Time to let your voice be heard

[Jesse Thomas]

Thanks to Kyle's tip, I was present at last week's town meeting and, yes, surprised by the openness of conversation. The topic of discussion was clear: Port Townsend needs more affordable housing and jobs...how do we do it?
This is a very important time in the development of the Quimper Peninsula. The town is poised to possibly change zoning requirements to allow more growth in density. The caveat is that the Townies love the "small, cute, local-minded, sustainable, artisticness" of Port Town, and they need to be assured that incoming developments and businesses don't mess that up. However selfish this idea is, it is very beneficial in promoting living/working arrangements that foster a more creative, community centered life that is vacant from much of America.
Now is a great time to speak up and let the city council know what we think affordable housing looks like. And time to let them know what young, entrepreneurial-minded, sustainably-conscious, community-headed folks are thinking.

[Jesse Thomas]

Attention!!! This is important for Rhody Rev's:
At the meeting, townies were polled by various questions, one being...
Which segment of the local economy should local economic development efforts focus on first?
52% chose Entrepreneurs
This is an blatant expression of support for business ready individuals to start something, here, now.

[Shelby Alexis Smith]

Right on! I was feeling under the weather last week, so was unable to attend the meeting. It sounded like it was very interesting, and pretty positive; what are the outcomes, upshots, next steps? How can we be a more focused voice for the kind of change that will bring both infrastructure & support for entrepreneurs, and affordable housing? Where did they suggest we plug in to participate? I can write letters, but I'd rather do something with more impact.

I'm super keen on the idea of creating some kind of co-op office space where entrepreneurs / free-lancers can set up their work stations, collaborate, work on projects as a team, etc. What would that look like, and how can we get it off the ground?

[Jesse Thomas]

Maybe we could set up an entrepreneur's day workshop, which would require getting a group of people together that are enthusiastic and able to actually sit down for several hours to present a format for forming some kind of board that could have the power to manifest a co-op space (whether it's physical or just virtual).

[Rev.Raikes]

Shoot Yeah! I vote for virtual, but just because I'm horribly ugly.
But seriously, maybe we should just pick a date and post it. If people come, then we know that they are proactive (a simple plan).

We could also send out an email blast to all of our members in case they haven't checked the site in a while.

Does Sirens seem ok for this or another venue where we could get "serious" about planning?

[Jesse Thomas]

Maybe we should get our shit together - spend a week of research - so that we know what the f we are talking about. Let's try to answer some of the questions that Shelby just asked.
I think Sirens would be fine for a preliminary casual meeting, during which we brainstorm. But to really get shit done, we need to be focused and serious. Now I think is the time to chat and do some research.
Who can we ask that's local for advice: small business advocacy?
What co-op's are out there as a model?
What does a virtual company look like (paradox, I know)?

[Kyle Montgomery]

Town Meeting results: 57% support bonds for affordable housing; biggest economic problem is lack of living-wage jobs

By Barney Burke (PT Leader)

Almost everyone who attended the June 5 Town Meeting hosted by the Port Townsend City Council agreed that the city should partner with other entities, private or public, to develop affordable housing.

Initial, electronic voting results showed 100 percent support for that idea, but the final tally was 97 percent in favor.

By the same large majority, attendees said they would welcome affordable housing in their own neighborhoods.

But asked if they would support a bond measure to help fund affordable housing, 57 percent said yes, 16 percent said no, and 27 percent were undecided. <...read full article>