HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 September_2023_newsletterNewsletterNewsletter
SEPTEMBER CITY COUNCIL
MEETINGS:
City of Port Townsend 250
Madison Street
(360)385-3000
www.cityofpt.us
Monday - Thursday 8am - 4pm
09/05/23: Business Mee�ng09/11/23: Workshop Mee�ng 09/18/23: Special Session Business Mee�ng09/25/23: Special Session Business Meeting
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:
Climate Ac�on Commi�ee
Library Advisory Board
Lodging Tax Advisory Commi�ee
Fort Worden PDA
A Note from Mayor David Faber
I’m back! Thank you so much to Monica, Amy, Ben, Aislinn, Owen, and Libby for guest-wri�ng the monthly mayor’s column the last six months. I enjoy wri�ng this column very much, but I hope guest columns by each of the council members will remain a regular feature. And not only am I back, but I’m also now a dad! The one downside to having my colleagues write this column over the last six months—instead of the six months star�ng now—is that my responsibility to write to you has resumed before my daughter Mira is even one month old!
Mira Ehrhart Faber was born on Saturday, July 29. My wife Laura (Wester) Faber and I are overjoyed to be raising our daughter in the same community that raised us, and to hopefully give her a loving, engaging, crea�ve, and caring childhood reminiscent of what we both had here in Port Townsend. I’m already something of an insufferable dad, taking every opportunity to show Mira off and to talk about her, and I’m already thinking about how the things we do on council will impact her life.
While Mira’s birth has certainly refined my focus on her par�cular future and what this community will mean to her growing up, I think I’ve always been somewhat “future-centric” in my way of thinking about policy decisions throughout these eight years I’ve served on the Port Townsend City Council. This is certainly not at all to suggest that I do not have deep regard for our history. Far from it: to ignore history is to doom oneself (or one’s civiliza-�on) to repeat the mistakes of the past, and there are many, many things from our history that are innately good, deserving of preserva�on, and/or likely essen�al to building the best possible future for our children, grandchildren, and beyond.
To me, the essen�al ques�ons when considering policies of possible change are, “Which parts of our history demand saving and which parts drag on the success and well-being of future genera�ons? Which parts should be reinforced? Which parts should we allow to change organically? Which parts should we inten�onally (and even immediately) set aside?” These are really tough ques�ons, ques�ons that cut to the core of the who and what we—the people and culture of Port Townsend—are, and ques�ons that have different answers to different people.
For both my wife and me, Port Townsend was a special place to grow up, and I want it to be a special place for our daughter, too. One of the hard things to wrestle with is that while some�mes preserving unique quali�es that we enjoyed may give our children exactly what they need, that impulse to stop things from changing can just as easily hamper the efforts of future genera�ons to build for themselves what they may need, or indeed harm them in ways we cannot imagine. A community is only as good as its ability to serve the needs of its people, and wisdom (and I readily admit my own failings in this regard) is in figuring out how to facilitate our community finding its way to such a beneficial future in the most crea�ve and posi�ve way possible.
September 2023
Trash Collection Rate Increase
Olympic Disposal trash collec�on rates for City of Port Townsend customers will increase star�ng Monday, September 4. The increase will offset new �pping rates at the Jefferson County Transfer Sta�on, owned and operated by Jefferson County Public Works. The rate increase includes the new �pping fee and an adjustment for annual rate increases. The next annual rate increase will occur in January 2024.
The most popular service level, a 35-gallon bin every other week, will see an increase from $25.78 per month to $26.53 per month.
Learn more and find the most current rate sheet at: www.cityofpt.us/publicworks/page/trash-collec�onrecycling
City of Port Townsend • 250 Madison Street • (360) 385-3000 • www.cityofpt.us
Summer is in full swing and you can probably tell with all the ac�vity in town. The City team plays a big support role in events like Soundcheck, THING, and the Wooden Boat Fes�val. Please be sure to thank the Police Officers, street crew, facili�es team, and others you may see among the fes�vi�es, working to ensure our big gatherings are safe and accessible. Of course, the City team also keeps water and library books flowing, new pavement and permits rolling, and parks and facili�es glowing. Please pass along a smile and apprecia�on when you can.
I know from my daily experience that the City team works hard and that they care. They’ve helped build this community and con�nue to maintain and improve it for the future. Recrui�ng and retaining talented staff has been challenging these past years (and not just in PT), but we con�nue to make progress. Recently onboarding a talented new People & Performance (HR) Director, Cynthia Shaffer, certainly helps with that. I’d like to celebrate the arrival of all new staff and two recent staff promo-�ons and introduce them to you so you can welcome them to their new roles: •Helena Smith – Long Range Planner (April)•Zane Berteig – Police Officer (April)•Lisa Ti�erness – Parks Maintenance Worker (April)•Amber Warren – Permit Tech (May)•Pa�y Gallardo – Payroll & Benefits Administrator (May)•Jessica Winsheimer – Public Experience Liaison (May)•Shelly Leavens – Communica�ons & Marke�ng Manager (May)•Ma� Logue – promo�on to Building Official (May)•Chris�an Bau�sta – Police Officer (June)•Cynthia Shaffer – Director of People & Performance (July)•Tyler Johnson – promo�on to Project Manager II (July)•Jeff Thaxton – Deputy Police Chief (July)•Kamal Sharif – promo�on to Sergeant (July)•Andre Harper – Project Manager II (August)•Wayne Regester – Building Inspector (August)
If you’re passionate about public service and want to join a fun, collabora�ve, and high-performing team, have a look at our open posi�ons at: h�ps://cityofpt.applicantpool.com/jobs.
