I’ve got a mail box of sorts at Poulsbo City Hall where they leave me agendas and such. I went down today to check it (I’ve been out sick all week, which also explains the lack of blogging.) and surprise! – a big two-inch think 2008 budget was waiting.

Inside there’s the document I really like, the “Budget-in-Brief”.

Figuring most of you probably care primarily about taxes, I took some (admittedly not so great) shots of the tax pie charts with my phone, and tried to doctor them up in Photoshop as much as I could. I can’t get my office scanner to work, sorry.

The first chart shows the property tax distribution. (Remember, this only applied to people living in the city of Poulsbo.)

In short, about $9.16 per $1,000 of assessed valuation goes in the property tax pot. Poulsbo gets just shy of $1.44 per $1,000, or about 16 percent of the property tax Poulsbo residents pay.

To see the sales tax chart, click through to keep reading.

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Click the picture to see the full gallery at the Seattle Times Web site.

A handful of downtown Poulsbo businesses entered a competition with their peeps. Or, to be correct, their Peeps.

The Seattle Times solicited readers to submit photos of Peeps (the other-worldly sugary treats that come in colors rarely found in nature.) in poses with the theme “news makers”.

As it turns out, Poulsbo’s The Nordic Maid was one of the winners. It’s not surprising a business that sells these would enter a Viking ship full of Viking Peeps.

The design renderings for the new Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe’s casino were shown off last night at the Kingston Open House, the first time the drawings were presented in such a public place.

Construction of the new The Point Casino has been slowed by the softening financial markets, but it looks like there’s quite a plan in place.

The casino would be the first phase (the top in the picture) with about 100,000 square feet of gaming, retail, restaurants, meeting space, bars and entertainment. It would have 975 slots (an increase of about 400), 18-20 table games and 3-5 poker tables, 5,000 feet of meeting space and employ about 200 more people.

Phase two would be a hotel next to the casino.

Interestingly, the “Environmental Objectives” section of the informational flier is longer than the “Amenities” section. It lists things like “reducing construction activities pollution”, minimizing potable water use, using recycled building materials, and using “innovative wastewater technologies.” The hotel is “slated to be a LEED silver project,” which in common parlance means a “green building”.

I’ll spare you the drudgery of reading all of my notes, but figured one other element in last night’s discussion about annexation was worth sharing.

You may have heard something like this: “If you get annexed, you’ll be forced to hook up to city sewer lines, and your taxes will skyrocket.”

At least according to Councilman Dale Rudolph and Councilwoman Linda Berry-Maraist, it’s not true.

If you don’t develop your property, no need to hook up. Though, if you’re close enough to a sewer line, you may be asked to hook up. Another option (if your septic is functioning.) is to pay a $30 monthly fee and keep the septic.

Rudolph said the tax increase is “nominal”.

Perspective might be the important word after a closed-door debriefing today between North Kitsap High School, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Poulsbo Police and city officials.

They met to discuss the recent standoff near NKHS and Poulsbo Middle School.

District spokeswoman Chris Case said it was a cordial meeting that highlighted how school officials and police can view the same situation in drastically different ways.

To police, “contained” meant the apartment was surrounded, the guy wasn’t getting out.

To the school officials, “contained” meant the potential danger was over, which it wasn’t.

To the police, a larger response helps keep the situation under control and safer.

To the school officials and parents, more officers with guns makes the situation appear MORE dangerous.

These were a couple of anecdotes shared about the meeting.

As a side note, the school district is in the process of ordering an emergency phone system that will call all numbers (cell, home, work, etc.) during an emergency of parents who register them with the district. Recordings with immediate info can be dialed into the phones almost immediately. The district already has an e-mail alert system.

Here’s the full text of a letter NKSD e-mailed Friday:

Parents, staff and community members,

We have heard a number of rumors and have fielded a number of calls regarding the police action that took place near Poulsbo Middle School and North Kitsap High School on Wednesday. We hope this email helps to clarify what took place.

At 2:25, our campus police officer (SRO) told the PMS and NKHS administrators that there was a planned police raid on an apartment adjacent to North Kitsap High School (and across from Poulsbo Middle School). He notified us that the raid would take place approximately 10 minutes after the buses full of students left campus. Unfortunately, circumstances led the Poulsbo Police and Sheriff Departments to begin the raid early, just as both schools were dismissing students. Students were already on their way out the doors of several NKHS buildings when we learned the raid had begun, so it was too late to declare a lock-down at NKHS. The Poulsbo Middle School administrators were able to see the police activity and kept their students in their building for approximately a 15-minute lockdown.

Within minutes, the North Kitsap High Students were on the buses and leaving in cars and on foot. Those walking in the direction of the police action were directed to cross the street and go behind Poulsbo Middle School. North Kitsap High School administrators also made the immediate decision to move their athletes off the fields and cancel practice as well as contests because they were unsure of how long the police action might last.

