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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02 - February NewsletterFebruary 2016 Mayor Deborah Stinson The new year presented me with quite the honor when I was elected by my peers on City Council to serve as Mayor for the next two years. It is a pleasure to anticipate working in this new role with Council, City Staff and, most im- portantly, our Community Members. We bid farewell to two long-term council members at the end of 2015, Mayor David King and Deputy Mayor Kris Nelson. They each leave us with a legacy of stellar service and will be missed. Happily, they are both still here and contrib- uting to our community through their various ventures. We now welcome Amy Howard and David Faber to the Council and look forward to their fresh perspectives. Along with them, Bob Gray and I were elected to another four-year term to round out your city council with Michelle Sandoval, Pam Adams and Deputy Mayor Catharine Robinson serving the second half of their current term. It is my intent to maintain open and effective communication with our citizens, other local governing bodies, state and federal representatives, between members of city council and throughout city administration. This newsletter is one channel we have for keeping you abreast of current and near-term business coming before city council. We enter 2016 with the good news that we exceeded our 2015 revenue budget. Such a positive perfor- mance indicates we are finally turning the corner from the great recession and are on a strong foundation from which we can continue to improve our community’s vitality. Our construction projects for water storage and secondary treatment are progressing per plan. The Howard Street project is also underway and re- mains on target for completion by the end of the year. You can expect to see a lot more about these projects in the coming months. At our meeting on February 8, City staff will be providing us with a complete update on our Three-year Stra- tegic Plan as we enter the final year. From there we will be better situated to outline our work plan for 2016, watch this space in March. That said, there are some things we know need addressing and have already identified jobs and affordable housing as priority projects for our City Manager. Another big known for 2016 is the Periodic Update to our Growth Management Act Comprehensive Plan that is due to be completed by June. I encourage you to keep informed of that work by visiting Latest News at the bottom of our website’s home page. That address is www.cityofpt.us While you are on the website, please be sure to click on Speak UP Port Townsend. There you can read about ongoing projects, read and comment on what your neighbors are suggesting and make some sugges- tions of your own. We really do want to hear from you! The City Council is considering changes to the City’s Animal Control Code, Chapter 8.04 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code. Proposed changes include where an animal can be off - leash, designation of off -leash areas for dogs, and other minor changes. A copy of the pro- posed changes can be found on the City’s SpeakUp site. Log on to www.cityofpt.us and then click on the SpeakUp logo in the lower left of the webpage. You may comment on SpeakUp until February 12, or email your comments to : citycouncil@cityofpt.us , with “Animal Code” in the subject line. Finding Ways to Improve our Delivery of Services…... Like many government agencies and businesses, the City is always looking for ways to do more with less, or even to do the same with less. Every department operates within a limited budget and many departments are still below the staffing levels that existed before the economic down- turn. Our daily mission is to deliver a high level of service with existing resources. In order to help us achieve this goal, the City is working with the Local Government Perfor- mance Center, which is a part of the Washington State Auditor’s Office, to embark upon a process of training called “Lean” The term "Lean" refers to a set of systemic management practices developed in the mass production era with Ford in the early 1900s and the Toyo- ta Production System in the late 1940s. The term "Lean" first appeared in the 1990 book The Machine That Changed The World, by James Womack, which compared Japanese, American, and European automotive assembly plants. For anyone interested, there is a lot of available information that is easy to find online. Lean performance improvement strategies can help governments deliver services to citizens more effectively by reducing variation, waste and delays in complicated processes…..such as some land use permit reviews. These type of strategies have been used for years in business and industry, but have only recently been adapted and utilized by government agencies. The Development Services Department and the Public Works Department will be holding a week-long Lean training to look at the permit process we currently use to review applications for single family residences (SFR). The purpose of the training is to look at ways to increase effi- ciencies within the permit review process, starting from submittal of the application to the issu- ance of a building permit. It is our goal to improve overall customer service and make the SFR review process more transparent, consistent and easy to understand for the public. In order to conduct this training, it will be necessary to close the Development Services Depart- ment for the entire week of February 22nd thru 26th. We will not be providing any front counter ser- vice or accepting new applications during this time, but we will be conducting building inspec- tions throughout the week. We apologize ahead of time for any inconvenience, but ask for your patience in this investment of time and effort that will pay dividends for both the public and city staff. Please contact us at 360-379-5095, prior to February 22, if you have questions. Interested in City employment? All City employment opportunities are advertised in the Leader and on our website at www.cityofpt.us/HR/Employment.html. There you will see “Current Openings and Employment Application.” Each opening will have a complete job de- scription and a position announcement with specific details on how to apply. We are unable to accept