Clerks Department Update

✨HAPPY NEW YEAR! ✨

City Hall will be closed on New Year's Day, Monday, January 1, 2024.

Please plan accordingly so that we may best serve you!

Finance Department Update

Utility Rate Changes.

Directed by the Poulsbo Municipal Code (PMC), utility rates are subject to annual adjustments on January 1^st using the prior year’s June 30^th Consumer Price Index – All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for Poulsbo’s geographic area. The rate changes effective January 1, 2024, for Water, Sewer, Solid Waste, and Stormwater will be 4.6%.

Have you considered suspending your irrigation account for the season? For a $40 fee, not only will this save you base charges, but it can also play a role in protecting your system against winter damage and water loss. For more information, contact the Finance Department at 360-394-9881 or Public Works at 360-779-4078.

Utility Billing Auto-Payment. The City offers auto-pay as an option to pay your utility bill. Have your payment automatically deducted from your bank account on the 20th of every month. Click here for additional details and an application. If you’d like an application mailed to you, please contact the Finance Department at (360) 394-9881.

Public Works Department Update

Holiday Recycling and Waste. Please visit (Kitsap County's Waste Guide Page *link) to learn what to do with wrapping, decorations and trees. Recycling and disposal site information can be found through the link. Happy Holidays!  🎄

Cold Weather Preparedness. At any time, unpredictable weather can sneak up on you and wreak havoc on unprepared water pipes. Being prepared can make all the difference when you only have moments to react. There are many precautions you can take now to help minimize later impacts.

Before Freezing Weather

• Disconnect and drain hoses from outside faucets. Cover or wrap outside faucets to prevent them from freezing.
• Turn off and drain irrigation systems and backflow assemblies.
• Wrap backflow assemblies with insulating material. Wrap outside faucets with insulation or newspaper.
• Cover foundation vents with foam blocks, thickly folded newspaper or cardboard.
• Insulate hot and cold pipes in unheated areas, such as the garage, crawl space or attic.
• Show household members how to turn off water to the house in case of emergencies.
• If your home will be unoccupied for an extended period of time, you may want to seek additional information about winterizing your home.

During Freezing Weather

• Open cupboard doors under sinks, especially where plumbing is in outside walls, to let interior heat warm the pipes.
• Temporarily, keep a steady drip of cold water at an inside faucet farthest from the meter. This keeps water moving, making it less likely to freeze.
• If you are away for any length of time, shutting off the water can reduce the chances of broken pipes. Leave the heat on at least 55 degrees. Shut off water to the house and open all faucets to drain pipes; flush the toilet once to drain the tank, but not the bowl.
• Be a good neighbor. If a neighbor is away or you are next to a vacant house, notify us if you see a suspected leak.
• Check on the elderly and make sure they're OK.

If Your Pipes Freeze

• Try and determine which pipe(s) are frozen. If some faucets work but others don't, that means pipes inside your home are frozen.
• If a pipe is frozen, assume it may be broken and will leak when thawed. Local hardware or home improvement stores may carry leak repair supplies. Be ready to shut off your water in a hurry when the line thaws.
• If there is no water at all to your home, the problem may be at the street. Call us at 360-779-4078.
• NEVER thaw a frozen pipe with an open flame. You may start a fire and at the very least, your pipe will burst. Use hot air from a hair dryer or the exhaust from a vacuum cleaner.
• If your pipes are frozen, contact us so we can ensure that water is flowing from your meter correctly. However, our crews are not able to help fix frozen pipes between the water meter and the house and inside the house.

If A Pipe Breaks

• Determine if it's hot or cold water:

If it's hot water: Turn off the water to your water heater. Cold water should still be available to the rest of your house.

If it's cold water: Turn off the main water shutoff valve. Water will not be available to the rest of your house.

• Call a plumber to assist you with repairs and get your water in working order.
• Call 911 (as a non-life threatening emergency) if you need your meter shut off after hours in the case of a break.

Snow Route Removal Plan and Map:

The linked memo & enlarged map indicate which roads are primary vs. secondary. The roads in orange are state highway and are maintained by WSDOT.

The City will concentrate at the outset of an event on keeping the Primary Roads open to traffic. As the weather allows and as the crew get caught up the Secondary Roads will be plowed.

The remainder of the City streets will ONLY be plowed as time and weather allows. The City of 

Poulsbo does not plow or maintain private roads.

