Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 September NewsletterNewsletterNewsletter SEPTEMBER CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS: September 2021 09/06/21: City Offices Closed 09/07/21: Business Mee�ng 09/13/21: Workshop Mee�ng 09/20/21: Business Mee�ng Mee�ngs are subject to change. Please view our website calendar for an up-to-date mee�ng schedule. www.cityofpt.us/calendar A Note From Mayor Michelle Sandoval Consider applying to be on a City Advisory Board or Commission. Visit our website for descrip�ons, applica�ons, and mee�ng schedules: www.cityofpt.us For more informa�on contact the City Clerk’s Office at (360) 379-5083. The following Boards and Commissions have current and upcoming vacancies: • Arts Commission• Civil Service Commission• Fort Worden Public Development Authority (PDA) • Library Advisory Board• Lodging Tax Advisory Commi�ee• Parks, Recrea�on and Tree Advisory Board We all have had struggles through the last year and a half of this pandemic and the subsequent isola�on. Some of us feel it more intensely than others. I would ask that we have empathy for our community members who may be more isolated than ourselves, par�cularly as the COVID numbers rise again and we go back into necessary cau�ous behavior. In par�cular let’s remember back to when we were young, and think of how it must be for our youth to be isolated from their peers and normal social events. In honor of September being Suicide Preven�on Month, this coming month the Port Townsend Film Fes�val (PTFF) Pics will be streaming Sept 6-12 The "S" Word. PTFF will be making this film free and all dona�on profit will go to The Benji Project. The Benji Project is dedicated to the memory of Benji Kenworthy, a well-known local teen, who died at 15 by suicide. You can get your �cket here: www.p�ilmfest.com/Fes�val-And-Events/PTFF-Pics.html Here is a link to an important short film that The Benji Project created, working with director Jessica Plumb: www.thebenjiproject.org This film addresses the isola�on that students are experiencing because of COVID, quaran�ne and no live school. I am also including this link, so you can watch the film and learn more about how important it is for PTFF to con�nue this essen�al conversa�on in communi�es everywhere! www.docplus.com/details/the-s-word/jigdJ0xm Here is the official synopsis of the film: “Speaking the word suicide is not the problem, it’s the silence that so o�en surrounds it.” Words of insight from the eye opening film The "S" Word. Suicide a�empt survivor, Dese’Rae Stage, is on a mission to find fellow survivors and document their stories of unguarded courage, insight and humor. Along the way, she discovers a community willing to transform personal struggles into ac�on on a na�onal level in the hope that those in�mate stories will help prevent further tragedy. Help us minimize waste City of Port Townsend • 250 Madison Street • (360) 385-3000 • www.cityofpt.us Summer’s s�ll here but budget season is soon upon us. Each year, the City staff work through budgets and the City Manager makes a proposal to City Council that we work to refine through discussion and public input. We usually start that in September and end in mid- December with an adopted budget for the subsequent year. Then we work through what our priori�es are for the year, usually at a City Council and department director workplan retreat in January. This year we’ve done something a bit different. As I noted in July, we already kicked off our 2022 work planning with a retreat and public mee�ng with City Council and department directors. Like I said then, doing this a half-year earlier allowed us to determine what we need to do before we determine the budget that delivers on it. This earlier planning has given us a chance to start the budget process – not something that typically seems to excite everyone – with what outcomes we want. I don’t pretend that everyone cares about numbers. But I do believe that people generally care about outcomes. Outcomes are tangible and might just elicit strong feelings or compel ac�on. This is why I’m hoping that you’ll feel compelled to join us as we kick off the budget process. We’ll be engaging more about how we deliver those outcomes, and you can look for ways to get involved on Engage PT: www.cityofpt.us/engage Intergovernmental Collabora�ve Group Wins Na�onal Award Our community is tenacious, crea�ve, strategic and collabora�ve – and it’s clear that others think so, too. The Interna�onal City/County Management Associa�on (ICMA) awarded the City of Port Townsend and our partners Jefferson County, Jefferson County PUD and Port of Port Townsend, the Strategic Leadership and Governance award for the recovery and resilience work our community and region did in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic through the Intergovernmental Collabora�ve Group (ICG). Thank you to the elected leaders from the four agencies and to the literally dozens and dozens of community members who par�cipated by sharing great ideas, posi�ve energy, and �me. This award is for you! A Note From City Manager John Mauro Most of our community members recycle and try to minimize waste that ends up in the landfill, for which we applaud. However, the City would like to bring to the a�en�on of residents that stacking material in the right-of -way is not an effec�ve way to accomplish this goal. Placing used furniture in the right of way causes safety concerns, is unsightly, and results in furniture being damaged by moisture and vandalism. When City crews have to pick up items that are le� on the street, it takes them away from other important work. It is unlawful to dump in the right-of-way, and the City asks that if you desire to have furniture recycled for further use that you reach out to charitable organiza�ons such as the Habitat Store and take furniture that is in good condi�on to them rather than placing it along the street where it ul�mately ends