Quality of Life
Port Townsend benefits from a stunning location, rich natural and cultural amenities, and a vibrant quality of life that is enjoyed by many residents and admired by many visitors. The City of Port Townsend provides basic services like public spaces, clean drinking water, public safety, and access to information and programs that contribute to and underpin the quality of life. Enjoyment of a meaningful life, including health, happiness, and general well-being, is something we almost universally strive for, even if it takes different shapes and forms.
How universally does our full community enjoy a high quality of life? What things both positively and negatively impact the quality of life in Port Townsend – and what do we have a degree of control over? What should we be deciding and doing now to sustain our collective well-being into the distant future – and how should that take place?
These questions and others require an ongoing dialogue with an engaged community – all of us – with an aim to improve and sustain equity, resilience, and well-being for us all.
Quality of Life in the City’s 3-Year Strategic Plan
Quality of Life is one of five focus areas in the Strategic Plan, calling on the City to “build a small-town quality of life for all ages that ensures equitable access to amenities and provides for community resilience and self-reliance.” There are five accompanying strategies and a list of action items in our three-year strategic plan.
The Future of Parks and Recreation
The City recently hired a dedicated person to focus on the long-term quality of life for our community. In particular, this means leading collaborative, robust community conversations and visioning about the future of parks and recreation. This work will include planning for the future of the golf course, the Mountain View campus, the pool, and financial sustainability for the long-term health and wellness of our community. Stay tuned for ways that you can get involved. Wach our parks video!
Community Engagement and Local Democracy
A healthy local democracy starts with all of us. It requires clear information, active and respectful dialogue and ways for all residents to have a voice in the decisions that affect them. Engage PT is one such vehicle, but there are others. To learn more about how to volunteer your time to parks or trails, at the Library, for the Police Department, or on a community advisory board or commission, visit our volunteer page. To watch and participate in City Council meetings, visit our meetings & agendas page. If you want to invest in your community by donating to a certain project, buying a bench, or leaving a legacy, visit the donation page A number of inspiring local nonprofits and groups are looking for time, ideas, expertise and donations to deliver on their missions. A list of resources is available on Jefferson Community Foundation’s website.
Public Safety and Race & Social Justice
In 2020, the Port Townsend City Council formed the Ad Hoc Committee on Law Enforcement and Public Safety. The Committee concluded its work in January 2021, and the City Council approved the final report in February 2021. The report included eleven recommendations; several of the recommendations were broader issues of race of social justice and not solely focused on law enforcement. One recommendation was for an advisory board to discuss race and social justice and to explore and help advance possible solutions. The formation of the Equity, Access, and Rights Advisory Board (EAR) will commence in early 2024. City Council also created the Culture and Society Committee in late 2021 which picked up some of this work, and has led the effort to form the EAR Board. For more information, visit the EAR webpage.
Health and Active Living
The research is clear: an active life is a healthy life. Whether it be participating in local recreational programs and activities or getting around Port Townsend by foot or by bicycle, there are myriad ways to stay fit and active. Visit our trails Directory to see some of the wonderful trails. To take a swim visit the Mountain View pool, now operating in partnership with the YMCA. For youth and adult recreation, Jefferson County plays an active role in providing a variety of programs. To enjoy a round of golf, visit the Port Townsend Golf Course. Later this year, the city will be embarking with the community on a visioning process to help determine the future of our parks, recreation and trail amenities.
The city continues to plan for the health and wellness of our community. To learn more about the City’s planning efforts check out the Parks Recreation and Open Space PROS Plan. To learn more about the City’s Non-Motorized Transportation Plan, visit the Active Transportation webpage. The Community Health Improvement Program (CHIP), a partnership between the City of Port Townsend, Jefferson County Public Health and Jefferson Healthcare, focuses on data, innovation and four health priorities. Finally, Jefferson County operates a number of facilities and programs.
Environmental Stewardship
Protecting and restoring the natural environment is a responsibility for all of us and our success at environmental stewardship has tangible impacts on our quality of life. The City plays a number of roles, including clean processing and treatment of wastewater and stormwater, collection of trash and recycling, and responsible approaches and regulation of land use and development. Learn more about what our Public Works, Parks and Development Services teams do from their department webpages. A number of local and regional organizations strive to deliver on environmental stewardship and often look for support, volunteers and participation.
Youth and the Next Generations
A high quality of life for kids, youth and families are critically important for all of us. The City partners with the Port Townsend School District for recreation programming and activities, library and information services and public safety. In addition, Jefferson County operates a number of facilities and provides a variety of programs for youth. Students for Sustainability have successfully brought forward legislation adopted by City Council, including the ban on plastic straws. They have recently advocated for a (car) idling ban. Greater opportunities for collaboration, internships and education abound at the City and across many agencies and organizations, so watch this space.
COVID Recovery and Resilience and Economic Development Framework
In 2020, as part of the 4-agency Intergovernmental Collaborative Group (ICG), the City and wider community helped develop a community-driven COVID Recovery and Resilience Action Plan. Actions from that plan are in various stages of complete, underway and being planned. In 2021, the ICG developed an Economic Development Framework to help define our vision and help inform our work ahead. Also in 2021, the City, County, Port, PUD, and EDC Team Jefferson developed a new, collaborative, multi-party agreement that helps align our collective efforts to deliver sustained and sustainable economic development for the region.
