PORT TOWNSEND — City utility customers will receive a survey with their next bill that asks them to estimate their income levels in order to help qualify the Port Townsend Library for a grant from the federal department of Housing and Urban Development.
The library can qualify for a $1 million community development block grant if 51 percent of Port Townsend’s population falls into the lower-middle income bracket, said Theresa Percy, library director.
The grant would be one source of funding for the library’s planned $9.5 million renovation project that will restore its main branch into a community center-like facility.
“We are using a ‘beef stew’ strategy for acquiring our funding,” Percy said. “We are getting it from several different places and adding it together.”
The most recent data, from the 2000 census, places Port Townsend’s lower-to-middle income at the 42 percent level, Percy said.
“If we had the data from the 2010 census, we wouldn’t need to do this survey,” she said. “But we won’t have access to that in time.”
Applications for the grant open in November.
“We want to do this so we can see if we can qualify for this opportunity to fund the library,” she said. “If we don’t qualify, at least we’ll know for next time.”
The survey will be included in the approximately 4,900 Port Townsend water bills that will be mailed next Wednesday, June 30.
Percy said that at least 400 responses are needed in order for the results to be valid.
And while the required percentage is 51 percent in the lower-middle bracket, Percy would like to see 55 percent “to allow for a margin of error.”
The survey asks each utility customer to check off the level of household income as it corresponds to the number of people in the residence.
For instance, a four-member household making less than $47,750 qualifies as low-to-middle income.
The surveys are separate from the bill and the information is not tied to the recipient, which ensures confidentiality, Percy said.
Respondents are asked to either drop off completed surveys or mail them to the library at 1220 Lawrence St., Port Townsend, 98368 by July 20.
For more information, phone the library at 360-379-5047.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
