“it’s
a great place to live…”
Action Items:
1)
Debby Trudeau to
schedule final audit of books for 2005.
2)
Ron Rada to continue
work with D-W-T attorney on Manchester Foundation.
3)
Ron Robinson to
verify whether Bob Ballard is willing to represent the MCC on the Manchester
Foundation board.
Welcome:
The meeting was called to order by Chair, Ron Robinson at 6:30PM in the
Manchester Library. Ron welcomed the 37
people (including 20 current members) in attendance. Ron mentioned that our guest speaker would
not be arriving until later in the meeting.
He then proceeded to read our mission statement as a reminder of our
focus.
Business meeting:
Review and approval of past meeting’s minutes: The minutes for the 2/28/06 meeting were approved as written.
Correspondence: There were several membership renewals received, but no other significant mail.
Reports:
Treasurer: Debbie reported that our current treasury balance was $507.34 plus $70 in dues payment at the meeting.
Sewers Sub-Committee: Ron Rada said that action on LID#9 is still pending review of the new proposal (lower individual cost using individual pumps) by the County. LID#8 is expected to complete the construction phase by the end of June.
Crime Prevention
Sub-Committee: Bud Larsen reported that the committee now has an open line
of communication with the Sheriff’s office on local criminal activity and he
was pleased to report that an arrest has been made on the
Downtown Design Committee: The representatives from this group were attending the Growth Management meeting which conflicted with the MCC meeting today.
Regain our
Partnering with other Agencies Committee: Debbie Trudeau reminded us that the Village Commons group is working on ideas that could benefit from input by the “Agencies” group, and may want to join forces with them at their next meeting.
Recreational Venues Committee: This group has been looking for a chair, and at the meeting, it was reported that Helen Robinson (an enthusiastic walker and bicycler) had volunteered for this task (with only mild coercion from her husband, MCC Chair Ron Robinson)! Helen is looking for interested volunteers to join her on this committee.
Village Commons Committee: John Winslow reported that this committee has not met since February and has been awaiting the return of Bob Ballard for some consultation on property related issues. Now that Bob is back in town, this group can move back into action.
Old Business:
The audit of the treasury has not been completed, but Debby has reconciled the books and is ready for the review which should be completed prior to our next meeting.
Ron Rada has continued to work with our pro-bono attorney at D-W-T on the 501c3 status for the Manchester Foundation which will act as the non-profit umbrella organization for the MCC, MCA, Historical Society, and Crime Prevention groups.
Bob Edwards made a motion to allow the Executive Board to pay recurring expenses, not to exceed $100 in any month, without the prior approval of the membership. All paid expenses will be reported to the membership at the following regular meeting. The motion was approved as proposed. The detailed provision will be posted on the web-site.
The concept of pro-rating membership dues for those joining late in the year was disapproved. Dues will be payable in the full amount of $20 per member and will cover the calendar year.
The MCC will be represented on the Manchester Foundation by Ron Robinson and either Bob Ballard or Arlene Rebelowski.
Chairman Robinson reported that the Executive Board met in a planning session on 3/26 and discussed goal setting for this year. Minutes of that meeting are available on the web-site. Areas of particular focus by the Board this year will be:
1) Planning of an enlarged Library/Community Center
2) Creation
of a welcoming committee to draw new membership and reinforce understanding of
the
3) Encourage progress by the County on the Mosquito Fleet Trail
4) Investigate
alternatives for improved parking in downtown
5) Provide suggested updates for the Manchester Community Plan
6) Items of lesser priority: Open Space/greenbelt preservation, passenger ferry, Community Salmon Bake support
New Business:
Topics from the floor: Jim Stritzel mentioned that there is an opening on the Port Commission, as a result of Jim Thompson’s resignation. Per the article in the 3/29/06 Independent, the Commissioners will be seeking those interested in filling the position until a new election is held in November of this year.
Arlene Rebelowski mentioned that there is a service available to post community events, www.kitsapinfo.com.
Ron Rada mentioned that we will be hosting another “town meeting” (per our bylaws) in the next few months and committee chairs should consider what information they want to share in a presentation to the community at large.
A member of the audience expressed his concern that he felt that the County considers the Manchester Community Council to be a “joke” and not taken seriously. At that point, Eric Baker of the Kitsap Department of Community Development entered the room and offered to respond to that!
Guest Speakers comments: In response to the comment from the floor, Eric said that the DCD considered the Manchester Community Council to be the stewards of the Community Plan and its input will be taken very seriously by the County. The MCC is recognized by the County as the follow-on group to the original “group of 42” who developed the plan. The plan is on a five year review cycle.
Addressing the Manchester Plan’s
areas of zoning regulations, Eric felt the Plan has worked well, with one
notable exception. Even the 28’ building
height limit has worked well, but he commented that there have been difficult
exceptions, particularly in regard to the reference to “buildable area”. The Plan intended to exclude steep slopes and
wetlands from the “buildable area”, but this didn’t fully consider the complex
geometry of some lots with slopes and/or wetlands. Other alternatives to the
Questions from the floor hit on
topics which lead to general comments from Baker that the County encourages
building on the “down slope side” of properties just to minimize the view
impact on others. Another question was
directed at the specifics of properties that are not directly abutting Alaska
and westward (outside the Manchester view corridor) may be built to the
County’s general building height of 35’.
It is possible that a large property owner may adjust lot lines to have a
narrow strip of land along
Turning back to the Manchester
Plan, Eric said that the County is looking to “tweak” the Plan to better meet
the intentions of the original “group of 42”.
Along that line, he said that if the MCC makes a formal recommendation
to change the Plan then the DCD will try to respond to the community’s desires,
as long as it is legal. Again, this will
be subject to final direction from the Planning Commission and the
With that, Eric said he had to return to the Growth Management meeting in Port Orchard. Chairman Robinson thanked Eric for his remarks. There being no other discussion from the floor, Chairman Robinson adjourned the meeting at 8:33 PM.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday April 25 at
6:30-8:30PM in the Manchester Library. Ron Robinson and John Winslow will jointly
develop an agenda for our next meeting. If
you have any additional items for the agenda, please contact John Winslow prior
to April 14th.
Respectfully
submitted,
John
Winslow, Secretary-Manchester Community Council