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Home My WebLink About08(360) 379-5047 (email: citycouncil@cityofpt.us) www.cityofpt.us August 2008 City of Port Townsend from Mayor Michelle Sandoval Summer is a wonderful time for com- munity in Port Townsend. The town hums with activities, many of which couldn’t happen without our large contingent of volunteers. For me, our fantastic Farmer’s Mar- ket heralds the start of our “community season.” The 4th of July holiday was an example of all the parts humming together. It was kicked off with the exciting ground breaking celebration for the Northwest Maritime Center. Centrum had a marvelous week with their annual Fiddle Tunes workshop at Fort Worden that culminated in outstanding weekend performances in McCurdy Pavilion which spilled out onto Littlefield Green where people also enjoyed our summer weather (hallelujah). The Cajun dance at the Old Mule Barn (complete with Gumbo) was a great place to see neighbors in full rock out mode. There were also all day activities for the little ones to enjoy at the Fort and ended with a perfect windless night made magical with spectacular fireworks. The logistics ran like clockwork. We are lucky to have all of the hundreds of volunteers and organiza- tions that made this wonderful small town sparkle over this holiday and my hat goes off to them: ♦ The Maritime Center ♦ Centrum ♦ Fort Worden ♦ Sunrise Rotary ♦ David Aldrich and his fireworks gang ♦ Jefferson Transit (for moving people in what seemed like an effortless exercise) ♦ the City of PT’s finest - our police officers and volunteers who helped with crowds and traffic. Many thanks to everyone who help with all of our festivals. Several more of our annual festivals are yet to come this summer, let’s remember they couldn’t happen without all the volunteers. We live in a wonderful community, lucky us. Construction Now - Summer in the City The east end of town will be going under ground during August and September. Sec- tions of Water, Madison and Monroe streets are having a makeover that will have them alternately closed off during the construction. The City, Puget Sound Energy and Primo Construction will place utilities in con- crete vaults that will eliminate the need for tele- phone poles and the current web of wires. Side- walks, curbs and paving will finish the street- scape for a complete renovation. The footprint of the Northwest Maritime Center and Wooden Boat Foundation at the east end of Water Street is beginning to take shape on the site of the old Thomas Oil property. The Chan- dler Maritime Education Building that will lie par- allel to Water Street is expected to open to the public during the 2009 Wooden Boat Festival. This facility will provide educational and histori- cal awareness opportunities highlighting the maritime trades. For more information, check out their website at www.nwmaritime.org. Work is underway and nearly complete on two sidewalk projects funded in part by grants from the State Transportation Improvement Board. The north end of San Juan between Blue Heron Middle School and Admiralty Avenue has a new 6’ wide sidewalk. On Discovery between Hast- ings and 19th (and a little bit of 19th) a new 6’ wide sidewalk is also being installed. As well as having bicycle lanes and being ADA compliant, both sidewalks have been aligned to minimize impact to significant vegetation and are de- signed with low impact principles in mind. Pardon our dust. We will keep you updated on these projects and try to keep the inconvenience as minimal as possible. The Port Townsend Farmers Market celebrates Washington State Farmers Market Week with cooking demos, shopper chal- lenges, and vendor secrets re- vealed at the Wednesday & Sat- urday Markets, August 6 and 9. September features Back to School Week with fun activities for the whole family at the Wednes- day & Saturday Markets, September 10 and 13. For more information visit www.ptFarmersMarket.org. The Wednesday Market features weekly cooking demos at 3:30 pm by local celebrity chef, Arran Stark of Cultivated Palette, followed by live music. This mid-week market is open until 6:30 pm so the community can shop the market after work for fresh produce, fish, chicken, cheese, bread, and more. Enjoy it before it closes on September 24, located Uptown at Polk & Lawrence. The Saturday Market features free kid’s activities the first Saturday of every month with Lisa Doray and live music each week through November 15. The bustling Saturday Market is open 9:30 am – 1:30 pm, Uptown at Tyler & Lawrence. Library Calendar Events Our Library calendar is available on- line at www.cityofpt.us/Library/ and includes programs for all age groups. Join us for ongoing reading programs and enter- tainment as well as end-of-summer programs. The Book Lover’s Café will meet Monday, August 4 at 2:30 at the Community Center Lounge to dis- cuss “Ordinary Wolves” by Seth Kantner. What are your two favorite books ever? What book is a memorable disappointment? Part of each Book Lover’s Café meeting is spent talking about books the participants have read and want to recommend. We will also discuss the choice for a group read in September. Or be a book review blogger on http:// ptpageturners.blogspot.com/. We would love to hear from you! Main Street’s 4th Annual ParTy in PT & Summer Sidewalk Sale Aug. 30, 31 and Sept. 1, 2008 Enjoy this last blast-of-summer-fun: ♦ super sidewalk sales ♦ free outdoor music ♦ horse-drawn wagon rides ♦ history tours and more. Stay in town this Labor Day weekend, save money and gas! Presented by the Port Townsend Main Street Promotion Committee and participat- ing businesses, Labor Day weekend prom- ises to be entertaining around every corner. More information is available at www.ptmainstreet.org. Economic Stimulus Payments - Have you received yours? The IRS estimates that 399 Eco- nomic Stimulus Payments (ESP) returns have not yet been filed by individuals in our community. Eligible individuals are receiving up to $600 ($1,200 for married couples filing joint returns) plus $300 for eligible children younger than 17. To receive the ESP, you MUST file a tax return. IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers are located throughout the northwest, but the closest is in Silverdale, 9833 Poplars Ave. NW, (360) 698-5861, Monday through Friday. IRS, AARP and Associated Ministries will be combining efforts at the Puyallup Fair, Sept. 19 and 20 to assist with taxpayer returns. Relay for Life City employees Judy Surber, Mary Heather Ames, David Timmons and Sam Trone display the t-shirt given to par- ticipants at this year’s Relay for Life. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of this year’s event! The local event raised approximately $40,000 so far for the American Cancer Society.