – for a limited term of 15 years.
As I write this Council has authorized a “model” bond measure to complete our plan. But Council has not authorized or
scheduled an actual bond measure and there may be other forms of community partnerships we can explore. But what-
ever form it takes we felt it was important to be explicit and clear about how far we could get without help.
City-Only
I regret that we were not able to achieve a comprehensive solution for Parks and Rec. in conjunction with the County but
our plan is largely in keeping with the alternative suggested by County Administrator Philip Morley in his response to our
City Manager’s plan for a comprehensive solution that would have included Memorial Field and the Rec Center. County
participation, required in the City’s plan, was absent from the County’s alternative.
Models for partnership with the County always included an appeal to the taxpayers to fund the gap between resources
and needs for our efforts on behalf of Parks and Rec. A Metropolitan Parks District was one mechanism. The County
has explicitly excluded an ongoing partnership and with it a County-wide solution. So left to our own devices and re-
sources, Council has crafted this City-only solution that includes as modest and limited a tax increase as possible. The
County has not undertaken anything similar and I remain concerned about the future of County properties in the City.
Summary
As is probably apparent from this newsletter, innovative approaches to difficult problems can be a challenge to under-
stand and describe – never a good feature for something like a ballot measure. For those already inclined to be suspi-
cious of government a complex plan like this can look like Council is up to something. Well, we are. We are up to
putting every cent of the public funds under our control - excepting the reserves required by our financial policies - to
work on behalf of the things needed and valued by city residents. If at least 60% of the voters agree to complete the
repairs at Mountain View, Council can commit to operations there for the next 30 years. With repairs in place we can
consider other possibilities for the Commons fully in keeping with the potential of its location and the evolving needs of
our community.
Costs by Phase Source
Phase 1 2,727,363$ City Revenues (including Councilmanic)2,300,000$
Phase 2 586,557$ Grants and Other Sources 1,216,410$
Phase 3 2,002,490$ Levy Revenue from Voted Bond 1,800,000$
5,316,410$ 5,316,410$
Minus Grants and Other Sources (1,216,410)$
Cost Covered by Voted Bond 4,100,000$
July 2014 Staff Changes for City
Congratulations to Joanna Sanders, who will take over the position of City Clerk on
July 1. Joanna has been an administrative team member since 2005 and has served
in the Deputy Clerk role for four years.
Up until now, the City Clerk has functioned in a dual role as the City’s Human
Resources Manager, coordinating all personnel activity as well as Civil
Service matters. With the rapid growth in mandates with personnel and public records,
the City needs to have dedicated staff focused on compliance within these distinct city
functions. Current City Clerk Pam Kolacy will remain on staff through the beginning of
2015 as the Human Resources Manager before transitioning into retirement.
The two positions will now be middle management Operational Managers. The City
Clerk will continue to report to the City Manager and the Human Resources Manager
will report to the Finance/Administration Director. This gives the City better operational effective-
ness and the ability to comply with the ever increasing service mandates.
We expect this to be a very seamless transition and appreciate your cooperation as we settle into
our new roles.
PT Shorts
Saturday, July 5, 7:30 - 8:30 at the Pope Ma-
rine Park Building, celebrate the 4th of July
weekend by joining PT Shorts annual event Great
American Writers for a Great American Holiday. This
year’s offering is readings from the work of Nora Eph-
ron who wrote and/or directed many favorites such as
When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in
Seattle, Silkwood and Heartburn, along with several
collections of witty short stories.
PT Shorts is a free City of Port Townsend Arts Commission spon-
sored program of hour long readings read by local performers.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Citizen Advisory Board Recruitment
The following committees have either vacancies or members whose terms expired on May 1, 2014.
Appointments are for three years.
Arts Commission Non-Motorized Transportation Advisory Board
Library Advisory Board Park Recreation and Tree Advisory Board
PEG Access Coordinating Committee – Video Professional position
Applications are available in the City Clerk’s Office on the second floor of City Hall, 250 Madison
Street, Port Townsend, WA. Call 379-5083 with questions and to request an application form or
download from www.cityofpt.us (Boards & Commissions). City residency or employment within the
City is a requirement for most positions.
