PORT TOWNSEND — City Council members identified and outlined their top priorities for the coming year during a retreat Saturday.
Top priorities identified during the session at the Pope Marine building downtown include investigating the benefit of hiring a grant writer, implementing the comprehensive plan, adding real estate sales taxes and finalizing a water-use agreement with the Port Townsend Paper Corp.
The council also listed forming an impact fee advisory board to study the need for new development charges as a priority as well as creating a community reinvestment task force to explore ways to keep consumer dollars in Port Townsend.
Council members said they would like to see, the completion of a commercial design standards ordinance and a prohibition on construction of “cookie-cutter” buildings.
Councilwoman Freida Fenn championed the latter idea — she said the 2,300 people who signed a petition against the opening of a Hollywood Video store two years ago expressed that desire.
Mayor Kees Kolff said he was pleased the community reinvestment idea is among the council’s top priorities.
He said he wants Port Townsend to mint its own “money” for use at businesses and agencies within city limit.
According to Kolff, city “dollars” would help keep consumer spending local.
“We can take advantage of a tremendous amount of initiative of other communities that do provide increased reinvestment opportunities,” he said. “In this time of economic uncertainty, that’s a high priority.”
