The Poulsbo Beat

Goodbye Summer, hello Fall.

I can almost hear the rustle of new trapper keepers and No. 2 pencils from my office perched above the Poulsbo Village. That, and the sound of kids grumbling as they’re forced to put down their iPod Touches until class is over.

Autumn seems to come more quickly each year, this year especially thanks to a summer marked by gray skies and rainy days.

As kids roll back into the classroom, the rest of us can count on one hand the weekends that remain before cold weather causes us to pack away our tents and hammocks and reside ourselves to life indoors for a while.

Looking back on this short summer, do you have a favorite photo to share? An outdoor adventure you’d recommend? A final outing planned before the leaves have officially turned and the turtlenecks have creeped out of the closet again?

If so, share with the rest of us — leave a comment below or send photos to jmorris@northkitsapherald.com. And happy studying…  JM

Checked in last week with Donald Kim, owner of the Lemolo Market along Lemolo Shore Drive. The market was favored by residents of southern Poulsbo until it was closed in late 2009. Kim is still looking for a renter nearly a year after his last tenants vacated, and the charming shop is meanwhile empty and defunct.

Read the story here.

I’d like to see the store reopened someday soon, and with all the charm it became known for — the market, under the management of Ty and Deb Campbell from 2004-2009, had become a popular drop-by where adults got their coffee and kids learned about lines of credit and could buy inexpensive jars of candy.

It was decorated with photos from eras gone by, and $65,000 in improvements had recently been done.

I enjoyed stopping there, in part for a drink or snack, but mostly to peruse the eclectic stock and atmosphere. Did you shop at the Lemolo Market? What are your memories from the shop?  JM

Take the driver’s seat in fire trucks, dump trucks, police cars and monster trucks from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday, Aug. 28, at the 22nd annual Touch a Truck in the Poulsbo Village.

Peninsula All-Shred will host a shredding event with a special of 50 cents per pound. And who doesn’t love to shred stuff?

Info: (360) 779-2279.  JM

Got a call yesterday from a 40-year Poulsbo resident who isn’t in favor of referring to her neighborhood, the historic area southeast of Front Street, as “Old Town.”

“Old Town” has become a common name for the area, which includes some of the city’s first homes.

This reader said she’d prefer “downtown,” “Little Norway,” or something else, and said her neighbors don’t use “Old Town” as a term for their neighborhood either. She suggested possibly taking a cue from Southern California, which is famously known as SoCal.

So tell me, residents of Poulsbo, do you like the phrase “Old Town?” Is there a better nickname for the neighborhood? Something with a real ring to it? If we’re following the Golden State’s lead, SoPo maybe? Or Moe’s Addition, in honor of Poulsbo’s first mayor?

Leave your suggestions below.  JM

Image courtesy starsandstripes.org

A finance committee for the city of Poulsbo decided not to impose a $20 car tax on citizens, despite struggling to balance next year’s budget and pay for some road maintenance.

The committee briefly considered a Transportation Benefit District during a meeting on Aug. 18. Tax revenue from the district would go toward neighborhood road maintenance, which the city currently doesn’t have money for in its 2011 budget. Those repairs will have to wait another year.

At $20 per vehicle per year — which is the highest dollar amount the City Council could impose by ordinance — the tax would bring in about $108,000. The city estimates 5,400 vehicles within city limits.

If the issue were taken to vote the tax amount could be as high as $100.

Either way, the Department of Licensing would retain 1 percent of the revenue.

A majority of finance committee members agreed a car tax isn’t the way to increase revenue, especially during a recession.

“I really loathe to impose anything on the voters,” said Councilwoman Connie Lord. “We have people strapped in this community. If we were to put another fee on them … I just think it’s a burden.”

Several cities have passed a similar taxing district, including Edmonds, Des Moines, Burien, Shoreline and Lake Forest Park.

The city of Bremerton considered imposing one, but the ordinance was unsuccessful, Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson said.

The city still plans to conduct repairs to major roadways and complete any grant-funded road projects next year, but because a portion of property tax revenue normally used for street maintenance is being shuffled to help balance a general fund shortage, side streets will be put on the back burner.

The city is considering other measures to balance its general fund. It announced last week it would eliminate 11 staff positions by the end of this year to save roughly $840,000.

Even with staffing cuts the general fund is roughly $275,000 short, officials said last week.

Councilman Jeff Bauman said a car tax in the future could help pay for projects popular with the public, such as a downtown parking garage, but agreed a tax in this economic climate isn’t a good idea.

“This isn’t the time to resolve our budget problems by increasing fees to people,” he said.

What do you think: Would you pay a car tax? Do your neighborhood roads need repairs? Leave a comment and take a poll below.  JM

Kohl Serwold, 14, and dog Kali

UPDATE: I just got word Kohl Serwold is being recommended for an American Red Cross Real Hero award for his life-saving actions last week. Learn more here.

Fourteen-year-old Scandia resident Kohl Serwold was busy last Thursday afternoon — he ticked a chore off the list (lawnmowing) and rescued Kali, his happy, amber-eyed Golden Retriever who swam after two seals nearly 400 yards into Liberty Bay. The latter has made him a neighborhood hero.

“It was a real act of bravery on his part,” said neighbor Jim LaFramboise, who watched as Kali swam farther and farther off-shore.

Serwold also saw his dog adrift, and quickly put on a lifejacket before paddling a kayak into the bay and collecting the exhausted canine.

See photos of the rescue, and of Kohl and Kali safe at home, below.  JM

A neighbor took this photo of Kohl Serwold retrieving dog Kali after she followed two seals nearly 400 yards into Liberty Bay.

