By Charlie Bermant
Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND — The establishment of a mechanism to coordinate recreation opportunities between the city of Port Townsend and Jefferson County is a few months behind schedule, but representatives of both agencies feel they can catch up.
“We are behind on this, but I think we can make up for lost time,” said Jefferson County Commissioner John Austin at the first meeting of the Exploratory Parks and Recreation Committee on Monday.
The committee was formed last year after voters approved a 0.3 percent sales tax increase, part of which contributes to costs the city will incur in the management of county-owned facilities within the city limit.
Under the terms of an interlocal agreement signed before the election, the city’s portion of the new sales tax would go to the support and maintenance of Memorial Field and the Port Townsend Recreation Center.
In order to work together, the committee was assembled, including elected officials from both the city and the county, the superintendents of all local school districts and community leaders in health and education fields.
The committee has already missed one deadline: the inventory of all parks and recreation properties that was due by
March 31.
It will probably miss the May 31 deadline to develop a needs assessment for capital improvements and their approximate costs.
The next step will be to hire a consultant to supervise the process and explore all the options.
Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Director Matt Tyler has started the consultant selection process.
Initial advertising drew no responses, and Tyler said Monday that he intended to make the next query more specific.
He estimated that the consultant will cost $44,000 over a two-year period, with the funds coming from tax revenue generated by the city as part of the interlocal agreement.
One of the reasons given for falling behind schedule was the size of the committee; with 24 members it is difficult to find a mutually agreeable time.
With this in mind, County Administrator Philip Morley recommended that all committee members log onto an on-line calendar to coordinate the next meeting.
Port Townsend Mayor Michelle Sandoval suggested another strategy: That all those present refer to their personal calendar books and handheld computers and schedule the next meeting on the spot.
The next meeting was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. June 20 at Mountain View Commons, 1925 Blaine St.
At that time Tyler hopes to have at least two people under consideration for the consultant position, and would invite those candidates to the meeting.
Further items on the schedule include examining funding and administrative options scheduled for July 31; developing and recommending a joint strategy, Dec. 31; review and formal public process, Jan. 31-March 1, 2012; adoption and resolution of alternatives, April 30-June 30; and presentation for voter approval, if required.
The 0.3 percent increase in sales tax was projected to generate around $1 million in additional revenue each year, with 40 percent of that going to the city.
The tax increase went into effect April 1, with funds reaching the city and the county by July 1.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
