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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10 October_NewsletterNewsletterNewsletter OCTOBER CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS: October 2022 A Note From Mayor David Faber A Week Without Driving As I write this newsle�er, I am two days into Week Without Driving, an event created by Disability Rights Washington running September 19-25 intended to encourage people to experience what it is like to be among the nearly 25% of Washingtonians who do not have access to a personal automobile or who otherwise cannot drive, most commonly as a result of age, economics, or disability. This week, I will not be ge�ng behind the wheel of my car. Instead, I will be walking and bicycling to get where I need to go. Though I am taking on this "challenge" in order to experience what it is like to be someone without the privilege of being able to own & operate a car, I have to reflect on my various other privileges that make a Week Without Driving so easy for me: I'm able-bodied, so I can walk or bike without complica�on; I can rely on a ready network of support from friends & family to run certain errands for me; and, above all else, I'm wealthy enough to be able to live in uptown Port Townsend less than a half-mile from my day job and about 3/4 of a mile from City Hall. These privileges bring me back to the same central thesis that I think is coming to define my poli�cal career, one that I have men�oned repeatedly in these newsle�ers and Council mee�ngs, and that everyone who ever spends any amount of �me with me has almost certainly go�en sick of hearing me harp on about endlessly: we, as a community, need to welcome more people who want to make the walkable & bikeable central parts of Port Townsend their home instead of focusing housing development on the outskirts of the City (or beyond). Our development pa�erns require people to drive for work & play, if they can drive. Instead, we should be making it easier for more people to choose a home that allows them to walk or bike where they need to go more easily, which has massive benefits for human health, safety, and greenhouse gas emissions. And to return focus to the true purpose of Week Without Driving, we absolutely should make it so that people who are unable to drive because of age, economics, or disability are not excluded from the richness of community to be found at the center of our li�le city. City of Port Townsend 250 Madison Street (360)385-3000 www.cityofpt.us 10/03/22: Business Mee�ng 10/10/22: Workshop Mee�ng 10/17/22: 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 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: • Library Advisory Board• Lodging Tax Advisory Commi�ee• Parks, Recrea�on, Trees and Trails Advisory Board PT Public Library Great Washington Shakeout Drill It's almost that �me again! The Friends will hold their last big book sale of the year on October 15 at the Community Center. Hours are 9am to 3pm (8am to 9am for Friends supporters). Support Library programs with your purchase of gently used books. October 20, 2022 - 10:20am This is a statewide earthquake drill. You will hear the All Hazard sirens sounding at 10:20am. You can find more informa�on at www.shakeout.org/washington DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON wherever you are at 10:20 on 10/20! City of Port Townsend • 250 Madison Street • (360) 385-3000 • www.cityofpt.us It wasn’t too long ago that I balanced my checkbook by scrawling by hand the pluses and minuses, line by line. I would diligently link that checkbook to a disciplined yearly budget. The budget arguably had an absurd level of detail - es�mated cost of toothpaste? Bulk rice? Replacement bike �res? I took budge�ng very seriously, down to the penny. I also recall keeping a close tally of every penny (or rupee) while living in Nepal or working on a Vermont farm – probably reading too deeply at the �me into Thoreau’s accoun�ng pragma�sm. Zoom out and things haven’t changed too much – I s�ll keep a family budget and don’t like living beyond my means. But I also have the responsibility to steward the City’s budget and our long-term financial sustainability. I s�ll take budge�ng very seriously. I’d like to believe you might too – personally and for our community, since they are related. This is why I’d like you to know where we’re at with our budget process, what to an�cipate, and how you can play a role in ge�ng us to a smart, balanced 2023 budget by the end of the year. Budge�ng is about balance. I’ll break down the basic math in plusses and minuses. Like the last couple of years, we front-loaded our 2023 workplan retreat in the summer, so we now have a dra� strategic workplan to help focus our priority investments. That’s a plus. Another plus: our financial