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Poulsbo council begins review of downtown maintenance funding; HDPA dues, city contribution and workload debated
Summary
The council heard staff and HDPA members on June 18 about rising downtown maintenance costs, the HDPA dues structure and possible city roles to preserve flower baskets, holiday lights and other downtown amenities.
At the June 18 meeting the Poulsbo City Council and staff discussed how to sustain downtown maintenance activities—flower baskets, seasonal lighting and general beautification—after staff reported rising costs and recent reliance on public‑works resources.
Finance staff provided HDPA financial snapshots showing a fund balance (end of 2024) around $85,000 and noted recent downtown watering and maintenance costs had risen from roughly $12,000 in earlier years to an estimated near $30,000 for the current year. Councilmember and HDPA board members said they want to keep the downtown’s appearance and “postcard” character but expressed concern that HDPA’s volunteer board and dues structure are not sufficient to reliably deliver the seasonal workload.
Deb (Finance Director) and public‑works staff explained the city already provides multiple services for the HDPA (billing, collections, bench maintenance, storage and installation support) and that those services are partly subsidized by the city; council has historically chosen to limit direct billing to HDPA for some of those services. Deb said increasing dues would require a public‑process change and possibly an ordinance amendment; HDPA’s bylaws also define assessment methodology (square footage, employee count or gross receipts) and some membership categories do not currently pay dues.
HDPA President Denver Smythe said the HDPA board supports updating the dues structure. Council members discussed short‑term and long‑term models: short term, staff will provide costed options that show revenue at different assessment levels and propose how annual city contributions might be allocated; long term, councilmembers floated creating a dedicated downtown coordinator (part‑time position) or other staffing model to professionalize downtown management and free volunteers to focus on marketing and events.
Public works staff said they can program more downtown maintenance into their workload if council funds it, and warned that scheduling requires clear expectations because seasonal tasks compete with other essential public‑works duties during limited good‑weather months. Council asked staff to develop options that include (1) a prioritized level of service for downtown maintenance, (2) a cost estimate and funding split (city subsidy + HDPA dues scenarios), and (3) possible staffing models (seasonal contract, city part‑time coordinator, or continued volunteer model with contracted services).
No ordinance changes were adopted at the meeting; staff will return with options for council consideration and, if desired, draft ordinance language and an outreach plan for affected downtown businesses.
