What Happens to all the Young Families?

July 2015
What Happens to all the Young Families?
Though you will be reading this sometime after the first of July for me it’s the middle of
June and we are busy getting ready for a town meeting on our Comp Plan this Wednesday. Between that and other non-City related responsibilities I’ve not found the time to
produce a full-length Mayor’s column. But unsurprisingly I still have a couple of thoughts
to share.
It is often pointed out a lot of us who live here are pretty old. Many recent efforts, by the
schools, by the City through our investments on Howard Street and Mountain View, by
the Collective Impact group of local citizens, share the effort to address that imbalance
by attracting and retaining young families.
Like this one maybe:
No one starts out old. I believe my
responsibility as a public servant is
not limited to either attracting the
young or accommodating the old. In
1986 our young family was innocent of the internet, climate change
and 9/11. Our primary concern was
the new human hanging from our
hands. Just as today we did not
know what we did not know. It is
our task today to preserve the small
miracle of ordinary living for future
generations of all ages in Port
Townsend and Jefferson County.
I welcome the broadening participation in planning for our community’s uncertain future - through our
Comprehensive Plan review process, through a series of public meetings put on by Local 2020 (http://
l2020.org/) a group of citizens “Working together toward local sustainability and resilience,” and as evidenced by the presence of candidates younger than fifty running for City Council
The Speakup Port Townsend addition to our City’s website described elsewhere in this newsletter is a
major addition to the City’s efforts to increase public access and meaningful participation way beyond
our Comp Plan revision. For Speakup to work best it will have to be utilized by the public as a resource for dialog and collaboration, not just for advocacy. The future 30 years looks even more challenging than the last 30 and it will take a habit of “working together for sustainability and resilience” to
get through them.
Help Nominate a Book for the
11th Annual Community Read
This year the library wants to engage our entire community in selecting the 11 th annual Community
Read for March, 2016. This will be a book nominated by the community for the community.
To nominate your choice, visit http://speakuppt.us/forums/community-read or the City’s homepage
and click on the SpeakUp Port Townsend image.
Got ideas to improve
Port Townsend?
POST
your great ideas
VOTE
for your favorite ideas
JOIN
Community Forum discussions
Launch of New Tool to Engage Residents
“Speak Up, Port Townsend!” is a new platform that the city has launched to open discussions on projects,
develop informal surveys, and collect ideas from residents through an easy-to-use interface. This resource
will also facilitate dialogue among community members.
The City strives to provide a variety of resources to the community in order to make available relevant information and data and encourage more citizen participation.
The first projects to be featured on this site are the Comprehensive Plan 2016-2036 Growth Management
Act Periodic Update and Library Community Read. Several discussion boards are set up so citizens can
voice their opinions when it is most convenient for them, outside of public meetings.
Here’s how it works: first, visit www.SpeakUpPT.us and sign up for an account either with your email or by
connecting with Facebook. Participate in a discussion, support other ideas, and give feedback on community projects. Staff members will monitor the site, answer questions, and provide feedback online. This information will be reported to policy makers and department leadership. Speak Up users can watch the current
status of ideas right on the website.
POST your ideas. SUPPORT what you like. JOIN the discussion.
We want to hear from you! Do you have a new idea for Port Townsend? Let us and other members of the
community know what that idea is. This is your chance to Speak Up. For more information contact the City
Clerk’s office 360-379-5083.
Is it a public record when I contact the City?
Any document the City creates or receives is a public record. This includes letters, emails, reports and memos. We
must keep it for a certain amount of time and, with some exceptions, if someone asks for it we must let them look at it or
get a copy of it.
Also, the City Council, and its advisory boards and commissions, are required to conduct their business in public. In
some cases, sending an email to more than one councilor or
member of an advisory commission can be considered to be
a “serial meeting” that violates this requirement. You can
help us avoid this by only replying to the individual who sent
you the email, and not to all recipients.
The City Clerk and City Attorney can answer your questions
about these issues.
It’s summer in Port Townsend and
there are many great opportunities
for you and your visitors to enjoy the
vibrant activities in our community.
For an up-to-date list of
What’s Happening in Port Townsend
www.ptguide.com
SAVE the DATE!!
All Jefferson County residents are invited to
ALL COUNTY PICNIC
August 23 at HJ Carroll Park
More details in the August newsletter!
