January 2020A NOTE FROM JOHN

WHAT IS THE CENSUS?

Hi Team

We’re squarely in winter now, although the days are ge�ng a bit longer. I welcome the extra light as I head into month #3 for me in the role and start seeing the pieces coming together. To help draw those pieces together and keep them there, Department directors and I are joining Council Members for an all-day retreat on January 27. The aim is to keep things on a bigger-picture strategic trajectory and make sure all our decisions contribute to where we want to go in the long term. It’ll mean some tough discussions about priori�es, it’ll require some deep crea�vity and it’ll necessitate serious courage from us all in the steps ahead to translate our goals and aspira�ons into reality.

Everyone fits into this. Like I encouraged at the end of the year, if you haven’t done so already, now is the �me to sit down with your team and your manager to discuss what your goals and aspira�ons are for 2020. There are many ways to do this and it’s best to work with your team/manager to make it work. That said, I’d suggest at least including your top 3-5 priori�es for the year and then backing that up for this first quarter. What has to get done and when? Who do you

have to work with? What skills do you need to develop perform your job be�er? What does success look like? What does stretching a bit beyond require?

I’ve started having these conversa�ons with department directors and I’ve really enjoyed the excited blend of vision and pragma�sm those conversa�ons bring. Commit to doing it now, commit to ge�ng things on paper and agreeing them with your manager/team, and then commit to checking in around April to see how things have gone and why. I’m not expec�ng everything to always go smoothly – if it does, it’s likely you’re not aiming high enough. Those conversa�ons in April might be about what you’ve learned and can incorporate into the next plan or project, what you’re proud of accomplishing, and how things might need to pivot or change for future successes. Once we have a clearer idea of our City’s 2020 priori�es a�er the Council retreat, we’ll make an even stronger connec�on between City priori�es and your individual and team priori�es. That’s what my – and our – collec�ve accountability is to Council and, ul�mately, to the community we serve.

Police Department NewsStudent Officer Brian Kasprzyk started at the Washington State Basic Law Enforcement Academy in mid-December in Burien WA and thus begins his 19-week journey into Academy life. We wish Brian great success and enjoyment as an Academy Cadet.

The U.S. Census is mandated by the Cons�tu�on and takes place every 10 years. The goal of the Census is to count every person living in the United States and the five U.S. territories. The data collected by the decennial census determines:

The number of seats each state has in the U.S.How the federal government will allocate more than $675 billion in federal funds each year to local communi�es.Popula�on tabula�ons necessary for legisla�ve redistric�ng.Create jobs, provide housing, prepare for emergencies, and build schools, roads and hospitals.

Census Day for the 2020 Census is April 1, 2020. By April 1, 2020, every home will receive an invita�on to par�cipate in the 2020 Census.

More informa�on can be found on our website: www.city-ofpt.us/administra�on/page/census-2020-what-census

The City’s role in the census is to share the importance of it with our community and help answer any ques�ons.

Save the Date - March 5PFML training class.

See a�ached flyer for more informa�on and coordinate with your supervisor to plan your a�endance at this training.

Library NewsLibrary Page Erin Fenton was listed in this week’s Leader as a Student of the Week. The City Library is so proud of Erin’s stellar work at the Library and her academic accomplishments. She is a rising star!

EMPLOYEE NEWS

KUDOS TO THESE STAFF FOR THEIR GREAT COOPERATION

Dec - Page 2

In December 2019 the following people began employment with the City:

Hilary Andersen........................LifeguardMorgan Trail.............................Swim Instructor

Welcome!

The City recognizes employees for service anniversaries in five year increments. In January 2020 the following employees reach milestones:

25 Years......................Dave Rodia................Public Works - Wastewater Treatment

Congratula�ons and thank you for your service to the City!

