Port Townsend has a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) in place for 2025-2030 following unanimous approval by the city council at its meeting on Dec. 16. 

The six-year plan, a blueprint for managing large-scale capital expenditures to accommodate growth and serve the public, is required by the state’s Growth Management Act and must be updated every two years, according to the city.

“This effort doesn’t come from nowhere; it comes out of our functional plans and real issues we are dealing with and that the public sees,” said Steve King, the city’s director of public works. “It’s us planning for our future by addressing our existing problems and making sure our systems have capacity for growth.“

This time, the council, advised by city planning and public works staff, signed onto a six-year CIP that illustrates $73 million in funded infrastructure projects and $133 million in unfunded infrastructure needs. 

When the previous CIP passed in 2022, there was $34 million in funded infrastructure and $144 in unfunded needs. 

“The primary reason for the large jump are three fold,” King said.

For one, the city passed and included its General Sewer Plan in the CIP. Over half of the city’s secured funding — $43.5 million — will be used to upgrade the city’s wastewater system. Sewer rate increases were passed in January to support the work. 

The city included funds raised through its voter-approved Transportation Benefit District, which “represents a game change for street work,” King said. 

The city also has received several grants to help with the work outlined in the CIP.

An additional $3 million in grants have been secured since the plan was adopted, King said, bringing the total to $76 million. 

Deputy Mayor Amy Howard noted the challenge of communicating such large numbers to the public. 

“Numbers like $73 million are really hard for people to wrap their heads around because if you are doing that much work, then ‘why aren’t you dealing with the problem right in front of me.’” she said. “So, that is just an acknowledgment of that piece of hardship that people do have to endure, that we are working on making better.” 

The capital project funding, primarily from the city’s general fund, taxes, bonds, grants and the Transportation Benefit District, is allocated across various categories: $400,000 for facilities, $850,350 for parks and recreation, $4.8 million for water infrastructure, $11.9 million for the Olympic Gravity Water System, $43.5 million for wastewater, $4 million for stormwater, $5.1 million for transportation, $685,000 for information technology, $860,644 for housing and economic development, and $2.1 million for the streets and utilities fleet.

Before its adoption, City Manager John Mauro commended city staff for their efforts on the CIP. 

“As somebody that’s watched the capital improvement plan, from when I started to now, it’s taken a massive step up in its quality,” Mauro said. “It’s pretty awesome to see all that work come together on one document.”

The CIP can be found in full on the city’s website.