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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09(360) 379-5047 (email: citycouncil@cityofpt.us) www.cityofpt.us September 2012 City of Port Townsend From Mayor David King - With apologies for promises I made, but I didn't finish my review of project costs and city debt in time for this newsletter. My son Jamie was married on August 18 and wedding preparations pretty much domi- nated the prior thirty days. So I have asked David Timmons and Rick Sepler to provide some information on our struggle to keep the pool operating and I’ll be concentrating on preparations for our upcoming Town Meetings and continuing preparation of the debt analysis. Jefferson Transit is ready for Wooden Boat Festival! The Wooden Boat Festival is right around the corner, and Jefferson Transit is ready to take you there. During Wooden Boat weekend (Sept. 7-9), a 1-Day Bus Pass on Jefferson Transit is only $1.00. Buses will be running approximately every 10 minutes during Festival hours between the Haines Place Park & Ride and the Northwest Maritime Center. Dial-a-Ride vans will be on standby for ADA riders. Taking the bus to the Festival will eliminate those lack-of-parking blues and get you there and back quickly and efficiently! Visit www.jeffersontransit.com for more information and links to the event. From City Manager David Timmons and Public Services Director Rick Sepler - The Mountain View swimming pool is like a well-cared-for old car – it starts first time most days, but its parts keep breaking and they don’t make replacements for them anymore! The pool was constructed in 1963 after nearly twenty years of community mobilization that blended timber tax funds, school district funds and donations to build the first public pool in Jefferson County. Initial- ly built as an outdoor pool school officials quickly realized that was not the best plan for this climate. So a building was built around it. Then it was necessary to add heating and ventilation but there was no money available so it was decided to connect the pool heating and ventilation to the main building. Not a bad idea, but the system was not de- signed for this purpose! The community’s intent was to create a recreational facility that would support aquatic safety instruction. Fifty years have passed and the Mountain View Pool remains the sole public aquatic facility in our area. The School District managed the pool for years, then the County took over and finally in 1995 the City agreed to man- age and operate this School District asset. Generations have learned to swim in this community facility. The uncertain future of the Mountain View campus, com- pounded since the school was closed in 2009, has prevented the City from initiating significant repairs. For a period there was hope that a third party proposal might come together that would give the community a long term solution. But we have reached a critical crossroad with the pool. Many components are original (and no longer in production). The plaster liner and decking have exceeded their projected lifespan. Current lighting is deficient as to today’s stand- ards. The pumps fail with regularity and most of the valves leak. Energy use at this facility is no longer affordable and reliable. That the facility is still operating is a testimony to the hard work of devoted maintenance staff over the years. Unfortunately the pool is now reaching a point where systems fail weekly and often with a domino effect that cause other major systems to be strained or fail as well. A plan to replace the liner, deck, lighting, pumps and many of the valves – the systems identified as the most needing of immediate repair – has been in development by the City. This renovation would extend the useful life of the facility for about 10 years. However, dedicated funding for these improvements has to be approved and supported by the users and the community at large. The School District must give the City a clear signal that they support the action to move on this investment and users must work with us to help transition these improvements into an action plan be- fore we have a catastrophic failure of the systems. A parallel process is evaluating the replacement of the heating and ventilation system that serves both the pool and the other buildings at Mountain View. While the City is committed to seeking solutions to address the deteriorating physical plant, funding to support opera- tions is also a significant challenge. Like all City services and programs, it will be difficult to maintain the hours of op- eration for the pool in the face of flat revenues and increasing expenses. For 2012, the pool was slated to be closed for 6 months. However, a favorable refinancing of the City’s debt provided a one-time savings of $100,000 which was applied to keeping the pool open for the balance of the year. While every effort is being made to find additional cost savings, funding year-round operation in 2013 remains a challenge. It is likely that discussion about the future of this facility will occur in September as part of the Town Meeting process. The City is committed to developing a partnership with the County and School district to serve the aquatic needs of this community for the next decade. Port Townsend Public Library Hours Change After Labor Day Beginning September, 4 the Port Townsend Public Library will return to opening 10-7 Wednesdays and closing in the evenings at 7 Monday through Thursday. All other hours will remain the same. Mt. View Main Library: Mt. View Children’s Library: Monday-Thursday 10-7 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10-5 Friday 10-6 Wednesday CLOSED ALL DAY Saturday 10-5 Saturday 10-5 Sunday 1-5 Sunday 1-5 What should you put in your yard waste bins for curbside collection? Put only yard debris materials such as woody branches, grass, leaves, and other pulled weeds. Do not put food waste or compostable containers and utensils into your containers for pickup (our facility does not process these materials). Do not put poison hemlock in with your yard debris because composting is not recommended for this plant. Instead place it in a plastic trash bag and toss into your regular trash. Other noxious weeds can be put into the yard waste bin because the City’s compost facility processes these materials by composting them at 160 to 170 degrees which kills the weed’s seeds. YARD WASTE PREPARATION: Maximum of 3 units per pickup, put out in any combination of the following: 1. A biodegradable paper bag designed for yard waste. This bag is composted with your yard waste. 2. A 32 gallon or less garbage can, clearly label the can with "Yard Waste" on two sides. 3. Tied bundle of limbs or branches no more than 4 ft. long and 2 ft. in diameter; limit 40 lb. each. Yard waste goes out the same day as garbage. Fall 2011 4-H Steward- ship crew removing a refrigerator from a Quilcene forest service road Curious facts about Port Townsend Did You Know? We have: 15 local parks and 6 playgrounds totaling 115.9 acres. The largest local park is Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park and the smallest is 22nd Street Pocket Park. Also within the City limits is Fort Worden State Park that en- compasses 434 acres. National Public Lands Day is Saturday, September 29, 2012. This year members of the 4-H Steward- ship program invite all who are physically able to become a part of “Helping Hands for America’s Lands” by volunteering to remove trash and invasive plants from the Quilcene area watershed. This watershed supplies Port Townsend’s drinking water. This event is in partnership with the City of Port Townsend, WSU Beach Watchers, U.S.F.S. and Jefferson County 4-H. We want to be sure everyone has a great, safe day outdoors. Participants will start the day with a re- quired safety meeting at 9 am at the Quilcene Ranger Station before driving into the forest for the clean- up. We require volunteers to register beforehand so we can adequately plan for tools and group organi- zation. Liability releases and emergency forms are available upon registration. To register contact Sue Hay, Jefferson County 4-H Coordinator at 360-379-5610 ext. 208 or shay@jefferson.wsu.edu. Law to Reduce Plastic Bag Use Effective Nov. 1, 2012 As noted in last month’s newsletter, the City of Port Townsend is taking a step forward in reducing litter and unnecessary waste, protecting water and wildlife, and encouraging the use of reusable bags by banning thin “single-use” plastic carry-out bags. The City Council approved a Single Use Carry-Out Bag Ordinance (commonly known as the "plastic bag ban") in July 2012. The Ordinance becomes effec- tive Nov. 1, 2012. Paper carry-out bags will still be available, but will cost a nickel. This nickel serves as a modest monetary reminder for shoppers to bring reusable bags. The nickel will be kept by retailers to help them recover the costs of switching to paper bags. (The nickel doesn't go to the City.) Questions may be addressed to Vanessa Ridgway in City Administration (385-5991, vridgway@cityofpt.us).