August 5, 2008

Fresh from market

to food bank

Farmers market growers fill need

Allison Arthur
The Leader

Salad greens picked fresh to be sold at last Saturday’s farmers market might be on dinner tables tonight via the Port Townsend Food Bank.

Six boxes filled with produce – onions, snap peas, salad greens and even a bouquet of sunflowers – were donated Saturday after the market by farmers such as Hanako Myers of Midori Farm, thanks to an arrangement among farmers, Market Manager Wendie Dyson and the food bank’s assistant manager, Shirley Moss.

This is the first summer the market has been actively involved in helping the food bank collect fresh produce. In the past, food bank volunteers would go through the market at the end of the day and invite farmers to contribute any leftovers they had.

Dyson, new to the market this year, changed the approach and began collecting the leftovers for the food bank. “It used to be that they walked around at the end of the market and asked vendors one on one for donations. It was time consuming. We’ve institionalized it now, and I write it down on their stall form so each vendor will know at the end of the year what they’ve done,” Dyson said.

“It’s going beautifully,” Moss said of the new arrangement that is helping the Jefferson County Food Bank Association serve a growing clientele.

“What they are giving us is fresh, and even though they’re giving it to us on Saturday, it’s still in good shape by the time Wednesday rolls around,” said Moss.

•••

August 3, 2016

Housing crisis: Timmons tasked to act

Community land trust model could work here, says city manager

Allison Arthur
The Leader

Ever since coming to Port Townsend 17 years ago as Port Townsend’s first city manager, David Timmons has heard con- cerns about the lack of affordable housing.

Like many, he has been frustrated by the lack of action.

Now, before he retires at the end of 2018, he’s been given the task by the City Council to do something, because the lack of affordable and workforce housing in Port Townsend is no longer a back-burner concern. It’s a crisis.

Housing issues surfaced in the city’s town hall meetings and comprehensive planning discussions about what to do with short-term rentals, the impact of a growing number of second homes and how accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are used.

It’s also surfacing because city employees can’t find housing in the city where they work.

“I have a problem with employees we’re recruiting finding adequate housing. I have police who live in Port Angeles, Sequim, Poulsbo and Port Ludlow because there isn’t available housing in the city,” Timmons said, adding that it’s not just police officers who are having trouble finding rentals or homes to buy.

On July 18, the City Council armed Timmons with $30,000 to do an organizational assessment and identify shovel-ready properties in the city – not just on land the city owns but all land, even private land, that could be developed for housing.

Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) is expected to take the lead along with the city and serve as a liaison between the city and Jefferson County, which also is talking about declaring a housing emergency in Jefferson County, possibly this month.

Declaring a housing emergency could allow for changes in the way the county addresses land-uses issues, such as allowing churches to host tiny houses or campers or tent cities for the homeless. Down the line, an emergency declaration also could allow the county to raise a sales tax or property tax to address housing issues. Both would require a vote of the people.

So what would the county and city do with that tax money?

THE TRUST MODEL

Land. It all comes down to setting aside land for affordable and workforce housing, land that won’t be lost to the vagaries of the real estate market, says Timmons.

“Everyone focuses on land-use and zoning, [but] ... the critical piece is ownership and retention.”

•••

August 5, 2020

Jefferson Community School closing, puts building up for sale

MARIA MORRISON
The Leader

Jefferson Community School has been a part of the local community since 2005, the yellow schoolhouse standing proudly downtown. Bit by bit, the school has been transitioning online since 2016. The COVID- 19 pandemic accelerated that.

The school is now closing and the property for sale.

“We’re proud of what we’ve done. It’s just not something we can continue doing,” said Craig Frick, curriculum leader for JCS and developer of the USA360 program.

The USA360 e-campus program was developed completely separately from

Jefferson Community School, designed as part of the international program operating out of the school since 2014.

Frick emphasized the unique ability to conduct online schooling without going through a third party.

“I get to control every aspect of it, from student acquisition to graduation,” Frick said.