Port Townsend: Council OKs aid to infants program

PORT TOWNSEND — The City Council voted Monday night to partially fund six months of a program that provides nurse visits to low-income mothers — but it wasn’t an easy decision to make.

At the end of an impassioned meeting, the council decided 4-2 to allocate $17,500 from the council contingency fund for the county Best Beginnings program.

The money will complement $12,500 provided by Jefferson County commissioners.

Without the money, Health officials said the program would be drastically reduced July 1.

Sitting in the stuffy City Hall council chambers, the vote came four hours into the meeting that at times had council members bickering with one another.