July 2015
Port Townsend Water Resources Update
On top of the minimal snow pack in the municipal watershed this year, spring has been
warm and dry leading to stream flows declining more than two months ahead of normal. In
a typical year it would be necessary to start using water stored in Lords Lake Reservoir
starting in early September. Without significant rain in the next few weeks the City expects
it will be necessary to start drawing from Lords Lake around the beginning of July.
Recognizing the possibility of a water shortage, the City has temporarily raised the level in
Lords Lake, increasing the capacity by approximately 50-60 million gallons. Officials from
the local Tribes, City of Port Townsend, US Forest Service, and Paper Mill are meeting to
discuss the potential impact of low stream flows to the fisheries. Port Townsend Paper
Corporation is enacting water conservation measures that have already reduced water use
by over two million gallons per day. The City is requesting that customers voluntarily start
conserving water now and will notify customers when further actions are needed. It is a
good time to stop watering lawns and let them go dormant until fall.
Additional information is available on the City’s website
http://www.cityofpt.us/waterquality.htm
Fireworks at Fort Worden!!!
Saturday, July 4th at 10:00 p.m.
The popular 4th of July fireworks show
returns to Fort Worden this year, along
with a weekend full of fun family
events.
Check out full details at the Jefferson
County Chamber of Commerce website:
www.jeffcountychamber.org
Please be safe and remember that the individual use of fireworks
is always prohibited within City limits.
Hot Dry Conditions Increasing Fire Danger Statewide -- Washington Department of Natural Resources has expanded a burn ban statewide June 22 through September 30. This applies to state forests, state parks and forestlands. For more information, go to www.ejfr.org or call 360-385-2626
Are you ready to get wet?!
Mountain View Pool has a newly expanded summer schedule that is providing more of
everything… so what are you waiting for?
It’s time to get in the pool and make a splash!
More days!
More hours! Stay up
late with MVP as we have a new
evening closing times of 7and 8pm.
We are open
7 days a week and will
Continue to do so until August 15th.
More swim lessons!
We’ve doubled the
number of weekly swim lesson sessions and
added a brand new session for private oneon-one lessons.
Even more swim lessons!
New to MVP this
summer are Swim Lesson Camps – a full set of
swim lessons in just 5 consecutive days.
More fitness programs!
The super
popular AquaPower (shallow water aerobics) class
is expanding from 3 days per week to 5, joining
the already popular 5 day per week Deep Water
Aerobics class.
More rental times! The pool is available
for your private use, too. We are providing
more opportunities to rent the pool for
birthday parties, summer camps,
trainings and more.
More fun!
We’ve increased the number of
Open Swim hours and MVP’s Discount Night
(only $2.00 per person!) is now offered on
Friday and Sunday.
Even more fun!
Don’t forget to swim
for free during Jefferson Aquatic
Coalition’s (JAC) sponsor-funded
Second Sunday Swims.
Please visit the MVP webpage at www.cityofpt.us/pool to find a copy of our summer schedule as well as detail about
days, times, and prices for all of these and other super fun activities. You can also call us at 360-385-POOL (7665) or,
better yet, just stop by (1925 Blaine Street) for a refreshing swim and pick up a printed copy of our schedule and sign
up for any one of our programs.
Improve Your Recycling IQ
We can all help Jefferson County recycle smarter
Plastic bottles and tubs may have the same number inside their
recycling symbols but they are NOT made of identical material.
Bottles and tubs are produced through different molding processes that require different mixtures. #1 bottles are pure
PETE. #1 tubs and clamshells have other plastics mixed in,
making them a contaminant in today’s PETE market. The number system was created in the 1980’s.
Much has changed since then making
the system outdated.
For information on what you
can recycle:
http://jeffersoncountysolidwaste.com/know-before-you-throw/
Library Event
Second Occasional Surf Culture of the
Strait of Juan de Fuca & Salish Sea
A surfing, art and culture event
that brings together some of the
Northwest’s finest surfing writers
and visual artists for an evening of
adventure.
July 11 from 6 – 9 p.m.
Port Townsend Library
Carnegie Reading Room
1220 Lawrence St
For more information on this and
other fun summer events at the
Library, check out their website
www.ptpubliclibrary.org