forecas�ng is looking strong as we come through COVID and most revenue streams are on the rise. Of course, infla�on, wages and costs are on a fast rise too, which puts some real pressure on. That’s a clear minus. We’re glad to have made great headway in the last few years despite the extra challenges of the pandemic – like planning and building new projects, signing new historic agreements, making investments in streets and parks, delivering great programs, and commi�ng to new produc�ve partnerships. Those are all huge plusses and at the core of what we do. That said, we have a way to go s�ll to catch up on years of deferred maintenance and underinvestment in infrastructure, staff and facili�es. Yes, minuses. One-�me funding opportuni�es like banked capacity are helping us fill those minus gaps (like gaps in our transporta�on network). But if we just cruised along year to year, we would start to lose ground on longer-term financial sustainability and the challenges of balancing a budget would only get more difficult. That’s why we are lining up our 2023 budget process with our financial sustainability project. Doing so will help ensure our year-by-year budget priori�es and investments keep us on a financially sustainable path so we can do what we do indefinitely. To me, that’s the ul�mate plus. You can get involved by following, commen�ng on, and engaging in the budget process. Some key dates for the City Council: • October – Council-appointed Financial Sustainability Task Force assembles • October 3 – Es�mated revenues and expenditure requests • October 10 – Review of 2023 strategic workplan and budget workshop • October 17 – Capital Facili�es Plan • November – Property tax hearing, revenue hearings and proposed budget hearings • December – Budget adop�on, Financial Sustainability Task Force con�nues to meet and work, aiming for a report to Council in spring 2023 My team and I are working hard on a balanced, forward-focused and strategic budget to present to City Council – one that builds on our successes and helps us invest in a brighter future for us all. I’m personally commi�ed to it – and guarantee we’ll come out on the plus side. I imagine Thoreau would approve. A Note From City Manager John Mauro Irrigation - Winter Rate Change Irriga�on water will return to winter rate pricing, effec�ve November 1, 2022. The price per 1,000 gallons consumed will go from $6.88 to $3.92 (inside city limits) and from $8.26 to $4.70 (outside city limits). If you are an irriga�on water customer, you will see this change reflected on your November 30, 2022 billing statement. City of Port Townsend • 250 Madison Street • (360) 385-3000 • www.cityofpt.us PT Main Street Community Events Fall Yard Clean Up PT Public Library Let’s GO GO crazy for Girls’ Night Out! Girls’ Night Out is Thursday, October 6, 2022 Be Open to the World of the Unknown… Haunted Histories & Mysteries of Port Townsend returns this year October 28 & 29, 2022 Downtown Trick or Treat & Costume Parade October 31, 2022 All events are subject to change, visit PT Main Street’s website for more informa�on. www.ptmainstreet.org As autumn draws near and we are preparing for the Great Fall Clean-up of our yards, let’s try to remember the li�le guys: The moths, bu�erflies, bees, caterpillars, the birds (which will require caterpillars to feed their young in the spring), and many more. Fall is an excellent �me to set up habitat for the needed and diminishing insect popula�on, while trimming, pruning, and �dying up the look of our yards. Many of our na�ve bees lay their eggs in pithy stems, such as goldenrod, asters, sunflowers, na�ve grasses, raspberries, blackberries and hollow stemmed plants. Bees and other insects also enjoy nes�ng in dead tree branches and fallen logs. As you trim the flowers and shrubs back, why not keep the trimmings? Toss them in a corner out of sight (if you prefer) or leave them in a place where you can watch them become part of your mini ecosystem. Resist the urge to throw them out. If there is a dead tree branch that simply must be pruned, leave it on the ground, perhaps in a corner or amongst shrubs. Or if you are so inclined, leave it out front with pride for being an ecosystem ambassador. Resist the urge to rake and bag your leaves. The caterpillars and birds will thank you. A�er we’ve �died up (or not), and January rolls around; when we’re deciding what to plant in our yards and gardens next spring, let’s go a step further: let’s skip the non-na�ves in seed catalogs, and instead visit na�ve PNW plant and seed sellers to create a healthy food web. As Port Townsend’s popula�on grows and vacant lots are developed, let’s think about building more “eco-centric and less egocentric” landscapes (Susan Lerner). If we all contribute, the yards in Port Townsend will be interconnected like an