Kohl Serwold and dog Kali returning home on a kayak. To the right of the kayak is a seal.

Kohl Serwold plays with dog Kali at his waterfront home in Scandia. The dog frequently plays in the water, but recently swam too far into the bay. Serwold paddled to her rescue.

Image courtesy Scott Snyder

In its sophomore year Poulsbopalooza is calling out bands who’ve never hit the stage for a concert at Raab Park. Several local garage bands will step into the public eye at an outdoor, day-long show Saturday, Aug. 28.

Safari, Thresh and Faithful Sinners Workshop — bands that have seen the spotlight and have strong local followings — will headline the festival.

“We wanted to create a way for bands with little or no experience to show us their stuff, interact with more experienced musicians, and have opportunities to collaborate on a live stage,” said Paul Ingram, one of Poulsbopalooza’s creators. “We hope this event will be a catalyst for discovering closet rockers and contributing to the recent Kitsap music revival.”

The event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., includes two live jam sessions during which musicians and bands are invited to sign up and play a song or two.

“Think of it as a public jam. Everyone is invited to listen for free, or rock out to a live audience,” Ingram said.

Poulsbopalooza debuted during a rainstorm last summer, but still managed to draw a crowd of forty.

Learn more at poulsbopalooza.com.  JM

Garage Heroes guitarist Paul Ingram and drummer Scott Snyder jam above a garage. Photo by Mark Gsellman Photography.

Drummer Scott Snyder, who also plays for Thresh, called this above-garage jam space the "birthplace of Poulsbopalooza ... just us guys jamming together and deciding to get others involved." Photo by Mark Gsellman Photography.

Photo courtesy Troutunderground.com.

Thanks to a few freshwater mussels the city of Poulsbo has some muscle of its own when it comes to restoring Dogfish Creek.

The Western Pearlshell mussel is common in the Pacific Northwest but its population is declining. Its presence in the south fork suggests a salmon population, which ups the city’s chances of recieving grants for restoration. Here’s a brief description, from the Xerces Society for Invertabrate Conservation:

“The western pearlshell inhabits cold creeks and rivers with clean water where there are also sea-run salmon or native trout. Much of their habitat in western rivers and streams has been highly impacted, but their populations seem to have fared better at higher elevations away from the impacts of dams and development. The western pearlshell is the most common freshwater mussel in the Pacific Northwest, but their populations are probably declining in many areas. This species can live to be over 100 years old, and it is a good biological indicator of water quality in the West.”

The city is currently developing a master plan to restore the creek’s south fork, which runs from Caldart Avenue through Wilderness and Centennial parks, and then along State Route 305. Despite curving between Poulsbo Village and the highway in a ditch so narrow it is nearly swallowed from sight, the south fork is surprisingly healthy — and has the potential to be even healthier.

Next month the City Council will vote whether or not to adopt a master plan, which could set into action some short-term and long-term projects, including Low Impact Development fixtures, culvert repairs and a public awareness campaign. Ninety percent of the stream’s subbasin lies within city limits, and the city owns many sections of the surrounding land, giving it easy access to make repairs.

The city hopes to reduce urban flooding as well as improve the quality of the stream and its subbasin. In years past, heavy rains have caused major flooding of the south fork, which tends to become overloaded from rainwater runoff and blocked culverts.  JM

Photo courtesy Flyfisherman.com.

A portion of land near Vetter Road and Viking Way has been proposed for annexation into city limits. The City Council’s initial meeting on the issue will be held at City Hall Sept. 1.

Called the “Julian Annexation,” the proposal includes 2.93 acres of light-industrial zoned land east of State Highway 3. The land is within Poulsbo’s Urban Growth Area.

In a letter to the city, proponent Mark Julian described the lots as “a small, oddly shaped parcel” that appears to be “a reasonable infill situation for annexation in the city of Poulsbo.”

Three of the four landowners in the proposed annexation area have already given consent, Julian said.

During the Sept. 1 meeting the City Council will decide whether to authorize proponents to circulate an official petition. Signers of the petition must represent 60 percent of assessed property value for the annexation to move forward.

The council may also adjust the boundary of the annexation area.

The Washington State Court of Appeals recently ruled that Kitsap County’s 2006 Comprehensive Plan, which in part holds the blueprints for the county’s Urban Growth Areas, must be reconsidered. The plan had previously been upheld by a Growth Management Hearings Board. It was challenged, in part, for applying “bright line rules” when planning rural and urban densities.

That ruling won’t affect annexations into the city because Poulsbo’s Urban Growth Area has not been altered since 2001, said city Planning Director Barry Berezowsky.

“It has no bearing at all on the city,” he said.  JM

UPDATE: This post has been updated to correctly report the session on Sept. 1 will be an initial meeting for City Council, not a public hearing.

City and port leaders have renewed a deal that allows port lease payments to stay in local coffers.

The Port of Poulsbo pays a $1 per year lease to the city for rights to the shoreline between Waterfront Park and Liberty Bay. That agreement saves the port thousands of dollars that would otherwise be paid to the state Department of Natural Resources since the port owns no uplands, Port Commissioner Arnold Bockus said.

The Poulsbo City Council approved the 25-year deal last week. The original 25-year lease was about to expire.

Money that would go to the state is instead placed in a joint escrow account which the city and port use to repair and maintain bulkheads and seawalls. Funds from the joint escrow account paid for the $650,000 bulkhead installed along Poulsbo’s shores in 2006.

Bockus said the amount placed in the joint account varies year to year.  JM