As a precaution, Poulsbo Elementary staff brought students who were on the playground back in the building during the police action. Some teachers called families to pick up their children, recognizing there could be a delay with buses. A teacher also walked students home who lived in the area.

As the afternoon progressed, the two administrators from Poulsbo Middle School, the four administrators as well as campus security from North Kitsap High School, the superintendent and an executive director from the district office stayed nearby to monitor the students who were in the area. They stayed in close contact with the police to ensure students and staff in the area were safe.

The delay in bus departure from NKHS and PMS caused bus delays for many elementary students throughout the district Wednesday afternoon.

Again Thursday afternoon), several police vehicles returned to the site of the raid due to a call that indicated there were unauthorized people in the apartment A person was taken into custody and the officers left. Our students were in class during this time.

While we are sorry for any anxiety this situation caused the students or parents, our concern was, and will always be, to do everything in our power to keep safe the students that you have entrusted to us.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments you may have.

Mithun Architects of Seattle

I apologize for letting the blog slide for a while. I’ve been busy with some other projects that have diverted my attention a fair bit.

Yesterday, the Suquamish Tribe broke ground for a new Community House. It’s a longhouse, a traditional-style building that serves as a hub for community and cultural events. The analogy may not be quite right, but my impression is that the longhouse served a similar purpose from Salish tribes as the community church would have in settlements (though people used to live in the Suquamish longhouse, and wouldn’t have in churches, nor will people dwell in the new longhouse.)

The backstory on the new Community House is pretty interesting, too. The last time the Tribe had a longhouse was in 1870, just four years after Chief Seattle died at Old Man House, which was a 600-foot longhouse where the park bearing it’s name now sits.

In 1870, the U.S. government burned Old Man House in an attempt to destroy tribal culture. Now, 138 years later, they’re building the Community House, and it was clear from the speeches yesterday, the Old Man House is still very much on the minds of some in the tribe.

It should be done in less than a year.

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The major hurdle for a professional soccer stadium that’s been proposed in Poulsbo is a familiar one to this North Kitsap town – parking.

Sports editor Chuck Stark wrote last week about Robin Waite’s plans for a 6,000-seat pro soccer venue in Poulsbo, possibly for the Seattle Sounders.

Naturally the perspectives of a city reporter and sports reporter differ somewhat, so I wanted to get at least a little deeper into these grafs from his story:

‘He hopes to begin work on the stadium, to be constructed on a 12-acre parcel of land on Urdahl Road, no later than August. And there’s still a lot of hurdles he must clear with the City of Poulsbo before that happens. The property currently has no sewage or power. And parking figures to be a major issue for a stadium with a planned 6,000-seat capacity.

Waite owns the land, which sits across from The Zone Sportsplex, an indoor sports facility. But once the stadium is configured, he estimates that he will only have room for about 250 parking spots on-site.

Once he gets a rendition of the stadium — he’s hired Tacoma-based Bruce Dees and Associates to build it — Waite said he hopes to meet with nearby businesses and Olympic College to see if he can use some of their parking on game nights.’

I called Poulsbo’s planning director, Barry Berezowsky, who confirmed that Waite has filed a pre-application for the stadium. A pre-ap is the first step developers take with city planners, and it’s a bit more informal than the official application process – which triggers public notices, permitting processes and involves the city council.

On Friday, Waite met with Berezowsky to discuss a plan to work with nearby property owners to build a sewer lift-station.

“I think the biggest issue we’re going to face is the parking issue,” Berezowsky said.

He estimated 2,000 to 3,000 parking spaces would be needed, and as you see in Chuck’s story, Waite thought about 250 would fit on the site.

Given that games would be 14 Sundays per year, it’s likely that Waite could arrange with places like as-yet undeveloped business park space at Olhava (which wouldn’t likely be used on Sundays) to shuttle people to the stadium.

It could work the other way during the week, using the stadium parking as a park and ride for commuters.

But Berezowsky said the issue of where the cars park isn’t as important as what the effects on the area are when people are coming to and departing games.

For the city, it will be a unique process – the code allows for sports stadiums there, but doesn’t specify exactly what’s allowed or prohibited. (Simply because the code isn’t so specific that it would spell out if you have a 6,000-seat stadium, do this.)

“You don’t see soccer stadiums of any size going up in the area,” Berezowsky said, adding that it’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence for a planner to deal with a project like this.

“It’s the biggest darn sports facility being proposed in Kitsap County since NASCAR, so it is a big deal for us.”

So for the planners reviewing the project, it’s a process of applying the code pragmatically, while also keeping in mind that it must protect the public’s interest.

What about potential noise? The effects of all those cars coming and going on Sunday afternoons and evenings? What other uses will occur? Concerts? What about environmental impacts?

Berezowsky surmised that a formal application within a month would fit within Waite’s schedule of beginning this summer.

According to Chuck’s story, if the stadium isn’t ready by 2009, the team could play somewhere else – like North Kitsap High School.

I haven’t had a chance to check with officials there on whether that’s viable. If any NKSD officials would like to weigh in on that, feel free to comment below.