I want to give Kudos to Brandon Maxwell, Emily Coler and Robin Hill for their hard work in making the fee code changes in Smartgov (our permit tracking system) so we will be ready with our fee increases effec�ve January 1, 2020. It was a pleasure to oversee this project, I was able to witness these three work closely as a team and see their problem solving and communica�on skills at work. I stepped in and helped out with some data entry in my limited capacity, mainly to just get a feel for what they were doing (totally out of my wheelhouse) and to try to understand the system be�er, but these three did all the hard work. This was not an easy project, they had to work in the Smartgov Training Module to test out their work before it was transferred to the live site.

I would also like to give Kudos to Wayne Fitch for making the changes on the forms that reflect the new fee changes so we will be ready come the first of the year.

I am very apprecia�ve for their willingness to take this task on with me, and I feel very lucky to get to work with such great people.

-Angela Garcia

LIBRARY FEATURED ITEMS

MOUNTAIN VIEW POOL - LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD

Register for Winter Swim Lessons - $60 per session

Weekend Open Swim - Every Saturday and Sunday 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

SAFETY COMMITTEE

The Next Safety Committee Meeting is January 28 at 11:00 a.m.The Committee will be doing its annual elections.

Dec - Page 3

SAFETY

COM MITTEE

Looking Back:2019 was a Great Year for Mountain View Pool. For the sixth consecu�ve year, we set records for revenue ($224,000+) and a�endance (more than 36,000 visits). Every child in Salish Coast Elementary school received swim lessons (that’s 508 kids), the REDfins swim club recorded more members than ever before (61 unique members in 2019), and the Fitness class numbers grew to an all-�me high (the shallow water class averages 50+ per day). The success of the pool is a true reflec�on of the hard work put in by the Parks, Recrea�on and Community Services Department and the desire of our community. Thank you all!

Looking Forward:2020 is off to a great start. The swim club is back at prac�ce and tryouts are held the first Wednesday of every month, if you or someone you know is looking to join the team. Swim Lessons have started up again, and registra�on is open for the next session, so call 360-385-7665 today to get signed up.

Too busy to swim during the week? Great News! Mountain View Pool is open 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays and there is always plenty of room to swim laps, take a fitness class, or splash around with your family and friends.

Lessons are Monday, Wednesday and FridayLevel 1 & 3 are January 27th to February 7th at 3:30 p.m.Levels 2 & 4 are January 27th to February 7th at 4:00 p.m.

Kanopy - Movie Streaming ServiceThe Library offers three streaming movies a month through Kanopy, thanks to our partnership with the Jefferson County Library as a member of CLEO. This service includes the Great Courses series.www.ptpubliclibrary.org/library/page/databases#streaming Please call or stop by the Library to get started watching quality movies and courses.

4th Annual Fall in Love with your Library: Open House EventThursday, February 13, 2020 - 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Come to the library for an Open House. Enjoy live music, Valen�ne cra�s, and light refreshments. Sponsored by Friends of the Port Townsend Public Library.

Wellness CommitteeWellness Committee

2020 Wellness Activities

Soup Swap

Dec - Page 4

The Wellness Commi�ee welcomes Melissa Saska as the new Chair. Melissa is excited for this role and ready to help promote health and wellness to our staff.

The Commi�ee met in early January for our 2020 planning mee�ng. The mee�ng was very successful and we are happy to share the calendar of Ac�vi�es:

February: Soup Swap

May: 100 Miles in May

July: Hydration Stations

October: Walktober

As each of these ac�vi�es gets closer we will be sending out more details about them and if you need to sign up.

This is our 3rd annual soup swap! We have had some really great soups the last couple years.

If you aren’t sure what a soup swap is, it is when you make a pot of your favorite soup, and bring it in to ‘swap’ with co-workers. If 10 people sign up, then you will be taking home 9 containers of different delicious soups to try. The official soup swap will be on February 18 at 11:00 a.m.

If you would like to par�cipate in the 2020 Soup Swapemail Melissa Saska by February 3 to sign up.

SAVE THE DATE for the March 5 PFML training class