Joanna Sanders
Pam Kolacy
Emergency Alerts
Sign up now for local text message
alerts about severe weather, tsunami warn-
ings, major traffic closures and other local
emergencies. Log on to www.jeffcoeoc.org.
Click on the phone icon to subscribe to FREE
text alerts and emails about emergencies af-
fecting Jefferson County as they happen. Fol-
low the simple directions indicated. You will
receive emergency information instantly on
any text-enabled device or email. (Your text
rates may apply).
This service is provided to Jefferson County by NIXLE.
Reminder - Vacation Rentals Require City Permit
City code does not allow one to rent out an entire house, condo or accessory unit for less than 29 days at a time. A portion of an own-
er’s primary residence may be rented for less than 29 days at a time after the owner has an approved Tourist Home or Bed and
Breakfast Conditional Use permit, has a City business license, and pays all required business and occupation taxes. Please contact
Suzanne Wassmer (385-0644, swassmer@cityofpt.us) in the City Development Services Department with any questions.
Ivy Pull at Sather Park
Participate in ongoing community ivy pull every Tuesday, 1-3 at Sather Park. Wear work clothes
and gardening gloves and bring clippers if you have them. Look for tarps in the trails. For more info
contact Elsa Golts elsa@olympus.net or Cappy Mathias mathias@olympus.net.
E. Coli bacteria
(0.2 microns)
Giardia lamblia Cyst
(8-15 microns)
Cryptosporidium Oocyst
(3-5 microns)
Pore size of
membrane
(0.1 micron)
Human Hair
(40 microns)
The Miracle of Membrane Filtration
Our new City Drinking Water Treatment Facility
will use membrane filtration technology to remove
organisms such as bacteria and parasites that
can cause illness and disease.
This drawing compares the size of a
human hair with different organisms
that the membrane filters are designed
to remove.
The tiniest dot
in the lower left
is the size of a
membrane filter
pore (0.1 micron).
Membrane filtration
physically prevents
micro-organisms and
other materials larger than the pore size
from passing through the membrane.
For more information on the Drinking Water Treatment Facility visit our “Current Projects” or “Water”
pages on the City’s website at www.cityofpt.us. Look for Drinking Water Treatment Facility FAQs.
Centrum Foundation
As one of the largest nonprofits in Jefferson County and the largest producer of program-
ming at Fort Worden State Park, Centrum’s programs reach and impact thousands of
lives every year. Its immersive summer workshops and festivals connect creative artists
and learners of all ages through direct and shared artistic experiences.
Centrum's breadth of appeal may be surprising. In 2013 alone, Centrum’s participants
hailed from 17 foreign countries, 46 out of the 50 states in the U.S., and 77% of the counties in Wash-
ington State. Participants ranged in age from 4 to 95, with 26% of enrollees age 18 or younger. These
visitors help build the community's reputation as a center for lifelong learning and a vital arts center.
This year’s activities are on pace to do even better. Demand for concert tickets this summer is 34%
ahead of the same period for the last three years and virtually every workshop is already at maximum
capacity.
Centrum will always invite, rely upon and remain grateful for local support and strong contributions
from beyond Jefferson County with 58% of its support coming from outside of the area. This is good
for Port Townsend, good for Centrum, and good for the learners of all ages who look forward to
spending part of their summer right here with you in the best small community on Earth!
JULY EVENTS
June 29 - July 6 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes
July 10 - 20 Writers Conference
July 20 - 27 Jazz Port Townsend
July 27 - August 3 Acoustic Blues Festival
Main Street’s “Concerts on the Dock” start Thursday, July 10 and
continue each Thursday through Aug. 28 at the Pope Marine Plaza.
13,000 Gallons of water is
what an average family can
save per year by replacing their
old, inefficient toilets with
WaterSense labeled brands.
Source: USEPA, WaterSense
Robert Birman
Executive Director