Port Angeles council takes two projects off city’s prioritization list

Published 3:30 pm Wednesday, February 25, 2026

PORT ANGELES — After reviewing the city’s 2025-26 Strategic Plan, the Port Angeles City Council decided to de-prioritize two topics.

During a work session Tuesday night, there was consensus among the council to have city staff lower its priorities for neighborhood associations and also for the city’s solar plans.

The solar projects are being put on the backburner mostly because funding for them is very difficult to come by, city staff said.

Neighborhood associations haven’t received much interest from the community.

The discussion on what to de-prioritize followed a lengthy update on the progress city staff have made in different departments toward achieving Strategic Plan goals.

City staff will bring a resolution to the city council in March or April reflecting the changes to the plan, city manager Nathan West said. An updated work plan will then be brought to the council at a later meeting.

The Strategic Plan was first adopted by the council as a two-year plan in October 2024, West said during the update presentation.

“Specifically, the goal of that strategic plan was to ensure that everything we do implements a certain number of principles, and those principles include environment, budget, equity and relationships,” he said.

The plan also includes four strategic focus areas: Community resilience, citywide resource optimization, housing and infrastructure development, maintenance and connectivity.

Port Angeles’ foundational document is the comprehensive plan, which shows the vision of the city for 20 years, West said.

During that time period, the city council takes a two-year approach for strategy on how to implement what’s in the comprehensive plan. City staff then uses a work plan to implement the council’s strategic plan.

Since the Strategic Plan was adopted in 2024, city staff have taken on six substantial projects that were not included in it: the camping and encampment issue, increasing tribal consultation, reviewing the council rules of procedure, the Joint Public Safety Facility with Clallam County, the criminal justice contract with Clallam County and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s sewer project.

The council then heard from department heads regarding the strategic focus areas city staff has worked on so far.

In the city manager’s department, the first area was Elwha watershed protection.

“I think it’s really important that we didn’t waste any time reaching out on the Elwha watershed protection following that October 2024 retreat,” West said. “In fact, there’s a proviso that was passed by the state Legislature that has invested funds in a new Elwha watershed plan.”

The state Department of Natural Resources currently has a survey on its website regarding the importance of that watershed.

City clerk Kari Martinez Bailey said the city is advancing its permit integration and transparency efforts. City staff also have worked to improve the city’s website.

Finance director Sarina Carrizosa said staff have been working toward citywide resource optimization through its community partnerships.

City staff also are working on community outreach to get more people to opt-in to the city’s emergency notification system.

“This is reflected in the performance measurements within the city’s budget document,” Carrizosa said.

The finance department, working with the utility assistant subcommittee that consisted of council members, utility advisory members and a representative from Olympic Community Action Programs determined that the city’s current low-income discount program is effective and offers a higher level of assistance compared to similar utilities.

The city’s affordability index is updated every other year and compares costs to 16 cities that are similar in size.

“The finance department does regularly review, maintain and make recommendations to the fund balances during our budget status reports,” Carrizosa said. “Those occur monthly internally; we have quarterly budget status reports that are presented to council.”

In the fire department update, chief Derrell Sharp told the council about the department’s CERT training. The program trains community volunteers to help with immediate assistance during disasters.

Since July, the Port Angeles Fire Department has been meeting with representatives from Clallam 2 Fire Rescue and Clallam County Fire District 3 to discuss the potential formation of a regional fire authority. A consultant has been hired to conduct a feasibility study for the three agencies.

The Human Resources Department has been focusing on professional development for city staff with on-site training to prevent harassment and discrimination. The department also is working on succession planning for staff positions.

The Parks & Recreation Department will be busy this year as it takes on 17 work plan items, director Corey Delikat said.

The Port Angeles Police Department is working to grow staff capacity and has applied for a grant from the state’s new $100 million program to boost police hiring. The application process took about 70 hours of staff time because it’s similar to an accreditation process, chief Brian Smith said.

In Public Works, director Scott Curtin provided an update to several projects, including the A Street Basin, which he said is expected to go out to bid for construction March 31 with bid opening at the end of April.

The city also is working to establish a secondary transmission water line from the Elwha River to the city’s water treatment plant.

The last portion of the presentation was focused on the Community & Economic Development Department. Since requiring all businesses in the city to have a license starting June 17, 2025, more than 500 businesses have secured that license. As of the fourth quarter of last year, there were about 90 vacant businesses or office spaces in the downtown Parking and Business Improvement Area.

CED staff will spend all of their spare time working to implement the steps of the planning commission’s detailed work plan following the approval of the city’s comprehensive plan.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.