resumes or applications for positions that are not posted. If you are interested in employment with the Police Department, click on “Police Officer Employment Opportunities.” Please call the Human Resources Department if you have questions about current positions or the application process. February 2016 The City is conducting a "periodic update" to the Comprehensive Plan and devel- opment regulations. In 2015, we asked for suggestions, reviewed changes in State law, and assessed population and employment growth forecasts. On No- vember 16, 2015, City Council considered all the information and approved a scope of work (aka the docket). In 2016, we will draft the revisions in accord- ance with the approved docket. The update must be adopted by June 30, 2016, to ensure compliance with the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA). How can I get involved? Attend meetings & provide input: Check the City’s meeting calendar at: http://www.cityofpt.us/ Check the dedicated webpage at: http://www.cityofpt.us/dsd/compplan.html Use the links at the top of the webpage to view past meetings and documents related to the GMA Periodic Update. Submit written comment to: 2016Update@cityofpt.us Participate via SpeakUp: www.speakuppt.us. As we progress through the update process, we will peri- odically post questions on the SpeakUp Port Townsend site to gather feedback from citizens via this inter- active online tool. Please check in frequently to give your input on the each of the five Comprehensive Plan elements (i.e., Housing, Transportation, Land Use, Capital Facilities and Utilities, and Economic Develop- ment). Join the Discussion! Land Use Element discussion featured on SpeakUp through February 11 Transportation Element discussion featured on SpeakUp through February 25 The Port Townsend Public Library is thrilled to announce the first finisher of our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program! John Noble, who is 2 years old, had 1000 books read to him by grownups in his life. John got a book as a prize and will have his picture displayed on the library's 1000 Books Finishers wall. 1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a free Port Townsend Public Li- brary program to highlight the importance of early literacy and help kids start kindergarten ready to learn. Parents sign up to track the books read to their children at home, in library storytimes, and by friends and rela- tives. Families receive a special 1000 Books tote bag with a tag to keep track of their reading. Families in the program also get to participate in special events for young children at the library. The Port Townsend Public Library can help parents make the most of their role as their children's first and best teachers, with early literacy re- sources, books and audiobooks, and early learning programs. For more information, or to sign up for 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, call the library at 360-385-3181. Library Open House Thursday, February 4 All Day Join us for valentine crafts, refreshments, and live music in the morning and evening. Fun for all ages. IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT PORT TOWNSEND DRINKING WATER Purpose of this notification. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has determined that the City’s watershed control program does not meet current Department expectations for remaining a permitted unfiltered drinking water system. While water quality has not changed and exceeds standards, for regulatory purposes, the water system is considered to be out of treatment com- pliance. Chlorine disinfection continues to provide protection from microbial contaminants, which generally is more than adequate for safe drinking water treatment. Inadequately treated water may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause symptoms such as, nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. What is being done? The City has chosen to build a membrane water filtration facility to meet federal drinking water treatment requirements. Work is underway on the new treatment building. The filtration plant is scheduled to be operating by October 2016 and until operational, customers will receive a notice similar to this every three months. What should I do? This situation does not require that you take action, however people with severely compromised immune systems, infants, and some elderly may want to seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from the EPA at http://water.epa.gov/aboutow/ogwdw/ upload/2001_11_15_consumer_crypto.pdf or the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1 (800) 426-4791. More information is available through the City’s web site http://www.cityofpt.us/water/or from the Port Townsend Department of Water Quality (360-379-5001). This notice is being sent to you by the City of Port Townsend. State Water System ID#: 69000R. Water Treatment Facility Project Update Weather conditions continue to affect the work at the water treatment plant site. However, over 300 cubic yards of concrete was placed for the pipe chase slabs and walls, as well as the general building foundation footing which included stub walls on which to set the build- ing’s masonry block walls. Within the building proper, point-to-point electrical conduit has been run and floor drains set in order to place slab rebar followed by concrete in four floor slabs. Reinforced masonry block walls will start in early February. At the new 5 MG reser- voir site, the crushed rock base was brought to grade and rebar set in the four base slab quad- rants. Concrete in the first quadrant was placed prior to the Christmas break and involved pumping over 230 cubic yards of concrete. The other slab quadrants are complete, and the contractor is setting the steel gang forms for the 39’ foot tall reservoir walls to be placed in 11 segments. The Offsite con- tractor has completed placing sanitary sewer pipe and manholes from 10th Street across Discovery Road as well as 900 feet along Rainier Street before being slowed by the persistent rain. The new trail installed by the project along the east side of Rainier Street from Discovery Road allows safe passage for bicyclists and walkers to connect to the trail extension from Howard Street at 20th Street without conflict with fast moving heavy construction equipment and delivery vehicles.