up in the landfill. If the furniture is not re-usable, please take it directly to Jefferson County transfer sta�on on Jacob Miller Road. You can also contact Waste Connec�ons for a bulky item pick up. They will let you know when it will be collected, how much it will cost, and where to place it. Thank you for your help! Jefferson County Transfer Sta�on: (360) 385-9160 Waste Connec�ons (DM Disposal): (360) 385-6612 City of Port Townsend • 250 Madison Street • (360) 385-3000 • www.cityofpt.us PT Main Street Upcoming Events PT Public Library and Online Programs Western Flyer Presenta�onThursday, September 23 7:00 p.m. The program will be live via Zoom. Visit the Library's website for more informa�on and the link to join. The one-hour talk will provide updates on the boat and restora�on, the Western Flyer's journey to the Sea of Cortez and the friendship between Steinbeck and Ricke�s, and the Western Flyer Founda�on's educa�on and research programs. Presented by the staff from the Western Flyer Founda�on. "BEST FRIENDS” Grab your best friend and head to PT Main Street’s Girls’ Night Out! Thursday, October 7th, 2021 - 11:00 am to 8:00 pm A Day and Night of Girlfriend FUN & Shopping! In-store events, sales & treats, many stores open later. Goodie bags sales benefit the nonprofit Port Townsend Main Street Program and the Jefferson Healthcare Founda�on to help those in need get cancer screenings. Goodie bags are available in the Co�on Building from 11 :00 am- 6:00 pm Event to be held following COVID guidelines A great event for a good cause! Sponsored by Jefferson Healthcare, with support from 1st Security Bank and par�cipa�ng businesses. Details at www.ptmainstreet.org (Subject to change) NEW WATER VIEW PARKLET AT ADAMS STREET END IN PORT TOWNSEND The new parklet at Water and Adams Street offers sea�ng and scenic views in the heart of downtown Port Townsend. The project includes three contemporary-style benches, new street furniture, five large planters, a new gravel surface and improved access to the beach. This 2021 Tourism Infrastructure Project is sponsored by the City of Port Townsend. The Port Townsend Main Street Program applied for funding from the City of Port Townsend Lodging Tax Advisory Commi�ee for the parklet and other streetscape ameni�es to benefit the community. The project includes the purchase of eight sets of addi�onal street furniture that complement the exis�ng Main Street green tables and chairs downtown. Forty-seven hanging flower baskets were also purchased from the Port Townsend Garden Center to add color Uptown and Downtown at par�cipa�ng businesses. Main Street’s gardener is caring for the baskets. Addi�onal funding came from private donors and a grant from the Tri-Area Garden Club. The benches are made of Ipe (ironwood) which was purchased at Edensaw Woods; the framing materials were purchased at Carl’s Building Supply. The benches were constructed locally by Jaynesco Finish Carpentry. The parklet design concept was contribut- ed by studioSTL, which is located in Uptown. For more informa�on about the Port Townsend Main Street Program and its ac�vi�es, visit www.ptmainstreet.org City of Port Townsend • 250 Madison Street • (360) 385-3000 • www.cityofpt.us We are con�nuing to profile City staff members so you can learn more about the team and their work from their perspec�ve. Check back here each month to see a new staff profile. This month is Judy Surber from our Development Services Department. How long have you worked at the City of Port Townsend? This is my 27th year with the City Development Services Department. What do you currently do in terms of job du�es? I am both a “current” and a “long-range” planner. As a current planner, I review development proposals for conformance with adopted plans and development regula�ons. As a long-range planner, I assist in the development of and updates to the City’s land use plans and development regula�ons including the Comprehensive Plan, Shoreline Master Program and Cri�cal Areas Ordinance. I also serve as staff to Council-appointed commi�ees including the joint City-County Climate Ac�on Commi�ee and Planning Commission and previously the Alterna�ve Electric Management Commi�ee and Housing Ac�on Plan Network Commi�ee. What do you like or enjoy most about working at the City? Working with the community to develop plans for the future. For example: • The Comprehensive Plan which outlines how the City will develop to accommodate growth over a 20-year horizon; • The Climate Ac�on Plan which iden�fies measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and • The Shoreline Master Program - a set of policies and regula�ons that guide use and development along our shorelines with the goal of balancing appropriate uses, environmental protec�on, and public access. Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself, your job, or your team with the public? I am honored to work with a fantas�c team resolving complex issues. Every day presents a challenge! To recharge, I head for the trails and beau�ful shorelines that drew my husband and me to Port Townsend nearly 30 years ago. Introducing City Staff Minimal rainfall in August provided only a slight and short-lived up�ck in the amount of water flowing in the Big Quilcene River. Stream flow in the Big Quilcene River is currently just below average for this �me of year. The City expects to begin drawing from water stored in Lords Lake Reservoir by the end of August, a week or two earlier than normal. Lords Lake provides abouts two and a half months of water supply with reduced stream withdrawals. At the moment, there is not a cri�cal water shortage. Whether or not the situa�on changes will depend on when the fall rains replenish stream flows. We encourage our customers to conserve water to help extend our limited water resources. For �ps on how to conserve water please visit www.cityofpt.us/publicworks/page/water-conserva�on-�ps Port Townsend Water Supply Outlook