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The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader

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The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader

Serving Port Townsend and Jefferson County since 1889

11/20/2025

Council approves $88.6M budget

By Mallory Kruml

Port Townsend’s budget approval process came to a close earlier than usual this year, with finance staff receiving unanimous approval from present members of the city council of their 2026 budget on Nov. 17.

“We’re really excited to be presenting this final round after six months or more of staff work and a lot of planned effort that we put in making sure that this is meeting all the needs of our community, as well as council and departments within the city,” Finance Manager Jodi Adams said at the meeting. “We have not made any substantial changes from the presentation last Monday.”

The budget summary in the Nov. 17 agenda packet shows $89.7 million in revenues and $88.6 million in expenditures.

Now approved, the budget represents a $20 million increase in expenditures from 2025 and a near doubling in expenditures since 2023.

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/19/2025

County wrestles with deficit; sheriff’s office asked to cut budget by $1M

By Mallory Kruml

As the state-mandated deadline for a balanced budget
approaches, Jefferson County staff continue to grapple with a $5.2 million deficit in the general fund.

“Any reductions need to be into me now,” Finance DirectorJudy Shepherd told county staff listening to the Nov. 17 county commissioners meeting.

Commissioners discussed several budget reduction options including furlough days, scaling back the fire marshal’s office and long range planning efforts.

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/18/2025

City clears Evans Vista encampment

By Alex Frick

After weeks of debate, court filings, and public demonstrations, the city of Port Townsend cleared the Evans Vista encampment last week, closing a site that had been at the center of community discussion over how to address homelessness.

On Nov. 3, the city posted “No Trespassing” signs throughout the property behind the Department of Social and Health Services building, then returned Nov. 4 to issue trespass notices to residents and inform them they must leave by 3:30 p.m.

At the deadline, police officers staged near the camp’s entrance but did not immediately enter. Several residents were still gathering their belongings. Some left in vehicles or moving vans, while others moved deeper into the surrounding woods.

By 5 p.m., only law enforcement remained on site as officers walked through the area to confirm it was vacant.

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/17/2025

Chimacum band to march in America’s 250th celebration

By Alex Frick

The Chimacum High School gym buzzed with excitement the moment the announcement was made that the marching band had been selected as the only ensemble from Washington state to perform in the National Independence Day Parade, commemorating the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence in Washington, D.C., next summer.

The national honor will bring the small rural program to Constitution Avenue for the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration on July 4, 2026, where the band will represent all of Washington.

The surprise announcement was made during the school’s annual Veterans Day assembly, attended by parents, teachers, active and retired military, and local and state officials.

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/16/2025

Ready secures another term

By Mallory Kruml

Despite the hospital board’s recent censure, Jefferson Healthcare Commissioner Matt Ready will serve another six-year term.

Ready received 54.17% of the vote as of Nov. 6 at 4:58 p.m.

“I was pleasantly surprised that people really took the time to look at what was being said and what was going on,” Ready said. “It just made me feel sort of proud of the community, because it’s a weird election and it’s all revolving around a very serious controversy or scandal with massive legal implications. It was like the community was kind of playing judge and jury in a way.”

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/15/2025

Obee to join city council

By Mallory Kruml

Keeping his substantial lead from the primary, Fred Obee secured a seat on Port Townsend’s city council in the Nov. 4 general election.

“I guess I wasn’t shocked, but you never know what the result is going to be until the votes come in,” he said, having received 68.34% of the vote as of Nov. 6 at 4:58 p.m. “I thought [Dylan Quarles] would make more progress because he worked hard, he ran a good campaign, but it doesn’t look like he gained a lot from the primary.”

Obee, a career newspaperman who served on the Washington Coalition for Open Government for about 10 years, took aim at the council seat in hopes that he could “swing the city council back toward openness and decisions based on careful analysis, community input and a commitment to fairness,” according to his campaign website.

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/14/2025

Service clubs unite to support food aid amidst shutdown

By Anna Tallarico

With federal food aid in limbo amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, service organizations in Jefferson County are taking swift action to make sure no one goes hungry.

Port Townsend Sunrise Rotary, Rotary Club of Port Townsend and Port Townsend Kiwanis Club are putting their combined support behind a community effort to raise money to donate to local nonprofit United Good Neighbors (UGN).

Funds raised will go to UGN’s general fund, which, according to its website, “ensures a coordinated and efficient landscape of basic human needs services.”

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/13/2025

After 36 years, Silverwater Cafe owner bids farewell with love

By Alex Frick

When Alison Hero stepped away from the Silverwater Café in late October, it didn’t feel like an ending — it simply felt right.

After 36 years in business, she and her former husband, now partner and friend David Hero, have officially passed on the restaurant they built together, which became a Port Townsend institution. Since 1989, the Silverwater Café has been known as much for its warmth as for its food. And for Hero, she has enjoyed every moment of the journey.

“I don’t have one minute of remorse in my body,” she said. “I’m so happy right now I could just burst.”

For Hero, the Silverwater was never just a business. It was a vision — a living connection of care and love — and a home for the community that shaped her life.

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/12/2025

City budget up $20 million

By Mallory Kruml

City spending is set to rise by $20 million next year as staff funnel capital project dollars into the 2026 budget.

“If our budget seems higher than previous years it’s due to a number of factors including inflation, changes we’re making so that our budget is easier to understand, and a lot of exciting capital projects happening in 2026,” said Finance Manager Jodi Adams.

City documents show the budget broaching $88 million in expenditures, which marks a near doubling of expenditures since 2023.

The budget fund summary, presented to council members during a public hearing on Nov. 10, shows $89.8 million in revenues and $88.6 million in expenditures for next year, which reflects a 35.6% increase in revenues and a 30.3% increase in expenditures from the 2025 budget.

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/11/2025

Port Townsend’s top cop celebrates 30 years of service

By Mallory Kruml

Detective Sgt. Jason Greenspane is something of an institution in town.

In 1995, he donned his Port Townsend Police Department (PTPD) badge and took to the streets for his first solo patrol as an officer.

“I believe it was my first call for the day on my own, and it was a legit bank robbery,” he said. “Those can be violent situations, but luckily it wasn’t.”

Now, 30 years later, he is one of the longest-serving member of the department, and has been named — at least twice — as Port Townsend’s favorite law enforcement officer in The Leader’s Readers’ Choice awards.

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/10/2025

JeffCo Repair events build community while reducing waste

By Cameron Sires

People sit in rows of chairs, accompanied by lamps, vacuums, articles of clothing, bicycles and an assortment of other items, waiting their turn to see if their broken belongings can get a second life at the Port Townsend JeffCo Repair event.

The Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC) and local partners launched the first free JeffCo Repair event in 2020, which brought in volunteers with engineering and textiles skills to help community members with almost any broken item.

The goal, said Mandi Johnson, PTMSC’s outreach coordinator, to keep items out of landfills and advance the nonprofit’s mission of conserving the Salish Sea.

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

11/09/2025

Zoning and infrastructure shaping housing future

By Alex Frick

Editor’s note: This is part 13 of a series that explores the housing crisis affecting Port Townsend and Jefferson County.

For more than two decades, Jefferson County’s zoning map has appeared primed for growth — on paper that is.

In Port Townsend, zoning reform is a hotly-debated centerpiece, while outside the city limits, Jefferson County is tackling the issue from another angle — establishing infrastructure to support a growing population in Port Hadlock. Port Townsend Mayor David Faber said the city’s zoning code has spent many years manufacturing scarcity.

For the full story pick up a copy of The Leader or go to ptleader.com

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