insect and bird highway, or as Douglas Tallamy describes it a “Homegrown Na�onal Park”. Why is this important? If climate change and habitat loss are too generic of an explana�on, how about this for one example: One nes�ng pair of chickadees will feed their young 350-570 caterpillars a day (Richard Brewer). A day! One pair! Caterpillars provide the perfect nutri�onal cons�tu�on for young birds. However, moths and bu�erflies require the perfect host plant to lay their eggs on and feed the larvae. These host plants are na�ve plants (not a bu�erfly bush – which cannot sustain larvae). These are plants that our local insects and birds have adapted to u�lizing over hundreds of years. If you would like to go even further in establishing an insect and bird safe-haven, turn off exterior lights at night, or install mo�on sensor lights. Lights on at night are disorien�ng and confusing for moths and o�en kills them. Some great na�ve plant resources are: www.pollinator.org (enter your zip code), Washington Na�ve Plant Society, and www.pacificHor�culture.org The Water Treatment Plant: The Story of Water - Tues, Oct. 25th, 7:00 p.m. - Live Online via Zoom, www.ptpubliclibrary.org. Part three in the How Your City Works series. Michael Spears, Water Quality - Lead Operator with the City of Port Townsend will talk about the City's water system. La�nx Photo Project Documentary Screening - Thu, Oct. 27th, 7:00pm Join us at the Port Townsend Public Library for a special screening of the La�nx Photo Project Documentary. How Your City City of Port Townsend • 250 Madison Street • (360) 385-3000 • www.cityofpt.us Celebrating Arbor Day Political Signs It’s that �me again, one that repeats every two years—elec�on season! The Department of Planning and Community Development wants to remind everyone about the Port Townsend Municipal Code regula�ons on poli�cal signs. Loca�ons: Poli�cal signs may be erected on private property with the property owner's permission. Signs are not permi�ed to be placed within the street rights-of-way or on any public property such as City parks, the golf course, or Kah Tai Lagoon. All signs must be outside the vehicle and pedestrian travel way. Where public improvements such as u�lity poles, sidewalks, or fire hydrants are present, signs must be placed on the private property side of all such improvements. Anyone who causes damage to an underground u�lity in the course of erec�ng a sign is responsible for repair or replacement. Zoning districts and es�mated property line boundaries can be viewed online at: www.cityofpt.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html (see Zoning Map) Size and height of signs permi�ed: Residen�al zones: 4.5 square feet per sign face. Commercial zones: Up to 16 square feet per sign face in commercial and other non-residen�al zones. Sign Height: 5 feet in height from the top of the sign to adjacent grade. Number of signs permi�ed: No limit on the number of poli�cal signs permi�ed on private property, so long as each sign is within the size limit and properly placed. Removal of signs: Illegally placed or sized signs may be removed by the City without no�ce. All poli�cal signs must be removed by the campaigns within 10 days a�er the final elec�on. Ques�ons? Call (360) 379-5094 or email klabadie@cityofpt.us Arbor Day is tradi�onally recognized in April each year and is a celebra�on that arose in the US Midwest where plan�ng is always a spring�me ritual. In climates like ours, it is more beneficial to celebrate Arbor Day and tree plan�ng heading into our wet, mild autumn and winter rather than in our late spring and typically very dry summer. Governor Jay Inslee declared the month of October to be Washington’s Urban and Community Forestry month. Many of our Washington communi�es s�ll celebrate the tradi�onal April Arbor Day, but we choose to celebrate when it is the best �me to plant trees. Port Townsend Mayor David Faber will read a proclama�on on Monday, October 3 at a City Council mee�ng to declare October 23 as our official Arbor Day celebra�on; the proclama�on will be accepted by the Chair of the Port Townsend Parks, Recrea�on, Trees, and Trails Advisory Board. Port Townsend is a 22-year Tree City USA designa�on recipient, a status conferred by Tree City USA, an Arbor Day Founda�on program adminis- tered in Washington state by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This Arbor Day we would like to recognize one of the oldest Co�on- wood trees in our Parks system. Located inside Chetzemoka Park, standing over 100 feet tall, this massive beauty was planted over 75 years ago and is s�ll holding strong. Just this past year contractors were called in to remove some of the overgrown suckers and dead limbs. If you’re in the area, we encourage you to stop by and take a glimpse at this magnificent wonder.