City Welcomes New Year With New Mayor, New Programs and Infrastructure Improvements
News by Angela Downs
The first City Council meeting of the year was light and hopeful, with the inauguration of Rufina Garay as the new Poet Laureate, the swearing-in of new police officers and Kamal Sharif being promoted to Deputy Chief of Police.
Fred Obee took an oath to serve as City Council Position No. 1, replacing Ben Thomas. Neil Nelson was sworn in to continue as Council Position No. 2, Libby Urner Wennstrom swore an oath to continue in Council Position No. 5. Amy Howard is now the new Mayor and Owen Rowe is the new Deputy Mayor.
During the public comment period, housing advocate Julia Cochrane congratulated Amy Howard on her Mayoral appointment. Cochrane had offered Howard a home when she was unhoused at 19, along with other young people who needed help.
The Police Department gave a presentation about joining a program called Blue Bridge, a non-profit designed to support direct community engagement. The program includes officer training and individually allocated cards loaded with funds, designated for one-time payments for crisis needs such as blankets for homeless people, gas for stranded cars, and someone struggling to pay for a meal. Officers are also allowed to use funds to support people in need with gifts during Christmas. Blue Bridge matches the first $2,500 in donations, and the station is currently at $6,500. The funds come from the local community and stay in Port Townsend.
During the public comment period, Kellen Lynch of Port Townsend expressed his hope that the community and council would bring creativity to the process and discussion, and his desire for affirmative action and communication, especially regarding the Tactical Infill discussion from 2023, a zoning code initiative to reduce restrictions on “missing middle” housing and encourage affordable housing development. He said, “It was amazing having the police department here and council members reiterating commitments, so many of which are under fire on a national level. It’s really something to see happen in person.”
The construction contract for the rehabilitation of the waste water treatment plant’s influent pump station wet well was awarded by the city council to Rognlin's Inc., for the amount of $1,253,997.50. The project scope is the rehabilitation of electrical and mechanical equipment installed in the 1990s. This will extend the life of the treatment plant, improve reliability, and reduce risks.
Wilson Engineering designed the plans and will be consulted during the process, projected to begin July 1 and be completed by November 12, 2026, utilizing the summer for dry building. Rognlin's Inc. was awarded the contract out of five bidders. This will be a critical step in a longer-term project and commended by Councilmember Wennstrom for their proactive long-term work.
City Manager John Mauro announced that sidewalk construction on Washington Street and Walker Street is underway as part of the town's non-motorized active transportation network development. “Go take a look, and hopefully use it in a matter of months,” said Mauro.
If you would like to engage directly with Mauro on City policy, you can join him for Coffee with the Community at 9 am this Friday, January 9, at Coyote and Crow at the golf course.
The next City Council meeting is January 12, at 6 pm.
Correction: an earlier version of this article had the wrong date for the next city council meeting.