Primary Roads (Roads in Blue on the Map)

• Lincoln Road – Noll to Hwy 305
• 10th Ave – Lincoln Road to Liberty Road (Fire Dept)
• Noll Road Lincoln to Hostmark
• Hostmark Street
• Iverson Street
• Front Street
• Sunset Street
• Bond Road – Lindvig to Hwy 305
• Lindvig Way
• Finn Hill
• Viking Ave
• Olhava Way
• Olympic College Way

Secondary Roads (Roads in Purple on the Map)

• Fjord Drive
• 4 th Ave Iverson to Torval Canyon
• Torval Canyon
• 6 th Ave
• 9 th Ave
• Lincoln Road – Iverson to Hostmark
• Tollefson Street
• Caldart Ave
• Gustaf St
• Bjorn St – Gustaf to Noll
• Noll Road – Hostmark to Hwy 305
• Mesford Street
• Forest Rock – Caldart to 12th Ave
• 12th Ave – Forest Rock to Watland Street
• Watland Street
• 10th Ave – Forest Rock to Liberty Road
• 7 th Ave
• 8 th Ave
• Reliance St
• Dauntless Drive
• Advance Drive
• Johnson Parkway – Noll to Small RBT
• Claret Loop – Finn Hill to Malbec
• Malbec St
• Westwood St
• Urdahl Road

Roads that may be CLOSED in adverse snow or ice conditions due to the steep grade of the road. (Roads that are Red on the Map)

• Forest Rock Lane – 12th Ave to 10 Ave
• Torval Canyon – 1 st Ave to Front Street
• Baywatch Ct (Private Road)
• Haven Ct
• Holm Ct
• Johnson Parkway Small RBT to 305
• Sunrise Ridge Ave from Crystallia Ct to Johnson Road

News You Can Use

Notice from the Kitsap County Assessor's Office.

Housing, Health, and Human Services Department Update

Poulsbo Garden Club Update

Parks and Recreation Department Update

Volunteer Vacancies. Poulsbo's Parks and Recreation Commission and Poulsbo's Tree Board each have one vacancy. If you know of a quality candidate, please have them apply!

You may now find a role description for P&R Commissioner via the webpage Parks and Recreation Commission Webpage *under Resources section.

Information about the Tree Board may be found via the Tree Board Webpage.

Please use the application found on the above webpages or link to it here for convenience: Boards and Commissions Volunteer Application. We appreciate follow-up calls to verify applications were received! Parks and Recreation Main Line: (360) 779-9898

Year in Review excerpt from SEA Discovery Center.

Hello SEA Discovery Center Friends:

We hope you are well and enjoying the end of the holiday season. It has been a busy year at SEA Discovery Center and as we close out 2023, the team at SEA wanted to share some highlights from the past year. 

SEA Discovery Center operates as a self-supporting entity of Western Washington University. Its part-time staff of five relies on the support of volunteers, WWU and the community-at-large to operate. SEA receives approximately 30% of its operating revenue from WWU and is responsible for raising the rest of the $400,000+ needed operate the free public aquarium and offer educational programming. 

2023 was an eventful year at SEA as we work through facility challenges and staffing changes - but with all the fluctuations, we have remained nimble and are continuing to move forward!

BY THE NUMBERS

2,500 donated volunteer hours = $60,000+ in donated time!!

20,000 visitors during public hours

$55,000 donated by visitors

600+ field trip students

$57,000+ raised in grants and donations

$58,695 secured in City/County Lodging Tax Grants

$32,463 in parking revenue

PROJECTS & PROGRAMS

Launched Summer "Teen" Volunteer Program

Welcomed 4 new staff to SEA team

Added new aquarium animals and exhibits

Expanded field trips to Floating Lab

Re-opened Founders Theatre

Launched Stories @ SEA with Kitsap Regional Library

Hosted 13 partner events @ SEA

Demolished old octopus habitat

UP NEXT

New Octopus habitat! (See below)

Ongoing exhibit repair work

Spring field trip season

Host We Are Puget Sound traveling exhibit

New volunteer trainings

and MUCH MORE!

Thank you for your continued support of our work to Inspire Stewardship of the Salish Sea.

SEA Discovery Center Team

🌊Learn more about SEA Discovery Center on their website: https://sea.wwu.edu/about