April has been a beautiful month with a stretch of warm weather unusual for Poulsbo. And with the warm weather we have seen the City start to come to life with a very busy downtown, our garden stores are packed, and home improvements are full speed ahead.

The City expects a large sum of money to come to us from the American Rescue Plan Act. Staff is carefully studying our options how we can effectively use this revenue source. The plan being presented is to divide the funding into three pieces. The first piece is to hire back staff who left at the beginning of the pandemic when we were facing large revenue shortages. The second is to issue grants to selected non-profits who were hard hit during the pandemic. The third is targeting infrastructure improvements which attract economic development. The City Council is now debating these decisions which we expect to finalize in May. We are still waiting for final guidance from the State of Washington regarding specific steps we must following when we are granted these funds.

Building season is in full swing with several large developments in different stages of completion. Crystal View, a subdivision of 41 single family homes near Raab Park was granted its final plat status for its first phase, in April. Poulsbo Meadows, 45 single family homes, on the north end of Noll Road, are selling quickly. Blue Heron, 85 lots, on the south end of Noll Road, is in the excavation stage, moving dirt and beginning infrastructure improvements. Clearing and grading permits have also been issued for Calavista, 43 lots, next to the Poulsbo Cemetery on Caldart and Noll Terrace, 31 lots, across the street from Poulsbo Elementary on Noll Road. Poulsbo has a very limited supply of housing. Hopefully, these new subdivisions, with a total of 240 single family homes, will help ease the housing supply shortage.

Below are pictures of Blue Heron construction and the Crystal View neighborhood.

Olhava, College Market Place is also seeing growth with Norland Trails, a 100-unit townhome complex which should enter the rental market this fall. Chinook Construction (who built Arendahl Apartments on Viking Avenue) is working quickly to complete this development in the late fall. Also, in Olhava is the new Fairfield Hotel which should be completed in early summer.

Below are pictures of Norland Trails townhomes construction and the Fairfield Hotel.

The City continues to move forward with the Poulsbo Event and Recreation Center (the PERC). Internal planning is ongoing with an architectural firm selection to begin design. This building, also located in Olhava, is being developed by a steering committee of citizens with large public involvement and in consultation with Western Washington University and Olympic College.

With the purchase of the Nazarene Church on north Viking Avenue, our public works department is beginning the plan for their new home. The newly acquired property will be consolidate with our existing decant center to total about 12 acres. This will allow ample space to consolidate all our equipment and supplies in one location making operations more efficient and lowering costs. The existing public works facility will be vacated within 2 years which will allow the city to look for other uses of this centrally located property adjoining Centennial Park and the Crabtree building.

The Johnson Road Roundabout and Johnson Parkway continues to move forward very quickly. The pedestrian tunnel is 70% completed and very soon you will see the detour shift so construction can begin on the north side of the Roundabout. This project is being constructed by Active Construction Inc., from Tacoma, Washington. ACI is employing three crews which are working in three areas along the project. The first crew is working from Lemolo to Highway 305, constructing the pedestrian pathway to Liberty Bay. The second crew is working on the roundabout construction along with the pedestrian tunnel on Highway 305. A third crew is working on the north end of the new Johnson Parkway where it will intersect with Storhoff/Noll Road near Poulsbo Elementary. ACI recently installed a large stormwater vault at this intersection. Traffic delays can be expected on Tuesday May 4 as Highway 305 will be only open in one lane from 7:00 pm to 6:00 am Wednesday May 5^th. Thank you for your patience.

Below is a picture of pedestrian tunnel going under Highway 305.

-Mayor Beck Erickson

To help stop the spread of COVID-19, the City of Poulsbo customer service counters in City Hall have been closed since March 23, 2020 until Phase 3 of the Governor's Safe Start Plan. The Public Works office, Parks & Recreation office, Police Administration office, and Municipal Court office counters are currently closed, as well as restrooms in some City parks. City staff are still working and available by email or phone. To learn more on how to reach us, click here.

The City of Poulsbo has partnered with Nixle to implement a notification system to alert residents in real-time about urgent and emergency situations. There are several simple ways to register: 1. Text POULSBO to 888777 from your mobile phone 2. Go to www.cityofpoulsbo.com and sign up via the Nixle Widget. The service is secure, reliable, and easy to use.

The H3 Department continues to work with public and private partners to respond to COVID 19. COVID cases are on the rise in Kitsap County, and we will move backwards from phase three to phase two if corrective actions are not taken. We encourage Poulsbo residents to get vaccinated and to use the City COVID assistance line (360 394 9795) for help finding appointments. Special thanks, this month, to Pacifca Medicine & Wellness and St. Olafs Church for organizing a pop up clinic to serve our Spanish speaking residents.

The City of Poulsbo champions crisis intervention training: the H3 department is working with the Poulsbo Police Department and the Poulsbo Fire Department to design combined police and fire crisis intervention training. Mayor Erickson has stated her goal of sending every police officer in Poulsbo to 40 hour CIT training; some of this instruction, now, will include instructors and participants from Poulsbo Fire to ensure that best practices are shared across agencies. 

Answer a few short questions about how you care for your lawn, and you can enter to win a gardening tool set, which includes ergonomic gardening tools, a canvas tote, sprayer, and heavy-duty gardening gloves.

Your answers will help us as we develop outreach programs to help you create healthy outdoor living spaces. Click here to complete the short 5-7 minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/yardcaresurvey

Currently, the City of Poulsbo Parks and Recreation Department and the Planning Department are updating the PROS Plan for 2022 through 2027. Your input as part of this plan is essential. The survey feedback we receive helps us plan park improvements, adjust recreation programming, and will provide us direction to meet the community’s need. 

Please take just a few minutes of your time to complete the PROS Plan survey and share your comments/thoughts on our city parks and the recreation programming we offer. The survey and comment page will be live through May 21, 2021 and is available at: https://cityofpoulsbo.com/prosplanupdate/

The City of Poulsbo is currently hiring for the following position: Court Security Officer, Seasonal Employee - Public Works, and Police Officer Entry Level. Click here to learn more details about the open positions.