Beyond the city staff, I think of our en�re community as a team. We need to work together through tough challenges to make the best of incredible opportuni�es, and to steward our unique community toward the future we want. We need each other. As I wrote in the PT Leader last month, I’m grateful for those of you who embrace community team building – and are curious, ac�vely listen, openly share, and carry a community-minded spirit. You can read the piece here:
h�ps://www.ptleader.com/stories/city-calls-for-unbolted-input,127948.
Each �me I’ve hosted my monthly community coffee event, I’ve been inspired by the group – a different group each �me – people who model exactly that. Thank you. You’re awesome and I look forward to the next one.
Finally, take note of the change in venue. The first Friday of each month and the following few, we’ll be sharing coffee and conversa�on at Marina Café in Boat Haven (2800 Washington Street) from 9 - 10:30 a.m. I hope to see you there!
A Note from City Manager John Mauro
How and Where to Build a Fence in Port Townsend
You may have heard the saying, “good fences make good neighbors” but have you heard, “good fences follow city code?” To help residents understand fence code requirements, city staff recently published a new four-page fence handout.
Did you know:•Fences must be built on private property. Only temporary fences are allowed in the public right-of-way (example: to protect newly planted trees).•Fences that exceed 7 feet in height require a building permit.•Fences not adjacent to public rights-of-way can be up to 8 feet solid in height.•Fences adjacent to public rights-of-way can be up to 4 feet solid, and any por�on of the fence above 4 feet is subject to openness design requirements (for a maximum height of 8 feet).•There are specific requirements for fences on top of retaining walls or when the grade of the property is altered.
Want to learn more? View the new fence handout with detailed illustra�ons at:
h�ps://cityofpt.us/sites/default/files/filea�achments/planning_and_community_development/page/8190/informa�on-_fence_ handhout_faq.pdf
New and promoted City of Port Townsend staff
City of Port Townsend • 250 Madison Street • (360) 385-3000 • www.cityofpt.us
Public Works - Discovery Road Bikeway, Roadway and Sidewalk Project
City staff is excited to announce the Discovery Road construc�on start-up is coming soon! This project will build a bikeway, sidewalks and a newly paved street along Discovery Road between the Rainier Street roundabout and Salish Coast Elementary School. There will be new street lights and enhanced pedestrian crossings installed as well. The Discovery Road Project has been a community dream for at least twenty years, with the first project grant funding received in 2018. A project of this scale requires many years of planning and a combina�on of federal, state, and local dollars, all of which are iden�fied specifically for this project.
Seton Construc�on, Inc., located at 4640 South Discovery Road, Port Townsend, WA 98368, was awarded the contract, and they plan to begin construc�on on or around Monday, October 9, 2023. The project will take approximately seven months to complete, which means it will likely be finished in late spring of 2024.
You are encouraged to keep up to date about the Discovery Road Project through the City website, email updates, u�lity newsletters, and social media. •If you would like to receive email updates, please sign up at: h�ps://cityofpt.us/newsle�er/subscrip�ons.•Project background informa�on can be found on the City’s website at:
h�ps://cityofpt.us/publicworks/project/discovery-road-bikeway-and-sidewalk-project.
•If you have ques�ons about the project, please contact the City’s Discovery Road Project Manager: Laura Parsons, P.E. atlparsons@cityofpt.us or 360-774-3017.
City of Port Townsend • 250 Madison Street • (360) 385-3000 • www.cityofpt.us
Public Works - General Sewer Plan
On Monday, August 14, City Council was presented with an overview of the condi�on of our community’s sanitary sewer system in prepara�on for upda�ng the City’s General Sewer Plan. Da�ng back to the early start of ci�es in this country and around the world, one of the primary purposes of city government is for the health and safety of residents. Addressing sewage has been a focal point for our city from the day of incorpora�on, and public health around sewers has evolved significantly over the past 100 years.
The Clean Water Act of 1972, issued forth a new focus on sanitary sewers in crea�ng requirements for wastewater treatment before discharging to public water bodies. This Act was a huge advancement in environmental protec�on of Puget Sound. Prior to these regula�ons, many ci�es discharged either raw sewage or par�ally-treated sewage directly into Puget Sound, rivers, and lakes.
In 1993, the City commissioned a new wastewater treatment plant as shown below. This plant has been running con�nuously for 30 years and is star�ng to show its age. In addi�on, new regula�ons concerning the removal of nutrients will require upgrades to this plant. Finally, most of the City’s 80 miles of sewer pipe is well over 50 years old and in need of rehabilita�on.
The General Sewer Plan provides the basis and schedule for maintenance and investment in our sewer system. Given that the sewer u�lity is an enterprise fund, sewer rates must pay for the successful opera�on of the sewer u�lity to serve the community’s public health and to protect the natural environment from contamina�on associated with untreated sewage. This cri�cal invest-ment in our public health is shared by everyone who uses the system. Given the extensive costs forthcoming to the utility, the Council will be considering rate increases later this year. For more informa�on, see the City’s EngagePT website at:h�ps://cityofpt.us/engagept/page/general-sewer-plan.
Port Townsend Library - September is Library Card Sign-up Month
From borrowing books, eBooks, and Discovery passes to ge�ng homework help, learning new skills, or star gazing with a telescope, a library card helps you do more of what you enjoy. Get a library card and dive into a new hobby. Use your library card to checkout a cra� kit to spark your crea�vity. A library card is you passport to the world and universe - really - and everyone should have one! Did you know your library card works at all the public librariess and public schools in Jefferson County? Sign up for your library card today!
Andre Harper, City Project Manager and Library Card Holder