Manchester Community Council www.manchesterwa.org

PO Box 173

Manchester, WA 98353-0173 “it’s a great place to live…”

Draft Minutes of the MCC Executive Board meeting of January 4, 2007

Those in attendance: L. Burbidge, C. Leininger, P. Paquette, R. Rada, M. Rebelowski, R. Robinson, C. Thompson, J. Winslow

Excused Absences: D. Trudeau (Pass. ferry meeting)

Action Items:

1) Ron Robinson/John Winslow to clarify terms of office for 2007 (there is indeed an error!)

2) Ron Robinson to receive input from all on potential changes to Bylaws.

3) Debby to investigate price for accounting software for presentation to membership.

4) Ron Rada to follow-up with Jan Angel on recent letters on gravity feed sewer piping and two-story developments.

5) Ron Rada to pursue the letter requesting addition of a second exit from P.O. parking lot.

The meeting was called to order by Chair, Ron Rada at 6:30PM. Minutes of the previous meeting were approved as written.

Treasurer’s report: Debby was not available to report.

No new mail had arrived since our last meeting. Our Treasury balance is approximately $777.00.

Related Organizations’ status/issues:

*Crime Prevention/Safety group: No known issues.

*MCA: Phil reported the Christmas events held on 12/8 were a big success and thanked Dave Denniston for handling the bonfire. He said that the MCA is working on several activities for the upcoming year.

*Historical Society: Ron Rada reported that the group is currently on hold pending expression of interest from new individuals.

*Manchester Foundation: Ron Rada said the Federal Government has cashed his initial check for $500 and is now asking for $250 more per the newest fee schedule. Issuance of the tax exemption is expected shortly.

Sub-committee status/issues:

*Sewers sub-committee: Ron said that LID#8 is nearing completion, with new asphalt on the roadway being the only major task. He also said that up to 12 properties which were included in LID#9 have been approached for inclusion into #8, which will expedite their sewer service, but impact #9’s borders.

*Revitalize Village Center: Carole said there has not been a recent meeting of the group.

*Regain Historic Village Character: This group is in need of a new chairperson.

*Partnership with agencies: No report available.

*Recreational Venues: Ron Robinson reported that Helen has explored further potential walking trails. She is also working with the County on adding signage to congested areas to alert vehicle drivers to pedestrians and bicyclers.

*Village Commons: Progress has been held-up due to a need for new leadership.

Old Business:

Carrilu needed to leave to attend the ferry meeting so requested that she be allowed to discuss items of concern. First, she suggested that we have the new director of the Department of Community Development (DCD) to present his vision and establish a relationship with the community. Next Carrilu mentioned the recent articles in the Independent that could have lead to confusion on the Crime Prevention Committee’s relationship with the MCC. Ron Rada said he wants to involve the media to better communicate the boundaries of the Manchester area and reinforced the importance of involving all of the citizens of Manchester in the re-work of the Plan. Ron suggested that we include all of the community in a springtime “town hall” meeting where we would present subjects from the proposed Plan changes. It was also suggested that we might want to “doorbell” to reach everyone. Finally, Carrilu mentioned that the November minutes were misleading on the terms of office. It was agreed that John and Ron Robinson would take another look at the terms to insure that they agreed with the bylaws. Robinson also mentioned that he is working on revisions to the bylaws and would like feedback on any known potential changes.

Follow-up items from previous meeting:

In a review of action items from the past meeting, the following was reported:

Carole had a copy of the Kingston Plan (87 pages) which includes the Design Standards (26 pages). It was noted that this is a plan for an urban area, which explains its large size. A sub-committee will use this document as a starting point for a Manchester Design Standard.

Debby was unavailable to comment on the accounting software cost.

Lyle Burbidge will be working with Matti Walters to monitor land-use activity at the County that affects the Manchester area. They will both be meeting with Ron Rada to learn the best techniques for monitoring this on-line.

Ron Rada said that he had received no feedback from the County on the several recent letters. He will pursue this in an upcoming meeting with Jan Angel.

John will e-mail the Ron Robinson draft of “Manchester Citizen of the Year” proposal to Ex. Bd. Members for input prior to the 1/23 meeting so the proposal may be presented on 1/23. It was agreed that the Executive Board would make recommendations on a Citizen of the Year, but the final decision would be made with a vote of the membership.

Mark Rebelowski presented a draft document requesting and additional exit from the Post Office parking lot. This will be pursued per discussion at the meeting and will go out under Ron Rada’s signature.

The Manchester Plan revisions will be our primary project during 2007. A first step will be to select fixed meeting dates and times for each committee so they can meet independently.

New Business:

John Winslow made a proposal to the Friends of the Library Board that the MCC be allowed to pay a fixed fee of $500 to the Friends which would allow the MCC to rent the meeting room for regular meetings, Executive Board meetings, and subcommittee meetings for the 2007 calendar year. This proposal was approved by the Friends, and now needs approval by the MCC membership.

We reviewed last year’s goals for consideration of 2007 goals. It was agreed that the Plan revisions and pursuit of a community center should be our primary focus for this year.

John Winslow stated that the Kitsap Regional Library system is considering a ballot measure for this spring that would seek to ease funding constraints on our libraries. There is information available in the library on this issue and all are encouraged to provide input to KRL on funding priorities via the on-line survey at www.krl.org. Our new Library director, Jill Jean will visit Manchester on Wednesday 2/7 at 6:30PM to share her vision on library services and the funding challenges.

Ron Rada mentioned that several people have approached him suggesting that the County seems to be ignoring the Manchester area and perhaps it is time to incorporate. Ron said that to incorporate, we would need a larger tax base than the current Manchester area encompasses, but that the Manchester Water District area might be large enough to support incorporation. This may be an issue that the community may want to pursue.

There being no further business, Chairman Rada adjourned the meeting at 7:31 PM.

Our next regular meeting will be Tuesday January 23rd at 6:30-8:30PM in the Manchester Library and the next Executive Board meeting will be Thursday February 1st at 6:30PM in the Library.

Respectfully submitted,

John Winslow, Member-at-large; Manchester Community Council