City officials
building bridges

Port Townsend Deputy Mayor Amy Howard and City Council members Monica MickHager and Owen Rowe joined nearly 50 Washington mayors and city council members in the Washington Collaborative Elected Leaders Institute (WA-CELI) in Spokane July 26-27.

The WA-CELI pilot program is an immersive training to enhance local elected officials’ skills in collaborative leadership and governing across differences. It is offered by the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Center for Quality Communities.

Over the next several months, participants will receive intensive training in collaborative  leadership skills, and work to break down political polarization, tackle community challenges, and build bridges with cities and towns across the state.

The Port Townsend city officials will continue to participate and work together on a capstone project for the course that’s set to commence at the end of the learning sessions in October, and be presented at the Association of Washington Cities Conference next June.

“The way things are is not the way things have to be,” Howard said. “I think we can do better. I believe that will take more than a few of us agreeing on that principle and working together to  make positive change in how we reach policy decisions.”

WA-CELI will host sessions in locations around the state, with a final capstone wrapping up the  training at the 2025 AWC Annual Conference.

Lodging Tax-
funded marketing proposals due

The City of Port Townsend Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) is inviting proposals for funding visitor-related activities that support its mission of sustainable tourism, by reinvesting community resources to enhance the lives of both residents and visitors.

LTAC will review proposals for funding, with the intent of awarding grants totaling $20,000 in the fall cycle, and it anticipates funding requests for publicly accessible events, projects or initiatives to be awarded between $1,000 to $10,000.

All proposals must meet the minimum statutory requirements of RCW 67.28, and event organizers must demonstrate that they have appropriately mitigated any potential impacts and acquired any required permits.

Further information and guidance can be found online at mrsc.org/Home/Explore-Topics/Finance/Revenues/Lodging-Tax.aspx. The fall 2024 round of grant applications are due Friday, Aug. 30, by 5 p.m.

Applicants who received lodging tax funding within the past year are asked to wait one year to reapply.

Fee hike under review

Many building-related fees could increase on Sept. 1, depending on the outcome of a board of county commissioners public hearing scheduled for Aug. 19.

The public hearing has been set by the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners for Monday, August 19 at 2 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Chambers. 

The public hearing is to discuss the adoption of an ordinance that amends the Jefferson County Code (JCC), effectively moving Department of Community Development building and land use fees from JCC to a system of fee schedules adopted by resolution of the Board. The Board will also consider adoption of a resolution to update the DCD fee schedules, effective Sept. 1. 

Local author
on short list

Local author Jackson Anhalt’s book, “From the 911 Files,” made it onto a critical short list recently, after being published by Rainbow Quartz Publishing in 2023.

The “Written in the NW” Book Fair presents shortlists for two awards: the Larch Award, for younger readers, and the Spruce Award, for older teen and adult readers.

The goal of each award is to celebrate the art of book creation, and honor literary achievements by authors from Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Both traditionally and independently published books were welcome to apply.

In this first round, books were judged by the author’s voice, readability, genre expectations, cover art, and whether the cover’s promise was met. The second round will have a more in-depth judging, focusing on plot and character, among other judging categories. By recognizing works for different audiences, the book fair seeks to promote literature for readers of all ages, and in every genre.

Anhalt’s “From the 911 Files” was one of six books to make the short list for the Spruce Award.

Winners of the Larch and Spruce awards will be announced at the opening ceremony of the first “Written in the NW” Book Fair, which will take place on Nov. 23 at the Lynnwood Event Center.

The event will showcase more than 80 authors. See writteninthenw.com for more info.