BY PEPPER FISHER
Port Angeles – There weren’t a lot of surprises at Wednesday’s State of the City meeting in Port Angeles, and maybe that’s a good thing. But that’s not to say there were no surprises. We’ll tell you about that in a moment.
City Manager Nathan West updated the Chamber of Commerce members on nearly every department, including videos, made in-house, that featured various department heads and others, walking us through their own updates.
Early in his address, West touted the City’s balanced budget, its massive reduction in debt, and its investments capital projects. West also talked about the challenges facing the city and the being done to find solutions, including in public safety, an aging infrastructure, and the city’s encampments and their inhabitants.
When he got to the “What’s Next?” portion of his address, West said the City will continue to update its Municipal Code, making bill paying easier, increasing permit transparency, and the design RFP that just went out to get a multi-family housing project going on 10th Street later this year.
As for the surprise, while talking about the planned Lower Elwha sewer project, West had this to say.
“This is a sewer extension that Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe has designed, would actually extend sewer from Milwaukee Drive south to Highway 101. It’s a major benefit to what many of you all participated in discussing, about the growth of the west end of our town. And I just want to mention, today as I was preparing for this, I got a really special message from Colleen McAleer, to share that we got word that the State House and Senate budget have been combined, and we now have seen this funding come forward. $3.3 million in the state budget. So, couldn’t be more excited.”
In his final comments, West recalled that last year he challenged Port Angeles residents to reach out to their fellow community members and make stronger connections. This year, he asked for something more.
“But this year, I’m asking you to take those connections, and actually transition, and do something a little bit bigger and better, and sometimes a lot more challenging. And that is to reach out to your friends, family, and others in the community that you’re aware of, that are out there behind their computer screens making negative comments about our community, and challenge them to take that energy and convert it to action on behalf of our community. Let’s get out from behind those screens, and make sure we’re actively contributing. So that’s all I have for you this afternoon, and thank you all very much, and I’m more than happy to stay and take questions.”
(Photo by Brown Maloney)